Trip Report - Kenya & Tanzania - Jan 26 - Feb 14, 2006
 

We just arrived back from our Eastern Africa trip late Tuesday evening. It was our first Safari and all I can say is wow - what a trip! We had an amazing time and have already started planning our next safari. We saw some amazing game, stayed at some beautiful tented lodges, ate some great food but best of all we met some incredible people along the way. We booked with Tanzania Serengeti Adventure (TSA) and the trip was absolutely seamless.

We would like to thank those of you who took the time to answer our questions, and give us advice while we were in the planning stages of our safari. It is our turn to repay your kindness with our trip report.

Our itinerary and accommodations were as follows:

January 27 – Feb 12, 2006

Kenya
Day 1 and 2) Arrive Nairobi Kenya overnight Norfolk Hotel
Day 3) Fly to Samburu overnight Samburu Intrepid
Day 4) Full day Samburu overnight Samburu Intrepid
Day 5) Fly to Nairobi, and drive to Amboseli National Park overnight Tortilis Tented Camp http://www.chelipeacock.com/camps/tortilis.htm
Day 6) Full day Amboseli overnight Tortilis Tented Camp
Day 7) Drive from Amboseli to Namanga for transfer into Tanzania.

Tanzania

Day 7 Continued) Drive to Arusha and stay at the Mt. Village Lodge overnight.
Day 8) Drive to Tarangire Park, overnight Swala Camp
Day 9) Depart for the Ngorongoro Crater, overnight Ngorongoro Crater Lodge http://www.ccafrica.com/reserve-1-id-2-12
Day 10) Full day Crater floor overnight Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
Day 11) Depart Ngorongoro for Ndutu overnight Ndutu Safari Lodge
Day 12) Full day Ndutu, overnight Ndutu Safari Lodge http://www.ndutu.com
Day 13) Full day Ndutu, overnight Ndutu Safari Lodge
Day 14) Fly from Sereona Airport to Dar Es Salaam and drive to Ras Kutani Beach Resort http://www.selous.com/coverpage.htm
Day 15) Overnight Ras Kutani
Day 16) Overnight Ras Kutani
Day 17) Drive from Ras Kutani to Dar es Saalam transfer to airport for out bound flight to Nairobi.


Planes, trains and automobiles
January 25-January 26th

We departed Calgary at 8:00 pm on Wednesday January 25th via Air Canada. We flew business class on aeroplan points and were treated to exceptional service for the nine hour flight to London. One of the great things about flying business class is being comfortable enough to get some sleep which makes the travel a little less wearing. We arrived at Heathrow airport in London and after getting fast tracked through customs (another bonus of flying business class) we grabbed our luggage and hopped onto the "Heathrow Express" subway for a short four minute train ride to terminal four where we checked into the Heathrow Hilton for the night.

The room at the Hilton reminded me of a cruise ship room, small and compact. We were fortunate to receive an upgrade to the executive level which included access to the business lounge. The lounge was a great place to have a snack and utilize the internet. We also accessed the web to check-in for our next flight to Nairobi on British Airways. We had an early night due to our jet lag and the fact that we had to be up for our morning flight to Nairobi.

The flight to Nairobi on British Airways was excellent. We flew economy, however the plane was almost empty which gave us a row of four seats to stretch out in. We were served two meals during the flight and we thought the service was great.

We arrived in Nairobi at 9:30 PM and it only took about 15 minutes to go through customs. We already had our entry Visas but we noticed that the line for passengers requiring Visas was moving just as fast as our line – so I would not hesitate to get my Visa upon arrival next time. We went through customs (a simple and painless process) we grabbed our luggage and we were out of the terminal in less than 45 minutes. A driver was waiting for us and soon we were off to The Norfolk Hotel for the next two nights.

When we drove up to the Norfolk Hotel we could not help but notice the historical feel to the place. The hotel was first opened in 1904 and it had a real colonial feel to it. Our room was a good size and faced onto a garden courtyard. The room had all amenities including a hairdryer and seemed a perfect start to our adventure.


NAIROBI – Day 1 & 2
January 27-28

We set our alarm to wake up about 7:00 AM, but due to jet lag and the change in time (a full ten hours difference) we were up very, very early. Fortunately, the Norfolk Hotel serves an early breakfast which is included in the rate. We were pleasantly surprised with the quantity and quality of the selection. Freshly squeezed juices, carrot, mango, orange, and passion fruit were available as well as fresh fruit and cereals, granola and breads. A hot buffet was also available and included pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausages (chicken and pork), French toast, bacon and fried potatoes. To top it off a chef was cooking omelets to order! It was a wonderful breakfast and we ate and ate and ate.

We decided that the best way to see Nairobi given that we only had one day, was to inquire about renting a car and driver for a few hours. The front desk was very helpful and soon we had booked a car for four hours for $5000 Ksh which is a little more than $US80.

