Tarangire is not the biggest of national parks, but it’s one of the most visited destinations in Tanzania due to its rich diversity of wildlife in a relatively small area. In just a single day you can see pretty much anything from insects and birds all the way up to elephants, giraffes, and lions even, on a good day 🙂

Btw, the song doesn’t really have anything to do with the trip or these photos, per se, but it is nevertheless one of my favorites and I couldn’t think of a better place to use it. Hope you enjoy it.

 
The funky entrance sign.

 
People anxiously waiting to enter the park.

 
A number of kids were in line as well. Imagine that, “Alright kids, as a day trip I propose seeing some lions.”

 
I think I got the point 😉

 
Despite being around 7am, it got hot really fast which made us change into the something a little more comfortable. Btw, Basecamp — incredible company to book with, in case you’re thinking of going.

 
Going deep inside the park…

 
First (rather anticlimactic) sighting of the day — Guineafowls 😉

 
Perhaps I had set my expectations too high, but for the first hour or so all we could really see was empty roads like this one and the occasional bird.

 
And then suddenly we saw three female lions! By this point it was well over 30°C degrees which meant they’d just stand under the shade of tree and breathe heavily / pant. Males were no where to be seen…

 
Zebras were shy and stood quite a bit for from us and the car..

 
This lilac-breasted roller was just born to be a model 😉 It did not move from its place no matter how close we got with the car, to the point of almost being able to reach out and touch it with our hands.

 
Meerkat (Timon from Lion King) invasion! 🙂

 
They always move around in packs together and even gang up on other animals, such as this monkey for instance that didn’t know what it had coming its way 😉

 
The elusive leopard — perhaps the only creature that we couldn’t really see full on. This is the best shot that I could do after almost 1.5hrs of stalking it. Still worth it!

 
The great Baobab tree up close and the damage elephants do to it with their tusks.

 
We stopped at this incredible overlook for lunch which gave us some great views. Please note how small the three elephants look compared to the surrounding trees and then imagine how infinite we’d be in this… pretty cool 🙂

 
The Tarangire river that also gives the park its name.

 
First sighting of giraffes!

 
Baboons are everywhere…

 
… and tend to be quite funny to observe 🙂

 
One of my most favorite shots of the trip… following dad’s footsteps 😉

 
Tarangire is in fact mostly known for its large numbers of elephants. It’s a game of hit and miss what you’ll see on a given day, but we were definitely lucky — one of these guys stood no more than 1-2m away from the car. It’s so majestic you forget to get the camera out 😉

 
My view for most of the Safari trips… albeit a little old and rusted, these Toyotas weere quite sturdy and took us to places I wasn’t sure a car could go to 😉

 
The impala is quite beautiful from up close.

 
This little guy barely stood on its feet as they were trembling, but gave it its best to get food 🙂

 
I’d never seen that many elephants in one place…

 
I liked how amongst this sea of green trees, there was this barren one 😉

 
Our guide mentioned this fella was old… and you could tell from its slower movements and wrinkly skin. Excellent photo model though 😉

 
The weather overall was great that day so a lot of animals were out, something that doesn’t happen as often as people would like.

 
Nothing like a cool bath in the heat 😉

 
The viewing spot by the river proved to be a smart move — plenty of animals crossing.

 
So gracious this one 🙂

 
The little guy kept getting in front of my lens.

 
In high wet season, this river bed would be full of water.

 
Impala herd.

 
Pumba!! 🙂

 
The ubiquitous Toyotas 😉

 
A lone ranger…

 
View from higher up again…

 
Giraffes are gracious… albeit having a really fun way of reaching for water. Yourube it 😉

 
A bunch of marabou storks just chillin’ on a tree around dusk…

 
The clouds all of a sudden took this pleasant orange color, which stood out even more because of the darker grey clouds that had been building up.

 
Can storks contemplate life? Because it seems to me that this is the ideal place and setting to do so 😉

 
More stories to come in the following weeks… thanks guys!