It is always tough to leave the Plantation Lodge.  It is just too comfortable and the people are way too kind and friendly.  But we tore ourselves away because of Tarangire National Park.  It is a worthy motivating force… the chance to see incredible numbers and varieties of wildlife on a seemingly unlimited expanse of beautiful land.  We got rolling out of Karatu at 8:30 AM but couldn’t resist a fine shopping opportunity for some Tanzanian keepsakes a short distance out of town.  We still made it out to Tarangire by late morning and immediately began seeing animals and then more animals and more animals still.  At first it was just the flavors we’d already become familiar with (zebra, wildebeest, impala, waterbuck, eagles, vultures, giraffes) but then we started seeing new things.  Family after family of elephants, each with a wee one just a few months old.  We saw a python up a tree.  We saw lions chewing on a zebra. We saw hartebeest and elan and bushbucks and Dik Dik.  We looked up every likely tree for leopards… but they are still hiding from us.  Then we finished the day at  Lokisale Lodge, deep within the park.  The staff gave us a friendly welcome and lit a fire for us to enjoy sunset by.  They warned us gently of the wild animals roaming through the grounds of the lodge and then showed us to our deluxe tent cabins.  We are about to eat our final dinner together, way out in East Africa. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn