Lake Manyara
Lake Mayara is a beautiful freshwater lake located in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area of Tanzania. It is known for its rich biodiversity, including a variety of trees that contribute to the overall ecosystem of the lake and its surrounding areas. park is famous for its unusual tree-climbing lions and the vast elephant herds it was established to protect the shores of the lake attract more than 400 species of birds, many of them waterfowl or migrants.
Landscape
The initial disappointment
The lake was made famous for its huge flock of flamingos, they are gone. The lake became much larger, the alkalinity of the water changed to something flamingos don't like — which caused them to move to a different lake to feed. You can see there was a walkway where you could walk far out into the lake. Masai farm the area and the runoff from chemicals rushed the water in a series of massive storms in 2018. This was the main purpose of the visit and when I found out they were gone, it was disappointing for sure. I quickly found out that was a tiny piece of what makes this place great and it was worth coming to regardless.
Trees of Manyara
Aint Nothing but a Giraffe Party
It wasn’t so much a party, it was a wake. When spotting animals you must have eyes wide open and scouring the brush for any movement or something that stands out. That is not the issue with giraffes because duh, they are tall as trees. Those long legs provide a pretty good defense as they swing about in any direction even to the kind of the jungle. If a giraffe gets injured…..that all changes. One of the poor guys incurred a leg issue and a giant male lion pounced and took him down. The rest of the tower “tower is a herd of giraffes” looked on in horror as one of their own was disemboweled and eaten alive. They stood there for over an hour and one by one slowly walked away. Nature is savage but that’s the circle of life.
Lets eat Shit
The baboons are more than entertaining. I followed and spent a great deal of time watching them interact with each other and hang out as a clan. The elephants spend most of their day eating and shitting and when they marched past the baboons, it did not go unnoticed. An elephant can drop up to 220lbs of dung each day and the monkeys are presented with a free-nutrient rich meal right on their doorstep.
