african safari

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A Weekend Safari in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

A Tanzania Safari Adventure

A ten day safari multi country safari that became an adventure of a lifetime. Our client arrived in Arusha excited to go on a journey through the African bush. Her safari would take her into the depths of Tanzania and Uganda, finding animals that are awed among all others. 10 days and 6 parks was her itinerary for her epic adventure.

Many of us including myself are jealous of this tailor made itinerary. Her first stop was Tarangire National Park. Here she stayed in Sangaiwe Tented Lodge it is has a beautiful view from the room balcony, after the drive and game drive through the park it was a great place to relax and see wildlife still. In the morning after breakfast, she had another game drive through the park seeing various animals and particularly having a few special moments watching elephants by the river.

Exiting the park the went into the Ngorongoro region and spent the night at Country Lodge in Karatu. This is just a stopover before carrying on in the morning in the Serengeti where she headed to the central part to catch the plethora of animals there this time of year. This trek between parks is known for its “serengeti massage”, a term coined because of the continuous corregations on the dirt roads. Lomayani, our driver made this trek as pleasant as possible with colourful conversation and information to keep her happy. Once in the park, she had sightings of leopard, lion, buffalo and rhino allowing her to check of seeing the ‘Big Five’. On the game drives that day and the next two in the Serengeti she had the ability to the wildebeest migration in the Central Serengeti. Tanzania is wildly known for this great migration of animals moving in a southern to northern pattern and back again depending on the season and time of year. This specific time of year the main herd of the migration was in Northern Serengeti and Maasai Mara as the rains have hit that region before the southern and central parts. This guest had sightings of the smaller groups of animals, during her entire trip. Her stay and Serengeti Kati Kati camp was amazing they treated well and made her stay exceptional.

Leaving the park on the third day she headed for Ngorongoro Crater. Some consider this to be the “The Eight Wonder of the World”. With the help of her driver they spotted. Overnighting at Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, she had the perfect view of the crater right in front of her. In the morning, after an early breakfast they headed down into the crater to capture the beauty of this bucket list location. A few factors affect this awe inspiring crater; firstly, the scenery of how this crater has become an animal sanctuary; secondly, the diversity and plethora of wildlife; finally the combination of the previous factors has left people speechless and thankful for such amazing places on Earth. Our guest truly enjoyed herself here seeing the range of animals around.

The next day was spent in traveling across to Uganda, where she would have a very different experience on her 10 day African safari. We will dedicate a full blog to her adventures in Uganda with the Gorillas. Send us an email if you want to know more on booking a safari with us and going on an amazing adventure.

News on Tarangire National Park

Reports from recent safaris in Tarangire National Park, we can see the movement elephants in the region. Water is low now, due to the lack of rains in this short rainy season. A lot of the animals are migrating to where there is water still. The National Park is still relatively full of wildlife, as the region is protected from villages trying to seek water for their domestic herds of cattle, goats and sheep.

The animals migrate in the park according to weather patterns and the access to water. The Tarangire River rarely drys up, so the elephants hang around the extent of the river depending on the vegetation in the area. Tarangire National Park is known for its large elephant population.

At the moment the herds, are on the move and are covering large areas every day in search of food. Other animals are hanging around the swamp areas where there is more water and vegetation around. At lot of the lodges have pumped waterholes which allow for animals to stay in the areas but this is dependent on the vegetation in the area.

From our pictures you can see that the elephants are moving in big herds relying on each other for protection and food. The lodges are getting fantastic views of elephants,  zebra, waterbuck, the odd wildebeest and a plethora of birds. It is without a doubt that you will wake up to sound of birds and a view of animals close by. You may even get an elephant close to your room in the night! Tarangire Safari Lodge, Sopa Lodge and Oliver’s Camp are excellent examples of lodges with this atmosphere around them.

The WMA’s (wildlife management areas) next to the park have it pretty rough at the moment where domestic animals and the wild ones fight for vegetation and access to water. The areas close to the lodges in the WMA’s are a safe haven for wildlife and having waterholes close by they tend to stay. Nimali and Tarangire Treetops are prime examples of such places.

