Travelogue from Tanzania: My first visit to Africa

Read the travelogue of our colleague Lene, who was on our tour “Safari in Tanzania & Beach Holiday in Zanzibar” in 2015.

Before the tour, I had great expectations and a few ideas of what Africa might be like. However, I ended up getting more out of it than I could have possibly imagined. The culture and the surroundings as well as meeting the very welcoming and pleasant local population made a great impression on me.

Granted, the culture shock was quite significant, however it was exciting to see how they live and how they do their utmost to make us tourists feel welcome.

When I landed at Kilimanjaro airport, my guide was ready and we took the tour to High View Hotel. Despite being tired from the flight, the tour to the hotel and my first meeting with Africa was a tremendous experience. The very beautiful nature, seeing the local villages and the fascination of how many people they can cram into the small minibuses were just the start of my adventure.

My first safari day

Fit for fight, – or at least fit for departure early in the morning – we drove towards Tarangire National Park. I do not know if you could call it “stars truck”, but that is how it felt when I saw a flock of giraffes, which are large and very beautiful animals. Watching them move slowly on their journey, completely oblivious to us strange beings with cameras, binoculars and sunhats, was a fantastic experience.

The fascinating sights would not end: elephants, zebras, monkeys, colourful birds, impalas, gnus and an uncountable amount of termite hills, which I over and over again thought were lions… it is a good thing I am not a guide as I was wrong every time!

However, I was lucky enough and very grateful to finally see lions and the rest of the “The Big Five”.

Just as I thought it could not get more beautiful, more impressive and wilder, the safari the following day took me by storm: lions on the lookout for possible prey in the form of a flock of zebras, two elephants in a power struggle for a flock of females and zebras that were chased away from the watering hole by some annoyed elephants. All of these experiences made me pinch myself in the arm and remind myself that this is not a zoo – it is completely real, wild and authentic.

Zanzibar

After a few pleasant days in Tanzania, I landed in Zanzibar, which is a fantastic place and just what I needed after the many safari experiences the previous days. Relaxation, beautiful nature, fantastic colours of nature and staff really made the stay perfect. The service level was high, the food and entertainment was first class and I managed to rest and recover completely.

See you soon again, Africa!

Lene, TourCompass