Yooper1

Jambo! Got back from climbing Kilimanjaro (we posted that report a few weeks ago) and a 7 day safari in Tanzania.

Photos: Here's the link to the photoshow, which contains music- click on "view photoshow." It may take a few minutes to download. (http://brianrfox.net/Photos/Safari/data/index.html)

General Advice:
WEATHER- we went on safari during the 3rd week of March. We had a little rain. Towards the end of the trip we had regular thundershowers at night. End of March/April is the beginning of the rainy season.

SAFARI CLOTHES- We didn't notice many bugs at all. We brought the deet like we were told to do, but didn't really use it. We wore zip off pants and short sleeves every day. We mostly brough neutral colors.

MALARIA MEDS: We took Malarone and had no problem at all. Our doc back home prescribed Lariam, which is really potent. Both our climbing co and safari co told us to avoid Lariam and go for the Malarone.

VISAs- We got these via mail from the TZ embassy in DC before we left. It was very convenient.

MONEY- We brought all US cash-- lots of different demoninations-$1s and $5s for tips. Everybody took US. Some of the larger tourist shops took VISA, but not many places. I am sure there are ATMs in Arusha, but we didn't need to use them.

SAFETY- We felt really safe. Much safer than in most large US cities, or even Costa Rica (where our passports were stolen from our locked car, which was parked in front of the hotel lobby). In fact, I found the people very friendly.

FLASHLIGHT: Be sure to bring this. Many lodges and tented camps (even the Crater Sopa) don't have power after a certain time every night.

TOILETS: (You can probably tell I'm a female by mentioning this!). The public restrooms at the National Parks- Crater and Serengeti are actually nice. There are a few stalls with actual toilets, and others with a hole in floor-- most had toilet paper. Some of the larger gift shops in Arusha have nice toilets too. Otherwise, it's pretty much a hole in the floor or going outside. I didn't find it that bad.

ROADS- As you drive west from Ng Crater to the Serengeti all the roads are dirt and really rough. I wasn't expecting perfect roads, but I guess I didn't realize how taxing it is to drive in the hot weather on dusty roads all day. Be prepared for a rough ride. When you are safari, you're in the car all day- driving to and from your locations and also for game viewing/drives. If you like small planes and can afford it, it might be nice to do some of the safari via air.

Trip Report:
We used Kiliwarriors for the safari portion of our trip. They did a solid job. The driver was timely, informative, and helpful. His personality type was a little serious or at least not very gregarious. It might be useful to try to talk to your safari company about matching your personality to that you want in your driver. The accomodations Kiliwarriors booked for us were really first class. The only downside was that on our last day we were out in the Serengeti and were scheduled to drive back to Kilimanjaro airport. This is a long and dusty drive on many dirt roads (about 6-7 hour drive). We switched our accomodations, at our expense, for our last night to stay closer to town so we'd have time to do last minute gift shopping and be more rested before the long flight home. Also, our trip packet came a little late. Otherwise, they had good suggestions for our itinerary and were very professional. Their packing list is about 10 pages long- very thorough.

Safari Day 1: After climbing Kili our driver picked us up from our hotel in Moshi. We drove to Lake Eyasi and we stayed at Kisima Ngeda Camp. This camp is hard to get to. "Rock and Roll" roads (as our driver said) for about 2 hours of the journey. The camp is very beautiful. The service was great. I had the best cream of asparagus soup I've ever had. The tents are all fully plumbed. Coffee waiting for us in the morning- overall great place!

Day 2- The next day we went to see the Bushmen (Hadzabe tribe) and we did a hunt with them. We brought them beans, corn, etc. we bought at a local market. Apparently, the Bushmen like "weed." They grow their own. Our guide told us they were disappointed we didn't bring them any "weed" to smoke. We also had a special "bushmen guide" who was a local kid (he wasn't very good as he seemed pretty disinterested). We went on a hunt with the "special" guide and the Bushmen. They didn't kill anything except a few baby birds they took from nests. Although I understand they must do this to eat, I'm a vegetarian, so I secretly hoped they didn't kill a larger mammal.

We stayed at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge that night. We liked the Sopa. Clean, large, pretty good food. Felt a little "Disneyesque" (e.g. they have a dancing show in the main dining room after dinner & a pharmecutical company was holding a small convention there). Overall, it was a nice hotel. The Sopa is really close to a road leading down the Crater, which is nice.

