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NORTHERN CIRCUIT
Lake Manyara National park
As you approach the village of Mto wa Mbu (Mosquito Creek) from the direction of Arusha the outstanding landmark is the spectacular rift wall. Here where the Maasai plains give way to the cultivated uplands of Mbululand, lies Lake Manyara National Park nestling at the foot of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. It is a 125 sq. mile park of which two-thirds is covered by water. The name derives from "emanyara", the Maasai word for prickly euphorbia thorns. This lake is believed to have been formed 2 - 3 million years ago when the Rift Valley came into existence, and was created by streams pouring over the escarpment and collecting into the natural depression that is the lake today. The lake has a high soda content which attracts large flocks of flamingoes that form a pink mantle over the lake when viewed from afar.
Throughout the park, there is a surprising diversity in plant and animal life and habitats, from open grasslands to hot water springs, swamps and forests to rocky outcrops. Each of these supports diverse wildlife and a big array of birdlife, there being over 400 species in the park.
This is the only park in the area that is green all year round, you can easily pick out the mosaic of the Park's different habitats. In the tall trees of the ground water forest, monkeys leap from branch to branch; on the slope of the escarpment Elephants stand in the shade of a Baobab. In the acacia woodland lions lie draped along the branches of umbrella trees, in the pools along the lake shore the hippos wallow, and in the lake itself wade colorful flamingos.
The large variety of mammals, reptiles and birds in the Park and the different types of vegetation, all within a small area make Lake Manyara a diverse and particularly memorable place to visit.
Manyara is also known for its boisterous hippo population, as well as large baboon troops, and short-tempered herds of elephant (a result of years of poaching). But perhaps the phenomenon that makes Manyara famous is its tree-climbing lions.
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti National Park, in the Mara, Arusha, and Shinyanga provinces of north-eastern Tanzania, Africa, established in 1941. The 14,763 sq km (5,700 sq mi) which it covers consist mainly of flat, open grassland but the park also has areas of woodland and bushy savannah and a few rocky kopjes (small hills). More than 200 species of birds and 35 species of plains animals, including relatively large numbers of cheetahs, leopards, and giraffes, inhabit the Serengeti. There are also about 200,000 zebras, 2 million wildebeest, 1 million gazelles, and thousands of elephants, which did not roam in large numbers in the park until the 1960s, when the pressure of rising human population on resources forced many into the protected area. The Serengeti is also famous for its black rhinoceroses, of which about 100 live on its plains. Both elephants and rhinoceroses have been threatened by poachers, whose activities continue to present problems for the park authorities
The Serengeti, which has been designated a World Heritage Area, is the only national park in Africa where seasonal migrations of plains animals take place. Millions of animals move to the western part of the park during the dry season (May to early June) and then return to the eastern part of the park and into the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya, on which it borders.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
A relatively low population density means that Tanzania has retained more of its wildlife than most other African states, and the country is home to some of the most famous wildlife reserves in the world, including the Ngorongoro Crater pictured above and the Serengenti and Selous national parks. Comprising a huge, extinct volcanic crater in north-eastern Tanzania, Ngorongoro provides not only a safe haven for wildlife but also a unique study area for scientists, especially geneticists, because its wildlife populations are isolated from those of the rest of the country by the walls of the crater. The crater is located within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a World Heritage Site that also includes the Olduvai Gorge, where the remains of some of the earliest ancestors of human beings have been found.
The crater is about 610 meters deep, 20 kilometers in diameters, covering an area of 325 square kilometers. This area now has one of the largest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. Designated as a World Heritage Site, the Ngorongoro is home tosome endangered species, like the black rhino. The crater walls act as a natural cage, the depth making it difficult for some animals to leave; most have no need to leave, being able to find enough resources inside.The Ngorongoro Crater has been called the 8th Wonder of the World, and with good reason. It is an unspoilt Eden, where one can easily see most of the Big 5 - rhino, buffalo, elephant, lion and giraffe within minutes of descending into the Crater.
