Tanzania Safari - 2009  (Tarangire-Manyara-Serengeti-Ngorogoro-Bushmen)

We flew into Arusha from Dubai (via Nairobi), and spent a night at a resort in town. Our tour operator came by to give us a briefing of the entire trip. That is when we found out our driver was going to be Thomas. Jen read about him on Trip Advisor, and he lived up to his reputation. Our trip started the next morning as we met Thomas in front of the resort. I will break it down by days;

Day 1: Tarangire Park

Our first game drive. Spent the whole day driving around the park we saw everything from baboons to elephants. After a long day driving we spent the first night at Tarangire Lodge. Luxury tents with attached washrooms, each room comes with a flashlight and a can of bug spray.

Day 2: Lake Manyara & Mto wa Mbu

We left Tarangire early and stopped in Mto wa Mbu for a 3 hour village tour. Jen was cooked to a crisp from the walk around town and I was able to use my barter skills to convince a local I didn't want to buy his crap. The game drive in the park took the rest of the day with more great photos of elephants, hippos and giraffes. We stayed in a lodge atop the rift valley escarpment. It was a great view with a pool, nice way to end the day.

Day 3: Serengeti (first day)

Another early morning took us into the Serengeti, it means "endless plains" to the Masaii. It looked like a flatter Saskatchewan, with zebras. We drove for 11 hours this day, Jen had heat stroke the whole day. When we finally arrived at the tented camp, the obnoxious american family welcomed us (oh boy). The tents were more "rustic" than at Tarangire, but still had flashlights and bug spray.

Day 4: Serengeti (second day)

Surprise....early morning in search of the big cats. It was a slow start, but then we hit pay dirt. We saw leopards, cheetahs and lions. It was just like the Lion King with the rock formations and the entire pride of lions. In the afternoon we went to the hippo pools to enjoy the sights and smells. The flat tire on the way back to camp only added to the experience. If you ask Jen she can tell you about the pythons on the Serengeti.

Day 5: Serengeti (third day)

Our last day in the Geti started slow, but turned into the best experience of the trip. We came across a family of cheetahs just lounging around. Thomas suggested we hang out because the cheetahs looked like the were looking for food. It wasn't long for them to zero in on a reed buck and eventually drug one from the tall grass to eat. It was amazing to see it all happen, more exiting than sad. Our time in the Serengeti was over and we made our way the Ngorogoro.

Day 6: Ngorogoro Conservation Area

Fog had completely engulfed the crater, because of the higher elevation and cooler temperatures. The crater was so full of animals it was amazing. We had one last day to find a rhino, the last of the "big 5" that we had left to find. Eventually, with the help of a telephoto extender we caught one. Thomas came thru once again. What a way to end of game drive portion of the safari.

Day 7: Bushmen and Datoga tribe

We toured villages of two different tribes. The bushmen move around hunting and setting up a new camp all the time. The Datoga tribe are more of a farming tribe with cattle and goats. It was the ride back that was the real adventure. Our truck lost power on a hill and local villagers came to our aid. When all was said and done the battery was removed, fuel pump tightened, gas siphoned from the rear tank to the front and the same tire from the Serengeti replaced again. I think we all slept on the way back to Arusha.

The safari is over, and we are off to Zanzibar.