After enjoying the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar, I took a flight to Arusha in search for an infamous African safari adventure. I booked my tickets from Zanzibar to Arusha with Zanair. I highly recommend flying in Tanzania. It saves time and it’s truly an amazing experience to sit on a 10 seater plane praying for your life as you combat clouds and turbulence. Also if you’re lucky you can have the opportunity to snag the cockpit seat 🙂
I booked my safari with Base Camp Tanzania. They were reasonably priced and the trip was fantastic. A driver collected me from the airport and settled me into my hotel, L’Oasis Lodge. There are some beautiful views surrounding the hotel. Take a walk to the Arusha National Park and make sure to strike up a conversation with the school children and locals along the way, they love a good chat.
The next day the safari began. We chose to camp the whole trip which will save you some money. Our itinerary looked like this:
Day 1: Tarangire National Park
Day 2: Cradle of Mankind, Serengeti National Park
Day 3: Serengeti National Park
Day 4: Ngorongoro National Park
Day 5: Lake Manyara National Park
Must Pack: A great camera with an amazing zoom (NOT AN IPHONE), binoculars, scarf or long sleeves to protect yourself from tsetse flies and mosquitoes.
All of the parks were incredible and I would recommend seeing them all. However if I had to choose amongst them due to a time limit; the must sees are Serengeti and Ngorongoro.
Here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip.
The Cradle of Mankind (Oldupai Gorge)
Ngorongoro Crater
Serengeti
I would like to mention that I became deathly ill during my visit. I contracted amoebic dysentery. I refused to admit I was sick and I allowed the illness to take ahold of me for more than three days. If anyone has ever had dysentery they understand how painful, embarrassing, and scary it is. This trip was my 30th birthday present to myself and I wanted it to be perfect. I ended up having to visit a hospital inside of one of the conservations. The doctor was beyond kind to me and explained that the water quality is so poor in their country that people contract amoeba’s along with a multitude of other pathogens by simply brushing their teeth, showering, or drinking from the tap. I learned that amoebic dysentery has been a cause for fatality among the people of Tanzania. Most people die from dehydration because they are not able to afford the medicine or even a IV bag. My advice is to take precaution. Even when brushing your teeth used bottled water, also take precaution when handling money. Always use hand sanitizer.
other than that
TANZANIA IS AMAZZZZINNNNGGGGG!!!!!
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