Mayanara or TArangire park in December?
 

which would you pick? I'm still deciding on itineraries and operators and this is a difference I am seeing. Which would you recommend? Thank you!

Manyara for better wildlife viewing in Dec.

Tarangire is a very pretty park and the best place to get nice views of the baobab trees, but typically this time of year the larger game animals are dispersed so you won't see as many critters, though we did see quite a few elephants when we were there in mid-January 2006. This park is best in the dry season when more animals are seen near the river.

It also felt less crowded than Manyara to me when we were there, though you can avoid most crowding in Manyara by going early in the morning.

Manyara is a much smaller, more lush park dominated by the lake and the rift wall. It's a great place to see many birds and we usually see elephants (often within a few feet of the road), buffalo, giraffes and other large game animals in January. Maybe 50-50 you'll see the tree-climbing lions and we had a great leopard sighting this past January, but that's unusual. There were about 300,000 flamingos in the lake this past January too, which was a nice bonus (though almost none in January 2006, so you never know).

Since we prefer photographing birds and large animals instead of scenics we chose to spend time in Manyara and skip Tarangire on our second and third trips to Tz. If going in the summer months we'd spend several days in Tarangire but in Dec I prefer Manyara, but I wouldn't really argue with anyone who reversed this because of the scenery and more wilderness setting at Tarangire.

Bill

I also had the exact same question for my safari operator.

We will be in Tanzania in late December, with my two neices who have never been to Africa. (This will be the 6th trip for my wife and me.) After talking with my safari operator, we decided on Swala Camp in Tarangire because we wanted to see some good-sized elephant herds, and we didn't think we would see herds in the other parks we were visiting (Ngorongoro and Serengeti). Our other option was Tree Lodge in Manyara, but its location deep in the park away from the majority of the wildlife, and the lack of real herds of elephants in Manyara deterred us from that choice. We also decided that my neices will be on cloud nine with any wildlife sighting in Tarangire, since that will be their first safari experience ever. Following it up with Ngorongoro Crater and then a mobile migration camp in the Serengeti will hopefully be a good progression of wildlife for them as first-timers.

However since then I have read a lot of comments about Tarangire's lack of wildlife in December, and I was actually there on a safari in December 1990 and remember a lot of boring driving looking for wildlife, but running into some fun close encounters with elephants -- not much more.

I would appreciate more comments on this thread about this subject.

seven down -

I also hope this posts gets more active because different operators are saying different things. Which travel agent do you use for your travels?

This time I am using Eben Schoeman of Kiliwarriors (http://www.kiliwarriors.com/). Eben posts on here a lot under the name climbhighsleeplow.
Eben is a partner in a safari company with several Maasai guides and travels to Africa extensively (in fact he is there now) and I can honestly say in my 5 previous safaris I have never booked with someone as knowledgable and helpful. I usually research my trips to death and often know more than my travel agent by the time I book something. But Eben is in a class above most, and he is so completely approachable it makes the experience a joy. He also maintains a website with detailed information about East Africa called http://go-safari.com. Unbelievably detailed and helpful. (BTW, I am only a customer -- I have no relation to Eben or his company.)

Of course my needs were specific (wanting elephant herds), and I know I will see lots of other wildlife in the other parks I am visiting, so I chose Tarangire over Manyara. In 1990 I went to both parks and I completely agree with what Bill H says above about crowds, landscape, etc. Tarangire is a unique place in terms of landscape. The termite mounds and boabab trees in Tarangire are something out of a "Lord of the Rings" movie - otherworldly. But in December the game may not be as plentiful, so I would only choose Tarangire then at the beginning of a safari that was also going to other more wildlife-rich parks.