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Tanzania beach and bush holiday review

"We have recently returned from a wonderful three week Safari/Dive holiday in Tanzania, which was organised for us by Marc of Naturally Africa.

Our outbound and return flights were both overnight by Kenya Airways, this made the best use of time. All ran to time and were relatively hassle free.

Arriving at 9am at Kilimanjaro  and having got visas in London and, fortunately, both having valid yellow fever certificates  which are required as we had not flown direct but had come through Nairobi, we were out of the airport and in our transport by 9.15..all very efficient.

Got to the hotel by 10.30 went through the itinerary with the local co-ordinator and were in our rooms/ by the pool for 11.30..all very good. The Arusha hotel was the only hotel with air con we had and had a long history from German times in this bustling “city” set half way between Cairo and Cape Town. A good place to get over the flight and relax.

Promptly at 8.00am the next day our guide/driver Bildad arrived and we set off in his immaculate Landrover to visit the Arusha National Park. This covers a small area and was rich in birdlife and home to hundreds of flamingo. We were thrilled to see giraffe, bushbuck, waterbuck, zebra, a bathing hippo, monkeys, warthogs, baboon tiny Dikdik and make the reacquaintance of Paula’s favourite bird the Superb Starling. A great start to our Safari.

After lunch a two hour drive took us to Tarangire National Park with its woodland as well as vast wide open spaces. Almost immediately we were through the gates our guide found a lion that had just killed a zebra, with the inevitable attendant jackals and vultures. The place was teeming with zebra, impala and a large number of elephants and giraffe. All appeared healthy and in good condition.

The Tarangire Sopa Lodge was excellent and the pattern of spending two nights at each lodge worked well: arriving late, spending the whole of the middle day in the park then leaving early on the third day.

The middle day in Tarangire was a morning game drive which as on most days we opted to start at a civilised 8am returning for a late lunch then out again at 4pm. Saw impala, elephant, ostrich, giraffe and the highlight was the first leopard in a tree, albeit at some distance. Tarangire is good but low lying so there are many Tsetse flies and overnight Mosquitoes.

We left and stopped on route to Ngorongoro for lunch at the amazing Gibbs Farm. After a delicious lunch I climbed up to view a waterfall ll with a 68 year old guide who was very knowledgeable about the local history. Highlights were seeing fresh droppings which were apparently leopard and the unguarded/not signed sheer drops adjacent to the said waterfall. I did say that I wanted to be fairly quick, but I was somewhat breathless and in awe of the guide having completed the walk in seventy minutes rather than the usual two hours. Paula preferred to spend a less energetic and fascinating time investigating the magnificent organic market garden.

Next stop was Ngorongoro with the fantastic Sopa Lodge set on the rim of the crater... amazing views and thanks to the altitude no mosquitoes. The following day was spent in the Crater, approached by a track convenient to the lodge. The Crater is like a lost world teeming with non-migrating creatures. Apart from giraffe that cannot manage the steep climb down to the floor, all animals were on display. We saw the only black rhinos of the trip and our first two cheetah, lions up close and personal, whole prides of 10 plus at a time, also hundreds of wildebeest and zebra...and all in such a relatively compact area. It was just amazing!

Next was the bone shaking 5 hours back to the Serengeti, passing though the conservation area en route. We passed many Masai   herding their goats and cattle, they appeared to have little but many had mobile phones..I guess we all have to communicate and there weren’t many telegraph poles in evidence. On arrival the plains were vast but devoid of the thousands of animals we had expected to see. This was apparently down to the earlier rains and thunderstorms that we had witnessed from afar. Fortunately by the time we returned to this area they were back and did not disappoint.

The plains were not barren as we had expected but were full of various types of shrubs,   bushes, striking trees, enormous swathes of grassland and the occasional flower. We stayed at the Sierra lodge where we were compulsorily  accompanied at night,  the first time we have been escorted by a guide carrying what appeared to be an AK47 over his shoulder, but we appreciated the reason for this when we saw the night-time devastation wrought by just one elephant literally on our doorstep. The Sierra group of hotels clearly aims to be more up market than the Sopa Lodges: although good we did not find them significantly better and preferred the atmosphere at the Sopas. A minus point for us was the lack of a room safe at the Sierra Lodges.

The full day’s game drive did not disappoint, the migratory animals may not have been there in quantity but the residents were still much in evidence: elephants, giraffes, impala and of course the beautiful cats.

Onwards across the Western Corridor towards Lake Victoria. Left after a thunderstorm but not enough at this time of year to swell the famous Grumeti River. Became very much aware of the scale of the Serengeti, vast is an understatement. Musoma borders the lake and appears a little run down, though our guide enjoyed a good day off at a lodge he found on the shore.

