The lure of Tanzania's Manyara National Park - description and travel, personal narratives

The female elephant was swaying her trunk, just a little, with her baby huddled by her side. Before her was the road, to the left our Land Rover and to the right a Toyota Land Cruiser, beside which another Land Cruiser had just roared up. Everybody wanted to see the elephant.

I was calculating how much damage an elephant could do to the Land Rover. . . wondering. Then the elephant, with her calf beside her, crossed the road -- her only option except for a small strip of road next to the Land Rover.

Afterwards I asked our guide Hasheem, and he said the guides must learn to read the animals' signals. When the third vehicle pulled beside the Land Cruiser, the elephant felt threatened and showed it by swaying her trunk.

Getting acquainted

We five women who made up a Hoopoe Adventure Tours safari in September of 2001 were viewing animals that evening in Lake Manyara National Park in northern Tanzania.

We had spent the night before the safari at the Moivaro Coffee Plantation. The plantation, comprising about 40 acres, has numerous comfortable huts in beautifully landscaped grounds with a swimming pool and a main dining area, bar and reception area.

A walk around the grounds was good for birding. I walked it three times, 3 1/2 miles altogether, and saw a number of birds, including a hoopoe with its red crest. I also saw three mongooses.

The women had arrived at various times. Carol and Ann traveling together had toured Egypt and come in via Khartoum and Nairobi to Kilimanjaro Airport near Arusha. Vicki had been traveling in Kenya and Zanzibar so flew in from Zanzibar. Esther from England flew to Nairobi and then took the 4-hour bus trip to Arusha.

I had flown Northwest-KLM from Dallas to Detroit and then to Amsterdam from where, after a few hours, I flew KLM to Kilimanjaro (about $1,600 round trip). I was ready for a rest and spent two nights at the Moivaro Coffee Plantation before we left for Lake Manyara National Park.

The five women were compatible. Although we didn't know each other to begin with, we soon became good friends despite the age differences. Carol, Ann and Vicki were in their 20s, Esther was probably in her late 30s, and I was the senior of the group at 66.

Wildlife around Kirurumu

Driving over tarmac road for quite a way we then turned off on an all-weather gravel road. A group of Masai boys who had been circumcised and were spending their required three months in the bush posed for us beside the road. They were dressed in black with white facial markings.

We continued on through the town of Mto-wa-Mbu to ascend. the escarpment to the Kirurumu Tented Lodge. Other lodges border the park, notably the Serena Lodge where the swimming pool has a wonderful view of the lake and land below.

We arrived at the Kirurumu tented camp in time for lunch. The lodge overlooks Lake Manyara and sits on this escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. The tents have en-suite flush toilets and electric lights. Masai "warriors" in their traditional red cloaks and with wooden staffs carried our bags to the tents.

Lake Manyara National Park is not so large that you can't see it in an afternoon. We drove to the park entrance and were immediately snapping pictures of baboons, little realizing how many baboons we would see on the trip! Only Esther, who had been on safari before, realized that we would see lots of baboons.

The beauty of Lake Manyara was that it had more lush vegetation than other parks we visited. Springs seep out of the escarpment to make a dense forest and underbrush for the animals. My checklist for Lake Manyara ended up including baboons, blue monkeys, an almost hidden vervet monkey, elephants, a warthog, Masai giraffes, bushbucks, waterbucks, wildebeest, impalas and a quick glimpse of an oryx. We saw ,all this in a couple of hours.

Most memorable were baboons gathered at a stream set in thick vegetation; the scene looked like something from the Garden of Eden,

We returned in time for dinner served in an open-air dining hall with the stars and the African sky draping over the vastness of the crater below.

The view from my tent was of Lake Manyara far below. That evening, adding to the pleasure was the sound of music from the town of Mto-wa-Mbu. The two -- the wildness of the park and the music from the town -- seemed perfectly joined.

Educational and enchanting walks

The next morning I spent an hour or two with my binoculars walking around Kirurumu where birds are abundant.

In the park the afternoon before, with the guide's help we had identified hornbills, a kingfisher, plovers and an African fish eagle. I saw my first secretary bird on the road leading to Lake Manyara. With the assistance of the Kirurumu staff I identified a red-billed quelea and violet-backed starlings.

About 9 that morning a Masai guide took us on a botanical walk, giving us the botanical names of various acacias and pointing out other trees and telling us their medicinal uses. He took us to the rim of the escarpment where we could look down on the fertile Lake Manyara Valley.

Walking back to Kirurumu we heard music, violins of sorts, and three boys were playing on the homemade instruments. They were Cush and lived near the Masai.

The guide explained how the instrument was made from a gourd with a piece of skin stretched across and attached all around with thorns of the acacia. The bow and frets of the instrument were wood, but the strings were trusty threads from a tire!

The music coming from nowhere, before we saw the boys made it seem like we were on an odyssey and unseen enchanted beings were serenading us.

Moving on

That day, once we got underway (nothing moves too swiftly in Africa), we traveled fairly steadily. Travel was over gravel roads. We stopped at the small museum at the entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We had boxed lunches, so we stopped again on the edge of the vast Ngorongoro crater to eat. It was pleasant and surprisingly cool with a breeze blowing.

A young Masai came by with a herd of donkeys and I wanted to take his picture. Hasheem explained that the Masai are good at bargaining and pointed to a village near the road. The authentic village allows tourists to visit and take pictures, all they want -- for $50 a vehicle.

We drove steadily; we had to make it through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and into the adjoining Serengeti National Park to our next camp.

It was dusk when we arrived at the tented camp set next to a low rocky hill. The campfire was blazing and we met the four guys who set up the camp. The camp was "classic" as opposed to "ranger," the difference being that the classic camp has, en-suite bathrooms and the ranger has a detached toilet.

The camp with a 3-day permit was set up for the five women, each woman having a tent, with the exception of Carol and Ann who shared a tent. We would stay three nights in the Serengeti.

Travel particulars

Following are some details about traveling to Tanzania.

A visa is needed and costs $50.

I was told that a yellow fever vaccination is required although I wasn't asked to show proof. Malaria prophylactic tablets are recommended.

The U.S. dollar is the alternate currency and I changed only a small amount into Tanzanian shillings, just to use for drinks and small purchases. Credit cards are accepted, but a surcharge of about 7% is added to your bill. I didn't see an automatic teller machine while I was there. I carried dollars in various amounts plus travelers' checks. You can get U.S. dollars for U.S. travelers' checks with some loss. A $20 travelers' check brought, me $19.

I had all kinds of advice on clothes before I left and saw all kinds of garb on safari from bright red to khaki. Dull colors seem to be preferred. A good sun hat is a must as is sun screen and something to put on in the evening -- a sweater, fleece or the like.

My travel was arranged by Africa Travel Center (1415 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, CO 80306; phone 800/361-8024) and Hoopoe Adventure Tours (visit www.hoopoe.com). Cost of this tour with single supplement' is around $3,500.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Martin Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group