| Ask about perfect wildlife destinations and a Tanzania | | | | like flamingos, avocets, stilts and plovers which |
| safari will be at or near the top of the list every time. | | | | throng the shallows of this soda lake. an excellent |
| But what about the national parks and game | | | | destination for any Tanzania safari. |
| reserves within the country itself? Which are the | | | | 3. Tarangire NP |
| best to visit because they can't all be equally good. | | | | This park is all about solitude, peace, quiet and |
| Well, the top five list below provides the answers to | | | | elephants. There are vast herds of the pachyderms |
| that. It's been set up by using objective travel diaries | | | | here sometimes numbering up to six hundred and |
| at the African Safari Journals website, my twenty | | | | also some really big buffalo herds. |
| years of safari experience, forums, travel magazines | | | | There are less tourists on a Tanzania safari here |
| and general consensus within the safari industry... | | | | because many of them stick to the Serengeti, |
| 1. Serengeti NP | | | | Ngorongoro circuit to the north which is their loss |
| One of the best safari parks in Africa bar none. The | | | | because the Tarangire National Park is a gem if you |
| wildlife viewing on a Tanzania safari here often | | | | visit at the right time. |
| borders on the spectacular aided by the fact that | | | | The dry season from June to September is the best |
| the vegetation is predominantly grassland which | | | | for wildlife viewing because that is when thousands |
| makes spotting animals from a distance considerably | | | | of animals congregate to drink the waters of the |
| easier. | | | | Tarangire river while they tend to disperse during the |
| The grassland is also able to sustain a multitude of | | | | wet season because there is water elsewhere. |
| herbivores like wildebeest, zebra and gazelle which in | | | | The birdlife here is also exceptional with over 550 |
| turn sustains a large population of predators to feed | | | | species recorded. Your chances of spotting python |
| on them so it's no surprise that the Serengeti is | | | | seem to more than even for some or other reason |
| often referred to as "big cat central". In the Masaai | | | | maybe because they have taken to climbing the |
| language Serengeti means "endless plain" which is | | | | trees in the area. |
| very close to the truth. | | | | Panoramic views of savannah grassland punctuated |
| Two extraordinary events occur here that make it | | | | by acacia and baobab trees make this an extremely |
| an even more remarkable place to take a tanzania | | | | picturesque park. Avoid it during the months of April |
| safari. The annual wildebeest migration and the birth | | | | and May which is when the heavy rains fall. |
| of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest foals. | | | | 4. Lake Manyara NP |
| The migration occurs as the massive herds of up to | | | | Ask anyone who has been on a Tanzania safari to |
| a million individuals begin their search for better | | | | Lake Manyara and they will probably tell you about |
| grazing by moving north. The exact timing is | | | | the amazing tree climbing lions who choose to sleep |
| dependant on the seasonal rains but they travel | | | | off the heat of the day on a branch rather then on |
| across the Serengeti en masse roughly between April | | | | the ground like other lions. |
| and August. | | | | Also the amazing birdlife that can be found around |
| In February - March, months before they begin their | | | | this lake like cormorants, pelicans, storks, egyptian |
| epic journey, the wildebeest give birth within a six | | | | geese, flamingos and huge flocks of quelea. |
| week period to hundreds of thousands of calves, | | | | The well known environmental writer Duncan |
| taking advantage of the sweet grazing available in | | | | Butchart recommends that "if a first-time bird |
| the Serengeti at that time. | | | | watcher to Africa visit only a single reserve in |
| They all foal at the same time to cause a glut of | | | | Tanzania, then this surely must be it". |
| prey opportunities for the predators who make full | | | | You will also find some rarer species here like the |
| use of the bonanza while they can. | | | | Olive baboon and Sykes monkey troops that lord it |
| 2. Ngorongoro Conservation Area | | | | over the forest and also all the usual suspect like |
| To call the Ngorongoro Crater amazing would be an | | | | elephant, crocodile, hippo, buffalo, antelope and |
| understatement as it ranks as one of the wonders | | | | leopard. |
| of the natural world because it is so unique. | | | | 5. Ruaha NP |
| Formerly a mountain which stood as tall as Kilimanjaro | | | | This park is one of Tanzania's best kept secrets and |
| it blew up in a volcanic upheaval causing the crater | | | | if the old tanzania safari hands could have their own |
| floor to sink and form the largest intact caldera in the | | | | way that's the way it would stay so that they could |
| world with walls 2200 metres high. | | | | keep its seclusion and isolation all to themselves. |
| Once it had cooled the rich pasture and permanent | | | | But the secret is out and more and more people are |
| water on the crater floor began to attract wildlife | | | | visiting the countries second largest national park to |
| and today around 30 000 individuals populate this | | | | immerse themselves in the varied landscape of wild |
| garden of Eden forming the most densely crowded | | | | fig and baobab trees and the excellent wildlife |
| game area in the world. | | | | spotting opportunities most notably of packs of wild |
| Here you will find a population of Tanzania's few | | | | dog. |
| remaining black rhinos and a healthy collection of | | | | Ruaha also has a number of fearsome lion prides |
| predators like lion, cheetah and the odd leopard and | | | | capable of reducing a large male buffalo to a skeleton |
| of course the ubiquitous wildebeest, zebra and | | | | in a few hours and an impressive tally of antelope |
| Thompson's gazelle. | | | | species: Grants gazelle and Lesser Kudu at the south |
| What you won't find are herds of elephant because | | | | of their ranges and sable, roan and greater kudu to |
| they tend to prefer the forested highlands but the | | | | name a few. |
| bulls do sometimes venture to the crater floor. Also | | | | Your chances of seeing elephant on a Tanzania safari |
| absent are giraffe who like the acacia trees found | | | | here are excellent as there are more than 12 000 of |
| higher up and impala, orynx and topi that favour the | | | | them resident here and for the birders there are a |
| grassland plains of the Serengeti. | | | | high number of resident and migratory species |
| Lake Magadi is an irresistible attraction to water birds | | | | available to see. |