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Before you leave you think who knows if we will meet animals! well, yes! There are so many animals in Tanzania ! But you can also be more or less lucky.
The ‘African speed camera
Savannah travel also has a number of distinctive features, starting with the unexpected events taken for granted.
But we were lucky. For example, our 4 jeeps (the one with the cook, the helper with the tents and the food traveled on their own, so that by the time we arrived at the next camp everything was ready) had only one puncture, which our drivers with teamwork, fixed in Formula 1 time.
Another setback that only a connoisseur of local customs could have dealt with was thespeed camera stopon trust. Police officers hide behind bushes, sometimes even disguising themselves. They jump out suddenly stopping cars, asking for help to turn a blind eye.
We were stopped, however, our driver asked to check the means of detection (an app on the policeman’s phone). It turned out that we had exceeded the speed limit by just 2 km. So, they let us go without having to pay a penalty.
Travel evenings, not just animals in Tanzania
On the first evening before leaving for safari we slept in Arusha, which is used by many as a base for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. In retrospect, if I had organized the trip myself, I would have taken off a couple of days in Zanzibar to, I won’t say climb to the top (5895 meters!), but for at least a little tour of Africa’s highest mountain, which due to haze we saw only a little bit with difficulty despite standing out on the flat area. The itinerary had been decided by the coordinator and proposed to the group; in these cases it is difficult and very complicated to make the alternates and once you opt for the organized trip, at least for the bulk of the decisions you have to adjust.
The first serafu one of the most enjoyable evenings spent in the company, excited about the start of the trip, with energy and curious about fellow adventurers, everything coming along nicely. We went to dinner at a restaurant that was more of a takeaway for the locals, but for us they improvised a table on the street, on tilting chairs and benches, and it was all good, fun and African style. Even on the second night we were still quite loaded and I proposed a series of little games learned in theater improvisation classes; we also did the game you see in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, obviously with a less dramatic ending.
Then curiosity about others and fatigue began to get the better of us, and the following evenings were definitely duller, partly because we always got up at dawn.
Seen many animals in Tanzania
The different parks we visited offered us varied situations and experiences, and the itinerary was perfect because with a crescendo of emotions.In the first hours in the jeeps at each gazelle a wow, a gazelle! was raised at the millionth gazelle: Oh, more gazelles…You just get used to everything, but when I think back on those days as a whole they were fantastic and a truly unique interlude in the thousands of days of my life. Then coming from someone who had already had similar experiences, we were also particularly lucky, to have seen so many of them and also in special situations; butfurther, our drivers were great.
In Tarangire Park and at Lake Manyara we did not see the felines, but everyone else did; and with a couple of goodies such as a pair of satiated vultures near a buffalo carcass and an elephant using both trunk and paws, was digging a hole in a dry riverbed to gush water. Before you leave you have high expectations for animal sightings; when you are there you then realize that the plants and landscapes are also a wonder.
Peeing can be a problem
During the safari it was absolutely forbidden to get out of the jeeps-if you had to pee, mind your own business! Only for lunch, by stopping at minimally equipped areas, could you stretch your legs and in some cases interact with colorful monkeys and birds ready to grab food, even snatching it out of the hand of the clumsy ones! These areas consisted of a few tables, possible chairs or benches, and acceptable restrooms. There was no food court as well as in the areas where we pitched our tents; the lunch box solution prepared for us beforehand by our cook was optimal.
Previous leg Group trip to Tanzania, mostly couples
Next stop Savannah life, sleeping in a pasture with zebras
Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent
Countries visited in my travel stories
Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives
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