The Tarangire Extension

Meet your driver/guide in Arusha. You will drive about two hours to your lodge in Tarangire National Park, where you will arrive for lunch. After lunch, you will have some time to rest before heading out to the park for late afternoon game drives.

The park is cut through by the Tarangire River, which proves a magnet for all manner of wildlife during the long dry season when the surrounding area becomes completely parched. During the wet season the wildlife is more scattered but you are still almost guaranteed sightings of Tarangire’s extensive elephant population. Large herds roam the riverbed while zebra, buffalo, gazelle and wildebeest try to avoid the predatory advances of lion and leopard. After the game drive you will return to your lodge where you will have the evening at leisure.

Tarangire Safari Lodge is located on the edge of the national park and has one of the most spectacular viewpoints. Originally built in the 1970s, Tarangire Safari Lodge is one of the oldest lodges in the park; situated 10km inside the main gate, it really is in the heart of the park’s busiest area. The main areas of the lodge include the lounge, dining room and swimming pool, all overlooking the stunning view of the baobab and acacia woodlands. The Tarangire Safari Lodge has 35 tents and 5 bungalows, all decorated with the cultural touches and local textiles. The tents have thatched roofs and tented sides so that you really are immersed into the sights and sounds of nature. All accommodation has ensuite bathrooms with solar heated showers.

You have a full day to explore the Tarangire National Park on game drives. You may choose to leave the lodge in the morning, returning for lunch and a short nap before going out in the afternoon, or you may like to take a boxed lunch and spend the whole day in the bush.

Tarangire is one of the finest places in Tanzania to watch elephants and to spend unhurried time in the presence of these intelligent giants, often from a vantage point at a water hole or spring and is one of the greatest pleasures of a wildlife safari. A favorite routine is to leave camp early with a picnic lunch and to select a spot overlooking the Tarangire River or a hinterland water hole and watch the wildlife come and go. The park is also home to three rare species of animals: the greater kudu, the fringed-eared oryx as well as a few ashy starlings.

Tarangire National Park is also known for being home to over 600 bird species, which include endemic birds species, non-endemic bird species as well as migratory birds, such as the ashy starlings, red and yellow barbets, yellow necked spurfowl, yellow collared lovebird, rufous tailed weavers, red billed hornbills, northern pied babbler, pelicans, ostriches, lilac breasted rollers, francolins, king fishers and many others.

Bird watching in the park can be carried out in locations such as in the woodlands, the swampy floodplains, among others. The huge baobab tree is characteristic of these savannas and have been described by naturalists as a complete ecosystem unto themselves; their nooks and crannies provide places for bee hives or are occupied by small mammals, such as genet and civet cats, and their enormous flowers are pollinated by fruit bats. Many baobabs are hollow and have provided shelter for wandering bands of hunter-gatherers in the past.

After the expeditions you will spend the afternoon at leisure at the lodge.

After a final breakfast at the lodge, drive 4-5 hours to meet up with the rest of the riding group. You’ll have a game drive on the way out of Tarangire, followed by about 2 hours on paved roads and then the rest of journey will be a game drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.