East Africa Honeymoon - Tanzania Serengeti Safari - Zanzibar Island Beach Vacation
DH and I decided to do a Safari / Beach honeymoon last January. DH majored in Anthropology in college and this area of the world is so rich in archeology history. In addition, we both not beach bums, we like to explore when we travel, so going to the carribean was really out of the question. DH would have never sat still for that long. We did tons of research on the area and found an incredible travel agent in Chicago to help us plan this trip of a lifetime. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to FM me.
Day 1 Sunday ,January 9 - Left from JFK at 6:55 p.m. on a KLM flight to Amsterdam.
Photos of the Swiss Alps & African Desert Circles
Day 2 Monday, January 10 - Arrived in Amsterdam around 9 a.m. local time. Had breakfast and walked around the airport. We took a KLM flight to Arusha, Tanzania. We were delayed taking off by two hours. We arrived in Arusha at 10:45 p.m. local time. We were picked up by our Tour Guide Driver from Hoopoe Safari Tours and brought to the Arusha Coffee Lodge. It is a working coffee plantation and each room was its own bungalow. We had a queen sized bed, a sitting area, a huge bathroom with fluffy slippers and bathrobes. It was absolutely stunning - it was endlessly romantic and very Hemingway. There were red colobus monkeys right outside of our bungalow to serenade us all night.
Day 3 Tuesday, January 11 – We were able to really see the grounds of the Arusha Coffee Lodge when we woke up. They were beautiful – I didn’t know the coffee plant were really tiny trees! After a buffet breakfast, we met with the owner of Hoopoe Safari’s, Peter. He’s British and started this company many years ago. He explained to us what we would see, what we would do and some pointers on how to make the most of our trip. He was a great comfort to me, as I was nervous being so far away from home but he reassured me that Tanzania is safe and touristy.
Freddie, our driver arrived and took us into town to exchange money and then took us to a shop called Cultural Heritage. They had tons of African artifacts and gifts. DH bought me an expensive piece of Tanzanite (blue/purplish stone) and then we were on our way to the first national park – Lake Manyara.
On the way, we drove through tiny towns and passed many Massai tribes as they tended to their cattle. Many of the children ran up to the car wanting pens and baseball caps. The landscape leaving Arusha was beautiful. Mount Kilimanjaro was in the background and the green grassy hills were amazing.
We arrived in Lake Manyara and we were like little kids in awe. There was so much to see and so many different animals all living among each other. We saw baboon, dik dik, impala. Giraffe, wildebeest, elephant, zebra, warthog, hippo, storks and tons of other exotic birds. We had lunch near the hippo pool and were able to get out of the car and stretch our legs a bit.
After a few hours we left the park and headed to the Ngorongoru Crater. We stayed at the Sopa Lodge on the rim overlooking the crater. Our room had an amazing view of the entire caldera and wonderful sunsets. It is situated 7,000 feet above sea-level and the dining room faces the caldera also. We had a delicious 4-course meal – soup, appetizer, dinner and dessert.
Day 4 We woke up early to get a good start on the day. We headed down into the crater, which took about 25 minutes to descend. We saw so much on day 4 it’s hard to describe it all. In the morning we saw herds of zebra and cape buffalo, we came across jackals and hyena’s, a group of cheetah’s and troups of baboons. We were thisclose to bull elephants and even got to see the coy bustard, which is an ugly bird! We came across a black rhino and her baby mid morning. They are pretty rare and are not that easy to find since there are so few of them. She was pretty far away from us but looked very nervous so we didn’t stay long to watch her.
We went back up to the hotel for lunch and a nap and descended again in the late afternoon. This time, our driver came across a pride of lions right away. We watched the lions for over an hour. There were tons of adolescents and cubs running around and playing. One adolescent male actually jumped up onto the truck in front of us and scared the @#$ out of the occupants. Supposedly the animals only see trucks they don’t see people inside the truck. This lion was tapping on the windshield with his very big paw, I have a feeling he saw people and not just truck! We stayed overnight at the Sopa Lodge again.
