2 flights, 4 planes, 26 hours later

We finally arrived in Arusha, Tanzania after quite a long journey. Our first flight was scheduled to leave Atanta at 3 pm. We had boarded and were ready to go before a delay ensued. After waiting and waiting, we were told that we had to gather our belongings and move to another plane. After about a 3 hr delay, we finally took off and received $100 Delta voucher for our troubles. No big deal considering we were scheduled with a little over 4 hour layover in Amsterdam. Channging planes prior to takeoff was something I had never encountered before despite having been on hundreds of flights. It couldn't happen twice in one day on back to back flights or could it. After going through security at the gate and falling asleep on the plane, we were notified that due to mechanical problems we had to change planes. Our 10:20 am flight now was going to be heading for Kilimanjaro National Airport in Tanzania on a plane that was schedule to take passengers to Lima, Peru a few hours later. Another 8 hour flight later and our flight landed in Kilimanjaro Airport bringing it to life. The sleepy airport was now awoken with a 777 full of passengers. We deplaned our flight, handed over our passports and $100 for a visa, picked up our luggage, and on our way. Our driver and Discovery Adventures safari vehicle took us for a 45 minute drive to our hotel in Arusha. The drive was through rural Tanzania with not much to see except a couple small villages along the road. We arrived in Arusha , a relatively modern and safe city of close to 300,00 people. A base for many who have made the trek for wildlife adventures or Kilimanjaro climbs. East African Hotel was even nicer than expected. It is on the main road of town, yet secured and private. Each room comes with a suite including living room and full kitchen. It also boasts a nice restaurant, bar, and free wireless internet. Definitely wasn't expecting it to be this nice and very welcome after the long journey. After a good nights sleep, had breakfast and went for a tour and to experience the daily life in Arusha. We were guided by a young man Ebo, who proudly showed off his city to us and only wanted payment of practicing English. Ebo took us to the markets where anything and everything was being traded, bought, and sold. To my surprise, the vendors were not aggressive at all. The sight of American tourists at third world markets can often lend itself to a hard sell approach. Everyone was quite friendly and welcoming. It was time for a little bit of relaxing, updating the blog, and being connected to the world for what will likely be the last time for a bit. Tonight, we meet up with our tour group before heading out to Lake Manyara tomorrow for our first bit of Safari.

Trip Overview

Great Migration, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Zanzibar, and Mom. That's what is on tap for the next travel adventure with my camera and plenty of memory cards in tow. On Thursday, I am leaving for Tanzania and taking Mom along for the ride. What an experience and opportunity to be able to share this with her. I'm pretty sure there will be a few Mom-Son moments, but it will all be worth it in the end. Stories and experiences to last a lifetime and beyond.

What I am most excited about is the trip to the Serengeti. I have watched countless shows on the Serengeti on Discovery Channel or National Geographic. We are hitting the area around the time of the Great Migration. During this time, millions of animals are making their way from the Northern Plains to Southern Plains. It should be a pure spectacle to see.

The trip starts with a brutal travel day. An 8 hour flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam, 5 hour layover, and than another 8 hours to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania. We arrive at 7:45 PM local time. A night of sleep to hopefully catch up and than off on our adventure. We are taking an 8 day tour with GAP Adventures and Discovery Channel. After the tour, we will head off to Zanzibar for 5 days before heading home. I will do my best to blog and update the trip when possible. Here is the itinerary from the tour:  

Day 1 Arusha
We arrive in Arusha and meet our tour group at the hotel near the beautiful Usa River. Usa River is a small, lush, agricultural community that sits just below Mt. Meru, Tanzania's second highest mountain. With views of both Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro on a clear day, it is an ideal base for our Tanzanian safari.

Arusha, also known as Tanzania’s “safari capital”, is undoubtedly the most important center in northern Tanzania. With many protected national parks and reserves nearby, Arusha is a modern town with markets, banks, and services. Arusha owes its name to the local Wa-arusha people who resided here for hundreds of years, and is a historically and politically significant city within East Africa. In 1961 the official documents ceding independence to Tanzania were signed by the United Kingdom in Arusha.  

Day 2 Lake Manyara
We make our way to Lake Manyara National Park. Before visiting the park we stop at a town called Mto wa Mbu which means Mosquito River. Here we take a village walk, and visit breweries where local banana beer is made, we walk the many banana and rice fields.

This afternoon we continue to the National Park and embark on our first safari game drive viewing wildlife. This area is truly stunning, as the western wall of the Rift Valley escarpment provides a backdrop in our search of the park's phenomenal bird life, tree-climbing lions, elephants, giraffes, and hippos. The afternoon is spent game viewing along the main road that winds for several miles through a cool, lush, mature groundwater forest dominated by large fichus trees and a tangle of green epiphytes.

The name Manyara is derived from the Masai word “Emanyara”, which is a Euphorbia species of plant that is found around a family homestead in the area. The lake itself is a shallow, alkaline lake stretching 30 miles (50 km) at the base of the sheer Rift Valley escarpment. This forms part of the national park that covers an area of roughly 205 square miles (330 km sq). Lake Manyara National Park is home to giant fig trees, acacia woodlands, mahogany trees and grassy flood plains. The contrasts of this area are breathtaking, with the open plains, huge escarpment, central soda lake, dense woodlands, and distant volcanic peaks coming together in an area best described by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”.

