Tanzania 2025
Since I usually travel solo…a bit of an adjustment to travel with 6 other people….Joining me on this adventure…Tyson and his wife Jess….Elaine and husband her Christian and their children Elise 13 and Axel 8.
Apparently traveling with your children doesn’t change much from when they were 4 to 38…...I had agreed to pick up Tyson and Jess on my way to the airport…Tyson had missed the discussion about daylight savings time starting the morning we left for a 6 am flight….he suddenly panicked that he wasn’t ready…pack or repack……waiting in the car suppressing the urge to honk and rouse the entire neighborhood at 4 am….he finally collapses in the back seat…speed off towards airport….I check in..…Tyson and Jess behind me when Tyson suddenly announces that he doesn’t have his passport……WHAAT??….tossing him my car keys and announce I will go ahead to gate…..good grief….fortunately he did have his passport and the morning was thankfully shaping up to be a lot less stressful.
Interminable layover in Minneapolis…then overnight to Amsterdam….gliding down the runway just as the sun was coming up….humidity clogging the skies..the airport was fairly quiet at 7 am Monday morning.
Flight to Kilimanjaro landed about 8:30 pm…endured the grind of customs…..visa…bag X-ray’s….finally staggered out into the humid warm evening…greeted by our guides Wilson and Ephraim…..the guide tells us to please put on our seat belts…which was lucky because as we are leaving the airport…one of the doors flys open….caused a bit of excitement…try to absorb the sights and sounds as we plunge into the night…drive to hotel a little over an hour….passing villages and small clusters of houses….enter the city of Arusha…carry on for a while longer…slowing down we make a quick turn into a small dirt track that is cruelly rutted from recent rains..…surrounded by full on jungle…banana leaves slapping the side of the jeep…branches scraping top….a few torches appear and we spill out and are greeted by our hosts for the Kahawa Cottages…...a lovely white thatched building is located just behind the trellis entrance….how did it get to be midnight?…..gulp down some sort of juice …told not to open the windows because the monkeys will help us unpack…..we step on to the veranda just as the power goes out…..step out into the pitch black night as our host says everyone turn on your phone for a light….my phone is somewhere in the depths of my carry on…I walk closely behind our host…shoulder high hedges crowd the path as she keeps telling us to jump over the numerous ant trails that criss cross the path…don’t let the ants get on you is repeated numerous times…lots of foot stamping ….lovely cottage with a shared sitting room……bedroom room on either side….still no power…try to find nightclothes and toiletries…power back on jump in the shower….power goes off again….fight my way through layers of mosquito netting…collapse in bed…now 1 am…breakfast set for 7 am…fall asleep listening to rain the the roof
Tuesday March 11
Breakfast is lovely…..on the veranda overlooking the gardens….fresh fruit….the best yoghurt and cheese that is made in house….get our safari brief and an overview of our time in Tanzania…leave the city…roads are good and barrel towards a village of Mto Wa Mbu where we will walk around and get a taste of rural life….spy a few camels…and a bit further on see a small herd of Zebras…some with babies…everyone very excited ….arrive in the village and are greeted by 3 local guides…lots of Who has sunscreen? Where is the washroom? Anyone seen my hat?….first stop a collective of wood carvers…..get schooled on different types of wood that they use…beautiful work and so intricate….stroll along the main road…tiny alleys skirt along gardens and between homes….most houses are mud and wood…..pop into a nursery school…children ages 3-5 are having a mid morning snack and greet us with high fives and sticky fingers…they are all happy to see pictures of themselves and are looking at us with wide eyed wonder…they sing a few songs….pass through several artist’s compounds…then amble through the market that is quite large in this town of 25K…back to the jeeps for a quick trip through a banana farm… a wonderful lunch of local dishes prepared in large ceramic bowls over a wood burning oven/stove is served under a large pergola…..monkeys start making their way towards us..…giving us all some good entertainment….afternoon spent driving through Lake Manyara National park…a large troop of baboons cover most of the road as we enter….everyone thrilled to see animals right away..