I am chuckling at the title of this post. If you knew where in Tanzania Mugumu and Arusha were–and what lies between these two towns–you’d understand why: the title of this post is a huge understatement for the experience I’m going to share with you today. I’ve done this deliberately; I want to tell you about this road trip the way I experienced it–from beginning to end.

My journey began on a cold morning in Mugumu, at Giraffe Garden Hotel, where I’d spent the night, having arrived the day before from Mwanza, via Bunda and Butiama. After a quick breakfast, my travel mates and I jumped into our cars for the short 40 km ride to…the Ikoma gate of…the Serengeti National Park! Our destination was Arusha, where most of my travel companions lived, but the road to Arusha would take us through both the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. As it would be my first time visiting the world-famous Serengeti, I was EXCITED!

To put things in perspective, as one of my travel companions reminded me, we weren’t going for a game drive through the Serengeti; rather, we would simply be driving through, staying on the main road. Nonetheless, just getting a chance to see the Serengeti seemed to me like reason enough for excitement!

Within an hour–having made a quick detour to the Serengeti Cultural Centre–we finally entered the Serengeti National Park. Having glimpsed at the park the previous day as we approached Bunda (the Serengeti National Park’s Ndabaka Gate is a few minutes outside Bunda and a 2-hour drive from Mwanza), I was not surprised to see woodland savanna as we entered the park.

After driving for a short while, we came upon giraffes munching on treetops. While crossing a small bridge, a few minutes later, we saw a herd of hippos mucking about in thick muddy water. Since I was in the mind frame that we weren’t on a game drive, I felt lucky that I’d already seen two large animals within 15 minutes of entering the park.

We continued our journey through the Serengeti and yet again came upon more animals—this time one of the Big Five: a herd of elephants. Game drive or not, we slowed down to take a closer look.

In all honesty, I am not an animal lover by any stretch. Although I have visited a number of East Africa’s national parks, it has almost always been due to someone else. Still, there’s nothing quite like watching animals in the wild. As our vehicle slowed down, the excitement in our car grew. We quieted down not to startle the elephants, grabbed our cameras and peered keenly through our windows. Anyone who has ever gone game watching knows what the feeling is like: your heart begins to race a little and the silence is enveloping, as you gaze in fascination at the magic of nature. We watched the elephants for a while until they walked away behind some bushes. The spell broken, we too continued on our way.

Again, we drove for some time until we came to a place where we saw cars lined up in the distance, obviously watching something. Since we were in the Serengeti, we knew it had to be an animal. We debated for a while about whether or not to join them, but in the end our curiosity won over. As soon as we got there, we realized what they were looking at: a leopard walking in the grass. To understand how rare it is too see leopards in the wild, one of my travel companions, a wildlife biologist with over 20 years experience working in the African wild, said that this was the first time she was getting to see one. We couldn’t believe our luck!

Forgetting temporarily that we were just passing through, we threw all restraint to the wind and became full-fledged travelers on Safari. We raised the roof of the car, stood on our car seats, got out our binoculars and cameras, and watched in captivation. At first the leopard was far away and we hoped it would come nearer, but as it got nearer, we hoped it wouldn’t do something terrifying like jump on our car or, even worse, try to get inside. Luckily, it didn’t. Rather, it casually walked in front of the cars and crossed the road to the other side, where it abruptly stopped. Not knowing much about the animal kingdom, I thought it had stopped simply because it felt like it. The experts in the car, however, suspected it had stopped because it had spotted something. It had. Hidden under a nearby bush was a rasp of guinea fowls.

The leopard stood at attention for a while, as though debating whether or not to attack the guinea fowls. Obviously, it must have decided against it because as suddenly as the leopard had stopped, it turned around, crossed the road, and returned from whence it came. The spectacle over, we resumed our journey.

The woodlands faded away as we entered the Seronera Valley, the Serengeti National Park’s central valley. With fewer trees, the Serengeti’s “endless plains” became more apparent. In Seronera, we saw all manner of antelopes–hartebeest, Thomson’s gazelles, Grant’s gazelles, and bachelor herds of impala. And then, we came upon zebras—zebras in single file in an unending line both to our left and to our right. Simultaneously, the driver and one of my travel companions cried out: “The migration!”

