Lake Manyara National Park

September 8-10, 2019 from the Itinerary: After breakfast and safari briefing, clients will meet with their driver guide and depart Arusha passing through the Masai Steppe filled with many picturesque African villages as well as maize, coffee and banana plantations. At the town of Makuyuni turn North West and continue the journey through a scenic escarpment that brings you to your lodge, perched on the edge of the Rift Valley with stunning views over the distant Lake Manyara. Arrive at the lodge in time for lunch and then depart for an afternoon game drive in the Lake Manyara National Park, returning to the lodge as the sun sets.

Standing high on the edge of a towering terracotta escarpment with panoramic views over the glittering alkaline waters of Lake Manyara, Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge offers a unique blend of tranquillity, wildlife discovery, and ornithological richness. The rooms are housed in circular, double-storey, white-washed ‘rondavels’ (traditional circular buildings with conical thatched roofs), which are strung out along the edge of the cliff so as to allow for maximum views. Enjoy daily morning and afternoon game drives.

On the 7th I transitioned from Arusha to the Lake Duluthi Lodge where I overnighted before continuing on to the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge. I didn't know much about Lake Manyara before visiting and each day I had a morning and evening game drive. Along the way I saw Baobab trees and flags which notified that Tsetse fly preventive spaying had occurred. That said, sometimes when we stopped, the driver killed a few:(

We entered the park and started hunting animals. Our route took us around Lake Manyara

The landscape was scrub brown with the lake and some forest.

Highlights of this part of the trip were the animals:

Monkeys, baboons, and their babies:

Lions, including a lion that was resting in the tree above the road - right above our safari jeep!

Elephants - big and little:

And other animals, like birds which included pied kingfisher, guineafowl, flamingos

Buffalo and wildebeests

Bushbucks

Giraffes

Warthogs

An iguana

The Serena Lodge was very pretty and had a wildlife viewing area. My room is in this lodge and the main lodge had a lovely fireplace.