As the crow flies Arusha is far closer to Nairobi then it is to Dar es Salaam. Therefore the majority of visitors to the ‘Northern Circuit’ of game parks fly into Nairobi and have to cross the border. There is a reciprocal tourist arrangement between…Read More

As the crow flies Arusha is far closer to Nairobi then it is to Dar es Salaam. Therefore the majority of visitors to the ‘Northern Circuit’ of game parks fly into Nairobi and have to cross the border. There is a reciprocal tourist arrangement between Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda that if you have already a Kenyan visa then you don’t need another one when crossing back from Tanzania or Uganda. It is crossing the border and back which is the interesting part.

My crossing from Kenya to Tanzania

Essentially this is no problem. I caught a shuttle bus operated by the Impala hotel in Arusha for $30. It can be pre-booked online and collects from your hotel on request. But your safari company should provide transport – make sure they tell you about the $50/£30 visa. This is generally not part of the holiday cost.

The Impala shuttle did pick me up from my Nairobi hotel and will stowed my luggage on the roof. Its offices are at the Silver Spoon hotel and that is where the majority of passengers will get on. It will be a mixture of tourists and Africans. It takes about two hours to drive down to the Tanzanian border on exceptionally bumpy roads (truly bum crunching) and the ubiquitous toilet break at a Curio Shop where overpriced African nick-nacks are on offer.

The border is at Namanga. The place is very dusty and clogged with monster trucks. First you have to get stamped out of Kenya and a small glass office allows you to get an exit stamp on your passport. The bus then drove us into Tanzania and we had to go into another blockhouse for immigration. Make sure you have a crisp American $50 bill; anything else will slow them up. British pounds and Euros are an option but not a welcome one going by the hectoring one of our bus passengers got from an immigration clerk. But for the money you get a six month Tanzanian visa.

The return journey – back into Kenya from Tanzania

The Impala Shuttle leaves from the ‘Impala Hotel’ in eastern Arusha. I know this because it failed to turn up to collect me and I had to trek down there in a panic. There are two departures from the hotel 2.00pm (the bus they booked me on) and 7.30am (the bus they should have booked me on). The Impala Hotel itself has its own Safari Company (Leopard safaris) which has a good reputation.

After passing through the acacia desert you are back at the border at Namanga. The exit stamp office is quite efficient but outside is a no-man’s land between Tanzania and Kenya that you must traverse on foot. It belongs to neither country and therefore is not law enforced; it is stacked to the gills with thieves and hawkers.

The Maasai women lie in wait. They will rush you waving jewellery and gewgaws trying to get your custom. The trick is to ignore them and just keep going. Don’t stop for a second – and keep a hand on your valuables. It is quite harrowing to have an old Maasai woman block your way and shove beads in your face. But push through and you will be in Kenya. Everyone goes through it – we saw them accost nuns.

On the way back to Nairobi. They will drop you off at Jomo Kenyatta airport if you wish. The final stop is the Silver Spoon hotel and any other hotel on request.





   Close

Ground Zero for the tourists in Northern Tanzania is the town of Arusha. 99% of the travellers who pass through here will be here for the game parks. There are almost a hundred companies set up for you to explore these parks and after spending…Read More

Ground Zero for the tourists in Northern Tanzania is the town of Arusha. 99% of the travellers who pass through here will be here for the game parks. There are almost a hundred companies set up for you to explore these parks and after spending up to ten days in the bush Arusha becomes a beacon of civilisation surrounded by the wilds of Tanzania.

It’s actually closer to Nairobi in Kenya then it is to Dar es Salaam or the sleepy capital of Dodoma. You can take the bus up from Dar es Salaam in a ten hour journey. But more likely you will come from Nairobi and take the bumpy road down to the border at Namanga. Arusha is about another two hours from there. You can also fly for about $100 from Wilson airport in Nairobi or come in from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar. The airport for Arusha is between it and Moshi and is fifty miles east of town. There is no public transport from the airport and taxis charge up to $50 into town.