…jeep has a pop top so we are able to stand and look out….a small heard of elephants several with babies….impalas…hornbills…and best of all a leopard in a tree…Bishop birds…more monkeys…Bush Buck…Egyptian geese…..grateful to be back in the jeep as thunder and lightning quickly turn into pouring rain…many children caught in the downpour on their way home from school …off the highway now but dirt road in good shape…mesquite and smaller Acacia line the road….coming around a curve …standing tall in blue uniforms are 3 men…we come to a stop and step out to a look through a series of open door ways to a view of Lake Eyasi…Ziwani Lodge is absolutely stunning…buildings are tan and cream colored stone…courtyard with olive trees as we enter …..we are escorted down meandering paths of ecru sandstone…all the rooms are white washed plaster with dark wood beams an enormous canopy bed with requisite mosquito netting…stairway leads to a roof top tower…after the rain the view is a bit muted with excess humidity …. back at the main lodge we meet for drinks as we watch the sun go down….a nearby tree is full of nests of the weaver bird…they look like crocheted balls of grass…..a lovely dinner recounting all the animals and experiences of our first full day on safari….only glitch in the day…a phone was left at an intermediate stop..…but after numerous phone calls it was located and a plan was put in place to have it be delivered to us when we depart in 2 days….call of jackals in the night as well as a variety of birds and other things you are not entirely sure what animal you are hearing…drift off to sleep as it starts to rain…definitely not in Kansas anymore
Wednesday March 12
5:30 wake-up ….a quick coffee then jump in the jeeps for ride to join the Hadzabe Bushmen….we are lead by a local guide Joseph….the bushmen are nomadic ….staying in one place for several months before moving to a new location…Joseph starts whistling as we approach the camp….many twig and stick “tents” ….a few covered with tarps…perhaps a dozen men ages 12 to 20 something sit around a fire smoking marijuana….ignoring us for the most part as Joseph explains what we will be doing with the Bushman this morning….once the men have warmed up …they engage us in conversation…they use various clicking sounds along with other clucking…squeaking sounds …you have no idea how they can make it all cohesive …they are enthusiastic and charming….the lead hunter…that we determined to be about 17 ( he didn’t know himself) excelled at pantomiming the animals he was describing …we knew instantly that he as talking about a wart hog…jackal…tiny bird or squirrel ….they all grab their bows and take off at a gallop….thankfully the rest of my group decide that they can no longer keep up so we follow along at a respectful distance…this mornings hunt included an owl…a squirrel..a Bishop bird and a Morning Dove…back in camp the men quickly pluck the dove and toss it into the fire…they offer all of us a taste…next on the agenda…target shooting..…everyone gets a brief lesson ….several of our group we were successful in hitting the target but admitted that it was harder than anticipated ..…pleasantries were exchanged then back to the jeeps for a quick hop to have bush breakfast under a thousand year old Baobab tree….a short drive takes us to a Maasai enclosure…the women greet us and we visit their homes and help grind some flour…the men that are not engaged in watching the cattle are at work making scrap metal into bracelets etc…the cluster of mud huts surrounded by a thorny bushy “fence” enclosure…..arrive back at the lodge….a lovely lunch served outside with a terrific view of the lake….everyone heads to the pool and we enjoy a quiet afternoon after a jam packed morning
A couple of random but notable items….giant cactus like trees called Candlelabra trees..umbrella Acacia
Thursday March 13
Managed a quick walk down to the lake this morning…back in time for breakfast…then went to visit Kisima Ngeda primary school….500 children and only 5 teachers….we had been given a list of items that would be appreciated at the school…which several of us contributed to …..my son decided to bring 4 soccer balls and a portable pump….what a huge hit when he brought them out….lots of cheers and an immediate soccer match ensued….everyone got in the game…I happily set under the tree and watched as I was slowly surrounded by more and more children…..my grandson was the Taylor Swift of the trip to school…he had a huge following and lots of curious stare …he handled it very well but was relieved to get back in the jeep….saw a jackal run across the road as we return to lodge for lunch then rendezvous for phone retrieval …topography changed quickly from dry chaparral to jungle….arrive at entrance to Ngororgoro crater….we are instructed to stay in the jeeps with the windows rolled up because baboons will enter any vehicle they can looking for food….sweltering wait while guides obtain entry permits….temperature already cooler….massive trees line windy road to rim of the crater….huge Flat Top Acacias cover the hillsides…vines cascading hundreds of feet…views back towards a Lake Eyasi are incredible….spending tonight in our first tented camp Lemala Ngororgoro….dining tent looks out over a open area…fire pit to sit and enjoy the sunset….cluster of 8 tents are tucked beneath the Flat Top Acacias ….a few games and dinner complete the evening
Friday March 14
Hyenas and elephants making a fair amount of noise in the night…up at 5:15…early breakfast then down into the crater…just as we leave camp see a Bush Buck…which we think brought us luck because we saw the Big 5 today!!!
