20 Years of Travel #9: African Safari

The 20 Years of Travel series continues with an African Safari. Below you will see pictures from our adventures in the Serengeti, Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater in 2014. If you want a bit more detail of this our adventures through Tanzania, please see the blog links at the bottom of the page for other posts related to this.

The Serengeti

First of all, I am not known among my friends as a person who loves camping. However, I loved this kind of camping, which I would classify as glamping. I did have to figure out how to take a shower with only two buckets of water, but I learned quickly and the water was a warm temperature. Plus, a tray with a pot of coffee would be waiting for us in the morning just outside our tent. It was lovely!

Second, I feel like I have a whole new respect for wildebeest. I just thought they were ugly large goats, but I miss waking up to their sounds. I wish I had recorded them and could set their sounds as my alarm clock in the morning. If you can plan your Serengeti adventure to include the Wildebeest Migration, I highly recommend it. It is absolutely thrilling!

Finally, I loved watching all the different animals from just a few feet away. They didn’t seem all that concerned with us, which allowed us to watch them for long periods of time. You definitely get to witness the circle of life up close and personal.

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 Lake Manyara

My takeaways from our time at Lake Manyara was how much I adore baby monkeys, and that you should always have your camera ready in case thousands of birds get scared and take flight all at once.

The Ngorongoro Crater

Who doesn’t enjoy a crater filled with beautiful animals, including lion cubs and a pond filled with hippos?!

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If you would like to read more about our amazing experience in Tanzania, please see the following posts:

• Wildebeest Migration – Tanzania (August 2014)
• Serengeti – Tanzania (August 2014)
• Ngorongoro Crater – Tanzania (August 2014)

HAPPY TRAVELS!!!

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Ngorongoro Crater – Tanzania (August 2014)

For people traveling to Tanzania and the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater is a must. However, I would recommend starting your African Safari with the Crater. We did the Crater at the end of our safari, and it was a bit of a let down after the tranquil vastness of the Serengeti.

All accommodations are outside the Crater, so we took a very early drive to get there and then to get down into the Crater. There was no visibility due to an immense fog, which made me happy that I was not driving. You can only enter the Crater through a tour company.

The Ngorongoro Crater is rich with vegetation and water, which is why many creatures have made this their permanent home. We mostly wanted to see lion cubs as we missed that in the Serengeti, and that was one of the first things we saw (pictured above). There were three adorable cubs playing with each other. The hippo pool is wonderful as well. You could spend hours there watching them play (pictured below). I think the only thing I really disliked about the adventure in the Ngorongoro Crater was the fact that it is pretty crowded with tourists. After a week in the Serengeti, where it felt like it was just you and the animals, the Crater was heavily populated with humans. We had to wait to get a spot to view the hippos. I still find the place very interesting and feel that it is a must see.

If you are looking for a nice place to stay while you visit the Ngorongoro Crater, I highly recommend Gibbs Farm. Gibbs Farm (pictured on the right) is located on a coffee plantation, which you can venture through. It is a simple yet luxurious retreat. Wi-fi is a bit unreliable, but with all the beautiful scenery, delicious foods, and fun activities, who needs Wi-fi? Each room is like your own secluded bungalow, where I enjoyed my first outdoor bathing experience. After a week in the wilderness, it was a welcome relaxing retreat.

I would say that a couple days of viewing the Ngorongoro Crater is all you need, but it is worth it!