After the six of us arrived in the dead of night at the “Kilimanjaro International Airport” and paying our recently doubled (and undocumented) visa fee of $USD 100 our Tanzanian adventure began. Luckily, traveling with good friends (one of which was born & raised in Dar es Salaam) made navigation and negotiations much less stressful than they could have been. Somewhat defying expectations, the area around Mount Kilimanjaro was quite green and cool, even getting quite cold at night. The towns of Arusha and Moshi seemed to be the base of operations for most Mountain and Sarari tours, and after the ridiculous task of hitting ATM after ATM, maxing out debit cards, calculating exchange rates, and sorting stacks of bills on the table like gangsters, we had our Safari fully funded and were off to the wilderness.
First on the agenda was the Ngorongoro Crater. This conservation area is adjacent to the “Great Rift Valley” which runs from Syria all the way down to the Southern tip of the African continent. The wildlife here was amazing, and within an hour we had seen sights that made the entire trip worthwhile. Cheetahs hunting in a pair, and after 20 or so mesmerizing minutes we did indeed see a gazelle become breakfast. It was quite far away but had an immediate and emotional impact on everyone in our group….This was no Zoo. A little later we spotted two lion couples sleeping like giant housecats in the sun, very rare to see two males together and this was a mere 20-30 yards from our LandCruiser. The wildlife here was so abundant it was hard to believe we were there in the “dry season” when the migrating herds are not nearly as overwhelming as other times of year. However, this was the time to see more of the predators and really isn’t that what it’s all about? A lunch stop was uneventful until a local kite (hawk) decided to swoop down and pick a sandwich right out of the hand of one of our travelmates. Back to the truck ladies…..
The Serengeti was truly everything you expect it to be. Within a mile of entering the park we were 20 feet away from a pair of Cheetahs enjoying the shade of a very rare tree. The word Serengeti means “endless plains”, and it was fitting. Things we experienced and learned: No bathroom breaks, Hippo pools are insanely smelly, Elephants are intelligent (sending a lookout to thrash in the grasses while the Herd waited patiently behind), Leopards are selfish hunters (pulling their kills up into the tree to keep the leftovers), and the sound of a pride of Lions chomping on Zebra ribs from 10 yards away is actually quite loud (and smells, and is Awesome). These days in the parks were some of the most memorable travel moments in our lives.
Travel in the developing world is not without its challenges, and along with ATM machine mishaps, cancelled flights, flat tires in the country, primitive ferry boats, mosquitoes, etc. you learn quickly to be prepared to experience a country as it is, not necessarily always as you would like it to be. These are the times when having a group of friends along make everything better, safer, and more relaxed.
After the Safari experience, it was time for some R&R and visiting with friends and family. On to Dar es Salaam, the economic and cultural capital of Tanzania. Here we met up with another Tanzanian friend visiting from Seattle and enjoyed two fabulous feasts at our friends’ houses; complete with meeting dozens of new friends and eating many new and delicious foods (and plenty of cold Serengeti Beer). On to Zanzibar Island where we got to experience the diverse Arabic culture which was much different than the mainland. Exploring the winding city streets and markets felt like I would imagine it to be in Morocco or Turkey as opposed to sub-saharan Africa. The beaches were beautiful, people friendly, prawns and fish delicious, and downtime welcome.To Michelle, Jayne, Kerensa, Lyungai, Louis, and Peter: thank you for helping make this a wonderful and unforgettable experience.
In short: Go have a Safari, if it’s not on your bucket list, add it now.
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