Tanzania Trip Report 2026

Words and Images By Trip Leader Smeeta Rishi

Arrival in Arusha

Tanzania is a gift that keeps giving. We are back from another wonderful Bluewater trip to Tanzania. We had a spectacular time. As a group leader, I was thrilled to see the smiles on our guests’ faces every day as we returned from our days on safari.

Our group got together on the first day together at Katambuga House in Arusha. This hotel is very comfortable, and the gardens are especially lovely. Guests took photos of the coffee plants full of green and red bean pods and the many flowers and birds in the expansive gardens. The next morning, we met our guides. The guides are wonderful, entertaining, and have encyclopedic knowledge about the wildlife and fauna in the parks.

Tarangire National Park

We loaded the vehicles and set off for Tarangire National Park. This Park has a large population of elephants. Elephants cherish their young, and it is fascinating to watch the entire herd surround babies to protect them. Elephants visited the Lodge our first afternoon there to feed on trees by the entrance. The Lodge has resident dik diks, bats, hornbills, owls, and a large assortment of other birds.

Ngorongoro Crater

After two nights, we moved on to the Ngorongoro Crater. Our guides were on a mission to find rhinos. And they succeeded!! We saw four rhinos in the distance soon after we entered the Crater and were thrilled with that sighting. Although there are approximately 50 rhinos in the Crater, the Crater is large and they tend to be very difficult to find. After the four disappeared on the other side of a rise, we moved on to see flamingos and hippos, but the guides raced to another location when two more rhinos were spotted close to the road. These rhinos are zealously guarded by rangers since there are so few remaining in the wild. So special to see one, let alone six rhinos! And by the time we left the Crater on our third day of safari, we had ticked off the entire list of the Big Five.

Serengeti National Park

After the Crater, we moved on to the southern portion of Serengeti National Park and the conservation area right outside. This area has numerous Masai villages, and it is fascinating to see young boys herding goats and cattle in areas populated by wildlife, including predators, armed with sticks.

The Serengeti is magical. Vast areas filled with wildlife as far as the eye can see and beyond. It is enormous and varies in landscape from the south with dry river beds, central areas of large plains and the Mara River, and sloping hills in the north.

The Great Migration

And the migration – what a spectacle of nature! Our trip was timed to see the great migration of approximately 2,000,000 wildebeest and almost 1,000,000 zebra cross the Mara River over a three-month period. We were extremely fortunate to see tens of thousands of wildebeest crossing and trying to evade enormous crocodiles. Our hearts were in our throats for the entire time of the crossings we saw. Our guests walked away in awe of nature with big smiles and thousands of images!

A Memorable Safari

Overall, we travelled hundreds of miles via our safari vehicles and stayed at six different camps and lodges. Can’t wait to go back!