River of a Thousand Elephants

Tarangire is a Warangi word meaning "a meandering river," but I think it should translate to the "river of a thousand elephants."

 

A census taken in 1980 of the animal population in Tarangire National Park estimated that at the time the park contained some 25,000 wildebeest, 32,000 zebra and only 3,000 elephants. But judging by the number of ellie babies we saw in August - more than 35 years later - those estimates are probably very modest. We saw almost a thousand elephants ourselves in just three days! The park is famous for them.

Now what?

Tarangire is also famous for its huge number of  baobab trees and tree climbing lions.

The baobab off our private patio at the Tarangire Osupuko Lodge

Baobabs, like elephants, have the best silhouettes!

Many of the baobab trees had huge sausage-shaped seed pods hanging from their branches. The Maasai children around Tarangire collected the pods and sold them on the side of the road as souvenirs. (Yes I picked up a couple.)

This tree is not a baobab but it did have a lion climbing in it!