Tarangire Treetops- Tarangire Conservation Area.

Tarangire Treetops a luxury safari lodge located on the eastern border of Tarangire National Park in Tanzania is situated in the 57,000 acres of Tarangire Conservation Area. The Lodge is only 98 kilometers from Arusha.

As you enter the lodge, your eyes land on the Reception, which shows an artistically constructed area, built in local material that leads to the main restaurant, with panoramic views of the landscape, hugged around a baobab tree.
At Tarangire treetops’ left side are a few steps that lead to the swimming pool with sim chairs which guests use when relaxing from wildlife viewing and game spoting. What Tarangire Treetops refer to as “Tree homes” are literally lodge rooms that are built a round real live trees in a way that strikes a balance between assuring that the ecosystem is maintained in the best way possible. There are high standards of personalized attention, room, meals and service which guests at Tarangire Treetops enjoy.

With rooms that have ensuite bathroom facilities like running water, standard shower and flushing toilets, Tarangire Treetops has got original giant en-suite tree houses which are equipped with private verandas that have sweeping views over the surrounding bush.

Culinary and Dining Experience at Tarangire Treetops.
Most evenings at Tarangire Treetops are spent in the dining area socializing with family and visitors you find there, and here still, International and African meals are prepared and served.

Activities at Tarangire Treetops.
§ Day wildlife viewing and game driving safaris.
§ Maasai village visits.
§ Ornithological safaris.
§ Night wildlife watching and game driving safaris.
§ Relax on your chair on the veranda, gazing between trees, or enlighten yourself with some reading, or noting down a journal or your sketchbook.
§ Walking safari around Tarangire Conservation Area.
§ Specially planned dinners in the bush.
§ Take a trip in the pool after safari game driving or anytime you feel like cooling yourself.

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Tarangire Sopa Lodge.
January 1995 saw the opening of Tarangire Sopa Lodge, an all-suite lodge of 75 suites with scenic views and good game viewing possibilities. It is situated on the eastern side of the Tarangire River opposite Tarangire Hill. This lodge, which is 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the park entrance gate, has basically two means of transport that guests can use to reach it. That is to say; driving, which takes about an hour to get to this area rich in wildlife, or one can use chartered flight from Arusha, which takes 20 minutes, followed by a 45-minute drive through plentiful wildlife to the lodge.

The lodge has still got carpeted suites, which contain small comfortable, en-suite bathroom, large bedroom with two queen-sized beds, and balcony.
Bathrooms are fitted with walk-in shower, washbasin, bidet, shaving socket, lavatory and hair dryer.
It is through the sliding doors, which are fitted with secondary mosquito screens that you can have the access to the balcony. The lodge avails non-smoking suites and all beds are fitted with mosquito nets.

Every suite has got a mini fridge, complimentary bottled water and glasses. Bathroom services at Tarangire Sopa Lodge involves shampoo as well as shower gel. Every day, freshly laundered towels plus washcloths are provided. Electricity s there full time, hot and cold running water is available at every 6 am to 8 am and 6 pm to 8 pm. Meanwhile cold water is also available fulltime.

Culinary and Dining Experience at Tarangire Sopa Lodge.
Tarangire Sopa Lodge has got so many meal facilities, which include;
§ The restaurant: This lies in the main building and it has got spectacular views of the bush and resident wildlife. This area, which is non-smoking, has got meals which, are freshly produced and these are a combination of African, Asian and European dishes. While breakfast is served buffet style, lunch and dinner comprise of four courses namely; starter soup, incorporating vegetarian options, main course and pudding.
§ All day and evening, Lounge and Tuska Bar provides soft drinks, tea, coffee, wine, cocktails plus liqueurs.
§ Superb facilities for conferences and meetings of all kinds are provided by the Sunset Meeting Room.
§ Apart from a wide range of liqueur, coffees and chocolates, which are available, the coffee shack is also open throughout the day for complementary tea and coffee, situated near the reception area.
§ Pool bar: The pool bar, which is known for providing soft drinks, wines, beer, tea, cocktails and liqueurs, is believed to be situated at the swimming pool and is surrounded by a patio area as well as small sheltered umbrella areas. However, if one makes a request for outdoor lunches and buffets, they can be provided as well.