Day 3- We did game drives in the Crater for the next few days. The Crater is like a natural zoo. You'll see many animals, but they are all confined by the high crater wall so they are easy to spot.

We also did a trek to the Olmoti Crater. Our guide and a armed ranger went with us. The "trek" is only about a 1/2 hour walk up to a waterfall, which is really pretty. It was a nice diversion to get out of the car for a while.

Day 4- Visited a Maasai Boma on the drive out the Serengeti. It was really interesting to visit the Maasai houses- mud and stick huts (with LOTS of crickets crawling on the walls!). The bomas on the tourist roads have lots of necklaces and jewelry out for you to buy after your visit- we usually ended up buying one on the way out.

Day 5/6: Stayed at Olakira Mobile Tented Camp. Again, great service. They bring you juice and wet towels when you arrive at camp! The food was also great. Giraffes were grazing on acacia trees within 1 minute from our camp. We saw lots of game- buffalo, zebra, gazelle, lion, jackal, hippo, wilderbeest, etc. on our game drives from this camp.

Day 7- Stayed at Lake Manyara (Kirurumu Tented Lodge). Another good camp. Service staff wasn't as phenomenal as Olakira and Kisima Ngeda, but there was a great bar overlooking the park. Met another fodorite here. Hello "travelnat!"

Last day- Stopped at gift shops on the way back to Kilimanjaro airport. (No price is ever "fixed"- there is always room for negotiation). We stayed at the Kia Day Lodge for the afternoon to get ready for the flight. Just a bed and shower to clean up before you leave. It was just ok- clean, but nothing special- don't expect tv/internet etc- they didn't have it.

Overall, we really enjoyed our trip and want to go back soon! Thanks for all the advice from those on this board!
Travelers from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

ndonna

Thanks for the "quick" tips you provide. I like the way you posted them. Easy to pick out exactly what is needed. I will take your ideas with me into my planning for my trip.

How was the climb up Kilimanjaro. I can't even imagine taking that on. I am getting nervous about my little Gorilla Trek up the mountains. My hat is off to you.

Lillipets

Yooper1,
I loved your slide show. What is the music you used? I really loved it.
And since your name is Yooper1 are you from Michigan's Upper Peninsula?
Thanks
Lily

alldaytravel

Thanks for the great trip report Yooper! Sounds like a terrific trip!

I do have a quick question for you on Lake Eyasi - I am currently planning a trip for September and am trying to decide whether I should include Lake Eyasi in my itinerary to spend time with the Hadzabe or, if I should skip it and go to Lake Manyara instead (or even adding this day onto another park). I only have time for 1 of these places...

Since you went to both Eyasi & Manyara, can you recommend one over the other? Was it worth the trek to Lake Eyasi? Did you feel that the experience with the Hadzabe was commercial/touristy?

Did you feel that the cultural interaction you experienced stopping through the Masai boma would have sufficed?

Also, can you provide some additional feedback on your wildlife viewing experiences at Lake Manyara?

Sorry for the 20 questions! I need to make this decision ASAP so I can book my trip...

atravelynn

This was a very informative report. Does your name hint that you are from the Upper Penninsula of Michigan?

Your zoo description of the crater is a good one, using zoo in an accurate and positive sense.

The weed as a welcome gift is quite funny and an eye opener for me.

I am very interested in your experience in Lake Eyasi with the Bushmen, so I have extensive questions. Of course it is your choice to answer as many or as few in as much detail or as little detail as you want. Don't want to give you a homework assignment.

1. Did you meet the Bushmen at their home or where?
2. How long was the walk?
3. How many Bushmen went with you?
4. Was it just the people in your vehicle, which I assume were the two of you, on the walk?
5. Were there other walks in progress going on around you?
6. Communication--Did your guide go too and interpret? which would mean the Bushmen speak Swahili. Or do the Bushmen speak English?
7. Is there any wildlife element to Kisima Ngeda Camp or is the main focus the Bushmen?
8. It looks like you spent one night at Kisima Ngeda Camp, then drove to the crater. (a)How far was Ngeda from Manyara? (b)How far was the crater from Ngeda?
9. Can you spell Kisima Ngeda for me phonetically?
10. I think some people spend 2 nights at Kisima Ngeda. Do you know what is done on the 2 night stays and did you hear about any 3,4,5 night stays?
11. I could be wrong, but I thought there was another place to stay when visiting the Bushmen. Any comments on that or why you'd prefer one place over the other for logistics? I know which one wins out for the asparagus soup!

