Tanzania Wildlife Safari and Chimpanzee Trekking Dispatch

December 31, 2016 – Living High at Treetops

Dispatch by Allie Souza

We woke up excited and ready for our day despite only a few hours’ sleep at the Arusha Coffee Lodge!! We packed up and enjoyed a wonderful buffet breakfast highlighted by fresh omelettes and French press coffee.

We met with our guide, Simon, who greeted us with a huge smile and got us acquainted with our Land Cruiser and the details of the 7-day Safari expedition.

We packed in our luggage and headed off on a two-hour route from Arusha to the Tarangire National Park that was filled with the most remarkable, vast scenery of arid land framed by mountains and covered with livestock and the colorful Maasai tribes people who were shepherding goats cows, camels and donkeys to and from fields for their livestock to feed.

Of particular beauty were the Acacia and Seisel trees that dotted the landscape. We made several stops where we were instantly greeted by locals selling their wears and Donna and Jessie bargained for new t-shirts carrying a very important message "only elephants should wear ivory!"

Attracting our attention were the Maasai bomas (small neighborhoods) with houses made up of straw, soil, cow urine and dung. Bee hives were strategically placed on ropes from trees and massive termite hills presented an ominous sight as we learned that fried termites during the wet season are a sustainable food source. Mmmmmm...

We arrived at the entrance to Tarangire National Park and spent some time taking in the surrounding sites while meeting several Maasai boys who got a kick out of us climbing the massive Baobab tree and being silly!!

We entered the park after receiving appropriate permits and stopped for lunch just inside the park before embarking on the most magnificent drive that gave us the opportunity to meet so many incredible creatures of this beautiful county....including:

• Savanna buffalo
• Cape buffalo
• Water buck
• Giraffe
• Elephant
• Lion
• Wildebeest
• Impala
• Zebra
• Wart Hog and Ostrich!!!

Looking back, we couldn't believe how many animals we saw in such a short period of time. We had to fight the urge to keep stopping along the way, but Simon made sure that we got to our lodge before the rains hit.

The Tarangeri Treetops Lodge is one of the most beautiful and unique places we've ever been, and we couldn't be more excited to ring in the New Year with our Maasai hosts. Tune in tomorrow for an update on our celebration!