Have the Bucket-List Adventure of Your Life in Africa, Featuring Natural Wonder and Cultural Immersion
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Rolling up to the entrance of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Northern Tanzania, Festo, our knowledgeable guide/driver from JorAfrica Extraordinary Safaris, gives us a piece of advice: “Watch out for the baboons, they will jump into the vehicle and steal things!”
And he’s so right, for there are baboons everywhere, perching high above it all on the iconic entrance gate, roaming between the lineup of parked vehicles and clambering on them and trying to jump inside via the viewing roof hatches. Festo is on it, he’s got the hatch closed and we soon roll on into this magical place, leaving those thieving baboons behind.
Then we’re high above the crater, traversing the rim of this famed UNESCO World Heritage Site, seeing red-plaid-clad Masai men tending to their herds of cattle, sheep and goats and getting glimpses down into the crater itself. It’s the largest intact volcanic caldera in the world, descending 2,000 feet down from this rim and measuring 100 square miles on the valley floor, and is breathtakingly beautiful when viewed from above.
With a plan to be down in the crater at the crack of dawn as the animals and birds awaken, Festo drove us to Entamanu Nomad Camp, where luxe cozy cottages, top-notch dining and a dedication to sustainability in the region makes it a perfect home base.
On the ride there, looking to the northwest of the crater we saw the beginning of the Serengeti Plain, as it stretches toward Kenya and the Masai Mara. This is where the Great Migration begins, as dry season descends in May and the wildebeest (along with zebra and gazelles) begin to seek water and grass across the Serengeti. The migration usually begins by early June here and culminates in the famed Mara River crossing in Kenya in July and August.
But during much of the year, many of those animals live down in the crater, alongside hundreds of other species, including Africa’s famed “big five” – lions, rhinoceros, leopards, elephants and water buffalo. Having traveled in November, we arrived alongside numerous other safari trucks at the beginning of Tanzania’s rainy season, which lasts until May. Expect even bigger crowds during the high seasons here, from late December to March and June to October, as the migration is in full swing.
(Photos by Jenny Peters)
Down Into the Ngorongoro Crater
Having done African safaris in Botswana and Kenya, I thought I knew what to expect. But nothing prepared me for the Ngorongoro Crater, beginning with the long, early morning, fog-shrouded descent to the floor. Giraffes peeked out of the acacia trees on the rim as we turned down and elephants lumbered by as we slowly meandered down the one-way road to the bottom.
As the fog burned off, the vast scope of the crater unfolded, revealing the massive Lake Magadi, the Mandusi Swamp and the enormous plains stretching for miles below. And then it began, as first birds swooped past, then a dazzle of zebras appeared, complete with some adorable young foals, soon joined by a herd of kudus. With every turn, more and more animals and birds appeared, seemingly living in harmony. Near the lake we discovered hundreds of pink flamingos and as we rolled further in, Festo’s radio crackled.
“There are lions nearby, let’s go!” he cried, and gunned the engine. But in Ngorongoro, unlike safaris in other places, he didn’t take off across the plain but stayed on the designated road, for the rules are strict in this enclosed crater – no off-roading allowed. We’d only been on the crater floor for less than an hour and lions had appeared, a pride of females and their offspring, who ranged from juvenile almost-grown males to much smaller cubs.
We kept our distance, as did the little spotted golden serval cat who crept up near our vehicle and kept watch on those much bigger felines. Eventually moving on, we spotted hippos with adorable calves, warthogs (which Festo called “Pumbaa”) and their piglets, an ostrich standing in the road, hyenas and a herd of big water buffalo, checking off the third of our big five in less than two hours.
And then the rhinoceros began to run! A lone rhino, seemingly upset over something, took off across the plain, as numerous safari trucks including ours excitedly tried to keep up. He ran and ran and ran some more, eventually even crashing into a few of the safari vehicles who had gotten close.
Later, we spotted two full-grown male lions lounging around, two brothers, for as Festo reminded us, male lions only form coalitions with their brothers or cousins. Those two wandered around a bit, then flopped down for a snooze just steps away from our truck.
As our day in the crater wound to a close, it began to rain and we realized we’d missed seeing a leopard, so we only got four of the big five – yet found so much more during this incredible safari. Now, it was time to go far from the crowds and discover Africa as it once was.
ENTERING THE WORLD OF THE HADZABE
All the elements of our Tanzania adventure were curated by Moved: Safari, the company created by Leah Leonard in support of Kisimani School, the nonprofit primary charter school she founded in 2011 in nearby Arusha. With her help we saw many sides of Tanzania, from luxurious lodges like Ngorongoro’s Entamanu to the most basic of camps, deep in the Yaeda Valley, where we were immersed with the Hadzabe tribe, who keep up a traditional way of living that dates back thousands of years.
