Amazing day at Tarangire. We all broke into four groups and drove in different areas of the park. Each group ran a transect and counted all the large mammals they saw in order to calculate species density later on. That took all morning and then we went to the safari lodge for lunch. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Driving through the park was incredible. The landscape was totally different from Manyara National Park which is situated between the lake and a chain of steep hills. Tarangire is wide and vast, land stretching far out on all sides. Sometimes there were hills or wooded areas, but for the most part it was shrubland with baobabs and acacias scattered throughout. At one point there was a long row of tall palm trees lining a ridge near the mostly-dry river bed. Throughout the park I was continuously amazed by the beauty of the land, how wild it seemed, how ancient. But this spot in particular stands out in my mind as something unreal. It seemed prehistoric, an illusion of time. I half expected to see a brontosaurus walk out from behind the trees. Although we did not actually see any dinosaurs, we did see some pretty incredible things. Most noteworthy were three cheetahs relaxing in the shade of a bush – a very exciting and rare opportunity. So lunchtime came and we met up with the other groups at the lodge which was, in itself, breathtaking. An incredibly high wooden roof hung above a circle shaped porch which was full of chairs and couches with giant puffy cushions. There was a concrete deck to the porch and the view there was beyond words. I laid down on a soft bench and looked out for miles over Tarangire. The sky was white clouds with patches of clear blue showing through. The land was dry and golden with green and brown trees poking up everywhere. Off to one side the river zig zagged into the distance. There were elephants grazing between the trees and crossing gracefully over the river, tiny babies at the heels of their mothers. Gazelles and dik diks moved among them as well as warthogs and ostriches. I closed my eyes and soaked up the moment. At peace. In Africa 🙂

Location: Kararu, Tanzania