Arusha National Park, Tanzania:

Mt. Meru inside Arusha National Park

In December 2017, I fulfilled myself a childhood dream and went on a 12-day-safari in northern Tanzania.

I reached Tanzania with KLM via tiny and easy-going Kilimanjaro International Airport. My first stop was the mid-sized city of Arusha, which is something of the country’s safari-capital. Before my safari started, I took a walk through the city centre and visited the few sights. Since it was sunday, most shops were closed and the town had a relaxed feeling. Luckily, I was also not hassled by hawkers which are supposedly quite abundant. The most interesting place in Arusha is the Natural History Museum, which is housed in the town’s oldest building, a fort constructed in 1900 by German colonialists (the so-called Boma). In contrast, the Arusha Declaration Museum might be only interesting to serious history buffs!

stopover in Amsterdam

Ksij Arusha Shia Mosque

Sokoine Road

Arusha Clock Tower

Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

small botanical garden around the museum

Rufous-beaked Snake in the museum

Natural History Museum

flower in the garden

Arusha Declaration Monument

Arusha Declaration Museum

Arusha Declaration Museum

Arusha Declaration Museum

city centre

view from my hotel

view towards Mt. Meru from my hotel

view across Arusha

Sikh Temple

Swaminarayan Temple

Jain Temple

On the following day, I explored Arusha National Park which encompasses the 4,562-m-high Mt. Meru and the surrounding forest and savannah. The park cannot boast with the most spectacular wildlife, but the scenery is beautiful and varied. I went on a 2-hour guided walk (which I must admit was rather boring) and on a very nice game drive to the so-called “Small Serengeti”, the Momella Lakes, and the rim of the Ngurdoto Crater.

Ngongongare Gate

Mount Meru

Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance

road through Arusha National Park

“Small Serengeti”

“Small Serengeti”

“Small Serengeti”

“Small Serengeti”

road through Arusha National Park

Bushbuck

buffalo skull

hiking at the foot of Mount Meru

landscape at the foot of Mount Meru

landscape at the foot of Mount Meru

Common Fiscal Shrike

African Buffalo

African Buffalo

African Buffalo

landscape at the foot of Mount Meru

hiking at the foot of Mount Meru

Mount Meru

male Bushbuck

Common Waterbuck

waterbucks, zebras, and a bushbuck

buffalo and bushbuck

Helmeted Guineafowl

Grant’s Zebra

Grant’s Zebra

Grant’s Zebra

Common Waterbuck

Masai Giraffe

Momella Lake

Grey Crowned Crane

Common Sandpiper

Black-winged Stilt

Grey Crowned Crane

Common Waterbuck

flamingos on Momella Lake

flamingos on Momella Lake

Lesser Flamingos

Lesser Flamingos

Common Warthog with young

Scaly Francolin

Hippopotamus

Hippopotamus

Common Waterbuck

female Narina Trogon

female Narina Trogon

female Narina Trogon

forests near the Ngurdoto Crater

Ngurdoto Crater

Ngurdoto Crater

Mantled Guereza

Mantled Guereza

Mantled Guereza

baby Mantled Guereza

I really enjoyed the wonderful landscape and fresh mountain air. My highlight of the game drive was a group of black-and-white colobus monkeys (Mantled Guereza), which we could observe for some time in tree tops near the Ngurdoto Crater. Following on this great start of my trip, my next stop was Tarangire National Park – check out the coming post!