Kenya & Tanzania’s Great Migration
Rwanda Gorilla Trek Aug 2023
Nairobi, Kenya
Most of the group arrived in time to tour the Fairview Coffee Estate. What a wonderful job our guide did explaining the process of growing, harvesting and marketing their coffees. Following the tour, we sampled a few, then enjoyed a little R&R in the lovely garden where they served coffee and cookies.
Those of us who came in two days early visited the Nairobi National Museum. Despite the dozens of school groups, it was interesting to see the displays that chronicle the history of Kenya, mammals and humankind.
On the third day, we visited the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage where the trainers amazed us by telling us the names, ages and rescue details of all the little elephants. This was followed by a visit to the Sheldrick Giraffe Center where we had the opportunity to feed these tall animals. After a tasty buffet lunch, we toured Karen Blixen's house. We all resolved to go home and watch Out of Africa again! On the way back to our camp, we visited a bead center run by formerly abused women. That night, most of the group enjoyed a seafood meal at the nearby Mawimbi restaurant. What a show of singing and dancing they put on for a birthday celebration of one of our travelers.
The Masai Mara, Kenya
The following morning we flew in bush planes from Nairobi to the Masai Mara. Our hosts at our tent camp were very welcoming, as we filled 13 of their 17 lodgings for four days. It was quite an experience hearing the hippos roar at night. We had to be escorted to and from our tents when it was dark, as elephants and other animals sometimes walk through the camp. The camp generously arranged three drives a day, at 630a, 1030a and 330p! Most of us wound up staying out all day on two occasions. There's such a wealth of animal life! Some of us got to see the "Nat Geo" version of the Great Migration with the thundering herd crossing the Mara river. Earlier, we saw a couple of dozen zebras crossing, one of which fell prey to a croc.
The second morning, we took a pre-dawn balloon ride. We spotted a pair of lions and some other wildlife, and we all survived a bit of a rough landing in the wind.
It's not possible to list all the animals we saw on our various safaris, but among them were giraffes, zebras, elephants, warthogs (we argued whether they were ugly or cute), lions, wildebeest by the tens of thousands, leopards, Cape buffalo, baboons, hyenas, hippos, and various gazelles. In terms of birds, there were ostriches, pelicans, herons, ibises, spoonbills, storks, secretary birds, vultures, and bee-eaters, to name a few. In all we saw the Big 5 ☺ and had fabulous guides.
Amboseli NP, Kenya
We took a second bush flight, this time to Amboseli. Though known for its elephants, the park contains other large animals and birdlife. There are five swamps, but it was sad to see what the higher saline count in the water is doing to the land near our lodge. Trees are dead and one former lodge sits abandoned and rotting. They blame climate change.
Mt Kilimanjaro's presence is felt here. In fact, the view is better here than in Tanzania. Its peak was still slightly snowcapped in mid-August, and the sunsets were iconic.
After the lushness of the animals at the Mara, Amboseli's seemed sparser. And being smaller, the park can sometimes have quite a few vehicles at one viewing spot. But we loved the baboons, elephants, zebras, and all the birdlife.
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
After more than a week in Kenya, we took an overland journey into Tanzania. After border control, we made our way to the lovely Arusha Coffee Lodge for a delightful buffet lunch. We continued to our lodge for the next two nights with its very spacious suites. Here we celebrated another birthday. Did you ever see someone lead a dance parade for 5+ min while carrying a cake?
We experienced a multi-hour safari with picnic lunch in the Crater. What a process it is to be admitted to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Here we saw lots of hippos in the marshes as well as gazelles, zebras, and elephants. We saw several lions; the highlight was the old male that decided to sit in the middle of the road, right next to our vehicle!
We also visited a Masai village and a local, rural school. The villagers danced for us, took us into their tiny homes, demonstrated how they make fire, and showcased their wares.
We very much appreciated the visit to the school. How heartbreaking it was to see these little kids walking a couple of miles each way to school. Their main threat is wild animals along the way. Many come mainly for the midday meal which consists of porridge for the youngest and beans and rice for the older ones. We brought school supplies, soccer balls, and $ donations, but they seemed like a drop in the bucket for these hundreds of students with just 4 teachers. They have double sessions to limit class size to just over 30 students. To boot, an elephant had recently destroyed the brick(!) restroom of the teachers.
We also made a stop at a large shopping center that featured tanzanite. And one of our wonderful guides was willing to take one jeepload to high-end shops on route to the Arusha hotel.
