PEEKING WILD ANIMALS IN TANZANIA

“One cannot resist the allure of Africa” ​​or Tanzania in my case. My trip to this exotic country turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences. Maybe because it was one of my first big trips to the other continent? Or perhaps the reason for this lies in the beauty of its landscapes that are still kept in a wild state? Whatever the cause, I can’t stop feeling nostalgic when memories of this African land come to my mind, and my desire to return becomes irresistible.

FIRST DESTINATION: ARUSHA

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The reason for my trip to Tanzania was the celebration of my honeymoon, my partner and I are not the typical people who settle for paradisiacal beaches in five-star and all-inclusive hotels, BUT, I still love paradisiacal beaches. We are more adventurous trips type people, where I am the main guide. The second reason for choosing Tanzania was the desire to visit a very dear friend who used to live with her husband in Arusha, where he worked as a pilot-volunteer in order to take medicines and vaccines to the most remote areas of this African country, while she was an English teacher in one of the city’s schools.

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To get to Arusha, the best way is by air. Kilimanjaro International Airport is the second largest in the country. You can also travel by road, but the journey takes many hours to the capital Dar es Salaam. Many visitors come to Arusha to depart from there to the white peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro of volcanic origin and the largest mountain in the continent. However I did not have the opportunity to climb it because we came with limited time. In Arusha I didn’t stay long because I really wanted to see wild animals in their natural habitat. Although I would like to highlight an incredible place: Shanga. As they themselves indicate on their website their philosophy consists of: “being kind and recycling”, in other words, it’s a place with an opportunity of work for people who have some disabilities and who have had a very hard life, and also, it is a wonderful idea to protect the environment by using recycled materials to create beautiful decorative objects and jewelry. You shouldn’t miss it when coming to Arusha.

SAFARI: OBSERVING THE WILD ANIMALS IN THEIR HABITAT

To make the trip, my friends got the car from the place they worked, so it was not necessary to hire the guide service and a special car for safari, although I would not rule it out, since it is an excellent idea, especially if you come for the first time and you don’t know the place well. The car was an old Land Rover that gave us quite a few adventures, now I laugh at them, however, at the time they were tremendous. Like when we went out to stretch a bit, while we were trying to find the lions. What a tough task! I do not mean to say that other animals did not impress us. On the contrary, it is a really fascinating possibility to see them in their natural habitat. However, you have to understand the desire that one has to see the king of the jungle. As we rested outside the car, I saw them, a herd of fierce lionesses, not so far from us. This is the main reason why it is forbidden to get out of the car during safari, since you never know when you might run into a dangerous animal. Actually the lionesses were smiling and somewhat bored, they did not seem to notice or rather to care about our presence. But of course, imagine the shock! We ran to the car and it turned out that when we were going to start it, it would not start. Just at the right time. So my friend stayed behind the wheel, while the rest of us got out to push the car, really scared. But everything went fabulous and we had our chance to see the lions.

Around Arusha there are numerous national parks where you can go on safari and see the wildlife of the animals. The entrance to the parks is paid and the credit card does not always work well, so I recommend you bring cash, because there is the possibility of staying outside. I had the opportunity to see the Tarngire National Park and the Lake Manyara area, although I think any park you see is going to blow your mind by the beauty of the Tanzanian nature. So don’t worry if you can’t see all of them.

Tarangire National Park is famous for its elephants and baobab trees, its name comes from the river that passes through this protected area and which has become the main source of water for the wild animals that tend to focus there during the dry season, between June and November. On the other hand, Lake Manyara is very deep, saline and endorheic, that is, the rainwater that falls into it remains and only disappears through evaporation, which favors the concentration of salts. Its name comes from the Maasai language, enmayara, which refers to a plant that grows on its banks. It is a perfect area to see baboons, although you can also see hippos, impalas, giraffes … We spent a night near the Lake in a camping area, I leave the photos for you to see.

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I’M IN LOVE WITH THE HEVENY BEACHES FROM ZANZIBAR

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Although I told you that I like adventurous trips, I cannot resist the beautiful islands of paradisiacal beaches, like, for instance, Zanzibar, a fantastic place to spend few days and relax while visitingthe historical places of the island or diving or snorkeling in the depths of its crystal clear waters. Did you know that Freddy Mercury was born and lived on the island during his childhood? In fact, it is possible to visit his home and his father’s workplace.

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However, the excursion that I liked the most was to another smaller island, called Prison Island. To get there you must go to Stone Town and then take a typical fishing boat that will take you to this island. The history of it is somewhat dark, as it was previously a prison for rebellious slaves, and it is still possible to visit the penitentiary center today. Although my favorite place, without a doubt, was the Giant Tortoise Recovery Center, where you can observe this beautiful animals and even feed them some lettuce, but don’t touch them, respect their space.

TIPS:

• A few months before traveling you should go to a foreign medical center in your country to see what vaccinations are necessary to travel to Tanzania. I remember that I had to get the yellow fever vaccine, since it was mandatory to show the documentation of the vaccine upon entering the country.
• Take the mosquitoes seriously, at night there are mosquitoes that usually carry malaria and during the day dengue, so you should buy an approved anti-mosquito at the pharmacy, any will not work for Tanzania.
• Be careful what you say to street vendors, they will take your word seriously. If you tell them that you are going to buy from them a souvenir another day, they will come another day to sell it to you and if you do not buy it, they will get angry with you. This is not to say that they are unfriendly, it is simply how their culture is. Words are important.