Sunday, November 10, 2013

Final Night in Arusha - Nairobi - Home

We are now in Arusha at our hotel Planet Lodge for the night. The drive in to Arusha and around Arusha is so interesting, very busy and you never know what you will see on the back of a bike, on a cart, on top of a car, being carried on a womans head...  These pictures are right down one of the main streets, it's the men pushing the carts right in the middle of the crazy traffic that amazed us that no one was killed, well that we saw anyway










We were picked up at the airport by taxi who took us back to the tour operators office who wanted to hear about the trip. She said she had been speaking to Felix every day and knew that everything was going well. We asked her about shopping, we wanted to pick up a couple of souvenirs. We told her nothing expensive, just a couple of shirts etc. She told her she would get the taxi driver to take us to the Maasai Market and she sent her accountant with us too for security (??? not sure what that was about, and he didn't even have a flashlight!!). Found a few little things, so very few tourists here and it is a pretty big market, I really felt sorry for the sellers, I'm sure we were one of their only sales for some of them today. 

Maasai Market in Arusha

Inside the market
 
Clock tower in Arusha, midpoint between Cape Town and Cairo

We spent some time this afternoon by the pool at the lodge, had a nice swim, it is very hot here again. They must sell day passes here for use of the pool/grounds. Quite a few locals arrive to use the pool. What a fantastic time, many of them are just learning how to swim, one guy is teaching them how to dive off the side of the pool, lots of laughing, and just a great time. Olympians in training they are now, but a great time was had by all. There is also another family that shows up with their children, this would be a fantastic place to stay with kids, a really nice playground right on the grounds.

Swim lessons time

Our room at Planet Lodge

Room 22 again, not the same view as Tarangire Safari Lodge

Supper, then back to the room to get a little organized for travel day tomorrow. We are only being picked up at 1PM so no urgency, nice to just relax a little after a very busy couple of weeks.

Final Day
A sad day for me. A few little tears while looking over some of the pictures are reading parts of the blog. So much anticipation and it all goes by so quickly...

We just hang around on our little porch, enjoy the sun and heat that we know that we will not have once we get home for quite a while. We walk around and explore the grounds looking for birds and just enjoy our last morning.
Mt Meru from the patio area

Flycatcher

Dark capped Bulbu


Baglafect Weaver

African Pied Wagtails

Beautiful sitting areas, but no shade in the day, we took cover on the patio



Would love to have this table for our deck at home




Kitchen was in a separate building that had a covered walkway to get to



We do spend some time in their tiny gift shop and spend more here than anywhere else! They had 2 beautiful carved wooden bowls for $20 and $25 that we loved, we decided to buy them and just claim on our customs form back in Canada that we had wood and see what happens, worth the $45 risk. Also picked up a couple of bracelets and another magnet for Brian I think.

Back to the room and head over for lunch with all our stuff at around noon. On the walk over a woman comes up and asks us if we lost a pouch. No, we do not use pouches so we didn't lose one. Then another man comes over and asks us if we lost something, no nothing lost. Andre then realizes he has lost his wallet, oh no. Over to front desk and they have it. Turns out when we were sitting on the chairs outside enjoying the beautiful views of Mt Meru at the main lodge his wallet must have fallen out of his pocket, this is where it was found. Thank goodness, this would have been a nightmare, replacing credit cards and ID is such a pain!

They setup a nice table for us outside to have lunch with the beautiful view. We were the only 2 people here today I think, yesterday we saw 2 other couples. Definitely low season, we spoke a lot to the staff here as we were just hanging around so long, they said the hotel is full starting in December. We loved speaking to the staff, they wanted to know about Canada. Asked if we had parks and we said yes we have National Parks too, they wanted to know if we had giraffes, no but we do have some animals but nothing like Africa. Andre had come Canadian coins so we were able to show them a few animals, I don't think we explained the Bluenose correctly on the dime though. We left them all of our change, I hope they understood it was just a souvenir, that they will not be able to exchange it. They also went and found all the different coins for us to take home of theirs, something that Andre always does when we visit another country.

As we were getting ready to leave I went back to the front desk to see who had found Andres wallet, and also to ask if it was appropriate for us to give her a little something, they said yes it was fine, so a little reward passed along for finding the wallet.

The taxi comes and picks us up at 1:00 and off to catch the shuttle from Arusha to Nairobi. Pulling into the shuttle station is a hoot, we are in the taxi and basically mobbed by all the different companies trying to get us to use their service. Swala had prepaid our shuttle service, so everyone is out of luck. One thing we learned is even if you pay for one company you may end up with another, a little shuffling around, not sure how they decide who goes with who, but some people were moved off our shuttle to another company. Also, this shuttle is much quieter on the way, no need to put luggage on top, everything is just stored in the back row of seats.

