Our days in Tengeru are over and with them our time with Shangwe, who looked after us so well. In the morning the expedition vehicle picks us up and we drive through the land of the Maasai towards Tarangire National Park.

The large car and its driver Gabriel are entirely at our disposal. We even have our own cook called Saidi, who accompanies us after the first evening.

What a luxury in adventure!

I found the organization Ensemble Explores Adventures on Facebook, which organized the safaris and drivers for us.

With the help of our guide Leo, we were able to plan the tour the way we wanted and also keep it relatively inexpensive since we slept in our tents.

At the park entrance, it’s like Disneyland on a June weekend. There are dozens of identical vehicles, whose drivers get the entrance tickets while the tourists take selfies in front of the cars.

There are no fences around the park.

There is a farmer’s field there, where zebras graze. Nevertheless, we have to drive through a guardhouse with a barrier. We are never alone. There are always other vehicles somewhere in front of or behind us.

While Gabriel arranges entry, I have the opportunity to observe a tree full of weaver birds. The small yellow birds have founded a colony there and built countless round nests from which the chicks chirp.

“Don’t go away from the parking lot, jackals were seen there earlier,” the guide of another vehicle tells me. Okay, at least that’s better than lions. Nevertheless, we are now in the wilderness and should be careful.

Just behind the official entrance to the national park we see a herd of zebras. And then wildebeest. Empalas, thomsons, buffalo, giraffes – all the animals that are typical of the savannah and a visit to the zoo.

And everyone is grazing between the incredible baobab and acacia trees. We quickly leave the other vehicles behind us and are alone with the animals.

At the Tarangire River we witness an incredible event. A huge herd of elephants spreads out across the entire riverbed. Small elephants romp around with each other, a large bull makes his dominant position clear and female elephants talk to each other.

Some elephants dig holes to get to cold water, others roll around in the shallow water and trumpet happily. Elephants come from many different directions and greet each other. We are witnessing a large gathering.

The elephants are very human. Some female elephants greet each other with their trunks as if they were old friends. Bulls meet each other and seem to hurl a few insults at each other.

Then there are two little elephants who run towards each other and start to fight. The game goes so far that finally a female elephant steps in and separates the quarreling elephant children.

A small group is crossing the river, another is just coming from the other side. It is a large, moving picture of elephants in front of us.

It’s incredible. We pack our lunch and enjoy the view to the fullest.

Eventually the groups split up again and went their separate ways. One of these groups headed in our direction.

The elephants march uninhibitedly past all the vehicles that have stopped at the sight of the large herd. They are close enough to touch.

We see warthogs, ostriches, mongooses, baboons, buffalo, waterbucks and finally lions. Three lionesses appear on the other side of the river. One lies in the shade of an acacia tree and pants.

Two more lionesses march through the tall grass towards the shade of another tree. Now I need my telephoto lens. It remains unclear to us whether they have already hunted or whether they still plan to do so.

We don’t leave the national park until late afternoon. We spend the night in a beautiful, clean lodge with a pool and no other tourists. Our chef Saidi impresses us for the first time with his cooking skills.

Tomorrow we will travel to Lake Natron, which is famous for its pink colour and flamingos. But first we will experience the land of the Maasai.