Kilimanjaro Expedition Dispatch
February 5, 2010 – Celebration at Treetops Lodge
This is Dave and Darcy with the dispatch from Treetops Lodge. Wow, the Treetops Lodge is over the top! Our spacious lodge is deep in the forest at the end of a long winding pathway. Standing about 15 feet above the ground, the lodge is only accessible by spiral steps leading up to the entrance, complete with a trap door to keep predators (I mean lions!) out.
Our place at Tarangire Treetops looks surreal at night.
Inside, there’s a cozy sitting area, king size bed, a writing desk, and a bathroom with two sinks and two showers, all furnished with very beautiful heavy rustic furniture. The entire west wall is heavy screen, so while the view is never restricted, monkeys, bats and insects cannot get in. A large sundeck spanned the entire front of the lodge, overlooking the savannah and sunset. It is very secluded and romantic. There was even a bottle of chilled champagne, chocolates and a hand-written note congratulating us on our recent marriage [laughs]. Tracy, did you have something to do with that? We finally had to confess that we weren’t exactly newly-weds, but were in fact celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary!!!
The unbelievable morning view from inside our room.
Dinner was a romantic four-course meal under the stars, the table lit by candles and the pool surrounded by flickering antique lanterns. The service was polished and the wine abundant. I really don’t think it could get any better! After we finished our meal, the entire kitchen staff paraded around with a big cake in the shape of Kilimanjaro with white icing on the top representing glaciers. They circled around our table, singing and dancing, and then congratulated me on my Kilimanjaro summit and both of us on our 35th anniversary!
Early today we went on a walking safari, the only time that we were allowed out of the Toyota Landrover. Our guide loaded an elephant gun with the largest bullets that I’ve ever seen, told us to stay directly behind him in single file and a Maasai warrior with his spear brought up the tail end. The purpose of the rifle and spear was obvious but it took a while to understand that the ‘single file procession’ was to protect us from poisonous snakes! In fact, as we drove to the start of our safari, our guide pointed out some very large lion tracks in the sandy road! Did I mention we weren’t allowed to walk at night without a Maasai warrior!
Early today we went on a walking safari, the only time that we were allowed out of the Toyota Landrover. Our guide loaded an elephant gun with the largest bullets that I’ve ever seen, told us to stay directly behind him in single file and a Maasai warrior with his spear brought up the tail end. The purpose of the rifle and spear was obvious but it took a while to understand that the ‘single file procession’ was to protect us from poisonous snakes! In fact, as we drove to the start of our safari, our guide pointed out some very large lion tracks in the sandy road! Did I mention we weren’t allowed to walk at night without a Maasai warrior!
On our safari with Jacob today, we got a close-up look at some elephants, giraffes, impalas, warthogs and even a large ostrich family with many chicks, and leopard turtles. Tarangire National Park is beautiful, rich with wild life and very photogenic! Jacob has worked in Tarangire National Park for four years, knows it inside and out and all the best places for wildlife viewing. He also demonstrated his superb driving skills following a late afternoon tropical downpour!
Dave and Darcy
Our Berg Adventures safari vehicle.
Impalas, always alert in the long grass.
An ostrich struts toward us.