Lion…Rhino..…Cape Buffalo….Elephant and Leopard…what a great day…kids were great…there was a LOT OF DRIVING around but had just enough exciting moments to keep everyone happy…several types of jackals..hyenas…Eland…Gazelles…Flamingo….Hippos…all too good to be true…happily start back towards camp to enjoy and late lunch and possibly a nap as well….quiet afternoon in camp…a variety of birds can be heard…it is going to be hard to top today….Axel had acquired a small bow and 2 arrows from the Bushmen…the staff at the camp made a makeshift target out of paper and a couple of umbrellas stuck in the ground…sadly one of the arrows launched into the tall grass/ shrubs and couldn’t be located so several of the staff scoured the brush for a few feathers and made him 3 new arrow in less than an hour…what a wonderful interaction.
Saturday March 15
As we leave Lemala Ngororgoro camp the staff assembles to sing as we head to the jeeps….driving along the rim of the crater …..it is had to imagine that yesterday we were driving around the crater floor…circle around to far side ……jungle starts to diminish….finally outside of the rim…landscape shifts to high chaparral…..wildebeest…zebra…giraffes share the land with Maasai herds….the Maasai live in clusters of bomas ( houses) that dot the landscape from open pastures high up the hillsides….large herds of goats and cows….landscape shifts yet again…now appearance more in line with savannah….the road is incredibly washboarded….unfortunately we are on the downwind side of the road….dusty hot and unbelievably noisy…my hair felt like dusty cotton candy…..only word one word comes to mind about noise inside the jeep…rattle trap…a few photo ops and bathroom breaks we enter open prairie….dik diks …impalas many with tiny babies… giraffes… whistling Thorne is a type of Acacia that has large berry like growths on them…ants live inside when a branch is moved the ants pour out to protect the tree…ingenious and symbiotic to both ant and tree…..The term in the middle of nowhere has never been more true than arriving at Siringit Migration camp…..perched above Lake Ndutu…flat topped Acacias …large circular tents are strategically placed….visually the entrance is beyond description…overlapping awnings cover large deck area…chairs placed to take advantage of the view of the lake…the entire camp will be moved north to follow migration in 2 weeks time…hard to fathom how such wonderful food is created…the welcome dinner included another dance by the staff and champagne… Poured rain all night… thankfully slept very well… so well in fact that I missed the roar of the lions last night…. Wind and rain slap the sides of the tent… departure time set for 7 am supposed to meet for breakfast at 6:30… get up to get ready only to discover that there is no power…. Use walkie talkie to call for escort…apparently generator is working but excessive rain shorted out something….breakfast still amazing.. rain is easing off….. dodge some storks as we converge at the jeeps… lots of birds darting around….Sunbird….Superb Starling…Lilac breasted Roller…Weavers birds building a nest….a few dikdiks ….. gazelles with babies… spot a fellow standing in the middle of the road…..very odd here in lion country….turns out a jeep is stuck a short way off the main road… lots chatter among the guides… our two jeeps decide to go back and assist…. we almost reach the stranded vehicle when we get stuck…. our second car had stayed back but now came forward to help us get free …now all 3 jeeps are stuck….. 2 more jeeps stop to help but after a few minutes they depart unclear whether they went to get help or had decided not the join the convoy of mud bound vehicles.. .. chains attached to front jeep now moved the back.. animated conversation accompanied with hand gestures… machetes chop some wood… spare tires removed… jacks used to elevate jeep enough to get wood under back tires….mud flying … tires spinning….. some of us need to heed the call of nature…toss a floor mat out to leap over worst of the mud… eventually all of us are out of the vehicles except Axel… since we have been attempting to get jeep out over an hour has passed… Axel finagled the use of someone’s phone and is happily playing a game in