Seeing the Big Five, synonymous with a successful safari
The Big Five is the circle of the most dangerous animals, respected by hunters in the past because they were the most difficult to kill: the lion, the leopard (the most difficult to observe because it's so shy), the buffalo, the elephant and the rhinoceros (also difficult to observe because there are so few of them left). However, it's worth noting that the most aggressive and deadly animal on the African continent is none other than man! Other animals are the darlings of safaris, starting with the cheetah, both powerful and fragile, the fastest animal in the world (up to 120 km/h). Beautiful giraffes, the country's symbol animal, hundreds of very different antelopes, colonies of baboons, hippopotamuses and crocodiles in the rivers... In the Serengeti, thousands of wildebeests and zebras run around during the great migration. Finally, the Gombe, Mahale and Rubondo Island national parks are ideal for chimpanzee watching.
Here, you can catch the animals in their daily lives, either alone, in herds or in colonies. Memorable scenes! What a privilege to see a mother cheetah feeding her cubs with a beautiful antelope, to surprise a leopard guarding its prey that it has managed to hoist to the top of a tree, to observe a group of lions lounging under an acacia tree, the lion cubs playing under the watchful eye of their mother, or the hippopotamuses laughingly turning in the river in front of the crocodiles, mouths open in the sun. Antelopes, warthogs, wildebeests and zebras grazing peacefully together on the plains when suddenly everyone breaks into a gallop at the approach of a predator... A colony of baboons happily skinning themselves under the baobabs, elephant calves splashing mud on each other in the river, groups of giraffes perfectly camouflaged in the savannah, not to mention the hundreds of species of birds... What a spectacle! Nevertheless, it's very rare to see a fawn catch an antelope buck before your very eyes, as this is the result of long observation, which the documentary-makers carry out under different conditions. The habitat will give you clues about the animals you'll come across: plains are synonymous with lions and cheetahs, forests with elephants and leopards, rivers with hippos and crocs, etc.
Where to stay, when and how to get there?
There are three main options: public camps, private camps and lodges. Tanapa (the authority that manages Tanzania's national parks) public camps are very rudimentary, and you often have to pitch your tent and arrive equipped, apart from a few "resthouses" with basic rooms or bandas for rent. They are full in high season and occupied by agencies who organize "budget" safaris and supply tents, comforters, 4x4s, drivers, etc., to a group formed to optimize costs. Food is prepared by a cook. Private camps are equipped with comfortable, heavy safari tents with private bathrooms. Expensive, but with restaurant meals, they offer both comfort and nights close to the bush (what a pleasure to hear lions roaring or hyenas screaming at night). Finally, lodges are reserved for those who can afford a real room in the middle of the bush. These last two options also offer full-board prices, with two game drives per day included, in which case you'll just have to take care of transfers to the camps.
You enter the parks by 4x4 through gates (you need to register your vehicle's license plate and type in advance), from which the days inside the park are counted (the entry fee is per person and per 24 hours). You can arrive directly by plane on an "airstrip", a runway where small cuckoos land, usually leaving from Arusha for the northern parks. This is an expensive option, but essential, for example, to observe the great wildebeest migration, located several days' 4x4 drive from the entrance to the Serengeti. You can also take a 1 to 3-day safari by charter plane directly from Zanzibar to Mikumi, Selous, Ruaha, Saadani or Serengeti national parks. By 4x4, in isolated parks, we generally stay 3 days in a lodge, with the possibility of a night in a flycamp (a camp under the stars). From Arusha, to cover most of the northern parks by 4x4 (Manyara, Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro), you need a minimum of 4 days, ideally between 5 and 7 days, and you can add Lake Eyasi. The dry season is the best time to visit most of the dense parks where animals hide. As water becomes scarcer, animals move around more. In the northern parks, wildlife is so abundant that the season doesn't matter, except during the heavy rainy season from March to May when the tracks are impassable.
"Game drive", "walking safari" and "boat trip", what are they?
