Tarangire Safari (Manyara, Tanzania)

 With my dreams of summiting the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro drenched in the dangers of high elevation sickness, I find myself with a couple of days at Lindrin Lodge before the rest of my group returns. At one of my friend's suggestion, I decided to arrange a one-day safari to Tarangire National Park.

My driver/guide arrived to pick me up bright and early at 6:00am and we quickly headed out along the three-and-a-half hour drive to our destination. As this was last minute and not originally planned, it's a private safari with just myself and the guide, who is incredibly nice and knowledgeable. As with all travel so far in Tanzania, I'm treated to an African massage as we make our way over the dirt and stone roads towards the park, but I'm able to see a lot of the country along the way, including several nomadic Maasai Villages. 

After we arrive at the park, my guide takes care of the necessary paperwork, while I apply a thick layer of sun screen and a park employee sprays our vehicle down with a tsetse fly repellant. I was warned not to wear black or blue as these colors attract the little beasts that carry sleeping sickness. 

With all of that done, we head into the park. While I often offer a lot of commentary in my writings, I think most of these pictures speak for themselves. The amount of mega-fauna living together in this one place is unbelievable to me. I didn't even think it possible for so many large animals to exist so close together. 

 

As we scan the horizon, my guide notices a lion lounging across a large tree branch just lazing the day away. Lions conserve their energy during the warm days and save up for the hunts, which mostly occur at night. In the distance, we spot another one and another one. Amazing!!!

                

After pulling alongside the river to watch a small family of elephants, consisting of two adults, two adolescents, and a baby, we're entertained by one of the adolescence is expresses significant frustration with a small white bird that keeps encroaching on her space. She runs the bird off, only for it to come right back and pester her again. I'm sure it's annoying to the young elephant, but it's actually quite comical to watch.

             

With our time here nearing it's end, we drive into one of the designated picnic areas to enjoy our boxed lunch. While doing so, my guide warns of the quick and clever velvet monkeys, which congregate here right around lunch time in the hope of snatching a tasty morsel. Just as he explains this to me, we see a coordinated attack at one of the nearby tables. One monkey jumps up and runs across the table grabbing an apple as he passes by. At the same time, a second monkey takes advantage of the surprised picnics at a neighboring table to grab a juice box and run back up a nearby tree. It takes him a while to figure it out, but eventually, he gets to the good stuff inside.

Honestly, this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Seeing all of these beautiful animals in their natural environment, instead of enslaved at a city zoo is so refreshing. I can only hope we have the wisdom to protect them and the environments they need to survive like this. For now, I will have to just take the memories with me.