An entry in the TFS Travel Journal
We enjoyed a lovely Serena breakfast buffet (including some eggs w/sailfish) then re-boarded Cliff’s Land Rover for the 2+ hour drive to the border. There we, after a lengthy procedure to leave Kenya, switched to the Mashado Tanzania van, feeling like we were being exchanged for some enemy prisoners.
It was then almost two more hours before we arrived at the Arusha airport; although the distance was not that great, the roads were sporadically in abominable condition, which lengthened our trip considerably. (as did the time spent using Cliff’s winch to extricate a van from a gulley into which it had slid) During the drive, the landscape changed as we dropped from the 5,300 feet of Nairobi which had green plains in all directions, into the valley where we saw many small mountain ranges and extremely lush rolling hills of trees. We also encountered numerous Masi tribespeople along the roadside and inland with their ubiquitous cattle. They were dressed in traditional robes and garments, and the women had piercings and ornamentations galore. We also saw a few priests dressed in black whose faces were white (though we couldn’t tell if from paint or some string-like material) and were told that it must be for a special ceremony tonight.
Upon arrival at the airport, we were briefed by Samantha, then we met our jovial pilot, Gwyne and were asked which plane we wanted to use. Though we requested the largest one, since we were only two, he chose the smallest. It was a four-seater, but the fourth was occupied by our luggage. The flight was about 35 minutes at about 1,500 feet up with a nice panoramic view of the green country, with a large lake and Ngorongorno Crater in the distance. Except for feeling like we were in a VW beetle, and a too-sharp bank turn on the approach, the flight was fine. (Wendy came through it like the trooper she is, and thought of you, JE and JKM!)
The camp is a real hoot: at least 50 miles from anywhere, with about 8 large tents scattered around and a large dining tent. Swala means “Impala” in Swahili, and appropriately so, as the camp is shared with a large herd of them, including many very new kids. Our tent is cozy, with a great shower, indoor plumbing, twin beds and plenty of screens and zippers. We freshened up, then had lunch with Ivan and Linda, our hosts at this camp. They’re Zimbabwean, quite nice, and just arrived a week ago though they will be running it for the next two years. Lunch was some delicious vegetables and some ok fish. We then went for a short game drive with Stanislaus, our native guide.
The first interesting sighting was 5 zebras, who were grazing near the road (and we use that word generously). They were beautiful animals, strong and vibrantly striped, and looked regal as they eventually loped away. We then drove around gazing out the windows at some more impalas, a few gazelles, many fabulously colored birds, then the highlight: Ahead on the road were two leopards. We slowed to a stop (unfortunately a bit too far away for a good picture) and watched through binoculars as they watched us then walked into the tall grass. As they were evidently curious, they then walked back through the brush toward us, where Stan, using the binoculars, amazingly found them about 40 feet from us perfectly camouflaged in the yellowish tall grass, where we could just make out their faces staring at us. They were darker than we would have expected, had enormous tails, and were covered with spots. They finally disappeared into the distance, and we went back to camp.
We rested in our tent for a short while, then joined our hosts for a drink and dinner. The food is quite good, considering where we are. Dinner was a delicious cream of vegetable soup, beef filet with vegies, and some damn good profiteroles for dessert. We also had red and white wine, which weren’t so memorable. We then retired to our tent (accompanied by the askari (watchman) since there have been a few lions spotted in the camp the past few nights) where we showered and read, all accompanied by the cacophanous soundtrack of the African nightlife.