I'll check out the photos later.

Thanks for helpful report.

schuba

takes time to load the photoshow but worth it! good u enjoyed ur trip.

Yooper1

Hello!
Yes, I did grow up in the "UP" of Michigan- beautiful area, but quite cold in the winter!

Music for the slideshow: my husband is a computer guy, so we used the music from the "Civilization" game- I couldn't determine if the music was made specially for the game or if it was by a certain group/composer.

Here are some thoughts/perspectives on Lake Eyasi. In the morning we picked up our "Hadzabe guide." We just drove around the different Hadzabe camps until we found one that was big enough to visit. The first camp was just 3-4 people, so we kept driving. I guess this the visits aren't prearranged- you just drive around to see which camp might take you out on a hunt. So, in that respect, I view this as much more "authentic" than the Massai visit that we went on. There were no other "tourists" around while visiting the Hadzabe. In comparison to our Massai visit, this visit was not "rehearsed." The Maasai visit was well scripted- they did a dance for us when we arrived and then one of the Maasai showed us around the village. In contrast, when we pulled up to the Hadzabe people, they were just waking up- and were just going about their usual routine. At the end of our visit they did a dance for us, but they seemed pretty sad-- like, "why are these tourists making us do a dance at 8 a.m. in the morning?" They did seem to enjoy showing us how to use the bow and arrow, though. At the end of the visit, they all pepped up because they took out necklaces, etc, to sell to us. They even offered to sell their "banjolike" instrument to us. They asked for my husband's Boeing 787 Dreamliner ballcap, and he gave it to one of the boys- that was pretty cool.

There wasn't much to see at the Hadzabe campsite. They move quite often so they travel light- just a campfire and a few grass/mud "tents."

Hunt: About 5 people went on the hunt- both young boys and one older male. Our "hadzabe" guide went with us, but not our safari driver. The hunters took their bows and arrows and we walked around in the bush. I don't see how we could catch much with all the noise- I'm sure bringing us along didn't help their chances to kill something. We didn't see any wildlife out there. There's not a lot of food for the Bushmen- they pretty much eat little animals because of the larger animals have left. When we came back from the hunt, the women were digging a hole and had killed 2 mice that they were going to eat later.

Overall, I think the experience was really genuine- they didn't really put on a show for us, we were just observers. Our Hadzabe guide wasn't the best either. He translated from their language to English. I wasn't able to tell if the Hadzabe spoke their click-click language or Swahili (the "click-clik" wasn't really pronounced if, in fact, they were speaking that language).

To answer some of your other questions- we didn't see any other "walks" going on around us. Also, the drive out to Lake Eyasi is pretty much through farmland. The area is famous for tasty onions- so no real wildlife out there.

As for choosing between Manyara and Eyasi- that's tough. We didn't actually go into Manyara park, but I hear it is really great. The trip out to Lake Eyasi is a long one on really 'rock and roll' roads. The Bushmen experience was definately genuine. I guess there are only about 200 of them left, so it might be good to go and see them while they are still around. It makes you think of how humans lived 1,000s of years ago- just hunting for their food. Don't expect them to come out and greet you with big smiles, etc- like I said, they all seemed kind of sad when we went there (or maybe they were just sleepy). It was quite interesting that they like "weed." Be sure to bring them some food when you go-- we even brough tabacco.

QueenofDaNile

Thanks for all the info on the Hadzabe Yooper. Definitely sounds like that once in a lifetime to witness a vanishing culture. Looking forward to it with the hopes of getting a more enthusiastic "guide".

Patty

Thanks for your report and sharing more details about your Hadzabe visit!

atravelynn

Thank you so much for the additional details. Did you sample the tasty onions?

Yooper1

We saw lots of onion trucks around while driving out to our camp, but didn't get a chance to actually taste an onion. Maybe they put the fresh onion in my soup at Kisimi Ngeda, which is why it was so good!

hills27

Bump

eco2

Has anyone stayed at Migunga Tented camp near Lake Manyara National Park? How does it compare with the Kirurumu one in that area?

Thanks!!!