Trip report - 7 dayTanzania Safari
Aug 2nd, 2024, 08:16 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2024
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trip report - 7 dayTanzania Safari
I enjoyed using this forum to research my trip, and thought I'd pay it forward by sharing my own trip report. Feel free to ask any questions. We were a group of sixteen family and friends traveling from the US.
Dates: July 1-8, 2024
We arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport, where we were greeted by tour representatives who drove us about an hour to the Gran Melia Arusha Hotel, which was lovely. With one free day before our safari began, we commissioned a driver who took us to the local market. Visiting the market was disconcerting, as we were mobbed by hangers-on who wanted to chat with us and solicit money. Seeing the locals with their products was interesting, and all of the children greeted us very warmly. We also visited Shenga, a social enterprise that employs disabled locals to make beautiful pieces of jewelry, clothing, and blown-glass items.
Our adventure began the next day when our three guides from Ranger Safaris met us at the hotel to pick up our group of sixteen. From there, we traveled to Tarangire National Park, where we were almost immediately greeted by a family of baboons right at the side of the road. As we headed further into the park, we were stunned to see a pack of elephants milling next to and on the road. We stopped to watch for quite a while as they wandered between our three vehicles. It is amazing how silently an animal that large can move; they are quite light on their feet. As we looked in wonder at the elephants around us, we wondered if this would be the highlight of our trip. I mean, it can’t get much better than that, could it? Little did we know…
Baboon greeting committee
I anticipated that we'd see most animals in the distance, but these elephants (and many others) ventured very close to the vehicles.
We drove to the far end of the park to enjoy lunch at the Tarangire Sopa Lodge, which was beautiful, and the poolside buffet lunch was excellent. The park was very green and lush, not at all what we expected, and very beautiful. As we departed for our accommodations, we were thrilled to see giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, dik-diks, ostrich, impala, a lioness, and more.
Like something out of a movie
Our first night was spent at the Escarpment Luxury Lodge just outside of Lake Manyara National Park. We enjoyed the tent-like cabins, dining room, and bar. The service was exceptionally friendly, and we had a great two-night stay. Our second safari day was spent in Lake Manyara National Park, which was also very green and hilly. We had the most memorable experience of the trip while we were stopped on the road, enjoying watching a family of elephants. A male elephant in musth decided he wasn’t happy with our presence and stood parallel to the side of our vehicle with his tusks about four inches from my husband’s face in the open window. He stayed for several minutes, trumpeting loudly and tossing dirt at us through the top of the Land Cruiser before lumbering away. It was both terrifying and thrilling at once. As we meandered through the park, we were treated to blue monkeys, Cape buffalo, waterbucks, mongooses, and more.
Blue monkey
We loved seeing the babies
That night, some of our group went on a nighttime safari chartered through the lodge. An armed ranger joined our open-air jeep, and our spotter sat on a jump seat extended from the hood of the car, looking very much like bait chumming for lions. As we watched an elephant feeding near the side of the road, we heard the roar of a lion in the distance. Our guides sped down the dirt road to locate the lion. As we ascended a steep hill, we hit a large rock, and the jeep suddenly stopped. We sat in complete darkness as the guides and ranger attempted to engage the four-wheel drive to continue our journey. Sitting in darkness with the roar of a lion echoing in your thoughts in a completely open-air vehicle is a very discomforting feeling. We finally abandoned the climb and reversed down the hill to an alternate road. After several winding turns, we came upon the lion sitting just off the side of the road. Our guides used a red light to provide visibility without bothering the cat. He stared at us for several minutes before walking alongside us, then heading down the road. We were also lucky enough to see a bush baby, porcupines, hyenas, a jackal, mongooses, and sleeping baboons on our drive before heading to the lake to admire the Milky Way and southern hemisphere constellations.
