After a quick unpack/repacking stint at my house on Sunday night, my parents and I got a special hire to the airport (from the guy who would become essentially our personal taxi for the rest of their stay in Uganda) very early on Monday as we had been urged to get to the check-in desk by 10am at the latest even though the flight was not until after 12, and traffic can be just horrendous in Kampala so we wanted to leave ourselves lots of time. Nevermind that when we arrive at the airport the check-in desk was not even open and the attendents had not arrived! But we did finally check in and board on time, and our flight was practically empty and in fact we were the only people to get off the plane at the dinky little Mwanza airport, as the plane continued on to Kilimanjaro. Upon our arrival I could see my mom’s fear growing: what if Diya Tours and Travel did not exists and there was in fact no Peter Messo to meet us at the airport.
Fortunately, he did exist and he was waiting for us as we exited the arrivals, after we purchased our visas with just a bit of difficulty (note: if you come to this neck of the world, don’t bring any bills minted before 2000—they won’t accept them, at least without a fight). Peter introduced himself and drove us to our hotel for the night with a brief stop at the Tanzania Immigration office in town. I was examining my visa during the car ride and saw that it seemed to have an expiration date of 31/12/07—not good considering my plans to pass back through Tanzania in the middle of January and the visa was supposed to be double entry. The officer just changed the “07” to “08” with his pen—um, thanks, I think I could have done that myself! So Peter urged him to sign his initials and he ended up restamping the visa and issuing it through 31/12/08—lovely! Crisis averted. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the open-air restaurant and pool of Hotel Tilapia which was very nicely perched right on the rocky shore of Lake Victoria.
Early the next morning, we departed for the Serengeti which was about a two hour drive. After stopping to pay park fees we entered the Serengeti and drove along spotting some animals herds and in my excitement I took far too many pictures of far off animals as soon we had some walking right by our vehicle! My mom and I had our hearts set on seeing giraffes, so what a relief when one literally strolled right in front of our 4x4. Peter then drove us around the bush to where there were several graz
ing from the tree—an amazing sight! After spotting some elephants and hippos, we stopped for our picnic lunch at a small clearing with tables, and listened to hippos snort nearby as Peter informed us that two male lions had been spotted there earlier that morning so he was just keeping an eye out! We drove for about eight hours in total that day, but it just flew by—passing herds of wildebeest (that were in the midst of returning from their annual migration to Kenya—it was a magnificent sight to see hundreds running gracefully), giraffes, baboons, and even a lioness basking in the sun. We arrived at our luxury lodge, Serena Seren
geti, in time for a late afternoon dip in the pool, and then sat on the deck of my room (I got the better view than my parents out over the park above the treetops) and watched the sun set. After a three course meal buffet and eating way too much as was to be a pattern for the whole trip and watching some drumming performance, we crashed for the night.
The following morning we awoke early (the only downside to the safari vacation) and were on the way through the Serengeti towards the Ngorogoro Crater before 9am. Not five minutes after leaving the lodge, we came across a herd of a dozen elephants a few meters from the road with several baby elephants among the crowd—quite a way to start the day. We exited the Serengeti and entered the Ngorogoro conservation area by midday and drove up and up to reach the top of the crater. The view upon reaching the top is simply spectacular with a vast green area laid out below runged by steep sides and some small rolling hills and a large crater lake in the bottom. We drove down the steep descent taking in the remarkable views during the 20-minute journey down to the lake, which had pink flamingos gathered at one edge and scattered on the shallow lake.
They would gleam bright pink when hit with sunlight, and although we could not drive close as my mother had when she was my age, it was still a beautiful sight. After a picnic lunch, another afternoon passed in a flash with a spotting of buffalo, lions (including a male and female eating their kill), three cheetahs, elephants, a (from a distance) 2 black rhinos (there are only 10 in the park). After an enchanting but tiring day (not that we did anything really!), Peter drove us up and out of the crater (you must be out by 6pm or you’re stuck for the night!) and to our luxury lodge #2, Serena Ngorogoro. After an impressive acrobatic show and another massive three course dinner, we called it a night.
The next day we depart early again to make the long drive back to the Serengeti before our Ngorogoro park fee expired then journeyed back across the Serengeti for several hours. More giraffes, elephants, and hippos were spotted—a huge pool of hundreds of them actually! Especially breathtaking was about a dozen lions and pups gathered on a rocky kopje rising out of the flat planes. I spent some time cooing at the babies and waving at them! Our last nights stay was a Mbalegeti Lodge, a beautiful place
with the only downside being that is was very spread out over the top of a huge hill. We took in the spectacular views out of the bush (although I could feel myself getting spoiled and no nearly as appreciative as was necessary!) and then had the best three-course meal we’d had yet! Early the next day we made the final leg of the journey out the western corridor of the Serengeti and out of the park! Passing tiny thatch hut villages along the smooth paved roads made Tanzania seem like a organizational dream compared to my residence! We arrived back at Hotel Tilapia, wished Peter goodbye and great thanks, and I relaxed the afternoon away at the pool. Tough life.
