Tansania – Pirschfahrt im Arusha National Park

Flamingos and monkey jams in Arusha National Park

With our thoughts still completely occupied by the concept of brushing our teeth with a Sodom apple, we arrived back at Momella Gate. Safari life and dental hygiene—turns out they do go hand in hand. Time and again, I am absolutely fascinated by nature, traditional medicine, and its inhabitants, whether human or animal.

At Momella Gate, many of the other rangers were sitting in the shade with Elly, enjoying the last sips of their coffee. Elly had used these two hours to gather fresh insider knowledge about Arusha National Park: where the giraffes are currently roaming, where the various monkey families can be found, and whether there are plenty of flamingos gathered at the Momella Lakes. Now, just a quick trip to the restroom, and we were off again in our Land Cruiser, heading toward the Momella Lakes.

From Momella Gate to the Momella Lakes

From Momella Gate, we turned right toward the lakes. For a brief moment, we could make out the Hatari Lodge on our left. Honestly, without Elly pointing it out, I wouldn’t have taken a photo and we would have never even known it was there. But thanks to him, it became yet another highlight of our day.

We both remember the classic movie Hatari! and, of course, the actor Hardy Krüger. That very movie—whether you like it or not—along with Hardy Krüger, was what originally brought that authentic African lifestyle right into our living rooms back then. During one of our next trips to Tanzania, we will definitely make sure to include a stay at the Hatari Lodge in our itinerary.

Our path now led us directly to the large signpost for the various lakes. We turned left, heading toward Big Momella Lake. The absolute main attraction at the Momella Lakes is the massive numbers of flamingos. I have already written about flamingos in one of our other articles. Here, these birds find a truly perfect habitat. The lakes are alkaline, saline, and fed by groundwater. The food supply is incredibly abundant, and the fluctuating water depth allows the flamingos to access their nourishment with ease. In the shallower parts, they are permanently bent over with their beaks submerged in the water, filtering for small crustaceans and algae. But they don’t just stand there quietly; they are constantly in motion.

Tap-dancing flamingos

The flamingos were in continuous motion. In pairs or in small groups, but always rhythmically. And of course, their heads were down, with their bills moving through the water without pause. Our native storks back home do something similar, but nowhere near as intensely as this. „This is how they stir up the shrimp and algae from the bottom before filtering them with their large beaks,“ Elly explained to us.

The flamingos had truly captured Elly’s heart. He sat rather quietly up front at the steering wheel, gazing out over the lake. The first groups of flamingos were further out on the water, and it was only thanks to our powerful zoom lenses that we were able to capture great photos and videos. With a smartphone, that would have been rather difficult. But then the magic happened: Elly whipped out his smartphone and his binoculars. An African song was already playing on the car radio, very much reminiscent of The Lion King. He lined up his binoculars with the flamingos, held his phone camera right up to the eyepiece, and started recording. It was fascinating: tap-dancing flamingos perfectly synced to African music.

Turn the music on

With the music playing, the flamingos suddenly seemed entirely different. They executed their movements precisely to the beat. They tap-danced solo, in pairs, and in entire groups. The spectacle became even more impressive due to the countless reflections on the glassy water. The first flamingos we saw only had a faint pink coloration, but at Big Momella Lake, the pink hues were incredibly vibrant. And then, at other moments, the flamingos just stood perfectly still in the water, balancing on a single leg. Because of the calm water and the intense pink color, the mirror images on the surface looked even more imposing. Meanwhile, completely inconspicuous along the shores, a few herons were hiding. Standing on a branch on just one leg—now that is a true art form.

Returning through the Small Serengeti

And there they were again: the giraffes. They were trotting very slowly right in front of us across the gravel track. Others stood amidst the dense bushes, with only their long necks poking out. Then, a female giraffe slowly ambled across our path. As she disappeared into the thicket, we spotted a tiny giraffe head on the left. A tiny head nestled between the shrubs—it was a very young giraffe calf. Small and cuddly compared to the five-meter giant beside it.

And just a moment later, „Radio Africa“ came running along behind them. That is exactly what makes the „Small Serengeti“ so special: the tiny wildlife encounters right in the midst of the grand scenery. After that, we encountered numerous blue monkeys and baboons again. They, too, are a vital part of life here in the Small Serengeti.

Dialogue with a monkey: The blue monkeys

Right by the side of the track, high up in the treetops, Elly spotted several blue monkeys. Absolutely nothing escapes Elly’s eyes. One of the monkeys was perched very impressively on a branch. Elly brought the Land Cruiser to a halt, and we snapped our photos. Alright, they’re just monkeys, I thought to myself. We can probably keep driving now; it’s not that exciting. But I had completely underestimated Elly. Elly rolled down the passenger window, and then he truly went to town.

He began to croak and grunt. Yes, you read that right. Elly, the ultimate all-rounder, began to talk monkey business.

Looking with different eyes

The blue monkey was completely taken aback, looking left, right, and straight ahead, freezing in its tracks. Where on earth is my rival? Where is my buddy? Then, the monkey joined in and started answering right back. What exactly they were discussing is something I don’t think even Elly knew for sure. Elly and the monkey locked in a deep dialogue—and it actually worked! We captured it all on video, and it was simply spectacular. Elly later told us, „Only these blue monkeys can produce such a wide variety of vocalizations, and some of their sounds even mimic human screams. That’s how I managed to learn their calls. And it works!“ Yes, it certainly did. From that moment on, I saw these blue monkeys through completely different eyes, and the memory will stay with me forever.

Baboon-induced traffic jam on the gravel road

We could see it from a distance: the gravel road was completely blocked. Right ahead of us, an entire baboon family was sitting comfortably in the middle of the track. Quite contentedly, they were grooming one another. The older family members were meticulously cleaning the fur of the little ones—a wonderful display of the baboons‘ social behavior. A few older individuals sat in a lookout position, scanning tightly in all directions. As our vehicle approached the group, absolutely nothing happened. Yes, you read that correctly: nothing.

The baboons had long since learned that the many Land Cruisers filled with tourists pose absolutely no threat to them. And so, they stayed right where they were, leaving us stuck in a safari traffic jam. However, we eventually had to keep moving, so Elly started edging closer at a snail’s pace, trying to gently convince them, baboon by baboon, to finally clear the path. Even though it took quite a while, it provided us with the perfect opportunity to study and photograph the baboons up close.

Shortly after, we reached the Ngongongare Gate, and from there, we took the direct route back to the Arumeru River Lodge.

We let the exciting day wind down beautifully while enjoying an excellent dinner.