The scorching heat dries out the countryside, turning the dirt a dusty red and making the wilted grass as brittle as straw. The Tarangire River has shrunk to a ghost of its former self during the rainy season. However, it is overrun with fauna. Hundreds of thirsty nomads have traversed hundreds of arid kilometers, knowing that there is always water here.

While migrating wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest, and eland swarm the dwindling lagoons, herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the parched river bank for subsurface streams. It’s the only site in Tanzania where dry-country antelope like the majestic fringe-eared oryx and odd long-necked gerenuk are frequently sighted, and it’s the largest concentration of species outside the Serengeti habitat — a buffet for predators.

During the rainy season, the seasonal visitors disperse throughout a 20,000-square-kilometer (12,500-square-mile) area until the lush plains are exhausted and the river beckons once more. However, whether it’s rainy or dry, Tarangire’s elephant herds are easy to find.

The marshes, which remain tinted green all year, are home to 550 different bird species, making them the world’s most breeding species in one area.

The Kori bustard, the world’s heaviest flying bird, the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world’s biggest bird, and small groups of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys may all be found on dry terrain.

Screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colorful yellow-collared lovebird, the slightly drabber rufous-tailed weaver, and the ashy starling – all peculiar to the arid savannah of north-central Tanzania – may be seen by more devoted bird-lovers.

Dwarf mongoose colonies and pairs of red-and-yellow barbets haunt abandoned termite mounds, which call attention to themselves with their noisy, clockwork-like duetting.

Tarangire’s pythons, like its lions and leopards, climb trees, reclining in the branches where the sausage tree’s fruit hides the twitch of a tail.

Tarangire National Park is located in Tanzania.

Area: 2850 sq km (1,096 sq miles)

118 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of Arusha.