This day was dedicated to walking safaris in the Arusha National Park, followed by a sundowner at the Hatari Lodge – a great experience after a week of game drives on dusty and bumpy roads. And we got REALLY close to the animals!
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| Destination | Tanzania, Northern National Parks (Arusha, Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara) and Zanzibar |
| How and when I got there | Flights with Turkish Airlines from Cologne via Istanbul and Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro Airport; return flight from Zanzibar via Kilimanjaro and Istanbul to Cologne; January – February 2019 |
| Where I stayed | Lake Duluti Lodge (near Arusha, https://www.lakedulutilodge.com/) Highview Hotel (Karatu, http://www.highviewhotel.com/) Meru View Lodge (close to southern Arusha Nat. Park Gate, http://www.meru-view-lodge.com/meru/en/) Shu’Mata Camp (2 hours north of Moshi/Asursha, http://www.shumatacamp.de/index.php) Hatari Lodge (close to nothern Arusha Nat. Park Gate, http://www.hatarilodge.de/en/contact.php) Le Parlour Apartments (Boma La Ngombe, close to JRO airport, no own website) Melia Zanzibar Hotel (Kiwengwa, Zanzibar, https://www.melia.com/en/hotels/tanzania/zanzibar/melia-zanzibar/index.html Dhow Palace Hotel (Stone Town, Zanzibar, http://www.dhowpalace-hotel.com/) |
| Restaurants | we tried only the Restaurants of the above mentioned hotels / lodges. And we liked best: Hatari Lodge, Shu’Mata Camp and Lake Duluti Lodge: outstanding! Meru View Lodge and Melia Zanzibar: very good |
| Things to do | Game drives in the National Parks – the obvious thing Hiking at Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru: not exactly the relaxing type of vacation Walking Safaris and relaxing (e.g. at the Hatari Lodge or a tented camp like Shu’Mata): more solitude to “feel Africa” |
| Recommendations in a nutshell | see the post regarding “things to consider for travelling in Tanzania”! Use a renowned travel agency for organising the safari trip (like Chamaeleon) get some rest between the bumpy rides Further Reading: Lonely Planet Tanzania Travel Guide |
Staying at the Hatari Lodge
We had arrived at the Hatari Lodge the day before – just in time for the first sundowner and a fantastic dinner. Our rooms (in fact almost a house of our own: a suite and the adjacent double room for our two kids and us) were perfect- just have a look at the post dedicated to the Hatari lodge (coming soon). And the best part: when we headed the next morning to the main house for breakfast, we almost could not believe our eyes. There were lots of Giraffes just next to our house, munching Acacia leafs. What a start of the day!
Equally nice: the sunrise. OK, you have to get up early, but it’s really worth it:
And from the terrace of the lodge there’s also a very nice panorama view: the sun behind Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru on the opposite side illuminated by the rising sun.
Walking Safari in Arusha National Park: trail to the Tululusia waterfall
After an excellent breakfast, our guide Mokili took us to the Arusha National Park, which is just “next door” to the lodge. While waiting for Mokili at the gate, a curious velvet monkey visited us…
…and got into the car, before we could prevent it. We barely managed to rescue our lunch boxes.
Fortunately, Mokili arrived, and we continued into the park. For the morning, we had a walking safari around the Tululusia waterfall on our program. We started out walking across a large meadow, from where we could see the Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru very well. The top of Kilimanjaro in clouds, as always after 10 a.m.
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First we met a group of buffalo:
Giraffes – again!!
But the real sensation was a group of Giraffes at the northern end of the meadow. To see from from a jeep is nice. But to be able to walk up to them is actually a lot more exciting. And we could walk up to them pretty close:
I think that I mentioned it before – I really love Giraffes. So, this encounter was one of my absolute favorites.
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From there we walked through the bush to the waterfall close by.
The Tululusia waterfall
And finally arrived at the Tululusia Waterfall:
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Next to the waterfall there’s a beautiful fig tree with amazing roots:
The famous Giant Fig Tree
For the next part of the walking safari, we had to move up the Mount Meru by car. On the way, we passed a famous giant fig tree:
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We finally reached a lookout (great view over the Momella lakes to the Kilimanjaro, in clouds), where we left the car.
Trail to the Ngurdoto Crater
Our trail went up a steep slope and meandered then through thick rain forest…
…to the caldera of the Ngurdoto crater:
Flora and Fauna at Ngurdoto Crater
…where we saw lots of birds and some other animals:
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| Hornbill | black and white colobus monkeys | silvery cheeked hornbill | and another – unidentified – bird… |
And some nice plans, as well. In particular, the lichens in the trees gave beautiful pictures:
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| Kniphofia species | Kniphofia species | lichens |
The caldera was full of a particular blue flower, looking a bit like a scilla species, but we’re not sure.
And we visited an ancient “church”, which turned out to be just a hollow tree:
We had to walk the same way back that we came, but as the walk through the jungle was so nice, we did not mind.
Secretly, everybody was hoping to spot a Leopard…but of course, we didn’t. But we enjoyed the jungle a lot!
Lunch with Waterfall
Back at the car, we went down the hill a few kilometers and had a late lunch on this meadow, next to a beautiful waterfall:
And finally a great Sunwodner
What a great day! And we arrived back at the Hatari Lodge just in time for the afternoon tea (and cake), followed by the sundowner on the wooden platform, that we already knew from the day before. Again a grat sunset over Mount Meru:
Cheerio! And read more about the wonderful Hatari Lodge in the next post.
See more of our Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar Beach Trip here:
And find more information about Travelling in Tanzania here: 
*According to a German Court decision, all texts containing links to commercial pages (e.g. links to Tripadvisor, Airline, hotel or restaurant websites) have to be identified as “commercial” (in German “Anzeige”). As my texts do contain links like that, I therefore identify each post and page containing a link as “Anzeige”. However (and referring to the “About Me” page) I would like to point out that I do NOT post any sponsored content in my texts; I pay for all my trips myself.
