Blogs from Arusha, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 3

I got up at 6, the same time as I had done previously and went over to the same pond for some birding. New species that I hadn’t seen previously were an African harrier hawk soaring overhead and also a fairly large group of spur-winged geese flew over. I then had breakfast as usual and then was briefed of the plan for the day. This was to do a village tour to see various things such as farming, housing school etc. We then got into jeeps and got taken to a centre where the tour would be organised from. The village was near the foothills of Mount Meru and also fairly near to Arusha National park, in fact the road to Arusha National Park went through the village. This centre was run like a charity and ... read more

(Sorry about the lack of animals but I think this will be interesting to at least some people regardless) I got up before six so that I was up and out of the tent by five past. I then went with binoculars, bird book and camera for some exploration around the camp to do a bit of before-breakfast birding. I had a look around the camp and settled on one site that was the best for birding; this was the pond that I talked about in the first part of my first post in Tanzania (post #13 of this thread). I decided on this area because it was absolutely fabulous for birds! There were three black crakes that were around the pond 24/7 along with six or seven pairs of taveta golden weavers, thick-billed weavers and ... read more

Since I did not have access to the Internet often while on my trip, I hand wrote some of these entries to transfer over, and additionally, much of this comes from memory. I will write from my paper and memory as if I were actually there. So here we go! So here we are--Kilimanjaro bound tomorrow! I can't believe the time has come. All the hard work and talk since January. It's pretty unbelievable. The flight was long, tiresome, and I've never watched so many movies in a row! It blew me away how much food the airlines give you. After about 16+ hours of flying (two different flights), it felt like the flight attendants were feeding us as if the world was coming to an end. Carbs, sugar, carbs. I think I had 8 meals ... read more

There inst a day when I don't see their sweet, sweet ebony faces. One is young, maybe four years old at most. The other wrinkled and worn, with teeth poking out of her mouth, telling me shes had a long life. I presume the pair to be "grandma" and "granddaughter". At first the "grandma" would stick her hand out hoping to collect a few coins when I passed. Although I am not one for begging, and simply wanted to smile in their direction and be on my way, Jesus had bigger plans. I felt his heart asking me to follow him. I said yes. This question is one that I am asked daily. What I felt him asking me to do was to provide them something small each day. A lollipop, a banana, or "mandazi" something ... read more

Episode 3: The best time in Northern Tanzania (with a few photos added) Firstly, I apologise up-front for the length of this blog, but it has been several days since my last entry and there was a lot to document - and this ain’t the half of it. Anyway, we have been on safari in the middle of the Serengeti and elsewhere, where the internet is, well, superfluous. We have just spent eight days in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and the lesser known but equally spectacular Tarangire National Park. It has been utterly brilliant, with wonderful landscapes, superb wildlife, warm sunny weather, a great guide called Emmanuel, and wonderful lodges along the way. To get here, we flew from Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro Airport. Flying into Kilimanjaro airport, we spotted the eponymous mountain rising from the plains. ... read more