Our first stop was at the Kenya Wildlife Animal Orphanage where we had an opportunity to visit animals that were rescued. Most of the animals were found abandoned as babies and were reared to full adulthood at the orphanage. Because these animals were raised by humans most could not survive in the wild and lived full and happy lives at the orphanage. Lions, Cheetahs, a variety of monkeys and even a crocodile and an Ostrich live in harmony at the sanctuary. The highlight was having the opportunity to have a close encounter with a Cheetah. At first I was terrified but the guide assured me that it would be safe to enter into the cage of the resident three Cheetahs at the Orphanage. Of course, I made my husband go in first and test the waters - but it turned out that the Cheetahs were indeed very friendly. In fact as I was scratching one under the chin it actually began to purr! It was a great time.

Our next stop was the Giraffe Center located in Langata and is the creation of the Kenyan Conservation Organization. The purpose of the Giraffe Center is to educate visitors both local and international by giving them the opportunity to come into close contact by feeding the world’s tallest species. It was a great experience. We spent our time with Daisy the Giraffe who happened to be expecting a baby in the near future. We learned that there are eight species of Giraffes and you can actually tell them apart by the patterns on their skin. It was very educational and we really enjoyed the experience. For more info see their website at: www.giraffecentre.org

Our final stop for the day was a craft centre operated by non-profit collective. UTAMANDUNI is located on Langata Road and consists of about 18 little craft shops in a converted mansion. Crafts included woodcarvings, antiques, jewellery, toys, leather crafts and other handcrafted items. There was also a wonderful garden restaurant that looked and smelled exquisite. For further information see their website at: www.utamadunicrafts.com

We finished off our first day in Nairobi with a light dinner and bed early. We were being picked up at 6:45 AM for the flight to Samburu and we were excited to experience our first tented camp and game drive!

SAMBURU – Day 3 & 4
January 29 – 30
Is it considered good luck when a monkey poops on you?

We arrived in Samburu via Air Kenya at 9:00 am. While flying over Samburu we could not help but notice how grey and dry the landscape was. We landed on a tiny little air strip in the middle of no where. Our flight was a little early so the vehicle from the lodge had not yet arrived, but we were picked up a few minutes later and we were driven to the Samburu Intrepid Lodge. On our way to the lodge we noticed that the Samburu landscape is very rugged and has an arid semi-desert feel to it. We arrived at Samburu Intrepid Tented Camp and were greeted with a fruit juice and cold towel. Our first impression of the lodge was that it felt rustic yet cozy and very comfortable. We were placed in tent #9 and it was on a raised platform with ensuite bathroom, and hot and cold running water and a shower. The tent was very comfortable. We had a view of the Uaso Nyiro River which was unfortunately, dry and completely void of any water. The staff told us that this is the first time in about five years that the river had completely dried up. Local people were volunteering to dig down to the water table to assist the animals with their search for water. We could just imagine how spectacular this area must be when the river is flowing and the wildlife utilizes it for their water source.

We were assigned a driver (Solomon) and a guide (Steven) from the lodge and we went on our first game drive at 4:00 PM. I’ll never forget the feeling of seeing my first elephant quietly gazing on a bush – just going about his business. There is nothing like observing these gentle giants as they live their lives in the wild. I admit that it was emotional and I could not speak for a few minutes. We saw a variety of animals such as giraffe, zebras, water buck, dik diks (who became one of my favorite of the trip) and Gerenuk also known as 'giraffe necked Antelope' who have very long necks and also can stand on their hind legs in order to feed from tall trees. The highlight was a lioness nursing her three cubs sitting beside a fresh zebra kill. We were also very impressed but the number of beautiful birds we saw as well.

Our first evening at Intrepid Camp was excellent. The lounge area was the main gathering place for the guests before dinner. The food at Samburu was very good and we had steak with lost of fresh vegetables, salad and for desert chocolate cake with bananas. We were accompanied back to our tent by security personnel and had an early night.

The following morning we were greeted with a tray of hot chocolate, coffee and cookies. We were warned to bring our tray into the tent right away or else it would be the monkeys that would enjoy the freshly baked cookies rather than us. Our morning game drive began at 7:00 am and we saw a lot of animals such as elephants, more zebra, lots and lots of dik diks, impalas, and many others. Being our first game drives we were a little ‘shell shocked’ by it all and had a hard time recalling all the animals that we saw. We were back at the lodge by 9:00 am for breakfast.

In the afternoon we went on a two hour nature walk. We were accompanied by our guide, Steven, and an armed guard (just in case of any trouble) but luckily there was none. About one hour into the walk our guide suggested that we take a rest under a large shaded tree on the bank of the river. All of a sudden I felt a large plop on my shoulder, and as I looked down I realized that we were not welcome under this tree, when one of the resident monkeys demonstrated his unhappiness by pooping on me. You can imagine my shock but I think that the guide was more shocked than I was! Luckily I had some handiwipes on me and I was cleaned up in no time. We all had a good laugh – even the armed guard had a good chuckle. I mentioned that it must be a lucky omen to have a monkey poop on you. For the next few days every time we saw something special we would remind ourselves that it was the luck of the pooping monkey!