the back seat covered with a Maasai blanket…..tractor arrives to pull us out…jeep that Axel is in gets extracted first and they head back to the main road… we all wonder if he even notices that he is the only one in the jeep… they are safe on the main road when we hear on the radio that Axel just discovered that he is alone…. We can see him and everyone waves back and forth….the first jeep is really stuck and tractor gives up trying to pull from the front so repositions to the back and side of our jeep…eventually everyone free but both vehicles end up on the far side of the muddy track…we all walk back to the main road….lots of rearranging spare tires and jacks…. How one of the guides who was wearing a white shirt managed not to get one bit of mud on him is a mystery ….not far down the road we get news on the radio that there are lions nearby….quickly come across a pair… it is mating season… for 7 days a male and female will fast and stay separate from the rest of the pride…glad we didn’t see them while we were outside the jeeps…somehow 3 hours have passed ….return to camp for lunch…still no power ….nonetheless we enjoy are beautiful lunch…everyone scatters for some rest and reading…..meet the guides for an afternoon game drive ….all the guides in the vicinity exchange information constantly….lots of chatter and we are off to see a “surprise “….turns out to be 3 Cheetah brothers…sprawled out in the grass after a successful hunt….8 or more vehicles surrounded the coalition ( name of group of Cheetahs)…so wonderful to watch them for a while….leaving the plains…meandering towards camp when radio announces the location of several female lions…they are in a massive tree…. we manage to get very close…two large trucks are attempting to cross a part of the lake that is earlier today was under water…6-8 men get out to plot the best path….lions very interested in their movements and one by one they exit the tree…entering the brush surrounding the lake…apparently cubs were somewhere in the brush so females went to guard the cubs…..a Kori Bustard ( largest bird in Africa) is standing like a pillar on full display….waiting for a female to notice him…no idea how long he will remain stationary….a few jackals and a pack of Bat Eared Foxes…wrap up an incredible day…enjoy a glass of wine in the bush while watching the sun go down…another perfect meal some how conjured up as if by magic…….numerous lions sounds in the night
Sunday Mach 16
Woke to a myriad of bird songs …it felt like a vacation to sleep until almost 7….morning game drive included revisiting the 3 Cheetahs…they had just killed a young Wildebeest….watch for a while then spy a cluster of large birds….obviously something dead…..Marabou storks…buzzards and one hyena…as we drive across the plain swallows circle around us catching the insects that are disturbed….a young lion had gotten separated from the pride and was quietly calling……a couple of jackals and the usual giraffe..zebras…and gazelles spotted as we return to camp for lunch…as wonderful as food is …the leisurely pace leaves us all catatonic in the heat of the day…almost putting our heads on the table while we wait for dessert….a short siesta…back out for a few hours….on a quest for hippos…..came across a large journey ( group) of giraffes….a couple were very concerned and would look from one car to other…like they were watching a tennis match…saw a few bucking and kicking …it was almost like they were playing tag……..wind around several small lakes…we are the only ones around…settle in on the banks of the lake…at least 15-20 hippos bobbing along…..yawning and playing….sit in the jeeps side by side and enjoy a glass of wine watching the hippos and admiring the sunset….heading back Wilson sees a mom and baby hippo…..baby darts behind his mother then makes for the water….we think the day can’t get any better when we come upon two male lions…..get very close…what incredibly beautiful and powerful animals….exceptional dinner…as I was escorted back to my tent ….Nixon ( security guy that carries a spear) casually says male and female lion right by my tent….OMG….only have screen between me and the lions…thank God they are more focused in mating right now…what a great day!!!
