Tanzania
Chapter three
Tarangire, part I.
Arriving and an afternoon drive.
Siggy meets me at the airstrip. He waits in the shade of the tiny terminal as the plane taxis closer. He offers to help me with my bags but the jeep is close by and the bags are light. The airlines also have a very strict 15kg weight limit so the bags are easy to handle.
My bags stowed, comfortably seated, we are off. As we drive away from the airstrip I point to a column of red earth and ask Siggy what it is. A termite mound, he tells me. It towers over the jeep.
As we drive on I get my first taste of Tarangire National Park. An elephant crosses before us and lumbers slowly into the bush as we follow the main road out of the airport. It’s not the last elephant I’ll see; the park is known for its elephant herds and over the next few days we’ll have the opportunity to see them very up close.
We pause for lunch at a spot by the wetlands. There are tables set up and a concrete bathroom. Siggy sets the table and puts out a spread. We sit in the shade of a tree. Weavers nests dot the branches and I watch as birds drop to the ground, pick up grasses, and rise to complete their homes.
After lunch we stumble upon a pair of lions relaxing under the shade of a tree. As we watch, they walk across the road to drink from the marshes and then lumber back to find more shade under which to rest.
In the afternoon, we drive to the far side of the marsh. It’s too late to go much further, and Siggy suggests we pack a lunch and drive to the far side of the park tomorrow. Along the way, we pass herds of elephants; families walk along the marsh and turn towards the mountains in the distance.
Turning back, Siggy passes the road back to the camp in search of leopard. We don’t see any, but he spots a kill hanging in the trees. As we wait, his binoculars trained on the spot, I watch the sun set over a herd of wildebeests nearby.
The leopard doesn’t appear, and Siggy suggests we come back in the morning to check it again.
The next morning.
In the morning we return to the spot where we had seen the leopard kill hoping to see it return. We were not disappointed. Siggy had suggested we leave at 06:00 to have the best opportunity and his suggestion pays off.
From afar we can see its silhouette, its tail dangling off the tree. As we approach, the leopard leaps down and starts off, but cautiously draws closer as we give it room. It didn’t want to leave its meal. As it decided we were no threat it jumps up the tree and continues to eat.
We watch and listen as it gnaws the meat. At one point the carcass separates and half falls to the ground. After a while, the leopard leaps back down and saunters towards the marsh. We follow it for a while before we lose it, hidden in the tall grass.
We drive back around the swamp after breakfast and around to the far side. We see lions where we had seen them the day before and waited to see if they would hunt. A herd of zebra were near and we followed them as they slowly approached before an oncoming car scatters the prey.
At the other side of the swamp we spot a cheetah and watch as it lays in the grass looking towards the mountains. It’s a beautiful animal; the sun filters through the leaves, dappling its hide with its light.
We lunch under a tree at a spot that a nearby camp uses for sundowners. After lunch we drive back towards camp, along a road we hadn’t yet traveled. We drove through the bush, thick with flies and full of giraffe. We made our way around and back to camp and I was once again surprised at the amount of game that collect so close.
An elephant was standing near the BBQ. Elephant dotted the landscape and as I sit near the fire pit I can see them come up to drink and bathe by the watering hole provided by the camp. Now and again I see them grab the hose and spray themselves with water. 🇹🇿
