Marilyn's Odyssey: African adventure

With great anticipation Eric and I set off to Africa with a one night stopover in Amsterdam which was just long enough to stroll some of the canals and find some delicious crouquettes. We landed at Kilimanjaro airport in the evening and went to our hotel in Arusha which is a city of 1.2 million people. Having met our tour mates at the airport in Amsterdam after some nightcaps we headers to bed anxious for morning light to arrive so we could get our first good look at this new and different continent. After breakfast we set off in two safari vehicles on a three hour drive to Lake Manyara. We first drove through busy Arusha where the traffic seemed to go in every direction all at the same time. Brightly dressed locals went about their day many carrying loads on their heads.

As we left the city the beauty of the landscape spread out on either side of us. Lush African planes dotted with low wind swept trees typical of what one sees in African photos welcomed us. All along our journey we passed small herds of cows and goats always attended by a colourfully dressed Masai grazing close to the roadside. Set a little ways back there were occasional groupings of small round huts which are the traditional Masai homes and each a small community. We also passed through a few small villages and markets which were alive with people and activity and a wonderful glimpse into life in this country so different than ours.

After settling into our beautiful Lake Manyara Safari Lodge and enjoying a wonderful lunch we set off for our first long anticipated first game drive. Entering the reserve the first animal we came upon was the blue monkey. We were all all excited to watch them playfully jump from tree to tree as we tried to get the perfect picture. A little further along and around the bend and we were all on our feet as there were two elephants just off the trail. It was truly magnificent. To see these creatures in their own habitat was something I had only dreamed about and to watch them eating away was truly amazing. Towards the lake we came upon a large group of Cape buffalo and wildebeest ,both magnificent creaturures. Pelicans and flamingos played amongst them making the sight even better. Off to the side three warthogs stayed on their on perhaps avoiding the crowd. One large wildebeest could also be seen in the distance and you wondered if it was on guard for predators. Further on we encountered more groups of monkeys, several birds, large colourful cranes which are the national bird of Uganda and we were stopped for awhile by a large family of baboons who decided to play on the roadway. To make our day complete we came upon three zebras feeding right beside the trail. Breathtaking!

As we sat outside on the deck eating dinner overlooking Lake Manyara and being serenaded by the birds and frogs Garth asked what everyone's highlight of the day was. The whole day was outstanding but he elephants won. When he asked if there were any tears I was the first to ease my hand.