Our final afternoon game drive was spent in the neighboring park called Buffalo Springs Park. It was amazing how different the terrain was here, rockier with larger plains – lots of volcanic rock as well. We saw for the first time an Oryx and we had our first leopard sighting as well. The leopard was sitting under the shade of tree however there were many other vehicles around but he didn’t really seem to mind. He was very beautiful and we enjoyed watching him for quite a while.

We really enjoyed our time at Samburu and the lodge was very comfortable and the staff exceptional and friendly. We would not hesitate to return to Samburu and hope that that the region will see some rain very soon. We bid goodbye to our guide Steven and driver Solomon and left on a flight to Nairobi.


Next Installment: Amboseli or “Hey there’s a monkey in my bed….no, it’s just an elephant”. And Arusha – “Don’t leave home without it…your PIN number that i

Hi cocco, thanks for posting, keep the news flowing, Sonali.

Cocco
Drought it aweful. I have seen the Uaso Nyiru dry. maybe it's good u came by flight, 'cause driving around could have been emotionally hard, seeing dead cows etc' & other drought consequences...

The leopard u have seen MAY be the leopard waiting for the Samburu Lodge bait. The Lodge is on the other side of the river but the bait is on the Buffalo Springs side. Drivers like to come to the spot good chances of seeing the allured panther. minutes after tourist cars leave, it climbs the tree opposite the lodge's verandah.
(The Serena has its own leopard bait)

TO FEED OR NOT TO FEED ? This is the question ...


aby

This is great detail and lot's of good information cocco... Thanks for posting and keep it coming! Do you have pictures of the "monkey poop" tree so that we can avoid it? Is the river only dry in some places or all along? Are there more permanent water sources in Samburu? I always thought that was the main water source. Anyone know?

The animals at the orphanage are kept in cages all the time? Like a zoo, or a bit better than that?

You can answer these questions later cocco... next part of trip report now, please... :)

That's a great introduction - I'll look foward to reading the rest - and thanks for the infor re what to see in Nairobi. Next time I'll drop by the animal orphanage.

And per chance photos?

Matt

Great trip report, Cocco. I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

Great report. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip....I don't think there have been any comments on Ras Kutani yet, so I'm curious.

Great read so far...

Those vervet monkeys at Samburu are real rascals. Poop is good. We know from stepping into lots of it in Tanzania. And a good idea to bring your morning biscuit into your tent immediately, though that doesn't mean much for these characters. I had the experience of one of the vervets actually opening the tent zipper and grabbing the biscuits I hadn't yet eaten (crashing the china into itty bitty pieces).

...waiting on the rest and don't forget the photos.

Cocco, great report. I really feel like I'm there with you--bet you're glad I wasn't. ;)

Can't wait to read more. Welcome home.

Welcome home and glad you had a good start to your trip. I find those little dik dik antelope adorable also. You had some good sightings and I know what you mean about your first animal sighting being so moving. Hope the luck of the monkey poop was felt throughout the trip.

Thanks everyone for the comments. Here is Part II:

AMBOSELI Day 4 & 5 Jan 31 – Feb 01
Day 4: Hey there’s a Monkey in my bed….no, it’s just an elephant.
We arrived back in Nairobi via Kenya Air, the flight was a short 50 minutes. We met our driver from TSA, Martin Matei. Martin has over 16 years experience as a driver and guide; we were in good hands right from the start. Martin picked us up at the Airport and drove us for lunch at the Carnivore before heading out to Amboseli. We had heard about the Carnivore and my husband could not resist the pull of the exotic menu. While I was not too keen on sampling camel or crocodile ( I want to take pictures of the animals not eat them ) the chicken and spare ribs was excellent. All in all it was an interesting dining experience. We were pleasantly surprised when we were told that TSA picked up the tab on our behalf which we thought was a nice touch.

After lunch we proceeded to drive to our next stop, Amboseli National Park where we would be staying at a tented camp known as Tortillis. The four hour plus drive was fairly uneventful. The change in the landscape is dramatic as you move from Nairobi to Amboseli. After reaching Namanga, the road becomes a narrow and dusty track.

On the drive in we saw Giraffe, elephants, antelope, wildebeest, and zebra all spread out over the expansive plain. The park is centered around a large hill, with fantastic views of the surrounding plains, often crossed by whirlwinds that send winding columns of dust into the sky. Our driver informed us that the word “Amboseli” means dust devil in Swahili.

When we pulled up to Tortillis we were greeted with a juice and cold towel. It was early evening and the lodge was lit with soft muted lighting. This is on purpose so the lodge does not disrupt the nocturnal animals in the park. During our general orientation we were informed that the property is enclosed with an electric fence and we would be perfectly safe.

Tortillis is in a beautiful setting with the main buildings, the dining and lounge areas up on a hill. The dining area has a view of a small watering hole where birds and other animals can be seen all day long. The tents are down a meandering path that in the evening are lit by gas lamps and gives a romantic feel to the place. Our tent #8 faced an open area and looked out onto the bush. The tent consisted of a large patio area with chairs and a lounging couch, inside the tent there was a large king size bed, full bath with shower. Laundry detergent was available in the bathroom, along with some lovely toiletries.

The food at Tortillis is simply outstanding. Italian cuisine so wonderful that it was reminiscent of a five star restaurant.

