Tangerie National Park - Day 1

After spending an amazing day at Arusha National Park, it was time to say goodbye to Arusha. It's about 3 hours to drive to the lodge we were staying at. As we drove from Arusha the land turned from lush green to dry grasslands. We are definitely in a dryer area.   One thing you notice is how the Masai are now running farms which they never did before.  They were always nomadic pastoralists which has started to cause issues with animal migrations.  

Well today we got our first flat tire.  Just as we drove onto the road to the Tangarie National Park we got our flat tire and it was in the middle of a Sunday market day. So while the tire got changed, we went with Steve Taylor through the market.  They had everything from vegetables, flashlights, soap, goats, cattle and many more basic needs. Steve even asked how much would Rhonda be to be purchased for a wife and the one guy said 7 goats.  Too funny. 

The place we are staying at is incredible.  It's a tented camp that oversea,s a river. I hope to see elephants here.  I'd love to have my coffee with an elephant. 

After a great lunch of Nile perch, we went out for our first drive through the park. Would you believe what was my first animal to see?  I had tears in my eyes from what I was able to see right in from of our vehicle. It was a beautiful herd of female elephants, including several calves that were definitely less then 1 years old.  I just couldn't believe I was seeing them free and wild as they should be. 

We ended up seeing at least 4 separate herds in the park.  Another cool thing we saw was a huge herd of several hundred zebras that were migrating across the park. At one point we saw bucks, zebras, and elephants all eating together. We also saw some of the giraffes which are the same being observed by Monica and Derek.  

P.s.   Sorry for the delay.  No wifi at Tarangire River Camp