Leaving Uganda...arrival in Tanzania

Going backward a bit here, but wanted to update as completely as possible...

We left Ndali while it was still dark and made the six hour drive back to Kampala, where we started. After a brief meeting with Lydia again, we went to the airport to fly first to Nairobi and then to Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania. The second part of the trip was on my least favorite type of plane – with propellers, but was a reasonably sized plane. (There is another coming that I am dreading.) We could see Mount Kilimanjaro and its snow-topped peaks from the plane (well, I had a glimpse and then closed my eyes again and battled nausea). Upon landing at about seven, we were met by our guide, Paul and drove to Arumeru River Lodge, passing Mouth Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru on the way. This lodge consists of ten “chalets” with two rooms each, which a completely modern bathroom and a main lodge with reception, a bar and a restaurant. Tomorrow morning, we start the next part of our adventure.

Uganda was amazing. The gorillas were definitely the highlight of the trip – despite the grueling hike to see them. The people of Uganda were so very nice and really went out of their way to make sure that we were very comfortable. Stephen, our guide, was wonderful, knowledgeable and friendly. He did an excellent job taking care of us and pointing out the wildlife, including many bird species and even plants. While everybody was great, the staff at the Gorilla Forest Camp and at Ndali (especially George) was really exceptional. The people really made the experience a special one for us and we would recommend this to anybody who is interested.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009
We were on the road again at 7:30 and drove through the fairly modern city of Arusha. Near Arusha, which is in the shadow of the mountain, it is green and lush but very quickly it becomes more dry and savannah-like. The entire road today was paved and there were actually some other cars. We passed several Maasai people in their traditional cape like outfit herding cattle and goats.

We arrived at Lake Manyara National Park, where we did a 5-6 hour game drive. The park itself is fairly small and is dominated by the lake. We saw hippo, giraffe, cape buffalo, flamingoes, warthog, elephants (including a tiny baby), zebras, impala, ground hornbills, a dikdik (very small antelope), baboons and vervet monkeys. The variety and abundance of wildlife is astounding. There is a hot spring area too. The views are great. Unlike Uganda, where it seemed like we could drive for hours and never see another car, this is much more crowded with tourists (including many children). This is understandable given the amount of wildlife that can be seen and the relative ease of getting to the park; however, the isolation gives you a sense of nature that you lose when there are other people and cars around.

After the game drive, we headed to Plantation Lodge, which was a former coffee plantation. The room here is huge and quite luxurious. It is actually an entry room with a table and a small patio, a large bathroom, a small sitting room, and a large bedroom with another small patio. We had a nice walk around the grounds with a guide who identified many of the plants, learned about coffee growing in the area, and saw the lodge’s large gardens. We are going to have dinner and then we are off again tomorrow for yet another early start!

-Karen