Activities at Tarangire Sopa Lodge.
§ Ornithological safaris.
§ Day wildlife watching and game driving safaris.
§ Sundowners.
§ Swimming pool on the lodge grounds mostly enjoyed by children.
§ Specially planned dinners in the bush.
§ Maasai village visits.

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Tarangire Safari Lodge.
Tarangire Safari Lodge which is 120 kilometers from Arusha and whose airstrip is situated close to the lodge, is believed to be one of the original accommodations in the park, no wonder therefore the very first owners had a chance of choosing the best location to host their guests. Just on the ridge with spectacular panoramic views of the park is where the accommodation lies. During the visits to this lodge, many guests staying for many nights tend to plan for a few afternoons to go and stay on the ridge with their binoculars as they continue spoting animals go by.

The location of the lodge has got an amazing aspect, in other words, its location favours visits even during the dry months. This is true because of the fact that there is a river at the foot of the ridge, which attracts wildlife to the water source, and therefore gusts are assured of spotting animals here throughout the year.

Tarangire Safari Lodge has got two sets of accommodation namely; Canvas tented accommodations or Bungalow style rooms and they all overlook Tarangire national Park. It is important to note that the tents have beds, electricity and ensuite with solar heated showers.

Culinary and Dining Experience at Tarangire Safari Lodge.
While serving the meals at this lodge, the existance of many different guests is highly considered, and every attempt is made to share the heritage and culinary delicacies that come with that.

In the dining room, which is centrally located and close to the swimming pool, is where the meals are served.

Activities at Tarangire Safari Lodge.
§ Swimming pool on the lodge grounds mostly enjoyed by children.
§ Sundowners.
§ Specially planned dinners in the bush.
§ Day wildlife and game driving safaris.
§ Relaxing on the patio, one can sight various animals passing below, including herds of up to 300 elephants.
§ Ornithological safaris.
§ Maasai village visits.

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Tarangire Porini Camp.
Tarangire Porini Camp, which was set up in 1998, with the purpose of offering personalized service to visiting guests and offering an ultimate bush experience amidst natural surroundings, is located on 200 acres of unspoilt wilderness on the border of the magnificent Tarangire National Park and Tarangire Conservation Area, which are well known due to their herds of elephant and other animal life species.

Tarangire Porini Camp has got tents, which have got en-suite facilities and a private verandah. The bathroom facilities at the camp are bucket style showers and long drop eco-toilets. The tents in Tarangire Camp are literally in the wilderness and the guests can be sure of complete privacy because these tents are very well spread from each other.

Culinary and Dining Experience at Tarangire Porini Camp.
In the main area near the entrance, is where the Dining hall lies. Guests normally gather around the fireplace in the evenings, and there they basically talk about the day’s safari explores in the African wilderness.

Activities at Tarangire Porini Camp.
§ Maasai dances and traditional folklore.
§ Walking safari around Tarangire reservation area.
§ Specially planned dinners in the bush.
§ Day wildlife viewing and game driving safaris.
§ Night wildlife viewing and game driving safaris.
§ Maasai village visits.
§ Ornithological safaris.

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Tamarind Camp-Tarangire Conservation Area.

Tamarind Camp a semi-permanent and high quality safari camp is believed to be the fourth biggest national park in Tanzania, and its large habitats favour an equally rich valley of mammals, birds as well as flora, which makes it a delight to adventure. On privately owned Maasai land just 15 metres from the entrance of Tarangire National Park is where Tamarind Camp lies. It is very well situated in a grove of beautiful Acacia Tortilis trees and recently renewed. It is important to note that the Tamarind is located in 200 acres of Acacia woodland and bush, right on the boundary of the park.

Tamarind Camp is also a benefactor to the local community of Mosakin village, through direct donations from client revenue. So far, a new water line and support to the local school have been brought due to these exact payments.