We turned in about 10:00 PM, tired after the long day. An hour later we were awoken by a commotion outside the tent. The security guards were talking very loudly, but we could not make out what was going on. To encourage the breeze we had not closed the front flaps on the tent, so I sat up in bed and looked outside just as the guard shone his flashlight, what did I see? Picture this – the head of a huge bull elephant several feet from our tent, ears flapping and trunk raised, trying to get at the juicy bushes beside our tent. So much for the electric fence around the lodge! The guards must have registered our surprise at the sight of this large intruder, because now they were yelling that everything was “alright” and that we “are perfectly safe”. The guards were successful in chasing away the elephant and no harm was done. About an hour after that my husband woke up and said “There’s a monkey in the bed”! I wake up and think – Geez first I have to deal with an elephant and now a monkey in the bed! However, I quickly realized that he was talking in his sleep. So, I chuckled to myself and went back to sleep. However, about 2:30 am we awoke to a loud crunching of the bushes and we knew our elephant friend was back for another snack.

Our morning wake up call was for 6:00 am and we were up before that time. We decided to go outside and see if our friend was still around. There is nothing more exciting than sneaking out of the tent to look for elephants! Margaret, our room attendant was on time and we sat and enjoyed our hot beverages on our veranda. Two giraffes meandered in front of the fence to greet us and say good morning.

Both game drives that day were really excellent and the morning game drive started off with a bang. Within ten minutes of starting out we were fortunate to see one male and two female Lions. Our driver thought they might be mating and sure enough…love was in the air.

After another wonderful meal at Tortillis we turned in for the night. There was to be no more visits from the resident elephant who we found out is named “Adam”. It seems that Adam has learned how to walk over the electric fence and sometimes gets caught in the act. When this happens he slowly retreats to the bush.

Day 5: A visit to the Masi Village or who needs a watch anyway?

Our driver arranged for us to visit a Masi village near the camp; we were very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with the local Masi. The Masi started out with a welcome dance, and prayer. We joined in for the prayer and they walked us through the appropriate responses. We were then invited into the village which consisted of about 18 huts and housed 155 people. They spent a lot of time describing their way of life and answering our questions. Recently they had just completed a small school house so that children could attend school without having to leave the community.

The men had a jumping contest and my husband joined in. The women also performed a little dance and I gave it my best shot. I must have been doing something very funny because we all broke out into giggles.

After that we looked at some of the arts and crafts that the village had for sale and we picked up many items that we were interested in. We were escorted to a large tree and our goods were spread out on a blanket. Here is where the ‘negotiations’ took place. We knew we were in trouble when their staring bid was $600.00 US – we had a lot of fun haggling over the price - and the final number agreed to was much, much lower. At some point one of the men pointed to my husband’s watch and asked him how much… now my husband has an ebony club, and we left Julius the Masi warrior with the Timex Expedition watch. We bid farewell to our new friends and left for the evening game drive.

Tomorrow we head out to Arusha. We really enjoyed Amboseli as the area is rich with wildlife and the terrain is really beautiful. Tortillis is a beautiful tented camp – I would consider it to be on the high end in terms of service, accommodation and food.

ARUSHA Day 5
February 5th / “Don’t leave home without it…your PIN number that is.

We left for Arusha after a morning game drive. It took about three hours to reach the Namanga border from Amboseli. It took us about 45 minutes to clear both the Kenya and Tanzania immigration and customs as we already had our Visa entry for Tanzania.

Once we cleared customs we went to the office of TSA (located in Arusha) for a briefing and to drop off our hard sided luggage for the rest of the trip. It was at this time that we faced our only glitch of the trip. We discovered that we could not get a cash advance on our Visa and could only have access to the ATM machine. The problem with this of course, was that we had just received a new VISA card and did not yet have a PIN number which meant that it could not be used in the ATM. In all our planning we did not even think about getting a PIN for the credit card as we usually don’t need nor use one. After a few tries with our other cards we found that one of them worked in the ATM, but the limit was only $200,000 T. Shs per day. It all worked out as we used our VISA where we could and kept the cash for incidentals. Please ensure that you have your PIN numbers and you won’t have any problems. We were glad that we brought all our tip money with us in the form of US dollars so at least we did not have to worry about that.

Once we got that all sorted out we were driven to our hotel for the night – The Serena Mountain Village Lodge.

The Mountain Village Lodge is a full service hotel and has all the amenities that you would expect to find at a larger hotel. The room was spacious and clean and had a TV, phone and lots of hot water. It was a good chance to get caught up on some necessary chores like laundry and email. Laundry was very reasonable (3 pairs of pants, 4 shirts, and one pair of shorts for a total of $9.00 US). The laundry went out at 3:30 pm and it was returned that evening by 8:00 pm. The cost to access the internet was 30 minutes for $5.00 US.

We had only a Bed and Breakfast option so dinner was extra. For dinner, we had salad, soup, entrée, dessert and coffee and the total came to $24US for the two of us. The food was good and we thought at that price to be an excellent value.

The next morning we had a full breakfast, and left Arusha at 9:00 am for our next destination, Tarangire and Swala Camp.

