The best place to see the Big 5 in Africa
Table of Contents
Buffalos in the Ngorongoro Crater – The best place to see The Big 5
Day 1: Dar Es Salam
Slight feelings of nervousness overcome me. The sun is not up yet and we are standing right in the middle of the coach station in Dar Es Salam, Tanzania’s capital. I have seen many coach stations all over the world but nothing compares to this one. Looking around it looks more like a field packed with busses and coaches of all sizes, shapes, and ages and certainly of all safety standards getting ready to take Tanzanians and tourists alike across the country. No building or roof, no ticket offices or snack bars, just this open space cramped with hundreds of buses.
At 5 o`clock in the morning it is incredibly busy here, and the diversity of people is astonishing. I see businessmen in suits, Maasai warriors, soldiers, tourists. The smell of freshly made chapatti, a pancake like flatbread made at one of the around dozens food stands makes me hungry. We sit down and out of the corner of my eye I see a little girl, maybe four years old, sleeping on the dusty ground. This is a different Tanzania than what you see in travel magazines.
On the bus from Dar Es Salam to Moshi
As the sun rises, we make our way towards the bus that will bring us to Moshi. Quite hard to find the right one, but a friendly man points us in the right direction. We’ve got 10 hours ahead of us. Although there will be stops along the way, the coach doesn’t have a toilet so I go look for one. Just like the coach station itself, the toilet facilities here are certainly one of a kind and wearing only flip-flops was a very very bad idea. Finally back on the bus and ready to go, the coach starts rolling towards its journey northwest, and to our surprise, almost punctually!
Materuni Waterfalls – At the foot of Kilimanjaro
Days 2-3: Moshi – Gateway to our Tanzania Safari Itinerary
Moshi, situated in the north east of the country, is the base for trips into Kilimanjaro National Park to the North. The view from our lodge right on the edge of the National Park is spectacular. Still sleepy from a short night, feelings of awe overcome me seeing the sunrise over the majestic mountain. This not only the highest peak in Africa but also the highest free standing mountain in the world.
View over Kilimanjaro at sunrise – Tanzania Safari Itinerary
We then start hiking towards coffee plantations, through lush rain forest, crossing local villages and ending our hiking tour at the stunning Materuni waterfalls. Another highlight of today is a small coffee planation we visit and the fresh coffee brewed right in front of our eyes.
We spend the afternoon enjoying the stunning view onto Kilimanjaro from the Mount Kilimanjaro View Lodge. The views are spectacular but the service wasn’t really flashpacker worthy so I’d actually recommend staying somewhere else. Really excited for our Tanzania safari itinerary!
Day 4: First Day on our Tanzania Safari Itinerary – Tarangire National Park
Heading further west, we arrive in Arusha, starting point for our Tanzania Safari itinerary to Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater. We decide to go with a 4-day safari with tour company called Basecamp Tanzania and it couldn’t have been a better choice. As a wildlife and biology graduate and bush pilot, our guide Alvin is turns out to be extremely knowledgeable.
The first stop on our Tanzania safari itinerary is Tarangire National Park, which holds the highest population of elephants in the region and one of the best places to see The Big 5. And pretty much straight away from the safety of our safari car we spot the first herd of elephants. This is absolutely incredible. Being so close to these gentle giants in the wild has always been a dream. It’s obvious that they are used to safari vehicles, not bothered at all, walking by so close that we can almost touch them. Their sense of community, loyalty to their brothers and sisters, gentleness towards their young and intelligence is incredible. Hearing about the government’s efforts to protect them from poachers who are becoming more brazen by the day is eye opening. The rangers are just as loyal by risking their lives daily to protect them.
Tarangire National Park – First stop on our Tanzania Safari Itinerary
During the course of the day we see giraffes, ostriches, zebras, antelopes, kudus and warthogs. The photo opportunities are amazing, especially as the sun sets. I feel so blessed. We spend the first night in simple tents on a campground close to the park. On the way back from the washrooms, I come across a Maasai guarding the grounds carrying bow and arrow and spear. “For protection” he says. I crawl into my tent and fall asleep to the sounds of the savanna.
Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation Area – The best place to see The Big 5
This morning we head off towards the incredible Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Within the Conservation Area lies the The Ngorongoro Crater, a World Heritage Site, formed when a large volcano exploded and collapsed around three million years ago. The area eventually became the cradle of mankind. It’s also the best place to see The Big 5 in one single area on our Tanzania Safari itinerary, which is incredible.
The view from the crater rim is breathtaking. This time of the year the crater landscape is dry and immersed in warm beautiful autumnal colours. The few green patches around the water holes wind through the crater making life here possible. It doesn’t take long before we are greeted by the first lion pride, some of whom cool off and fall asleep in the shade provided by our safari vehicle.
Ngorongoro Crater – The best place to see the Big 5
We see herds of wildebeests, zebras, buffalos and gazelles passing by and grazing. We are so lucky to spot a couple of cheetahs as well, which known to be seen here very rarely. In between see packs of lions snoozing in the shade of our truck or watching the nearby zebras. Although it’s dry season, water lakes and small swamps are never hard to find resulting in over 25.000 large animals living here, out of which only about 25 black rhinoceros. Just like the elephants in Tarangire, this critically endangered species enjoys 24/7 protection and constant observation by anti poaching control teams.
Suddenly our guide stops the vehicle. Almost mesmerised he is looking through his binoculars. “Rhino” he says. And indeed, we spot it approximately 300m away. Not long and other safari groups have gotten wind of it. Slowly but surely it makes its way towards us in the next 15 min. Seeing it so close is rare and finally it crosses our path just about 10 metres in front of us. What an absolute highlight!
The day finishes with spotting a hippo in one of the nearby water lakes, before heading back to our overnight accommodation. Day two has not disappointed and Tanzania’s safari highlights have so far been amazing.
Day 6: An Interesting Night by Lake Manyara
Our eyes wide open and bodies frozen, we stare into the dark. It’s the middle of night and we just heard two gunshots and a sharp shriek outside our stone bungalow. The lodge we are staying in for the night is protected and fenced. Soon after we hear agitated voices close by but after about half an hour everything quiets down again with just the occasional lion roaring far away.
The next morning our guide tells us about the incident. Apparently, an attempted armed robbery in the village nearby. Luckily no one seemed to have gotten hurt including the attacker. At least that’s what our guide tells us. He then tells us a lot about the problems, culturally, politically and socially Tanzania still faces today.
Although the last two extremely amazing days will be hard to beat, we’re excited for the final day on our Tanzania safari itinerary – Lake Manyara National Park. During the rainy season between March and May two-thirds of the park are covered by the lake, so it’s better to visit between June and February. Whereas the landscapes of the past two days were mostly savanna, we are now driving through dense forest spotting heaps of monkeys. We also come across more elephants today and this time we also see quite a few youngsters in the herd!
Elephant in Lake Manyara National Park – Last stop on our Tanzania Safari Itinerary
On the way back to Arusha, we drive past four young men in black cloaks. All of them wear white chalk on their face collecting what seems to be firewood. Our guide explains that young men dress like this either in preparation for or for up to eight months after the rite of passage circumcision ceremony after which they become traditionally warriors.
This past week fully experiencing the amazingness of Tanzania’s safari highlights was wonderful but exhausting. One last night on the mainland before we catch a flight to Zanzibar the next day!
If you’ve got time for a longer Safari, then you can extend your trip to the majestic Serengeti, the best place to see the yearly Great Migration of the wildebeest.
1 Comment
Kariss Ainsworth
Posted at 16:17h, 25 JulyWhat an amazing trip!