This 2-day trip has taken us to two of Tanzania’s most famous safari destinations: Tarangire National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Both are not too far from Moshi, which is located in the northeast of Tanzania and at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. The first safari day was dedicated to Tarangire, the sixth-largest national park in Tanzania, after Ruaha, Serengeti, Mikumi, Katavi, and Mkomazi.
Departing at 7 am from the Moshi volunteer house, we arrived at Tarangire around 11 am. Right at the entrance of the park, we already spot the Vervet Monkeys jumping around the trees. They didn’t seem afraid of humans, which made it a great chance to get close to them and take pictures. However, please remember not to feed them, as the disruption of their diets might result in illness. Also, close the doors and windows of your safari car, as they might jump in.
And then, the real game started!! Because it was the beginning of the rainy season at the time we visited, we saw vibrant vegetation in the area, with numerous signature baobab trees. At the lunch site, we also had the opportunity to overlook the Tarangire River, which runs through the park and continually nourishes the habitat. Although dry season (from June to October) is always advised as the best time for game watching and the abundant vegetation this time makes it less suitable for spotting wildlife, still, we were able to see lots of animals, including lions, elephants, giraffes, ostrich, hyena and some other small animals.
Our safari guide, Godlove, was doing a great job spotting animals from a distance, and all the guides were communicating with each other to share the locations of the animals. One impressive moment in Tarangire was when we saw a bunch of elephants walking past us. They were so gentle and so close to us, and some of them even stopped at a pond in front of us for a mud shower. Throughout the whole trip here, we have seen at least four groups of elephants, no wonder Tarangire is also called the ‘home of elephants’. The number of elephants in the park can even go up to 3,000 during peak season!
After spending a night at the hostel in Karatu, we continued our adventure the next day to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). NCA is a conservation site named after the Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera within the area. The area features multiple land uses, with wildlife coexisting alongside Maasai pastoralists practising traditional livestock grazing. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, recognising both its natural and cultural values.
Ngorongoro offers an entirely different experience compared to Tarangi, while the open savannah view allowed us to spot animals easily and get extremely close to them: lions, elephants, zebras, wildebeests, gazelles, buffaloes, flamingos, warthogs, and hyenas… You name it. We even spotted black rhinos, which are extremely rare, with fewer than 30 in the area. Apart from the dense animal population, the landscape of Ngorongoro is also stunning, featuring short grass plains, highland catchment forests, high open moorlands, and savanna woodlands. We also saw the Masaii people grazing their livestock not far from where the animals are, including even lions! It was amazing to see how the area harmonises natural wildlife and human habitation.
This 2-day safari trip provided us with a glimpse of African wildlife. It was a shame that we couldn’t see all the big five this time, but then we’ll have another reason to come back again, right?
