Tarangire National Park is one of the best locations to see wildlife in Tanzania during the dry season, as the waters of the Tarangire River attract both birds and game.

 

Amongst the elephant grass and acacia trees by the river, the wildlife of Tarangire National Park come to drink, and wash. Perhaps the biggest surprise, literally, will be the number of elephants here, enjoying the water and generally splashing about in great numbers. Close, but not too close, lions come to the water's edge, perhaps a lioness teaching her cubs about water, as they splosh, most uncat-like, across the muddy banks. In fact, the Tarangire National Park seems to be a lion's playground, as they can also be spotted lounging about on the roads and tracks.

 

The Tarangire National Park is also a birdwatcher's heaven, the sheer diversity of species distracting your eye from the four-footed residents with flashes of colour, strange calls or sheer magnificence. Storks stand sentinel of tall palms, whilst fish eagles swoop alongside. Palmnut vultures sit hunched in the trees waiting for fate to provide a carcass meal, while smaller birds flit amongst the massive trunks and spindly limbs of the baobab trees.

 

© 2009 Kirsty Young