Tarangire National Park

In the morning, we ventured to a section of the park less often visited due to the tsetse flies. It was dry and hot, but wonderful to be able to spend hours essentially on our own without seeing any other vehicles. We came upon a herd of elephants walking toward the wetter section of the park, the older and larger elephants protecting the calves. In the late morning we came upon a large male lion sitting right next to the road, protecting a partial buffalo carcass. Another rather sleepy male lion was also close by, as were a large number of carrion-eaters. It was wonderful to have the chance to observe the lions without any interruptions, although they did seem mostly interested in napping and preventing the hyena from moving in. In the afternoon we saw a baobab tree that had previously been used as a poacher’s hide, the interior hollowed out to form a small room. We also underwent two important experiments regarding tsetse files. In the first, we learned that they very much like blue and black. It is a common practice to hang fabric impregnated with pesticide near living areas; these banners have three stripes, two blue with a black in the middle, to attract the flies. Exactly the pattern of our camera bags. Oops. Whenever we walked to our tent in daytime it was a contest between the banners and the camera bags, and far too often we seemed to lose! In our second experiment, we learned that tsetse flies can bite through two layers of clothing and even through hiking socks. That would be impressive, in the abstract.

In the evening, we were able to have another unique experience, a night safari drive. Using shaded lamps, we watched several lions who seemed very interested in the herd of buffalo we could hear lowing and splashing to our right. It was fascinating to sit there in the dark, hearing the sounds of the herd walking through the grass, splashing into the water, but not able to see them. The lions walked toward the herd, but perhaps found that the pickings were too difficult, as they then decided to just take a quick drink from the watering hole and move along, feigning nonchalance. Hadn’t given a thought to eating anything, nonsense, just here for a drink, thanks. Sure.