For us, travelling has always meant one thing first and foremost: finding each other again.
Throughout the year, each of us follows a different path. There is school, work, friends, daily commitments that inevitably fill our days. We remain a family, of course, but more often than not we move like planets orbiting the same sun without ever truly meeting in the same point of space.
Then travel arrives.
And it feels like someone slows time down.
Conversations become longer. Phones become less important. Eyes become more present. We start sharing not only spaces, but emotions again.
Maybe that is why our first safari in Tanzania will remain one of the most beautiful memories we carry with us.
Not only for the animals we saw.
But for what we lived together.
From Arusha to the heart of safari country
Our day began in Arusha, where we left around 8 in the morning.
We climbed into the jeep with Suleiman, our guide from Lion King Adventures, who would accompany us for five days through some of the most spectacular national parks in Tanzania.
We were excited, almost overwhelmed by expectations. The destination was the Tarangire National Park—our very first real encounter with African safari landscapes and game drives.
Safari in Africa: worries and emotions
When you imagine an African safari, you picture the animals first.
Elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, and the giant baobabs. But you also think about practical worries: weather, mosquitoes, tropical diseases, vaccines, malaria prophylaxis.
We travelled to Tanzania at the end of May, just after the rainy season, and we left without specific vaccinations or prophylaxis.
But there is something nobody really tells you about: what happens inside the jeep.
It is a silent connection that becomes even stronger as a family, a shared anticipation of the first sighting.
Nobody really speaks.
Everyone either leans toward the window or stands under the pop-up roof, trying to keep balance as the jeep moves along red dirt tracks still marked by the rains.
It feels like everyone is lost in their own thoughts, but in reality we are all searching for the same thing: a movement in the grass, a distant shape, a shadow under a tree.
And then someone sees it.
An elephant. A giraffe. A zebra.
Or even a tiny dik-dik, the smallest African antelope with enormous eyes.
The jeep stops.
Everyone looks in the same direction.
For a few seconds, that single point in the landscape becomes everything.
Photographing or truly living the moment
At first, everything is captured through screens. Phones always in hand, photos and videos trying to freeze every detail.
Then something changes.
You still take pictures, but you stop trying to document every second.
Because you understand that some moments don’t need to be saved in a phone. They are already engraved inside you.
Entering Tarangire National Park
At the entrance gate of Tarangire National Park, a big sign welcomes visitors: “I Love Tarangire.”
Around it, a group of Maasai performs the traditional Adumu jumping dance.
It is clearly a staged welcome for tourists. But in that moment, it does not matter.
It is Tanzania welcoming us.
We observe everything with curiosity and respect—faces, clothes, colours, rituals so different from ours.
The origins of Tarangire National Park
The Tarangire National Park was established in 1970.
It takes its name from the Tarangire River, which flows through the protected area and becomes a vital water source for wildlife, especially during the dry season.
Before becoming a national park, this land was crossed by local communities and wild animals following the natural rhythm of water and migration.
Today, Tarangire is one of the most fascinating parks in Tanzania, famous for its huge elephant populations and its monumental baobab trees.
What see in the Tarangire National Park: Elephants, giraffes and giant baobabs
The landscape of Tarangire National Park is breathtaking. Rolling hills, valleys, open plains, scattered woodland and endless baobabs create a constantly changing scenery.
Every curve reveals a new view. Every hill changes perspective. At times, it truly felt like we had stepped inside a film.
If you are wondering what to see in Tarangire or whether it is worth including in a safari itinerary in Tanzania, the answer is absolutely yes.
Tarangire is especially known as a stronghold for elephants in Tanzania—one of the most emotional sightings in the park.
These magnificent animals are the largest land mammals on Earth. They live in family groups led by an experienced female who guides the herd toward water and grazing areas.
Females stay together for life, while males become more solitary once adult. So if you see a lone elephant during a safari in Tarangire, there is a good chance it is a male.
May can also be a special time to see elephant calves, as births happen throughout the year. It is common to spot young elephants staying close to their mothers as the herd moves in search of water.
But Tarangire is not only about elephants.
Young giraffes often appear curious and attentive, always protected by their mothers. One fascinating detail is the presence of small birds on their bodies—the oxpeckers. These birds feed on ticks and parasites, creating a natural cleaning partnership that benefits both species.
And then there are zebras. From a distance they look like moving patterns, but up close each stripe is unique—like a natural fingerprint. They move in large groups where protection is shared and cooperation is essential.
Towering above all of this are the baobabs.
These ancient trees look like living sculptures. With their massive trunks and irregular shapes, they seem almost inverted, as if their roots point toward the sky. During the dry season they become iconic silhouettes of Tarangire.
Their fruit contains a dry, powdery pulp rich in nutrients. We tried it—it was slightly sour and interesting, though not exactly our favourite. The animals, however, seem to love it much more than we did.
Lunch inside the Tarangire park
In Tarangire National Park, safari does not stop for lunch.
There are designated picnic areas inside the park, and even mealtime becomes part of the experience.
We unload the cooler from the jeep, set up a simple table, and share food together. We relive the morning sightings, laugh, scroll through photos, and keep being amazed.
Meanwhile, small blue-feathered birds—the lilac-breasted rollers—approach our feet looking for scraps.
Suleiman, our guide in Tarangire
Suleiman was more than just a guide.
He welcomed us at the Kilimanjaro International Airport, where we arrived on a direct flight from Paris, and he immediately made us feel comfortable with his smile and calm energy.
But as the hours passed, he became something more: an essential part of our journey.
He didn’t just explain animals and landscapes—especially elephants, which he deeply loves—he shared his own sense of wonder.
Even after more than ten years guiding safaris across Tanzania, he still looked at everything with passion, as if it were the first time.
That ability to keep wonder alive is what made him unforgettable.
A small Swahili travel dictionary
La lingua ufficiale della Tanzania è lo swahili (kiswahili), parlato quotidianamente da quasi tutta la popolazione. L’inglese è usato The official language of Tanzania is Swahili (Kiswahili), spoken daily across the country. English is mainly used in administrative and tourism contexts, but learning a few words is part of the fun.
On our first safari day, we picked up some words we will never forget:
- Jambo – hello
- Pole pole – slowly, slowly
- Tembo – elephant and Kundi la tembo – herd of elephants
- Twiga – giraffe
- Tuende – let’s go
- Rafiki – friend
- Asante – thank you
- Asante sana – thank you very much
And it is exactly asante sana that we carry with us from Tarangire. Because “thank you” alone is not enough.
Why visit Tarangire National Park
Visiting Tarangire National Park means entering an intense, authentic and surprising side of Tanzania.
Known as the land of elephants and baobabs, it quickly became something much deeper for us.
We realized that a safari is not just about spotting wildlife, but about waiting together, being amazed together, and sharing long silences while looking in the same direction.
Our Africa truly began here, in Tarangire, inside a jeep, as a family, with hearts full of gratitude.
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