CA
20-35 years of age
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by mpotechin
The most fascinating part of Ngorongoro is the first look you get upon cresting the rim of the crater. You can see miles in each direction, and down 600 metres to the floor.
Most of the Big-5 is on display – we did not see a leopard, but experienced our only rhinoceros sighting here. But for whatever reason, the feel is more like an extremely large zoo. The animals seem to keep to themselves and not interact with each other significantly.
Also within the Ngorongoro conservation area is a scattering of Masai villages, and it is fascinating to see how the villagers live. Finally, Ngorongoro is the location of Olduvai Gorge, which is an incredible archaeological site for human evolution.
CA
20-35 years of age
Review about Tarangire National Park by mpotechin
Tarangire may be “the” place in the world to visit if you are interested in elephants. In two short game drives through this park we saw more elephants, in larger families, and closer to the roads, than in the rest of our safari combined. They say that the lion is the king of the jungle... but even lions are cautious around elephants.
Elephants are not the only attraction here. We saw giraffe, zebra, hippos, lions, baboons... truly, most of the wildlife in the other parks are also present here. But they are often found interacting with the elephants, because in Tarangire, elephants are the star.
We discovered that many of the tourists who were doing shorter safaris than ours were skipping their drive through Tarangire. I cannot stress this enough: that is a huge mistake.
CA
20-35 years of age
Review about Serengeti National Park by mpotechin
Serengeti during the dry season is the image the people have when they think safari. It is The Lion King brought to life. Brown grasses as far as the eye can see, sometimes with a tree breaking the monotony.
We decided to spend a morning viewing the Serengeti from a hot-air balloon. It was expensive, but well worth the money we spent for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Everyone’s experience in the Serengeti will be different. Some will see a kill. Others may see a stampede, or a display of dominance, or a cheetah running, or a lion cub playing. We saw a juvenile elephant discover three lions stalking him, and then turn the tables on them. But everyone will see something that few other people in the world have seen, and that’s what makes Serengeti so fascinating.
CA
20-35 years of age
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by mpotechin
Lake Manyara is an interesting location that is very different from what one expects in East Africa. The lake provides year-round water, which makes Lake Manyara green and lush, and this location is one of the best for monkeys and baboons. We found, however, that the game drive here was a bit lacking compared to the other three locations we visited. The lake is full of flamingos, but there are no roads passing nearby (at least there were not when we did our game drive), so all we saw was a pink haze in the distance. We also saw small numbers of elephants, lions, giraffes... but after being spoiled by the amount of wildlife in the other parks, we were a wee bit disappointed. It is interesting to see this location, due to its dissimilarity from the other parks, but if you want to save money by cutting a day from the safari, this is the one to skip.
US
50-65 years of age
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by billt4sf
great animal sightings; very crowded; hotels atmosphere in many locations
US
50-65 years of age
Review about Tarangire National Park by billt4sf
the best of the parks we went to
US
50-65 years of age
Review about Serengeti National Park by billt4sf
Many, many animals and many people too! Get a guide that will help you experience it the way you want
US
50-65 years of age
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by billt4sf
Few animals, hard to see the flamongoes
US
50-65 years of age
Review about Selous Game Reserve by billt4sf
not as many animals but wonderfully relaxed and lovely area
CA
20-35 years of age
Tanzania is a must-visit location for anyone who considers himself a world traveler
Tanzania is not the only place in the world to see such a large array of wildlife, but it is certainly a great one. Everything from huge herds of zebras and gazelles to the most solitary of the “Big 5” fauna can be found within a few metres of the roads that stripe the surfaces of the parks. But Tanzania is still not the most popular of locations for a Safari (Kenya and South Africa are), which means that there are fewer cars on those roads.
A Northern Tanzania safari gives you a chance to see four different parks with four extremely different ecosystems. It is shocking that the vast savannahs of Serengeti, the lush forests of Lake Manyara, the volcanic oasis of Ngorongoro, and the rolling hills of Tarangire are mere hours’ drives from each other.
Accommodations range from Spartan to lush – we spent our tour in Serena and Sopa lodges, which provide above-average levels of comfort without feeling like we were paying for unnecessary opulence.
We chose Ranger Safaris as our guides, which is one of the largest tour operators in Tanzania (Other large operators are Wildersun and Leopard), and were treated very nicely by all our points of contact. Our driver was a former government veterinarian who had amazing experience and information. His car was well equipped and we always felt safe.
We chose a time which, ordinarily, would have placed us directly in the Great Migration. Unfortunately, due to a short wet season, most of the wildebeest had already left. We were not disappointed in the numbers or the variety of animals we saw, but my advice to any reader is to not pin your hopes on seeing this phenomenon if you are booking many months in advance. Sometimes, Mother Nature has other plans.
Please read further for my opinion on the parks we visited. Overall, we spent our trip completely amazed, and will not hesitate to recommend Northern Tanaznia to anyone who has interest in African safaris.