African wildlife Safari

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is located 180km west of Arusha in the Crater Highlands of Tanzania. Ngorongoro Crater is a large volcanic caldera. A population of approximately 25,000 large animals mostly the ungulates alongside the highest density of mammalian predators in Africa live is the Ngorongoro Crater. Large animals in the crater include the hippopotamus even though they are not very common, black rhinoceros. There are also wildebeests, zebras, elands and gazelles. It is home to ‘the Big Five’.

The crater has one of the densest known populations of lions. On the crater rim are leopards, elephants, mountain reedbuck and buffaloes. The rhinoceros are also found at the crater. From a distance in the large lake in the middle of the crater hundreds of flamingoes form a pink like border to the lake. Animals in the crater include most of the species found in East Africa but there are no topis, giraffes, impalas, oribis or crocodiles.

The other major source of water in the crater is Ngoitokitok Spring near the eastern crater wall. There is a picnic site here open to tourists and huge swamp fed by the spring and the area is inhibited by hippopotamus, elephants, lions and many others. Many other small springs can be found around the crater’s floor and they are important water supplies for the animals and local Maasai people.

Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania after Ruaha, Serengeti, Mikumi, Katavi and Mkomazi. The national park is located in Manyara Region. Its name originates from the Tarangire River that crosses through the park and is the only source of water for wild animals during the dry season. Thousands of wild animals migrate to the Tarangire National Park from the Manyara National Park.

The park is famous for its large number of elephants, baobab trees and tree climbing lions. Tourists can expect to see any number of resident zebras and wildebeests and other less common animals. Other common animals include waterbuck, giraffe and olive baboons. It is also home to more than 550 bird species and the swamps are the focus of the largest selection of breeding birds. The park is also famous for the termite moulds that dot the landscape and the abandoned ones are often seen to be home for the dwarf mongoose.

Lake Manyara is a shallow lake in the Natron-Manyara-Balangida branch of the East African Rift in Manyara Region of Tanzania. It is home to a set of diverse landscapes and wildlife. The Lake Manyara National Park is about 127 square miles (329km2) of which about 89 square miles (213km2) is covered by the waters (alkaline with a pH of about 9.5) of Lake Manyara.

The Lake and its environs are well known for wild attractions such as the baboons, wildebeests, Buffaloes, elephants, giraffes and warthogs. From around the park gates giant fig trees and mahogany can be seen in the ground water forest where they draw nourishment from underground springs replenished continuously from the crater highlands directly above the Manyara basin. Leading away from the forest to the fringes of the Lake Manyara are the flood plains. To the south are visible Acacia woodlands. Leopards although in abundance, are hard to get a glimpse of just like the other elusive carnivores – the lions of this park. The park is also rich in birds like flamingoes, long-crested eagle and grey-headed kingfisher.

The Rift Valley escarpment forms a noteworthy landmark providing a spectacular backdrop to the Lake Manyara. To the esat of Lake Manyara lies the Kwakuchinja wildlife corridor that allows wildlife to migrate between dispersal areas and parks that include Tarangire National Park to the southeast, Lake Manyara to the west and the Rift Valley, Ngorongoro Highlands and the Serengeti National Park to the north.

Arusha is a city in the Northern Tanzania. It is surrounded by some of Africa’s most famous landscapes and National Parks. The city of Arusha has a temperate climate as a result of being situated below Mt. Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley. It is close several National Parks, Game reserves and other tourist attractions i.e. Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, The Arusha National Park on Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro. All this makes Arusha a very calm and very attractive tourist hub.

Arusha National park The Arusha national park covers Mt. Meru, a prominent volcano with an elevation of 4566m in the Arusha region of north eastern Tanzania. The park is small but has spectacular landscapes in three distinct areas. In the west, the Meru Crater funnels the Jekukumia River, the peak of Mt Meru lies on its rim. Ngurdoto in the south-east is grassland. Momella lakes in the north-east have varying algal colours and are known for their wading birds. Mt. Meru is the second highest peak in Tanzania after Mt. Kilimanjaro. It forms a backdrop to views from the park to the east. Arusha National Park lies on a 300km axis of Africa’s famous national parks, running from Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater.