Ngorongoro Conservancy
Lake Manyara National park
Tarangire National park
Serengeti National
park
Olduvai Gorge
Arusha National
Park
A million plus
wildebeest
following in an ancient rhythm, fulfilling a lifelong cycle
of life. A three-week frenzy bout of territorial conquests,
mating and survival of the fittest as 40km (25 mile) long
columns plunge through crocodile-infested waters of rivers
on the annual exodus north to the
Masai mara in Kenya. On the way, the specie replenishing
itself in a brief population explosion that produces more
than 8,000 calves daily before the 1,000 km (600 mile)
pilgrimage begins again.
Serengeti is Tanzania's oldest and most
popular national park and a world heritage site. Recently
proclaimed the 7th natural wonder of the world, the
Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when a million
plus hooves pound the open plains, including over 200,000
zebras and
300,000
Thomson's gazelles on a trek as old as life for fresh
grazing grounds. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the
Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating
game-viewing in Africa: great herds of
buffalo,
smaller groups of
elephant and
giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of
eland,
topi, kongoni,
impala and
Grant’s gazelle.
The spectacle of predator versus prey
dominates this Tanzanian great park. Gold maned
lion prides prey
on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary
leopards
hunting from the top of acacia trees lining the Seronera
River, while a high presence of
cheetahs prowls
the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African
jackal species are found here, alongside the
spotted hyena and
a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the
insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful
Serval cat.
But there is more to Serengeti than large
mammals. Gaudy agama lizards and rock hyraxes scuffle around
the surfaces of the park’s isolated granite koppies. A full
100 varieties of dung beetle have been recorded, as have
500-plus bird species, ranging from the outsized ostrich and
bizarre secretary bird of the open grassland, to the black
eagles that soar effortlessly above the Lobo Hills.
As enduring as the game-viewing is the
liberating sense of space that characterises the Serengeti
Plains, stretching across sun burnt savannah grass lands to
a shimmering golden horizon at the end of the horizon. Yet,
after the rains, this golden expanse of grass is transformed
into an endless green carpet flecked with wildflowers. And
there are also wooded hills and towering termite mounds,
rivers lined with fig trees and acacia woodland stained
orange by dust.
The popular Serengeti is so vast that at some
point you may be the only human audience when a pride of
lions masterminds a siege, focused unswervingly on its next
meal.
Size: 14,763 sq km (5,700 sq miles).
Location: 335km (208 miles) from Arusha,
stretching north to Kenya and bordering Lake Victoria to the
west.
Scheduled and charter flights from Arusha,
Lake Manyara and Mwanza.
Drive from Arusha, Lake Manyara, Tarangire or
Ngorongoro Crater.
Hot air balloon safaris, walking safari,
picnicking, game drives, bush lunch/dinner can be arranged
with hotels/tour operators. Masai rock paintings and
musical rocks.
Visits to the neighbouring Ngorongoro Crater,
Olduvai Gorge, Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano and Lake Natron's
flamingos.
To follow the wildebeest migration,
December-July. To see predators, June-October.
Five lodges, six luxury tented camps and camp
sites scattered through the park and one luxury camp, a
lodge and two tented camps just outside the park.
The route and timing of the wildebeest
migration is unpredictable. Allow at least three days to be
assured of seeing them on your visit - longer if you want to
see the main predators as well.
Stretching some 50km along the base of the
rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake
Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting exclaimed by Ernest
Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”.
The compact game-viewing circuit through
Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari
experience.
From the entrance gate, the road winds
through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest
where hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along
the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the
ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily through
the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk
cacophonously in the high canopy.
Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest
is the grassy floodplain and its expansive views eastward,
across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks
that rise from the endless Masai Steppes. Large
buffalo,
wildebeest and
zebra herds congregate on
these grassy plains, as do
giraffes – some so dark in
coloration that they appear to be black from a distance.
Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of
acacia woodland is the favored haunt of Manyara’s legendary
tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants.
Squadrons of banded mongoose dart between the acacias, while
the diminutive Kirk’s
dik-dik forages in their
shade. Pairs of klipspringer are often seen silhouetted on
the rocks above a field of searing hot springs that steams
and bubbles adjacent to the lakeshore in the far south of
the park.