The Serengeti is host to the largest mammal migration in the world. Every year, year after year, more than 1.5 million mammals—wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle—cycle through the Serengeti ecosystem; including the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and the Maasai Mara National Reserve (in Kenya); in search of water and greener pastures. Being one of the top 10 natural travel wonders in the world, I had heard of the Serengeti migration before but had no hopes of seeing it on this trip, given that we were just driving through and it was October, the driest month in the Serengeti, when most migratory animals were expected to be in the Maasai Mara.

To be honest, the migration I saw only involved a hundred or so zebra and wildebeest–these were the procrastinator animals (commonly referred to as the tail-end of the migration). Still, it was a wonder to behold. How did these animals know to start moving? Who led the migration? How did they know what direction to travel in? What kept them in line? I made a mental note: I was going to see the Serengeti migration, in its full glory, as soon as possible.

We continued through Seronera Valley almost uneventfully, stopping only once to look at a cheetah, perched on top of a water tank, preventing a water truck from drawing water. We watched the standoff for a few minutes, but seeing no impending resolution, we left and made our way to Naabi Hill, where we stopped for a bathroom break, visited the Visitor’s Information Centre, and took care of the formalities necessary to exit the Serengeti and enter the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). Formalities taken care of, we left the Serengeti National Park and moved on to the NCA.

As we entered the NCA, I noticed it looked much like the Serengeti except it was a bit hillier. The most notable difference was that people lived in the NCA, whereas we hadn’t seen any living in the Serengeti. Here, we saw Maasai tending to their livestock—sheep, goats, and camels—and generally going about their everyday existence, while we also continued to see wild animals like ostriches and baboons.

We drove through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area for about two hours before we finally reached the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. We had not planned to visit the floor of the crater, but still we stopped at the rim to take a look, wonder at the grandeur of nature, and of course, take pictures. The Ngorongoro Crater (or more accurately, caldera) looked as majestic as I remembered it when I last visited three years earlier. After the short stop, we got back into our cars, drove directly to the main gates of the NCA, and exited the Ngorongoro-Serengeti ecosystem.

Needless to say, the three hour journey to Arusha, via Mto wa Mbu was anticlimactic, considering all we had seen earlier in the day. Luckily for me, I had something to look forward to: I would be visiting Arusha, a town I love, for the  first time in three years. I could harldly wait!

We finally arrived in Arusha, much to my delight, eight hours after our departure from Mugumu. And thus ends the story of my road trip from Mugumu to Arusha. What I thought of Arusha when I finally got there is a story for another day!

Hopefully, now you understand why I was chuckling at the beginning of this post: this road trip was not so much about driving from Mugumu to Arusha, but rather about driving through the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Although I completed this trip in a day, if I were to do it all over again, I’d spread it out over several days spending at least one night in the Serengeti and dedicating a full day to discovering all that the NCA has to offer. For more information about these magnificent nature reserves, please visit their official websites: Serengeti National Park & Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

And that’s if from me. If you’ve gone on a similar road trip before and would like to share your experiences, I’d love to hear all about it in the comment section below.

As always, I look forward to hearing from you.

Until the next time,
Biche

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As those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter might know, I spent the end of last week visiting Northern Tanzania–Mwanza, Mara (including Butiama), the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Arusha. Because of the busy itinerary planned, I didn’t attempt to blog about the trip while on it but, rather, shared what I could on Twitter, saving the blogging for when I got back to Dar es Salaam.

For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter (or for those of you who do but somehow missed my tweets), this first post is a consolidation of the main tweets I wrote while traveling, with links to websites where you can see pictures or find more information. I hope you find this interesting and useful.

If you’d like to ask me a question or make a comment on something I shared in one of my tweets, please feel free to do so in the comment section below. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.

Until the next time,
Biche

Day 1: Dar es Salaam-to-Mwanza / Mwanza Hotels /Bujora Museum

• And so the journey begins…heading to JNIA now. First stop: Mwanza. I hope Precision is not delayed this time.
• Just flew Precision Air Business Class (Dar-Mwz) for the first time. Spacious. And breakfast was delicious!
• I have already driven down beautiful Nakasero Drive and seen Bismarck Rock, so truly, I am in Mwanza.