Next installment, Tarangire Park and Ngorongoro Crater

Here is the link to some of my pictures. I hope that the link works:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandin Signin.jsp?Uc=zv068ge.b5eef7y&Uy=-rpdb99&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfro mshare&Ux=0

Enjoy!

Wonderful trip report :) ...but the photo link isn't working. :(

cocco,
Send an invite to your own email address through the Share Photos feature of Kodak Gallery. Scroll down to the bottom of the email you receive to where it says "If you can't see the link, copy and paste the following directly into your browser:" and copy and paste the link directly under that here. That should work.

Thanks Patty:

Here is the new link to our pics:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-rpdb99

Cocco,

It seemed to me that you had a fantastic safari and I really enjoyed you wonderful pictures!

Greetings,

Johan

hey, a lot of these are really cool!
thx, d

cocco,
Great pictures--lots of good "head shots" as well as an impressive eye for composition. Camera info?

Thanks Leely,

This was my first time taking pics of landscape and wildlife. I took over 1,000 pics and I am happy with the results of these 'top pics'.

Camera info: Canon 300D (i.e., Rebel) with Canon 70-300 IS USM. We carried two 1GB compact flash cards and downloaded files each day to a 40GB X-Drive. We were able to download the compact flash card every evening and start fresh every morning. I was free to take as many pics as I wanted to.

Great pics, especially the close-up head shots. The dust devil is really good. Presume the reticulated giraffe was in Samburu, but only one? I love this species.

Hi Sandi:

Good eye Sandi! Yes, the Reticulated Giraffe was photographed in Samburu. I agree, they have a beautiful look. I have a few other pics of a group of three but these came out a bit blury - and I cut the head off of another. First time with the camera but happy to say that my pics got better as the safari went on.

Note: In my earlier posts I mixed up the number of days and dates. Since I am unable to edit my previous posts I have begun using the correct dates with this post.

Tarangire: “What to do when an elephant comes knocking”
Day 8 / Feb 3rd

We departed Arusha at 9:00 am and had a leisurely drive to Tarangire Park. We had heard that this was not the optimal time to visit but we just had to see the big Baobab trees that the park is famous for. We were not to be disappointed. Tarangire Park turned out to be one of our favorites through the trip! The drive through the park was spectacular and was the greenest and lushest park to date. After the recent rains all the trees and plants were in full bloom and it was a nice change from the grey and dusty environment of the other areas.


And the Baobab trees were absolutely fantastic! These huge trees dot the landscape and give the park a very unique look. This was the only place that we encountered the dreaded Tsetse flies. For about 45 minutes while in the heat of the afternoon these little guys made an appearance and really take a bite out of you! Some interesting history about the tsetse fly: Prior to 1950 the Park had little human settlement and was not used for livestock grazing due to the high concentration of tse tse flies. This one factor played a major role in protecting the area from human exploitation. It’s remarkable how such a little bug could have such an impact!


Game Sightings: We were amazed at the large number of the elephant herds - groups of 9, 10 and the largest at 16. I was in elephant heaven. We also saw a lot of birds, some ostrich; several bat eared fox, and a lion resting on the side of the road. I have to mention that Martin, our guide/driver, never ceased to amaze us with his ability to spot game and drive at the same time. A vehicle in front of us completely passed by the lion and yet Martin spotted it with no problem. He was so knowledgeable and gracious in answering all our questions about the wildlife and general culture. We felt very lucky to have his expertise during our safari.

Swala camp is really well concealed and it comes as quite a surprise as you come around the bend. We arrived at about 4:00 Pm and we were met by one of the camp managers, Maryna and a staff member; we were impressed by the warm personal greeting. Maryna gave us an orientation, and in a camp with no fences we were told that it can get pretty lively with game.

Swala is a small tented camp in the south west of the Park, in a remote area about 45 minutes inside the park, but well worth the drive. Our first impression of Swala camp was how peaceful and serene it felt – a little piece of paradise. The camp is positioned under a group of shady acacia trees. The camp has a watering hole in the centre and in the dry season sees lots of action. Right now there is plenty of water so we did not see much action but there were still plenty of animals around.

There are nine tents in the camp and we were shown to #3. Each tent is raised on a wooden deck above the ground and situated under a large tree for shade. The tent was very large and featured a large king-size bed with white linens and dark wood furniture. The attention to detail was most impressive, from the light cotton housecoats, to his and her flip-flops tied up with string.

Maryna invited us to join them at the open campfire for sundowners about 6:45 pm which gave us time to have a quick shower and sit on the veranda for a while. A herd of impalas walked right past us while we were sitting on the veranda and it was so wonderful to watch them scurry and ramble around. Just before we were about to leave for the camp fire a small herd of six elephants made an appearance to the right of the bush. As we watched them they moved in closer and closer and came within 20 feet or so of our veranda. This was the first time that I had been so close to an elephant without the security of the vehicle, and let me tell you my heart was beating so fast I thought it would jump out of my throat! At some point they must have caught our scent as they moved away fairly quickly but stayed within viewing range.

