On Safari in Tanzania – Part 2
I’m going to to start very near the beginning of our safari, hoping to convey just how much of a culture shock we experienced going from the USA to Tanzania’s bush country.
First Night Lodging in Arusha.
We arrived at about 10PM on our flight from the U. S. via Amsterdam at a relatively small international airport in Arusha, Tanzania, the country’s second largest city.
We were met by a group of several tour guides and baggage handlers who were immediately friendly and efficient. Before knew it, we were lodged for the night in lovely quarters with separate cottages for each of the safari couples/individuals. We totaled 14 in our safari group.
(You can click on any image to enlarge it)
We awoke the next morning to an elaborate breakfast in an open air dining facility and were entertained by our first animal sighting…within a few meters of our table in the trees. Large black monkeys had plenty of experience cleaning up any leftovers from tourists.
From our lodgings we were loaded into the three Land Rovers in which we would be spending many exciting and wonderful hours over the next 10 days. We drove along one of the only two paved highways in this city of one half million people! One road goes north/south and the other east/west. All of the smaller roads/streets are dirt roads. It didn’t take long to see why Tanzania is one of the poorest nations in the world ranking only behind Haiti and perhaps one or two others. Annual per capita income is about $600. The average life span is 60 years with high infant/child mortality.
Our Flight to the First Camp Stop.
After a 45 minute drive across the city we reached a small regional airport servicing local flights mostly by single engine or twin engine propeller aircraft.
We were only allowed to bring a total of 33 pounds of luggage per person for the whole safari primarily because of this leg of the journey.
An hour later we arrived at the smallest airport I have ever flown into – one dirt runway, no tower (only a windsock), no terminal and the only restroom facility was a small concrete hut with a small hole in the ground!
A one hour drive took us to our first camp stop at Wasso, a private nature reserve in the highlands of northern Tanzania. Though we were only a few degrees south of the equator, the climate was quite moderate at 6000 feet above sea level.
Potty Training for the New Campers! Note Shower Water Bag on Pole.
As soon as we arrived we were given “potty training” as we called it. Our bathroom facilities within our rather luxurious tents (nyumbas) consisted of chemical porta-potty toilets, hot water for shaving/ washing each morning and an impressive shower arrangement. An insulated 5 gallon bag is filled and hoisted high on a pole each morning with a combination of solar heated warm water and very hot water from a large cauldron suspended over a campfire. A two man team brings the water in large insulated plastic containers and the head man carefully mixes the water to the proper temperature for our daily shower. The shower head has an on/off valve to conserve water. A pulley arrangement permits the watering team to remain outside the tent. Lynn and I found we could each bathe comfortably within our 2 1/2 gallon allowance.
Our campsite facilities and our nyumba tent exceeded our expectations (and later sites were even better). Here’s a look.
Comfortable Lounging Accommodations at our First Stop
Impressive Dining Room in the Bush!
Our First Nyumba (Tent)
Our Fancy Camp Bed!
Stay tuned for the next part of the safari series and see, with us, what we saw on our first day of “big game hunting” (with cameras, of course)!