The lodge has got tented accommodation, which is luxuriously comfortable and has en-suite bathrooms as well as nice handcrafted furnitures that is got from hard wood. The camp has got tents, which are well spread out and mostly face the adjacent park boundary, marked only by a tree-lined sand river. Every tent is brought while equipped with mats, safari chairs, soft furnishings in individual style, flashlight, table, luggage rack, candles and kerosene lanterns.

Tamarind Camp has also got a variety of wildlife that a guest expects to view during the visit to Tarangire National Park. Some of the animals include the following: -
Zebra and wildebeest, which are usually spotted feeding on the nearby plains, while elephant and lions normally occupy the area around the camp.

Culinary and Dining Experience Tamarind Camp.
During breakfast, lunch and candlelit dinners, the guests use insect-proof tents, which are normally locally furnished.

Activities at Tamarind Camp.
§ Day wildlife viewing and game driving safaris.
§ Walking safari around Tarangire Conservation Area.
§ Specially planned dinners in the bush.
§ Night wildlife watching and game driving safaris.
§ Ornithological safaris.
§ Maasai Village visits.

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Swala Tented Camp- Tarangire national Park.
Swale comes from the Kiswahili word Impala referring to the antelope that are pleasant guests of the camp. The camp is situated in a remote pocket of Tarangire National Park, and it is positioned in a copse of majestic acacia trees at the edge of the Gurusi wetlands and the open savannah beyond. The stands of ancient baobab trees, large family herds of elephants, many bird life species as well as dry season concentrations of wildlife makes Tarangire the classic Africa of love which has been feted by adventurers, immortalized in documentaries and sought after by the discerning guests.
As part of their commitment to this forgotten corner of Tanzania, the staff and management team at Swala have initiated a pioneering Community Conservation Project that has recently led to the constructing of a school for the children of a village that borders Tarangire.

Swala provides an experience that is luxurious in its style and exclusive in its setting, the ambience of old, wild Africa with a breath taking location that defines the safari as surely as the wild life that resides in it.

Swala has got nine private tents, which have bathrooms with showers complemented by fittings and fixtures got from local materials to mirror the understated elegance of the time-honoured safari style.

In order to maintain the wildlife experience in this camp and for the guests to view them throughout the year, there are elevated terraces on the tents, which are appointed towards the waterhole and these contribute a lot in attracting wildlife throughout the year.

You will continue to get the gentle sounds from the wildlife that reside in the camp, and these include; water buck, lion, Impala, plus various elephant herds.

Culinary and Dining Experience At Swala Camp.
The meals of full service, pan-African cuisine and fine wines adding to the “country house under canvas” ambience, are taken in the comfortable dining tent. The guest will in most cases be assured of staying with the personalized African friendly, professionalism and knowledge of Swala’s accomplished hosts, personal tent attendants, safari guides and Maasai askaris who accompany the guest at the tent at night.

Activities at Swala Tented Camp.
§ Sundowners.
§ Ornithological safaris.
§ Maasai village visits.
§ Wildlife viewing from the camp.
§ Waling safari around Swala Camp.
§ Day wildlife watching and game driving safari.
§ Specially planned dinners in the bush.

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Oliver’s Camp- Tarangire Conservation Area.
Oliver’s Camp is situated at the heart of Maasai land, East of the Great African Rift Valley. Tarangire’s rolling landscape together with the wildlife concentrations in the dry- seasons, has made the Camp popular to visitors seeking spectacular and the pleasant area.

The Camp is located on Tarangire’s eastern side of the park. It opened in 1992 and relocated to the park’s semi-wilderness area in 2001. It is basically placed to access the yearly shifting of wildlife throughout the ecosystem, and to view the impressive concentrations at waterholes for a five to six month season every year. Oliver’s Camp has got the freedom to provide walking excursions close to the Camp, and longer walking explorers in the endless woodlands and plains habitat that surrounds it, and it is important to note that it gets this freedom from the fact that it is in the wilderness zone.

Unlike other parks in northern Tanzania, Oliver’s Camp has got carefully planned off road driving in the Camp’s open vehicles, which makes the guests enjoy visiting the area.

