We left Stone Town on Saturday afternoon and transferred via air to Arusha – the ‘safari capital’ of Tanzania. Fun fact, apparently tourism accounts for around 27% of Tanzania’s GDP, so it’s kinda a big deal for the locals and the tourists. Saturday night we stayed at ‘Arusha Villa’ – a very nice place built on a former Coffee Plantation.
We were met on Sunday Morning by our guide for the next week or so, Wilson. We were also introduced to our safari vehicle, a modified 80 series Toyota Landcruiser. A good vehicle for the role and seemingly endemic in Tanzania ( see previous point about tourism…). After a drive through Arusha is was off to Lake Manyara National Park in the Rift Valley. It was around a 3 hour drive, saw many, many folks herding their goats and cattle. Then it was into the park and our first game drive.
Evening was spent on top of the Rift Valley escarpment. Monday morning and we are off to the Ngorongoro Crater .
Next post / update – some of the birds of Lake Manyara. For now we’ve got to dash.
Ness’ and Mark’s Wandering 