I have been working for a couple of years now for Jenman African Safaris and it has always been a dream of mine to visit Tanzania. Finally, and with kind of short notice, I left for Tanzania for 6 days…
As with all my travels seeming to be a little chaotic, this one had its hick-ups. I caught the 6.45am flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg on a Saturday morning. I was supposed to be at the airport at 6 sharp but I arrived just a little late and the check-in counters were already closed! But the friendly 1time staff made it possible for me to check in, rush through security and board my plane.
In Johannesburg I boarded my flight to Kilimanjaro Airport via Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. Everything went according to plan here! After my arrival in Kilimanjaro Airport I was greeted by very friendly immigration personal, paid for my visa and made my way out of the small airport building. In the arrivals hall I was greeted by our ground staff and our driver George! Outside it was a warm summer night, so different to Cape Town, but hey, they could have at least had some lights shining onto Kilimanjaro for tourists to see when arriving at night.
George drove us to Moivaro Lodge – what a pleasant surprise, a big lush garden which later that evening we got a little lost in, nicely furnished bungalows with a little terrace and a big bathroom… The dinner was absolutely fabulous and I had my first Kilimanjaro beer together with my travel companion Debbie from our Cape Town office.
The next day we made our way through dry and open landscape to Lake Manyara National Park, which stretches along the base of the 600 m high Rift Valley. The park covers an area of 330 sq km of which up to 220 sq km is lake. When entering the park the smell of the lush rainforest welcomes you and we were ready for our first game viewing experience. Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, wildebeest and lots of Flamingos were what we get to see on our first game drive. The scenery was absolutely stunning and Debbie and I were enjoying the open roof game viewing vehicles in Tanzania!
Our second night was spent at Eunoto, Tanzania’s only luxury Masaai Village. After a 40 min drive through dusty & rough terrain we were welcomed at the lodge with a wet facecloth to wipe the dust off our faces and a welcome drink and were then walked by our personal butler to our spacious Rondavel in lush green surrounding on the foot of the Rift Valley. The dinner was excellent, just like we had experienced throughout Tanzania. They made me fall in love with their honey-cinnamon-butter on freshly baked bread!
Our third day in Tanzania turned out to be a very long day with a nice surprise towards the end. We were heading to the world-renowned Serengeti National Park, driving through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The roads were long and rough. George said that is his way of making the white people dance! After 3 ½ hours driving I carefully asked how long we would still have to go and got the depressing answer that it would be another 3 hours!!! But we were not sad for long as we spotted our first lions at the Simba Koppies and then George drove us up close to Hyenas and another male lion! Wow, we got great pictures and were very excited. The next three hours past quickly and finally we arrived at our camp for the night: Mbalageti.
This place left Debbie and me speechless! Tented Chalets in the middle of the bush, a big king-size bed, a veranda overlooking the plains of the Serengeti and a spacious bathroom with a shower and bath! We spoiled ourselves with a bath and headed for our 4 course dinner! I felt like I was on honeymoon.
As a FAM Trip is not a holiday we spent the next day familiarizing ourselves with the different accommodations in the National Park and hardly had time for game drives. However, the guest books of all the lodges showed that everyone had exceptional game experiences in the Serengeti. Comments like “we saw lions attacking buffalo” and “we saw a group of leopards” were plentiful – to me it sounded like being on the National Geographic Channel.
The next day after a long drive got to our accommodation at the crater rim, and the next morning we descended into the Ngorongoro Crater, one of the world greatest natural spectacles.
For whatever reason Debbie had decided with George on a 7.00 am departure, it was sunny but very cold and at the end worthwhile getting out of bed so early. The sunrise and scenery was absolutely spectacular and after our 600m decend, we were spoilt with exciting game spotting such as prides of lions, hyenas, wildebeest, so close to the car, you could touch them, zebras and many more. That evening we drove back to Arusha and stayed in Arusha Coffee Lodge. A welcoming lodge in the coffee plantations just outside of Arusha. Big bungalows, coffee & tea in our bungalow and a nice veranda to watch the sunset from is what makes Arusha Coffee Lodge. Additionally, we could have a swim in their pool and chill at the bar enjoying one of our last Kilimanjaro beers.
The next morning I finally caught a glimpse of the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro just before we boarded the plane with the friendly Air Tanzania staff to return to South Africa!
Ahsante Sana George, we had a great trip! And “Jambo” to everyone wanting to travel to Tanzania!
Katja
