Following 6 days on safari in Kenya, our African safari continued in Tanzania. As mentioned previously, our van in Amboseli broke down on the last day in Kenya, which was also our transit day into Tanzania. That meant our ride to the Namanga border was delayed and we missed our original shuttle bus onwards to Arusha. The switch in countries also meant switching safari companies. Thankfully it all worked out at the end – after a long wait at the border town, we made it to our hotel in Arusha late at night in time to start with a new tour company, new driver/guide, new vehicle, new group the next day. Here we go Tanzania!
Serengeti
First stop was the famous Serengeti. Having had 6 days of safari under our belt, we had a lot better sense of what to expect.
It was a long, long drive to the Serengeti, and we picked up camping gear along the way – in Kenya we stayed at very basic camps, but there was usually some sort of permanent structure with beds, but those were outside of the actual parks. The Serengeti is so big that everyone stays in the park, which meant real camping.
The large area also meant a lot more driving than say, the Maasai Mara (which is tiny in comparison), but when we did encounter wildlife, they were really fruitful encounters. Lots of pictures below:
Ngorongoro Crater
We were arguably the most excited about the Ngorongoro Crater because it supposedly has the best chance to seeing all the wildlife. All of them are trapped inside the crater, making game drives more productive. Plus it was our chance to see the black rhino, after seeing the white rhino in Lake Nakuru in Kenya.
However, wildlife is never guaranteed – and that is both the good and bad part of it. Our day in Ngorongoro Crater was not good weather, pretty cold (we all woke up freezing after a windy night and the first few hours of game drive were also windy and cold), so all the wildlife was probably just hibernating. So no black rhinos, but it’s always awesome to observe wildlife we would never get to see at home.
Lake Manyara
Last game drive of the safari. By then we had already seen all the types of wildlife we had wanted. While none of the wildlife was the first viewing, that in and of itself made it special because we could really let the encounters sink in, really savor them.
Lake Manyara was also fed by underground hot springs which created a pretty interesting landscape and microscopic life (thermophiles).
Just like that, our dream safari came to an end. Absolutely thrilling. We were sad that it was over, but really satisfied with everything we were able to see, plus looking forward to a nice break from the dust and sometimes harsh conditions. No better place to relax than where we’re headed next – Zanzibar!
Going on safari? Read our Top 10 Safari Tips & Lessons – or just look at the cute animal photos.