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 Four zebras nestled together, one resting its head on another's rump, before ambling across our path. In the scraggly brush, impalas rubbed horns and noses in a nurturing gesture. Mama elephants led their babies on a constant march over the savannah in search of food and water.
Herds of wildebeests scampered across the plains, kicking up dust where vegetation had been gnawed to the ground. And then there were lions — in the midst of mating season — barely visible as they lay in the brown grass.
Wildlife — that's the defining word for the east African country of Tanzania. Sights and sounds of an African safari put all your senses on high alert. Because of its biodiversity, Tanzania has more land devoted to national parks and game reserves than any other wildlife destination in the world. Protected by law, these amazing places are available to visitors because of the foresight and tourism efforts of the Tanzanian government. Perhaps the best-known is the gigantic Serengeti National Park, a major ecological hub for east Africa's wildlife. But the vast plains and grasslands of this region belie the variety found among Tanzania's other parks and reserves — which are every bit as enticing for game drives and are immersed in arguably even more stunning scenery. These are the parks my husband, Larry, and I chose to visit last August. Tarangire National Park After spending one night in Arusha, a bustling city of 1.5 million people, we journeyed to Tarangire National Park with Didas, our driver and guide. It was winter and dry season in Tanzania, although Mountain Village Lodge, our overnight accommodation set on a coffee plantation, was bursting with colorful flowers and lush landscaping. Just a few hours' drive from Arusha, Tarangire is a large park that extends into two game-controlled areas where wildlife freely roam. It is less developed than the Serengeti, so visitors truly feel they're in the wilds of Africa. At almost 4,500 feet above sea level, the climate is pleasant — daytime temperatures were mostly in the 70s during our visit. Its geographic zones include acacia woodlands, grassland savannahs, rolling hills and swamps fed by the Tarangire River and Lake Birungi. Our first afternoon game drive ended at Kikoti Lodge, a permanent tented camp on a private reserve. Built on stilts, our cabin had a wood floor, canvas roof and solar-powered lights. Night winds that blew through open flaps died down after midnight. Mosquito netting surrounded the bed, although the pesky insects never bothered us. Armed Masai guards accompanied guests outside after dark, since wild animals often roamed into camp. After another daylong game drive filled with more animals, including giraffes, gazelles, cape buffalo, warthogs and hyenas, we hiked to the top of Kikoti Rock led by three Masai warriors wearing shukkas, colorful cloths that wrap around the body. Each warrior carried a weapon — spear, bow and arrow, or rifle — to ward off possible invasion from zebras, lions and elephants, whose tracks littered our path. Back at camp, we sat around the outdoor fire pit, practiced vertical jumps in the Masai's native dances and huddled together during a chilly night game drive. Tarangire was a bird watcher's paradise with hundreds of species with colorful names such as yellow-necked spurfowl, orange-bellied parrot, lilac-breasted roller, weaver bird, hornbill, spoonbill and tropical boubou. Before the rainy season begins each April, droves of gazelles, wildebeest, zebra and giraffes migrate together from Kenya to Tarangire in search of fresh grazing land. (We observed the reverse migration into Kenya later in our trip.) Thorny acacia trees and upside-down baobab trees are targets of destruction from the large elephant population, especially in the dry season. In contrast, a collage of yellow, green, brown and purple hues melded into beautiful plains vistas — topped by cloud-filled blue skies and mountains to the south. Lake Manyara National Park Just north of Tarangire is Lake Manyara, which covers three-fourths of the national park. Located on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, this park offers varied ecosystems such as groundwater forests (with mahogany and fig trees), cliffs, marshlands and soil enriched with volcanic ash. Fertile farmland allows cultivation of crops that fill roadside markets — bananas, coconuts, mangoes, sweet potatoes and sugar cane. Lush tropical foliage and blooming flowers mark the region, even during the dry season. This park is famous for tree-climbing lions, although spotting one is rare. It's also known for the largest concentration of baboons in the world — baboons that have invaded nearly every street of the nearby town of Mto wa Mbu, making them a nuisance to locals. Millions of flamingos, pelicans, storks and other birds make their homes at the lake. Hippos (and crocodiles) grunt and splash in the famous Hippo Pool. Elephants are plentiful, as are buffalo, warthogs and giraffes, in the 125 square miles of park land. The environment is drastically different from grassy plains regions, making this park a naturalist's dream. Ngorongoro Crater Ngorongoro Serena Lodge was built of indigenous stones in the 1990s but with an old-style architecture that blends into the landscape. Situated on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, temperatures were cooler because of the high elevation. A World Heritage Site, the 102-square-mile crater is the largest unbroken caldera on Earth. Six peaks rising 10,000 feet in the distance provide some of Africa's grandest scenery. The area teems with animal and bird life, but because the crater has no outlets, animals stay there throughout their lives. Game viewing is exceptional; within the crater, large herds of zebra and wildebeest graze, lions sun themselves and Masai tribesmen bring their cattle and goats for food and water. Here, visitors might see all of Africa's Big Five — elephants, buffalo, rhinoceroses, lions and leopards. One day we visited a village of seminomadic Masai. Children lingered in doorways, and goats roamed the grounds as women performed traditional dances, complete with beaded necklaces twirled around like hula hoops. We stepped lightly around manure piles (cattle are kept in a central pen), entered a dimly lit mud-and-dung hut and watched dishwater-colored broth bubbling on a small fire. The Masai live as their ancestors did centuries ago, clinging to ancient ways of hunting wildlife and herding sacred cattle, despite attempts by the government to change these primitive practices. But they gladly show curious outsiders their rituals — for a price — and sell beaded crafts to supplement meager resources. While in the Ngorongoro Conservation area, we took a warrior-led hike (never go anywhere without an armed escort) to Olmoti Crater and a luscious waterfall. We started at 8,000 feet and ascended to 9,000 feet for a view of the crater and surrounding mountains. It was a moderately difficult trek but so worth the effort for a contrasting look at the countryside.
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