Tarangire National Park
Tanzania, July 2015
Day 2 – 14 Jul: Arusha – Tarangire National Park (Mawe Ninga Camp)
At the airport of Arusha we were welcomed by Chris, our guide. As we arrived fairly late in the afternoon we had to stay the night in a nearby lodge, before heading out for the bush. It wasn’t a bad thing, as we were fairly tired from the relative long trip from Bali…
Day 2 – 14 Jul: Arusha – Tarangire National Park (Mawe Ninga Camp)
We left Arusha early morning, very excited to get to our first destination and real safari drive, at the Tarangire National Park. But first some real sights and sounds of Africa, along the way to the park.
We reached the gate of the park in about 2 hours. The park is located between the meadows of the Masai Steppe to the south east and the lakes of the Great Rift Valley to the north and west. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire River that crosses the park and is a primary source of fresh water for wild animals during the annual dry season. The varied landscape is composed of granite ridges, the river valley and swamps, and rolling hills covered in a mix of woodland, grassland and baobab trees.
After the entrance formalities our real safari could start and we would make our way slowly through the park down south, to our safari camp, where we would spend the next 2 nights.
The sun was slowly setting and we had to rush to camp now, as you have to arrive before sunset. We were also promised great views from the camp, so that sounded a good way to end our first day on safari.
Day 3 – 15 Jul: Tarangire National Park (Mawe Ninga Camp)
Today a full day safari, starting with the marshes on the Tarangire river banks in the south and then slowly through the surrounding woodlands, valleys and grassy plains in a large loop back to camp.
Of course with the leopard with kill sighting early morning the day was already perfect and we knew we had an amazing driver-guide. Satisfied we made our way back to camp, just before sunset, for some sundowners right in front of our tent. This is Africa..!
Day 4 – 16 Jul: Tarangire – Lake Eyasi (Tindiga Camp)
We still had a morning game drive, before we had to make our way out of the park and to our next destination.
And that was Tarangire National Park, a great start of our trip. The landscape is spectacular, and very diverse. During the dry season the river attracts a lot of wildlife from the wide surroundings, particularly a lot of elephants, wildebeest and zebra. The highlight was certainly the leopard, but we were also pleased to have seen our first lions.
Mawe Ninga Camp
Mawe Ninga Camp is an intimate naturally-styled charming tented camp, with an impressive position high on a kopje in the west of Tarangire National Park. It is overlooking the soda lake of Lake Burungi, with Lake Manyara in the far distance. The views from the tents as well as restaurant and deck are spectacular and sundowners around the campfire are as Africa as it can get! We spend 2 nights here, which gave us a full day to explore some of the more remote corners of the park.
