We decided to go with a 4 day/3 night safari option through the Kilimanjaro brothers company. We were able to get a decent discount for 5 people because we were volunteering in Tanzania on a resident’s visa. We went with 3 Swedish girls who are nursing students volunteering at hospitals in Moshi and Machame—2 of them are staying in the guesthouse next to us. The safari jeep came to get us at 6am Friday morning and we returned at 8pm on Monday night. You cover quite a large area on the 4 day adventure so we were quite exhausted and full of dirt by day #4! Friday we drove to Tarangire National Park. This park is a good starting point and is mostly known for its elephants. It is quite a hilly landscape and really beautiful. It is situated south of Arusha Town and near Lake Manyara which is another National Park (really beautiful area). We were really lucky on Day 1 and saw a lot of animals: Elephants/Zebras/wildabeasts/impalas/lions/giraffes/baboons/cheetahs/warthogs/buffalo etc. etc. The biggest find of the day was definitely the cheetah with her little cub, which is incredibly difficult to find and are actually very rare in the Tarangire Park (because cheetahs prefer flat expanses). We were happy and dusty on day 1. And a monkey stole Tom’s banana during lunch……..! ‘ Sharing is caring’ as Tom would say :P
Day 2 was meant mostly for driving. We had to get from the Lake Manyara area (where we stayed at a lodge the first night- basic but nice) to Seronera campsite in the Serengeti. I am not sure exactly how many kilometers need to be covered, but it takes a long time because once you get out of the Lake Manyara area you get to the Ngorogoro conservation area which leads to Serengeti National Park and all of that is dirt/rock road! Not to mention the first day we got our first flat tire after leaving Tarangire National Park and had to hang out at the side of the road with some Messai kids while our driver changed the tire (Tom helped ofcourse). We were doing the Ngorogoro crater last but since the Serengeti is the farthest place to get to, we started with that. We left about 9am from Lake Manyara and (with stops for food/bathroom/park entrances/short game drive etc) got to the Seronera campsite in the heart of the Serengeti Plains just after 6pm! We barely got our tents up before it was completely dark outside! It was quite the race for time. We also got our 2nd flat tire on the way to the Serengeti! We waited outside the car as dust clouds zoomed past us. There was nothing for miles on end, except the occasional Safari jeep that slowed down to see if we were ok.
The Serengeti is famous for its hippos and lions. The cats are always hard to find, but we did spot a leopard which was great! The hippos were definitely my favourite in Serengeti. We did a longer morning game drive the next day and we went to a huge hippo pool! Quite the experience of grunting and fighting & the smells! Oh the smells! :P It is incredible how vast the Serengeti is; flat plains for miles & miles on end…..no end in sight! So beautiful….
After the morning drive around the Serengeti we had brunch and left for the Ngorogoro crater. The plan was to camp out again for the 3rd night at the rim of the crater and drive into the crater on Monday morning before returning home. Ngorogoro crater is actually a collapsed volcano that formed over 3 million years ago and it has the biggest concentration of cats and lions from all the national parks. It is also home to 15 endangered black rhinos, and that is its most prized attraction. The camping experiences were eventful, but I will talk mention more later. As for the crater, the rhinos are very hard to spot, and many people go for the whole day and do not see one! The crater has an area of roughly 360 square miles so it’s a large area to cover. We were lucky and saw 2 rhinos but from very far away so it wasn’t that exciting. We also saw 2 lions on their “honeymoon”- away from their pack, having a 7 day honeymoon period where they mate on average every 15 mins and do not eat for the full 7 days! The landscape of the crater is stunning…both from the rim and the inside. We then headed home from there and got our 3rd flat tire on the way out of the crater! At least we had a beautiful view of the crater with this one! Just our luck! We must have been known as the ‘flat tire group’ by the other safari groups by now! The drive home was long but comfortable and we were absolutely filled with dust and so dirty after 2 nights of camping and 4 days of dust flying everywhere! The roads were so dusty and it didn’t help that a lot of the time we would pop the top up to see animals. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much dust accumulate on my body & clothes! There was no way to stay clean so you just had to laugh about it….and anticipate getting back to the guesthouse for a warm long shower!
