Tarangire is a park for those who want to step that much further off the beaten track to experience a truly wild area. A Tarangire National Park safari boasts large herds of elephant and buffalo, and a remarkable concentration of big cats and is one of the best National Parks in Tanzania. The African wild dog, kudu, oryx and gerenuk, rarely found in other parks in the northern circuit, can also be found here, along with arguably the best bird diversity in Africa. More than 550 species are attracted to its vibrant swamps. During the dry season from August to October, Tarangire has the highest concentration of mammals of any of Tanzania’s renowned national parks.

During the rainy season, the seasonal visitors scatter over a 20,000 sq km (12,500 sq miles) range until they exhaust the green plains and the river calls once more. But Tarangire’s mobs of elephant are easily encountered, wet or dry. The swamps, tinged green year round, are the focus for 550 bird varieties, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world.

On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world’s largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys.

More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colourful yellow-collared lovebird, and the somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all endemic to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania.

Disused termite mounds are often frequented by colonies of the endearing dwarf mongoose, and pairs of red-and-yellow barbet, which draw attention to themselves by their loud, clockwork-like duetting.

Tarangire’s pythons climb trees, as do its lions and leopards, lounging in the branches where the fruit of the sausage tree disguises the twitch of a tail.The dry open woods like e acacia thickets, as well as many of its significant baobab trees make up the vegetation of the Tarangire. The stunning acacia tortillis trees not forgetting the occasional palm tree. There are also huge flat swamps within the woodlands in the south that get very impassable during the rains. During the rest of the year; they will also uniformly dry in green