Day 5 After breakfast we headed once more through the crater on our way to Olduvai Gorge. Right away we came across a humongous male lion with a female and her baby cub. The female and cub were trying to get to their pride and the male was making sure she got securely where she needed to go. It was amazing to watch the zebra and wildebeest just stop and stare at the male lion, not moving until he was passed. We then came across a different huge pride of lions eating a 2 ton cape buffalo! It was right on the side of the road and they were intensely eating while trying to keep the hyena’s away. While it was pretty revolting to watch at 9 a.m., it was interesting to see the pecking order of who eats when and who gets the choice spots for feeding.
We headed to Olduvai Gorge, which is where the Leaky’s discovered evidence of early man (if you believe in evolution). There was a small museum and a lecture we attended. We discovered our driver Freddie was on the exhibition when they discovered the oldest footprints at Laetoli. My DH is an archeology buff so this was like the biggest thing in the world to see. I know most people skip this part when in Africa, but it’s so seeped in history that we were glad to have been where someone 2 million years ago might have stood. It was pretty cool.
We stopped for lunch under an acadia tree then headed to Shifting Sands. It’s this pretty weird phenomenon where this volcanic sand mountain moves 5 meters every 5 years through the flat plains, never mixing with the dirt or sand from the plains.
We headed into Serengeti National Park mid-afternoon and into our camp for the next three nights. We stayed in a “luxury tent”, which consisted of a bedroom with a queen-sized bed, end tables and a dresser, a vanity room with a sink and mirror, a bathroom (chemical toilet only) and a shower. The shower was somewhat primitive. When you wanted to take one, they would bring water heated over a fire to your tent. They would fill a 5-gallon bucket with the water and hoist it up into the trees. The bucket was connected to a hose that lead into the top of your tent. The shower head had a switch on it so that you would turn it on to get wet, turn it off to soap up and then turn it on to rinse off. It took some getting used to and I couldn’t wash my hair in it. The nice thing was that DH washed my hair for me in the basin each nice, it was very cute of him - Hee heee
Day 6 & Day 7 We spent the next few days in the Serengeti. The big pull to the Serengeti is the Wildebeest Migration. 1.5 million wildebeest, 250,000 zebra, 100,000+gazelles migrate around Kenya & Tanzania following the rains throughout the great plains. We came across huge herds of them - thousands at a time were surrounding us, all bleating and feeding on the grass. We saw cheetah hunting, lions lounging, giraffe eating and running, tons of gazelles and other “deer” looking animals. We even were able to see a leopard one afternoon. I have to say the tent ended up being one of the most memorable and fun parts of the trip. It was amazing to sleep in the middle of the Serengeti and to hear a lion outside your tent in the middle of the night and a hyena in the bushes while you’re eating dinner. We were safe but the idea of the wild animals being that close made the trip all that memorable. It was very Teddy Roosevelt / Ernest Hemminway like.
Day 8 Sunday, January 18 We took off after breakfast and headed to the “Serengeti airport”. When I say airport, I mean little grass landing strip in the middle of nowhere. We flew back into Arusha and had lunch at the New Arusha Hotel visited Cultural Heritage again and bought a mask and tons of goodies for our home. We then boarded another plane to Zanzibar. We stayed overnight at the Serena Inn in Stowntown. They upgraded us to this magnificent suite, complete with living room, king sized bedroom, two bathrooms and a bathtub for two.
Zanzibar is an island right off the east coast of Tanzania. It is still part of Tanzania but it is a completely different culture (Muslim/Arab) than Tanzania (Massai and Christian). Stowntown is the main city and is a quaint little town with tiny alley streets and many street vendors to tempt you. We actually found stuff half price in Zanzibar after we bought things on the mainland.
Day 9 We started the morning on a tour of Stowntown. It is rich in Muslim/Arab history and we learned a lot about Zanzibar’s culture. It is also known for it’s International Slave Market, which was at it’s height in the 1800’s/ We toured slave quarters and the market itself. It was enlightening and very sad to see in person. In the afternoon we headed across to the east side of the island to Breezes Beach Club where we were for the remainder of the trip.
Day 10, Day 11, Day 12 We relaxed by the pool, we snorkeled in the Indian Ocean and we napped – a lot. We made friends with a couple from Rhode Island and a couple from London. The hotel provided “sundowners” on our private balcony, complete with wine, appetizers and a beautiful bed under mosquito netting, ultra romance. The resort was wonderful and relaxing and everything we wanted after a Safari.