Waiting for the shuttle to leave is another great experience in itself. White skin = bring on the vendors. So many laughs, I told Andre he was sitting by the window, I was filling out the paperwork needed to cross the border and it started. All kinds of paintings, jewelery, shirts etc being passed in through the window for us to look at. One very persistent young man with the wax art kept saying when Mamma (me) is finished with the paperwork she needs to look. He did have beautiful work, but not interested. This went on for about 15 minutes, then Andre says how much? Oh no, the guy beside me on the bus and I just roll our eyes, here we go, this will never end. Andre went through all his work again and picked 2 pieces. At this point Esther from Swala Tours gets on the shuttle, she came by to make sure everything was fine, so we then get her involved in the purchase as well. We basically had the whole shuttle going, telling this poor vendor that he was charging us too much, lots of laughs from everyone. Finally came to an agreement on price, everyone is happy, and a fun last experience in Tanzania. The vendors are running beside the shuttle trying to finish up a final sale as we are pulling out!

The ride back to Kenya was quite fun as neither of us really remembered it as we were so exhausted on the way here. A different bathroom stop than on the way over, I guess they want to spread out the shopping. Again the driver is really helpful at the border, there is just us and another group of 3 that are not from Kenya or Tanzania and he pretty much walked us through everything. I wasn't positive if our single entry visa that we bought when we landed in Nairobi was still good, but I guess so as we were asked for nothing else. I think I read somewhere it is good for 2 weeks going back and forth, but I could be totally wrong.  On the way back we did see some impala, on the way to Tanzania 2 weeks ago we didn't see any wildlife.

Bike taxi, Andre liked the winter jacket

<5 liters of gas = 10,000.00 ouch

One last view of Mt Meru on the way to Nairobi


Nairobi airport is not nearly as bad as I remember it. I have been here twice before by myself and remember it being very nasty, and spending most of the time waiting sitting on the floor. There now seems to be more chairs available, still definitely not the airport you would expect from the amount of traffic that goes through here, but it works. Lots of clean bathrooms, a decent place to sit, what more do you need? Not sure about the restaurant, we never did go in, but I think it is the same one restaurant that has been there for years.

Flight home is Nairobi, Brussels, Montreal and finally Moncton. Lucky Andre got emergency exit all flights except last one to Moncton. If you are early at check in it doesn't hurt to be friendly and ask, no additional charge for this. Brussels gave us the opportunity to buy some crazy expensive chocolate, Montreal gave us the chance for Moe's Smoked Meat, yummy!! Much better connections on the way home, left Nairobi just after midnight, and got into Moncton at 5:30 PM on the same day.

Customs in Canada (Montreal), what a treat, they finally have changed it and Canadians have their own lines when you return home! We have now joined the rest of the world. It is all electronic now as well, so easy. So, I did check off that I had wood, we were sent to the customs officer who asked what I had, I said 2 salad bowls, I carried them with me on the plane so I showed him, he said fine and we were off! So easy, wish I had know for sure before, but I guess we saved some money :)

Swala Safaris - We were very happy with the service they provided us.  As I mentioned earlier it was not the least expensive quote we received, nor was it the most expensive.  Something just "clicked" when I was emailing Rose back and forth and we chose to go with them.  She promised us an excellent safari, not to worry about anything, and they delivered.  This is a very small company, 6 jeeps, and we felt we got some very personal service from them. A note about Felix, we were very happy and pleased to have Felix as our guide.  One of our main requests was we have a guide that would be willing to start early in the mornings, and Felix was more than happy to do so, and was always on time!  He was able to read us well, and we could tell he was adjusting our days to fit our style.  Felix would not be a fit for everyone, he is not a big talker, but is very happy to answer when you ask him questions and show interest.  Felix was the reason we saw the Big 5, and experienced so many special moments on safari, thank-you so much to Felix.


Final counts from Safari:
Lions - 83
Leopards- 6
Cheetah- 9
Rhinos-2
Not enough fingers and toes to count anything else!

Sounds I hope I never forget:
Birds singing in the morning and evening
Kids giggling when they see their pictures, and Andre poking them in the stomach
Wake up call - “Jambo Jambo” from a worker outside your tent
Warning call from a lion when you get too close!
Purring cats
Clash of antelope horns
Silence of elephants moving, until they destroy the tree!
Hyena crunching on bones
Vendors saying “mamma mamma you need to see this” 
Karibu from everyone, constantly 

So we are now home and reflecting a little more on our trip. I can honestly say we have never experienced somewhere that we felt so WELCOME. I have never been asked so many times to please come back. This is coming from someone who lives in a part of Eastern Canada that is known for its hospitality, we have nothing on Tanzanians. All this and we barely knew 5 words in Swahili, one thing I do regret is not learning a little more of at least the basics.
 
Big question we are being asked, will you go back. In a heartbeat we would go back, will we go back, another question. We still have many places we have not seen, but Africa definitely does have a special place in our hearts. Along with Galapagos, so special, if only they weren't so far from home, and the trips so expensive.

We really have had a fantastic trip, the trip of a lifetime. I wish everyone could experience this at least once in their lives, words and even pictures just cannot describe what we have experienced. Until next trip....
Welcome!


