Tarangire National Park

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 “…Sister Water; She is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure” 

  Saint Francis of Assisi   

 “…Sister Water; She is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure” 

  Saint Francis of Assisi   

   “Jambo.  Time get up.”  The soft voice was unwelcome in the dark cool of the morning, but since today we were to start the day with an early morning breakfast picnic in Tarangire National Park Charlie and I did minimal          ablutions and dressed.                                                                                    

  “Why is it so dark?” I complained, stumbling about in the dim light.

 “Because the solar cells don’t work at night, and the batteries need recharging,” stated my engineer husband. 

 
 Breakfast boxes and coffee awaited on the veranda of Burunge Tented Camp.  We gulped our coffee, stumbled into our safari vehicles, and lurched away. 
 When we stopped it was near a large rock outcropping called a kopje.

We climbed to the top and found we could see a 360 degree panorama of the surrounding plane glowing with early morning light.   The only animals sharing our morning view were rock hyraxes.  These animal look remarkably like ground hogs, but are considered to be the Elephants closest modern relative. 
 Early rising guides had checked the kopje earlier, as lions enjoy the unrestricted view from the tops, and the fact that rock hollows often hold water for considerable periods.  We did see lions on top of an outcropping later in the morning, although they were very young and cuddly preditors. 
  The group selected  a view and a rock  and  ate our packed cheese, bread, apples and water as the light grew brighter.  An eagle circled above searching for his breakfast.  The hyraxes called back and forth to each other, as someone spotted a pair of elephants, tiny in the distance.  The experience was worth the early climb from warm beds, and the climb to the top.  Lovely memory. 

 The Tarangire River flows through Tarangire Park even in the dry season, when water is scarce in most of Tanzania.  Abundant water means abundant life.  During this period of drought the bush is denser and the grass higher here than in many areas, and the animals move close to the water.  

Iconic baobab trees, the models for the sculpture rising about the Animal Kingdom in Florida’s Disney, are found in in Tarangire large numbers.

      Tsetse   flies, horsefly sized bloodsuckers swarm near the river.  Their nasty chomp causes a sharp pain, and leaves a bleeding bite mark.  A few also carry  sleeping sickness, a potentially fatal disease. They are attracted to the color blue, so we were told not to wear this color. The blue of Tsetse traps could easily be seen against the brown/gold of the landscape and we did see a few of the creatures. 

 We continued our game drive and returned to the camp for a late lunch.  In the afternoon a choice, a massage and nap or a walk to the lake.  Charlie enjoyed his walk, but I smugly felt no regrets.  The massage was wonderful, and the nap heaven. 
 Our pre-prandial wine lapped our taste buds as the glow of the setting sun lapped the shore of the lake in the plain below our veranda.  .  Such a luxurious, civilized experience amid the savage beauty of the harsh untamed wilderness.  The magnificence of the wilderness itself only exists at the whim of humans, which added another layer of irony.  I mused on the earth and our place in it, my thoughts fueled by another glass, or two, of wine, picture of sunset

  

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