We joined Dorobo Safaris for this eye-opening and rugged part of the trip, trusting in Douglas Simbeye, our intrepid driver and interpreter, to guide us across a landscape of baobab trees and scrub brush where no actual roads exist. With his unerring ability to know which tree marked the next turn, we rattled our way to their Dorobo Mobile Camp, dodging a herd of elephants along the way.
This was our home base for three days of cultural immersion with the tribe, sleeping in small tents with cots for beds, a shovel toilet and canvas shower. First, men and women from the Hadzabe hunter-gatherer community came to visit us and share stories and a meal, then we were invited to their village to learn how to hunt with bows and poison-tipped arrows, how to gather berries, tubers and other edible items, to see their homes and to meet their children.
The tribe’s way of life hasn’t changed in generations, as they maintain their land with help from local governments who recognize the cultural value of sustaining this traditional way of life. The revenue from the visitor safaris with Dorobo also add to their ability to maintain in the ancient and holistic way they have always known. It is a gift to be able to experience their lives and have an unforgettable look at what Africa was once like.
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1. Kisimani School students. (Photo by Leah Leonard) 2. Accommodations with the Hadzabe Tribe (Photo courtesy of Dorobo Safaris) 3. Manyara Secret Resort is a lakeside haven. (Jenny Peters)
Making our way back toward Arusha and the Kilimanjaro Airport, we got one more taste of the luxurious side of Tanzania’s tourist offerings with a visit to Lake Manyara National Park, combined with a stay at Manyara’s Secret. The intimate and exclusive lakefront resort was a delight, as was the small-but-picturesque national park around the lake known for the tree-climbing lions who call it home. The double rainbow that appeared just before sunset, along with the elephant calves cavorting close to their mothers, made this another magical Tanzanian place to be immersed in.
Finally, back in Arusha to begin the long trip back to the United States, we got the chance to visit the Kisimani School, the aforementioned primary school supported by Moved: Safari. With 1,600 children learning English and other core subjects, the public school founded in 2011 now has a No. 1 ranking in Tanzania and a 100% graduation rate. The kids are lively, friendly and welcoming and the teachers inspiring – a visit is a wonderful way to cap off a trip that takes you from traditional to modern, wild to urban, and into an immersion in the natural world that is truly unforgettable.
GETTING THERE – EXPERIENCE AN ISTANBUL INTERLUDE
Traveling from Southern California to Tanzania is an extremely long trip, so planning for the journey is essential. With the total travel time close to 30 hours (or more), it makes sense to allow some extra days to the trip to split it up, helping to alleviate jet lag and adding some intriguing interludes along the way.
Going nonstop from LAX or SFO on Turkish Airlines to Istanbul is a 13-hour journey. Having a six-hour (or more) layover there on an international trip means the airline offers you a tour of the city’s top sights and a meal in town as well, all at no charge. Register online or when you disembark at the Touristanbul Desk after going through passport control. You may need a visa to enter Turkey, depending on your nationality.
That offer holds for economy and business class passengers alike; and with a 20-hour or more layover, Turkish Airlines adds in a free hotel room to transiting passengers. Splurging on a lie-flat business-class seat for the long trip also gives you access to the airline’s famous Business Class Lounge, which features amazingly luxe dining/drinking choices, showers, small private rooms complete with a bed and even a grand piano.
Choosing a two-day stopover in Istanbul on the return from Kilimanjaro Airport means there’s time to arrange your own Istanbul experience. To make this bucket-list trip incredible, stay at the incredible Ciragan Palace Kempinski on the edge of the European side of the Bosphorus, where sultans once lived. Now an elegant hotel with an absolutely insane breakfast buffet, world-class restaurants and attention to details you didn’t even realize you wanted (like house-made soaps) – it’s a spectacular way to wind down your adventure.
Spend one day seeing the main sights of the city, like the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, the Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar, via a bespoke luxury tour created by Weave a Thousand Journeys, complete with a private driver and a guide like Guzan Sapmaz, whose knowledge of her city is deep and rich.
Continue with her again on your last day in this vibrant city, seeing off-the-beaten path neighborhoods like Fener and Balat on the Golden Horn, where ancient history and hip new spots make for a captivating visit. Finally, follow Sapmaz across to the Asia side and she’ll show you how to eat your way through Kadikoy’s best market stalls, cafés and restaurants. That’s a marvelous capper to a once-a-lifetime journey to Africa, Europe and Asia, all rolled into one 10-day adventure like no other.
