Tarangire National Park and Farewell to Tanzania

Rising early we headed off towards our last safari park on this leg of the trip at Tarangire National Park.  This large park is bisected by the Tarangire River and boasts 550 species of birds, the largest in the world.  There is a large number and variety of animals found here but this park is famous for the fact that it has the largest concentration of elephants in the world.  As these gentle giants are favorites of Eric's and mine this was much more exciting than the birds though we must admit that the birds here are beautiful and very photo worthy.

As we entered the park they sprayed each vehicle for treatsie flies which should have stood as a warning.  Luckily we kept covered and carried our own spray.  Not long into the park we came upon our first elephants and one was a nursing mom. Does not get more tender than that.

Brought tears to my eyes!

Elephants of all sizes 

Our guides had eyes in the back of their heads and could spot birds from afar.

The park has amazing scenery and has quite a large concentration of Baobab trees which are massive and picturesque.  The bark on the lower part of the tree has been rubbed of by the elephants and it is quit dramatic to see.

Baobab tree

Bottom of tree rubbed by elephants

The landscape is also dotted by giant termite mounds which rise from the ground like some hobbit home.

We were treated to quite a few giraffe but the star of the show were definitely the elephants.

We came upon a large herd which had several babies and many adults and spent the good part of an hour observing their behavior.  When we first arrived one of the babies was visibly upset about something and the adults surrounded it to calm it down. We watched a couple of the big adults exchanging trunk greetings of some kind.  There was a tree just at the rear of our vehicle and several elephants stopped at it to give themselves a good rub.

Gathering around the baby

Rubbing against the tree

Trunks waving

Several of the young males were engaging in one on one play fighting which would go on until one of the larger females would step in and break it up. It was fascinating to watch.

At one point one of the females approached the rear of our vehicle and looked quite angry at us.  We were after all in her home. After deciding we were no threat she backed off but it did make one step back a bit to see what she would do.

Deciding if we were friend or foe

It was such a privilege to observe these magnificent creatures and I feel so lucky to have been a guest in their home for this very special time. With a magnificent sunset to accompany us we set off to our lodge to contemplate another perfect day.

Leaving the lodge the next morning for our return to Arusha a herd of elephants was grazing outside the dining room and as a final farewell three of these gentle giants crossed in front of us as we made our way out of the park.  One of them stopped to give himself a spectacular red dust bath as if to say here there is one more thing for you to see in this magnificent country I call home.

A grand finale on our last safari drive in Tanzania.

Farewell to our guides who so expertly and generously shared their knowledge and love of their homeland with us and in doing so took us on an experience that shattered all our expectations!