The Camp has got 5 guest tents only. Of these, two have got twin bedded tents, one has three-bedded tent, while two containing a large double bed plus an additional single bed. Therefore, with this, Oliver’s Camp can easily cater for couples, families, as well as mixed groups comfortably and sensitively. Two of the five tents are closer to each other mainly for families and groups of friends, while the other remaining three are well far from each other. All the five sleeping tents are believed to have solid wooden furniture, beautiful cloth and practical en-suite facilities. However, bathroom services at this Camp are bucket type with long drop eco-toilets.

Culinary and Dining Experience at Oliver’s Camp.
The meals at this Camp are freshly prepared and they are normally followed by superb wine.

After open vehicle or on-foot explorers cut in the surrounding Tarangire ecosystem, guests are offered a relaxing break by drinks and library tents.

The stone fireplace is still the camp’s focal point, from which the views tend to be excellent.

Activities at Oliver’s Camp.
§ Maasai village visits.
§ Night wildlife spoting and game driving safaris.
§ Highly specialized walking safari around Tarangire Conservation Area.
§ Specially planned dinners in the bush.
§ Day wildlife spotting and game driving safari.
§ Ornithological safaris.

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Naitolia Eco Lodge - Tarangire Conservation Area.

This lodge is located deep in the Savannah, acacia and baobab ecosystem of Tarangire Conservation Area, a 40,000 - acre wildlife management area that includes the wildlife migration route into Tarangire National Park. The lodge has got an environmentally friendly modus operandi, which has attracted attention from many different eco-tourism organizations, while the innovative design which it has got and the unique appearance have already won praise. The facilities have been carefully got from these very sources to form a simple wooden lodge, full of character and charm with the design of the fittings and utilities making ingenious use of off-cuts, wood and organic materials to an innovative effect.

The lodge has got an interesting scope of options in addition to an exclusive lodge and personalized service, which makes a night at Naitolia better than just the quality of the accommodation. You might need to consider a night drive while at Naitolia, if the thought of going further the usual limits of a game drive and taking risks at night to spot the wildlife is one that has appealed to you.
There is an interesting thing about driving through the African Savannah at night, with fleeting views of migrating wildlife, hulking shadows of elephants and faint unsteady light reflections of prowling eyes to keep you alert to the unchanging natural theatre around Naitolia. Also, a foot safari or gentle nature walk in the area around the eco-lodge is an opportunity to encounter the bio-diversity of Tanzania because it is not normally accepted in most places.

Constructed entirely from local materials with low stone and grass walls, Eco-Lodge is covered by grass-thatched roof in the form of the traditional African banda.

Culinary and Dining Experience at Naitolia
Eco Lodge.
During the meals, a candle is lit around the dining area for six guests, bar and small library, opening out onto the flat-topped acacia and open savannah-with elemental textures and colours forming a relaxed intimacy in natural harmony with the surroundings.

Activities at Naitolia Eco Lodge.
§ Ornithological safari.
§ Walking safari around Tarangire Conservation Area.
§ Day wildlife viewing and game driving safari.
§ Maasai village visits.
§ Specially planned dinners in the bush.
§ Night wildlife viewing and game driving safari.

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Kikoti Camp- Tarangire Conservation area.

Kikoti a Maa word “the place where life began” got its name from the local Maasai upon an ancient pre-Jurassic Kopje in the Tarangire ecosystem, in recognition of its enduring permanence and dominant status in the surrounding ecosystem. When owners of Kikati Camp began working with local communities in the area, it appeared to be the right name for the new safari camp, showing respect for the Maasai community that have been travelling around the area for generations, and the owners admiration for the game-rich wilderness in which the camp is situated.

For every client, a Community conservation fee is paid to the local villages and this fee is used to up lift the status of community-chosen development projects, for example water boreholes, dispensaries, schools as well as roads. The camp provides an opportunity for every intimate encounter with the wildlife and people of Tanzania because of the fact that it is situated in a remote place, open wilderness, offers unassuming luxury, plus room to move around the area.

All the ten tents have sewn-in floors and plumbed en-suite facilities, and have been laid out in the traditional safari manner with wooden beds, fresh linen and a veranda from which to admire the views of the Silale wetlands in the below. The tents have been raised on platforms of natural timber and appointed with good views of the plum-purple sunsets smeared across the opening savannah. The camp has got good bathroom facilities, which include flush toilets and showers.

