East Africa’s Big Game Preserves

You soon get used to the sight of lions roaming the veldt and savannas on this East African nation’s numerous game reserves.

It’s the nearly dozen of them snoozing away the hot afternoon 20 feet above ground, in the branches of an umbrella acacia tree here, that comes as a surprise.

Manyara National Park’s variety of terrains (ground-water forest, open grassland, lakes, streams, swamps and dry soda lakes) provide a comfortable habitat for what is the greatest selection of animals and birds in all of Africa.

During two days of game runs we saw the lions, herds of cape buffalo, giraffe, impala, zebra, waterbuck, elephant, leopard and blue and vervet monkeys, plus hordes of baboons, the leopard’s favorite entree.

Also, our van was present at the birth of a not-so-tiny hippo, the mother spinning furiously in a small lake as the baby came free and then began to swim and frolic with the herd.

High Density of Elephants

Manyara National Park lies below an escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. Though only about 128 square miles, it has the highest density of elephants in Africa, more than 600 at last count.

The black rhino, thanks to poachers seeking the supposedly mystical qualities of its horn, has not fared as well, having been reduced to fewer than 25.

Arusha is the gateway to Tanzania’s major game reserves: Manyara National Park 79 miles east, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti Plain beyond, Mt. Kilimanjaro in the opposite direction.

It’s a colorful and lively town set amid coffee plantations, and worth a visit.

Getting there: Fly British Airways, Pan Am, KLM, Lufthansa or Air France to Nairobi, Kenya. You can also fly KLM to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, 31 miles from Arusha. From either Nairobi or Arusha it is best to join a safari group (see below).

How long/how much? Two days for Manyara National Park, but an East African trip really calls for visits to Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti Plain, Masai Mara and Kilimanjaro, at least. Lodging and meals are moderate; safaris range from top-of-the-line Abercrombie & Kent to other stateside companies (see below) and numerous operators in Nairobi and Arusha.

A few fast facts: Tanzania’s shilling recently traded at 90 to the dollar. Yellow fever shots a must for moving between Kenya and Tanzania. Cholera shots and a malaria-pill regimen are excellent ideas. Visas are required for both countries. Take along a plastic bottle for water and a strong flashlight, because electricity is iffy at best.

Getting settled in: Lake Manyara Hotel ($55 double B&B;) is the only one in the park, a contemporary place on the Great Rift Valley escarpment looking across the entire reserve. Most rooms have balconies with spectacular views. Hotel has a pool at cliff’s edge and a convivial bar. The grounds are a floral wonderland, with hibiscus everywhere and bougainvillea spilling in great waves from walls and balconies.

Gibbs Farm (Box 1501, Karatu, Tanzania; $60 double) is 16 miles from the park gate, a lovely old brick-and-stone colonial house overlooking coffee plantations and the Great Rift Valley. Small cottages apart from the main house hold 12 very utilitarian but comfortable rooms, all set in gardens overflowing with lilies, daisies, roses and fruit trees. The dining room is noted for its luncheon buffets and farm-grown vegetables.

If you elect to overnight in Arusha, head straight for Mt. Meru Game Lodge (Box 427, Arusha; $70 double, $90 half-pension). The lodge is about 1 miles outside of town, a collection of small cabins with the best beds in Tanzania. Storks and cranes wander through the luxurious foliage and flowers around the grounds, while the sounds of lions and elephants lull you to sleep.

Regional food and drink: Tanzania, unlike Kenya, still allows hunting for the table, so look forward to your first wart hog steak (a bit like suckling pig), gazelle goulash, grilled ostrich or topi stew (a type of antelope). Most of these and less-exotic dishes are prepared simply; we will surely take pepper and garlic powder on our next visit.

Safari is Tanzania’s beer and it’s quite good. Plenty of fresh-fruit bar drinks, several of which are outgrowths of that old Briton favorite, pink gin: a dash of angostura and a splash of the hard stuff.

Moderate-cost dining: The very pretty dining room at Lake Manyara Hotel, with your window table overlooking the lake and game reserve, offers you such fare as delicious Nile perch and other freshwater fish, roast pork topped with bananas, duckling in a marvelous sauce or perhaps a game-animal dish. Desserts tend to be rather plain, in the English-school tradition, but the Tanzanian coffee is excellent. Breakfast was a deluge of fresh fruit, eggs and real toast.

A meal at Mt. Meru Game Lodge’s indoor-outdoor dining room can be a colorful affair, with African carvings, open fireplace and dramatic paintings as a backdrop. We remember fondly a chicken curry, piquant but not as hot as India’s. The fish was excellent, vegetables were fresh and plentiful and the fruits were again more than tempting.

Lunchtime at Gibb’s Farm seems like a Pan-European convention, with French, German, British, Dutch and other types making one or more trips down its bountiful buffet of salads, quiches, cold and hot meats, breads and desserts. Most of the diners then take their food outside and spread out on grass beneath the fruit trees.

On your own: Game runs are the big thing here, usually one in the morning, another in the afternoon. Figure on four to six persons in a van, plus driver and guide. You’ll get plenty close to the animals because by now they ignore the vans, unless someone gets out. If you want good pictures, be sure to buy or borrow a telephoto lens for your camera.

Lake Manyara National Park has more than 350 species of birds, with the lovely flamingos tiptoeing daintily about the lake beds in flocks of countless thousands. Pelicans, Egyptian geese, herons and hornbills fill the air, lakes and trees. We once saw a ground hornbill and vervet monkey strolling down the roadway like old friends.

The old trading post of Arusha is now a rich and busy town below the gentle slopes of Mt. Meru, its streets and avenues brilliant with flame trees and flowering jacarandas.

The street market is about as colorful as they get, with bolts of radiant cotton kanga cloth (the skirt-like costume of native women) hanging in every stall. The New Arusha Hotel at city center has the town’s best gift shop; a great selection of kangas .

Going on safari is still very much a choice. Abercrombie & Kent, toll-free (800) 323-7308, will send you a 68-page booklet on its East African safaris, including itineraries and costs. Sue’s Safaris, (213) 541-2011, also has a brochure on its Tanzanian outings, including Lake Manyara National Park. You may also book your safari in Nairobi or Arusha, but investigate the operator and his transportation equipment thoroughly before booking.

For more information: Contact the Tanzania Mission of the United Nations, 205 East 42nd St., Room 1300, New York 10017, phone (212) 972-9160, for brochures on country and game reserves.