Tanzania, Tarangire (21 Feb 2010)
After driving through a few villages (always interesting to see how people live and how modest their homes are) and buying lots of 1.5L mineral bottles on the way, we eventually reached Tarangire. We got out of the car to sign the entrance papers and all and stretch our legs and there in the distance were our first giraffes ! I'd gone out to take photos of the area and spotted them first. I ran back to the car to tell Nathalie & Roberto that I'd fount our first treasures... I'll never forget how excited I was when I saw my very first giraffe "in the wild"... it validated that 'this was it, we were in East Africa'...
It was about 4pm by the time we'd got there and we were trying to get to the lodge before it got too dark. Tarangire is a beautiful national park and quite different from the others because of its huge number of baobabs. When I was there last time, in Nov 2007, the baobabs had no leaves on and the grass was quite dry, but in Feb, it was so much more beautiful. The grass had a yellow/green quality to it and it captured the light beautifully.
We saw our first elephant on a river bed, trying to dig out the sand bank with his trunk to access cooler water down below. It happened to be the 'golden hour' and was just spectacular. We were in awe of the whole scenery. The elephant gave us a neat focal point but we were trying to take it all in, with a gentle breeze in our hair as we stood up to gaze at the endless view (the 4x4 mini van had a roof top that could be lifted for better photography ops). We kept thinking 'aren't we lucky ?'... we kept pinching ourselves (mentally). East Africa had cast its legendary spell on us already...
A bridge that we would have needed to use as a short-cut had recently been washed away though so we had to drive a further hour than planned to access the lodge. It was a pity as it meant it was dark by the time we got there (our driver must have been shattered). We did see a whole herd of elephants cross our paths and then wander into the sunset (quite literaly) which was a lovely sight.
The SOPA lodge in Tarangire was gorgeous (they all are !) and we enjoyed a lovely a la carte menu and then a good night's sleep on very big comfy bed. We were SO tired from the journey, and I think the temperature didn't help. We had (all) kept nodding on & off in the car, on the way to the National Park and though we really did NOT want to miss anything, as we had looked forward to this moment for well over 8 months, we just couldn't help it. 15 years ago the adrenaline was enough to help me cope with jet-lag but not anymore ! I guess the clock didn't stop ticking for me either... sigh.
In the morning I saw lots of velvet monkeys, squirrels and hyrax around the grounds. I thought that some of the smaller creatures were almost as cute as some of the bigger ones. Hyrax are like a cross between a rabbit and a big rat (rumours are they are actually related to elephants !) and look just very sweet.
We had a nice buffet and then had to set off for 8am to be able to enjoy a nice leisurely drive in Tarangire before driving onto the next park.
I was totally enthralled by the scenery and took lots of gorgeous shots there. I'd highly recommend Tarangire to anyone who visits Northern Tanzania, it is as scenic as the Serengeti and as special as Nnorongoro in a different way. As pictures speak louder than words and I've put lots of my Facebook -- check them out if you know me.
After driving through a few villages (always interesting to see how people live and how modest their homes are) and buying lots of 1.5L mineral bottles on the way, we eventually reached Tarangire. We got out of the car to sign the entrance papers and all and stretch our legs and there in the distance were our first giraffes ! I'd gone out to take photos of the area and spotted them first. I ran back to the car to tell Nathalie & Roberto that I'd fount our first treasures... I'll never forget how excited I was when I saw my very first giraffe "in the wild"... it validated that 'this was it, we were in East Africa'...
It was about 4pm by the time we'd got there and we were trying to get to the lodge before it got too dark. Tarangire is a beautiful national park and quite different from the others because of its huge number of baobabs. When I was there last time, in Nov 2007, the baobabs had no leaves on and the grass was quite dry, but in Feb, it was so much more beautiful. The grass had a yellow/green quality to it and it captured the light beautifully.
We saw our first elephant on a river bed, trying to dig out the sand bank with his trunk to access cooler water down below. It happened to be the 'golden hour' and was just spectacular. We were in awe of the whole scenery. The elephant gave us a neat focal point but we were trying to take it all in, with a gentle breeze in our hair as we stood up to gaze at the endless view (the 4x4 mini van had a roof top that could be lifted for better photography ops). We kept thinking 'aren't we lucky ?'... we kept pinching ourselves (mentally). East Africa had cast its legendary spell on us already...
A bridge that we would have needed to use as a short-cut had recently been washed away though so we had to drive a further hour than planned to access the lodge. It was a pity as it meant it was dark by the time we got there (our driver must have been shattered). We did see a whole herd of elephants cross our paths and then wander into the sunset (quite literaly) which was a lovely sight.
The SOPA lodge in Tarangire was gorgeous (they all are !) and we enjoyed a lovely a la carte menu and then a good night's sleep on very big comfy bed. We were SO tired from the journey, and I think the temperature didn't help. We had (all) kept nodding on & off in the car, on the way to the National Park and though we really did NOT want to miss anything, as we had looked forward to this moment for well over 8 months, we just couldn't help it. 15 years ago the adrenaline was enough to help me cope with jet-lag but not anymore ! I guess the clock didn't stop ticking for me either... sigh.
In the morning I saw lots of velvet monkeys, squirrels and hyrax around the grounds. I thought that some of the smaller creatures were almost as cute as some of the bigger ones. Hyrax are like a cross between a rabbit and a big rat (rumours are they are actually related to elephants !) and look just very sweet.
We had a nice buffet and then had to set off for 8am to be able to enjoy a nice leisurely drive in Tarangire before driving onto the next park.
I was totally enthralled by the scenery and took lots of gorgeous shots there. I'd highly recommend Tarangire to anyone who visits Northern Tanzania, it is as scenic as the Serengeti and as special as Nnorongoro in a different way. As pictures speak louder than words and I've put lots of my Facebook -- check them out if you know me.
posted by Sylvie at 7:20 PM
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