It’s not quite true that Arusha is just a tourist town. All the volcanic soil around here is perfect for growing coffee, wheat, bananas, vegetables and most of the flowers exported to Europe. The whole town is overlooked by Mt Meru – a truly spectacular mountain which is a much more sheer climb then Kilimanjaro and it has to be said Arusha is a pleasant green well-laid out town with gardens and streams.

There is a centre which is a griddle of streets with the Makongoro Road at the top, and a set of paralell streets leading down to the Sokoine Road. There is a real scruffy African market in the centre. Most tourists stay in mega hotels on the outskirts and are picked up and dropped off by landrover/safari vehicle. The real Arusha is not seen by most tourists.

Except me.

I tried out a hotel right on the Makongoro Road right in the centre of the action. I took a day out after getting back from the game parks to just kick back and explore Arusha. To be frank, the cities in East Africa are not the main attraction – you dont cross the ocean to visit Nairobi or Arusha. Arusha isnt a bad town – there are lots of services here to keep the tourists happy. I was in the African section and it was a real plunge into the continent –shoe vendors line the street, women with baskets pushed by, cars were parked half way up the pavement and gangs of men stood idly about chatting.

One morning I walked down to the Sokoine Road to run some errands. The streets leading down are rather tatty but no one pays you any attention and it was interesting watching Africa going about its business. The range of people here was extraordinary – Maasai warriors, teenagers, Indians with saris – I was agog at the Africans ability to socialise – they seemed to have friends on every corner.

On the Sokoine Road is huge Supermarket (PriceRight) and numerous webcafes. At the end of the Road is the "Clocktower" where hawkers for cheap safaris hang out. They also hang out at the bus station and will literally shadow any newcomers for their custom. If you haven’t got a safari booked then you will be targeted. Each tourist is a valuable commodity and the business can get very cut-throat.

There’s nothing to worry about in Arusha and if you wish to take time out to look at Africa away from the game parks and luxury lodges then this is as good a place as any.
   Close

This corner of northern Tanzania is dominated by one thing – the mountain of Kilimanjaro.I only saw it briefly as I was travelling from the Kenyan border down to the town of Arusha. It was visible for only five minutes before other mountains blocked…Read More

This corner of northern Tanzania is dominated by one thing – the mountain of Kilimanjaro.

I only saw it briefly as I was travelling from the Kenyan border down to the town of Arusha. It was visible for only five minutes before other mountains blocked it out. This part of Tanzania is full of ex-volcanoes and free-standing mountains. But Kilimanjaro is rather special. As well as featuring in Ernest Hemingway’s famous book it exemplifies Africa. Who hasn’t seen pictures of the great snow flecked cone dominate the scene with giraffe or herds of elephant in the foreground?

For this is safari country par excellence. Within easy reach of the Kenyan border are the national parks of Lake Manyara, Tarangire, the famous Ngorongoro Crater and the endless Serengeti plains. The wildlife migrates across this area depending on the season and not paying attention to national barriers. During August/September the vast wildebeest herds numbering into millions are up in Kenya’s Masai Mara. Then during the rest of the year they slowly migrate south until they reach the grassy plains of the Serengeti in January where they give birth.

It is the wildlife that is the main attraction. The tourist town of Arusha depends on the tourist trade. 400,000 visitors a year pass through and for a town stuck out in the acacia desert in this is big business. Over 40 safari operators make this town their base and the road west to the parks is busy in the morning with travellers making their way to the attractions.

Arusha sits in the centre of it all – to the north is Kenya and the international gateway of Nairobi, to the south is Tarangire National Park with its herds of elephants, to the west are the big game parks and to the east is Moshi the base for climbing Kilimanjaro.

I was surprised to find how popular climbing "Kili" was particularly with under thirty backpackers. As I approach the big 4-0 the very thought of spending six days up and down the mountain gave me the willies. I spoke with a couple of people who had done it. Climbs are arranged from the town of Moshi about twenty miles east of Arusha. Moshi is in the shadow of Kilimanjaro and is a pleasant little spread out town. Most guesthouses arrange climbs for you. Climbing Kilimanjaro is not cheap – you have to pay for a guide, porter and cook and each one will need a substantial tip at the end. It’s often best to go with a reputable company and even then you won’t get much change out of $1300.

