Tanzania Wildlife Safari and Chimpanzee Trekking Dispatch

January 9, 2017 – Habari (‘Hello”) Mahale!!

Dispatch by Nancy Souza

We departed the Arusha Coffee Lodge promptly at 6:30 AM for our scheduled three-and-a-half hour flight to, the very remote, Mahale at 8:00 AM. The 12-seater prop plane would make two scheduled stops - one at Lake Manyara to pick up an additional passenger, and then on to Tabora for a pit stop for both us and the plane!

The flight provided a thrilling opportunity, once again, for a bird's eye view of this magnificent country.

We landed around 12:30 PM local time after a very smooth flight and then were transported to the lake front where we boarded our boat (think "African Queen"), ate a quick lunch, and then pushed off for our 1.5 hour ride fantastic boat ride down Lake Tanganyika, the largest lake in the world (by volume, which also holds 17% of all the fresh water in the world)! The fun-filled boat ride introduced us to some of the most breathtaking scenery we have ever experienced (think Kauai, Hawaii!)

Our arrival at Greystoke was surreal...The staff and manager, Julian (from Brussels), were on the shore clapping and waving to us – and we couldn't believe our eyes… One of the most gorgeous, remote lodges imaginable!! We all thought – how WILL we explain this to our family and friends???!!!

We stepped off the boat ladder and into paradise! The pictures here of the main area and our homes - as well as the sunset - will tell the whole story!

We got settled and while my mom rested we went with our new Australian friend, Phil, back out on the boat for a swim some 200 hundred yards from shore to avoid the crocodiles and hippos that live in the more shallow water!

After swimming we did some fishing and Allie was successful in a catch of a yellow Cichlid that yielded us some delicious sushi at cocktail hour! We returned to shower and enjoy an astounding sunset! Dinner followed and then bed with the sounds of baboons and vervet monkeys playing all around us!

Stay tuned for our first day of chimpanzee trekking....breakfast will be at 8 am and we'll await word from our guides before we head into the bush!!!