Story: Where Tanzania's Wild Things Are

The wildlife drive through Serengeti National Park was turning out to be a bust. My zoom lens was poised to capture big game, but the afternoon yielded nothing more than a few gazelles and a herd of wildebeest in the distance. Just as I resigned myself to enjoying the landscape, we turned a corner and I was staring into the eyes of a large male elephant, his face not more than 12 feet from my own. He calmly chewed on acacia thorns as I sat in silent awe. Welcome to Tanzania.

When a national park is also a wildlife preserve, surprises can lurk around every thicket. The parks on Tanzania's Northern Safari Circuit don't lend themselves to guidebook-style recommendations of where to stop and what to see. The experience unfolds as you come upon a vast herd of grazing zebra or a pride of lions sleeping in the afternoon sun. A visit to these parks is as unpredictable as the future of the species that live inside their boundaries.

My three-park adventure began at Tarangire National Park. Just inside the park entrance we stopped to enjoy a picnic lunch on a series of decks built around an immense baobab tree. A group of zebras mingled below us. The vivid colors were a surprise. I had envisioned a yellow-brown landscape, but cloudy winter mornings kept Tarangire emerald green and lush even as the dry season was hitting full stride.

Our first wildlife drive was an unfolding of the landscape dotted with zebras, wildebeests, ostriches and elephants, including a young bull that charged out from behind a tree to trumpet a loud warning. Because this small park sees fewer visitors than its more famous neighbors, the feel is one of relaxed adventure rather than organized tour. Our days in the park were spent in the company of giraffes nibbling at treetops, Grant's gazelles eyeing us cautiously, and lions hiding in the tall grass.

To the north, Ngorongoro Conservation Area's main attraction is a 100-square-mile volcanic crater that boasts one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. Though the scenery looks vast and barren from a distance, on the crater floor the number of animals defies belief. On my first visit we were surrounded by a herd of zebra and wildebeest gathered at a large lake. They meandered past the safari vehicles, taking no notice of us. A small hyena napped alone nearby, lifting its head occasionally to peer at the herd before resuming its slumber. Pink flamingos dotted the lake while warthogs foraged near the shore.

The next morning we started our drive beside a low ridge and suddenly I was looking at a sleeping male lion less than 20 feet away. His hindquarters were covered in scars, evidence of a battle fought over control of a pride. He must have been victorious, for a group of three females slept nearby. After a while he sat up, looking majestic atop his small hill. He stood up to stretch, then turned around and flopped right back down. A few of the females popped their heads above the grass to watch him before returning to their own lazy slumber.

The adjacent Serengeti National Park has an entirely different feel from the volcanic scape of Ngorongoro crater or the wooded Tarangire. The endless golden plains extend beyond the horizon, broken only by isolated umbrella acacias and rock outcroppings known as kopjes. In other spots, small ponds are surrounded by lush green vegetation, looking every bit like the oases they are.

As with the other parks, wildlife drives are the main mode of transportation here. But Serengeti also offers a chance to glide silently above the park in a hot air balloon. We ascended just as the sunrise changed the plains from gray to brilliant gold. Our balloon just skimmed the tops of the acacia trees as Thomson's gazelles darted away from the our shadow. The lower an animal is on the food chain, the more skittish it will be. Zebras ran, but less frantically than the gazelles, while the larger elands and waterbucks watched us for a bit before causally trotting away. Just before landing we spotted a pair of female lions feasting on a kill, unmoved by our presence above them.

Still reeling from our flight, we set out on our last wildlife drive of the trip. Our guide Kumbi was determined to find one animal we had missed, the elusive cheetah. With the sun low in the sky and time running short, Kumbi spotted a lone cheetah. I would have been satisfied with a glimpse of dark spots in the distance, but as we approached it remained perched on a small mound just 15 feet from the road. In the red glow of the setting sun, the cheetah seemed to pose for us: turning to show every angle, looking directly at us, even crossing between the gathered vehicles and back again. I was exhilarated, amazed, and overwhelmed. We had seen so much, and at the last possible moment, got our cheetah. It was the perfect farewell from Tanzania's remarkable parks.