Tanzanian Jottings: On Safari Part 1

We had a wonderful time during the visit of Mike and Beth Criswell and Clint De France. One of the many fun things we did together is to take a few days off and go on safari to Tarangire National Park and the Arusha national park.

On our way out of town we stopped for breakfast at the wonderful Kimemo Coffee lodge (click here to see more). We had a great time as you can see from the photo. We all ate too much and generally got in a good mind set for going on safari.

Here in Tanzania, the word "safari" simply means a trip. So if you are going into town to shop, you are going on safari! However, heading out to a National Park here, the word takes on a whole different meaning - it means ADVENTURE!

Tanrangire is about a two hour drive from Arusha and after our leisurely breakfast we made it to the gate about 12 noon. This worked out fine as you buy a 24 hour entrance and it meant we had until 12 noon the next day to enjoy the park. Almost as soon as we left the park entrance we started to see the wonderful wildlife that Tarangire is famous for. The claim is that this park as the highest concentration of Elephants of anywhere. Well, we arrived during the rainy season when most of the animals are out getting fresh grass outside of the park, but ended up seeing 100s of elephants!!!!

These huge animals are really awesome. So many times that word gets bandied around and it has almost lost its meaning. That is until you see something that really DOES inspire awe! We got so close to these majestic animals, it was at times a little scary!

We all really enjoyed just sitting in the truck (you are not allowed out for obvious reasons, except at designated areas). It is fascinating to watch how these animals interact with one another. How they protect their young, how they are so gentile towards one another. We were so fortunate to see them all.

We traveled around a lot and got to see a wide variety of different animals including zebra, ostriches, a lot of different types of bucks. We even go to see a couple tired lions sleeping under a tree!

Anne had packed a picnic lunch as so we stopped at a wonderful spot overlooking the Tarangire river. From there we could see elphants in the distance as well as a group of giraffes. We were even pestered by a group of hopeful monkeys. It was great fun!

After were were all pretty tired out we headed out of our camp for our Tented lodge experience. This is such a good idea. they have made up private rooms, with full en-suite facilities, out of tents. You really get a wonderful safari experience!

We all enjoyed sitting around the fire before (and after) dinner and were treated like kings and queens. Infact, because it was the low season, we were the only ones at the camp. What luxury!

Dinner was magnificent, wonderfully presented and tasted GREAT! We were even treated to a magic show by the head waiter.

After sitting around the fire and counting the stars we all went for a well earned sleep. We were all wondering if the local lions or elephants were going to wander around the camp at night.

I'll leave it there and add more in another post.