Arusha
We again traveled on land, this time to Arusha. We had to say goodbye that afternoon to half our group members, who were heading home. The rest of us went to our Arusha hotel with its delightful rooftop restaurant. The next morning, some of us explored a local market, with 210 stalls of locally made items. Others relaxed and/ or had massages (not the first of the trip!). The hotel was wonderful about letting us all have late checkout at 2p.
Late that afternoon we headed to the Arusha airport for our (real airplane) flight to Kigali.
Rwanda
It was so nice, on arrival at Kigali, to have our airport assistant escort us to the lounge--where drinks were included--while he obtained our visas.
What a startling difference between Rwanda and the other two countries! Real roads in the city center! And clean, clean, clean. The last Saturday morning of the month is designated cleaning day and everyone turns out to do their part, while public transportation is suspended. We were so impressed by how much better they manage their finances, while not really being any wealthier.
The following morning, we took a city tour and visited the Genocide museum. In 1994, about a million Tutsis were murdered by Hutus. Amazingly, the country came together in the aftermath, and rebuilt both relationships and parts of the country.
That afternoon we lunched at the beautiful "Hotel Rwanda", Hotel des Mille Collines. After lunch, we transferred to the gorilla lodge at Volcanoes NP. The landscape changed markedly as we ascended past 8000'. The staff there, too, was most accommodating, offering foot massages and even cleaning our dusty shoes and gaiters following both treks. At 5p each day a troupe of singers and dancers performed for guests.
We were very fortunate with our gorilla trek. We had no uphill climbing to speak of, and just a couple of hours of trekking each way to reach our families. We did get our feet tangled in vines sometimes, and we got a couple of nettle stings despite wearing gaiters and gardening gloves. When we arrived, the family members were on display and we spent the better part of an hour watching, photographing and videoing them. We were within feet of them, and some of them brushed against us as they moved around. We did wear masks to protect them from any airborne illnesses. They weigh hundreds of pounds, but they're gentle creatures, unless provoked. What an experience!
The golden monkeys the next day were slightly easier to reach. We wound up not entering the forest, but rather watching the antics of a couple of dozen of them as they tore up and ate the potato plants of the farms just outside the forest. Containing the monkeys to the park is a problem.
That afternoon, we headed back to Kigali airport to begin the long journey home. We were so thankful to have had such amazing guides, wonderful employees at our lodgings, great support staff behind the scenes, and such a wealth of animals!
Most of the group arrived in time to tour the Fairview Coffee Estate. What a wonderful job our guide did explaining the process of growing, harvesting and marketing their coffees. Following the tour, we sampled a few, then enjoyed a little R&R in the lovely garden where they served coffee and cookies.
Those of us who came in two days early visited the Nairobi National Museum. Despite the dozens of school groups, it was interesting to see the displays that chronicle the history of Kenya, mammals and humankind.
On the third day, we visited the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage where the trainers amazed us by telling us the names, ages and rescue details of all the little elephants. This was followed by a visit to the Sheldrick Giraffe Center where we had the opportunity to feed these tall animals. After a tasty buffet lunch, we toured Karen Blixen's house. We all resolved to go home and watch Out of Africa again! On the way back to our camp, we visited a bead center run by formerly abused women. That night, most of the group enjoyed a seafood meal at the nearby Mawimbi restaurant. What a show of singing and dancing they put on for a birthday celebration of one of our travelers.
The Masai Mara, Kenya
The following morning we flew in bush planes from Nairobi to the Masai Mara. Our hosts at our tent camp were very welcoming, as we filled 13 of their 17 lodgings for four days. It was quite an experience hearing the hippos roar at night. We had to be escorted to and from our tents when it was dark, as elephants and other animals sometimes walk through the camp. The camp generously arranged three drives a day, at 630a, 1030a and 330p! Most of us wound up staying out all day on two occasions. There's such a wealth of animal life! Some of us got to see the "Nat Geo" version of the Great Migration with the thundering herd crossing the Mara river. Earlier, we saw a couple of dozen zebras crossing, one of which fell prey to a croc.
The second morning, we took a pre-dawn balloon ride. We spotted a pair of lions and some other wildlife, and we all survived a bit of a rough landing in the wind.
It's not possible to list all the animals we saw on our various safaris, but among them were giraffes, zebras, elephants, warthogs (we argued whether they were ugly or cute), lions, wildebeest by the tens of thousands, leopards, Cape buffalo, baboons, hyenas, hippos, and various gazelles. In terms of birds, there were ostriches, pelicans, herons, ibises, spoonbills, storks, secretary birds, vultures, and bee-eaters, to name a few. In all we saw the Big 5 ☺ and had fabulous guides.
