Today I wrote the check out to the travel company for my safari to Tanzania. In about four months I will be heading off for a ~2 week in Tanzania seeing the Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and the Serengeti National Park. Anyone else travel to any of these places? Any travel tips or stories?
-Andrew
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This message has been edited. Last edited by: Colleen,
Andrew? Yep--our all time favorite travel adventure. I have a fairly long report and photos on my website Tanzania What agency are you using? Have no doubt--you will be enthralled and not want to return to civilization as you know it.
How great that you are going to Tanzania. I use to work for Thomson Safaris and had the opportunity to go to Tanzania. I have been to all the parks you mentioned and they all have their own beauty. It is a beautiful country. You will have a wonderful time. If you get a chance try Kahn's Chicken in Arusha. It is sooooo good.
Mary, Thomson is the agency we used and I can not speak morely highly of a travel service. They are top of the line in quality, service, integrity, etc. I have sent many people their way. When were you working with them? They link to my site and send me lots of traffic.
Jane - I worked for them from 1996--1998. They really are a great company. I'm glad you had a great time with them (although I'm not surprised.) They truly care about Tanzania, its people and their employees. They fly employees from Tanzania to the US every year so that they can see what it is like here. Since everyone loves the Tanzanian staff, the employees who came to the US have seen more of it than I have. The past guests fly the Tanzanian staff all over the US for visits! In many ways I wish I hadn't left my job with them but I was young and needed to find my own way. I still think it was the right decision for me to leave but I do miss the job as well as all the employees. I talk to Rick and Judi (the owners) from time to time (although I'll admit it is less than I would like.) I can't say enough good things about Thomson Safaris and Tanzania. I plan to go back some day so that my husband can see what a beautiful country it is (the people, land and animals).
I am traveling with Thomson Safaris and I am happy to others have used them with success. I looked at Jane's website a few weeks ago and was reassured that I was making a good choice with Thomson Safaris.
When I am in Arusha on my last day in Tanzania. I will plan to eat at Kahn's Chicken while doing some shopping. Hopefully I can get some wood carvings and other souvenirs without too much haggling.
In the meantime, I will have to go to my doctor to check on my immunisations and to get malaria pills. I also have to get a visa which should not be too bad - I live just outside Washington, DC so I probably will take a day off, drive over to the embassy and drop the passport & application off and spend the rest of the day being a tourist in DC.
Andrew--I am so jealous! We will be going back in 2008--after our year in Italy. We want to take Casey but wanted to wait until he is a little older. He will be 10 then. You will love it and I look forward to your report when you return. Please e-mail me then to tell all about it. And--it's interesting that you were on my site checking it out. It is absolutely amazing to me how much traffic that section gets--almost more than Italy.
Jane - Are you going with Thomson again? If so you might want to check with them on a pen pal for Casey. I know that they use to set up kids with pen pals in Tanzania and then would translate the letters. This was for their family trips b/c then the kids could meet in Tanzania.
Andrew - just ask your guide where Kahn's is and they will show you. I haven't been there in 9 years but I still remember how good it was.
I can't believe it was 9 years ago! Have fun on your trip!
We went with Overseas Adventure Travel 10 years ago- a wonderful trip. the best advice i received was to take a backup camera- You will be in a dusty envirnment and have paid a lot for your trip- if your photos are important to you- take an extra camera- several people in our group had cameras that stopped working!!!
We were most dazzled by the Ngorongoro Crater, and found it to be a Garden of Eden. We watched a pride of lions kill a wildebeest, and saw them relaxing in the sun afterward after feeding. Also saw rhinos. Our driver let us stop and just study the animals for long stretches of time.
Romance on the Road: Traveling Women Who Love Foreign Men
Posts: 8 | Location: Baltimore, MD USA | Registered: 07 June 2006
I have been to Kenya and Tanzania twice.Once for mostly the parks you mentioned,with a crater highlamds trek and Mt Meru climb.The other was Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya climbs. Terengire is great for the Elephants.Where are you staying there? One of the most memorable places we stayed was a tented camp in Terengire!
We used a Arusha based company Tropical Trails and had a fabulous trip.It was 40% cheaper than Thompson. RR
Originally posted by Robert Rainey: I have been to Kenya and Tanzania twice.Once for mostly the parks you mentioned,with a crater highlamds trek and Mt Meru climb.The other was Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya climbs. Terengire is great for the Elephants.Where are you staying there? One of the most memorable places we stayed was a tented camp in Terengire!
We used a Arusha based company Tropical Trails and had a fabulous trip.It was 40% cheaper than Thompson. RR
Today would have been 30 days to my safari - unfortunately I had to cancel the safari for medical reasons. Hopefully I will be well enough to go on a safari next year (before my visa expires).
Andrew, I'm sorry to hear that you have had to cancel your trip. I know how much I was anticipating our trip to Africa this time last year. I can just imagine what you are feeling on top of medical issues.
Please get well soon and the best of luck on getting a reimbursement from your travel insurance.
I'm pleased to hear that Thomson Safaris is a responsible employer for their Tanzania staff.
Robert, how did your donation to the children's center in Moshi work out? Did it seem like a good organization?
Our family lived and worked in Moshi for two years at the medical centre and Intl school. It was a very special experience for us and our two adolescent kids.
Tanzanians are wonderful people and the country deserves a lot of credit for not degenerating into clan wars, big man/dictatorship, and corruption, as so many other African countries have done. Their first president, Nyrere, set the tone of cooperation.
HIV/AIDs is a big problem, though, as it is in many African countries. There are so many orphans.
Charity
Posts: 1490 | Location: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: 11 May 2003
I just drove the taxi into the Orphanage and handed a large duffel bag(60 lbs?) of shoes and clothes,pens,pencils etc. to the person that was in charge.I think it was appreciated.I would not go to Africa without bring a similar package,its the least I can do.RR
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