Of cats under bushes ...

We manage to enter Tarangire national park as early as our bodies allow: shortly after gate opening. To our surprise many animals welcome us directly from the beginning. Zappy zebras, elegant elands, itty-bitty impalas and gregarious Grant's gazelles left and right of us. It's not even 9 a. m. when I nearly shit my pants for the first time this day: Bacheloring elephant bulls 🐘, mommies 🐘🐘 and their cubs 🐘🐘🐘 crossing the road in front and behind of us. And we being immobile with having our engine turned off (Michis Arsch auf Grundeis, jetzt schon!).

Before continuing to the renown Silale swamp we take a small detour through "little Serengeti plain" north of Tarangire river. "Little" but yay! We see beautiful grey crowned cranes for the first time while many trees around us are occupied by brown snake eagles. A whole class of baby ostriches is being escorted by just one female and one male ostrich. Are things going right here? And there, a sweet warthog with an erect tail! Woah, way too many impressions! But let that be just the beginning ...

We stay north-easterly of Tarangire river and follow it upstream where it turns in from the south. Where the easterly side arm (from Mbweha campsite) crosses our road, tourists from another safari car point our gazes into the direction of three lions crouched in the shade of a bush. Awww, we would have never spotted them alone! In the hard shade of the bright sunlight they are perfectly camouflaged with their pale, greyish-yellow fur.

Our curiosity and our instinct for the more adventurous routes let us continue east onto a track which is not frequented by commercial safari cars at all. This is what I like. We are heading directly to Silale swamp now. The sandy track meanders smoothly through the now denser bushland when **BAM!** suddenly a leopard lady with her cub jumps up from under a shrub and darts off into the void, not being seen ever again. Yeeehaaaaw! Filled with joy and adrenaline, we are unable to grasp what just happened. Remember that prominent saying? "Don't search for leopards. Leopards just happen.". So true! So beautiful! These must probably have been the two most exciting seconds of our trip. On a viewpoint near Balloon Camp we have to digest the first half of this crazy day. From here, the terrain descends into the Silale basin.

African fish eagles! Non-pink flamingoes! The swamp is full with birds and we only see the backs of grazing elephants overlooking the high grass. We got recommendations to drive as far as to Oliver's camp but this would be rushing today. Instead, we decide to find a picnic place near the t-junction and ... get to a stop. A safari car is blocking the road coming from the right and in front of us, where we are heading, one single, adolescent elephant. Can you imagine what happens next? Yes, Michi's heartbeat reaches a critical value for the second time this day when this very elephant decides to sway slowly into the direction of our car, which, again, has the engine turned off for "more authentic wilderness experience". Shit 🙈. The guys in the other car must have been praying excessively for the elephant to take our direction. But, reaching our car, luckily it turns away towards a small tree in order to scrub its trunk and tusks in a very fulfilling manner, underlined with an even more fulfilling scrubbing sound 🐘. We enjoy this pleasant pause and shortly afterwards also find our own peace with a satisfying power nap, coffee and tea on the pretty Hondo Hondo special campsite, being watched by waterbucks and warthogs.Read more