{"id":799,"date":"2008-09-05T22:02:26","date_gmt":"2008-09-05T20:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/?p=799"},"modified":"2009-12-28T22:04:03","modified_gmt":"2009-12-28T20:04:03","slug":"jambo-our-tanzanian-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/2008\/09\/jambo-our-tanzanian-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"Jambo! Our Tanzanian Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The thing that will stick with me the most from our recent 12-day safari in Tanzania<\/a> is the dirt. An ever-present coat of red dust settles over the entire countryside and soaks into everything \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the tasteful khaki safari clothes we bought that are not supposed to display such discoloration, the insides of your shoes all the way down to the toes of the socks, even your nose \u00e2\u20ac\u201c when you blow, it comes out crusty and tinged with black.<\/p>\n

The dirt is a small price to pay, however, to experience the magic of Africa \u00e2\u20ac\u201c at least the rarified colonial version of the continent that makes up the bulk of the average Western tourist\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s safari vacation.<\/p>\n

To be sure, this is not the Africa of the Masai<\/a> tribal villagers who still live in mud and corrugated shacks the way their grandparents undoubtedly did and can be seen along the sides of every road, always walking (public transportation is nearly non-existent in rural Tanzania, and if it was, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doubtful the locals could afford it).<\/p>\n

A full-fledged African safari is, by contrast, exclusively for visitors \u00e2\u20ac\u201c most Tanzanians have never even visited one of the country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s numerous national parks and conservation areas \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the accommodations range from simple tented camps (essentially a big zippered canvass tent with a bed and porta-potty) to more full featured lodges and private plantations that are taken straight from \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Out of Africa<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re worried about being perceived as a pampered foreigner taking advantage of the locals, keep in mind that you’re supporting Tanzania\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s economy which relies heavily on tourism).<\/p>\n

Tanzania is probably Africa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s premiere safari destination (though not necessarily the best known \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that award goes to Kenya). The country offers a wide range of landscapes and animals; its people are modest and accommodating (the welcoming cry of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jambo<\/a>!” is infectious), the service is consistently exemplary and the parks meticulously clean (all trash must removed from the park, a refreshing change from Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s garbage strewn outdoor attractions).<\/p>\n

Our family of five flew into Kilimanjaro International Airport<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a stunning way to start the vacation with the famous year-round snow of Mount Kilimanjaro<\/a> peeking through the tops of the clouds. From there we met up with my inlaws and spent our first night at the relaxing Kigongoni Lodge<\/a> just outside the bustling town of Arusha<\/a>, headquarters to the tens of safari operators that trowel northern Tanzania.<\/p>\n

We took a great Shabbat afternoon walk past coffee and banana trees where we learned that there are actually six types of bananas grown in Tanzania including sweet red ones – delicious – and another variety just used to make \u00e2\u20ac\u0153banana wine\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (apparently an acquired taste and not served to foreigners). We ended our walk with a visit to a bustling marketplace (the Tanzanian version of Mahane Yehuda<\/a>), which was thankfully far off the regular tourist circuit.<\/p>\n

Hotels in northern Tanzania typically consist of individual \u00e2\u20ac\u0153huts\u00e2\u20ac\u009d connected by lit pathways. Beds with mosquito nets can be found in most. In many facilities, you must be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153escorted\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to your unit after nightfall by a staff member who checks for game animals who may have wandered onto the hotel grounds.<\/p>\n

Our itinerary covered four parks and seven facilities in just under two weeks. We drove north, practically to the Kenyan border, then flew back to Arusha for our return trip home.\u00c2\u00a0 Never dull, it was physically exhausting \u00e2\u20ac\u201c our excellent tour guide and driver Joshua (from Unique Safaris<\/a>) pushed us to get up at 5:30 AM, eat breakfast and be on the road most days by 6:30. One day, we arose at 4:00 AM for a hot air balloon ride. We wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t return until 6:00 PM at night when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d take a quick shower before dinner and an early bedtime before heading out again in the morning.<\/p>\n

Tarangire National Park<\/p>\n

We kicked off our trip in Tarangire National Park<\/a>, a 2-hour drive from Arusha. Tarangire is known for its elephants, but we also saw a multitude of giraffes, gazelles, antelopes, warthogs (which we jokingly nicknamed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hogwarts\u00e2\u20ac\u009d), literally thousands of wildebeest and zebra, tens of exotic birds (including our favorite, the bright blue Superb Starling), not to mention even a few lions.<\/p>\n

The park is filled with tall grass for the animals to feed on, small bushes (I guess that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why they call it \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the bush\u00e2\u20ac\u009d), exotic Baobab trees (which look like they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re upside down with their \u00e2\u20ac\u0153roots\u00e2\u20ac\u009d sticking up) as well as indigenous \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sausage\u00e2\u20ac\u009d trees which feature a thick hanging fruit that resembles a fat hot dog (the fruit itself tastes awful).<\/p>\n

We spent our two nights in Tarangire at the Kikoti Safari Camp<\/a> which has each of its units raised up on stilts (to prevent animals from coming up to your door, we wondered?). When we arrived we were met by staff members bearing warmed wet wash cloths and glasses of passion fruit juice (a nice touch after a dirty day of driving). There was a performance of traditional Masai dance the first night we were there.<\/p>\n