Day 13 & Day 14 We made our way back to New York starting mid-afternoon on Friday, January 21st . It took a long time to get home because NY had the Blizzard. Lots of delays, a rerouting to Newark, a shuttlebus going 5 miles an hour back into NY and finally home at 11:30 p.m. Saturday night.![]()
Day 1 Sunday ,January 9 - Left from JFK at 6:55 p.m. on a KLM flight to Amsterdam.
Photos of the Swiss Alps & African Desert Circles
Day 2 Monday, January 10 - Arrived in Amsterdam around 9 a.m. local time. Had breakfast and walked around the airport. We took a KLM flight to Arusha, Tanzania. We were delayed taking off by two hours. We arrived in Arusha at 10:45 p.m. local time. We were picked up by our Tour Guide Driver from Hoopoe Safari Tours and brought to the Arusha Coffee Lodge. It is a working coffee plantation and each room was its own bungalow. We had a queen sized bed, a sitting area, a huge bathroom with fluffy slippers and bathrobes. It was absolutely stunning - it was endlessly romantic and very Hemingway. There were red colobus monkeys right outside of our bungalow to serenade us all night.
Day 3 Tuesday, January 11 – We were able to really see the grounds of the Arusha Coffee Lodge when we woke up. They were beautiful – I didn’t know the coffee plant were really tiny trees! After a buffet breakfast, we met with the owner of Hoopoe Safari’s, Peter. He’s British and started this company many years ago. He explained to us what we would see, what we would do and some pointers on how to make the most of our trip. He was a great comfort to me, as I was nervous being so far away from home but he reassured me that Tanzania is safe and touristy.
Freddie, our driver arrived and took us into town to exchange money and then took us to a shop called Cultural Heritage. They had tons of African artifacts and gifts. DH bought me an expensive piece of Tanzanite (blue/purplish stone) and then we were on our way to the first national park – Lake Manyara.
On the way, we drove through tiny towns and passed many Massai tribes as they tended to their cattle. Many of the children ran up to the car wanting pens and baseball caps. The landscape leaving Arusha was beautiful. Mount Kilimanjaro was in the background and the green grassy hills were amazing.
We arrived in Lake Manyara and we were like little kids in awe. There was so much to see and so many different animals all living among each other. We saw baboon, dik dik, impala. Giraffe, wildebeest, elephant, zebra, warthog, hippo, storks and tons of other exotic birds. We had lunch near the hippo pool and were able to get out of the car and stretch our legs a bit.
After a few hours we left the park and headed to the Ngorongoru Crater. We stayed at the Sopa Lodge on the rim overlooking the crater. Our room had an amazing view of the entire caldera and wonderful sunsets. It is situated 7,000 feet above sea-level and the dining room faces the caldera also. We had a delicious 4-course meal – soup, appetizer, dinner and dessert.
Day 4 We woke up early to get a good start on the day. We headed down into the crater, which took about 25 minutes to descend. We saw so much on day 4 it’s hard to describe it all. In the morning we saw herds of zebra and cape buffalo, we came across jackals and hyena’s, a group of cheetah’s and troups of baboons. We were thisclose to bull elephants and even got to see the coy bustard, which is an ugly bird! We came across a black rhino and her baby mid morning. They are pretty rare and are not that easy to find since there are so few of them. She was pretty far away from us but looked very nervous so we didn’t stay long to watch her.
We went back up to the hotel for lunch and a nap and descended again in the late afternoon. This time, our driver came across a pride of lions right away. We watched the lions for over an hour. There were tons of adolescents and cubs running around and playing. One adolescent male actually jumped up onto the truck in front of us and scared the @#$ out of the occupants. Supposedly the animals only see trucks they don’t see people inside the truck. This lion was tapping on the windshield with his very big paw, I have a feeling he saw people and not just truck! We stayed overnight at the Sopa Lodge again.
Day 5 After breakfast we headed once more through the crater on our way to Olduvai Gorge. Right away we came across a humongous male lion with a female and her baby cub. The female and cub were trying to get to their pride and the male was making sure she got securely where she needed to go. It was amazing to watch the zebra and wildebeest just stop and stare at the male lion, not moving until he was passed. We then came across a different huge pride of lions eating a 2 ton cape buffalo! It was right on the side of the road and they were intensely eating while trying to keep the hyena’s away. While it was pretty revolting to watch at 9 a.m., it was interesting to see the pecking order of who eats when and who gets the choice spots for feeding.
