Feb 8, 2020 - Sat Feb 8, 2020 - Ngorongoro Crater - Arusha and home for some

Today we say goodbye to Ngorongoro Crater and head back to Arusha town. Lois & Liz are on flights this evening so we don’t doddle and are on the road by 8:30am. The jungle air is crisp and fresh and cooler as we are 2400m above sea level. The road is a bit bumpier that the other side of the Crater - this side isn’t used quite as much. Before long we shout with glee - a troop of baboons of all ages are crossing the road. Papa Baboon ‘guards’ his family and almost looks like he is posing and saying ‘come on you silly tourists, take your...

Feb 7, 2020 - Fri Feb 7, 2020 - Ndutu to Ngorongoro Crater

My alarm this morning wasn’t my phone, it was my friends the lions that awoke me again at 6am. They were SO close and I kick myself that I didn’t voice record their growls. Sunrise was in half an hour so I knew they would wander off by then. Quite the experience!! I was first at breakfast - Gee I wonder why 𯘂, and some had heard the lions and others not. Lois came in the tent wide-eyed so I knew she had. 𯘳 Our departure time is 7:30am, the staff come out to thank us and give us hugs. We are so amazed at their incredible service! As we...

Feb 6, 2020 - Thurs Feb 6, 2020 - Ndutu

Around 3am, the wilds of Africa awaken me. I hear the sounds of Zebra warning their herd. Something has spooked them or is chasing them. They sound like they are directly behind my tent, and then it gets louder and louder. Along with the zebra are, what sounds like, hundreds of wildebeest. They are thundering past us and I quickly grabbed my phone camera and recorded the sounds. It was exciting and frightening all at the same time! Shortly after the thunder of hooves died down, I heard the rain on my roof and it was a beautifully lulling...

Feb 5, 2020 - Wed Feb 5, 2020 - Arusha to Ndutu

Up at 6 am ready for check-out. We said goodbye to Rod & Charlene as they are heading home today (there were tears!) We also had to say see you later to Roy & Diane as a safari is not allowed so close after surgery. We will see them on Saturday so no tears quite yet. Feeling sad that we are nearing the last few days of this wonderful adventure!! 6 of us left at 7:30am for Ngorongoro Crater & Ndutu. Our driver/safari guide is John as well, so they are Big John(driver) and Little John. Big John is from the Chagga tribe which originate from...

Feb 4, 2020 - Tues Feb 4, 2020 - Arusha

A sleep in day, however most of us are in the breakfast room by 8am. The commandant ‘Angel’ (totally misnamed) is in fine form. One of us orders an omelette and she gives it to someone else, not just once but several occasions. Shane finally has had it and gives her a piece of his mind. We laugh later but it is so annoying - we must report her to the front office manager, Bernadette, who is a delight! Kitamu Coffee cafe has been listed as the top coffee place in Arusha so Rod, Charlene, Tammy, Shane, Lois & I jump in a taxi and head there....

Feb 3, 2020 - Mon Feb 3, 2020 - Zanzibar / Stone Town - Arusha

Up bright and early eating breakfast overlooking the beach. A glorious sunny morning! Our transfer arrives just before 8am and we are off to the airport for our flight to Arusha. Check in is very slow, however we still manage to leave 10 minutes early and arrive in Dar Es Salaam 20 minutes early. Thank heavens as the confusion never seems to end. We are ushered into the international terminal as our flight originated in Nairobi. We show our boarding cards and skip the line to the transfer area (so much for security!). This consists of a...

Feb 2, 2020 - Sun Feb 2, 2020 - Zanzibar / Stone Town

Another lovely sleep in and down to the beach restaurant for breakfast. The time flew and before we knew it we were in our transfer van to Stone Town. Stone Town is the old portion of Zanzibar city and was given Unesco designation in 2000. In its history are the lucrative spice trade as well as the slave trade - trading to Madagascar, Mozambique, India, Saudi Arabia and other eastern countries. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Town We made good time and arrived at the Tembo House Hotel right on the waters edge. It is as beautiful as I...

Feb 1, 2020 - Sat Feb 1, 2020 - Zanzibar

Slept beautifully last night and awaken to beautiful Zanzibar skies. What a beautiful spot! We all meet at breakfast and prepare for our snorkel & sail in a dhow boat. Liz decides to hang back while the 7 of us head out for a new adventure. The water is calm and so clear as we motor out to our first stop about 45 minutes away. Before long Captain Mike and Lucas shout dolphins! A large pod is swimming by and we follow them. Lucas says we are blessed and very lucky as few people see Dolphins. We later find out that charming Lucas, our snorkel...

Jan 31, 2020 - Fri Jan 31, 2020 - Nairobi to Zanzibar

It was a short night as Sammy & Steve are arriving at 5:30am to take us to the airport. We are flying Precision Air and we depart on time which was nice! The flight is smooth and we are blessed with a view of beautiful Kilimanjaro as we pass over. Wow, she is stunning. In no time we are landing on the island of Zanzibar - it is 28C at 9:30am and it is glorious!! Immigration is relatively painless, our transfer arrives after a little confusion and we are off to the Kendwa Beach area. Very similar to Nairobi, traffic chaos abounds, only on a...

Nov 3, 2018 - Zanzibar--Mnemba Island

03 Zanzibar – Mnemba Mnemba (nem bah) is a small island off the eastern coast of Zanzibar. It is very small, can be walked around in about ½ an hour. It is a small green patch surrounded by the most beautiful white limestone beach. And, surrounding that are reefs, full of fish and beautiful coral. It is a private island, with a resort owned and operated by & Beyond. There are only 12 cabins each tucked into the trees. Pine trees mostly, planted here in the early 90’s. The needles are acidic and stop some of the undergrowth, but they do...

Oct 30, 2018 - Zanzibar--Stone Town

02 Zanzibar – Stone Town Getting to Zanzibar is not easy, nor quick. We left home at 1:15 PM on Friday, and finally arrived at our hotel, the Park Hyatt, about 3 PM on Sunday. Even though there is a 10 hour time change, that is a long time to travel. We flew from Vancouver to Frankfurt, long layover, then to Addis Ababa. From there a flight to Zanzibar, with a stop in Kilimanjaro (to unload passengers, and recount the ones that remained on the flight, to make sure no extras had joined). The arrival in Zanzibar was speeded up by a very...

Oct 19, 2018 - Another trip--Zanzibar and Ethiopia

We are off on another trip, first to Zanzibar and then to Ethiopia. Linda says that she is going to write a journal so you should receive update notices. If you do not want to receive the update notices, let me (Robin) know and I will delete you from the list.