Tarangire National Park

[Baobab trees store up to 35000 gallons of water in their trunks to weather dry seasons.]

The third National Park of my Tanzanian adventure, Tarangire is distinct from both the vast plains of the Serengeti and the paradisical crater of N'gorogoro, not least because its chief environmental feature is the huge Tarangire River, which defines the park's landscape and sustains its ecosystem.  The river valley draws enormous herds of zebra, giraffe, elephant, and wildebeest, and it provides a rich feeding ground for birds, birds, birds, and more birds. About 550 species of bird make their home in the riparian zone. 

I don't think I saw 550 species of birds, but I did see a lot of them, like this maribou stork fighting with a fisher eagle over some kind of fish, and the aptly named superb starling.

[Soooo many elephants!]

Here's my animal list from this NP:

Plains zebra

Maasai giraffe

Superb starling

Red hornbill

Egyptian goose

Black-headed heron

Waterbok

Harvester termite mound

Elephant

Namacua dove

Lilac roller

Weaver birds and nests

Wattled starling (on backs of zebra)

Ground plover

Warthog

Maribou stork

African fish eagle

Gray-headed kingfisher

Saddle-billed stork

Hyrax

Dik dik

Nile monitor lizard

Lion

Ashy starling

[Mama and baby giraffe]

Three National Parks and countless critters over 4 days:  I think I made the most of my time in the wildlands of Tanzania, and of my first-ever trip to the African continent.  It was like no place I've ever visited before, and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to wander around Tanzania's literal high points and wide open spaces.  I would go so far as to say that it was worth the stomach bug that jumped on as a last-minute stowaway and accompanied me on my 25-hour travel home.  I welcome all of Tanzania's critters, giant or microscopic.

Serengeti addendum

Forgot to post my list of animals spotted in the Serengeti:

Gray-breasted sand grouse

Serval cat

Yellow-billed stork

Nile crocodile

Impala

Cheetahs eating an impala

Lion

Crested Guinea fowl

Dik dik

Grant's gazelle

Maasai giraffe

Baboon

Hippo pond with a billion hippos

Plains zebra

Wildebeest

African Cape buffalo

Black mambo

Topi

White-headed vulture

Elephant

Thomson's gazelle

Spur-winged goose

Gray heron

Blacksmith plover

White-browed coucal

Agama lizard

Tawny eagle

Marshall eagle

Dark chanting goshawk

Hartebeest

Long-crested eagle

Gray-breastfed spurfowl

Dung beetle

Hyena

White-headed buffalo weaver

Baboon

Go away bird

Warthog

Marshall eagle

Tawny eagle

Scimiter hoopoe

Serval cat

Savannah monkey

Banded mongoose

Hadada ibis

Ox pecker

Eland

White-backed vulture

Variable sunbird

Augur buzzard

All these photos were taken by my incredibly talented safari-mate, Nick.

Channeling my inner Def Leppard

And not just because of the fortuitous pun on "leopard."  I'm thinking of the chorus to their 1987 hit: "And I want / And I need / And I love / Animal."  Because if it's animals you want, need, and love, the Serengeti has got you covered.

[Endless hippos, my absolute fave critter in Africa.]

"Serengeti" means "Endless plains" in Swahili, which pretty much sums it all up.  It's about 6000 square miles of grasslands, with very few roads in very small number intruding into its grassy expanse.  Given the large numbers of visitors to the park each year, I asked my driver about why the government did not improve the roads--single-lane dirt tracks bucked with potholes, seasonal washouts, and spontaneous irruptions.  He told me that the road conditions keep out poachers.  The roads are virtually impassable unless you have one of these purpose-built Land Rovers, with extra-high clearance and snorkels for flash flooding.

[That's me on the left, out the observational pop-top. Man, I'd love one of these rides, but like the poachers, I'm priced out.]

My Subaru definitely couldn't handle the Serengeti.  But one of those Land Rovers runs to over $150,000, far beyond the socioeconomic capacities of the standard poacher.  So potential evil-doers just can't really get in there to be dastardly. 

As with the N'gorogoro Crater, limited human entry means that the place belongs to the animals. And in the Serengeti, there is a more visible predator presence than in the crater.  Lions, cheetahs, and--yes--leopards are everywhere.  People are not permitted to leave their safari vehicles because the lions are just hanging out all over the place.  Staying at the bush camp, a cluster of heavy canvas tents deep in the heart of the park, I was not allowed to walk between my sleeping tent and the dining tent without an armed guard, and the sound of lions roaring haunted the camp all night long.  It was a bit surreal, but also sublime.  

[Thwarted picnic lunch: table already occupied]

[Lions just hanging out in the tree, like big kitties. Or killer fruit.]

I spent 2 days in the Serengeti, and saw, again, a mindblowing array of wildlife.  Would I do it again?  Well, after 2 full days (12 hours+) getting bounced around in the big jeep, unable to exit the vehicle, I think I'd had my fill.  But what a revelatory landscape.  I was so amazed to see in the Serengeti a realm where human interference has been kept to a minimum, allowing the proverbial circle of life to do its thing. 

Africa's Eden

 

During a four-day safari, I was able to visit three separate national parks in northern Tanzania, each one distinct in its landscape and containing different animals.

N’gorogoro Crater, declared a friend of mine before I left for Tanzania, is a miracle, an enduring Eden.  The crater used to be a huge volcano, approximately the same size as Kilimanjaro but a little to the west, alongside the imposing wall of the Great Rift Valley.  When this volcano blew its top 2 to 3 million years ago, it created a fully contained bowl—the crater wall is uninterrupted for the approximately 120 miles of its circumference.  The big bowl is about 20 miles across, and the floor of the bowl is about 2000 feet below the crater rim. 

Because of these natural geological protections, the ecosystem inside the crater flourishes unbothered by the world outside.  Which means it contains a staggering diversity of wildlife. 

Visiting the N’gorogoro Crater presents the intrepid safari-er with so, so many animals that it’s hard to keep track.  It’s not just that there are so many kinds of animals, but that each kind is there in such overwhelming numbers. 

I kept a list of the critters I encountered in the crater:

Baboon

Great white egret

Plains zebra

Wildebeest

Ostrich

Grant's gazelle

White rhino

Thomson's gazelle

African Cape buffalo

Warthog

Red-knobbed coot

Flamingo

Black-winged stilt

Hippo

Guinea fowl

Elephant

Crowned crane

African spoonbill

Pink-backed pelican

Gray heron

Lion

Jackal

Kori bustard

Eland

Cattle egret

Taveta weaver

Fan-tailed widowbird

Hyena 

Just to be clear:  I was in this crater for maybe 5 hours. Incredible.  It was kinda like I was in the biggest zoo in the world except all the animals are roaming around free and I’m encaged in a jeep and they’re gazing at me with mild disinterest.

Stay tuned for another Tanzanian national park, and another stupidly long list of animals sighted.