What an amazing day! We left at 7:45 AM and arrived at Arusha National Park around 8:30 AM, just a few kilometers from USA River. The park, covering 542 km², features Mount Meru’s peaks, craters, grasslands, and the alkaline Momela Lake.

Here, you’ll find ibises, flamingos, and many other birds—around 400 species in total. The park is also home to zebras, giraffes, elephants, Cape buffalo, warthogs, colobus monkeys, baboons, meerkats, and gazelles. Near the entrance, there’s a stone elephant popular for tourist photos.

Our guide was incredible—born near Kilimanjaro and living in Arusha, he knows the park and its wildlife inside out. We even caught a rare glimpse of Kilimanjaro’s peak, often hidden, as locals say, “Kilimanjaro is shy.”

The scenery felt straight out of *The Lion King*, complete with locals calling warthogs “Pumbas” and saying “Hakuna Matata.” The park’s “Little Serengeti” teems with gazelles, zebras, giraffes, and warthogs. Forested areas house baboons, blue monkeys, and colobus monkeys.

We also learned about the Benjamin Tree, which envelops other trees like living art, and spotted iconic acacias where giraffes graze. As we exited, we encountered fresh elephant tracks and a grumpy bull elephant hidden in the bushes, with a female nearby we captured on video.

A perfect first safari day—the adventure has begun!