Lake Manyara to Tarangire
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
We drove from Ngorongoro Crater to Lake Manyara National Park and saw the animals in its dark forest, and the birds on the lake shore. Then we drove further on to Tarangire National Park. The road to Tarangire National Park goes close to Lake Manyara National Park and a nearby dense forest. Manyara is a salt lake. Our guide took us into the forest and out to the shore of the large lake.
Unfortunately, the light in the dense forest was too dim for really good pictures. But we saw some interesting animals we had not seen elsewhere. A reedbuck, for instance.
After emerging from the forest, we got to the lake, which has a lot of bird life near it. These are yellow–billed storks. A lot of flamingos were out on the lake, but a bit too far for a decent photograph.
For more information on Lake Manyara National Park, click the link.
Below is a Sykes, or Blue, monkey.
Lions were also in the forest, hard at work in a dry creek bed. The cub was weeks old.
Back out at the lake, we saw giraffes for the first time in several days. The mounds are small termite nests.
After a picnic lunch, we departed for Tarangire National Park. Click the link below for details on the park.
We were greeted by an elephant not long after entering the park.
Our trip was drawing to a close, and I have not given enough photographs of the landscape. Serengeti does not have baobab trees, but Tarangire does. They are huge. We went into the interior of one, and it was big enough to park two medium sized automobiles.
Here is one baobab with a large but not fatal hole in its trunk.
Our guide said these trees look like they are upside down. The branches look like roots, and he is right.
Tarangire has a lot of grass, too. Animals use grass to their advantage. Sometimes, though, the animals are not really concerned about hiding.
Take these lions—there were quite a few of them. Two were eating a baby buffalo on the left. The rest were relaxing, knowing that, eventually, other animals would have to travel to this river bed looking for water.
Here are two views of black–faced vervet monkeys.
In the same dry river bed where the lions were napping, these elephants were walking about. The baby did not get too far from the others—lions are present.
These ten elephants had enough of us and decided to move on.
Next—Our second day in Tarangire National Park.
