A week after my life-enhancing trip to
Africa, I am still struggling to find the words to describe it, but there is
one thing I know for sure, I am completely enamored with it & life in
the bush.
Africa now holds a piece of my heart.
I want to begin by giving a huge shout
out and thank you to Judy from Home To Roam, who
not only invited me to join her and her family on this trip, but as always,
planned an exceptional trip, from start to finish. It is truly a blessing to
have friends that I am able to travel with, and I am forever grateful for the
opportunity.
In an attempt to share my trip,
experience and thoughts, I am going to break it down into three parts, based on
the three different places we stayed.
Our safari was booked through Naipenda
Safaris, Swahili for I love to travel.
After spending a day in Arusha to relax
and recovery from jet lag, we headed to the Manyara Ranch Conservancy , where we got
our glamping on in their tented camp!
Manyara Ranch Conservancy is a
35,000-acre private concession that lies between Tarangine and Lake Manyara
National Parks. Originally established as a cattle ranch during
Tanzania's colonial period, Manyara Ranch remains an operating ranch with a
relatively small herd of cattle and black-headed sheep. It is location in
the middle of the crucial Kwakuchinja wildlife corridor connecting Lake Natron,
Ngorongoro, and Manyara wildlife areas to the Tarangire ecosystem and
the Maasailands to the South. During 2000, the African Wildlife
Foundation {AWF} obtained management and conservation rights to the ranch to
protect their community conservation projects and rehabilitating the ranch
itself. The ranch is held in Trust by the Tanzania Land Conservation
Trust {TLCT} for the benefit of local communities and Tanzania.
Amenities included: ensuite bathroom
with hot & cold running water, showers and flushing toilet; large insect
proof tents, electric lighting, wardrobe, chest {which acts as a safe}, desk,
and a separate dining tent which includes a bar and small library.
At nighttime, they had Maasai tribe
members guard the camp and escort us to and from our tents. They told us stories of cobra sitings and elephants visiting the camp, but all we experienced were hyenas howling at night.
One of my favorite aspects of Manyara
Ranch was that all meals were served family style; we dined
with the ranch managers {Alan from Zambia and Greg from South Africa} and the other guests. It was so
neat to meet people form across the world {we met a wonderful couple from Spain
who were on their honeymoon} and converse with both Alan and Greg, who have
such a vast knowledge of the land, animals and history of Tanzania and all of
Africa.
Des, the head waiter, took exceptional care of all of us; making an effort to remember all of our names, and always ensuring we had anything and everything we could possibly need or want.
Des, the head waiter, took exceptional care of all of us; making an effort to remember all of our names, and always ensuring we had anything and everything we could possibly need or want.
The food was spectacular.
Everyday we enjoyed a vegetarian lunch with the most amazing homemade
bread and fresh ingredients.
Every morning around 6am we would
receive our wake-up call, which included coffee, hot chocolate, and
cookies delivered to our tent.
MANYARA HAS A
SIGNIFICANT RESIDENT POPULATION OF WILDLIFE, including:
GIRAFFE
ZEBRA
From the mating patterns, to the feeding/survival cycle, to the perfect stripes on the hind end of a zebra, God's perfect and divine plan is beyond evident in Africa. Being one with God's creation, how God originally created it, without the humanization and hustle & bustle of our daily lives was extremely spiritual and rejuvenating.
ELEPHANTS
Even our Maasai spotter couldn't resist a photo opportunity
We had the privilege of visiting
LaPapa's Maasai village. It was fascinating to not only hear about life in
the tribes, but to be able to see and experience it firsthand.
The children were absolutely gorgeous.
MG and the chief of the village
While at Manyara Ranch, we enjoyed a
night game drive in an open 4x4 safari vehicle,
game drives with our guide, Modi
and a daily afternoon game of cribbage.
I was sad to leave Des, Alan, Greg and LaPapa, but next stop, Ngorongoro Exploreans Lodge...
This trip looked amazing. I enjoyed the facebook and instagram updates while you were away and couldn't wait to read more about it on the blog. How rewarding of a trip!! I would have loved to meet the village people, especially those precious little kids.
ReplyDeleteAmazing!! I have always wanted to go to Africa and go on a safari since I was little. I can only imagine how spiritual and inspiring it was being surrounded by God's beautiful creation. Thanks for sharing!! Look forward to reading and seeing more. :)
ReplyDeleteThis information is meaningful and magnificent which you have shared here about the Tanzania and Zanzibar Holiday. I am impressed by the details that you have shared in this post and It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. I would like to thanks for sharing this article here.
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