Review of Pieter & Sarah
We have made a 19 days journey to Tanzania and Zanzibar with Tanzania Safari Wonders. Before starting this big journey, we had many times email contact with Damian. Each time he modified the program regarding to our requests and our financial possibilities.
We landed on Nairobi and took the shuttle bus from Nairobi to Arusha. This was already an experience; to see the way of transport and the infrastructure in Africa. At our arrival, our guide Mungure was waiting for us and we had a short briefing about our journey from Damian. The first day after we had a resting day and visited the city of Arusha. This visit learned us already the way of living in the city and the kindness of the local people.
Than we started our safari. On a 5-day trip we visited the National Parks Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire. These parks with their animals and landscapes were each on their on way very unique. We have seen many animals: elephants, giraffes, hippo’s, all sorts of monkeys, all sorts of gazelles, lots of zebra’s & wildebeests, a few leopards in trees, hyena’s, jackals and eating/hunting lions. Not to forget all the beautiful birds we have seen… Our guide Mungure was very trained in spotting them and giving us all the information about the animals and the nature. A special experience was also to be in Serengeti before sunset and having breakfast at the hippo-pool. Our lodges / tented camps were all as we expected and conform our financial budget. The charm of these lodges and the kindness of their people made it each time special. Also the food was quite good.
After this safari-trip we had 3 more quiet days in Arusha. On the first day we visited snake park and a Masai museum, which offered our insight in the way of living of this local people. On the second day we rested in our lodge. And on the third day we visited the local village of Ilkiding'a for supporting a school project. We had very close contact with the people and children in this village and had a local lunch there. We will never forget the view of this village with its working people against the background of its beautiful nature. On the last day on Tanzanian mainland we visited Arusha National Park and had a walking safari there.
Than it was time for the second part of our journey. We took the plane from Arusha to Zanzibar. Regretfully our beach hotel booked on Zanzibar was burned down the week before and the only available hotel left in the direct neighborhood did not match our expectations and the amount of money that we had paid. After a telephone with Damian, we were picked up the next morning for transfer to a new hotel. This appeared to be a fantastic beach resort which was not yet opened. We had 3 fantastic days near Zanzibar beach there, with lots of sun, beach, swimming pool and delicious food.
To finish off our journey we did a spice tour on Zanzibar and we had a 2-days visit of Stone town. The small alleys in the town, the fish market in the evening and contact with local people made it an ideal conclusion of our journey. We took the ferry from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam and after a short visit to this big city we flied back home in the early morning.
We had an absolute fantastic time in Tanzania-Zanzibar! We would like to thank Damian (and his crew off course!) for his flexibility and for all his efforts to fulfill our requests. And a special thank to Mungure, who was an excellent guide and who learned us so much about Tanzania and Africa in general.
We hope to see you back at some time!
Pieter & Sarah