Leaving Dubai, we spent the next two days, and multiple segments, getting to the starting point of our safari in Tanzania. The first stopover was in Nairobi, Kenya. During our flight, the cabin crew handed out Kenyan entry forms and Visa applications, which would allow us to whiz through immigration. Wishful thinking! Ahead of our disembarking, two jumbo jets dumped several hundred people into the entry hall. Oops, the entry forms we filled out during our flight were not sufficient. Another type had to be completed. Then we joined a herd (an appropriate word that I’ll often use to describe this trip) of people, jostling forward cheek-to-cheek, inch-by-inch into a funnel that fed three immigration officers. It took an average of 4.5 minutes per person (yes, I measured it…to stay occupied and reduce frustration), each requiring the forms, a passport, a photo, four fingerprints, a thumbprint, and most importantly, $100 in cash!
Finally clearing immigration an hour and a half later, we proceeded to the luggage hall, located our stuff, and queued up again to pass through the declaration gauntlet. Finally, exiting the airport, we met our tour outfitter, Daniel Kikemu [Your Dream, we make it real], who had arranged for a minibus to take us to our hotel for the one-night stopover. Hold on! Our bus had an altercation with another vehicle while pulling out of the parking garage. Wait again! Ultimately, Daniel secured several taxis, and we continued to our hotel, The Boma, arriving close to midnight. He would accompany us throughout the two-week safari, managing every detail to make it easy for us. Hakuna Matata! [No trouble or worry! Our go-to phrase and attitude on this adventure.]
2018 African Expedition Members [Left to Right: Barbara, Andre, Roselie, Donna, Peg, Gary, Ann, Gail, Tere, Sue, and Mel]
The morning began with an orientation where Daniel set out the itinerary and presented each with a good-luck-pendant necklace for a successful safari. Following a taxi ride through non-paved side streets of Nairobi, teeming with people selling and buying a full range of goods, we arrived at the small regional airport that served the small aircraft we would be flying to our next stop at Kilimanjaro airport. The flight departure time, listed in African time, meant that we could leave at any time – or not.Hakuna Matata!
Our Safari Bwanas: Sue and Daniel
As we approached, we had a great view of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Pulling up to our gate, sandwiched between two jumbo jets, I was surprised the small Kilimanjaro airport could accommodate these large airplanes. We quickly discovered that it struggled. The terminal’s entry hall was packed with the 400 passengers off the El Al flight from Tel Aviv. Almost all requiring visas. The herd clogged the chamber without any ordered lines. Waiting! Short tempers. Children screaming. Following a 1-½ hour Visa line, payment of $50, and suffering through a one-hour line at passport control, we finally loaded our luggage into the two safari vehicles that would be our moving ‘home’ for the next seven days. Elly and Nicholas, our drivers and guides, jumped out to welcome us and to manage our luggage. Great smiles. They have worked with Daniel for several years. In their early thirties, both have families with children and live in Arusha, Tanzania. Hakuna Matata!
The de-facto safari vehicles are 4-wheel drive Toyota trucks, about 10 years old, modified by converting the truck bed into a 6-seat SUV. Functional, reliable, but not comfortable would best describe them.
Packed in, we drove southeast thru the outskirts of Arusha to the turnoff for Tarangire National Park. Little did we realized that this two-hour stretch would be the last time we would see a paved road for more than seven days. We arrived at the turn-off just as dark was settling in. I don’t quite know how to describe the drive of 30 kilometers to our camp. If you’ve ever ridden the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland, it may give you a hint. It was not a level, gravel road….it is 10 times worse. There are worn ruts carved by rain run-off and vehicles, with boulders and holes so bottomless that at times it felt like our vehicle wouldn’t clear the bottom. Complete darkness. At times it looked like the road ended. Other times we were surprised to encounter Maasai people walking along the side without the aid of any lighting. Only a few small engraved stone signs, many kilometers apart, signaled that we were still heading in the right direction. Fifteen kilometers to go! Hold on! Hakuna Matata!
As Elly drove, Daniel explained how Tanzania and Kenya structured their wildlife lands into two categories: Conservation Areas and National Parks. The National Parks are reserved for wildlife only. No buildings, structures, are allowed. Just wildlife. Access is via vehicles that must stay on established trails. No off-roading is allowed, and obviously, no hunting. The Conservation Areas are designated for co-habitation by wildlife and the indigenous Maasai people with their cow and goat herds. As with the National Parks, no killing of wildlife is allowed. Poaching had been a severe problem but has been dramatically reduced because of a new law. The law empowers Park Rangers to kill any poacher on sight. How can you identify a poacher? Anyone caught with a firearm is deemed to be a poacher. Harsh! Our camp is situated just outside the Tarangire National Park.
We finally arrived at the Tarangire Treetops Camp…at about 10 PM. What a beautiful oasis tucked into and among the trees and natural landscape that is home to wildlife, including elephants, waterbucks, zebras, etc. A warm Jambo! (hello) From the smiling staff and the offer of a wet, hot towel, and a glass of refreshing juice erased the pain of the ride. The open, main lodge encased a thousand-year-old baobab tree, about 20 feet in diameter, which is home to hundreds of bats that emerge at dusk to clear the area of mosquitoes. Very nice! Forget the DEET. A light snack and then off to our ‘tents.’ Situated throughout the property, the tent cabins, separated by hundreds of feet, are emplaced above ground in baobab trees – like a tree house. Our tent sat 20 feet above ground, accessible via a spiral staircase that resembles a ladder. Once on the tent-platform, a trap door that covers the staircase is shuttered to guard against wildlife. Because the camp is on wildlife territory, once it turns dark, access to the rooms requires an escort. In this case, a Maasai man carrying a spear and flashlight was our guardian. Perhaps for a show? Nope! He continuously scanned the surrounding area with his flashlight. On our first trip, he pointed out an elephant that was having a late snack on one of the bushes near us.
