Tanzania Big Game Safari Trip Report
Bluewater Photo Group Trip - August 2022
Words and pictures by Craig Dietrich
After long plane rides and a good nights sleep at a hotel, our group left Arusha (the safari capital of Tanzania) and made our way to our first destination: Tarangire National Park. Covering 2,850 square kilometers (1,100 miles), the park is the home of the Tarangire River, which is the main source of water for the parks residents during the dry season. Tarangires landscape is dotted with the majestic baobab trees, also known as the upside down tree, which can grow as tall as 100 feet tall and have a single trunk (or multiple trunks) measuring up to 10 km (33 feet) in diameter. While in Tarangire, we witnessed multiple elephant families (including baby elephants who love to play in the mud!), lots of zebras, African cape buffalo, giraffes - and our first leopard of the trip!
After two action-packed days in Tarangire, we made our way west to the famous Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Ngorongoro Craterformed two to three million years agoit is the worlds largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera. Our guests were all blown away at seeing the massive expanse of the crater and the surrounding area. The wildlife was plentiful- hundreds of flamingo, wildebeest, serval cats (a first for me!), and even a lion couple mating!
From Ngorongoro, we headed to the Serengetihome to the great migration! The Serengeti National Park covers 15,000 square kilometers (approximately 9,400 square miles, larger than the state of New Jersey!) and I was excited for the guests to experience the differences in landscapes and animal life from the southern to the northern Serengeti. The magic began pretty early, with sightings of giraffe, zebra, warthogs, plus hippo and cheetah sightings! Over the next couple of days, we saw more elephants, gazelle, another leopard, and lions: both female lions with cubsand several males---including two who sauntered past our safari vehicles without a thought.
While in the Serengeti, we saw incredible things---a group of nine hyena protecting a wildebeest carcass from two female lions that were in the area, a baby elephant trotting toward a safari vehicle and letting out a little trumpet before running back to its mother, another leopard relaxing in a tree, and perhaps the highlight of the safari: the great wildebeest migration. An estimated 1.5-2 million wildebeest (aka gnu, members of the antelope family) migrateon a loop path through Tanzania and Kenya following the seasonal rains even when that involves passing through dangerous territoryoften fighting rapids and gigantic Nile crocodiles. We were fortunate enough to witness the crossing---thousands of wildebeest that had made their way from miles away in the Serengeti to cross the Mara river. The wildebeest gather at the edge of the river, one takes that first step, and they all followa stampede that must be seen to believed.
After ten days filled with excitement, wildlife of all kinds, tented camp living, great food, and unmatched hospitality by the Tanzanian people we left our last camp and headed to the airstrip to take our little plane back to Arusha. But the excitement wasnt overwe heard our guide talking excitedly over the radio and he yelled Grab your camera! --- and suddenly we saw two Wild African dogs, which our guide said he had never seen in that area. By the time we arrived at the airstrip, the news of the Wild African dog sightings had caused excitement and hope in everyone who heard the story. Our safari was thrilling up until the last possible moment.
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