We had drinks around the fire with Maryna and her husband Steven and were joined by the only other couple in the camp. Steven mentioned that it was rutting season for the impalas and not to worry if we hear a lot of noise during the night.

Dinner was served and the tables were set up under the stars; we ate by candlelight. Dinner was a combination of pork and lamb with fresh potatoes, pumpkin and beans and dessert was a light chocolate mousse. Staff was attentive, and the food was well prepared. The wine is complimentary and is a nice touch to the overall experience. During dinner we could hear the sounds of impalas around the camp and when a flashlight was shone on the bush they all just froze in their place. It was quite comical to see all these impalas just stop in mid chew.

After dinner we were escorted to our tent by a Masai who ensured that we made our way safely. As a precautionary measure a radio was placed in our tent in case of emergency.

We only booked one night at the camp and we were really sad to leave. The managers Maryna and Steve were delightful and we really enjoyed their company. We give Swala Camp the highest marks and we promised ourselves that we would return to this special place in the future.

Coming up soon, Ngorongoro Crater.

Great trip report so far! Can't wait for more.

Was saving this to read over the weekend and what a pleasure! Can't wait to read more but Cocco, just wanted to thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with us!

Wow, some nice photos! LOVE the cheetah yawn and the lion/ buffalo interaction and some great bird shots and how about that little brown baby zebra and oh the lion cubs! Wonderful!

Hi Cocco-
Amazing pictures, and an incredible report - can't wait to read more! Can you give me some further info on the Kenya Wild;ife Animal Orphanage in Nairobi? I would love to see these animals up close, and we have a couple of free afternoons when we are in Nairobi in June. Is it easy to get to? I did a search on the internet but couldn't see anything, any info you can give me would be appreciated!
Lynda (in next province over from you)

Lynda,
The Safari Walk & Animal Orphanage is located at Nairobi National Park (if I'm thinking of the same place that cocco visited). Nairobi NP is on the southern end of the city. I haven't been there but if you decide to go, you should try visit Daphne Sheldrick's Elephant Orphanage too which is also right at Nairobi NP. They're open to the public from 11 to noon (double check) for feeding and mudbath time. You'll get to see the baby orphan elephants and rhino.

Also in the same vicinity are the Giraffe Centre, Karen Blixen Museum, Kazuri Beads, and Utamaduni. Any of these places can be easily combined together though you may not have time to hit them all in one afternoon.

LyndaS: The web site for the Kenya Wildlife Society is www.kws.org. Patty is correct on the location. Click the link to the education centres and it's under the Nairobi Educational Center. We also wanted to go to the Sheldrick's elephant Orphanage but ran out of time. Next time.

Ngorongoro Crater
Days 9 & 10 / Feb 4 & 5th

The drive to the Crater from Tarangire took about three hours – a large portion of the road is newly paved and this made the ride smooth and dust free. Martin, our driver diverted our attention to the left side of the vehicle and then told us to turn to the right and there it was – the Ngorongoro Crater. Nothing quite prepares you for that first look, that first moment where you take in the beauty and the grandeur of the crater. Although we saw many pictures of it, seeing it with our own eyes is quite breathtaking. It became one of those ‘picture moments’ that will always be remembered.

We arrived at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge (NCL) about 4:00 pm and I was giddy with anticipation. After a quick check in and orientation we were escorted to our room (#8). It was as glamorous as we imagined it to be and it didn’t disappoint. Our room was exactly as described on the website and offered a few little surprises such as the personalized welcome note, to the box filled with chocolates and the decanter of sherry sitting by the fireplace. The highlight for me was the beautiful bathtub that faces the crater and provides a view worth a million bucks. Suffice to say that I didn’t waste anytime in jumping in the bath and having a nice long soak.

We had a few hours before dinner and we spent some time organizing ourselves, since laundry was included in the rate it was one of the first things that we prepared. We walked around the grounds and took a look at the gift shop. The gift shop offered a few unique items that I hadn’t seen before such as really nice handmade soap and the line of toiletries featured in the rooms.

Cocktails were served in the lounge area and we enjoyed chatting with the other guests and sharing our experiences of the day. We enjoyed listening to their adventures in the crater, since we were going to the crater the next day.

We were shown to our table in front of the fireplace. It did seem a bit bizarre to have a fireplace in Africa – but there was a little in chill in the air and I appreciated the warmth. Dinner was an excellent four course meal and the service was exceptional. Upon returning to our room, our butler had turndown our bed and there was a lovely fire in the fireplace.

We were awoken the next morning and had our tea and hot chocolate on the deck of our room. The view was breathtaking and humbling at the same time. I thought about how perfect a place the crater is – its own little world – where the inhabitants are protected and can live (mostly) untouched from human harm.

We departed about 8:00 am for the crater floor and arrived about 8:45 am after winding down a steep zig zag road. This was one of those moments that I was glad we were in “the tank”. Once we made it down to the floor there was an impressive selection of thousands of inhabitants including wildebeest, zebra, impalas, gazelles, the older bull elephants and lots and lots of babies. The baby warthogs were so cute! Our highlights included: A fairly close viewing of a Rino – he was sleeping and then got up and moved which gave me enough time to snap some pics. We saw two lions contemplate bringing down a water buffalo, but they quickly changed their minds as the water buffalo turned and chased the lions. It was a great show and very humorous.

