Tanzania 2001 - Getting Started

May 2001

We selected a tour company, African Travel, Inc., recommended by an associate who took the same trip a couple of years ago. Our tour is called "The Great Migration". It's listed as a 13-day tour, because three days are spent just getting there and back, but it's really just 10 days in Tanzania.

An important part of our preparation is medical. We visited a travel medicine clinic in Pasadena, where we received immunizations: yellow fever, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, polio booster. We also received anti-malaria pills (one per week for five weeks, starting the week before the trip). We bought an emergency diarrhea kit, an emergency dental kit, and a water purification kit. Yes, we have plenty of insect repellent and sunscreen!

Of course, we need clothes, and our current wardrobes are short on the kind of outdoor wear that is needed for this trip. The clothes must be lightweight, wrinkle-resistant, easy to wash and fast to dry, in neutral colors that won't show how dusty they are! Shirts should be long-sleeved to help protect against the sun and insects. We have been advised to wear shoes with thick soles to help guard against acacia thorns. Rosemary bought a pair of big, klunky athletic shoes and began getting used to them about a month ahead of time. We shopped for clothes at REI and A-16. These retail stores are poorly stocked -- especially regarding women's clothing -- although REI's online catalog contains lots of interesting-looking stuff. The weather here in Southern California turned out to be perfect for testing our clothes before we go, with temperatures in the 80s and 90s.

Linda Osher very generously let us take her Spectrum Guide to Tanzania, which provides detailed information about all aspects of the country, and National Audubon Society Field Guide to African Wildlife, which includes beautiful photos and excellent descriptions of the animals we hope to see. Ann Warfield very kindly sent a copy of Blonde In Africa, Laura Resnick's fascinating account of her eight-month overland trip across Africa. This is not the kind of trip we are taking, but well worth reading for both information and entertainment.

As advised, we checked the State Department's website for information and warnings. They make just about every country sound terrifying! (Imagine what they could do with New York City.) Note that, except for brief airport stops, we are not going to urban areas. We will be on structured tours led by experienced guides. And, yes, we will be careful!

Travel Diary

May 28-29, 2001 (Monday & Tuesday) Los Angeles to Detroit to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro

Steve: Man, what a long day - 24 hours of travel. We take off from LAX at 8:30 AM Monday and land in Kilimanjaro 8:30 PM Tuesday, with an 11 hour time difference. Flying first class on Northwest and KLM, which is pretty good, all things considered. No one goes hungry in first class. (Editor’s note: due to popular demand, there will be no food diary this trip. Besides, the food wasn’t very good, generally.) Layovers in Detroit (Northwest’s hub city) and Amsterdam.

The Detroit airport is a zoo - hard to find our next gate and a long walk with bad signs for directions. The Amsterdam airport is almost like a shopping mall. All kinds of stores (electronics, jewelry, chocolate, etc.), the usual fast food places (McDonald's, Sbarro) and a casino. Attached to the airport is a hotel where you can rent a room just to take a shower.

We were advised to bring anything and everything we thought we might need for the trip, from lots of film to soap & shampoo. We were restricted to 33 pounds of luggage (each), so we packed everything into a couple of duffle bags supplied by our travel company and carried it on the planes. 33 pounds doesn’t seem like a lot of luggage unless you have to lug it everywhere you go.

We land at the Kilimanjaro airport, a small bug-infested place, and after going through customs, are met by Hassan, our guide for the next 10 days. We find out that we are his only "guests" for the entire trip and we can’t believe our luck in not being with four or five other people as well. A private guide, as it were.

Rosemary: I had a grin on my face from the moment we stepped off the airplane in Kilimanjaro. There was a smoky smell in the air. Bats circled the single light that illuminated the tarmac, catching the huge, amazing-looking insects that were everywhere.

Steve: Hassan drives us through the dark streets of Arusha, the nearest town to the airport, to the Mountain Village Lodge. We are met by friendly staff with fresh fruit juice, a custom that takes place at every lodge we go to. Bugs everywhere, but we are prepared with insect repellent, and we are shown to our room. After a quick shower and spraying the room for insects before crawling into bed behind some mosquito netting, we settle in for our first night in Africa. Despite our exhaustion, neither of us sleeps very well.

Rosemary: They drive on the left. Other things are also reversed at the lodge -- hot & cold water taps. Our room is a round hut with a highly peaked roof. A mosquito net protects the bed. A big lizard crawling on the thatched ceiling -- also part of insect control. We spent a restless night on a hard mattress.

[to be continued]