Animals such as blue monkeys, hippo, impala, elephant, wildebeest, buffalo, warthog, and giraffe all roam the park’s territory. The park is also home to the legendary tree-climbing lions, and a small population of leopard. Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s bird life, with over 400 species having been recorded within the parks boundaries. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration, as well as other large water birds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks.

Day 3-5 Serengeti National Park Travel to the world famous Serengeti, one of Africa's premier game parks, stopping at the a traditional Masai Village. Here we get a chance to see the way of life of the Heritage tribe of Tanzania called Masai. We get see the way the houses are built (out of cow ding and mud), how they make fire with no match box, how they jump 2 feet high, and how the women make beautiful jewelry out glass and plastic beads.

We continue on, driving through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the Serengeti National Park. Along the way, we begin to experience the vastness of this territory and marvel at the multitude of animal and bird life while cruising through this acacia-spotted savannah. The area where we will be staying and game viewing for the first few days is in the central Serengeti or Seronera area, which lies in the southeast of the National Park. On Day 4, we enjoy an early morning game drive, followed by a visit to a research center. While at the center, take the opportunity to tour the museum and listen to the guide talk about wildlife research and conservation efforts.

Later in the day we continue our safari in search of the "Big 5" - lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. On Day 5, after a final game drive in the Seronera area, we drive to a different section of the Serengeti in search of wildebeest and Zebra. The Lobo area, where we spend the night, is in the less visited northern part of the Serengeti.

The Serengeti National Park is to Tanzania what the Masai Mara Game reserve is to Kenya, but with an area of 5,678 sq miles (14,763 sq km), it is actually over 7 times as large. The Serengeti, which derives its name from the Masai for “endless plain”, is the jewel of Tanzania’s protected areas. Combined with the Masai Mara and the Ngorongoro Conservation area it protects the most varied and greatest collection of wildlife on earth. With the Big Five, the Small Five and extensive amounts of wildlife, this region offers arguably the best wildlife viewing in the world. That said, with its vast size and varied terrain, game viewing is only one aspect of the Serengeti - the scenery is simply breathtaking.

This area is most famous for the migration that takes place every year; in October over a million herbivores travel toward the southern plains, crossing the Mara River from the hills to the north. They continue west across the Serengeti, and then north once again, crossing the Mara River, after the rains around April. This phenomenon is sometimes also called the circular migration. Over 250,000 wildebeest alone will die along the journey from Tanzania to Masai Mara reserve in Kenya.  

Day 6 Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Before leaving the Serengeti, we enjoy one last morning game drive to see the animal kingdom come to life in this incredible expanse of grassland savannah and visit an ancient musical rock and cave drawing site used by the Masai. We continue our journey to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, famous for Africa's best game viewing.

En route we stop at the remarkable phenomenon called the Shifting Sands, a remarkable geological rarity which is sacred to the Masai. Known as a Barchan Dune, this interesting phenomenon is constantly on the move across the dry savannah plains. We then visit the archeological site of Olduvai Gorge where we will receive a brief history of the gorge with a professional guide from the Olduvai center and then take a walk (approximately 1 hr) along the floor of the gorge with a local ranger. The Olduvai, or Oldupai, Gorge is commonly referred to as The Cradle of Mankind. It is a deep ravine that is roughly 30 miles (48 km) long. It is famous for the discovery of the 3.5 million year-old fossil fragments of an early human civilization. Accordingly, it is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world and has been instrumental in furthering an understanding of early human evolution.

We continue on, driving through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area along the way, we begin to experience the vastness of this territory and marvel at the multitude of animal and bird life. The views from the Ngorongoro Crater rim are stunning, and there is an ever-present abundance of wildlife, due to the permanent water supply on the crater floor. The 5,150 sq miles (8,300 km²) Ngorongoro Conservation Area is named after its central feature, the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera. Ngorongoro Crater has often been described as one of the wonders of the world, not only because of its inherent geological significance, but also because it serves as an extraordinary natural sanctuary for some of Africa’s most dense population of large mammals.

The Ngorongoro was part of the original Serengeti National Park proclaimed in 1951, but it was made a separate conservation area in 1956 so that the Masai could graze their cattle there. The Ngorongoro Crater became a World Heritage Site in 1978. Land in the conservation area is unique to Tanzania as it provides protection for the wildlife while allowing human habitation. The landscape is a blend of volcanoes, grasslands, waterfalls and mountain forests. The southern and eastern boundaries are defined by the rim of the Great Rift Valley, which also prevents animal migration in these directions. The annual ungulate migration passes through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with wildebeest and zebra moving south into the area in December and moving north in June.

Day 7 Ngorongoro Crater - Arusha

After breakfast we embark on a half-day crater tour. The rich pasture and permanent water of the Crater floor supports a resident population of more than 20,000 to 25,000 large mammals. They are not confined by the crater walls, and can leave freely; they stay because conditions are favorable. Since most of the crater floor is grassland, grazing animals dominate: zebra, gazelles, buffalo, eland, and warthogs. The swamp and forest provide additional resources for hippos, some of Tanzania's last remaining black rhinos, giant-tusked elephants, waterbucks, reedbucks and bushbucks, baboons and vervet monkeys. All these animals in turn support large predators such as the lion and leopard, and scavengers such as hyenas and jackals. .