Monday, February 25th, 2013
Well today was our final day on Safari but we weren't heading home just yet. We had one more stop to make at Tarangire National Park (the name comes from "River of warthogs) to see a few more animals. It took us about 2 hours to get there. We traveled through familiar roads and I again spent most of the trip people watching. I will still never get over watching very small school children walking alone to school or even herding grazing animals.
We eventually made it the park gate where we once again saw monkeys hoping into open windows of vehicles, but these guys seemed a little bit pickier as nothing was taken. Then it was on to see a few more animals.
A stain-glass depiction of the area during the wet season.
Hmmm......let's hope we don't find one of those in there.
This is the Baobab tree. If undamaged these trees can live anywhere from 500 to 3000 years (although I've read there are Baobab trees in Tanzania that have been carbon dated at over 6000 years old). One way they get damaged is by elephants during the dry season. They will strip the bark looking for water. Up to 80% of the trunk is made of water so it's a good place to look.
The fruit on those trees.
A few more Baobab tress. On these ones you can see the white strips,where elephants have been pulling the bark off the trees.
A little lion pride enjoying a meal.
A little elephant family out grazing.
You can't tell me this little guy doesn't look like he's smiling.
He's so little and cute.
Yes he was a favourite target of mine. You can just make out his little tusks which means he is probably only about 1.5 to 2 years old as this is when tusks start to develop. Little elephants will stay with their mothers until they are about 4 or 4.5 years old (usually when a new little elephant is born). Mothers will normally breed again when their baby is about 2 years old. Gestation period for elephants is around 645 days (I'll do the math for you....that's almost 22 months). Although I call him a "he", I'm not sure if this little elephant is a boy or a girl. If he is in fact a boy, he will leave the herd when the new baby is born. If it is a female she will stay with the herd.
This is a little mongoose. They was a whole little family of them but I couldn't get a good picture as they dart around and move pretty fast. These guys were mostly interested in the termites and other insects but will also eat little lizards and stuff.
So many pretty birds everyday. Not sure what the name of this little bird is but I love how bright he is.
There's a pretty good camera lens. I'm guessing she's not here photographing animals just for the fun of it.
You can just make out this little guy in the tree. Funny because we were driving pretty fast around a corner when Hassan spotted him. Seriously I could hardly spot him even after Hassan pointed him out. No idea how he spotted him as we were driving by. Hassan is just that good.
A closer look at our little friend. I'm not sure what kind of little rodent he is but he's awfully cute. He stayed very still. I think he thought we couldn't see him.
Looking at a hornbill through the popped roof.
One final elephant before we left the park. He was not very happy with us getting too close and actually growled at us. I thought for a minute he was going to chase us. All my dreams would have come true!!!! But he didn't. All I got was a picture.
Eventually it was time to head back to Moshi and the Springlands Hotel. We made the trip back over familiar roads, looking at a some familiar scenes....which will always just amaze me. The trip was really dusty and windy.
A little dust tornado. Several of these popped up while we drove.
Once back at Springlands it was a very different scene. It was very, very busy with several large groups getting ready to head out on their Kilimanjaro Treks. We said good-bye to Hassan, who in my estimation the best Safari guide ever!!! It was then time to do some more packing. Tomorrow we would depart.
Day # 5 over, but to summarize....amazing safari. No disappointments what so ever.
But tomorrow, phase 3 of my Tanzania adventure will begin.
Julie
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