• Someone just planted a dream in my mind: apparently there are hot balloon safaris over the Serengeti $490/person/hour. Imagine that!
• Just had lunch at Malaika Beach Resort, Mwanza. Food was so-so. The rooms? Very, very nice!
• Very nice rooms at Malaika Beach Resort, Mwanza/$150 double room B&B/Free Wi-Fi/Comp. shuttle to airport.
• Did you know Mwanza had only 1 set of traffic lights and Arusha had 2? Hehehe…now you know.
• Apparently, Sukuma kings would cut their hair only once a year, and it’d be such an event that royal drums would be sounded. Interesting!
• If ever you get to visit Bujora Museum, please be sure to watch the dances, especially the snake dance. THRILLING!
• Had dinner @ Gold Crest Hotel, downtown Mwanza. Nice decor, professional service, good food & coffee bar. Can’t wait 2 sleep there tomorrow.

Day 2: Rubondo Island National Park / Wag Hill /Sailing on Lake Victoria

• And the touring continues. First stop: Rubondo Island National Park, the only park on Lake Victoria.
• Rubondo Island National Park was a li’l slow. Little wildlife, but the thick forest was nice & lake shore interesting in its different-ness.

• The best thing on the Island for me was Rubondo Island Camp. Would be perfect for a getaway with that special someone.
• @whthome Apparently, they’re only at the Northern- and Southern-most tip of the island. We didn’t see them. (Talking about chimps at Rubondo Island National Park.)
• In Kenya, I developed a taste for rustic lodges. Wag Hill, Mwanza is right down that alley. Pricey, yes, but so so nice!
• Wow! If u came 2 Mwanza just 4 the sunset boat ride from Tilapia Hotel, it’d b worth it. $100 for 1 hour on the boat total up to 20 people!
• @Andre_Muhozya Didn’t go 2 Saa Nane Island but sailed around it. Was great 2 sit/stand on-deck, feel the wind & waves, & experience sunset.

Day 3: Mwanza-to-Mugumu / Bunda, Mara / President Nyerere’s Home & Museum at Butiama

• The rooms at Gold Crest Hill were as good as I expected. Great executive hotel in downtown Mwanza. Incredibly low introductory rates!
• Oops…I meant Gold Crest Hotel not Gold Crest Hill.
• “Serenity on the Lake”, a lodge 20 mins from Serengeti’s Ndabaka gate, opening early 2012, featuring lake views from your bed. Imagine that! (Owned by the same group that owns Hotel Tilapia & Mbalageti Serengeti)
• For bird lovers, Speke Bay Lodge (10 mins from Serengeti’s Ndabaka gate) features nature walks where u can c 60 species of birds in 2 hrs.

• Speke Bay Lodge also features cool tents for the budget traveller.
• 1 of the best views I’ve EVER seen: the 360° view from the viewpoint @ Balili Camp, Bunda, Mara, overlooking Serengeti & Lake Vic. Grand!
• Just left Butiama where I visited President Nyerere‘s home, grave, and museum. Makes one think about how much one man did for his country!

Day 4: Mugumu to Arusha via The Serengeti National Park and The Ngorongoro Conservation Area

• Live in Dar es Salaam long enough & one forgets that it gets cold elsewhere. This morning, I woke up in Mugumu, Mara & it’s COLD! *Brrrrr*
• In Dar, we get watered-down traditional dances. I just saw Kuria dancing at the Serengeti Cultural Centre in Mugumu. Now we’re talking!
• Entering the Serengeti for the first time, through the Ikoma gate. Did you know it costs only 1,500 TSh for East African residents?
• …and only 10,000 TSh for East African registered vehicles? #Serengeti
• So far, I’ve seen giraffes…and hippos just chilling in the mud. #Serengeti
• …and now I’ve seen a HUGE herd of elephants! #Serengeti
• …I’ve seen Hartebeest (sp?)…and guinea fowl. #Serengeti
• …and a Leopard so unafraid of people that it walked up to a convoy of 6 cars and crossed the road in front of us. #Serengeti

