Sleeping in a bed again is pretty good, we decided. Even so, we didn’t sleep late this morning. We got driving west by 8 AM, excited to be on Safari. We made a brief stop on the edge of Arusha for provisions and then pushed farther west in our two Land Cruisers. 

Our guides, Jacob and Emmanuel, explained that the arid zone we were traversing was Maasai country. We began seeing herds of cattle being marched to and from dusty waterholes by men and boys. We passed many “bomas” which were clusters of huts around a central animal corral. 

Finally, we came to lush vegetation again on the shores of Lake Manyara and entered the National Park of the same name. Our first animal sightings were of waterbucks in the dense forests. Then bushbucks. Before long we were adding elephants and Cape buffalo to our rapidly growing list. Naturally there were plenty of monkeys and baboons.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the shore of the vast lake and then got back on the dusty roads in search of more.  Eventually we saw zebras and impala and warthogs.  One shy giraffe appeared momentarily.  There were egrets and eagles and hornbills. 

As the afternoon stretched on, we headed for the park gate and drove up the steep escarpment to the Ngorogoro Highlands… out of the great rift valley.  In Karatu our drivers took a side road through fields full of crops out to the Plantation Lodge.  We enjoyed a very civilized evening sipping cocktails in a splendid bar in a splendid garden.  Dinner was delicious… but we admitted to missing Tosha’s miraculous mountain cooking.  You can take the climber out of the mountains, but…

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team