The lion wasn't sleeping this night
Our third safari day was our first in the Serengeti. We entered through Ngorongoro Park. Just inside the entrance of the park was a male lion, sitting in the grass inches from the road. It almost felt like one of those animatronic beasts at Disney, placed there to enchant us on our park entry. The Serengeti looks just like the set of "The Lion King" and was even better than we expected. There was a bit of a traffic jam as dozens of giraffes needed to cross the road. We were also treated to flamingos, lots of gazelles and impalas, including a topi. The highlights of the day were seeing two male cheetahs and a leopard. In the late afternoon, we headed to our lodging at Serengeti Sametu Camp, where dinner awaited at our table for sixteen. During the night, a lion entered the camp and took down a baby Cape buffalo. Some of our party had a view of the hunt from their tents, and a pool of blood greeted us in the morning in front of the lodge.
The roadside lion was not animatronic, just a happy coincidence
With only ~1k leopards in the 6k+ sq mile park, we were lucky to spot this one
As we departed camp, we were treated to views of elephants, jackals, wildebeests, and Cape buffalo. Seeing a cheetah in the nearby plains was a special treat. The highlight of the day was watching the Great Migration of zebras and wildebeests. There were tens of thousands of them spread for miles across the park. We followed them to a water crossing and watched as they struggled to figure out a safe passage down the steep embankment. At one point, we left the vehicles to stand on the bridge to watch their crossing. They were jammed up on the bank until a few brave souls made their way to the water, where they were quickly joined by the hundreds of beasts behind them. It was breathtaking to watch, and I didn’t think it could get better until one of my friends suggested I turn around to see a pack of twenty hippos lounging on the bank on the other side of the bridge. It was truly incredible to see both sights from the same location. We followed the path of the river downstream quite a bit and came across the sobering sight (and smell) of the unlucky wildebeests who drowned and were washed downstream, where their bodies tumbled down a series of waterfalls. While it was sad to see, it was quite the gourmet meal for the crocodiles and vultures who populated the area; definitely a circle-of-life moment.
Wildebeests exiting the water crossing
Mom, baby, and 20 other hippos sunning on the riverbank
After another night at camp (where we were treated to a lion’s roars during the night), we headed out for our last day in the Serengeti, where we enjoyed many more animals, including lots of big cats. We watched two young male lions lounging in the grass after a kill and a lioness with two cubs playing on the rocks. We were treated to a lioness stalking a warthog until he caught sight of her and bolted. Our guides said she was a very poor huntress. Seeing a cheetah with her very young cub was a highlight of the day. We continued through the plains to our last camp, Ngorongoro Lion’s Paw. This was the most luxurious of all our camps, and its hilltop location was a beautiful setting.
Lion cubs lounging with mom
And playing with each other
~1 month-old cheetah cub
We ventured into the Ngorongoro Crater the next day very early in the morning to beat the traffic. We spotted two honey badgers crossing the road in front of us and were the first vehicles to find several lions in the park. After several hours, we pulled up to the washroom for a much-needed break, only to find three lions lounging alongside the building. While that sight evaporated any urge I had to get out, the driver parked between the lions and the front side of the building, and several members of our party used the facilities. Seeing lions right outside the window of the toilet stall was quite the sight. Our mission for the day was to find the one animal we hadn’t yet come across, the rhino. We did finally locate a mom with several calves, but they were too far in the distance to see clearly. We had a snack break at the lake and enjoyed watching hippos and flamingos.
Lions lounging at the washroom, we returned a few hours later and they had climbed the trees behind the building.
Photos can't really show the magnitude of the migrating herds
Flamingos at the lake
After one last night at the camp, we departed back to Arusha to catch our flight to Zanzibar. We stopped at a Maasai village on the way out, visiting their homes and school to learn about their culture.
One of the chief's fourteen wives
Family with their home made of dung, grass, twine and branches
Words cannot express how amazing the sights were on our safari, and we must credit our amazing guides at Ranger Safaris, who somehow navigated 2,000 miles of winding, pothole-filled roads while keeping their heads on a swivel for game, entertaining and educating us throughout the entire trip. If you ever have the opportunity to travel with Emmanuel, Ephata, or Wilfred, don’t turn it down!