Culinary and Dining Experience at Kikati Camp.
Excellent sundowners evening snacks and drinks are held on the Kikoti Rock high up in the air with panoramic views of the landscape so well shown.

The meals are prepared in a tasty traditional Tanzania flavour by the local chefs. Most evenings, the hosts for the camp also get dining prepared in a wilderness area few meters from the main camp enclosed in wooden fence as a perfect example to the Maasai homestead known as the En’kaang.
Maasai of Tarangire-the owners of the land Kikoti Camp was built on, keep on presenting the traditional music and folklore, which normally follows dinner.

Activities at Kikoti Camp.
§ Maasai village visits.
§ Ornithological safari.
§ Day wildlife watching and game driving safari.
§ Specially planned dinners in the bush.
§ Night wildlife viewing and game driving safari.
§ Highly specialized walking safari around Tarangire Conservation Area.

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Tarangire Ecosystem.
Tarangire National Park is 1020 square miles (2,642 square kilometers) and has got 4 game control areas, which are; Mkungenero in the South, the Mto wa mbu in the North, Lolkisale and Simanjiro in the East and Kwakuchinja in the West. The first time, visitors may easily fail to notice the existance of these control areas, but common visitors to the park often notice the migration of large herds of elephants coming from the South entering the park to drink form the main water artery; Tarangire River.

Tarangire National Park allows guests who want a discerning experience to visit the area in an uncommon approach, because of the fact that the park’s ecosystem extends over 10 times the size of the park. Not many lodges and camps have taken this approach, which is a good experience due to the fact that is allows a mix of guests to see two parts of the Tarangire, stay at accommodations that support the Maasai people who are the direct beneficiaries of the visits that guests make, and they also take part in activities, for example walking safaris and night game driving, all while making certain that the environment is conserved.

There are three different experiences through which wildlife spotting can be done and these include; walking safaris with Oliver’s Camp, Day game driving in Tarangire National Park and night game driving in the Tarangire Conservation Area. Walking safari and night driving are not allowed in the park. Due to the wildlife management reasons, the park is divided into different areas in four different zones, with 75% of the park being sanctioned for visiting guests while the other remaining 25% has no road networks.
When entering the park, you enter the area called Leniyon, which has got a lot of bird activity and herds of antelopes and zebras.

When you cross a few hundred meters, you will be led to a point where guests is staying at the Tarangire Safari Lodge can spot the reed bucks, wildebeests, leopards, and elephants adorn the panoramic landscape. When you go on to the Tarangire Sopa Lodge, you will then cross over the Engelhard bridge, a point where African Mecca guests can spot a variety of bird species on the stream, that include the Pelicans, Saddle Bill stork, and Marabou storks crossing over the firm soils of the water waiting for the occasional fish, tadpoles as well as other organisms. Going further to the heart of the Tarangire leads one to spot massive herds like the buffalos, elephants, Eland, waterbucks and zebra.

In a s far as botanical experience is concerned, Tarangire National Park has got mixed vegetation which aids many creatures there, for example; the lions use the plains grass to lie low, the pythons move around the branch of a tree, and the elephants are basically known for having a field day in the swamps at Gursi and Silale. The vegetation in Tarangire include; plain grasslands, yellow Fever Fig, Tamarind trees, Baobab, Acacia, Sausage and Candelabra.

For Geologists, Tarangire offers a good sample of what happened around the borders of the Great Rift Valley many years back. This is shown in the existance of 3 main forms of rock formations that include; the very well known Black cotton soil, red alluvial deposits and the pre-Cambrian rocks. The Black cotton soil can be realised during the rain days, when precipitation makes the soil keep the water like a slithering and flexible clay pot than can twist and twin without causing a decline in the level of the water; the red soils can be spotted at the bottom and banks of the rivers which carries the deposit to the lower level of the areas’ wile the pre-Cambrian rocks are the hills sighted in the distance. As the climate continues to change, these hills get reduced to smaller mounds, which serve as a birds eye for the predators for example lions to land and stay on.

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