Arusha National Park

Located just a short drive from Arusha Town, lies the national park that bears the same name.. Arusha National Park is the most accessible national park of the Northern Circuit in Tanzania & the perfect place for a day trip or as the first ór last stop on a longer itinerary. At just 552 square kilometres, Arusha NP is a small park with a lot to see.

 

Arusha NP has a rich diversity of landscapes, ranging from open savannah through acacia scrubland to rainforest & eventually, to alpine conditions on the higher reaches of Mt. Meru.

 

Arusha NP has diverse wildlife that includes herbivores such as elephants, hippos, buffalo, zebra, & even the occasional wildebeest, The National Park is also home to the world’s largest population of giraffes. The swamps, rainforest & lakes attract many beautiful birds including silvery-cheeked hornbill & pink-hued flamingos. This park is also the only place in northern Tanzania where you can easily spot the black-&-white colobus monkey.

Blue monkey

Olive Baboon

Warthog

Flamingos which we were so happy to see after the limited numbers at Lake Manyara

Bushbuck

Red Duiker

Saddle bill stork

Tarangire National Park

The Tarangire River traverses across the park & serves as the name source of the national park.  The river is also the leading source of water for wildlife.  The renowned Serengeti Migration of wildebeest & zebras migrates through this area..

Tarangire is comprised of grasslands, granite rock formations, the lush river valley along the Tarangire River, swamps, and varied woodlands made of Acacia and Combretum.  The many large baobab trees blanket the area & add to the stunning landscapes.

Some of the other wildlife found in the park include baboon, cape buffalo, dik-dik, eland, gazelle, giraffe, impala, mongoose, vervet monkey, wildebeest, & zebra & tree-climbing lions.  It is also a spectacular place for bird watching with over 550 species.

Termite mounds are common &  part of the African landscape.  There are numerous termite mounds spread across the region & their addition to the landscape is something the park is well-known for. 

The Tarangire River draws animals in abundance & from all walks during the dry season.  The population & accessibility to wildlife around the river during the dry seasons competes with the wildlife of Ngorongoro.

We had terrible tsetse flies assault us we entered the park during the late afternoon nearing dusk. Our fly swishers were kept busy in a flurry, The bites may prompt intense itching & redness & are quite miserable despite having applied DEET spray or wipes as a deterrent..

There are billions of wildflowers blooming, carpeting the lush green grasses & trees with fragrant blossoms. 

Beautiful bull elephant 

Some of the tree-climbing lionesses seen. Males rarely climb because they are too heavy

Straw-tailed Whydah

Yellow-necked spur fowl 

African hornbill

female Sand Grouse

Sand grouse pair with male on the right

Impala

 

Olive baboon harvesting flowers

Another lilac breasted roller- such beautiful little birds 

Dik-dik, the smallest of the antelopes

baby Dik-dik

Mama & baby

Kwaheri to Lake Manyara National Park & Habari to Tarangire National Park

Described by Ernest Hemingway as the ‘loveliest I had seen in Africa’, Lake Manyara National Park is situated on the Western escarpment of the Rift valley. It is home to lesser flamingos, tree-climbing lions, Sykes’ Blue monkeys, Olive baboons & one of Africa’s highest concentrations of elephants. 

 Located in the Arusha Region of Northern Tanzania, Lake Manyara is the centerpiece of the Lake Manyara National Park.. Designated as a national park in 1960 (2nd in the country after the Serengeti). Initially it was 330 square km in size, but currently encompasses 520 square km. Lake Manyara National Park is home to a diverse range of stunning landscapes including marshland, dense acacia woodland & steep rocky slopes.  In years of normal rainfall levels, the Lake covers about 2/3 of the park’s area. After a leisurely breakfast & getting our duffles out to load up the Land Cruisers, we gathered in the lobby before departing. Today we said "kwaheri" or goodbye to Ngorogoro as we head to Lake Manyara. It had rained almost continuously since 11 pm last night & was still coming down steadily. It was very foggy/misty as we left & there was no view of the crater at all. So fortunate to have spent the day before in the caldera.   With the extraordinary amounts of rainfall this year, the lake is 1.5 times its normal size & many local communities have had to relocate. The lake is currently very silted up with runoff from farms at higher elevation & the red clay soil has tinged the lake water red. The significant amount of rainfall has altered the character of the lake from  a soda lake  with alkaline waters (preferred by flamingos) & pelicans, to a more fresh water one effectively limiting the numbers of these species inhabiting the park currently. Lake Manyara is home to over 400 species of birds, & is a paradise for bird enthusiasts. The park also contains Cape buffaloes, zebras, antelopes, wildebeests & the world's largest concentration of baboons.

Olive baboon 

 

Blue Sykes monkey

Red & Yellow barbet

We have said goodbye to Ngorogo & "Habari" or hello to Tarangire National Park