Good morning travelers today's special guest is Elena who tells us about her trip to Tanzania. Four friends on a trip in contact with wild nature and local people. Reading her travel diary in Tanzania, our desire for Africa has reached very high levels! Tanzania and Zanzibar have been in our travel dreams for too long now, we hope that the dream will come true soon.
Trip to Tanzania
For our trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar we wanted a trip that was authentic and at the same time included the most beautiful destinations in Tanzania, obviously with a minimum of expense. We talk to Kili Sky Safaris with knowledge, we already know that they are trusted people, and we are slowly working on the program.
We are 4 friends and in the end, we will add a 5th passenger, yay! We already have some travel experiences in Africa and we have removed the most common fears, now we want more direct contact with people, even do it alone if possible. They take our word for it! A little bit to cut costs and a little bit to let us experiment, a part of the trip we will do alone, using public transport, with all the directions provided by Kili Sky Safaris.
First stop: Dar Es Salaam
At the airport a taxi awaits us with our guide, a young boy who speaks English well and who will take us on a quick tour of the city, visiting on foot some of the most interesting points such as the fish market. It's a shame that it's late afternoon and that most of the trade is already concluded. The driver leaves us at the budget hotel, in the area of the bus station, where our 5th travel companion awaits us. The bus is at dawn the next day, we agree with two taxis that will accompany us: they are 10 minutes walk but we are full of suitcases. The tickets have already been bought by the agency, our driver has delivered them to us in the afternoon. At dawn, the taxis are already there but they raise the agreed price, we accept badly.
The bus trip lasts 12 hours, from Dar Es Salaam to Arusha, it seems to us an eternity. The bus, however, is "normal", everyone has his place, even if a bit 'narrow, there is television, drink and snacks. There is no air conditioning but you can survive. When we get off the bus we realize that there were a lot of children traveling in the bus, no one has breathed!
Second stop: Arusha
From now on, for all the days spent in the North, we'll have a safari car all to ourselves, a well-prepared driver-driver (who speaks Italian very well) and a cook who pampers us in everything. Their presence full of attention is really a touch of quality.
The first evening we treat ourselves to a lodge that the agency has strongly advised us, "it does not cost much and is very nice", the Songota Falls Lodge. A marvel: five small bungalows on the slopes of Mount Meru, still in the city and already in the forest: trees, songs of birds of all shades and some records that show up in passing. Superlative cuisine and super friendly owner, it's a shame to be able to stop one day only.
Third stop: Lake Eyasi
So far from the place where we will spend the second night: Lake Eyasi. The first night at the campsite: the tents are very spacious and the cook makes us feel literally at the restaurant. Around them live people who live like men at the dawn of history. It's still dark when we reach the huts of the Hadzabe, Sun people, one of the oldest on Earth.
Their language is full of snaps, just like the first attempts at verbal communication. We will follow them in the hunt (we have discussed at length between us whether to participate or not), use bows and arrows and kill small animals to feed themselves, the territory granted to them is very small and it is not easy to survive in an area closed between parks. I never thought to please someone who came towards me with a turtledove stuck in an arrow. But they are too happy to eat and to show their ability, how can you not share? In five minutes to rub woodwinds the fire is lit. We try it, too, but we just sweat without a spark coming out.
to be continued in the next part...