Arusha National Park: Trip III

View of Mt. Meru

Last weekend we took a trip to Arusha National Park (Trip I, Trip II), always a treat! It is only an hour from our house and although the cost of having to use the car as opposed to the motorcycle and paying national park fees ($60 for the two of us and the car fee), it's something we try to do at least quarterly.

We were excited since the weather was clear and we wanted to explore the Ngurdoto Crater, which was covered in clouds last time we came. Being a clear day meant a sunny day as well, so we focused our afternoon under the cover of the forest.

The day was excellent and I'm happy that our expectations were more focused on birds than big animals because the park was particularly sparse this time of the year. A large part of the Momella Lakes region had recently been burned and the land typically full of grasses was sparse and dry. The park was more crowded than we had ever seen it; we passed over a dozen other safari vehicles. Compared to the Serengeti and Tarangire and Manyara National Parks (4 hours away) Arusha National Park has a pathetic amount of big animals (no lions, elephants rarely seen). However, it makes up for it with its varied habitat and spare numbers of safari vehicles as well.

We had a fantastic day at the park first visiting the lakes and then retreating up into the Ngurdoto Crater. We first went to the top "view point" and then around the lower rim until the road ended. There were a few nice view points to have a short walk and it was awesome to have the crater to ourselves (no vehicles on that side). As usual we enjoyed ourselves immensely, though I was pretty tired after driving from 7AM-7PM...but it was worth it!

Momella Lakes region.

Lunch spot. Sacrificing cover for the view.

Mt. Meru towers above.

Montane forests of Ngurdoto crater rim.

View of Ngurdoto crater. Some water buffalo grazed below.

View from the opposite side on the inside of the crater.