Since Bill was 12 years old, he has wanted to take a real safari in Africa. His parents, though, were more interested in vacationing where there was ice and beds, so he had to wait until he was in his 60s and married to an indulgent lady who also likes to travel. In February of 2004, Bill and Adele set forth on the long-awaited safari. Dave and Gretchen L’Hommedieu had been to Africa many times and organized the trip for us and six other people.
We arrived in Arusha, the capital of Tanzania late one evening, severely jet-lagged and somewhat culture-shocked at the bedlam in the dimly-lit airport. We were a bit nervous when a smiling black man accompanied by a couple of kids grabbed our bags and headed for the door. Happily, it was our guide and a couple of his little friends who took care of everything and put us in vans and drove us to our lodge in Arusha.
After two days in Arusha to decompress from our flight, we set forth in modified 4WD safari cars to see the sights and wildlife of Tanzania.
During the next ten days, we drove through the Manyara Preserve, the Serengeti Plain, and the NgoroNgoro Crater. Our accommodations ranged from very luxurious lodges to camping out on the Serengeti. The number and variety of animals we saw surpassed anything we could have imagined. We saw millions (truly) of zebras and wildebeest as they migrated around the Serengeti. Following them were lion and hyena predators dining on weak ones. We were able to drive within a few feet of the lions. The zebras, giraffes, elephants, and wildebeest pretty much ignored us as we drove among them.
During the whole trip, the weather was very pleasant. It was cool and there had been enough rain to keep the dust down and promote lush grass. The immensity of the grass-covered Serengeti cannot be described, or even seen on TV or in photographs. It must be experienced first-hand.
Possibly the best part of the trip was our guides, Allen Mnyenye and his trusty assistant, Gabriel. They were as enthusiastic as we were about finding and seeing animals. Allen had obtained an off-road permit for the Serengeti which allowed us to go anywhere across the country. We took full advantage of it and headed out for the horizon on many occasions. We saw all the area without seeing another car. Allen and Gabriel also displayed other talents on the two occasions when the cars had major breakdowns. Either problem would have probably meant a week in the shop here in the USA, but that managed to do field repairs overnight so we missed very little time out of our trips.
Bill felt that this was the best trip he has ever taken. The memories will always remain of lions’ coughing roars in the night, the wonderful condition and health of the animals, cheerful conversations with Masai, the amount of walking (miles & miles) both humans and animals do on daily basis, and last but not least the luxurious accommodations that would have pleased even Bill’s parents.