When I was planning my trip to Tanzania I of course wanted to experience a safari as well. A 3 day safari to Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyra National Parks were planned.
Driving to these parks requires a great travel distance. Our guide Johnson, from Zara Tours, and our extended Toyota Landcruiser with an opening roof have been amazing. We managed to drive 500 miles / 800 km in just 3 days. A great part of these miles were on dirt roads, sometimes topping out at 55mph / 90 kmh, on very very bumpy roads. As our guide says “free African massage”. So if you plan on doing a safari, do take the driving and distances into consideration. In our group we were a total of three plus a guide. This left us with plenty of room.
The main roads themselves are in good condition, but fairly adventurous; Massai tribesmen in full outfits, herds of cattle, goats, and schoolchildren, motorbikes with 4 people on them some with a full size mattress strapped down on the back (braaap), vans with an extra 10 passengers in addition to official capacity and people on the roof, busses driving like mad passing 3 cars wide on a 2 lane road – it is mad. People say that Washington DC has bad traffic along with bad drivers in Miami, oh my, you have seen nothing until driving in Tanzania.
The national parks are all very well maintained. Security seems good in order to avoid poaching, at least I won’t argue with the guy carrying a gun resembling an AK-47. However, the cost of entering these parks can make it a costly affair. Ngorongoro Crater entry fee for a day for 3 people were $US 350. Typically this is included in your overall safari package, along with food, gas, lodging and guide. Tips are additional and can range from 10-15 $ US /day per person.
Our accommodations ranged from a basic hotel in a remote location to a luxury Wild Camp in the middle of nothing. Really. 40 miles / 60 km down a dirt road, from another long dirt road. Wild Camp was however incredible. Sleeping in luxury “tents” with the wildlife roaming around. The local Massai tribesmen told us that zebras, giraffes, and occasionally lions will roam between the tents. Pretty sure that if I saw a lion I’d follow the locals lead on what to do, or just run…
A typical safari day involves driving to the park just after breakfast, spotting animals, lunch, more spotting animals.
The individual guides all talk together via 2 way radio or cell phones, or stopping and talking to each other. They give tips on what animals they’ve seen and where.
Our guide helped us see buffalo, lions, elephants, the rare rhino, and even a Cheetah. Only missed the leopard put of the big 5. Also saw tons of Zebras, wildebeest, ostrich, antelopes, giraffes, hippopotamus, and lots of Landcruisers.
The cars out here has to be extremely reliable and able to take a beating on these “roads”. They also have to be easy to repair in case of breakdowns. Our guide Johnson immediately stopped and jumped out of our car when another tour company’s rear shock shackle had broken apart. How do you fix this in the middle of nothing, literally hours from the nearest paved road, but only a few hundred feet away from a group of lions? Rope, a piece of wood and some good luck. All drivers stop and help each other out. No distinction is made based in companies here, everyone helps. Other car managed to drive off without further issues. More river crossings next to lions awaits. What do one do if you get stuck in a river crossing 100 ft away from a group of lions? Don’t get stuck.
Since the majority of this blog is being done on my smartphone you will have to deal with sub par quality pictures thus. However, below is a teaser.
Next stop : Zanzibar beaches and Scuba diving.
Note: All blog text and pictures were done via smartphone.