Tarangire, Serengeti, N'goro goro crater - Tansanian National Parks

After my tracking adventure with Josef the cameleon I went with Erik back to Moshi where I would arrange my further travel plans. I had gathered a blister along the way and decided that a track to the Kilimanjaro would come too early. I also wasn’t quite sure whether I am willing to pay that much money just to get on the worlds highest free standing mountain at that time. Luckily I met a medical student of the KCMC (Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center) in Moshi who referred me to a tour operator that does discounts for medical students in regards to safaris and Kilimanjaro tracks.

A four day safari was leaving the following day and hence I still wasn’t sure about my blister I spontaneously decided to join the tour.

The morning of the safari we left at 6. Right from the start the whole organization didn’t run smoothly. The driver ran late, some sums for the tour still needed to be paid which caused a delay of nearly 1,5 hours. Finally we reached the gate of the Tarangire Nationalpark (NP). This one is supposed to be a little less frequented by tourists. I was accompanied by two french doctors (Sybille and Charlotte) and after the first day two spanish travelers joined our group. In total we were five people, one guide in a four wheel drive and a cook for breakfast, dinner and lunch. Between the NP we always had to bridge huge distances so our four day safari didn’t really end up being a full four day safari adventure. Also our car total quite crap and it basically broke down twice a day which led to other annoying delays. But more of all this later.

Tarangire NP:

After paying our entry fees at the gate we had approximately four hours left to explore. As soon as we entered we put the top of our car up so that we could all stand within the car to have the best look at the scenic landscape. The procedure was basically the same in every NP. You drive as long as one of the team members spots something or you basically drive into another herd of cars that has already gathered closely to an attraction site.

After a small lunchbreak we made it another 50 meters and then the car gave up right besides an elephant herd. We waited them out, the girls and I got out of the car and after a little push the car was running again. We decided not to turn of the engine afterwards for the rest of the day.

For the following impressions I will let the pictures speak for themselves. I think I had never riffled through so many pictures for one single blog post. Thanks to my super zoom camera I was able to magnify the pictures 50 times and got some nice shots of the animals.

Communal walk to the waterhole

Serengeti NP:

On day two we drove up to the gates of the Serengeti NP, one of the most famous NP in the whole world. Once again the car decided to break down on the way. It was quickly fixed but we were told that the injector pump needs some permanent fixing. More information wasn’t available at that moment… Not the best preconditions for the following days.

Jackel

Our amazing driver Vinluck told me that Serengeti means in swaheli “endless plains” which becomes clear as soon as you drive inside. You are able to view for miles and still see the trees mounting high in the horizon. A quite impressive feeling, especially in the midday heat when the silhouettes of the landscape merge in the far.

Endless plains

In general the Serengeti was more crowded than the Tarangire NP but it wasn’t really disturbing the atmosphere. Especially the herds of elephants came frequently close to our car and watching them minding their elephant business makes you forget the parking cars beside of you in a nick of a time.

After an amazing day in the plains of the Serengeti we arrived at the campsite within this NP just before dawn. The tents were sent up quite fast and afterwards our cook prepared an amazing meal for our whole group which by that time contained ten people after a group of five dutch travelers joined with their own car.

lioness - 2 meter in front of the car

Pumba's

The campsite wasn’t really protected by any wire or fences which led to a surprise visit of two hyenas only ten meters in front of our tents when the girls came back from the bathroom.

The next morning we went for a early game drive to spot the predators getting ready for the hunt. This was by far my most favorite moment of that safari. The sun wasn’t quite up yet and most of the herds started moving after sunrise. I think I have never experienced that change from light to dark in this intense before.

Muhhh

four cheetahs stalking - a rare thing to see

Leopard

After the game drive we returned joyful for a brunch. We were all looking forward to the second day in the Serengeti. Unfortunately our tour guide decided to bring exactly at that time our car to the garage. In total we waited three hours on that campsite until the car returned. Afterwards there was no time for animal spotting left because we had to rush to the gate to make it just in time before our time in the park was up. I guess that was the low point of the whole safari. Instead of watching the animals in the park we got to explore the campsite within…

Our daily dinner table

our tents for the safari

N’goro goro crater:

the amazing N'goro goro crater

On our way out of the Serengeti it was a long drive to our last destination the N’goro goro crater. This NP as a total diameter of approximately 17 to 21 kilometer. It was created when a volcano collapsed into itself and maintained its unique scenery until today. Old elephants can only walk down and once they reach a certain age cannot make the trip back up. The N’goro goro crater is popular for its huge gatherings of animals in a small area. Vinluck told us that this is his favorite NP in Tansania.

