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TANZANIA SAFARI 2000
3rd January 2000 - Arusha
Up at 6:30 for Davanu Shuttle to Arusha. The scenery was like a rain forest, probably due to Kilimanjaro. One stop on the way. Immigration on the border was quick and easy. Met our truck for the Tanzanian trip and said farewell to the others. Had meal at Maasai ‘lodge’ then back to the Impala Hotel for the night it will be nice when its finished lots of building work.
4th January 2000 - Arusha
Breakfast at the Impala Hotel before travelling at the Impala Hotel before travelling to Arusha National Park. Saw great views of Kilimanjaro across the valley over the rainforest. Went on a walking safari with a ranger and got close to giraffe and buffalo. Saw a good waterfall and Colobus monkeys as well as a troop of baboons. Bought a bateesh for TSH4000 in Arusha as well as two films for TSH15000! Camped in the same place as the meal the previous night. Had fried fish for dinner and a beer in the bar!
5th January 2000 - Tarangire
Up at 6:30 for the driver to Tarangire National Park. Changed money in Arusha much easier than Kenya. Briefly stopped at the Snake Park after buying drinks. Arrived at the campsite no grass at all and very hot 45°C in the shade! Went for an afternoon game drive in Tarangire National Park. Lots of large Baobab trees. Saw impala, Dik Dik, and giraffe. Lots of elephants and babies. Mock charges by matriarch elephants. Watched the sunset and had some beers around the camp cockroaches in the long-drops and women screaming.
6th January 2000 Lake Manyara
Up at 5:30 for morning game drive. Charges a couple of times by matriarch elephants let off the truck air brakes and the elephant hit behind a bush looking very scared. Saw a couple of hyenas. Loads of dome palms. Watched a troop of baboons playing in a waterhole. Brunch at camp then drove to Lake Manyara. Grass is very parched. Slept a lot on the way, still very hot. Did laundry then siesta before afternoon game drive. Watched pelicans and maribou storks flying and roosting. A few beers in the bar. Very windy in the night.
7th January 2000 Lake Manyara
Up at 5:30 for morning game drive in Lake Manyara National Park. Very woody, very big lake. Saw hornbills, eagle owl and jackals and flying flamingos. Pizza for lunch. Got eaten by tsetse flies. Bought drinks and cleaned truck. Vegged in the afternoon then went for another game-drive. Saw blue monkeys and hippos in the lake. Drink in the bar.
8th January 2000 - Serengeti
Up at 6:30. Drove to Ngorongoro Crater. Very big lake larger than I thought it would be. Photos on the rim, drove to Olduvai Gorge not much to see. Talk by a guide on the edge and lunch and a waft around the museum. Drove to Serengeti past a group of Maasai playing football outside their boma. Serengeti is a complete plain no trees or mountains for miles flat, obvious from the Observation Point. Saw loads of gazelle, zebra, and wildebeest. Saw a couple of hyena. Later saw 2 cheetah and followed them stalking Topi. Saw a clan of hyena at their den with cubs. 6 adults and one cub. Saw a leopard up a tree 3 legs and a tail hanging down. Watched hippo playing in a pool several young calves. One mum and a baby were blowing lots of bubbles under the water and laughing. Stopped at the lodge to book the balloon safari for the next day. Spaghetti Bolognaise for differ, saw a hyena walk through camp whilst having dinner.
9th January 2000 - Serengeti
Up at 4:30 for balloon safari. Rained during the night and was quite dull. Saw a Zorilla or Honey Badger in the landrover headlights. Balloon was big 8 people in basket for 12. Saw a herd of wildebeest and a few giraffe and buffalo. Flew over a hippo pool and saw a Serval cat. Quick game-drive and saw a crocodile and hippo on land. Spent afternoon in lodge and saw pink/blue lizards. Afternoon game drive saw 4 cheetah ripping apart a kill, a Serval, another cheetah by a termite mound and 2 more cheetah relaxing. Also saw another leopard up a tree. Also a hyena.
10th January 2000 - Serengeti
Up at 6am for game drive. Drizzle. Saw a couple of hyena and a pride of 8-9 lions. Found a couple of hippo out of the water and another pride of lions snoozing on the plain (12). They were with a couple of jackals and some hyena. Saw a baboon eating a baby reedbuck up a tree then back at camp a large Olive Baboon joined us for lunch! Sat on roof seat for afternoon game drive. Went to the hippo pool and saw loads of hippo and 2 crocodiles. Saw a couple of jackals under a bush and a tortoise on the way back.