The end.
Dates: July 1-8, 2024
We arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport, where we were greeted by tour representatives who drove us about an hour to the Gran Melia Arusha Hotel, which was lovely. With one free day before our safari began, we commissioned a driver who took us to the local market. Visiting the market was disconcerting, as we were mobbed by hangers-on who wanted to chat with us and solicit money. Seeing the locals with their products was interesting, and all of the children greeted us very warmly. We also visited Shenga, a social enterprise that employs disabled locals to make beautiful pieces of jewelry, clothing, and blown-glass items.
Our adventure began the next day when our three guides from Ranger Safaris met us at the hotel to pick up our group of sixteen. From there, we traveled to Tarangire National Park, where we were almost immediately greeted by a family of baboons right at the side of the road. As we headed further into the park, we were stunned to see a pack of elephants milling next to and on the road. We stopped to watch for quite a while as they wandered between our three vehicles. It is amazing how silently an animal that large can move; they are quite light on their feet. As we looked in wonder at the elephants around us, we wondered if this would be the highlight of our trip. I mean, it can’t get much better than that, could it? Little did we know…
Baboon greeting committee
I anticipated that we'd see most animals in the distance, but these elephants (and many others) ventured very close to the vehicles.
We drove to the far end of the park to enjoy lunch at the Tarangire Sopa Lodge, which was beautiful, and the poolside buffet lunch was excellent. The park was very green and lush, not at all what we expected, and very beautiful. As we departed for our accommodations, we were thrilled to see giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, dik-diks, ostrich, impala, a lioness, and more.
Like something out of a movie
Our first night was spent at the Escarpment Luxury Lodge just outside of Lake Manyara National Park. We enjoyed the tent-like cabins, dining room, and bar. The service was exceptionally friendly, and we had a great two-night stay. Our second safari day was spent in Lake Manyara National Park, which was also very green and hilly. We had the most memorable experience of the trip while we were stopped on the road, enjoying watching a family of elephants. A male elephant in musth decided he wasn’t happy with our presence and stood parallel to the side of our vehicle with his tusks about four inches from my husband’s face in the open window. He stayed for several minutes, trumpeting loudly and tossing dirt at us through the top of the Land Cruiser before lumbering away. It was both terrifying and thrilling at once. As we meandered through the park, we were treated to blue monkeys, Cape buffalo, waterbucks, mongooses, and more.
Blue monkey
We loved seeing the babies
That night, some of our group went on a nighttime safari chartered through the lodge. An armed ranger joined our open-air jeep, and our spotter sat on a jump seat extended from the hood of the car, looking very much like bait chumming for lions. As we watched an elephant feeding near the side of the road, we heard the roar of a lion in the distance. Our guides sped down the dirt road to locate the lion. As we ascended a steep hill, we hit a large rock, and the jeep suddenly stopped. We sat in complete darkness as the guides and ranger attempted to engage the four-wheel drive to continue our journey. Sitting in darkness with the roar of a lion echoing in your thoughts in a completely open-air vehicle is a very discomforting feeling. We finally abandoned the climb and reversed down the hill to an alternate road. After several winding turns, we came upon the lion sitting just off the side of the road. Our guides used a red light to provide visibility without bothering the cat. He stared at us for several minutes before walking alongside us, then heading down the road. We were also lucky enough to see a bush baby, porcupines, hyenas, a jackal, mongooses, and sleeping baboons on our drive before heading to the lake to admire the Milky Way and southern hemisphere constellations.
The lion wasn't sleeping this night
Our third safari day was our first in the Serengeti. We entered through Ngorongoro Park. Just inside the entrance of the park was a male lion, sitting in the grass inches from the road. It almost felt like one of those animatronic beasts at Disney, placed there to enchant us on our park entry. The Serengeti looks just like the set of "The Lion King" and was even better than we expected. There was a bit of a traffic jam as dozens of giraffes needed to cross the road. We were also treated to flamingos, lots of gazelles and impalas, including a topi. The highlights of the day were seeing two male cheetahs and a leopard. In the late afternoon, we headed to our lodging at Serengeti Sametu Camp, where dinner awaited at our table for sixteen. During the night, a lion entered the camp and took down a baby Cape buffalo. Some of our party had a view of the hunt from their tents, and a pool of blood greeted us in the morning in front of the lodge.
