Tarangire National Park is one of Tanzania’s least known National Parks.  It is over 2,800 square kilometres in size and is situated about 3 hours’ drive southwest of Arusha.  It is named after the Tarangire River that winds its way through the Park. The landscape and vegetation are incredibly diverse and the hilly landscape is dotted with many Baobab trees, high grasses, dense bush, and swamps, tinged green all year round.

Although the Park provides game viewing year around, it is in the dry season that Tarangire becomes full of life.  Between June to September, visitors are astounded by the sheer numbers of wildlife.  Huge herds of up to 300 elephants trail the dried-out river beds in herds in search of water, iconic symbols of Tarangire.  Zebra, buffalo, eland, antelope jostle for space around the lagoons for water, following the migration route from the Maasai Maraa, providing rich and easy pickings for the parks predators.  Lions pack stalk through the park, their golden sandy fur blending in effortlessly against the dried out grasses.  Leopards and their cubs prowl at night, stealthily and skillful to take down an antelope to last them for a few days.  Giraffes glide with elegance through the plains, stripping trees bare of leaves, keeping a watchful eye for the big cats and the warning call of the birds.

The Tarangire is also home to the more unusual species of fringe-eared oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk.  Tarangire boasts amazing birding, with over 550 different bird varieties. Bustards, ostrich, hornbills and the formidable secretary birds, plucking pythons out of trees, kicking their prey to death with armoured talons. Smaller varieties include hornbills, woodpeckers, superb starlings, yellow-collared love birds and weaver birds.