In the morning, we drove from Arusha to Tarangire National Park and lunched in a picnic area at the park entrance. In the afternoon, we visited this gorgeous park and saw an amazing array of animals before checking in to our lodge. The whole next day was spent touring the area, as was the morning after, on our way out towards Mto wa Mbo.
1 Along the roadside, a young Maasai youth who has just been circumcised and is all in black.
2 Maasai village near the highway
3 At the picnic ground at the entrance to Tarangire NP, we ate our first box lunches and made our first acquaintance with the wonderful and varied east African birds. Here, two White-headed Buffalo Weavers.
4 Also waiting for a handout from box lunches, two Superb Starlings.
5Shrike, African white-headed Magpie shrike, shows long tail
6 Another Superb Starling
7 The graceful, smooth-coated impala were certainly the variety of antilope we saw most of.
8 The first of many impala herds we will see over the next ten days
9 In a treetop, a vulture, perhaps African white-backed or Rüppell's griffon
10 We stopped and watched this watering hole for a long time.
11 Impalas and, afterwards, wildebeest came to drink.
12 A wildebeest joins the impala at the watering hole.
13 Our first giraffe!
14 Another type of starling, an Ashy Starling
15 An African landscape is something special.
16 A Yellow-necked spurfowl
17 A dik-dik couple; these tiny antilopes are only about 40 cm high and are monogamous.
18 Giraffe and zebras in the almost-dry riverbed
19 Magnificent view over the Tarangire River Valley and the surrounding countryside
20 A lone baobab spreads its branches above the acacias
21 Elephants in the dry riverbed
22 The opposite shore
23 Then one of the trip's high points, a mother cheetah and her cub
24 The cub's head fur looks almost like feathers.
25 The cheetah cub has run off to a mound of earth, maybe an old termite mound.
26 Isn't she pretty?
27 Ma-ma!
28 Stalking
29 Mother and child; he is not all that young.
30 The big elephant just stripped some bark off the tree to eat.
31 Sunrise over Tarangire
32 Somewhat later...
33 African Fish Eagle
34 Saddle-billed Stork
35 Small, pretty river with birds
36 A morning giraffe
37 Buffalo along the river
38 Ring-necked doves
39 A very large herd of buffalo
40 Giraffe and buffalo
41 Buffalo and giraffe
42 The giraffe is still watching those buffalo
43 Crested Francolin
44 Maasai workers in the park
45 Elephants big and small
46 Helmeted Guinea Fowl, or pintade
47 Impala male and some of his females
48 White-headed buffalo weaver
49 Big ears
50 Banded mongooses, or mongeeses, or whatever...
51 This lion had been collared with a device to monitor her whereabouts.
52 Nice black-faced vervet monkey
53 Tarangire River, viewed from the picnic area. There is a giraffe under the big tree on the left-hand bank.
54 One more Superb Starling
55 Africa -- zebras and baobab
56 Zebras often walk in a file.
57 Waterbuck
58 A whole herd of waterbuck
59 Male waterbuck checking out femal before ...
60 ... gittin' up on 'er
61 Elephants old and young
62 Long-tailed fiscal shrike
63 Egyptian goose
64 Ruff
65 Wonderful antlers on this impala
66 Sacred ibis
67 A baboon pack -- on the ground and in the trees
68 Two smooching hyraxes
69 The sun sets again.
70 Elephants eating just outside our room
71 Lion cubs eating a wildebeest their mother has killed for them
72 Mother and cub
73 Resting big-eared cub
74 This is Africa! Zebras and wildebeest are often found together.
75 He heads off into the rocks.
76 Another unusual find: a leopard
77 Leopard in the rocks
78 A very special bird is the Hamerkop.
79 This bird looks like a Martial Eagle
80 Lilac-breasted roller
81 Elephants have actually made a hole clear through this baobab.