Manyara provides the perfect introduction to
Tanzania’s birdlife. More than 400 species have been
recorded, and even a first-time visitor to Africa might
reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in one day.
Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their
perpetual migration, as well as other large waterbirds such
as pelicans, cormorants and storks.
About Lake Manyara National Park
Size: 330 sq km (127 sq miles), of which up
to 200 sq km (77 sq miles) is lake when water levels are
high.
Location: In northern Tanzania. The entrance
gate lies 1.5 hours (126km/80 miles) west of Arusha along a
newly surfaced road, close to the ethnically diverse market
town of Mto wa Mbu.
By road, charter or scheduled flight from
Arusha, en route to Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
Game drives, night game drives, canoeing when
the water levels is sufficiently high.
Cultural tours, picnicking, bush
lunch/dinner, mountain bike tours, abseiling and forest
walks on the escarpment outside the park.
Dry season (July-October) for large mammals;
Wet season (November-June) for bird watching,
the waterfalls and canoeing.
One luxury treehouse-style camp, public
bandas and campsites inside the park.
One luxury tented camp and three lodges
perched on the Rift Wall outside the park overlooking the
lake.
Several guesthouses and campsites in nearby
Mto wa Mbu.
This is the
closest national park near Arusha town (the northern
Tanzania’s safari capital). Arusha National Park is often
overlooked by safari goers, despite offering the opportunity
to explore a diversity of habitats within a few hours.
The entrance gate leads into shadowy montane forest
inhabited by inquisitive blue monkeys and colorful turacos
and trogons – the only place on the northern safari circuit
where the acrobatic black-and-white
Columbus monkey is easily
seen. In the midst of the forest stands the spectacular
Ngurdoto Crater, whose steep, rocky cliffs enclose a wide
marshy floor dotted with herds of
buffalo and
warthog.
Further north, rolling grassy hills enclose the tranquil
beauty of the Momela Lakes, each one a different hue of
green or blue. Their shallows sometimes tinged pink with
thousands of flamingos, the lakes support a rich selection
of resident and migrant waterfowl, and shaggy
waterbucks display their
large lyre-shaped horns on the watery fringes.
Giraffes glide across the
grassy hills, between grazing zebra herds, while pairs of
wide-eyed
dik-dik dart into scrubby
bush like overgrown hares on spindly legs.
Although elephants are uncommon in Arusha National Park, and
lions absent altogether, leopards and spotted hyenas may be
seen slinking around in the early morning and late
afternoon. It is also at dusk and dawn that the veil of
cloud on the eastern horizon is most likely to clear,
revealing the majestic snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro,
only 50km (30 miles) distant.
But it is Kilimanjaro’s unassuming cousin, Mount Meru - the
fifth highest in Africa at 4,566 metres (14,990 feet) – that
dominates the park’s horizon. Its peaks and eastern foot
slopes protected within the national park, Meru offers
unparalleled views of its famous neighbor, while also
forming a rewarding hiking destination in its own right.
Passing first through wooded savannah where buffalos and
giraffes are frequently encountered, the ascent of Meru
leads into forests aflame with red-hot pokers and dripping
with Spanish moss, before reaching high open heath spiked
with giant lobelias. Everlasting flowers cling to the alpine
desert, as delicately-hoofed klipspringers mark the hike’s
progress. Astride the craggy summit, Kilimanjaro stands
unveiled, blushing in the sunrise.
About Arusha National Park:
Size: 552 sq km 212 sq miles).
Getting there
An easy 40-minute drive from Arusha. Approximately 60 km (35
miles) from Kilimanjaro International Airport. The lakes,
forest and Ngurdoto Crater can all be visited in the course
of a half-day outing at the beginning or end of an extended
northern safari.
NOTE: Mountain Climbing Permits duration time is 12 HOURS.
What to do
Forest walks, numerous picnic sites;
three- or four-day Mt Meru climb - good acclimatisation for
Kilimanjaro.
When to go
To climb Mt Meru, June-February although it may rain in
November.
Best views of Kilimanjaro December-February.
Accommodation
Two lodges, two rest houses, camp sites, two mountain huts
inside the park; more lodges at Usa River outside the park
and many hotels and hostels in Arusha town.