We had a lovely picnic lunch by the hippo pool and there were tons of birds around to keep us company. We ate in the vehicle and did not have any trouble with those meddlesome birds. We stayed in the crater until about 4:00 pm. Contrary to previous information you can stay in the crater all day. Instead of limiting the vehicles the park fees went up from $30.00 US to $50.00 per person. I think this is funny because people are not going to travel all this way to balk at paying an extra $20.00 to get into the crater, so I am not sure how this increase is going to decrease the number of vehicles going into the crater.

Upon returning to our room, we were very dusty and hot and we found that our butler had prepared a nice hot bath, with two pairs of slippers ready for our tired feet. It was a nice treat. We raided the gift store, had a great dinner, packed up our freshly laundered clothes and called it a day! Onto the Ndutu area tomorrow where we would spend the last three days on safari before heading to the coast and Ras Kutani.

The NCL is a beautiful place if not a little over the top. This level of luxury seems a little out of place here. Of all the places we stayed this was probably our least favorite. Not because it isn’t a fantastic place but because we prefer a more natural and rustic setting such as Swala or Intrepid. Were we happy we stayed there? You bet – it was fun. Would we stay there again? Probably not – but it was worth the experience.

Next Ndutu to see the migration or not….

Thank you many times over for the wonderful pictures and the detailed trip report. I wait anxiously for each trip report set. We have booked a very similar trip for late September 2006, and this makes me eager for the time to pass. Waiting for the next entry.

Thankyou Patty and Kimberley for the info - I found it as per your instructions and will for sure visit there in June! Micato is taking us to the Giraffe Center, as well Karen Blixen Center, but has made no mention of either the Wildlife Orphanage, or David Sheldrick's, so these would be two really good places to visit on our own. We arrive at 5:30 AM the morning before we are officially 'with the group', so this can be what we do on that day! Thanks again guys, I appreciate it.

Kimberly,
Thanks for the current crater info. I agree I can't see how anyone would chose not to descend into the crater because of a $20 increase. Then again, I couldn't see how the originally announced time restriction would help either. It seemed like visitors would just opt for 2 half days vs one full day resulting in the same or even more congestion.

You photos are fantastic BTW including some wonderful shots of birds. Makes me want to ugrade my equipment though I'm sure it has much more to do with one's photo skills ;)

Hello "cocco",

Thanks so much for your trip report! The photos are just fabulous. We're from Winnipeg! and are in the midst of planning/booking our safari in February 2007. Our agent has recommended Tortilis and I see where you had a marvellous time there! Could I please ask you: did your tent view out onto Kilimanjaro? I didn't see any photos of the mountain in your collection!
Are there hairdryers at Tortilis? Or do you have to supply your own (assuming there is a plug/electricity for using one.)

Do you think two nights at Tortilis were enough, or would you recommend staying an extra night there? We will also be visting the Mara, the Crater, Serengeti and possibly the Selous.

Your "Adam" story is priceless! What an adventure! I can only hope we have stories like that to tell after our own adventure next year!

cocco,
I'm waiting with bated breath for your next installment.

Very interesting about the Ngorongoro visits. And although the NCL is way beyond my budget, now that I've read about the chocolates, the hot chocolate...hmm! Maybe I'll have to investigate further.

Thanks for all your kind comments. Taking pictures was fun - and I am a beginner so if I can do it so can you!

Carolines: Winnipeg is my home town - Born and raised. There is a couple that manages Tortillis, and the woman is from Calgary! It is a small world.

Re: Tortillis, it is a lovely, lovely area and you will not be sorry. No, our tent did not face Kilimanjaro , it was cloudy and so the only view we had was on the drive in to Amboseli. There are no hairdryers in Tortillis and no plugs for this in the tents. There is a plug located in the change areas by the pool and I used that one evening. Before I left Canada I purchased one of those mini-travel hairdryers just in case. While most places had hairdryers it was hit and miss. I used my little dryer a handful of times and it worked really great. I would say that for us, two nights was a good amount of time and gave us plenty of time to go out on game drives. But it will really depend on the pace you set for your safari. We did two nights at most places with the exception of Ndutu where we spent three nights because of the migration and the serengeti which is about an hour away. Best of luck with your trip - I'm am sure you will love it.

Leely: NCL is a once in a lifetime experience. I will always remember the butler showing us our room and even the look on my husbands face was like "wow" - it is an experience for sure.

Ndutu
February 6,7,8
Days 11, 12, 13

On our way to Ndutu we stopped by the Olduvi gorge and museum. As has been mentioned before there is not a whole lot to see here but it is worth a quick look. Martin took us down to the gorge to see the shifting sands. Basically, it consists of a volcanic ash dune of shifting sands located near the Gorge. Discovered in 1966, it has been steadily moving northwest as fast as 56 feet per year, retaining its shape due to the magnetic properties of the sand grains. The Masai revere the site as sacred and use it as a place to pray or sacrifice cattle. Who would have thought that sand could be so interesting?

