We’ve never seen so many big cats. More than 50 lions, cheetahs, and leopards over 6 days. Not to mention scores of elephants, Cape buffalo, and giraffes, and hundreds, probably thousands, of zebra, gazelles, and wildebeests. Oh, and while we’re at it, throw in some jackals, hyenas, scrub hares, mongooses, and countless species of weird and wonderful birds. The Tanzanian “northern circuit” has a lot to offer, and is no poor cousin to Kenya or South Africa when it comes to wildlife viewing.
We were so lucky to have an excellent driver/guide for our Tanzanian safari. Elisante with African Savannah Trekkers took us deep inside Tarangire National Park, along the rim and down across the floor of the massive caldera (crater) within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, out into the vastness of the Serengeti, and over to Manyara Lake National Park to see thousands of flamingos feeding in the lake. It was very hot and dry, animals were often gathered near rivers and waterholes — with any luck the heavy rains will start in a few days. March and April is a short but important rainy season here. Farmers around Arusha, our launching point, have tilled the soil and are waiting to plant corn and other crops as soon as the rain starts. In the meantime, on safari with the roof up for viewing means within minutes everything inside is covered in a layer of red dust and it is all you can taste. But we so enjoyed the 360 degree view!
Sometimes we would travel for an hour or two across the savannah along dirt tracks, dry grass and solitary trees as far as one could see — and then suddenly, under one of those lone trees would be gathered a family of cheetahs or a pride of lions (including one group of 18 lions and sleeping in the shade except for the rebel sitting in the tree!). Less frequently, someone will have spotted a leopard sleeping in a live or fallen tree, and soon other safari trucks would gather around, everyone hoping the leopard would get up and walk over. Eli was very patient with us; we hung out even after everyone else had given up on one leopard in particular, and sure enough, she stood up, stretched, and walked away for us.
One day out in the Serengeti we came across others watching three young cheetahs resting and playing under a tree not far from the road. In fact there were at least a dozen trucks lined up, but Eli pulled up so that we would have a very clear view of the family; the mom was resting on the other side of the tree. Two of the cheetahs wandered into the middle of all the trucks, but then one seemed to be watching something behind us all. We swung around to see a jackal running parallel to the road and before we knew it the cheetah was dashing up the road ahead of us. We then realized they were chasing a young gazelle and soon all three young cheetahs had joined the chase. Eli quickly repositioned the truck to give us a front row view of the brave little gazelle running back and forth across the road as the cheetahs played cat and mouse with it. Unfortunately, all this commotion attracted the attention of a passing hyena, who dashed past the cheetahs, grabbed the gazelle, and trotted off with lunch.
It was amazing to witness extended families of elephants grazing and drinking water from the river, and so much fun to watch baby elephants playing with each other in the mud. It was awesome to see hundreds and thousands of zebra, gazelles, and wildebeests watching out for each other scattered across the landscape (although we were told the zebras are quite smart, and during migration let the wildebeests cross crocodile-infested waters first!). And so many flamingos!
Save up your shekels and plan now to go on safari in Tanzania, you’ll be glad you did!