Lake Manyara<\/p>\n

From Tarangire we continued to Lake Manyara<\/a>, a very different landscape with thick forests filled with baboons (the largest concentration in the world) and tree climbing lions (we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see any). A large alkaline soda lake dominates the view with its thousands of pink flamingos and yellow-billed storks. There is also a fresh water pool filled with over a hundred hippos. Hippos are one of the strangest creatures I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever seen \u00e2\u20ac\u201c enormously ugly and fast \u00e2\u20ac\u201c even with their stubby legs they can outrun a person\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and they will if you get between them and the water (hippos are the single largest cause of death among Tanzanian villagers, we were told).<\/p>\n

We stayed one night at the Kirumuru Tented Lodge<\/a> and another at the Plantation Lodge<\/a>, the latter of which consists of a number of large private houses situated around a grassy lawn (the lodge reminded me of a Israeli kibbutz guest house – albeit much tonier).<\/p>\n

Our dinner was typical of those we ate in Africa: hot bread and butter, a fresh salad, creamed soup (we had pumpkin, fennel and broccoli during the course of our trip), a main course (we opted for either fish or pasta) and dessert (the banana flan was pungent, but creative).<\/p>\n

Lunches were plentiful but less successful: our hotels packed us up with to-go boxes which somehow consisted of, among other delicacies, identical cheese sandwiches on white bread with the crusts cut off, a hard boiled egg, some fruit, and (if we were lucky) a Cadbury chocolate bar.<\/p>\n

Ngorongoro Crater<\/p>\n

From Lake Manyara we continued on to our third park \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the 8600 square kilometer Ngorongoro Crater<\/a> and conservation area \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which is where we witnessed our most dramatic animal moment: a very rare \u00e2\u20ac\u0153kill\u00e2\u20ac\u009d where a female lion sprinted into a vast herd of wildebeest and took down a young animal amidst a storm of dirt and dust from the fleeing herd.<\/p>\n

Speaking of dirt again: in Tanzania\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s national parks, there is no such thing as a paved road. The official reason is that it would disturb the ecological balance. In reality, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably that it would be too expensive to pave and maintain such an extensive network. The result is that you absolutely need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to navigate your safari, and even then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an intensely bumpy ride with dust being kicked up at every turn. Our comfortable 8-seater had an open roof for optimal picture taking. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a blast to stand on the seat while riding through the vast bush.<\/p>\n

We spent two nights at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge<\/a> (where we found two large buffaloes camped outside our room) before continuing on to the world-famous Serengeti Plain.<\/p>\n

Serengeti<\/p>\n

The 14,763 square kilometer Serengeti<\/a> looks the most like what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d expect from Africa with flat vistas going on for hundreds of kilometers broken up only by volcanic rock croppings called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153kopjes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which sprout up like mini-oasis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. It was at one of these kopjes where we found our next amazing lion spotting \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a large male chomping down on the bones from a recent kill, his paws and jaws still red with blood. Our guide drove in off road for a closer look: we couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have been more than 2 meters from this (hopefully) satisfied king of the jungle.<\/p>\n

The Serengeti is filled with large game animals: we found a coalition of young male cheetahs, the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153usual\u00e2\u20ac\u009d elephants, zebra and giraffes, plus some scary crocodiles along the banks of the Mara River<\/a>. There were babies everywhere. The park is also the site of the annual wildebeest migration where more than a million animals make the seasonal journey to fresh pasture in the north, then the south, after the biannual rains (although not in August when we visited).<\/p>\n

We divided our 3 nights in the Serengeti between the Mbuzi Mawe<\/a> tented camp (where we were warned to lock our tents as the local baboon population has learned how to unzip them \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Jody came face to face with a crafty monkey one morning!) and the more sparse Buffalo Springs<\/a> camp which, in addition to the porta-potties mentioned above, had outdoor showers supplied by a hot water \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bladder\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (you open a valve and water flows; when it runs out, you refill the bladder).<\/p>\n

So what was the best part of the vacation? The animals? The accommodations? Neither. It was the fact that we were entirely cut off from the world. There were no phones in the rooms, cellular coverage was spotty, Wi-Fi to check email non-existent. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert could have resigned (oh wait, he did that already) and we wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have known it. That allowed us to concentrate fully on the amazing experience.<\/p>\n

In a hectic world, that was the greatest pleasure.<\/p>\n

Getting there\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

It takes 12 hours to fly from Israel to Kilimanjaro, frustrating given that a direct flight would be no more than 5. The itinerary on Ethiopian Airlines<\/a> winds its way first to Addis Ababa (a short 3.5 hour night flight), then requires a 4 hour layover in the airport\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s awful transit lounge (hard plastic chairs and not enough of them) before flying to Nairobi and waiting on the ground for an hour until continuing on to Tanzania.<\/p>\n

We found tickets for $975 per person earlier this year, but depending on availability and soaring oil prices, fares could be double that.<\/p>\n

U.S. visitors can fly via Amsterdam which has direct connections to Kilimanjaro International Airport several times a week, or via Dar es Salaam, Tanzania\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest city, which is served by many of the larger airlines such as British Air which connects to Dar from London.<\/p>\n

We brought only carry on luggage \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Addis airport is notorious for losing bags \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which was a challenge: Ethiopian Airlines has one of the lowest carry on limits of any airline \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a paltry 7 kilos (15 pounds). But traveling light is a pleasure when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re never in the same place for more than 2 nights. And most accommodations offer laundry service.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The thing that will stick with me the most from our recent 12-day safari in Tanzania is the dirt. An ever-present coat of red dust settles over the entire countryside and soaks into everything \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the tasteful khaki safari clothes we bought that are not supposed to display such discoloration, the insides of your shoes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":801,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions\/801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}