Amboseli NP, Kenya
We took a second bush flight, this time to Amboseli. Though known for its elephants, the park contains other large animals and birdlife. There are five swamps, but it was sad to see what the higher saline count in the water is doing to the land near our lodge. Trees are dead and one former lodge sits abandoned and rotting. They blame climate change.
Mt Kilimanjaro's presence is felt here. In fact, the view is better here than in Tanzania. Its peak was still slightly snowcapped in mid-August, and the sunsets were iconic.
After the lushness of the animals at the Mara, Amboseli's seemed sparser. And being smaller, the park can sometimes have quite a few vehicles at one viewing spot. But we loved the baboons, elephants, zebras, and all the birdlife.
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
After more than a week in Kenya, we took an overland journey into Tanzania. After border control, we made our way to the lovely Arusha Coffee Lodge for a delightful buffet lunch. We continued to our lodge for the next two nights with its very spacious suites. Here we celebrated another birthday. Did you ever see someone lead a dance parade for 5+ min while carrying a cake?
We experienced a multi-hour safari with picnic lunch in the Crater. What a process it is to be admitted to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Here we saw lots of hippos in the marshes as well as gazelles, zebras, and elephants. We saw several lions; the highlight was the old male that decided to sit in the middle of the road, right next to our vehicle!
We also visited a Masai village and a local, rural school. The villagers danced for us, took us into their tiny homes, demonstrated how they make fire, and showcased their wares.
We very much appreciated the visit to the school. How heartbreaking it was to see these little kids walking a couple of miles each way to school. Their main threat is wild animals along the way. Many come mainly for the midday meal which consists of porridge for the youngest and beans and rice for the older ones. We brought school supplies, soccer balls, and $ donations, but they seemed like a drop in the bucket for these hundreds of students with just 4 teachers. They have double sessions to limit class size to just over 30 students. To boot, an elephant had recently destroyed the brick(!) restroom of the teachers.
We also made a stop at a large shopping center that featured tanzanite. And one of our wonderful guides was willing to take one jeepload to high-end shops on route to the Arusha hotel.
Arusha
We again traveled on land, this time to Arusha. We had to say goodbye that afternoon to half our group members, who were heading home. The rest of us went to our Arusha hotel with its delightful rooftop restaurant. The next morning, some of us explored a local market, with 210 stalls of locally made items. Others relaxed and/ or had massages (not the first of the trip!). The hotel was wonderful about letting us all have late checkout at 2p.
Late that afternoon we headed to the Arusha airport for our (real airplane) flight to Kigali.
Rwanda
It was so nice, on arrival at Kigali, to have our airport assistant escort us to the lounge--where drinks were included--while he obtained our visas.
What a startling difference between Rwanda and the other two countries! Real roads in the city center! And clean, clean, clean. The last Saturday morning of the month is designated cleaning day and everyone turns out to do their part, while public transportation is suspended. We were so impressed by how much better they manage their finances, while not really being any wealthier.
The following morning, we took a city tour and visited the Genocide museum. In 1994, about a million Tutsis were murdered by Hutus. Amazingly, the country came together in the aftermath, and rebuilt both relationships and parts of the country.
That afternoon we lunched at the beautiful "Hotel Rwanda", Hotel des Mille Collines. After lunch, we transferred to the gorilla lodge at Volcanoes NP. The landscape changed markedly as we ascended past 8000'. The staff there, too, was most accommodating, offering foot massages and even cleaning our dusty shoes and gaiters following both treks. At 5p each day a troupe of singers and dancers performed for guests.
We were very fortunate with our gorilla trek. We had no uphill climbing to speak of, and just a couple of hours of trekking each way to reach our families. We did get our feet tangled in vines sometimes, and we got a couple of nettle stings despite wearing gaiters and gardening gloves. When we arrived, the family members were on display and we spent the better part of an hour watching, photographing and videoing them. We were within feet of them, and some of them brushed against us as they moved around. We did wear masks to protect them from any airborne illnesses. They weigh hundreds of pounds, but they're gentle creatures, unless provoked. What an experience!
The golden monkeys the next day were slightly easier to reach. We wound up not entering the forest, but rather watching the antics of a couple of dozen of them as they tore up and ate the potato plants of the farms just outside the forest. Containing the monkeys to the park is a problem.
That afternoon, we headed back to Kigali airport to begin the long journey home. We were so thankful to have had such amazing guides, wonderful employees at our lodgings, great support staff behind the scenes, and such a wealth of animals!
