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Arriving at Tarangire made us realize that the trip was coming to an end. It was like the sun setting on an adventure that had been over year in the planning. October 14 – After a REALLY LONG drive over bumpy, dusty roads we arrived at the Tarangire National Park late afternoon and stayed 2 nights at the untamed, luxurious Kikoti Tented Camp. |
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Really fun accommodations! Our bungalows were built on stilted platforms out of canvas (like a tent) and were furnished with comfortable, picturesque beds, chairs, lamps, rug mats, and a rustically stylish bathroom. We had to toot a whistle when we wanted to go to breakfast or dinner so that an armed guard would escort us. |
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Our
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There are no perimeter walls to stop the wildlife from walking into the encampment and the lion and hyena footprints in the pathways showed first hand why an armed guard was necessary. About 2:00 AM the loud cry of a hyena just below our window startled me awake. This place is great. |
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| The lodge | Every night there is a campfire | Dinning room | Our personal deck |
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Tarangire is the second largest park we visited at 1,100 square miles and is famous for its large herds of elephant and lots of Baobab trees. It is quite different than the other parks we visited with its larger trees, more dense vegetation, and deep banked rivers that provided a different backdrop for the animals. It didn’t have the teaming throngs of wildlife like Masai Mara or the Serengeti but there were still lots of animals at about every turn. In general it was a pleasant change of scenery although the long travel to get here and the roughest roads of the trip really wore us out. |
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Elephant |
Baobab
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We saw one steinbok, a couple of klipspringer, a few eland, jackal, lilac throated roller, several baboon, cape buffalo, hornbill, monkeys, wildebeest, lots of dik dik, elephant, giraffe, impala, ostrich, warthog, zebra, and the 9 lions we saw in the park brought our total for the trip to 78. Surpassing the 70 we saw on our 6 week trip to Africa 20 years earlier. |  |
Olive
baboon |
Elephant |
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Impala |
Olive
baboon |
Dik
dik |
Elephant |
Elephant |
Lilac
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Elephant |
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Saddle
back stork |
Our
breakfast tree |
Masai
giraffe |
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One thing we would not do again was to go on a night drive. It was fairly expensive and the most exciting thing we saw was an African hare. After talking with another guest who has been on several night drives and it sounded like this wasn’t unusual. Who knows, on another night it might be something spectacular. |
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This ended the safari portion of our adventure in Tanzania and we found Roy Safaris to be top notch and they exceeded our expectations in every aspect. There was not a single weak link. Our driver, Peter, was not only good, he was spectacular! We have traveled the world for nearly 27 years and Peter Loishiye Laizer was without a doubt the best we have ever had. It was almost like he had ESP (extra sensory perception). He would listen to us talking amongst ourselves and would pick up on what we wanted and would react before we even asked him. He also has a good grasp of what is needed for a good photograph (including knowledge of proper lighting) and often put that vehicle in the proper place without us even needing to ask. Any time we did ask him to stop, move, or whatever he did so with a smile. Peter has an extensive knowledge of plants, birds, and animals and constantly gave us very interesting facts and information about what we were seeing. He also provided his own personal books on plants, birds, and animals for us to use (these books also proved that Peter knew what he was talking about). We had cold water in the ice chest every day and he always asked us when we would like to start each morning and if we would like a box lunch (or breakfast) for the day and customized each day to what we wanted to do. He offered great ideas and suggestions (which we usually took) but smiled with whatever we decided. Most of our days began at 7:00 and we didn’t return to the lodge until 6:00 or 6:30 (this was Peter’s suggestion and we loved it). I have no knowledge of what Roy Safaris' other drivers are like but when and if we go back I will request Peter and I'd be willing to adjust my schedule and itinerary if necessary to make sure we got him. When we said goodbye we did so to a good friend. He is the best. |
