Sat 10th Oct 09

Despite having a relativity early night the morning sun came fast. I did notice a few similarities from the previous morning as Susie tried to convince me to watch the sun rise - which was in the end worth it.

After an early breakfast we left Oliver's Camp at about 8am to travel to Lake Manyara. Lake Manyara National Park is well known for its elephants, hippo and tree climbing lions. Whilst the tree climbing lions managed to successfully elude us we did see lots of monkeys, baboons, elephants, etc. We also managed to see several Hippo wallowing in a small pool barely big enough for them - but as this is the height of the dry season I guess this was their best option. Even the Lake itself, which is Alkaline, is a fraction of the size it should be. As well as the lake the area is covered by forest, unlike any of the other parks we had or would visit. This made it quite a bit cooler under the shade of the large trees and I reckoned it would have been my pick if I had to choose where to live as an animal.

After a full day, abandoned slightly early due to a massive dust storm, we headed out of the park and up the escarpment towards the Ngorongoro area. Overnight was in Gibbs Farm, a colonial style lodge complete with massive open fireplaces and a bath big enough to swim in. After several days on the roads and some epic dust storms it was exactly what we needed.

Fri 9th Oct 09

After a good night’s sleep we were woke early by the call of an animal affectionately known as the ‘go away’ bird. Today we had an epic journey away from Kilimanjaro, back through Arusha and on to Tarangire National Park. The perilously bumpy tracks and roads were no match for our stretch Land Cruiser and the fearless driver Ali. He attacked the road with a level of conviction only a man not driving his own car can manage. After an extensive ‘African Massage’ that rattled the bones and a healthy coating of dust we arrived at the gates of the national park.

Tarangire was not exactly flush with green but had substantially more vegetation and subsequently many more animals. Tarangire is lower lying than the foothills of Kilimanjaro and has more available fresh water and is substantially hotter. On route to Oliver’s Camp, where we were to spend the night, we enjoyed spectacular game viewing from our open roof vehicle. The park is currently full of Elephant, Zebra, Wildebeest and Buffalo attracted by the prospect of water and food. Likewise there are also a few lions, although we only saw a couple, plus various birds and other smaller animals. Unlike the first location you have to stick to the roads and only the camp staff and a few rangers live inside the national park.

Our camp itself was also tented, however in a different more colonial style and had a similar atmosphere and feel (I imagine) to the camps of the first European explorers. We were served a lunch that was improbably good considering our apparent isolated location and headed back to our tent to escape the heat recuperate having spent about 8 hours in the car.

As the evening cooled more guests arrived and everybody congregated around a camp fire sharing stories of their own adventures before dinner, drinks and bed.

Thurs 8th Oct 09

At long lat our Safari adventure could begin. We were greeted by Anita form Love Live Africa, our ground agent in Tanzania and was introduced to our driver / guide, Ali, who would remain with us for the week. After an initial briefing we set off to our first camp, Kambi ya Tembo west of Kilimanjaro.

Initially the roads were tarmacked, however they soon changed to bumpy dirt roads and then to even bumpier tracks. The journey although not far if your a crow, took a few hours to navigate before arriving to a beautiful tented camp with views across the planes to mount Kilimanjaro. On route we received an 'African Massage' from the pothole roads and got fairly well coated in dust. We did see a few Zebra and Buffalo however, sheltering beneath the few remaining trees from the sun.

West Kilimanjaro is currently very dry and life is tough. Many of the animals have moved as there have been no proper rains for over two years and the land is parched. Our camp was quiet but a welcome reprieve from the dust and the sun. From our tent we had beautiful views to Mount Kilimanjaro and across the dry plains.

After lunch and the mid day heat had gone we headed out on a game drive with the local team from the camp. This area is not designated as an official National Park and had no real roads and allows you to explore as you choose. Also as its not a national park the locals have been allowed to stay on the land and co exist with the wildlife as they have done for millions of years. On the game drive it became apparent exactly how tough life was in this rural part of Africa. Whilst we saw a fair number of live animals there were also many that were not. The real reason though for visiting this area was to spend time with the Maasai. We visited a traditional Maasai village and was greeted by the women and young children that lived there whilst the men roamed the land with their cattle. The traditional greeting takes several minutes and comprises of both song and dance. We spent time inside the hut of one of the elders and via two stages of translation asked them about their lives, experiences and thoughts.


In this area the Maasai still very much live to the same traditional values and in the same way in which they have done, herding cattle and building traditional boma's in which to live. Although the Maasai do live in many areas throughout Tanzania they are slowly adopting a slightly different role to fit in with the land, the wildlife and the tourists. This is widely thought of as a good thing by the Maasai, tourists and authorities who were previously evicting them from their ancestral lands to make way for 'progress'. The Maasai we met wanted more people to come as they anticipated this would make things easier as the tourists bring roads and water. Perhaps they are right, but it was still nice to see the unchanged ways - although I very much doubt if many Westerners could cope with the Maasai way of life.

After a little more game viewing and sundown drinks in the bush we returned to camp for dinner and star watching before bed.

Wed 7th Oct 09

If our journey was anything to go by all is well and 'normal' in the world. We left for Heathrow with ample time to catch the flight, check out the new terminal 5 and a few of the lounges however about an hour in we glided to a gentle halt half way along the M26. After some hours in the early morning rain we were informed by a roadside recovery man that our accelerator cable had snapped were forced to get a tow back home. 6 hours after leaving for the first time we set off again, this time by taxi, and finally arrived at Heathrow. Naturally our flight had long since departed and we were forced to get new tickets for later that evening. This delay however did give us ample time to check out the delights of terminal 5 and 3 and 4. Later that evening we boarded a Kenya Airways flight and was off.

After an unexpectedly long journey we finally arrived into the heat, traffic and street sellers that is Nairobi. Our hotel would have been about 15 minutes away however the bumper to bumper rush hour traffic was not on our side. Fortunately our driver was able to navigate a new route through a series of back streets, none of which signposted as the metal is to tempting for the locals to leave and the authorities have long since given up.

A full 16 hours late we were delighted to arrive at last at the Palacina in Nairobi. By some fluke, or as Susie prefers, excellent planning, we had booked two nights to allow us to recover from the journey before heading off on Safari so all was not lost. The Palacina itself was beautiful and certainly welcome. We had a delicious late breakfast and caught up on some missing sleep. Later that evening we ventured out to the Carnivore restaurant which has grown over the years to become one of Nairobi's most popular places to eat. Carnivore, as the name suggests is not suitable for vegetarians. The menu consists of various well known and some slightly more exotic flame grilled meats that are brought round on large skewers and you are encouraged to eat until you 'surrender'. If Carlsberg did BBQ.....

The next morning, still with full bellies, we returned to Nairobi airport and caught our flight to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

Client Feedback

Hi Susie,
Just a quick note to thank you for all you did to arrange our holiday! It was absolutely brilliant and all the travel, transfers and accomodation were all perfect.
We had a lovely time and couldn't have done it without your help so thanks again.
Georgie and Damian

Client Feedback

Hi Ed,

Thanks for all the quotes and information, you are by far the most professional and courteous person I have dealt with in this industry!
Thanks again for all your great help.
Tom

October Trip

Both Suise and I will be away in Tanzania for the next 28 days - Please check back here for regular updates.

We will be on Safari for the first week exploring the northern circuit before heading down to Zanzibar for a further 3 weeks. We will be visiting many of our existing hotels and lodges, plus keeping an eye out for anything new!!