Watching wild animals is not just a matter of criss-crossing the parks in 4x4 vehicles - you often have to get up early! Except in the northern parks (Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire), wildlife is so abundant that you can observe it all day long. For the others, the bugle usually sounds around 5.30 a.m. (don't worry, you can go back to sleep after breakfast), and we set off for 3 hours, at night, with warm clothes and blankets on board large, high, open 4x4s to better observe the nocturnal hunters, i.e. leopards and lions. The ranger guides point out the bushes with powerful lamps, then once daylight has broken, the whole savannah comes alive early in the morning to drink, hunt and move around before the hot weather sets in. Ditto in the evening. To vary your observations and your pleasures, you can take part in a "walking safari" during your stay. You set off on foot, accompanied by two armed rangers, into the park - a real thrill! Don't expect to come face to face with a surprised lion, though: wild animals can smell you from miles away, and will flee from humans on foot (synonymous with poachers, unfortunately). The idea is to follow the animals' tracks (footprints, droppings), and it's great fun and instructive to be in the shoes of a tracker! The guides also explain the ecosystems (trees, plants). Chimpanzee watching in the Gombe Mahale and Rubondo Island parks can also only be done on foot. Last but not least, a safari holiday is often not complete without a boat trip to meet the hippos, crocodiles and elephants that cool off, live or take mud baths in the rivers or on their banks. Particularly in Ruaha Park, Selous, Lakes Manyara, Eyasi..
What to take in your suitcase?
Bring warm clothing for the northern parks, as it can get cold at altitudes of over 2,000 m on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, or at 1,500 m in the Serengeti highlands if you're camping. Remember to take basic equipment (headlamp, Swiss Army knife, etc.), and to wear thick, loose-fitting clothing in khaki and beige rather than white, red (blood-colored) or colored, which is highly visible to animals, or blue and black, which is very attractive to tsetse flies that will literally attack you in certain areas of the parks, especially when cars are open. Although sleeping sickness is now very rarely transmitted to humans, these powerful horseflies bite very deeply through clothing that's too thin, and it's very painful. You should also bring anti-mosquito lotions for skin and clothing, which are essential for repelling them, and which also prevent the bites of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Take a zoom lens for your camera, as photos often don't show much from a distance - you won't get the details of the snout!
How much does it cost?
Safaris in Tanzania are some of the most spectacular in the world, but also some of the most expensive. Entrance fees range from US$70 to US$100 per day for the most famous parks, and US$35 for smaller ones. The overnight tax is US$60 inside most parks for lodges and private camps. It's hard to keep track of all the costs and taxes, but it's also very complicated to self-drive with a rented car, as there are no signs in the parks to help you find your way around, and the accumulated taxes are not to the advantage of private individuals, unlike in other safari countries in southern Africa, where driving a rented car is the norm. What's more, going down into the Ngorongoro Crater costs US$295 per car in addition to the US$80 individual entrance fee, so it's best to pool costs by going through an agency that will create groups if you're on a tight budget. You can't pay at the gate; you have to go to one of the NCA's special offices in Arusha well in advance to obtain a downhill permit. What's more, even the slightest breakdown is complicated to manage. The easiest thing to do, therefore, is to do what over 90% of visitors do, and go through a safari agency offering all-inclusive prices with a driver-guide who, what's more, gives explanations about the animals observed and has a real eye for spotting them, as well as a walkie-talkie to find out where they are spotted. Some are French-speaking and highly experienced. Budget agencies offer all-inclusive packages at US$ 200 per person per day, with overnight stays in public camps and camping equipment provided. In this case, cars are filled to capacity (6 to 8 people), with individuals grouped together to optimize costs. If you hire a private car with driver, the cost will obviously be higher. Last but not least, driver-guides expect fairly high "tips" at the end of the tour, and are poorly paid (between 250 and 500 US$ per month). For a group, expect to pay US$30 per day for the guide and US$20 for the cook. If you arrive by plane, you can book your game drives directly at the camp or lodge. A final word of advice: from now on, you'll need to pay by CB Visa or MasterCard at park entrances or with a Tanapa prepaid card, which can be purchased at Exim banks. Only the rules for Ngorongoro are different: you can't pay at the gate; you have to go to one of the NCA's special offices in Arusha well in advance to obtain a downhill permit. Agencies normally take care of this, but if you're hiring a freelance driver, think ahead (2 days minimum). The advantage is that the wait at the gates of Ngorongoro and Serengeti is over, as tourists already exhausted by the road sometimes lost 3 or 4 hours of precious game-viewing time. Now, in just 5 minutes, safari cars "beep" their prepaid cards! Progress, really.