We headed to Olduvai Gorge, which is where the Leaky’s discovered evidence of early man (if you believe in evolution). There was a small museum and a lecture we attended. We discovered our driver Freddie was on the exhibition when they discovered the oldest footprints at Laetoli. My DH is an archeology buff so this was like the biggest thing in the world to see. I know most people skip this part when in Africa, but it’s so seeped in history that we were glad to have been where someone 2 million years ago might have stood. It was pretty cool.
We stopped for lunch under an acadia tree then headed to Shifting Sands. It’s this pretty weird phenomenon where this volcanic sand mountain moves 5 meters every 5 years through the flat plains, never mixing with the dirt or sand from the plains.
We headed into Serengeti National Park mid-afternoon and into our camp for the next three nights. We stayed in a “luxury tent”, which consisted of a bedroom with a queen-sized bed, end tables and a dresser, a vanity room with a sink and mirror, a bathroom (chemical toilet only) and a shower. The shower was somewhat primitive. When you wanted to take one, they would bring water heated over a fire to your tent. They would fill a 5-gallon bucket with the water and hoist it up into the trees. The bucket was connected to a hose that lead into the top of your tent. The shower head had a switch on it so that you would turn it on to get wet, turn it off to soap up and then turn it on to rinse off. It took some getting used to and I couldn’t wash my hair in it. The nice thing was that DH washed my hair for me in the basin each nice, it was very cute of him - Hee heee
Day 6 & Day 7 We spent the next few days in the Serengeti. The big pull to the Serengeti is the Wildebeest Migration. 1.5 million wildebeest, 250,000 zebra, 100,000+gazelles migrate around Kenya & Tanzania following the rains throughout the great plains. We came across huge herds of them - thousands at a time were surrounding us, all bleating and feeding on the grass. We saw cheetah hunting, lions lounging, giraffe eating and running, tons of gazelles and other “deer” looking animals. We even were able to see a leopard one afternoon. I have to say the tent ended up being one of the most memorable and fun parts of the trip. It was amazing to sleep in the middle of the Serengeti and to hear a lion outside your tent in the middle of the night and a hyena in the bushes while you’re eating dinner. We were safe but the idea of the wild animals being that close made the trip all that memorable. It was very Teddy Roosevelt / Ernest Hemminway like.
Day 8 Sunday, January 18 We took off after breakfast and headed to the “Serengeti airport”. When I say airport, I mean little grass landing strip in the middle of nowhere. We flew back into Arusha and had lunch at the New Arusha Hotel visited Cultural Heritage again and bought a mask and tons of goodies for our home. We then boarded another plane to Zanzibar. We stayed overnight at the Serena Inn in Stowntown. They upgraded us to this magnificent suite, complete with living room, king sized bedroom, two bathrooms and a bathtub for two.
Zanzibar is an island right off the east coast of Tanzania. It is still part of Tanzania but it is a completely different culture (Muslim/Arab) than Tanzania (Massai and Christian). Stowntown is the main city and is a quaint little town with tiny alley streets and many street vendors to tempt you. We actually found stuff half price in Zanzibar after we bought things on the mainland.
Day 9 We started the morning on a tour of Stowntown. It is rich in Muslim/Arab history and we learned a lot about Zanzibar’s culture. It is also known for it’s International Slave Market, which was at it’s height in the 1800’s/ We toured slave quarters and the market itself. It was enlightening and very sad to see in person. In the afternoon we headed across to the east side of the island to Breezes Beach Club where we were for the remainder of the trip.
Day 10, Day 11, Day 12 We relaxed by the pool, we snorkeled in the Indian Ocean and we napped – a lot. We made friends with a couple from Rhode Island and a couple from London. The hotel provided “sundowners” on our private balcony, complete with wine, appetizers and a beautiful bed under mosquito netting, ultra romance. The resort was wonderful and relaxing and everything we wanted after a Safari.
Day 13 & Day 14 We made our way back to New York starting mid-afternoon on Friday, January 21st . It took a long time to get home because NY had the Blizzard. Lots of delays, a rerouting to Newark, a shuttlebus going 5 miles an hour back into NY and finally home at 11:30 p.m. Saturday night.
