Here is the detail we received from our safari company for our safari today: After breakfast, you will make the short drive to Tarangire National Park. Tarangire is well known for its large elephant herds. From the open roof of the vehicle you will experience the seasonal swamps, savanna and Tarangire River in search of many animals including zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant and giraffe. It's possible that you will catch a glimpse of a lion stalking its prey or leopards watching and relaxing in the trees above.
It is hard to believe today is our last day on safari. It has been a magical experience. We have seen so many interesting things. This safari was the perfect length for us. Alison and I were talking last night and at the point it is no longer quite so magical every time we see a giraffe, it is probably for the best our time here is coming to an end. Then when we come back in a few years we will get to experience the magic all over again.
We drove for about an hour to reach Tarangire National Park. All along the way we passed Maasai settlements and saw many Maasai people herding their livestock. The people who live near the park have to deal with elephants eating their crops and predators eating their cattle. Richard told us it can be a hard life. There are many speed bumps along the road into Tarangire. The Maasai children will set up right by the speed bumps since they know we have to slow down and ask for food or money. Sometimes the livestock are also close to the road. We had to stop a couple of times to let the livestock cross.
Outside the gate to Tarangire is the skull of a elephant and a bunch of other elephant bones. The park rangers collect them when they see them throughout the park and bring them here. We stopped to take a look on our way in. There aren’t many things that can kill an elephant, according to Richard, so many of them die of old age when their teeth have decayed to the point they can no longer eat.
Tarangire was an interesting park. It famous for its baobab trees. They are quite striking. Tarangire has plentiful wildlife. Particularly herbivores. Right away we saw so many zebras and wildebeest. We also saw some interesting birds and other wildlife. We enjoy when Richard points out something interesting or teaches us more about a species, even if it isn’t big or flashy.
Magpie Shrike
Dazzle of Zebras
Namaqua Dove
Red-and-yellow Barbet
Common Reedbuck
Tarangire has a river, or maybe series of rivers that run through it. Richard said that during the rainy season it could be quite deep, but right now during the dry season it was more a series of large puddles. We made our way toward the river area.
On our way we dealt with Tsetse flies. They were quite unpleasant. Alison ended up getting bitten twice. I got one Tsetse fly bite. Poor Richard got bitten more than half a dozen times. The bite of the Tsetse fly is a sharp pain, similar to a shot. It then dissipates and is fine. Richard assured us this variety of Tsetse fly does not spread the sleeping sickness. Still whenever a Tsetse fly flew into our vehicle we zealously waved it out.
On our way to the river we came across a parade of elephants. Tarangire is known for its elephants. It is home to more than 4,000. We watched these elephants pull down tree branches and eat them. The grass in this area was so dry they preferred the foliage, but pulling it off of the trees can be a lot of work.
The moment in the video above below where the elephant stops to check out of safari vehicle made Richard a little worried. He was concerned the elephant might decide to try to get to the water in the radiator. Fortunately, the elephant just kept walking.
Down at the river we watched animals drink. The giraffe was one of our favorites because it has to spread its legs so wide to bend down and get water. It is quite the production to get a drink of water. We continued observing as many interesting animal behaviors as we could into the afternoon.
Various scavenger birds pick over a carcass
Common Ostrich (male)
Waterbucks
Alison didn't want to climb inside the baobab tree. I didn't mind. There were only bats hanging out inside.
Southern-ground Hornbill
Dwarf Mongoose
In the afternoon we came across a herd of elephants hanging out under a tree. They were avoiding the heat by crowding the shade. We watched for a while when to our surprise out popped a little baby elephant. It has been hiding in the group the whole time. We were delighted. We watched the baby and juvenile elephants play for a while. Then the elephants decided to walk down to the river for a drink. While they were down there they took turns wallowing in a mud pit. It was an impressive sight.
This baby elephant is so adorable
Elephants taking a mud bath
An elephant drinking water
We decided to eat our lunch in the vehicle while we watched this group of elephants down by the river. It was another great lunch location.
After lunch we continued to drive around Tarangire. We were trying to soak in every last minute. We saw more elephants, giraffes, ostriches, zebras, wildebeest, and even an owl and a monitor lizard. It was a very successful game drive.
Juvenile Wildebeest
Verreaux's Eagle-owl
Marabou Stork
Nile Monitor
Elephants have rubbed this tree with their tusks
Most of the baobab trees had no leaves because it is the dry season, but this one hadn't lost them yet
Flock of ostriches
Waterbuck
Ostrich taking a dust bath
Eventually our time was up and we exited the park. We stopped at a little shop on our way to buy a couple of small souvenirs. Then Richard took us to Arusha where we are spending the night. We got our results back for our Covid tests and they were negative so tomorrow we are heading to Uganda.
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