Shine Your Light: Safari in Tanzania

Going on Safari was a dream come true for me. African Scenic Safaris is the company we went with. There were 6 of us from Hostel Hoff as well as our guide, John and cook Charles AKA Mr. Delicious. We had about a 5 hour drive before arriving at our first stop in Lake Manyara.

About Lake Manyara National Park
Size: 330 sq km (127 sq miles), of which up to 200 sq km (77 sq miles) is lake when water levels are high.
Location: In northern Tanzania. The entrance gate lies 1.5 hours (126km/80 miles) west of Arusha along a newly surfaced road, close to the ethnically diverse market town of Mto wa Mbu

Lunch prior to day 1 game drive in Lake Manyara

Cats we saw on day 1! :)

Stretching for 50km along the base of the rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”.

Lookout and entrance to Lake Manyara

The compact game-viewing circuit through Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience.

Enjoying the breeze on our face as we are on the lookout for wildlife.

From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest where hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk cacophonously in the high canopy.

Baboons and Blue Monkeys

Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest and zebra herds congregate on these grassy plains, as do giraffes – some so dark in coloration that they appear to be black from a distance.

Water Buffalo / Gazelle / Zebra

Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of acacia woodland is the favoured haunt of Manyara’s legendary tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants. Squadrons of banded mongoose dart between the acacias, while the diminutive Kirk’s dik-dik forages in their shade. Pairs of klipspringer are often seen silhouetted on the rocks above a field of searing hot springs that steams and bubbles adjacent to the lakeshore in the far south of the park.

Elephants!

Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s birdlife. More than 400 species have been recorded, and even a first-time visitor to Africa might reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in one day. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration, as well as other large waterbirds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks.

As we were leaving the park we were brought to a quick stop in the jeep by 2 gazelle's bouncing across the road followed by a wild hunting dog. Apparently it is extremely rare to see these dogs thus our guide told us we were a lucky group. It was so fast we only got a picture of it running away (I found the other photo on the internet :) )