Driving into the Ndutu area we couldn’t help but notice how dry the area was. The rainfall has been a fraction of what they normally get at this time of year. We also noticed the absence of a lot of animals, no elephants anywhere, and only a few impala and smaller animals. We were initially disappointed that the migration had not yet arrived, but felt worse for the animals that were suffering through the drought and hoped for their sake that the rains would come soon.

The accommodation at Ndutu Lodge, while basic, is very clean and private. Each little cottage has its own bathroom and either twin, or queen size beds. There is little veranda in front that is nice for an afternoon or evening rest. The only note that we would like to pass along is the water quality. The water has high soda content and therefore feels soapy. You always feel like you have soap on you while washing but this is more of an inconvenience than anything. We did laundry and our clothes came out just fine. We would save some of the fresh drinking water that was placed in our room and I would use this for a final rinse on my hair. There are no electrical plugs in the room – so no blow dryers or curling irons. The good news – everyone is in the same situation. There are plugs in the bar/lounge area for battery charging.

Animal sightings: For the first hour of our afternoon game drive, we were surprised by the lack of animals. Only a couple of giraffe, and few impalas. And then, we heard it. A loud lion roar followed by a small cloud of dust. Martin quickly moved the vehicle in the direction of all the noise and we found ourselves right in the middle of a fight over territory. Because you are allowed to go off road we were able to get a little closer than we had in previous areas. It was quite exciting to hear the lions roar as they attempted to communicate with each together. For those of you who have seen the pictures – the young male with the blood in his mouth was from a fight with another male. We counted about 21 lions from two prides squaring off. Even Martin said that he had never seen so many lions in one place. There were eight cubs and the females were quite distraught. It was a sight to see and we watched and listened to the commotion for over an hour. That is the beauty of Africa, just when you think all is quiet - it will surprise you.

After our exciting game drive, we returned to the lodge for dinner. One of the best things about the Ndutu lodge is the fact that they serve some local dishes. Although we enjoyed all the food during our safari we were a bit disappointed that very few local dishes were served. So we were very glad to have the opportunity to try a few different meals while at Ndutu. We had ‘ugali’ which is a traditional stew, and it was excellent. As well, alcohol and soft drinks were very inexpensive; a glass of wine was $2.50 US and a pop was about $1.00 and a fresh juice $1.50. After dinner we enjoyed sitting around the fire pit and star gazing.

Day 12

We enjoyed two game drives on our second day and saw some peaceful lions sleeping under a tree. We saw another lion sitting close by his fresh wildebeest kill. Also saw a cheetah sleeping under a tree. We were also fortunate enough to see some eland. Eland are very very shy and run away anytime a vehicle attempts to get near. We also saw a group of baby ostrich, about 20 – 25 of them. They were so cute because they were running as fast as they could, while staying in one big group. The poor adult ostriches were having a heck of a time trying to keep up with them! When we drove past the flock the adult male became alarmed and pretended to have a broken wing…he started flapping and limping, trying to get us away from the babies. It was priceless. We drove away and let him think that he was successful in protecting his babies from harm.

Day 13
Today featured an all day trip into the Serengeti. This area is so vast and large that our eyes cannot see the end. It was so impressive just by its size. The Masai appley named this place “endless plain’ which means…you guessed it, Serengeti. The trip from Ndutu took about one hour and this was one of the dustiest and roughest roads in the whole trip. We noticed how skittish the animals were in the Serengeti; they run away from any vehicle that comes near. Very different from our experience in the Ngorongoro Crater where the animals are laying all over the road! Once at the Seronera Valley we noticed a large number of wildebeest just walking around aimlessly. There were a few lines, but mostly they were just standing around under the shade of trees. They are very confused because without the rains they are in a dilemma as to where to go.

Animal highlights: There were a lot of animals in Seronera area – probably since there is water most animals have moved away from the Ndutu area. We saw a leopard and a lion sleeping in a tree (not the same tree). On our way back to the Ndutu area, Martin spotted a cheetah sitting under a soliditary tree.

It was our final night at the lodge and the weight of having to leave the animals was upon us. One more night and this closed the chapter on our safari. Our next location, Ras Kutani Beach Resort for some much needed R & R.

Up next - the final installment - Ras Kutani or Burn baby burn.

Carolines: I forgot to mention that I posted a few pics of our tent at Tortillis on the kodak site. Here is the link. http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...1&y=6o9ehu


Unfortunately, we did'nt take picutures of the grounds. But the pics will give you an idea of the accomodation.

Cocco,
The detail in your pictures is stunning. Thanks for letting me relive my trip through you!

Kimberly & Caroline-
There is a lot of Winnipegers on this thread! I wasn't born there, nor raised there but I did spend my teenage years in Lac du Bonnet and the start of my married life in Winnipeg, before we decided to move to Vancouver.

Cocco1 - I am anxious to start reading your very detailed report. In the meantime I took a peek at your photos. Very nice! Thanks in advance for such a great report. It looks like a good one!
Sharon