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Tanzania, Page 3
June 14 - June 17, 2004

Preparation ] Europe ] Morocco Page 1 ] Morocco Page 1a ] Morocco Page 1b ] Morocco Page 2 ] Mauritania ] Mauritania Page 2 ] Mali ] Mali Page2 ] Niger ] Cameroon ] Gabon ] Gabon Page 2 ] Congo ] Congo Page 2 ] Angola ] Angola Page 2 ] Angola Page 3 ] Angola Page 4 ] Angola Page 5 ] Angola Page 6 ] Namibia ] Namibia Page 2 ] Namibia Page 3 ] Namibia Page 4 ] Namibia Page 5 ] Namibia Page 6 ] Namibia Page 7 ] Namibia Page 8 ] Namibia Page 9 ] Tanzania Page 1 ] Tanzania Page 1a ] Tanzania Page 2 ] [ Tanzania Page 3 ] South Africa Page 1 ] Botswana Page 1 ] Botswana Page 2 ] Botswana Page 3 ] Botswana Page 4 ] Botswana Page 5 ] Botswana Page 6 ] Botswana Page 7 ] July 22 ] July 25 ] July 29 ] August 03 ] August 09 ] August 16 ] August 24 ] September 5 ] September 11 ] September 12 ] September 21 ] September 25 ] September 29 ] October 03 ] October 09 ] October 15 ] October 19 ] November 04 ] November 13 ] November 20 ] November 29 ] December 9 ]


Country Facts: Tanzania

Scroll Down the Page for updates made on: 07/05/2004

Updated Information
Witt & Jen

Date Camp Site or Accommodations GPS

Distance  Today: ? km

Meals

 3 courses, steak and potatoes

Weather
Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

14 June, 2004

Lake Manyara Lodge

XX°XX.XXX’S
 XX°XX.XXX’E

Odometer: 25223km

Partly cloudy, 80(F) degrees

We left this morning on a 4-day (3 days for Nick) safari. We shopped at a grocery store in Arusha where our guide told us we should buy 12 bottles of water for the trip. The store wanted 1000 Tsh (Tanzanian shilling) [~$1] per bottle, and suspecting subterfuge, Witt and Eric walked down the street to find another store selling water for 500 Tsh per bottle. Next we stopped at a tourist “handicrafts” shop where we had lunch and wandered around the store, but didn’t buy anything (“strike two” for our guide, who we believe gets a percentage of the price markup for bringing tourists to the two shops). We drove to Lake Manyara National Park in the afternoon. The lake is part of the great Rift Valley and was thick with pink flamingoes. We also saw some elephant, warthogs, zebra, etc. After the game drive we drove up onto the wall of the rift to Lake Manyara Lodge. The hotel is situated on the edge of the rift with outstanding views down into the valley. We enjoyed an excellent meal at the lodge. Many thanks to Edie, who managed to score us an upgrade to lodge accommodation from camping.
.

Red-billed hornbill in Lake Manyara NP

Updated Information
Witt & Jen

Date Camp Site or Accommodations GPS

Distance  Today: ?km

Meals

 buffet

Weather
Seronera National Park, Tanzaia

15 June, 2004

Lake Manyara Lodge

 XX°XX.XXX’S
 XX°XX.XXX’E

Odometer: 25223km

Partly cloudy, 85(F)
degrees

Ngorogoro Crater, Oldupai Gorge, Laekedi footsteps. We left the lodge this morning after a full breakfast and headed toward the Serengeti. We drove first past Ngorogoro crater and stopped at Oldupai Gorge, a region rich in archeological evidence of human history. A set of human footprints in volcanic ash discovered by Mary Leakey in 1972 at nearby Laetoli are 3.7 million years old and are the earliest incontrovertible evidence of human existence. Although the trail itself is closed to visitors, the museum at the site houses a plaster cast of the footprint trail. We spent a couple of hours at the museum and then continued along the rough and dusty road to Seronera lodge in the Serongeti. After an evening game drive during which Jen spotted two separate prides of lion, we enjoyed another night of game lodge luxury, complete with a bottle of wine.
.

African golden oriole

Updated Information
Witt & Jen

Date Camp Site or Accommodations GPS

Distance  Today: ?km

Meals

 buffet

Weather
Ngorogoro Crater Conservation Area, Tanzaia

16 June, 2004

Ngorogoro Wildlife Lodge

 XX°XX.XXX’S
 XX°XX.XXX’E

Odometer: 25223km

Partly Cloudy, 80(F)
degrees

During an early morning game drive we spotted two prides of lion, one of which was just finishing breakfast when we found them. After we had breakfast at the lodge, Nick caught a ride back to the airport. The rest of us went out for another game drive, spotting a cheetah in the grass. We also saw the same pride of lions we saw earlier, this time lounging in a large acacia tree. There were about five females lying on various branches, legs and tails dangling. More females and a male enjoyed the shade under the same tree, and another male lounged under a nearby tree. We headed back to the lodge to continue our gluttony at the lunch buffet. In the afternoon we drove back to the Ngorogoro Crater where we checked into another lodge, this time situated right on the rim of the crater. Our room has a wall of plate glass with an amazing view down to the crater floor. We enjoyed drinks on the terrace and afterward overate once again at the buffet. An acrobatic troop provided the evening’s entertainment with an outstanding display of agility and balance.
.

Female Lion

Updated Information
Witt & Jen

Date Camp Site or Accommodations GPS

Distance  Today: ?km

Meals

 Roasted beef and goat, fried plantain, mbege

Weather
Moshi, Tanzaia

17 June, 2004

Springlands Hotel

 XX°XX.XXX’S
 XX°XX.XXX’E

Odometer: 25223km

Partly cloudy, 75(F) degrees

We spent the morning on a game drive on the floor of the crater, seeing large herds of wildebeest. We also saw buffalo, elephant at a distance, and a black rhino. We enjoyed a picnic lunch near a lake which was beautiful despite the aggressive birds stealing our food. We drove back out of the crater and started the 5-hour trip back to Moshi. We convinced our guide, Bonney, to take us somewhere we could try some mbege, the local homemade brew. He took us to a small bar with loud music playing and lots of people sitting around outside drinking the stuff out of large plastic cups. We bought a round of 5 cups of mbege (about 16 ounces each) for 1000 Tsh ($1) total. It tastes very sour and has small pieces of sorghum floating in it. It’s made by drying and fermenting the sorghum grain, then adding banana. It is definitely an acquired taste. We ordered some grilled meat from a local eatery and had a light dinner. The locals seemed very amused that we were there and were very friendly and welcoming.
.

Ngorongoro Crater from the rim

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