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Tanzania's
vast, uncrowded national parks and conservation areas
are unsurpassed for their breathtaking vistas and diversity
of habitats that contain the largest concentrations
of game animals in the world. Here are some highlights
of the magnificent parks we will be visiting:
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Tarangire
National Park
Like
props on the set of an extraterrestrial movie, enormous,
thick-trunked baobab trees dwarf elephant herds of 100
to 300 individuals. During the dry season in June through
August, their numbers and those of other species can
exceed the herd sizes of the country’s larger parks
and reserves. In nine different habitats you will find
lion, leopard, eland, giraffe, impala, baboon, ostrich,
and over 300 species of other birds.
Although small in size, Tarangire is one of Tanzania's
living jewels.
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Lake
Manyara National Park
A
massive soda lake, whose margins are tinged pink by
thousands of feeding flamingos, is the focal point of
this park. It contains a variety of habitats including
the wall of the Great Rift Valley. Other natural features
are its enormous hippo pool, spectacular ground water
forest, and woodlands where lions often nap in yellow-barked
fever trees.
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Other frequently seen inhabitants include baboons, vervet
monkeys, blue monkeys, warthogs, impala, waterbuck, reedbuck,
large herds of elephants, and over 200 species of birds
such as ground hornbills and both white- and pink-backed
pelicans. Lake Manyara is one of the closest modern analogs
for the ancient lake that was once present in the nearly
two million year old levels of Olduvai Gorge.
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Ngorongoro
Crater and Conservation Area
This
World Heritage Site is the remnant of an ancient volcano
that erupted and collapsed over two million years ago
and created a huge stone-lined bowl. Driving down nearly
2,000 feet from the rim of the crater into its ten mile-wide
floor, you will see endangered black rhino, pods of
wallowing hippos,
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herds
of elephants, giant eland, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra,
giraffe, baboons, and monkeys.
The Crater also contains the world’s highest concentrations
of lions and spotted hyenas. Elegant, long-legged serval
cats, with their bat-like ears, prowl the edges of the
hippo pool and Mandusi swamp. The Crater and lush surrounding
highland forests are also the centuries old home of the
pastoral Maasai people. In the Crater, CHES researchers
have been conducting geological investigations of several
natural springs similar to those once present in the oldest
levels of Olduvai Gorge.
Click
here for more information on Ngorongoro Crater and
Conservation Area.
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Serengeti
National Park
The
endless savannas and Acacia woodlands of this famous
9,000 square mile World Heritage Site are home to nearly
500 species of birds. On our travels through the woodlands,
you will see herds of graceful impala and enormous African
buffalo. Serengeti is home to large and numerous prides
of lions and secretive, solitary leopards that prefer
shadow to sunlight. Cheetah are also common and it is
not unusual to see them demonstrate their ability
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as
the world’s fastest land mammal in life or death
chases with Thomson's gazelles.
Massive boulders, called kopjes (pronounced "copies")
stand tall like stone islands above the vast sea of grasslands.
Lions, leopards, and cheetah frequently use these prominences
as lookouts and den sites. It was here that Rob Blumenschine
conducted his pioneering study of early human scavenging
opportunities from lions and other terrestrial predators
and where John Cavallo conducted a similar investigation
involving leopards. Our safaris include the eastern, central,
and western portions of this unique ecosystem, each with
its own stunning landscapes and wildlife.
Click
here for more information about Serengeti National
Park
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For
more information on travelling in Tanzania, visit see
New Africa Network's very informative web site.
All photography © 1994-2004
By Robert J. Blumenschine
Design:
HOMINIDAE
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