Shortly after my mom passed away in April, my dad asked about making a safari trip to Tanzania. While dad has visited Tanzania three time prior (two mission trips and one a trip with my brother and myself) I was shocked by his request. He normally does not want to go anywhere now a days. So I had to try and make this a great trip. At first I though about going out on the Serengeti, but the lengthy travel there, expensive accommodations and no way to really build rest days into the trip. Trust me you want rest days in the trip if your crew is 70 or more and since dad is a couple of month’s away from 90 that was critical. Driving on these roads takes a lot out of everyone. You get stiff, sore, bruised and exhausted. So instead I decided on the three parks that offer great one day experiences. Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Arusha National.

Ngorongoro Crater (Conservation Area)

The Crater is by far one of the most popular safari trips in Tanzania. They have long had several lion prides that can be found taking naps in various areas often close to roads so you can get great photographs. They have large zebra and Gnu (Wildebeest) herds, large flamingo and bird populations, Hippos, some Rhinos though they are elusive. Hyenas and Warthogs are pretty common as well. Some water buffalo can be found in groups. Occasionally you can find an Elephant, though it is normally a lone older bull that is too aggressive to be with a herd anymore. There are no giraffes in the crater because too few of the trees they like to eat. Of course the crater itself is an attraction being the largest unbroken caldera in Africa, it has its own lake and ecosystem. Not to mention the fog that often encompasses the rim gives you a feeling of going to the place time forgot. On the negative-it is the most popular safari spot and when a lion pride is spotted you have 40 or more landcruisers fighting for position for their people to take a photograph. This is also the most expensive one day park because you pay per person and per vehicle to get in.

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park has become one o my favorite parks because it is more spread out, slightly smaller crowds. There is a lion pride that used to be easy to find but lately has become difficult to find at times. The best part is this is home of the elephants and it is normal to see herds of elephants. There are also a fair number of giraffes in the park. You get zebra, wildebeest, warthogs, water buffalo and fair number of birds especially Vultures. There are some gorgeous balboa trees here (home of the elephant and the balboa go together). This year was the first time I saw a Cheetah in the park. There is a bridge in the photographs-I am an engineer plus it has been under construction for 3 years now. The first two pictures were actually taken from our porch at the tent lodge.

Arusha National Park

Arusha National Park is normally overlooked by most people visiting which is a shame but I also understand. Not a lot of predators in the park, typically none of your bigger animals also except Giraffe. There are signs of elephants but rare to sight. The Colobus monkey and blue monkey are your two biggest attractions because this is their only park. The reason is that this park has more water resources and a vibrant tree population that the monkeys feed off of. The other great thing about this park is their walking tour. It is a couple of miles there and back-no steep slopes but some terrain may be an issue for those who are not outdoorsy. This is the second time I got to see Giraffes on the walking tour and there is something magic about that. God created something special in the giraffe. The colobus monkeys are gorgeous also but hard to spot as they are high int he trees and even more difficult to photograph a whole colobus monkey. This year was by far my best at photographing them. We have seen a cheetah here but only once.

School

I also included a trip to the school since he had been there before. We were doing the Math Competition during his visit. He participated in the Professional Engineer Society Math Competition along with mom and myself (not competing just volunteering)

Just around and Dad’s photos