We drove to the Mwanza airport this morning and had an easy hour-long flight back to Entebbe. We finally managed to reunited with our missing luggage 10 days late at the KLM office in town. Another unpack/repack stint, and we’re on our way to Jinja for two nights (and perhaps some whitewater rafting!) before we return to Kampala for Christmas Day and to wrap up my parents’ visit!
Fortunately, he did exist and he was waiting for us as we exited the arrivals, after we purchased our visas with just a bit of difficulty (note: if you come to this neck of the world, don’t bring any bills minted before 2000—they won’t accept them, at least without a fight). Peter introduced himself and drove us to our hotel for the night with a brief stop at the Tanzania Immigration office in town. I was examining my visa during the car ride and saw that it seemed to have an expiration date of 31/12/07—not good considering my plans to pass back through Tanzania in the middle of January and the visa was supposed to be double entry. The officer just changed the “07” to “08” with his pen—um, thanks, I think I could have done that myself! So Peter urged him to sign his initials and he ended up restamping the visa and issuing it through 31/12/08—lovely! Crisis averted. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the open-air restaurant and pool of Hotel Tilapia which was very nicely perched right on the rocky shore of Lake Victoria.
Early the next morning, we departed for the Serengeti which was about a two hour drive. After stopping to pay park fees we entered the Serengeti and drove along spotting some animals herds and in my excitement I took far too many pictures of far off animals as soon we had some walking right by our vehicle! My mom and I had our hearts set on seeing giraffes, so what a relief when one literally strolled right in front of our 4x4. Peter then drove us around the bush to where there were several graz
ing from the tree—an amazing sight! After spotting some elephants and hippos, we stopped for our picnic lunch at a small clearing with tables, and listened to hippos snort nearby as Peter informed us that two male lions had been spotted there earlier that morning so he was just keeping an eye out! We drove for about eight hours in total that day, but it just flew by—passing herds of wildebeest (that were in the midst of returning from their annual migration to Kenya—it was a magnificent sight to see hundreds running gracefully), giraffes, baboons, and even a lioness basking in the sun. We arrived at our luxury lodge, Serena Seren
geti, in time for a late afternoon dip in the pool, and then sat on the deck of my room (I got the better view than my parents out over the park above the treetops) and watched the sun set. After a three course meal buffet and eating way too much as was to be a pattern for the whole trip and watching some drumming performance, we crashed for the night.
The following morning we awoke early (the only downside to the safari vacation) and were on the way through the Serengeti towards the Ngorogoro Crater before 9am. Not five minutes after leaving the lodge, we came across a herd of a dozen elephants a few meters from the road with several baby elephants among the crowd—quite a way to start the day. We exited the Serengeti and entered the Ngorogoro conservation area by midday and drove up and up to reach the top of the crater. The view upon reaching the top is simply spectacular with a vast green area laid out below runged by steep sides and some small rolling hills and a large crater lake in the bottom. We drove down the steep descent taking in the remarkable views during the 20-minute journey down to the lake, which had pink flamingos gathered at one edge and scattered on the shallow lake.
They would gleam bright pink when hit with sunlight, and although we could not drive close as my mother had when she was my age, it was still a beautiful sight. After a picnic lunch, another afternoon passed in a flash with a spotting of buffalo, lions (including a male and female eating their kill), three cheetahs, elephants, a (from a distance) 2 black rhinos (there are only 10 in the park). After an enchanting but tiring day (not that we did anything really!), Peter drove us up and out of the crater (you must be out by 6pm or you’re stuck for the night!) and to our luxury lodge #2, Serena Ngorogoro. After an impressive acrobatic show and another massive three course dinner, we called it a night.The next day we depart early again to make the long drive back to the Serengeti before our Ngorogoro park fee expired then journeyed back across the Serengeti for several hours. More giraffes, elephants, and hippos were spotted—a huge pool of hundreds of them actually! Especially breathtaking was about a dozen lions and pups gathered on a rocky kopje rising out of the flat planes. I spent some time cooing at the babies and waving at them! Our last nights stay was a Mbalegeti Lodge, a beautiful place
with the only downside being that is was very spread out over the top of a huge hill. We took in the spectacular views out of the bush (although I could feel myself getting spoiled and no nearly as appreciative as was necessary!) and then had the best three-course meal we’d had yet! Early the next day we made the final leg of the journey out the western corridor of the Serengeti and out of the park! Passing tiny thatch hut villages along the smooth paved roads made Tanzania seem like a organizational dream compared to my residence! We arrived back at Hotel Tilapia, wished Peter goodbye and great thanks, and I relaxed the afternoon away at the pool. Tough life.We drove to the Mwanza airport this morning and had an easy hour-long flight back to Entebbe. We finally managed to reunited with our missing luggage 10 days late at the KLM office in town. Another unpack/repack stint, and we’re on our way to Jinja for two nights (and perhaps some whitewater rafting!) before we return to Kampala for Christmas Day and to wrap up my parents’ visit!
No comments:
Post a Comment