Welcome to Tarangire
1.
Tarangire National Park
Located slightly off the main safari route,
Tarangire National Park is a lovely, quiet park in Northern Tanzania. It is
most famous for its elephant migration, birding and authentic safari
atmosphere.
The majority of travellers to the region
either miss out Tarangire altogether or venture into the park for a matter of
hours - leaving swathes of Tarangire virtually untouched!
With a game viewing area that is roughly
ten times the size of nearby Manyara NP and a concentration of game that is
exceptional from July through to October, this seasonal Tanzania safari park is
a little gem on the Northern safari circuit, especially if you love elephants!
Tarangire is the surprise package on the
Northern circuit. Often overshadowed by
the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire has huge concentrations of
animals in the peak months and a fraction of the visitor numbers of any of the
other Northern parks. From July through
to October safaris here are superb, and the atmosphere and habitats are
completely different from other parks.
Tarangire is surprisingly large, giving
visitors the quietest game viewing environment of all the parks in the
region. The South of Tarangire is
especially quiet, and lodges such as Swala and Oliver's Camp are the perfect
place to explore this remote area, and to really get away from any other
travellers. Overall, a superb little
park that offers great value compared to its neighbours and a seriously good
option for getting away from it all
The main activity in Tarangire is daytime
game driving, however, staying outside the park makes walking and night safari
a possibility. There are no boat safaris
on the rivers here but Oliver's Camp offers adventurous fly camping trips and
very good walking safaris. Both Oliver's
Camp and Swala have recently started night safaris within the park itself.
Tarangire: when to go
The game viewing from July through to
October is exceptional but for the remainder of the year the majority of game
migrates out of the park, onto the floor of the Rift Valley and to the grazing
grounds of the Masai steppe. As a
result, we would advise visitors not to expect high concentrations of game in
the off season months, but would still recommend travelling here to those who
want to avoid the crowds.
The Tarangire ecosystem, with the park as
its heart and soul, also has more than 700 resident lions and sightings are
common. Less visible, but nonetheless present are leopards and cheetahs. What
sustains them are large herds of zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, buffaloes and
other herbivores. With more than 450 bird species, some say that Tarangire is
the best birdwatching destination in Tanzania.
But this is one place where the wildlife
tells only half the story. Dominating the park's 2850 sq km, the great stands
of epic baobabs should be reason enough to come here, but there are also
sun-blistered termite mounds in abundance, as well as grassy savannah plains
and vast swamps. And cleaving the park in two is the Tarangire River, its
meandering course and (in some places) steep riverbanks providing a dry-season
lure for so many stirring wildlife encounters.
Tarangire National Park can be reached via
paved road south from Arusha in under two hours. Lake Manyara National Park is
only a 70 kilometre (43 mile) drive from Tarangire
2.
Flora and fauna
The park is famous for its high density of
elephants and baobab trees. Visitors to the park in the June to November dry
season can expect to see large herds of thousands of zebra, wildebeest and cape
buffalo. Other common resident animals include waterbuck, giraffe, dig dig,
impala, eland, Grant's gazelle, vervet monkey, banded mongoose, and olive
baboon. Predators in Tarangire include African lion, leopard, cheetah, caracal,
honey badger, and African wild dog.
Home to more than 550 bird species, the
park is a haven for bird enthusiasts.
The park is also famous for the termite
mounds that dot the landscape. Those that have been abandoned are often home to
dwarf mongoose.
In 2015, a giraffe that is white due to laicism
was spotted in the park. Current wildlife research projects in the park include
the Tarangire Elephant Project, Tarangire Lion Project, and Masai Giraffe
Conservation Demography Project.
Birds
With a range of environments and good game,
Tarangire's birdlife is also varied – and over 500 species have been recorded
here, including ashy starlings and large flocks of beautiful yellow-collared
lovebirds, both of which are endemic to Tanzania.
Vegetation
Tarangire's vegetation comprises of mostly
dry, open woodlands, which include thorny acacia thickets and lots of its
signature baobab trees. There are also some beautiful stands of acacia
tortillas trees (the flat-topped acacias which are so reminiscent of the film
Out of Africa) and the occasional palm tree. In the south of the park, amidst
these rolling woodlands, is a network of huge, flat swamps. These are
impassable during the rains, but dry to a uniform green during the rest of the
year.
3.
Animals
Think of Tarangire as part of a much larger
ecosystem, and you'll understand why its game varies with the seasons. From
November to May, much of the game leaves the park; herds of wildebeest and
zebra head north-west onto the floor of the Rift Valley, whilst many animals
disperse across the vast open areas of the Maasai Steppe. From around June to
October, it's dry and the game returns to Tarangire's swamps, and especially,
its river system. This is the best season for a game-viewing safari in
Tarangire, which can be excellent.
Particularly large numbers of elephant
herds congregate here, as do many wildebeest and zebra. There are also
substantial populations of impala, giraffe, eland and buffalo. Thompson's
gazelle, Coke's hartebeest, bohor reedbuck and both greater and lesser kudu are
found here. The localized and unusual gerenuk and fringe-eared oryx also occur
here, though in our experience they are seen exceedingly rarely. There are
still thought to be a few black rhinos in the park.
Lion are common throughout Tarangire, as
are leopard, whilst cheetah seem to favour the more open areas of the south.
Spotted hyena are always around, and whilst wild dog does sometimes pass
through; sightings of them are rare.
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