As with most lakes in the Rift Valley area, the small lake in the crater is a soda lake, and is the seasonal home for thousands of flamingoes. The crater floor is a self-contained world apart, likened to Noah's Ark for its preservation of animal diversity in a relatively contained area. An estimated 30,000 animals make their home here. There are numerous habitats within the crater ranging from the Yellow-barked acacia forests of Lerai to the swamps around Ngoitokitok Springs to the pink flamingo mantle of the soda Lake Magadi, each supporting a distinct ecosystem. The Ngorongoro Crater is part of a larger eco-system called the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This is a multiple land use area, and a distinct phenomenon of this area is the manner in which the Maasai tribe with their cattle coexists peacefully with the wildlife. It is a common sight where the young Maasai morani (young warriors) leading their cattle to watering places in the crater, carrying spears for protection against the wild animals.
Within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, on the Naabi Plains that unfurl between the Crater and The Serengeti, lies Olduvai Gorge, popularly known as "The Cradle of Mankind". It was here that Dr. Louis Leakey and his wife Mary first discovered the remains of Zinjanthropus Bosei, a distant ancestor of man believed to be 1.8 million years old and Australopithecus Bosei, the 'Nutcracker Man', a species that became extinct about 1 million years ago. There were also fossilized footprints, remains of ancient tools and bones from various prehistoric species, which are now extinct.
Arusha National park
Arusha National Park is a relatively small park, covering an area of 137 square kilometers (52.9 square miles), and lies near the town of Arusha. The town and the Park derive their name from the Warusha people who traditionally lived in this area. However the Park also overlaps into areas where the Maasai lived and most of the place names in the Park are of Maasai origin.
Three distinct areas are to be found within Arusha National Park: Ngurdoto Crater, the Momela Lakes and the rugged Mt. Meru. Altitudes range from 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) above sea level at Momela to over 4,500 (14,764 feet) meters at the summit of Meru. The vegetation, which occurs in the Park, is correlated to the altitude and geology of the area. Ngurdoto Crater is surrounded by forest whilst the crater floor is a swampy area. The Momela Lakes, like many in the Rift Valley, are alkaline, and Mt. Meru is a mixture of lush forests and bare rocks.
Tarangire National park
At 2,600km², Tarangire is far from being the biggest of the Tanzanian parks, but its unrivalled landscape of open plains, dotted with thousands of baobabs, is unforgettable. About 120kms south of Arusha on the Dodoma road, Tarangire rivals the Serengeti for the size of the game herds that congregate here at peak season (June to November). This is when many of the animals crowd around the only source of permanent water in the park, the Tarangire River. This is also the best place in Tanzania to see really big herds of elephant - up to 300 at a time.
Tarangire National Park contains nine different vegetation zones, each supporting distinct types of wildlife. The park is named after the Tarangire River that runs through the center of the park providing the only permanent water source in the area. Tarangire is thus a dry season habitat (between July and November) because of the perennial water in the Tarangire River that attracts wildlife from much of the Northern Circuit ecosystems beginning in August.
By October, the park is full, the population swelled by mini-migrations of wildebeest and zebra that join the vast herds of elephant at the water holes. However, there is a permanent and sizeable resident population throughout the year, including all the predators (lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena and hunting dog), elephant and some mammals rarely seen in the other parks of the Northern Circuit, such as Kudu and fringe-eared Oryx.
Tarangire is another park known for its tree-climbing lions, and for its very big herds of buffalo. This is one of Africa's little-known gems and should be on the itinerary of all lovers of wilderness and solitude. The game numbers are staggering: 30,000 zebra, 25,000 wildebeest, 5,000 buffalo, 3,000 elephant, 2,500 Maasai giraffe and over 1,000 fringe-eared oryx (gemsbok). Predators include lion, cheetah and leopard, and birders will want to look out for the endemic ashy starling, rufous-tailed weaver and black-collared lovebird. |
