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Arusha National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater & Tarangire National Park

Northern Tanzania

Tony Clemens
2005-08-31 21:43:52

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park is famous for tree-climbing lions. Our guide who has visited the park for five years had never seen the lions climbing the trees. We only saw the remains of a lion kill.

Serengeti National Park

Our next destinction was the Serengeti, which means great open place in the Maasai language. The main road from Lake Maynard to the Serengeti is considered a well maintained gravel road although I think well maintained has a different meaning in Tanzania. It is nevertheless a necessary route unless you have plenty of money and can fly, all the parks have airstrips. Its a spectacular road as it winds its way up the western wall of the Rift Valley and across the fertile Mbulu Plateau. Soon you come to the forested slopes of the southern rim of Ngorongoro Crater, a quick glimpse into the crater (we will return in several days for a more through look) and once pass the crater we descend to the Serengeti plain. As you drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area you will see plenty of Maasii herding their cattle. You will also come across the occasional group of young boys posing for pictures, a small fee is expected.

There is plenty of wildlife, the numbers are simply mind-boggling. A recent census estimated 1.5 million wildebeest, 1 million gazelle, 200,000 zebras and about 3000 lions. We saw our first pride of lions in the open plains, the lack of vegation makes animal spotting very easy. Unfortunately you can also get a Serengeti traffic jam. Once one vehicle spots an interesting animal soon several vehicles appear, the big cats seem to cause many traffic jams. The park is big enough and there are plenty of dirt tracks that you can easily find yourself alone. The hippo pool which is near the main camping area and several lodges is always crowded but you do get a good view of hippos and crocodiles. You can spend a week here and not see the entire park.

One night while ...