It’s also physically exhausting. My companion for Ngorongoro hobbled for days after he did Kilimanjaro. He said the experience though physically tough was unbelievable and he could never believe the world could be that beautiful as he approached the summit.

The most popular route seems to be the Marungu Route which takes six days to the summit and back. On the way you pass Alpine meadows, lava ridges and ice sheets . A warning also about altitude sickness –as you ascend you will gather half the oxygen needed at sea level and could have blackouts and dizzy spells. Climbing Kilimanjaro is not for the fainthearted.

Kilimanjaro isn’t the only mountain in the area as northern Tanzania has volcanic resonances. The Rift Valley passes through here and hot springs bubble out at Lake Manyara. The Ngorongoro Crater itself was once a vast volcano that fell in on itself and Mount Longidodo is still a dormant volcano. Our guide George said when he was a teenager there was an eruption. Bits of ash floated through the air like snowflakes and animals starved as it covered the grass.

But this journal is really about magical Lake Manyara. The Rift Valley cuts through here and forms an escarpment over a soda lake. Fed by runoff from the escarpment to the lake a groundwater forest was created that has a massive amount of animals.

This journal is really a celebration of Lake Manyara National Park
   Close

Have you ever heard of a Dik-Dik.?They are antelopes that are tiny – I mean barely a foot high. It looked like a toy or a mouse. Everything about this deer was miniscule – its body, legs, horns and even brown eyes which…Read More

Have you ever heard of a Dik-Dik.?

They are antelopes that are tiny – I mean barely a foot high. It looked like a toy or a mouse. Everything about this deer was miniscule – its body, legs, horns and even brown eyes which looked up at us before vanishing into the bush.

As we progressed further into Lake Manyara it was the small animals which became a pleasure. We ticked them off – jackals, bush pigs, porcupines, songbirds and a klipspringer – a deer nearly as small as the Dik-Dik. Not to mention the endless Impala that were spread throughout the park in small herds sharing their space with baboons. The two seemed to have a reciprocal relationship – both watching out for predators. The most famous predators of this national park are tree-climbing lions but we didn’t see any. I didn’t mind as I’d seen enough lions on the Serengeti and in Kenya.

As we headed westwards I craned my head up to the huge escarpment cliffs towering above the park. The cliffs were sheer granite but were covered up to the rim with vegetation. Cape buffalo grazed in their shadow. They were a bachelor herd – two tonnes of muscle giving us dirty looks as we drove past. We were coming to the end of the forest and across the floodplain the lapping water of Lake Manyara could be seen. There were some strange birdlife around here – top of these were the red-billed hornbill. A gigantic flightless bird with black feathers and red face. There five of them in the road hopping along – when we appeared they bounced into the undergrowth.

Then the vista opened up to a large view of the lake. Below us streams erupted from the cliff face and wriggled their way across the plain to the marshy lake. Where the streams emptied out into Lake Manyara was one of the most stunning sights of this trip – the horizon was a moving wall of pink flamingos.

Wow! How do you take that in?

We got out of the safari vehicle. As far as the eye could see was a pink mass of moving birds. Through binoculars we could see the birds individually – each bird hissing, squawking and beating its wings. They were feeding by swishing their heads through the water sifting for algae. The bad side was the sheer stench of their guano travelling through the hot air. Hot springs were coming from underground. Our guide said it was quite safe so we reached down and touched it – scalding hot water heated from far underground.

We went to the top of the lake and while we were crossing the floodplain we encountered a herd of twelve giraffes. We pulled over and watched them stride in front of us. It was like a great ship floating by covering the ground with great strides.

At the edge of the lake it looked like the ground had been chewed up by the footprints of hippos. But these were lost in what occupied the lake – thousands and thousands of pelicans. Too many for the eye to comprehend – a squawking flapping amorphorous crush.

