Tanzania 2012
After a long flight from Amsterdam, we finally arrive in Africa, specifically Kilimanjaro. We had no interest in climbing Kilimanjaro, I leave that to my brave friends. After clearing customs in Kilimanjaro, we meet 'Comfort', a very nice Tanzanian man holding a sign that says "Warfield X2". Comfort teaches us our first Swahili, and drives us away from the mountain to Onsea House B&B in Arusha for the night.
Swahili - EnglishKaribu - Welcome
Karibu Sana - You are very welcome
It was dark and raining when we arrived in Arusha, and it was dark when Comfort picked us up in the morning and drove us to Arusha Airport for our flight to Kuro Airstrip in Tarangire National Park. We were told we would be provided with all of our tickets for the internal flights, but apparently that's not how it works in Tanzania. Your name is on a list, they point at your name and ask if that's you, then you get on the plane and fly to your destination. Airports were very different here. We used some more Swahili and boarded the small plane.
Asante - Thank youAsante Sana - Thanks you very much
Tarangire National Park
Tarangire National Park is a quiet park lying just south of Lake Manyara and famous for its high concentration of elephants. It is a very seasonal park that becomes more active during the dry season when the area's animals all moves towards the Tarangire river and Silale swamp system. Similar in habitat to areas of Ruaha and Selous in Southern Tanzania, it offers a different landscape from the other Northern parks and is a welcome break from the busier parts of the Northern Circuit!
DAY ONE
Our plane touches down on a patch of dirt known as Kuro airstrip, the 12 passengers get off the plane, 10 of them head to two Land Cruisers waiting for them, and Norine and I head to the other, this is a good start. We are met by Ken from Oliver's Camp, after a quick hello we are immediately on a personal safari with the camp manager before heading to the camp.
Jambo - Hello
Secretary bird 
Superb Starling
Ground-Hornbill Lilac Breasted Roller
Impala male Impala female
Dik Dik African Elephant
Immediately we are struck by the variety of colourful birds, and within 15 minutes we have seen animals of all sizes; from the smallest antelopes, the Dik Dik, to the largest of the animals, the elephants... so many elephants.
Goliath Heron Not a clueLongtail Fiscal
Ostrich Another Impala
Another Bird Tawny Eagle
Banded Mongoose curious Warthog
Learning Swahili is focused on animals, such as learning that Warthogs are called "Ngiri", and we learn that River is "Tara", so Tarangire is "River of Warthogs" in Swahili. We quickly discover that the Impala is the most common animal of Africa, they are everywhere. So many different animals, too many to photograph. We even spot a family of hippos resting on the shore with their wee baby.
We spot a Tawny Eagle in a tree, and stop to admire it, when a calico coloured dog wanders out right in front of us, the very rare Wild Dogs of Africa. A whole pack of them are hiding in the trees and bushes around us.
Our first amazing game drive behind us, we arrive at Oliver's Camp to a greeting of a cool wet towel, a refreshing Iced Tea, and many Jambo's and Karibu's, wrapped up with a camp overview from the other camp manager Michelle. Michelle is upset that we have seen the Wild Dogs, two years in Tarangire, and she hasn't seen them yet. The overview starts with "There is no fences, always look ahead of, and around you, for wild animals, you will always be escorted once it is dark", it gets even better with "Under no circumstances should you run, if there is a wild animal, it only makes them think you are prey", awesome!
Our Tanzanian host Andrew shows us to our "Tent", one of 8 tents in the camp, all spaced well apart from each other.
Each tent comes with a small deck out front, and an outdoor star shower. We would spend a lot of quality time on our deck, looking out on the valley, bird spotting, and watching elephants and other wild animals wander by.
Red Billed Hornbill Not a Red Billed Hornbill
After a brief settling in, we head back to the main tent for lunch, walking past a group of elephants in the distance. Our first lunch was very good, it looks like food was not going to be a concern while "camping" in Africa. After lunch we head back towards our tent, but can't go any further as the Elephants are now blocking the path. We have to wait at a safe distance for them to move on, after 15-20 minutes they finally wander off into the bush, this is truly the wild.
Tembo - Elephant
After finally being able to get to our room, next up we head out for an afternoon safari with our assigned Masai guide Mizanga.
It's just Mizanga, Norine and I, as we head off into the wilderness. First stop, watch the Wild Dogs again for a while.
At 6:30 the sun goes down, and it is dark! Looking up at the skies, you can see billions and billions of stars, clearly visible is the Milky Way. After an amazing dinner around a large table with our hosts and the other guests, we are escorted back to our tent, where we must stay until it's light out again. Our first night's sleep in the wild is a little restless as there is a Lion wandering around the camp roaring, good thing we are safe and sound behind the canvas and mosquito netting of our tent!
DAY TWO
A huge transition for someone who is not a 'Morning Person' is sleeping in a tent that has open mosquito netting covering the entire front of the tent. The sun comes up at 6:30, and every goddamn bird and critter comes to life with it's chirps, whistles and oddball calls... OK, I'm awake! Rubbing my eyes, I look out the front of the tent to see Elephants and Water Buck wandering past the front of the tent. That's a nice way to wake up, and as Norine says, "it gives you a completely different perspective on zoos". We are the ones being looked at.
