Lake Manyara National Park

Lake Manyara NP was our first foray into the African wildlife scene and we were not disappointed. Lions, hippos, giraffes, flamingos, baboons, elephants, gazelle, impala, monkeys, and birds, birds, birds.

The best piece of advice I can offer for Lake Manyara or any other safari is to make sure you have a good guide/driver beforehand. You might have to pay a little more for a top guide, but it is well worth the cost. If you can afford a private guide/driver, even better. Ours was exceedingly knowledgeable about the environment and the wildlife. He was able to spot and point out animals that we would have never seen our own. A place like Lake Manyara is quite scenic to drive through, but when someone is able to point out and describe things you would not otherwise notice, it makes the experience truly memorable.

Great birding.

Vast number of animals including hippos and monkeys

Wonderful encounter with nature

This was my very first time in an African Safari and I was really hoping to see elephants and giraffes among others. As we entered the park, just a few meters from the gate, we were welcomed by a beautiful family of elephants. They really came in close to us to the point that we could almost touche them (a big no no).
The scenery was wonderful with green grass and trees and small streams and creeks running across some of the roads.
Our guide was incredible patient with us as we took our time to take pictures and video of everything that moved.

Lions in trees stunning to park underneath loads of bird life.

Great for elephants, baboons and hippos!

The flamingos and tree climbing lions!

I enjoyed meeting with the Maasai people and talking to them in Swahili about their customs. They were so friendly that they took me to one of their very traditional programs.

Lake Manyara was quieter than the other parks we went to in Tanzania. The bush vibe was more evident as a result. I really liked the terrain, which was far less open than the other reserves and led to a better chance of coming across animals unexpectedly, as we did with a group of elephants. It also has a great hippo pool.

Wildlife viewing wasn't quite as good as elsewhere, but in part that's down to luck. Had we seen a large cat or two it would probably have been my favourite of the parks.

It was our first stop so memorable for that. The elephants and flamingos are standouts here.