Travel stories

I’ll be back for sure!

Jambo Marjolijn, Paul and Ellen!

Well… it was fantastic again in Tanzania. The Serengeti, an old coffee plantation in Karatu and Lake Manyara. What a beautiful combination.
Completely immersed in the real Africa, the endless nature, lovely beautiful people, delicious food, beautiful tented camps interspersed with a fantastic lodge. And I am fully charged again. And I intend to go back again with my son!

The walking safari was new to me, but how cool! Really in the middle of nowhere, and suddenly there … our tented camp. A nice bed in my tent and even my own toilet, sink and shower. We went out every day at 7 am: binoculars, camera and water. Exploring. Guide James and ranger Silver happily on the road, armed in case of. It is wonderful to walk for hours through the bush. The first surprise was the zebras behind my tent, which I had heard braying all night. But that they were only 100 meters around the corner… was really a surprise.
The nice thing about the walking safari is that you see completely different things than with the jeep. And it feels serene. You look for signals from animals that live in the area; you look at the footprints, at their poop, skeletons (never realized that the giraffe’s horns are hard and not cute soft), how the plants and trees look like these. And it’s great to learn more about all plants and trees; special trees with smart solutions for survival And yes, we didn’t just see the tracks, but also the causes of them: baboons, zebras, dik diks, wildebeest, giraffes… not to mention the cute baby turtle We would certainly have overlooked it in a car.
And when you eventually return to camp tired and satisfied, there is already a delicious drink ready. Relax in the beanbag before a truly delicious lunch! How do they manage that with such limited resources? And every evening as a sundowner a gin ton by the campfire. I can get used to this. A real highlight of this walking safari!

And then I haven’t even mentioned the wonderful days in the highlands of the Ngorongoro and the pure relaxation on the Gibb’s Farm. This old coffee plantation has its own vegetable garden. That beetroot risotto was sublime. A fantastic beautifully colonial furnished lodge. With a fire place in the shower, instant inspiration for home. And lots of beautiful local art. So nice: they always have exhibitions and artists are allowed to be here to make art. And so nice: the infinity pool. Take a few laps and then enjoy the beautiful view.

Speaking of beautiful views, we ended our trip at Greencamp Lake Manyara. There we climbed the rocks at the waterfall at the end of the afternoon for a sundowner. Priceless. And finally some time to read a book … relax in the lounge corner, but with the excitement that elephants and lions can come to visit. And they came 😊!

One thing is certain: I will definitely be back. There is still so much to discover and experience there. I am now going to dream about climbing Kilimanjaro again, this time with my son, and about exploring the South of Tanzania And yes, also a nice trip to Zanzibar. Maybe do the bike tour there?

Thanks for everything. Greetings Serva