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December 11, 2024

Vicky's Trip To Tanzania

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In November, Vicky travelled to Tanzania and enjoyed a fantastic trip to Tarangire National Park, a 5 day trek in the Rift Valley, seeing the wildebeest migration an a beach break on Zanzibar.

It has been a few years since I was last in northern Tanzania, so in November I headed off for a refresh and to see some new lodges.

I loved returning to Tarangire National Park, it is so beautiful with its monumental baobab trees of all shapes and sizes. I think that Tarangire in the dry season is as good as anywhere in Africa.  Driving into camp we came across huge herds of buffalo, many elephant families and some mating lions at sunset being watched by some curious Zebra! We stayed at Nomad’s Kuro Camp which was sublime. The rooms were luxurious and my goodness, the food so delicious and healthy. We had elephants visiting our room during afternoon siesta and met many more elephant families on our afternoon walk which concluded with sundowner drinks and nibbles. It’s a lovely park and well worth a visit.

 

We then headed to Lake Natron which I had last visited in 1992, the majestic Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano dominated the skyline as I remembered well. The lake was much higher and there were a few more manyattas (Masai settlements) but generally, the place was not changed in 30 odd years. Back then there weren’t any lodges, we had to just camp, 30 years later I was thankful for the luxurious Lake Natron Camp and its lovely spring where we could lounge in the water, being nibbled by little fish, as it was hotter than ever beside the caustic Lake Natron. The staff are all from local villages and couldn’t have been better, and escorted us up the gorge to a lovely waterfall for a swim.

Lake Natron Camp was the starting point for our Great Rift Valley Walk, we headed off up the escarpment with the incredibly informative Lenjoo from Lengai village. We happened to set off on market day (Thursday) so as we came up to a narrow gorge we hit rush hour, with the Masai taking their wares piled high on donkeys to market. Goats and sheep were being separated for sale and it was a great meeting point. Lenjoo seemed to know everyone we passed or even if he didn’t, he chatted to them all, young and old, it was very sociable!

The view over the lake from the escarpment was fantastic and we could see all the way to Shompole in Kenya. At the top there is a huge plateau, dotted with manyattas which stretched for miles. Camp was set at the bottom of a gorge beside a Maasai manyatta, we walked along the river watching the vultures soar above us and the baboon barking at us from the cliffs.

The next morning we headed to the top of the cliffs to walk above the gorge following it towards the Gol mountains. We followed leopard tracks nearly the whole way and looked over the cliff at the vultures, now below us, nesting on the gorge walls. The whole area would be heaven for any geologist, the rocks and their colours and formations were beautiful with rose quartz and mica and so much more. We came across some rudimentary signs of excavation by local Maasai spurred on by a local man finding a huge emerald earlier in the year.

Our second camp site was in another majestic site, with some cave paintings nearby. The camp staff were excellent, they usually spend their time climbing Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru so this must have been a more relaxed trip! The food was excellent and the camp extremely comfortable.

The walk was the highlight of our trip, it felt as if it were just us and the Maasai with not another tourist for miles around. Lenjoo was such an amusing and informative companion, we couldn’t have asked for a better guide.

We came down with a bit of bump heading into the Serengeti where there were certainly a few other tourists about! The migration was in full flow with the wildebeest determinedly heading in one direction and then the next day going back again, never quite sure who was leading, but some second sense driving them along.

We were looked after superbly by Hoopoe Safaris and Leonotis Adventures. If anyone  is looking to get off the beaten track and see a bit of wild Tanzania, Lake Natron and the Great Rift Valley trek are a must.

After an action packed in the north, we felt we had earned a relaxing time on Zanzibar! Staying in Stone Town at the lovely Upendo House with its pool and cocktail bar on the roof. We then had a couple of days swimming and chilling at the Upendo Beach House and the Sands Beach Resort, a welcome rest after a great return to Tanzania. 

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