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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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wide volcanic crater with 600 metre walls packed with over 45,000 large animals. Its one of the few places in Tanzania where you are almost guaranteed to see a rhino (there are about a dozen left) and almost anything else you might have missed elsewhere. Two cheetah creat a traffic jam, hyenas chase a rhino, thousands of flamingos wading in the large soda lake, Lake Magadi, very fat zebras graze near some overweight lions. The only animal you will not see here are giraffes because the vegetation is wrong. The amount of wildlife you will see in close promixity is amazing and because of the vehicle traffic in the crater the animals are habitated to the vehicles and you can get very close. You can practical pat the zebras. If you only have time to visit one park, make it Ngorongoro. All the camp sites and lodges are along the crater rim with only one expensive ($US40) camp site on the crater floor. Most of the lodges overlook the crater and the sunset and sunrise over the crater is spectacular.

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park is an often overlooked park and because of that its not crowded. During the dry season, the only water flowing in this area is in the Tarangire River and plenty of animals migrate into the park. Often when the migrating herds of the Serengeti are mainly in neighboring Kenya at Masai Mara National Reverse, Tarangire will have more wildlife than the Serengeti. Unforuately there are many tsetse flies in Febuary and March but then thats when the Serengeti is full of wildlife. We spotted our only leopard here and there is a sizable elephant herd. There was a large baboon tribe near our lodge and boy are they noisy.

After Tarangire we spend one night in Arusha before getting a bus to Dar-es-Saalam to start a southern safaria. Some advice, buy your souvenirs in Arusha, especially at the markets near the Clock Tower and Goliondoi Road, and not at any of the tourists traps along the park route. Many safaris will also stop at the African Culture Center just outside Arusha, again overpriced souvenirs. We did meet some Texan oil men there who were going trophy hunting for some lion. According to a attendant at the Center they visit Tanzania ever year to hunt. One of them brought a huge makonde carving for US$80,000. The makonde carvings are worth your money and since bargaining is the order of the day should cost less than US$5 at the untourist markets. While in Arusha you can also check your e-mail, there are several cyber-cafes.