We plan to be at Tanagire Park, staying at the Sopa Lodge. We arrive on News Year eve and are there for 3 days and 2 nights. Then on the Ngorongoro Crater for a day and night.

What is Tarangire NP like? Where should we go in the park and what wil lwe see?

Can you tell us what to take on a safari? It is our first time in Africa.... How about giving us tips, hints, ideas, etc on little things we should know ahead such as clothing, etc? My wife and I will be on a 2 person safari with driver and car.

Any ideas on the Ngorogoro Crateralso would be appreciated. We are at the Sopa Lodge again for that night at the Crater.

Please have a look at my thread:

Honeymoon Tanzania & Pemba Sept 2005


a bit below. You will find some information and photos. You will probably have a guide to show you around the park. Use the search field in this forum to get more info. All the answers to your questions can be found this way

If you do a search on rsnyder you should find 7-11-04 post on trip to East Africa including Tarangire and other places in Tanzania. And, the 8-31-04 post has pictures from that trip. We especially liked Tarangire with the great baobab trees, outstanding bird life and few visitors as it was mid-June. Dick

Would like to hear more about the wildlife in the park. We are staying at the Sopa Lodge in the park.

Husband and I just returned from Tan. and went to Tarangire NP. I think for animals it was one of our favorites. The park is mostly acacia woodland with rolling hills. Beware the tse tse flies, there are a few around (I'm not sure about abundance at the time you will be there). Deet 29% foil packet wipes worked for me. The park had dense populations of animals, the most we saw all trip. We saw wonderful baobob trees, and other nice flora. Check out Marynus's thread, or also mine Trip Report from Tanzania. We both have similar pics, ets. Elephants, Wildabeast, Zeebra, Giraffe, Lions, leopard, lots of birds, you will see almost all of what is in your mind. Although, again, I am unsure about populations at your time.

For the Crater, take a warm cover up. It is cool on the rim and warm in the crater. Layers and versatility are very important. The crater is the only place we saw rhino, there are I think 17 or so in the park. That would be my focus if I were to go back. Good Luck!

Monitor the site, I had such good luck with all my information found here. Many questions will be answered if you just take a few minutes per day to scan the posts.

Also, the Lonely Planet guides were helpful. The pre-May 2005 issue of the Tanzania book has much better animal guide, but you could get the newer version, and get a second, Aud. African Animals. Birding is also good, so a short/small guide might be good too. Don't forget to learn a little Swahili. Thank you, hello, good bye, yes, and no are all good things to know in advance.

As to where in the park, your guide will probably be aware of where wildlife has been seen. The entrance area, quite a ways from Sopa, is known for plentiful game.

I've had some excellecent elephant viewing in Tarangire. Also lions with cubs and one leopard.

The best view and photo I've had of a black backed jacakal was in Tarangire.

One evening, near Sopa, we watched a family of dik diks (small antelopes) that are normally very elusive, for 30 minutes. These were quite relaxed and remained near the road. The adults are the size of a medium dog and the babies were the size of a cat. Best encounter anywhere with these creatures.

It is a beautiful scenic park that makes the elephant, giraffe, etc. quite picturesque.

For the Crater at Sopa there is good birding right at the lodge. You might get a staff member to assist you. There are tree hyrax that you can get very close to and about once a week the blue (or black) monkeys come around to feed--at least they did in July.

Are ther egiraffes in this park?

Yes. And they are beautiful.

Dear 536547869,

If you're really curious, take a look at this link:

http://www.habari.co.tz/tanapa/tarapakg.html

You will enjoy this park, I'm nearly certain.