Our guests recently have had the pleasure of seeing vast amounts of elephants and a range of other animals. Some were lucky enough to see lion, and a few other predators like hyena. This time of year the wildebeest and zebra are still here in a reasonable number, as later in the year they migrate for the calving season in February.

I mentioned birds earlier, now let me explain them a little more. The amount of bird species in East Africa is huge, with many sub species. So for the avid birder reading here, you will immensely enjoy being in Tarangire, you just may fill up your SD card with birds! The beauty is that you don’t have to look hard, they are everywhere! Some birds you may get tired of seeing but there are certainly others that you won’t get the opportunity of seeing again! If you are counting you will be adding up your list pretty fast here.

Keep on watching our blog and we will with delight bring you updates and news from places and events in East and Southern Africa.

An Extraordinary African Safari

Before we get to the actual story, I have to restate the heading. A wild dog sighting in the Serengeti National Park! To see these amazing creatures is truly amazing, there are not many packs left in the wild throughout Africa today, there are an estimated number of 6,600 left in the wild, and they have been endangered for more than 20 years. A pack can cover a range of 900 square miles, so getting a chance to see them is awesome! I have lived in Africa all my life and have only seen them in the wild twice; hopefully, I’ll get to see them again soon! So these guests of ours were truly lucky! Most areas where they exist now have programs that monitor and protect them.

These guests had the beauty of seeing a few endangered species on their safari, with different settings to admire these magnificent creatures. So they saw the wild dog and the vulture, two of Africa’s endangered animals. They had the opportunity to see the wild dogs playing about in the shade and the vultures at a zebra kill. Both sightings are really good the photos will show you that. Yet, as mentioned earlier, the wild dog is by far one of the rarest sightings you will have in the Serengeti.

The guests were overjoyed in seeing these beautiful animals! Our driver, did a great job in finding these animals. The wild dogs are a playful bunch always looking for fun and games. They are such great creatures.

The guests were able to watch vultures and lion squabble over a zebra kill. Vultures are also amongst the endangered species that exist in the savannah plains. Sitting and watching these animals you realize that survival of the fittest is at play here, there is no mommy to look after you in the African bush.

The strongest only survive here and from these pictures you can see that! Even among the same species you have to fight, survive and be better than the one next to you. You can learn a lot about life from watching wildlife whilst on an African safari.

Here is a picture of a cheetah on an anthill, from this picture you can see he is on it to get a view of his surroundings so that he can locate his prey. On examination of this picture you can see that this anthill is used for many things, it’s a den from hyena or warthog sometimes both. Fun fact, termites which built this anthill are regarded keystone creatures in the circle of life, as they provide shelter for themselves and also for other animals.

Lion prides are common because of the plethora of animals around. Our guests got to see a few prides in different settings, from lazing in the shade to defending a kill. It is always good to see cubs about this shows that the lion population is maintaining itself in the region.

Our guests were extremely lucky to see a vast range of animals on safari and especially to see some of Africa’s most endangered animals.

Big Five and The Hadzabe tribe

Our clients Riho, Monika, Raivo, and Karin left snowy Estonia to start a new African adventure. Though they are experienced travelers, they seemed very excited when we met them at the airport in Arusha. Our driver Musa sent us some pictures from their safari and they are really impressive!

One of the most unique things about Tanzania is the world-famous Wildebeest Migration which takes place throughout almost the entire year. Our travelers were lucky to come at the time of the calving season and see lots of wildebeest moving in the Seronera region of the Serengeti. This is the time when predators are chasing them and their newborn kids.

Aside from the migration, our Estonian tourists also spotted the Big Five including small elephants and big prides of lions. They even saw a rhino in Ngorongoro in the company of some hulking buffaloes.

After experiencing Tanzania’s wildlife, Riho and his companions woke up early in the morning to experience hunting with the Hadzabe tribe which lives close to Lake Eyasi. Meeting this tribe is another unique experience as they have been leaving out of the civilized world for hundreds of years.

At the end of the trip, our clients met the Datoga people – a tribe of farmers and craftsmen. They are neighbors with the Hadzabe and even sell them some metal tools like knives and arrowheads.

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