Today was our first day on safari and our driver and safari guide Omare picked us up at the hotel early. 

Our safari began in Tarangire National Park which is considered one of the most interesting places in Tanzania. From there we would drive further and further into the depths of Tanzania and the Serengeti.

The Tarangire river flows through the park, many animals like Elephants,  zebras, buffaloes and antelopes come to drink.

In the dry season, the Tarangire River becomes the only source of drinking water for many kilometers around. Because of this, large herds of elephants come to Tarangire, making Tarangire the home to the largest population of elephants in Northern Tanzania for most of the year. 

This of course also attracts predators, which is why there are a lot of lions in the Tarangire park.

Tarangire National Park is also known for its ancient baobab trees. These massive trees are larger and older than any other park in continental Africa. The scenery of the park along with these unique and majestic looking trees is simply stunning.

The Baobab tree is quite fascinating, it has been carbon dated and is believed that it may live up to 3000 years old. The trunk of the tree can be very large. The largest circumference on record is 47 meters. 

We came across many Baobab trees throughout our time on the safari.  The trunk of the tree stores large amounts of water. Elephants chew the bark during the dry season for the water. 

Elephants are not at all intimidated by the safari vehicles and they often come quite close to the cars. Since elephants have no enemies in their natural habitat they are curious and unafraid.

As we were driving through the park towards the Ngorongoro Crater.  We stopped part way along the way at a gift store called Safariland.

They had pieces of art and wood carvings for sale made from local Ebony.

There was a local carver doing work while we were there.

After driving in the Tarangire Park for most of the day we reached our first stop for the night. The Ngorongoro Marera Mountain view Lodge was a surprise to us. We didnt expect it to be as nice as it was.

Our room was large and there was even a large ensuite washroom.

We spent the evening enjoying the lodge common area.

We had a great meal and while we were eating we could hear the nearby elephants as they walked pass our lodge.

Here is a short video of some of the highlights of the day.

It was a great first day and we were looking forward to tomorrows adventures.

“Maisha huanza mwishoni mwa eneo lako la faraja”