Dave Burns Photo Tours & Safaris

Tarangire National Park in October never disappoints and we had some of the best sightings of our safari here. Our weather was very sunny but we had a small rain shower on two of the three days which led to dramatic skies for photography.

With the dry season in full effect, the animals congregated by the Tarangire river – the main source of water in the park. Tarangire is known for elephants and we saw large family groups bathing by the river. We even had a mother and child right outside our rooms at lunch time. One day we drove down past the Silale Swamp with beautiful views to the east. We caught this line of elephants heading towards a pool for a bath:

We saw the usual suspects including wildebeest, zebra, and antelope such as waterbuck, impala and eland. There were plenty of ostrich, giraffe, and birds such as hornbills, Bateleur and Tawny Eagles, and Lilac-breasted Rollers.

Clients always love big cats and we had some excellent sightings that put smiles on everyone’s face. There were several sightings of male cheetahs sitting on termite mounds scanning for prey. The highlight was twice seeing lions resting up in a tree – one male and one female. People are surprised to hear that lions do this but they do it to get away from bugs or if the day is too hot for them.

On our last morning, we took a game drive at sunrise through the Little Serengeti, one of my favorite areas in Tarangire, then we drove onward to the Ngorongoro Highlands and the Ngorongoro Crater.

— Dave