Safari :: Tarangire National Park
Tanzania! Safari!
Absolutely wonderful and amazing Tanzania. The safari was everything I dreamed it would be and more! I was never the kid who sat inside and read books… In fact, I remember the struggle of my parents trying to get me to read ANYTHING. To try and get me to read more, they even bought me a Sport Illustrated subscription with the condition that I had to read every issue cover-to-cover (didn’t happen). I didn’t read because I played outside! So, for a tomboy who grew up in Kentucky kicking around the tobacco fields and woods, looking for wild animals, caves, and adventure to relieve boredom every day, a safari in Africa is The Best Thing I’ve Ever Done.
Give me animals… Give me the Wild… Give me The Outside, sky, a full palette of stars, endless plains, strange trees, big birds, predators, prey, bugs, grass, sunrises…! Add to that the fact that it’s called “Game Hunting”, as our guide described, it is an actual game, where you are trying to find as much stuff as possible when you’re driving through the parks (think: Duck Hunt – meets – Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego – meets – Animal Crossing)… And it’s absolutely 100% The Lion King movie, which I must re-watch for the first time in 20 years as soon as possible. I mean, why haven’t I done this sooner!?
I was in a group with four other people, a Guide (who also drives), and a cook. I was lucky to have four really fun, cool people to be on the safari with😃 In this pop-top Land Rover:
big rig
cook, Jared + guide, Marko
I hadn’t heard of Tarangire before I was researching safaris in Tanzania, but it ended up being my favorite place I saw, with regards to the landscape. Green, rolling hills, and utterly beautiful.
this close
It is Galapagos-esque, in that the animals (especially the big ones) aren’t really afraid of the vehicles/people. There is no off-roading, and no getting out of the vehicle, for obvious reasons (except when Guide needs to pee..?). So, you have to keep your eyes peeled for animals hiding in the grass and trees nearby the road. It’s hit-or-miss: if the animals happen to be close to the road, then you get to see them, but if they happen to not be, then better luck next time. Tarangire was full of giraffes, elephants and impalas, some baboons. I was really impressed with the giraffes… they’re huge but also so graceful and beautiful against the backdrop of the field and sky.
baboons
baboon eating fruit from sausage tree😂
I couldn’t wait to see the baobab trees, with their enormous trunks and mysterious design. Each one is a work of art.
baobab tree!
The “Big Five” of the animal kingdom are: Lion, Rhino, Elephant, African Buffalo, and Leopard. The Big Five signifies the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt and kill on foot. Ultimately, we saw all of the Big Five, every one up close and personal, except for the rhino (which, since I got an on-foot surprise sighting of an Indian Rhino in Nepal, I didn’t really mind). The Indian Rhino is in the ‘vulnerable’ threatened conservation category, so probably the rarest animal I’ve ever seen in the wild. On the first day of the safari, we saw one of the Big Five: elephants.
That night, we camped near Lake Manyara, at a campsite that is by the River of Mosquitoes……………. yeah, it’s actually nicknamed that. What a great place to stick people in tents and fight out the night. Actually it wasn’t that bad. After I spent 30 minutes searching and killing the ones I found with my flashlight inside, I had one mosquito infiltrate my tent, an it didn’t cause too many problems.
And the next morning, we got a nice breakfast and were tanked up for the day of game driving and heading into the SERENGETI! OH JOY😍
field + livestock + Maasai
Next up: Serengeti and Meeting the Maasai
Hello, Africa.💛
First time ever in AFRICA. And the Safari? Best thing I’ve ever done.
But, before that, I had quite a time getting over my food poisoning illness I had in India. I left Chennai and had a 6 hour flight to Abu Dhabi, for a ~20 hour layover. My plan was to rent a car in Abu Dhabi, drive over to Dubai for the evening, and spend the night in Abu Dhabi before I got my next flight the following morning. That didn’t work because I was soooo sick feeling😟 Instead, I went to sleep in my hotel, and then later on decided to get a taxi to the closest hospital.
Since I don’t have travel insurance, I was wary of how much a nice, clean hospital in Abu Dhabi would cost. I checked in at the ER, and the man working the desk told me that I would have to pay out of pocket… overwhelmed and pretty out of it, I started to cry and walked away. It was one of those moments where, despite everything within me trying to keep it together, the emotions were too strong to control😢 As I was walking outside to find a taxi, the guy from the ER desk came running after me. He felt sorry for me. He told me how much it might cost out of pocket, which I hadn’t even asked about, and it wasn’t that much (all I had been thinking about was how much I know it costs to waltz up into the ER in the states without insurance, and I assumed it would cost way too much).
I was very grateful he came after me, and it was really nice of him to help me. He must’ve seen the desperation and pitifulness in my face😔 So, my UAE experience was this:
my first ever IV
fluids
abu dhabi
My first ever IV! Another first experience on this trip😂 And, actually, I think this is the first time I’ve ever been admitted to hospital as well… So, yeah. I’m very grateful that, without any insurance, the Emergency Room visit, two hours getting IV, doctors, and all antibiotics and medicine only cost $140. I can’t imagine what it would be in the states?
hospital pharmacy
Still not feeling good, but with at least my sanity restored, as I had some antibiotics to take, the next morning, I headed out of the UAE and into AFRICA. How excited I was, having it been my first time on the continent! A random chain of events led to my safari that I had booked months earlier to be cancelled, which meant that while sick and in no mood to plan, I had to plan a new safari. Oddly, it all worked out totally in my favor because it meant that I could change to a four-day safari instead of five, which gave me an extra day of rest and recuperation before my low-budget-tent-sleeping wilderness adventure. The following day, I had a flight to Arusha, which is one of the towns that most of the Serengeti safaris start from (Arusha and Moshi). While there for two days, I found a last-minute, much cheaper safari option that still did everything I wanted to do😃 Some good luck, yayyyy!
At my hotel in Arusha, I got to birdwatch, as the property butted up against a woodsy area in the back. Great Hornbills and sunbirds! I didn’t get a good pic of the hornbill, but this is what those beautiful weirdos look like:
great hornbill (not my photo)
I had never seen one of these before my trip – I saw my first one in Nepal:) And I also hung out with this friendly, metallic rainbowy sunbird:
sunbird
sunbird
And the next day, my safari was set to take off with this itinerary:
Day 1: Arusha to Tarangire National Park Game Drive + to Twiga Campsite
Day 2: Twiga Campsite to Lake Manyara + through Ngorongoro Crater + to Serengeti Game Drive (Nyani Campsite, to overnight in the MIDDLE OF THE SERENGETI, UNFENCED…..!)
Day 3: Serengeti Game Drive in morning + to Ngorongoro Crater (Simba Campsite)
Day 4: Ngorongoro Conservation Area Game Drive + back to Arusha
Next up: Safari! Maasai people! Africa! Best thing I’ve ever done.
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