Tent with a view
Our tent, on a wood platform, was a single room with bathroom facilities. Since there are no power lines to this camp, all electricity is provided by solar panels. Just a few LED lamps offered minimal lighting. The tent flaps and insect screens were closed. However, that didn’t lock out the grunts, yipes, and sounds of wild things walking around outside. Our escort advised us to make sure the little locks on the screen zipper clasps were in place. Critters, including monkeys, have figured out how to unzip the flaps and explore the tent’s content. Asante (thank you), Lala Salama (good night).
The next morning, still dark, an attendant came to wake us up and eased us into the new day, with cups of hot coffee – delightful. After savoring the first cup, daylight began to break. Time to open the flaps of our tent and see what’s out there. Wow, what an incredible sight. We were nestled in a landscape of trees, shrubs, ferns, and plants we couldn’t recognize. Looking further out we spotted a parade of two female and a couple young elephants on their way to the watering hole, less than 50 yards from our tent. It was time for breakfast before heading out for our first game drive. Carefully inching our way down the staircase, we followed the long path to the main lodge, continually on the look-out for whatever.
Breakfast at Tree Top Camp with a view of the watering hole
Jambo! Jambo! Big smiles offered us to sit and order breakfast. In daylight, we could see the lodge, without walls or windows, almost seamlessly melded with the surrounding jungle. What a great place to enjoy breakfast with a view. A short distance away from our breakfast table we spotted the watering hole, hosting four waterbucks. A little further out we could see the parade of elephants approaching.
Scanning the lodge, we could see the scope and impressive size of the baobab tree. It is a strange-looking tree. The tree is a succulent, that can live up to 5,000 years and pre-dates humanity on earth. They only grow in Africa and have adapted to very dry and arid environments. They store large quantities of water to survive the dry periods and provide humans with a highly nutritious fruit. One of the camp staff members offered that the fruit is made into a powder that can be added to food dishes. Guess I’ll try to find some at a health food store back in the states.
Ann and Gary ready for our first game drive
Roselie looking for wildlife from our safari vehicle
A young female Thomson’s Gazelle. Did someone yell CAT?
Dressed in our beige, safari attire and armed with our cameras, it was time to climb into our safari vehicles. Following yesterday’s ride, my bottom was still tender. Nicholas attempted to lighten the recall by referring to it as an “African Massage;” the humor completely missed me. I decided to sit in a different seat today, hoping that it would be kinder. Just a hope, immediately dashed by reality, as we made our way along yesterday’s rough trails. It was only minutes later when all thoughts of discomfort disappeared when we spotted our first medley of wildlife. Several Zebras grazed, looking up as we approached and adjusted their stance, ready for flight. A little further we saw our first Giraffe, reaching for the green leaves of his favorite food source – the Acacia tree. Referred to as the constant gardener, the Giraffes trim the underside of the tree, giving the canopy a flat bottom and a picturesque African photo of an Acacia tree’s silhouette on the savanna against a colorful sky.
Our first encounter…zebras
Baby elephant leading the parade
The mélange of wildlife moved into high gear as we continued our drive – groups of Dik-diks, the smallest of the deer family, Thomson’s Gazelles, Grant’s Gazelles – often referred to as cat food by the locals – jumped out of our path. The abundance and variety of wildlife exceed the space in this blog – so I’ll just touch on some high points. The following photos are representative of the beauty that we found – families of elephants with baby and teenage elephants; a herd of Cape Buffalo, one of the most dangerous and unpredictable animals; birds too numerous to list (Elly, a birder, found them and had a story about each); Impalas with their spiraled horns; and the list goes on.
Puff Adler slithering across the road in back of us.
~25 foot long Python in the swam
A face only a mother warthog would love.
Elly spotted a Puff Adder snake, the most poisonous snake in Africa, crossing the road behind our truck; a 20-plus foot python slithering along the shore of a swamp, so close to birds that we thought might serve as a mid-day snack; and two Cheetahs. The Cheetahs, teenage brothers, were stalking a herd of Wildebeests, waiting for one to separate from the group. Waiting patiently for several minutes, slowly creeping forward, they burst into high-speed towards their target, a young Wildebeest that had separated from the herd. The Cheetahs, the fastest animal in the area, reached the young Wildebeest and took it down but were unable to hang on. The Wildebeest’s mother came to the rescue by attacking the cats. As Elly narrated, these two teenagers were inexperienced hunters, clueless, bungled the chase, and easily driven off by the mother. They need a few more lessons from their mother on how to hunt for food. Exhausted by the short, high-speed chase, they laid down to rest as they watched the herd move away. They’ll probably try for something else before sunset, but perhaps a much smaller prey.
Hey Bro, looks like good eatin’ out there!
It was a great first day as we made a substantial dent in seeing the Big Five: Elephant, Lion, and Cape Buffalo.
Returning to camp at sunset, it was time for the traditional Sundowner drink with the African sunset as the backdrop for a toast. Our dinner around a roaring fire wrapped up with a customary Maasai performance of dances and chants which told stories of hunting the great Lions. During the performance, the men stepped forward to take turns jumping as high as they could…a contest of sorts. The jump is executed when one warrior hops forward and jumps 3- 5 times, straight up. The higher the jump, the better the warrior. The Maasai men practice jumping every day.
An African sunset – Amazing!
I hope the Cheetah brothers were falling asleep with a full belly…
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