The fierce sun sucks the moisture from the
landscape, baking the earth a dusty red, the withered grass as
brittle as straw. The Tarangire River has shriveled to a shadow
of its wet season self. Choked with wildlife, thirsty nomads
wander hundreds of sun scotching kilometers to the Tarangire for
water.
Herds of up to 300 elephants can be seen
scratching the dry river bed for underground streams, while
migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle,
hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It's the
greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti
ecosystem - a haven for predators – and the one place in
Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately
fringe-eared
Oryx and peculiar long-necked
Gerenuk are regularly observed.
During the rainy season, the seasonal visitors
scatter over a 20,000 sq km (12,500 sq miles) range until they
exhaust the green plains and the river calls once more. But
Tarangire's mobs of
Eephant are easily encountered,
wet or dry. The swamps, tinged green year round, are home to the
550 bird varieties found here, the most breeding species in one
habitat anywhere in the world.
On the drier ground you will find the Kori
bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich,
the world's largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills
blustering like turkeys.
More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open
for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colorful yellow-collared
lovebird, and the somewhat drabber Rufous-tailed weaver and ashy
starling – all endemic to the dry savannah of north-central
Tanzania.
Disused termite mounds are often frequented by
colonies of the endearing dwarf mongoose, and pairs of
red-and-yellow barbet, which draw attention to themselves by
their loud, clockwork-like duetting.
Tarangire's pythons climb trees, as do its lions
and leopards, lounging in the branches where the fruit of the
sausage tree disguises the twitch of a tail.
About Tarangire National Park
Size: 2850 sq km (1,096 sq miles).
Location: 118 km (75 miles) southwest of Arusha.
Getting there
Easy drive from Arusha or Lake Manyara following
a surfaced road to within 7km (four miles) of the main entrance
gate; can continue on to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.
Charter flights from Arusha and the Serengeti.
What to do
Guided walking safaris.
Day trips to Masai and Barabaig villages, as well
as to the hundreds of ancient rock paintings in the vicinity of
Kolo on the Dodoma Road.
When to go
Year round but dry season (June - September) for
sheer numbers of animals.
Accommodation
Two lodges, one tented lodge, two luxury tented
camps inside the park, another half-dozen exclusive lodges and
tented camps immediately outside its borders.
Several camp sites in and around the park.
Called the eighth wonder of the world and
stretching across some 8,300 sq km, the Ngorongoro Conservancy
in northern Tanzania boasts a blend of landscapes,
wildlife, people and archaeology that is unsurpassed in Africa.
The volcanoes, grasslands, waterfalls and mountain forests are
home to an abundance of animals and to the Masai.
Ngorongoro Crater is one of the world's greatest natural
spectacles, its magical setting and abundant wildlife never fail
to enthrall visitors. It borders the Serengeti National Park to
the north and west. A few hours drive to the east takes you to
the town of Arusha which nestles at the foot of Mount Meru,
within view of Mount Kilimanjaro. Arusha is known as the gateway
to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Northern Parks.
Located in the eastern Serengeti in northern
Tanzania within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is The
archaeological site of Olduvai Gorge. The gorge is a steep sided
4 to 8- kilometre (30 mile) long ravine, which forms part of the
Great Rift Valley. It is situated on a series of fault lines
which, along with centuries of erosion, has revealed fossils and
remnants of early humankind.
About Olduvai Gorge
Excavations in the early twentieth century by the
famous archaeologist, Dr Louis Leakey, uncovered some of the
earliest remains of fossil hominids at Olduvai.
Seventeen years after the first discovery of human forms,
Leakey’s wife, Mary, discovered the unmistakable fossilised
footprints of a human ancestor who had walked along a riverbank
three million years ago. Since then, excavators working in
Olduvai have found skeletal remains of a number of ancient
hominids – Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Australopithecus
Boisei. Old campsites and what is believed to be a butchery
site, as well as a loosely built circle of lava blocks was also
found suggesting that crude shelters were also built here. Other
findings include hunting weapons, basic tools and remains of
dead animals once killed by humans.
The name Olduvai originated from a European misspelling of
Oldupai, the correct Masai word for this region of great
historical importance – named after the wild sisal plant fibre
growing in abundance in the gorge.
There is also a museum where visitors can listen to lectures and
see visual representation of the discoveries made in the region.
Kenya