Our next morning was a different kind of adventure, a walking safari, a group of 5 of us walk with our guide Alex and a park ranger named Joseph, both armed with rifles. We all walk single file, one rifle at the front, one rifle at the back. We have specific rules; walk single file, talk in a low voice, and it is unacceptable to break from the group and run, regardless of the situation... awesome!
One story that Alex tells us is about the Ring Necked Dove, in the morning his call is "Work Harder", in the afternoon his call is "Drink Lager". Those phrases would stick with us the entire trip, because you hear the call of the Ring Necked Dove a lot in Tanzania.
Being on foot is very different, you notice a lot of things you wouldn't see if you were driving past, footprints, pieces of animal bones scattered about, bugs, even the small Praying Mantis cocoons and Millipedes.
Hammerkop Bee Eaters
As we are walking our way back towards the camp, we notice some Elephants coming in our direction, as we all stop to take some pictures, they start getting closer and closer. Alex gets a little excited (nervous), and encourages us to walk slowly out of their path. It's a little unnerving as they get closer and closer, staring at us, flapping their ears to let us know we are too close. Eventually we get enough distance and they move past where we were standing and up into the camp area.
We return safe and sound, waiting for us as we arrive, is some refreshing cold towels and drinks. After a delicious lunch we watch the colourful birds in the birdbaths, and watch the elephants herds wander past while resting up for another drive.
Having survived our walking safari and lunch, it was time to pile into the Land Cruiser for an afternoon drive with Mizanga.
Hartabeest Wildabeest
The graphic nature of the wild is brought home when we spot a Lion who has just killed an Ostrich that had got stuck in the mud. Ostrich are not a common food for Lions, and apparently they are not sure how to kill something that is all neck. It's a bit hard to watch her eating the ostrich when every few minutes the Ostrich tries to get up and run away. She was not going to let that happen.
Right behind this scene, a Honey Badger is wandering around the grasses looking for a meal, or waiting for the lion to leave.
Not having had enough of safari's, we signed up for the night drive with Mizanga, Alex is the spotter and Joseph is in the back with a rifle. Basically it is a game drive in the dark where Alex has a big spotlight and shines it around while Mizanga drives at 30 mph. When Alex sees glowy eyes, he tells Mizanga to stop, then shines his light on the animals. It's pretty amazing to see the different types of nocturnal animals; Bat Ear Foxes, Genet cat, Aardwolves, Gerenuk (cross between a giraffe and antelope), Honey Badgers, Jackals, and a Cerval Cat.
We also get a chance to see the Lion that took down the Ostrich again. Looking at animals at night is cool, but the pictures don't look very good. When I get back to camp we are talking about the animals we saw, and when I mention the Cervical cat I saw, I am told that I shouldn't look that up on Google... oops, I meant Cerval cat.
After dinner I am all excited about the idea of seeing eyes in the dark with my flashlight. When we get to our tent I stand on our deck and shine my flashlight into the darkness and see 15 pairs of glowing eyes looking back at me... Holy Crap! Shining the light around I realize a herd of Water bucks have gathered in front of our tent, and they are all staring at me.
The night noises are even more terrifying that night, as a pair of lions spent the entire night mating somewhere in the camp.
DAY THREE
Having enjoyed our last walking safari so much, we join Alex again for a wander in the bush. Although we didn't have quite the same excitement with the elephants, it was still interesting to learn there is more than just the Big 5, there is also a Little 5; Ant Lion, Rhino Beetle, Buffalo Weaver, Leopard Tortoise, and Elephant Shrew.
It's always interesting listening to Alex talk about Elephant Poo.
Golden Mongoose Battaleur Eagle
One of the odder looking trees is what the locals call the sausage tree, giant sausage like fruits hang down.
Jackal Warblers?
After our walk we spend another afternoon watching elephants wander by, and Water Buck checking us out.
In the afternoon, as it was our last Safari drive with Mizanga, he took us on a long drive to the site of the old Oliver's camp in hopes of seeing more animals. Right away I spot a large male Lion walking through the trees, and later on Norine spots a female Lion in the grass, she is sound asleep on her back with her legs up in the air. Even the Masai warrior is impressed that Norine spotted her. She's a large cat with a GPS collar so the rangers can track her movements in the park. Eventually she gets up and disappears into the tall grass.
The Secretary birds always travel in pairs, pecking at bugs, snakes and critters in the grass.
Eland Hartabeest
flock of Ostrich Hartlaub's Bustard
Our last night in Tarangire was a somewhat quiet night, no Lions roaring, but apparently a Honey Badger managed to break into one of our new friends tents, it opened the zipper and raided one of their bags to try and get their toothpaste. If you know what a Badger looks like you can imagine Annie's terror as this wild animal is in their tent, and her new husband is sound asleep through the whole thing.
DAY FOUR
After an amazing stay at Oliver's Camp, we say our good-byes and get introduced to Fred, our guide and driver for the next few days.
Fred will drive us North to Manyara Lake and Ngorongoro Crater, the drive out of the park is almost as interesting as the drive in.
Dik Dik Kori Bustard
Small Bee EaterLilac Breasted Roller
Cape BuffaloWeaver Nests
After watching a group of Olive Baboons and then checking out of the park with the Rangers, we say goodbye to Tarangire,
and get ready for the next part of our adventure.