We went off to Lukuba Island on a dhoni, just the two of us with three crew.  Guessed that the food here might not be great as the crew fell on the remains of our packed lunches.  The Lodge is set on a small island 12km from Musoma adjacent to a fishing village. Just 5 bungalows with only the two of us staying and a late arriving party of 4 charming Italians. Idyllic setting somewhat spoilt by the algae and parasites that affect the snails/mussels on the beach, though this is common to all of Lake Victoria. Visit was made for us by Ali, a charming and attentive member of staff, who  when fulfilling his role as guide brought along his Swahili newspaper to give me an update on English  football while we  watched the sunset  perched on rocks overlooking the local fishermen setting their nets. The lodge accommodation was comfortable but the meals were very basic and a general comment is that the owner needs to invest to bring back to a standard that clearly was once enjoyed as reality and guide book description do not tally.

Back through the Western Corridor to spend a further two nights in the Serengeti staying at the Sopa Lodge. It may only have been three days since we were last there, but in that time the wandering herds of zebra and wildebeest had returned. Our guide put this down to the early violent thunderstorms and rains that had caused the herd to circulate in advance of the main migration.  The rains had left many of the tracks muddy swamps and we were relieved to be in a Land Rover with its internal controls of the differentials, rather than the many Toyotas we saw. Our vehicle helped to push one to firm ground and we witnessed one driver getting out to lock his front hubs within 50 yards of a pride of lions, not clever! The main attraction had to be the thousands of animals on the plain, but we did see three leopards within one hour, the first in a tree adjacent to the track, and having moved off one kilometre down the track we stopped with a number of other vehicles and later a mother and her cub walked right past us alongside the road..all of about 2 metres away . The camera was red hot.

Returning across the plain through Ngorongoro, the plains were full of zebras, impala and wildebeest. We paused briefly at the Olduvai Gorge, interesting more as a reflection of how Louis and Mary Leake had dedicated their lives to research here in this barren and remote area. On past the gorge to Lake Manyara, where the Sierra Lodge was set high on the edge of the Rift Valley. A good lodge and being more up market it seemed to feature on the American circuit.

Spent half a day in the Lake Manyara NP a densely forested area where we encountered hundreds of blue monkeys and warthog families. Also saw hippo out of the water browsing, elephant and spent ages watching striking yellow billed storks devouring catfish almost their own size. Ended the safari portion of our journey here, convenient to Arusha airport. A bit disappointing in that we did not see as much here as we had expected, but having seen climbing lions in the Serengeti we did not feel too let down.

On to Arusha to fly down to Mafia. The internal flights with Coastal were interesting and I guess typical of the area...despite booking at the same time Paula and I had to fly on separate aircraft as they were up to capacity...I got to sit in the right hand co pilot’s seat and despite not having flown for 25 years (I do have a pilot’s licence) I had no difficulty in recognising all the instrumentation and felt that if the pilot had a problem then I could at least have got us down. Mafia Airport has the best departure lounge ever...emerald green sofas and satellite tv showing, what else, the Premier League...more than enough for the thirteen passengers that the aircraft could take.

Arriving after two and in my case three flights and about 45 minutes late, we were somewhat relieved to be there – transport waiting. After a brief moment of concern on entering the Marine Conservation Area which required a payment of $200US in cash, we were pleased to meet the manager of the hotel who said all was included and produced the notes out of his pocket. Kinasi Lodge has to be one of the best places we have stayed anywhere. No more than 30 or so guests, an attentive and professional staff of a least that number and food that was delicious and exquisitely presented by the 26 year old local chef...but you did have to like fish.

The Diving was good and quiet, though the choice of sites and times were far more dependent on the tide than I have experienced before. Would advise taking one’s own Dive Computer as the gear is a little on the basic side, but with a surface water temperature of 30 degrees and upwards of 30m visibility outside the reef and the full range of fish this has to be one of the best places I have dived.

On the final day, not diving, I was persuaded to go snorkelling before we left after lunch. We crossed the island and went in search of the elusive Whale Shark.  We were in luck and managed to spend upwards of one hour swimming with what must have been a 7-8m shark. This majestic fish has a mouth approaching 1 metre across and cruises close to and breaking the surface, together with its attendant school of companion and cleaner fish. I have been lucky enough to swim with these sharks before, but with just  four of us and being the only  boat to locate it, jumping in ahead of the fish each time, this has to be the best encounter yet.

This was a fantastic way to end our wonderful trip to Tanzania, so with many many vivid and unforgettable memories, hundreds of photos and movie clips we somewhat reluctantly left for the long journey home.

So to summarise
Safari destination          Second to none
Dive destination             Excellent
Best Hotels/ Lodges:    Kinasi on Mafia, All three Sopas, Arusha Hotel
Ok Lodges                      Sierras
Not so Good                   Lukuba Island
Favourite Parks              Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tarangire
Favourite Place              Mafia
Would not Visit               Lake Victoria, spoilt by the algae and snail parasites"

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