The roadside lion was not animatronic, just a happy coincidence
With only ~1k leopards in the 6k+ sq mile park, we were lucky to spot this one
As we departed camp, we were treated to views of elephants, jackals, wildebeests, and Cape buffalo. Seeing a cheetah in the nearby plains was a special treat. The highlight of the day was watching the Great Migration of zebras and wildebeests. There were tens of thousands of them spread for miles across the park. We followed them to a water crossing and watched as they struggled to figure out a safe passage down the steep embankment. At one point, we left the vehicles to stand on the bridge to watch their crossing. They were jammed up on the bank until a few brave souls made their way to the water, where they were quickly joined by the hundreds of beasts behind them. It was breathtaking to watch, and I didn’t think it could get better until one of my friends suggested I turn around to see a pack of twenty hippos lounging on the bank on the other side of the bridge. It was truly incredible to see both sights from the same location. We followed the path of the river downstream quite a bit and came across the sobering sight (and smell) of the unlucky wildebeests who drowned and were washed downstream, where their bodies tumbled down a series of waterfalls. While it was sad to see, it was quite the gourmet meal for the crocodiles and vultures who populated the area; definitely a circle-of-life moment.
Wildebeests exiting the water crossing
Mom, baby, and 20 other hippos sunning on the riverbank
After another night at camp (where we were treated to a lion’s roars during the night), we headed out for our last day in the Serengeti, where we enjoyed many more animals, including lots of big cats. We watched two young male lions lounging in the grass after a kill and a lioness with two cubs playing on the rocks. We were treated to a lioness stalking a warthog until he caught sight of her and bolted. Our guides said she was a very poor huntress. Seeing a cheetah with her very young cub was a highlight of the day. We continued through the plains to our last camp, Ngorongoro Lion’s Paw. This was the most luxurious of all our camps, and its hilltop location was a beautiful setting.
Lion cubs lounging with mom
And playing with each other
~1 month-old cheetah cub
We ventured into the Ngorongoro Crater the next day very early in the morning to beat the traffic. We spotted two honey badgers crossing the road in front of us and were the first vehicles to find several lions in the park. After several hours, we pulled up to the washroom for a much-needed break, only to find three lions lounging alongside the building. While that sight evaporated any urge I had to get out, the driver parked between the lions and the front side of the building, and several members of our party used the facilities. Seeing lions right outside the window of the toilet stall was quite the sight. Our mission for the day was to find the one animal we hadn’t yet come across, the rhino. We did finally locate a mom with several calves, but they were too far in the distance to see clearly. We had a snack break at the lake and enjoyed watching hippos and flamingos.
Lions lounging at the washroom, we returned a few hours later and they had climbed the trees behind the building.
Photos can't really show the magnitude of the migrating herds
Flamingos at the lake
After one last night at the camp, we departed back to Arusha to catch our flight to Zanzibar. We stopped at a Maasai village on the way out, visiting their homes and school to learn about their culture.
One of the chief's fourteen wives
Family with their home made of dung, grass, twine and branches
Words cannot express how amazing the sights were on our safari, and we must credit our amazing guides at Ranger Safaris, who somehow navigated 2,000 miles of winding, pothole-filled roads while keeping their heads on a swivel for game, entertaining and educating us throughout the entire trip. If you ever have the opportunity to travel with Emmanuel, Ephata, or Wilfred, don’t turn it down!
The end.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
BostonGal
Africa & the Middle East
39
Mar 27th, 2006 10:09 AM
Gina
Africa & the Middle East
48
Dec 21st, 2005 05:59 AM
Mylesaway
Europe
70
Jun 3rd, 2005 02:02 PM