The animals on the trip were great. It was completely different to see animals in a safari setting in comparison to a zoo. I don’t think I’ll ever want to go to a zoo again, it will be so disappointing after this. Every step of the way, it is possible for the random lion or leopard or monkey or giraffe to poke their head into the pop up roof or to get too close for comfort…..it is an interesting adrenaline ride at times! And speaking of exciting & scary, I will mention more about the camping! So, needless to say, this is Africa! Every time you enter a park, only the rules of nature apply! In saying that, the park does not take any responsibility if a lion eats you or you aggravate a wild animal—this is, after all, their turf not yours! So the first night at the Seronera campsite (which is practically in the middle of the Serengeti) there is no fenced in area and your tent is literally out in the open (with other tents and trees around you). There are basic bathroom facilities and there are 2 picnic areas- 1 for the guests where we eat (fenced in) and one area for the cooks who prepare the food. The rest is open area with free roaming for all! Yes, my friends, all! For all you know there is a lion or hyena around the corner! And yes, my friends, there were! One of the guides told us there was a lion behind one of the trees the night we were there (and we could hear random growls every once in a while) as well as frequent visits from hyenas or warthogs after everyone has gone to sleep, scavenging for food! It was no joke because you could hear them fighting and growling amongst one another if you woke up at night in your tent!!! Apparently, they don’t have any problems with animals attacking humans, because they really just want our food, not us as food! But I still find it uneasy to have a LION around the bend!!!!!!!!!!!! Not surprisingly, it was hard for me to fall asleep in the tent! But, very surprisingly, I had a deep sleep that night and didn’t hear any animals, while the other girls and Tom heard warthogs? throughout the night! I have no idea how I slept so well! The pleasant Serengeti air? :P I have also discovered the secret to treating phobias: Knowing there were lions and hyenas surrounding me during dinner…..i was not even phased by the frequent mice frolicking above me on the roof looking for food scraps!!! And if anyone knows me, they know my fear of mice and rats!!! I scream like a little girl when I see or think I hear one!!! Well folks, if you are afraid of spiders or whatever it may be, just come camp out in the Serengeti for 1 night and that fear will be your new best friend!!! :S
So we survived the Seronera campsite and then had the Ngorogoro campsite to deal with the next night. At first, I don’t know why, but I assumed it would be calmer and less dangerous at the Ngorogoro campsite because it was at the rim of the crater where it was colder and there were fewer insects (and where Messai people actually live). However, I was very mistaken, which I realized within a few minutes of arriving and setting up our tent and a black head eagle swooped down to the ground and grabbed one of the girls’ bag of chips that was just laying by her bag! Apparently these eagles will scoop out your eyes or split your head open with their claws (bad injuries have happened!) just to get your food so it is STRICTLY forbidden to eat outside the picnic area (closed in) or to keep any food in your tents or nearby (also for the hyenas). Ha! So here we are at this other campground where we need to watch out for hyenas and eagles now! AND, there was apparently an elephant hanging out by the tents earlier that day, as well as zebras that like to graze on the campground sometimes. But the best moment was after dark and after dinner when I walked to the ladies bathroom and right outside the door, just at the edge of the small building, there was a huge water buffalo just hanging out munching away at the grass! It looked up at us a few times but didn’t seem too worried. They are huge! Google a picture if you don’t believe! We have photo proof! :P
So all in all, I would have to say that the 3 flat tires in the middle of nowhere and the wilderness camping adventures actually provided a bigger adrenaline rush than most of the animals on the game drive during the safari!!! We are alive and safe and I think mice are the cutest little critters around! :P
Tomorrow we climb Kilimanjaro….
