An “A” For Arusha
After twenty hours in transit, Arie, Kate and I arrived in Arusha as the sun was setting. We stepped out onto the tarmac and knew immediately we had arrived in Africa. The warm air encircled us, a lush, woody, smoky, delicious smell. Our flight was the only arrival at that time, and all of us huddled into the small airport where we would line up at the immigration desk. Arriving in a new place is always exciting, but I knew this trip was going to be extra special; we were visiting my sister Bryna who was living in Serengeti National Park. I love traveling with a “local;” it enriches the experience. In addition, my sister’s friend Kate was joining us on this trip, so we would have a fun group of explorers.
The immigration process was a little disorganized, but we made it through without any complications. We collected our bags, threw them into the back of my Bryna’s pickup truck, and headed to our hotel. The Arusha airport is a 45-minute drive from town, so by the time we reached our hotel, Ilboru Safari Lodge, we were hungry and ready to sit down, relax, and enjoy a hot meal.
Our hotel had a lovely set-dinner (with vegetarian options) including salad, a main course, and dessert. After eating an overly sufficient amount of food, we settled into our cozy cottages. It had been a long day, and we were asleep in our mosquito-net-covered beds in no time.
Jetlag helped us wake up early the next morning. After a quick stop at the breakfast buffet, we were on the road to Arusha National Park, about an hour’s drive from town along the airport road. Despite being a main highway, it still has a rural feel. As we drove, we were guessing what kinds of flowers and vegetables were growing in the fields we were passing, and we admired the brightly-colored clothes which adorned the locals we passed along the road.
Arusha National Park is small, only about 53 sq. miles, and definitely not the favorite of the region, but it still has a lot to offer. While it may not have a large number of the popular safari predators such as lions or jackals, the park is loaded with wildlife. It is lush and green, and has more forest than its famous sisters (Ngorongoro & Serengeti). Plus, Mount Meru creates a fantastic vista.
Driving into the park, through the forest, we stopped often to watch the black-and-white colobus monkeys lounging in the branches above. We then passed through fields of giraffes, so many giraffes! Around noon, we stopped at flamingo lake for a picnic lunch before heading to the ranger station for our pre-arranged nature walk.
The ranger who took us on our walking tour was fantastic! He explained everything to us, plants, wildlife (lots of warthogs) and a bit of history. Since my sister and Kate are also environmentalists, the ranger enjoyed their shared knowledge and enthusiasm for conservation.
There was one more stop we wanted to make in the park before heading to our home away from home. There is a famous tree that has grown in such a way that there is a tunnel through the trunk – a tunnel so big that a car can drive through it. We couldn’t miss it!
By the end of the day, we were so exhausted (and still recovering from jetlag) we could barely keep our eyes open! We had a quick dinner at our hotel and settled into bed. Arusha was the perfect warmup for our Tanzanian adventure.
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