11th January 2000 Ngorongoro Crater
Leopard went though the camp during the night heard it at 2:30 and saw tracks when got up at 6:30 to leave the Serengeti. Saw 5 lionesses with 3 young cubs leaving camp. Went to the visitors centre to learn about the migration and saw a couple of hyena and a leopard up a tree. On the plains we saw thousands of wildebeest and zebra. Watched a couple of cheetah attempt a gazelle stalk. Drove to Ngorongoro Crater and camped overlooking the rim. Had another cold shower. Stars were great around the campfire, but very cold not cloudy. Heard a herd of buffalo walk past tent during the night.
12th January 2000 Ngorongoro Crater
Up at 6am and watched the sunrise over the crater. Descended into the crater in a landrover and saw a couple of golden jackals and a hyena with a dead flamingo. Came across a fresh lion kill of a small buffalo. Saw 12 lions with 3 small and one baby cub. Found a couple of black rhino, one with a calf. Saw a couple of jackals with a dead fox and 2 hyena basking in the mud. Went to the hippo pool and saw two fighting and a baby with its mother. Had lunch near a pond with red kites and weaverbirds for company. After lunch stopped to watch the storks and pelicans feeding then found a cheetah in the long grass watching the zebra and failed kill after stalking. Climbed out of the crater on a very bumpy track. More photos on the rim and then went to an excellent camp and another cold shower. Watched some dancing and acrobatics in the evening followed by cold beers in the bar.
13th January 2000 - Arusha
Lay-in until 06:30 howling dogs in the night and hangover from the beers the previous night. Drove from the crater to Arusha. Stopped at Mto Wa Mtu to pick up prezzies in the market and in Arusha streets. Stopped at the Snake Park in a whirlwind but too dust so went to the Maasai camp to pitch tents. Had shower and played pool in the bar.
14th January 2000 - Kilimanjaro
Up at 06:30 to drive to Kilimanjaro. Stopped for drinks and ice on the way. Camp in the middle of the bush in a dust bowl. Went to the Maasai Boma full of kids and goats. Had steak and chips for tea then went on a night game drive. Saw genet, zorilla, hyena, bat-eared foxes, jackals a Serval and nightjars. The bush in the moonlight looked like bush like the Utah Salt Flats. Bed at 11pm, heard hyenas in the night.
15th January 2000 - Kilimanjaro
Up at 5:45 for morning game walk through Kilimanjaro National Park. Dawn over the mountain was excellent. Misty during the walk so was cool. Saw gazelle, zebra, and giraffe as well as dens for bat-eared foxes and hyena. Breakfast in the bush. Jeep ride back to camp and did nothing after lunch. Afternoon game walk watched the Maasai make fire by rubbing sticks together and saw their wells. Traditional Maasai dinner no cutlery followed by shotguns (not a Maasai tradition but an Australian one). Heard hyena in the night.
16th January 2000 - Arusha
Up at 6am for the drive back to Arusha. Sunrise was excellent again. Stopped at the Maasai school and dispensary fairly basic and simple. Camped at the Maasai camp again and had a warm shower. Packed bags and had steak and beers in the bar.
17th January 2000 - Nairobi
Up at 7am for the last day. Had breakfast and drove into Arusha. Hung out at the Cake Shop. Caught the Davanu Shuttle bus to Nairobi. Sat at the back very bumpy on the road where the tarmac had been washed away. Booked into the Boulevard and had a nice warm shower. Beers and steak in the restaurant.
18th January 2000 - Home
Lay-in until 10:30. Tried to pack my stuff into 2 bags and had a burger by the pool. Wrote a few postcards, watched the totty and shopped at the stalls. Had a shower and a beer at the bar got chatted up by a girlie. Had a scary taxi ride to the Airport - driver couldn’t drive and got lost! Plane landed at 5am, caught the shuttle to Heathrow and taxi home. Went to Bed.
Animals Seen in Tanzania
Lions45 Cheetah11 Hyeana23 Jackals12 Leopard3 Black Rhino3 Elephants100’s Serval2 Genet1 Bat-eared Fox2 Zorilla3
Tanzanian Highlights
§Ngorongoro Crater §Dawn at Kilimanjaro §45 Lions §Serengeti Plain §Maasai Camp §Hippo’s §Cheetah Stalks §Baboon and Hyena at Camp §Baby Lion Cubs §Lion Kill
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