The Tanzania Safari

September 5, 2024:  Today we head out on a Tanzania Safari, cameras in hand.  Hopefully we will chase the lions, and not the other way round! Note: I’ve updated replaced wiki-commons photos with our own… this was an amazing trip!

2024 Travels so far

Well, 2024 marks our fifth year in our plan, the halfway point.  Our best year yet! Winter 2024 found us traveling coast-to-coast-to-coast in the USA, celebrating milestones with friends.  Spring brought the Iberia Trip: seven weeks of exploring Spain and Portugal. 

Summer was the sun-soaked Adriatic, where we joined my brothers in Hvar for a time, paused in our second-favorite place, and explored a bit of Montenegro. Then friends in Copenhagen, and a brief stop in Iceland.

And next:  The Tanzania Safari

The Tanzania Safari

I had a friend in high school from a wealthy family. I dreamily recall how, in our sophomore year, she and her family returned from safari.  It seemed so distant and exotic – all the more so due to those Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan novels I’d read as a tween.  I thought, “Maybe someday…”

And that someday is today.  This morning Jean and I departed for Arusha, beneath the shadow of Kilimanjaro, to begin our Tanzania Safari.  I’ve not been this excited about a trip since Greece or Egypt! 

The Plan

We will connect through London, where we will stay for two days.  While there, we will (of course) see “The Lion King” on stage! 

Then we fly to Arusha, Tanzania, where the real adventure begins.

We will travel with Thomson Safaris, recommended by friend Larry Strecker at Kansas State.  I shopped around quite a bit, and from my research, I expect Thomson will be excellent.  They have small tour groups, all licensed local guides, great camps and vehicles, and a strong local presence that supports economic development for the local Maasai population. 

Our Itinerary in summary:

• Arusha (2N) – relaxing poolside at the hotel and making final preparations for the safari.
• Eastern Serengeti (2N) –fly via bush plane from Arusha to Eastern Serengeti.  We will have a walking safari in Enashiva, a 10,000-acre wildlife refuge, then visit Maasai villages to learn about their culture, and do a night drive to find nocturnal creatures.
• Northern Serengeti (2N) – explore the Serengeti plains, with wildebeest and zebra on the Great Migration.  We hope to see the last seasonal river crossings as the herds brave the crocs to get to greener pastures to the north in Kenya.
• Central Serengeti (2N) – continue seeking “the big five” and dark-sky gazing.
• Olduvai Gorge – visit the dig where the Leakey family discovered some of the earliest human fossils and dramatically reshaped our views of human evolution. 
• Ngorongoro Crater (2N) – enter the massive extinct volcano in the Great Rift Valley.  With 125 square miles in the crater, Ngorongoro is the largest intact volcanic caldera in the world.  It supports one of the highest densities of wild animals in the world, with elephants, lions, buffalo, and rhinos.  
• Tarangire (2N) – wander through the baobab-covered park, teeming with huge elephant herds and over 500 species of birds.
• Gibbs Farm (2N) – wrap up our adventure with a bit of luxury at one of the world’s best hotels, on a coffee plantation near Ngrongoro.

Map and Detailed Itinerary

Alas, there is no Google Map for this journey, as I have no idea where we will specifically be.  But I have highlighted our rough plan on this map from Thomson.  And as always, our detailed itinerary is below in PDF form.

Travel Bytes

At some point this year I’ll get safari Travel Bytes posted. And this time, Jean and I are both bringing real cameras (that’s never happened before), so we will have even more thousands of photos!

Note:  Photos from Wiki Commons. Special thanks to Giles_Laurent for the feature image, Lion King Snyggve