Monday March 17
Many lions sounding off in the night…plus some hyenas…birds are plentiful and varied in size and colors….Blue napped Mouse bird…a lot a crow/raven types in stark black and white…..spy an eagle in a tree and we creep closer …see that the eagle is hovering above a Grant’s gazelle that has just given birth….we have been incredibly lucky with our game drives….radio erupts…leopard spotted nearby….some driving and much speculation by guides on where the leopard will go when it comes out of the shrubbery…we take off up the hill….Wilson is in full scanning mode and quickly spots a young Wildebeest carcass in a tree….leopard on the move but now we know exactly where the leopard is going…7-8 cars converge in the tree…leopard finally climbs up the tree to stretch out on a branch.. …ignoring his kill on the adjacent branch…….elephants munching on some trees close by…..a quick lunch out side at a nearby Ranger Station…head out into the immense plains…trees are quickly left behind…after the recent rains the road is a series of massive ruts and puddles…see a large Kopje in the distance…these granite outcroppings dot the landscape…obtain permits for Serengeti National Park…road slightly better as we careen towards next lodge….suddenly make a right turn…plunging into the tall grass…a small river crossing has morphed into a quagmire of water and deep ruts…after some deliberation among the guides debating the best approach ….we are instructed to hang on….plummet into a pit of mud…slip sliding forward and to the side…almost through when the back end of the jeep slams into the edge of the ditch…I wonder if I will be able to walk when we get out…since I am sure several vertebrae are out of alignment….the lodge is a dozen or more tents artfully tucked amongst the huge granite boulders…as we go to our tents…the Maasi escort (with spear) points out Cape buffalo and elephant tracks….frightening close to path and tents….a pleasant dinner on the veranda….tucked under mosquito netting….drift off listening to a variety of unidentified sounds
Tuesday Mach 18
6:30 departure…guide mentions that we will be on the quest for the large herds of migrating Wildebeests…we had seen a few the day before but from a long distance….5 minutes from camp the guides see a leopard in a tree…he was just waking up..stretching and yawning….casually climbs down and saunters off into the tall grass…circling a smaller kopje we notice a female lion sleeping at the very top…guide on full alert as he identifies a female cheetah sitting on top of an old termite hill …..she is beautiful and 2 cubs are curious about us but not afraid…watch for while …. as we maneuver around towards the road the front tire drops with a crash into an old termite hill that has been tunneled out by anteaters ….the only comment from guide was “This is very bad!”….fortunate that I had been hanging on to the charging station.( a large console affair that holds drinks .. binoculars..etc and a power strip located right behind driver)…think I would have cracked a couple ribs from crashing into the wood ….much back and forth with other guide…extremely lucky to have 2 vehicles….otherwise could have been stuck for hours waiting for help from the camp…several back and forth pushes from front and rear finally tire gains traction enough to be free…felt like a vigorous ride of bumper cars…..cruising along the main road…..suddenly radio call from nearby vehicle..…excited chatter and we race off ….whenever the guide drives fast we know it is a good thing…a mother lion with 3 very small cubs is making her way down the road….the cubs mewing …stumbling….and trying their best to keep up…the moment the mother stops they all lay down as she surveys the land ahead….we discover that she making her way back to the pride…..12-15 lions of various ages are sprawled in the tall grass…some still eating what remains of a wildebeest…on the way back to camp..…come upon the 5 male lions from the pride…..all and all an exceptional day out in the Serengeti…….notice a colony of Pygmy mongoose and a favorite of our group the industrious Dung beetle….quiet afternoon….decide to get a massage…..spa perched on top of a large rock formation…astounding view…a few elephants…large group of wildebeest on far hillside…the camp is magical with so much wildlife
Wednesday seems to have been skipped or maybe combined with another day…we are on the go most days and sometimes by lunch it feels like we have been in the bush for days
Thursday March 20
Lots of lions and hyenas heard last night….7:30 depart for final game drive…a bit misty and rainy this morning…literally 2 minutes from camp see a mother cheetah and one cub…guides are amazed at how many cats we have seen….main focus today migration herds….aiming for central Serengeti….what from far away appear to be trees are in fact thousands and thousands of wildebeest and zebras…sometimes together other times separate…zebras quite often lead the wildebeest herds….hypnotic watching all the stripes of the zebras ….am struggling to describe how vast these herds are…turning full circle there is not a plain or hillside that is not covered with animals …….I imagine this is what the American West was like when they were covered with bison and elk…huge downpour in the afternoon…perfect ending to a great safari .
Friday March 21
Giraffes munching on acacia right outside my room this am…heard plenty of lion sounds last night….Leave camp at 8 …drive to a nearby airstrip….just happen to see some hippos and a baby crocodile ….numerous elephant tracks on the road….airstrip is bustling…more people than we have seen in days….brief check by rangers then Denise our captain guides us to the Cessna Caravan 12 seat aircraft…kids are very excited to fly in small plane….quick flight to Lake Ndutu to pick up a couple of passengers…then 45 minutes to Arusha….after the Serengeti ….Arusha is lush tropical paradise…short drive to Arusha Coffee Lodge….sprawling gardens surrounding a dozens of cottages that are very well appointed and give me a very Caribbean vibe….spend the afternoon at the pool and wandering among the gardens….nice to be able to walk without an escort armed with a spear…mental preparing for long flight home…the grandchildren have been amazing and unbelievably patient on several days of long hours in the jeep…we feel very fortunate to have seen such a variety and abundance of animals ….I will always be a fan of Africa.