Saturday, November 9, 2013

Serengeti to Arusha

This morning we woke up to lots of well needed rain. We headed out to breakfast at about 6:45 and there was a guard waiting outside our tent to walk us to the dining room, this is a first. Turns out there were 2 lion around the other side of the camp earlier this morning, OK we'll take the highly secure guard with the flashlight, thanks. We also decided to have the free champagne that is included at breakfast and made mimosas, cheers to our last morning on safari.

Cheers, champagne with breakfast for our last morning in the Serengeti
Mom and baby again

Watch the steps at night!

Bare Faced Go away Bird

Cliff Chat


After we checked out one of the staff asked us if we would like to go on a walking tour that afternoon.  Darn, we were leaving this afternoon, had we known about the walk I am sure we would have done it one of the last 2 days.  I think this may be a new thing here as they were asking us if we had done walks at other lodges, and how much we had paid for them.

Felix picked us up at 7:30 and we were off for a couple of hours of game drive before we had to go to the airport. There has not been a lot of wildlife when we first got here outside the camp, but that changed today, maybe the rain? First off within a km there are a few elephants right beside the road, including a very new baby, probably no more that a couple of weeks old. There was one jeep in front of us that left the camp right before us that was stopped, as well as another jeep right in front of them. The one in front of us was kind of blocking the road of the elephants trying to cross the other side, not good. The elephant then moved forward to walk around, not nice stopping where they did. The driver had his reverse lights on which made no sense then he got out of the jeep and came back to talk to Felix. Felix checked his watch, started backing up and said there were lions just a km from the resort. 
 
Tiny tiny baby right by the camp
 

So back we go towards the resort, go by about another km and see a huge dead cape buffalo with two male lions. Yuck, this was fresh kill, lots of gutts and stuff hanging out. Felix went on to tell us all about the eating order again, they eat this part then this part etc. Then they rest for an hour or so, then eat again, then rest for an hour or so, then they come back and eat the flesh last, then the rest is for the hyenas and vultures last. Two males caught this buffalo, it was huge, Felix says normally it would take 4 or 5 lions to take it down, so they must have worked very hard.  After seeing this I am sure this is why we had an escort to breakfast, these must be the 2 lions that were around camp, now I am also kinda glad we did not know about the walk.

Lions taking a break after eating
Felix says they start with the organs, as seen above....yuck


Back on the road again and Felix hit the brakes to let us watch some happy Impalas. Again not sure if it was because of the rain, but we have seen thousands of impalas so far this trip and never seen this behavior. They were running back and forth about 100 yards, going really fast then kicking their back legs in the air, I hope Andre got a good video of this, it was great to watch.
 
Very happy impala kicking their heals up!


First traffic jam we came to was a line up to watch the buzzards eating off the carcass of the buffalo that we had waited so long to see 2 days ago with the lions. Nothing much left on the carcass. 
This big truck was on safari, sure causes a bit of a mess when it decides to stop

This is what was left of the buffalo we saw from 2 days ago!

 Next traffic jam was a male lion sitting at the base of a tree. Funny seeing so many jeeps again, it has been a while since we've seen much traffic at all, and this is only 1 hour drive from where we have been staying.



Our drive to the airport and pretty much had a smorgasbord of all the animals and many birds we had seen

Von der Deckens Hornbill snacking on termites

We did have a couple more traffic jams, and our first "mud" on the road today



The last big group of elephants we saw :(
For Joey


Cool picture of a Marabou Stork Landing

Spur Winged Plover


Banded Mongoose

Fischer's Lovebird with the Lilac breasted Roller

Next stop for us was to watch two impalas fighting, again we took a video. One thing I wish is that we had taken more video. I know we have over 5000 pictures (Andre went a little crazy, surprised?), but not too many videos.



Next stop was 2 giraffes that were very frisky. I asked Felix if they were mating as we approached and he said no it was 2 males. Well, they must have been gay, or practicing or something...



Next stop is the airport. We chose to fly back from the Central Serengeti to Arusha rather than do the drive. We had read how rough the drive was and chose to only have to do it one way. The plane lands, the pilot gets off and looks for the passengers.  Good-byes to Felix and we are off.   

This is where we spent the majority of the last 2 weeks

Good byes to Felix at the airport

We were the only 2 boarding here, there were already 11 others on board, and off we go. Pre flight announcement, pilot turns around, says the flight is 50 minutes and keep your seat belt on. 

Buckle in for the 50 minute flight

This is why we packed so lightly!
 

Flight was a little bumpy, we had hoped to see some of Ngorongoro crater, but either we missed it, or it was the part that was under cloud cover. We did have some pretty views when we first started, but not as nice as I thought it may have been as we went along.


Scenery at take off
 Some nice shots from the air
Wonder if we traveled on these roads?

Maasai Village from the air

Rift Valley

Rift Valley

Rift Valley

Another Maasai Village

Safe landing in Arusha

Arusha and return home to follow......