they were feasting 

quite smelly

the destructive power of elephants

On our way back to Moshi our car decided to fail one last time. This time on the main road after sunset. It was completely dark and our guide left Sybille, Charlotte and me to get some gasoline. Our dinner contained peanuts and biscuits. After pushing the car one last time we finally arrived with just one hours of delay at Moshi.

an all too familiar picture

All in all I really enjoyed this experience. At first I thought that the Safari is probably one of the most touristic things to do in Africa but there is apparently the easiest way of experiencing the unique wildlife of these NP first hand.

In my next post I will write about my six day track to the Kilimanjaro and my experiences on Sansibar afterwards.

Until then, take care!

Vince

Tansania - Usambara Mountains

 My original plan to stick with Erik for the next days, which would have involved festive gatherings, celebrations and driving out in the Masai Mara Plains got canceled within the last second. Unfortunately there weren’t enough seats in the car for trip and I spontaneously decided to call Josef in the middle of the night to arrange a two day hiking trip to the western Usambara Mountains. I told Josef that I want to hike as much as possible with as much elevation changes as along the way.

The next morning we left at 9 a.m. for our hiking adventure. 

Josef the cameleon

What fascinated me the most right from the beginning to the end was the fact that all the trails were not quite frequented. The villagers use them mostly and I didn’t see one tourist for two days. The trails were mostly covered by thickets and bushes which made the whole experience more adventurous.

they always seem grumpy

After passing some amazing viewpoints along the way we reached some villages. At every village we immediately became the main attraction. The kids greeted us with a lot of “Jambo” (Hi in swaheli), often followed us until we left the village but mostly were to shy to engage with us. When we took a short break in the center of one village some of the kids summoned the courage to speak to us. In some villages close to bigger villages the kids often ask for sweets or your greeted by “picture picture”. It was quite different with those kids. They asked Josef why I traveled so far and couldn’t believe that I took an airplane to fly to their country.

Leaving the villages behind we entered the Magamba rain forest as our last part of day one. Despite we were followed quite a while by some farmers who wanted to show us their farms nothing much happened along the way. Usually right before sunset you can spot some of the famous black and white monkeys, which we were only able to see from the far.

the locals use the fruit of this plant for abortions

Buh

After walking for nearly 9 hours we finally reached Lusoki. In the only lodge in town they were obviously used of getting a lot of visitors and prepared an insane meal for the two of us. The place itself was a bit worn down but the hospitality was amazing.

The next day the police prepared some surprises along the roads and we had to take a moto-taxi to get close to Lushoto again. Our young, severe in love driver had a fable for the backstreet boys and we listened to “As long as you love me” in an endless loop until Josef put a stop to it after 20 minutes. Afterwards it was Mariah Carey for the rest of the drive.

Lukosi

As long as you love me ...

The second day was not as much fun as the first day due to the lack of adventure. The Kiasa waterfalls weren’t that impressive to me. I still have this overflow of waterfalls from the time I spend in New Zealand.

Farms to the left

Kiasa waterfalls

Close to Irente village we passed the third wedding that day. Whilst they were still in preparations at the other locations we finally passed an ongoing wedding. All the surrounding villagers were invited and the local DJ was warming up. With a lot of joy we were welcomed and invited to join. Everybody was dressed up in festive gowns, it was a huge gathering itself. I tried to blend in but this was literally impossible. I got some much attention that I decided that it would be best to continue our quest. This should be the day of the marrying couple and not of a random backpacker.

a small peak inside the wedding

We were already quite close to Irente village once again and after another amazing viewpoint Josef introduced me to his village on the way back.

As usual this one is for my Mum

Dog-face-viewpoint

 His wife Sara and Josef are the same age as I but our lives couldn’t be more different. His four year old daughter served us hot ginger tea and after we talked for a little while I went back to my the “Irente lodge” to pack my stuff. Josef was an amazing tour guide and we had a lot of fun together. I recommended him to a dutch travel mate I met on my safari who already send me greetings from the Usambara Mountains.

At the moment I am sitting in Sansibar and have only two days left before I take my return flight to Vienna. In my next posts I will write about my Safari experiences (Tarangire, Serengeti and Ungorogoro), my 6 day track to the Kilimanjaro and finally about Sansibar.

Until then, Quaheli

Vince