Tanzania's Tarangire National Park

by Leigh Kemp, 29 November 2007

Tanzania's Tarangire National Park

Storms were breaking all around, cleansing the air with their invigorating first-rain scent.

At times the sun broke through the storm clouds enhancing the beauty of the place. Baobabs littered the horizon while others played in the valleys.

A herd of elephants on the river seemed irrelevant to the scene until my soul settled into the place. It was then that the magic of Tarangire revealed a part of itself to me and the elephants and baobabs became the rhythm.

In Tanzania there is a park that has stood in the shadow of the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti for many years, only now gaining some sort of reputation in the safari scene.

Many of the reserves and national parks of Africa have a distinguishing feature, be it endless plains, a river or mountain, unique wildlife or simply a wide variety of species.

Tarangire combines all these features into one, but this combination is not the distinguishing factor of the park. Baobabs and elephants dominate an almost indomitable beauty.

Baobabs and Elephants

Baobabs and elephants, the giants of the African wilderness, move to a pulse in Tarangire. It is here in Tarangire that the wisdom of the earth is expressed through these two carriers of wisdom.

A baobab can survive a great deal of stress from elephants, even continuing to grow while lying on the ground after toppling over. A baobab with a hole through its centre, carved by elephants seeking moisture, is one of the examples in the park of how the two species are linked.

The Tarangire River attracts vast numbers of animals during the dry season, with zebra and wildebeest using the river as a refuge. The danger to these animals is the concentration of predators during the time they are frequenting the park. The park is renowned for the large herds of elephants during the dry season.

On my last visit I was awed at the number of game in the presumed off-season. Elephant herds were everywhere and we also saw many zebra and wildebeest, all against a backdrop of ancient baobabs.

Bird Species Abound at Tarangire

With a range of habitats from marshes to grassland, Tarangire evidently boasts the largest number of bird species breeding in one single area, according to the guides in the area. I have not been able to confirm this statement but after seeing all that Tarangire is, I have no doubt it is true.

With its accessibility to Arusha and the great wilderness areas of Ngorongoro and Serengeti, it is surprising that an area of such possibility has been overlooked by safari-goers in the past.

It is the perfect combination, with Lake Manyara, for the two destinations. Although Tarangire is less well known than the other parks in Tanzania, this is one of its greatest attractions.

With fewer vehicles and people visiting the area, your African safari experience will be all that more personal.

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