The overcast day began with a short rain. Skies soon dried up and we saw so many animals here. Late in the day, we passed a lion pride while looking for the black rhinos. The lions were in between meals and just snoozing. Soon after our driver saw the first rhino'. Then another and another... For a total of eight!
This more solitary animal was out in force, a grazing mother and calf and six adults all in a fairly small area. It is rare to see even one and the locals called us the 'Lucky Team'!
Stopping at the magnificent Lake Manyara overlook I stepped out of the Land Cruiser to see this young chameleon trucking across the hot stones. We gave him a helping hand over to the bushes leading down the escarpment to the National Park. His eyes can rotate 360 degrees and he has a lightning fast long tongue to catch insects for food.
Final day in Tarangire National Park (have I said yet that it is my favorite?!) and we see a cheetah waking. She looks around a bit, then moves on to roll in some tall grass. Completely relaxed and supple in her movements. Singular cheetahs are usually females, while multiples are mostly brothers sticking together for life.
Often we have amazing daily experiences and our first entry to
Tarangire National Park was such a treat! After stopping to admire the
Buffalo Weavers and Superb Starlings, we saw a pride of 12 satisfied
sleeping lions. Within minutes, Bobbi pipes up excitedly from the back
seat, "look in front of us!" Off in the distance, there was an
elephant family calmly grazing. After driving and watching them for a
bit, I noticed that their direction of travel, combined with a
crosswind, would likely create an unexpected meeting between the two
tribes.
We softly took our exit to position and wait for the potential
connection to come. The lions slept, the elephants contentedly grazed,
the wind blew diagonally between them and the lookout lion first
sighted the grey Tembo. She calmly waited and watched as the first
small group passed just on the far side of the meter high hillock they
lounged on. The grass hid their black tipped ears. Then as the second
ele' family approached on a collision course, the breezes swirled,
mixing lion scent with the smells of the earthy elephants. All parties
went on guard immediately checking the danger and possible exits for
their respective families.
As nature knows, harmony is preferred to fighting and conflict...
After a few minutes of posturing: mama elephants circling the youngest
babes, lions crouching to make a run for it and teenageelephant
males ('false') charging, both saw the way free of each other. Led by
a young newly maned lion, the eleven followed him in a line through
the largest gap in the action. As they left, the momma elephants took
the other direction, babes still tightly encircled, all moving as one.
Only once they were sure danger was past, did they relax their
protective body blocking and allow the herd to disperse and walk more
calmly.
The silence engulfing our 4x4 erupted into smiles of joy, reflecting
the almost unbelievable experience of such a spectacle unfolding right
beside us. Karibu (well come) Tarangire!
As my safari guests will attest, Shanga is one of my favorite places. They employ disabled people (very rare in a place with an approximate 50% unemployment rate) and they are the only place in the country to recycle. Beautiful products come out of here and you may order on their website if you wish. We had a wonderful lunch followed by a short tour of the different artisans.
