Overland Safari 1 – Tanzania
THE TANZANIAN DIARY….
Day 20: Early start this morning, we departed at 4.30am en route back to Kigale where we said goodbye to some of the crew who had only joined us for the Gorilla Trek. We then had a full day driving and crossed the border and by late afternoon we were in Tanzania. Overnight was spent in Sayari Guest House. We have no idea where we got the energy from but even after such an early start, the crew were up for a few drinks and then someone started us off with Karaoke… Singing The Gambler. Many others were keen to take the microphone after that…
These gorgeous kids greeted us as we arrived at our first campsite in Tanzania...
Karaoke began with Pete singing The Gambler...
Followed by a great rendition of REM's Losing My Religion by Marlene and Rainer (THE AUSTRIANS!!!)
Big Baz from Ireland belted out some Rod Stewart....
while Holly was very supportive of her Irishman's singing....
Our guide Damo also took to the Mic for a bit of Paul Simon's 'Call me Al'
Day 21: We continued the drive through Tanzania so basically a full day driving with time to stop in a small town to pick up supplies. We forgot to record the place where we stayed that night so we remember this place as the ‘Trivia Night Campsite’.
Trivia included all topics from African related to more personal... about the crew on board this Overland...
Day 22: Today we drove towards the Serengeti National Park. Even though we hadn’t entered the gates, the drive was incredible and there was plenty of wildlife to see. We stayed overnight just outside the gates of the Serengeti in a Bush Camp. That night we jumped into 4×4’s for a Game Drive.
The road to the gates of the Serengeti was a game drive in itself...
Day 23: We entered into the Serengeti National Park to enjoy a full days game drive. Weather was not fabulous in fact in rained most of the day so we didn’t get a chance to see a huge amount of wildlife however the scenery was still incredible. Plus when we say not much wildlife, we still saw plenty of zebra, giraffe, elephant, hippos and buffalo – just no cats and no Rhino’s. Perhaps by this stage we had just been too spoilt! Overnight camp was spent in the Serengeti where we fell asleep to the roar of lions and crys from the Hyenas.
Beautiful Birds were spotted along the way...
We usually see heaps of Buffalo but due to weather this was one out on his own while the rest were in hiding...
Weather like this unfortunately meant a fairly quiet game drive...
Dinner preparations are underway in the Serengeti...
Day 24: Back on the truck at 6am we set out for another morning game drive in the Serengeti. It wasn’t long before we spotted several hyenas and then got word from another truck that the Cats were nearby. In fact they were extremely close to our campsite. A total of 9 lions, some with new cubs that had us captivated. We probably spent half an hour with this pride, but another call had us on the move to see more lions and just across the road, a leopard sleeping in a tree.
A Lions roar can be heard from several kilometers away and these were the guys that had kept us awake the night before....
Thousands of Blue Wildebeest & Zebras on the plains of the Serengetti NP.
As we were due out of the park at midday we headed for the gates, spotting more lions on rocks and then just a full Savannah that included enormous dazzle of zebras and herds and herds of wilderbeast. This was a phenomenal days drive at it was only lunchtime.
Lion on Pride Rock overlooking the numerous prey below....
Blue Wildebeest also known as Gnu flood the plains of the Serenegeti. We were there for the entry into the Serengeti on their great Migration...
In the afternoon en route to the Ngorongoro Campsite, we stopped at a Masai Village. Welcomed by the Masai community with a local dance, we were then invited into their huts to see how they lived and also the classrooms where the young children attended school. We arrived at our campsite by early evening and with another game drive planned for the next morning, we were in bed bed by 9pm.
We were welcomed to the Masai Village by the Masai Men who sang and danced for us...
Inside a Masai Home... It is so tiny that you duck down to enter and then sit on their bed which is in front of where they cook...
Following the tour of a Masai's House, you are somewhat expected to purchase their jewellery... they place it on your arm and won't let you leave until you pay...
Pete's visit with the Masai School Kids caused a few tears...
Setting up camp just outside Ngorongoro Crater...
Day 25: Into some 4×4’s we left our campsite for the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area at 6am. The drive down into the Crater was beautiful and again masses of zebra, Wildebeest and impala greeted us on arrival. We spent about 6 hours in this area and the drive changed along the way. Elephants wandered across the road right in front of us and then out of small bushes a female lion with two gorgeous cubs wandered in between our cars. She was not fussed by our presence at all. Today was the first day we spotted a male lion too but from quite a distance and these lazy guys did nothing but snooze for the time at we spent with them.
We met up with our truck around lunchtime and made our way to Arusha and the Snake Park Campsite. A very fun night at this Campsite in Ma’s Bar.
Incredible Viewpoints on entrance to the Crater
This Elephant walked across the road, right in front of our car... Ears flapping and all...
This Lioness and her cute cubs wandered at ease in between the cars...
We got very close to this Hyena...
Lots of 4 x 4's on the lookout...
Rainer and Elissa catching a few zzzz's AFTER the Game Drive...
Day 26: This morning we leave more of the original crew in Arusha and pick up another group of Absolute Africa passengers. This is a day of driving as we are making our way to Dar es Salaam. We spend the night in a pleasant campsite which we cannot recall the name of except as ‘Kate’s Curry Campsite’ (that’s what one of the girls on our truck cooked us for dinner that night).
Arriving at 'Kate's Curry Campsite'...
Day 27: Back on the truck early, we were keen to get to Dar es Salaam and spend an afternoon swimming in the beach. This was our last night of camping as the next day we would be arriving in Zanzibar. We had a group BBQ that night in our campsite at Makadi Beach.
Arriving in Dar es Salaam, our campsite was right on the beach...
Day 28: Elissa’s Birthday!!!! We packed away our tent, jumped on Tuk Tuks and raced each other to the Ferry. The ferry rides to Stone Town in Zanzibar took several hours but by mid morning we had arrived on this beautiful island. As we were spending the next two weeks here, we opted out of the Spice Tour and enjoyed Elissa’s Birthday Lunch at a lovely rooftop restaurant overlooking the sea. We then met up with the crew later that night at the Africa House Hotel, enjoying cocktails at the Sunset Bar. Dinner was at the incredible Seafood Markets (plus we highly recommend the Zanzibar Pizza) and then a few more drinks at Freddy Mercury’s Bar. A fabulous way to celebrate a birthday.
En route to Zanzibar with a quick Tuk Tuk ride before getting the Ferry over to the Island...
A packed ferry makes its way to Stone Town...
Out of the Tents for a couple of weeks and celebrating Elissa's Birthday...
So this is where our Overland Tour with Absolute Africa finished… We had the most sensational 4 weeks travelling with the crew. Big thanks to our guide Damo and our fabulous driver Dixon. We highly recommend travelling through Africa on one of these Tours and definitely think Absolute Africa is a company to look into for your Overland Trip.
For more photos of our time in Tanzania, please check out our Gallery:
