Arusha National Park

Our safari to Arusha national park was an introduction to the Serengeti. The park actually has an area called the 'Little Serengeti". Our knowledgeable driver and guide, Victor, was arranged by Jasper. They are both members of the Chagga tribe which populates, along with the Masai, the area around Kilimanjaro and particularly Marangu. Mt Meru is a smaller mountain than Kilimanjaro but still spectacular. We are told that it takes about 3 days to ascend. This is another popular trek for tourists. This volcanic mountain is in Arusha National Park. The land around the park entrance is dotted with farms growing vegetables, bananas and coffee. The coffee is world renowned from this area. Now the coffee is starting to ripen and will be harvested until the ned of November. Arusha National Park has an area called the "Little Serengeti" because this protected area on the slopes of the mountains has many features of the Serengeti. Our day trip from Marangu to the park led us around Kilimangaro to the second highest peak, Mt Meru. This area in the foothills of the mountains has rich volcanic soil, great temperatures and plenty of rain. Small farms growing bananas, coffee, and vegetables dot the landscape on our way to the park. This park does have a day trek walking tour with a park ranger who carries a gun for protection against aggressive animals. We had planned to walk into the park, but instead we settled for a tour with our safari driver Victor. This turned out to be a good decision because the park is very large and hilly and we certainly would not have covered the area we covered in the land rover.

Within minutes of park gates we arrive at an open meadow ares with vistas of the mountain in the background. Around the water hole are crowds of water buffalo, warthogs, zebra, baboons and antelope. The giraffe are feeding from the nearby trees. This idyllic scene of the animals living in harmony was undisturbed by any of predator leopards that are common in this area. The elephants are more rare in Arusha due to the poachers over the years We will have to go on the big Serengeti to see the elephant.

We pass a large group of baboons walking along the road. They scatter slowly and eye the vehicle suspiciously or covetously. Appears you cannot leave food on the dashboard or they will actually come right up to the vehicle and reach in for the food. A tourist from Australia told they were hounded by them when their guide disappeared. He gave them a stick to fend them off with, but they instinctively knew the 'mzungu' wouldn't hit them and defiantly helped themselves.

We drove around the rim of the Ngurdoto crater which opens up to a large swamp area where the ever present water buffalo graze. The crater appears as an almost perfect circle with cliffs of Mt Meru in the distance.

We drove on to the Momella Lakes passing the smaller lakes or ponds along the way. Different birds liked the fish and plant life in the different lakes. In one of the lakes, huge flocks of flamingoes turned the water pink and the island disappeared with the flamingoes covering every inch of ground on the islands. There were pink and white flamingoes.

After reaching the farthest points in the park, we headed back having to wait for giraffes crossing the track to get to food from the trees along the road. They were used to the vehicles and allowed us to get very close. This area also has long tailed black and white monkeys that we saw as we were returning to the start of our trip. We were exhausted by the end of our day. The week ahead was a busy one. Although we didn't have turkey, we had a nice dinner at the logde.