Tanzania, Tarangire Park
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(Timezone: UTC+3) Welcome to Tanzania! We flew into Arusha on the 28th,
it is an eight hour flight from Amsterdam. The Arusha terminal is a bit
like the Cancun airport, but without the humidity. No troubles entering
the country, as we had arranged visa's before leaving the US. We were
picked up by a van driver who took us to the Arusha Mountain Village
Serena Lodge. We wanted to see Tanzania on the hour-long drive, but
the sun had set and there were no streetlights. This meant that we just
got to see the road, and whatever flitted by in the light of the
headlights (they drive on the left by the way).
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We veered off the paved road onto something that could only be described
as a suspension destroying dirt road. Along this road were shacks with
corrugated aluminum roofs and a few cinder-block structures. After five
minutes we pulled up to the lodge. We weren't prepared for the contrast
between what we had seen of Arusha and the lodge.
We were greeted at the gate by porters who hauled our luggage up to the
registration area, while we followed along empty-handed. Our driver
informed us that we could have a seat on the couches provided, while he
filled out paperwork. While waiting, lodge employees brought us some wet
towels to wipe our hands and faces, and then freshly squeeze mango juice
to drink (and waited for us to finish, so they could take the towels and
glasses). None of us were used to this level of service. We signed the
guest cards, and were brought to our rooms. The rooms were incredibly
comfortable, though each contained a can of insect repellent, DOOM (shown
below).
After settling in a bit and trying not to be nervous about what insects we
might encounter, we met up with my parents for drinks at the lodge bar.
Our waiter, named "Good Luck", was exceptionally nice and spent time
describing his family's coffee plantation. Tanzania has fantastic
coffee, and Arusha is the center of their coffee growing region. During
the conversation, we learned that the lodge is located on a coffee
plantation. Good Luck brought us some of the coffee beans to sample.
My Parents and Neeley enjoyed them. I've never liked coffee flavor, so I
can't be a good judge. We had to call it quits around 11 pm, the
plan was to meet our safari guide at 9:30am after a leisurely breakfast.
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The breakfast was delicious, a variety of fresh juices and local
specialties on the buffet was incredible. After breakfast we met with
our safari guide, Mashoka
Mbise. Loading our luggage into the Land Cruiser, we were reminded
that you need to travel as lightly as possible when on a safari. We had a
double row Land Cruiser (see below), and our luggage and camera gear ended
up filling the back storage area quite a bit. For more information about
luggage and suggestions make sure to check out the technical page.
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Mashoka drove us from the lodge into the city of Arusha to pick up travel
paperwork, a couple cases of water, and lunch boxes. Mashoka was also
able to stop at a local shop and pick up a quantity of beans so that I
could fill our bean bags (to lash to the truck's roof top to stabilize
camera gear). Driving through Arusha reminds you that Tanzania is still a
very poor country, and that tourism makes up a large part of its
economy.
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We drove for about ninety minutes to get to the entrance to the Tarangire
National Park. Our "Lazy Safari" begins.
Almost immediately we saw our first zebras. Mashoka informed us that they
were called "common zebra". We stopped the truck for a bit, and watched
them. After seeing what felt like a thousand zebras over the next
couple days, we realized why they are called "common".
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The first two days of our safari we spent time in Tarangire park, and saw
a relatively large number of animals; many different birds, zebras,
antelope, giraffes, elephants, baboons, warthogs, and even a pair of
lions. Neeley had to keep reminding herself that we weren't in a zoo.
During a safari you ride around in a truck on really bumpy roads from
eight in the morning until approximately four in the afternoon. There is a
stop for about an hour for lunch, only at designated areas. You have
"lunch boxes" that were prepared for you in the morning by the lodge you
stayed at, that contain more than enough food. After lunch you jump back
in the truck and head out to continue your game drive.
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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Tarangire National Park
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