The Safari trip to Kenya and Tanzania is very difficult to write because of the amount of animals we saw
in eight game reserves. It was most fasinating not only seeing the animals in their own habitat, but also
seeing the different species of birds in Africa. I cannot forget the amount of wild flowers and
flora in places I would have never guessed for it to grow. I have heard that some people who have visited
the game preserves have stated that they only saw a few animals, so I considered myself very fortunate.
Our group of 10 people from SmarTours were happy when we saw our share of the big four. The first of
many animals started at the home and preserves of Karen Blixen, a coffee farmer and famed author of “Out
of Africa”. Nearby her farm was the Giraffe Center where we fed the gentle and rare Rotschild’s giraffes.
Not to get to redundant so I will now mention that there are only 34 Black Rhinos in Africa and we saw
two a black one and a white one on different days. There are only 4 white ones in the Country of Kenya. We
saw three Cheetahs and the only animal we didn’t see was a leopard. I counted 51 differentspecies of animals and 69
bird and fowl species and 15 different types of flowers and flora. It’s too difficult to name everything in
this article, that is why the story becomes so complex and difficult to write. After the game hunt it
was evident that we spend an extraordinary stay at an excellent lodge. Serena Mountain Lodge was the
place I enjoyed because I could watch the animals arrive at the water hole which was lit up all night. I could
either stay in the room and watch or go to the lobby of the Lodge or the open 2nd floor viewing sight.
People were always on the 2nd floor waiting for that perfect picture of the rarest seen animal. I purposely
did not take a camera, but I took my $200 binoculars and didn’t miss any creature, bird, beast or
flora. It is known that some people love to share their pictures, I did have two throw away cameras with
me and my cell phone, so therefore I used that for my special shots that no one got and sent them to all.
It was amazing to see thousands of Pink Flamingoes in Lake Naivasha. I heard that Kenya has over a million
flamingoes. My adventure started in Nairobi, in Kenya, where we stayed at the Nairobi Safari Hotel, which was a
resort and casino surrounded by 64 acres of grounds. The lobby staff is there 24 hours which isgood for
insomniaces! The Swahili greeting of Jambo was throughout our stay in Kenya and Tanzania. There
were fine restaurants where home made pasta in LaPiazzetta, Chiyo for authentic Japanese food,
great Sushi and Sashimi Bar. Many other restaurants included the Winners Pavillion and exclusive
Chinese Restaurant andNyama Choma Ranch, Nairobi’s most exciting African Restauant. On the first night
we ate crocodile, ostrich, steak, chicken, roasted mutton at the Nyama Choma Ranch with a show of dancers that really
looked good and danced beautifully.
The next day we crossed the Equator to approach Mt. Kenya a dormant volcano, then to Samburu National
Reserve in Kenya’s semi-desert. Set in a region along the Ewaso Ngiro River, Samburu is home to
some of African’s rarest game species. Plenty of Hippos and Crocodiles attract plenty of wildlife including
the Grevy’s Zebra, the long necked Gerunuk Antelope, the shy Oryx, Beisa and the Somali Ostrich.
After leaving Samburu, we came across a dense forest with tumbling waterfalls and our lodge for the night
was the only Tree Hotel ever built on the slopes of the legendary Mt.Kenya in the middle of the thick forest.
There we saw all the animals arrive at the water hole and lit up at night. I was so excited when I saw
my first Hyena in the middle of the night. Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha are next on the
itinery and we are traveling southwest in a safari van. We stopped at Nyahururu Falls and traveled along the
magnificent Rift Valley toward Lake Nakuru, known for their pink flamingos.
After being on Lake Naivasha where the animals were in abundance so was the natural flora and stunning
scenic beauty. We traveled toward the Masai Mara which is the northern extension of the Tanzania famous
Serengete Plains. Our lodge was on the banks of the Talek River and surrounded by lush gardens.
At the Mara Simba Lodge, we saw our second tribal dance, but this one was performed by our waiters
and they were from the Masai Tribe. We had fun with them. After a restful but fun day at the lodge.
The next morning we traveled back to Nairobi to drop off two out of 10 tourists who were not going
onto Tanzania. Eight people wanted the optional tour of four days in Tanzania. I was sure happy I was one
because Tanzania was so beautiful. People there were friendlier than Kenya. It surprised me because the
travel commercials always are about Kenya and never Tanzania. After arriving at the Kilimanjaro Airport and
transferring to Arusha, Tanzania for a safari briefing,we continued to Tarangire National Park and checked into
Tarangire Sopa Lodge. In the afternoon we went on a game drive in the park and saw beautiful big elephants,
zebras, giraffes and a Rhino. While driving to Manyara, we saw some game and also many monkeys.
Everyone thought they were so cute until one of the monkeys stoled a camera from Julie, a girl from New York.
We were all warned not to leave anything in the van nor to feed the monkeys or carry anything in our pockets
or in our hands. of course, some people do not listen, a monkey ran off with her camera. While in Lake Manyara
National Park, in the afternoon we saw our second Rhino, and this time is was the white one. I didn’t mention
that the Black Rhinos are brown and the White Rhinos are grey. They werecalled Black and White by
the Safari Guide. My favorite place was Ngorongora Crater, the largest unflooded and unbroken
caldera in the world.
The crater floor supports a large resident population of wildlife up to 25,000 animals. Just to name a few
more species, there are wildebeest, gazelle, buffalo, eland, kongoni and warthog. The swamps and forest
are filled with hippo, elephants waterbuck, reedbuck and bushbuck, baboonsand vervet monkeys,
dikdik, jackals and more. What was nice was that we were able to touch ground and be able to see
these animal while on land, instead of the safari van. I saw what I may want to think was my first leopard. I
cannot be sure because the cheetah and leopard look so much alike that it is difficult to decipher which it could
be. It ran from a wooded area so fast I could see the back and a tail and the paws. That was it. This was the end of
the trip but I cannot close without telling about the wonderful working farm we had lunch.
We enjoyed Gibb’s Farm in Tanzania half way between Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater. It is 10
acres of organic fruit and vegetables on a 45 acres farm. Gibbs’s Farm is an 80 year old legacy set among
lush floral gardens, the farmhouse and 20 ensuite cottages are the heart of the 80 year old working Arican
Farm. The farm house had 2 living rooms, library reading room, wraparound veranda overlooking the valley.
It also has a bar and giftshop, dining room, serving farm meal. We had our lunch there and it was
stated by several members of our group that they felt it was a perfect setting for our final days in Africa.
What was nice was the hospitality they showed us and the walk through some of the 10 acres of organic
coffee plantation. If one wanted to stay there they provided Farm rim walking, mountain biking, hippo
pools, canoeing, Manyara Night driving. We went back to Aruska, then Nairobi where we stopped by a
Tanzania mining company which sold precious Tanzinite. It was a mini expedition and five of
us got stuck in an elevator , if felt like hours. There was no air conditioning in this elevator because
it had stopped in between two floors. The mechanic was notified and of course that took a while.
After fifteen minutes the joking was over and no one spoke! It appeared as though we would not get
out in time to catch our flight for home. When we felt it move was when we realized how
uncomfortable we were, but hiding our fear. We made it on time in Nairobi and everyone
was safe and happy.
We had a great time up until the stalled elevator, but once in Nairobi Airport, we had a wait of two hours and
that was plenty of time to get settled and be able to enjoy our long flight home.
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