We stayed in the Burunge Tented Lodge for three nights and explored Tarangire National Park for two days. The lodge offered a buffet in the morning so we could pack a lunch to eat in the bush, usually where there were bathroom facilities. Michael also packed wine and Savannah (hard cider) for us. He was very familiar with this park and we saw many new animal species.
On our last night at Burunge, at dinner the staff came out holding a cake, dancing and singing. We thought someone had a birthday. But no, they came to our table. Not sure why, except Kathy makes friends everywhere. It was special.
Species count by the end of day, about 52 (some are still being positively identified)
Breakfast Buffet at the lodge. Custom eggs to order.
And a yummy breakfast. The rolled food is their version of a pancake. More like a crepe but still good. Lots of fresh fruit and juice too.
Guides meeting at the coffee bar.
Lovely infinity pool. Sadly we didn't get an opportunity to try out that pool.
Tangawize modeling our Ourdoor Africa hats.
At cocktail hour on our last night a herd of elephants wandered onto the property to drink from the pools. The pools can be refilled remotely, which they were. We toured the grounds the next day and could see elephant damage. They can be very destructive.
Eating the tree after drinking all the water.
Typical travel obstruction. The Maasai let their cattle and goats roam freely - outside of the national parks (where they are not allowed).
Flower from the Baobab tree.
Baobab tree with vulture
Typical scene in Tarangire National Park.
Typical scene at Tarangire NP
Lesser Striped Swallow, seen from the deck of our lodge.
Northern White-crowned Shrike
Common Bulbul. I had a hard time IDing this one. I thought it was a kind of flycatcher.
White-headed Buffalo-Weaver. A very distinctive weaver that makes a very messy nest.
Helmeted Guineafowl. For being prey animals, they are very loud.
Red-necked Francolin. Another loud prey animal.
Yellow-necked Francolin.
The first closeup elephant.
Southern Ground-Hornbill. Love the eyelashes.
Northern Red-billed Hornbill. We spotted many kinds of hornbills.
African Gray Hornbill
Von Der Decken's Hornbill
Impala. The nickname is "McPala" as they are easily identified by the M on the rump.
Kirk's Dik-Dik. These are just cute.
Zebra. Grant's Zebra, to be specific. Maybe. Or just a Plains Zebra.
Common Ostrich - male.
Common Ostrich - female
Magpie Shrike
Lilac-Breasted Roller. These birds are spectacular in flight - all colors of the rainbow.
Lilac-Breasted Roller.
Common Eland - shy animals
Out from the bushes
Mama and baby elephant
Maasai Giraffe, leucistic. He wandered off before I could get a photo of the eye color.
Maasai Giraffe
Cape Buffalo, and calf
Common Wildebeest. This one could be the white-bearded subspecies. With wildebeest come flies, lots of flies.
Bohor Reedbuck
White-backed Vulture
Common Greenshank. I thought this was a March Sandpiper but iNaturalist disagreed.
Marabou Stork. Not all birds are pretty.
Marabou Stork
Black-winged Stilt
Blacksmith Lapwing
Little Stint (I misidentified as sanderlings)
Eastern Chanting-Goshawk
White-bellied Bustard
Resting lioness
Zebra, keeping an eye on us.
Lappet-faced Vulture
Clean up crew
Long-crested Eagle.
Long-crested Eagle
Bird butt - for my butts collection
Bohor Reedbuck. They were only seen near water.
Bohor Reedbuck and Nile Monitor. Look on the ground in front of the antelope for the monitor.
Bohor Reedbuck and Nile Monitor. Look on the ground in front of the antelope for the monitor.
Striated Heron. This one posed so there are several photos.
Striated Heron - with attitude. This one posed so there are several photos.
Striated Heron. This one posed so there are several photos.
Striated Heron. This one posed so there are several photos.
Elephants and impalas. Very typical scene.
Great White Pelicans
African Sacred Ibis
Southern Greater Kudu. The male is still young as his horns haven't made several twists.
This lioness had just brought down this wildebeest. She held on to the throat for several minutes to make sure it was dead.
Testing if the wildebeest is dead.
Testing if the wildebeest is dead.
When she confirmed it was dead, the lioness wandered off to rest in the shade of another tree nearby. Our guide said they often wait a full day before eating the catch. Look at the muscles and wounds.
The young males are funny looking with their Mohawk mane.
African Fish Eagle
African Fish Eagle
Mama and baby elephant in the water.
Baby elephant seems to be having fun in the water.
Out - time to go.
Gray Heron
Zebra. They often look pregnant, but some are male so that isn't the case. They have special digestive enzymes allowing them to eat grass others can't digest. I guess that gives them the look of bloat.
Coming out of the water.
Egyptian geese in flight.
African Spoonbills (left) and Egyptian Goose (right)
Egyptian Geese, displaying
Lousy photo of Spur-winged Geese. Their have beautiful colors on the wings.
Secretary birds. Often seen in pairs in the tall grass.
Not all lions appear dignified.
We watched for a bit to see if the zebra knew the lions were nearby and if they had any interest.
Long tusker. This elephant was just inside the gate to Tarangire NP and had the longest tusks seen by our guide. Standing still and I couldn't get a clean shot.