We could see the great pink/grey bulk of hippos somewhere in their midst. And the noise! Each one seemed to be letting his lungs have some exercise. The ones in the water looked like little sailboats – head and beak out front with little legs paddling underneath.
   Close

Ooooohhh...that felt good.You could see an elephant think this as he rubbed his backside against a scratching post.The scratching post was a simple tree trunk in the forest. It was obviously a favourite place of a small herd we encountered that included mother and baby.…Read More

Ooooohhh...that felt good.

You could see an elephant think this as he rubbed his backside against a scratching post.

The scratching post was a simple tree trunk in the forest. It was obviously a favourite place of a small herd we encountered that included mother and baby. A young tusker was a big attraction and was throwing dust over his grey back. Elephants are so watchable – they are always interacting with each other. But all of Lake Manyara National Park has been good. I like the way it is a small corridor of land squeezed between the 300ft escarpment and the soda lake. Streams run down from the cliffs and hot springs burst from the ground and run all the way to the lake. There are volcanic forces at work in East Africa and nowhere is it more evident than in Lake Manyara.

It’s reachable through the Maasai tourist town of Mwo wa Mbu at the foot of the escarpment. The entrance is at the western end of town and you know you are there due to gigantic baobab trees covered in the guano of pelicans and storks. Entrance is high $35 per person plus 10,000 schillings per vehicle. The forest begins almost immediately and I thoroughly recommend the visitors centre which allows you to wander the forest on a number of cane walkways. The visitors centre explains how water is important to the park and has a few interesting exhibits. I didn’t know the John Wayne action film "Hatari" was filmed here in the fifties.

Then we drove along the forest trail. What makes Manyara different is that it is not like most game parks with wide open spaces as it is mostly forest. Underground springs mean abundant vegetation – sausage trees, acacia scrub, banana trees, open meadows and baobab trees looking "Gothic" against the sky. This same vegetation began to move next to us and a Sykes monkey was looking at us from the branches. You like monkeys? Manyara is bursting with them. It has the biggest population of baboons in the world. These began to emerge from the forest and looked like they were travelling in armies. Dozens at a time would cross the track. Babies clung to their mother’s undersides, teenagers would stop and watch you and older baboons – the big males –would take their time to show who was boss.

Then the park turned Elysian.

The park at this point opens up in green meadows and bubbling brooks. It was a favourite with elephants who appeared next to the track. Their huge grey bulks tearing up the green grass. We all gasped as we entered a glade babbled down surrounded by green vegetation. There with his back to us was a huge elephant with a leathery back. He saw us but continued sucking up water with his trunk and squirting it into his mouth. Our guide, George, got very excited at seeing a rare Bushbuck on the other bank. To see this tiny antelope with its small horns and delicate build wait patiently to drink was a real thrill.

The elephant itself took an interest in us – knowing that we were no threat he came up to 1ft of the van and watched us with his beady eye. Nothing beats the thrill of getting close to really big game.

   Close

Our drive takes us to the Rift Valley. Here we look down over Lake Manyara. Lake Manyara is a very shallow lake and we see it during a period of drought it is even more shallow and the shores are white and dried up.…Read More

Our drive takes us to the Rift Valley. Here we look down over Lake Manyara. Lake Manyara is a very shallow lake and we see it during a period of drought it is even more shallow and the shores are white and dried up. Said by Enest Hemingway to be one of the loveliest lakes in Africa , it is also the home of a diverse set of landscapes and wildlife. It is here we see our first baobab tree. This is a beautiful but strange tree that can grow up to 25 meters tall and can live for several thousand years. The Arabian legend of the baobab is that "the devil plucked up the baobab, thrust its branches into the earth and left its roots in the air". This is actually a good description of the tree but a picture describes it best.
We’re thrilled to spot our first Ostrich. They are huge!! In fact they are the world’s largest bird reaching as tall as 9 feet and 350 pounds. Although they can’t fly they can sprint over 40 miles an hour.
What was a flat grassy plain is now showing short shrubby growth of Acacia Trees. We soon learn these are a favorite food of the giraffe and we spend some time taking multiple pictures of a group of 6 or so Giraffe enjoying their meal.
   Close