On Safari with Liz and Sophie

The much anticipated day arrived and we collected two tired but excited girls from Kilimanjaro airport and took them into town for a nice late breakfast. We mooched around the compound for the rest of the day and the girls were happy with their nice little house all to themselves - once we got the power on.

Day 2 was a sleep-in then a tour of Jenny's workplace and mine with a lunch at the Blue Heron and a drive up through the Maasai villages in the Monduli ranges.  We had planned to visit the cultural centre but ran out of time.

Mount Kilimanjaro showing well from Arusha National Park

Day 3 was a safari to Arusha National Park where they were able to see their first giraffes, zebra, warthogs, buffalo, colobus monkey, flamingos etc.  We had prepared a spotto list for Sophie with 140 odd things to look for as we travelled around so by the end of day 3 she was well through the list.  One of the highlights of this visit to Arusha NP was the clear skies and the views of Mount Kilimanjaro.  Jenny and I have never seen it so clearly from this area.

Grey Crowned Cranes

Giraffe

Day 4 we were collected at 6 am by good friend Stanley in his safari car for our trip to Serengeti NP and the Ngorongoro Crater.  Once past Karatu we entered the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and started to see wildlife such as elephants, ostrich, wildebeest and gazelles.  We crossed into Serengeti NP, Stanley popped the roof and the safari started in earnest.  We quickly found some lions, then a cheetah and then a leopard!  It took Jenny and me over 13 years to see our first leopard!  I managed to see some good birds along the way but it was made clear to me that stopping to study every pipit and lark was not on.  We spent the night at Kananga tented camp - large canvas tents surrounded by long grass, lions and hyenas.

Zebra and Wildebeest appeared in good numbers as we entered Serengeti NP.

First close encounter with an Elephant family.

Cheetah on the prowl

Comfort stop at Naabi Gate, Serengeti NP.

A Leopard on day 1 of a safari!

Kananga Special Tented Camp in the endless grassland

Days 5 and 6 were spent in the park and we stayed both nights at Lobo Wildlife Lodge.  This is a huge lodge perched on a massive koppe.  It has 75 rooms but, as in 2020, we shared it with only a handful of other people.  The girls enjoyed the pool.  Liz (as a butcher) was particularly impressed by the sausage trees.

Banded Mongoose

Nile Crocodile

Not sure what this hippo was doing but it was perfectly fine.

Sausage Tree

Topi

Hyrax at Lobo Lodge

Kirk's Dikdik pair

Spotted Hyena

Warthog

The spectacular setting of Lobo Lodge

Day 7 we drove south through the park and exited back into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area with an overnight at Rhino Lodge.

Lilac-breasted Roller

Hooded Vultures

We encountered some huge herds of Zebra on the way out of the park.

A minor delay with some overheating - Maasai on hand for advice.

Buffalo grazing on lawns of Rhino Lodge

Day 8 we drove down into the crater and had a great day with lions at a fresh kill, a distant rhinoceros to complete their Big 5, a jackal and flamingos.  We overnighted at Eileen's Trees Inn in Karatu and again the pool was most welcome.

A Rhinos keeping its distance

This Wildebeest must have been killed a few minutes before we arrived.

The lion cubs didn't know how to dispatch this very young calf.

You can now buy a latte or an ice-cream in the crater.

Kori Bustard

Great White Pelican

Ready, set, go.

Day 9 we headed home to Arusha but stopped in Mto wa Mbu to buy 100 kg each of beans, rice and maize flour as gifts to the Bandari School which we visited briefly.  This is a private primary school supported by a group of Port Fairy people (including our friends Martin and Kaz Dunstan).  We were impressed with the progress they have made since we were last there a few years ago.

Bandari School, Mto wa Mbu.

The new dining hall (available for hire) is nearly complete.

Liz and Sophie were supposed to fly from Arusha Airport to Zanzibar the next morning with Precision Air. The departure times were changed several times and then around midnight Liz received an email from them to say the flight was now leaving in the evening from Kilimanjaro Airport (60 km away).  This meant that they lost the best part of a day in Zanzibar.  This is why Precision Air is known locally as Indecision Air.  We were able to take them to the cultural centre after all!  

It all worked out and as I write they are safely on Zanzibar, have had a day in Stone Town and have enjoyed a spice tour.  They will move to their beachside hotel this morning for ocean swims and a sunset cruise on a dhow.

It was great having them and showing them our Tanzania.  They will have lots of stories to tell their friends back in Hobart.