Take a ride on the wild side. Our first day of an eight-day safari had us vibrating with anticipation. Or was that the first stop, Lake Manyara National Park, where it seems to house all the ecosystems: lake, marshlands, saline flats, grassy plains, lush forests, rocky escarpments. All brimming with wildlife. Weeeeeee! Let’s do this!
Welcomed like family
We arrived after a 25 minute flight on a 12-seater (eek! 😬) from Arusha to Lake Manyara where we met Steven Mayani from andBeyond Lake Manyara, our ranger for the next two days.
Steven poured us coffees and began asking us what was on our must-see lists. Mine was hippos, elephants and giraffes. Chuck’s was leopards. Chuck gave him a challenge, leopards are super hard to locate. My must-sees were easy, there seemed to be giraffes, elephant and hippos around every bend in the road, which is INSANE.
Let’s get this show on the road
After our meet-and-greet at the airport, we grabbed our new fly-whisks (fly swatters made out of horse-hair) and climbed up into our first open-sided Landcruiser and off we went to the tree lodge, which is the only lodge situated in the park. That’s because there are no fences and all the buildings are built high in the trees. Our neighbours had elephants walk by their high deck one morning pretty much looking at them eye-to-eye.
So we did a six-hour game drive before we even arrived at the lodge. I feel like Steven tried to take us around the entire park trying to knock off our whole ‘must-see’ list in one go. And he almost achieved it! My list was completed in three hours. But that leopard? Impossible! They are very shy and they currently have a turf war going on with the baboons. The crips and bloods of Manyara. Baboons seem to be winning as they are everywhere. And you can smell them a mile away.
In addition to the animals on our list, we saw monkeys, zebras, water buffalo, a python that had just eaten an impala (seriously!), warthogs and hornbill birds. And a baobab tree that is over 12,000 years old! It was insane. This place is insane.
The Tree Lodge
When we finally rolled into the lodge, the entire staff was there to welcome us (karibu) and sing to us in Swahili and of course Chuck got out and sang and danced with everyone. Asante sana!
Once our first day of safari was in the books, we cleaned up and sat on our deck in the trees drinking cold beers and watching blue monkeys sitting in the trees calling to each other. It gave us a few minutes to reflect on the day. We were giddy talking about the breathtaking landscape and all the wildlife within it.
Up at the crack of dawn
Day two on safari saw us going out early to look for leopard. No luck with the cat, but we did see so much goodness. Staring with a glorious sunrise and a herd of cape buffalo crossing our path keeping us from moving for about 15 minutes.
Night Game Drive
The day ended with a night drive for nocturnals like bushbabies, hippos and genet cats. We drove for around three hours in complete and utter darkness except for a couple of car headlights and a ranger sitting in front of the car waving around a flashlight. As soon as we embarked he spotted a tiny chameleon way up in a tree. How????
These rangers are amazing. They know every nook and cranny of their land and are so keen to keep you in utter amazement at all times. We were blown away by their vast knowledge and the love and care they have for their country.
Bebes!
Ummm, seeing wild creatures is cool, but the wee babies are the cutest!
Experience of a lifetime
You know how you build up a thing in your head and then you’re kind of disappointed because it didn’t live up to expectations. Yeah, safari ain’t that. I built this experience up in my head since I was a child and it exceeded in each and every way (pretty much on day one!).
And looking around at other travellers, you can tell they are all in the same boat. It’s a good boat. A most excellent boat. Get on that boat if you ever get a chance. 🐆♥️