• And the scenery, plains with a backdrop of hills, is amazing! #Serengeti
• I saw the wildebeest/zebra migration in person–woohoo! Animals in single file and grazing around, in other places. #Serengeti
• I’ve seen Thomson’s & Grant’s gazelles, bachelor herds of Impala, ostriches & a cheetah on a water tank preventing a truck from drawing H2O.
• Now entered Ngorongoro Conservation Area through the gate at Naabi Hill (I didn’t know the Serengeti and Ngorongoro shared borders).
• In Ngorongoro, so far, I’ve seen sheep (because Maasai are allowed to live and graze here) and camels. (Camels???!!!) #Ngorongoro
• @MulkiAhmed reminded me to share that we saw a baboon too. In fact, we saw it break into a tourist’s car & steal food. Hehehe…#Ngorongoro
• Businesses that act suspicious of their customers irk me. #AfricafeArusha #Shoprite

Day 5: Arusha & Back to Dar

• Of the last 4 #Precision Air flights I’ve taken, 1/2 have required that I wait 4 hrs for the next flight (no fault of my own). Not cool!
• Wow, that was one long road trip from Mugumu, Mara to Arusha–8 hours–but driving through the Serengeti & Ngorongoro was well worth it!
• It was great to be in Arusha again after so long. It’s still as fresh and clean as I remember it–just bigger and better!

• The Njiro Shopping Complex is quite impressive and more than I expected to find in Arusha!
• …and no trip 2 Arusha is complete 4 me without a visit 2 The Arusha Hotel (@arushahotel) which is even more beautiful than @ my last visit
• Need 2 get from Arusha 2 KIA/JRO cheaply? Try the Precision Air shuttle. Leaves 2.5 hrs b4 all local flights, from town office. 10,000TSh
• #Precision Air is a MESS!

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Photo Credits: Benny Geypens; limpinglemur; Biche; Ferdi’s – World; Maradentro; Tanzan

Well, that’s all great and good, but today I would like to talk about a difference that is a little more subtle. Imagine making the same drink, say a gin-and-tonic (G&T), and varying the type of gin used. Do you think this difference would be noticeable to anyone other than the greatest connoisseurs of gin? I didn’t, for the longest while, and then one day I clearly learned from experience that I was…wrong! Allow me to start this story from the very beginning.

In my early twenties, my drink of choice was a gin and tonic. I loved G&Ts because they were so refreshing. Poured over a lot of ice, a cool G&T went down smooth and fizzy and caused me little trouble the following morning, what with gin being a white spirit (as the say: the darker the spirit, the worse the hangover). Whenever I would order a G&T in Nairobi, though, I would often get asked a question that I was rarely clear on how to answer. The question was “What Gin would you like, Gilbey’s or Gordon’s?”. Frankly, I thought all gins were essentially the same, and since Gilbey’s was usually less expensive, that is what I would choose. That was until one fateful afternoon in Arusha.

On a beautiful sunny Sunday, a couple of years ago, I found myself traveling from Moshi to Nairobi, via Arusha, where I had a one-hour layover before changing shuttles. This was not a problem for me because this layover was at  Arusha’s The Impala Hotel, where I absolutely love hanging out on the outdoor terrace. I love the warm mid-day sun, on this terrace, with the beautiful blue of the swimming pool not far away. The people on the terrace always seem particularly jovial, possibly because the majority of them are on holiday. Whatever the case, this joyful mood is always contagious for me. Being at The Impala Hotel terrace puts me in an instant happy mood. And so,  on that beautiful, sunny Sunday as I sat on the terrace waiting for my shuttle’s departure, I ordered a drink – a gin and tonic to be precise.

When my drink finally arrived, I took a sip while letting the pleasure of my surroundings soak in. Wow! My drink tasted unusually good. I sipped and sipped and sipped, thinking that maybe, my drink tasted so good because I was in such a happy place. But no, after a while, I had to concede: this G&T was special. Not one to leave a mystery uninvestigated, I decided to find out more from the bartender. As I got up to order another G&T (you know I had to! ), I asked my bartender what he had used to make my drink. He seemed a bit confused by my question and told me that he had simply given me a double Gordon’s Gin as well as the tonic water which had come in a bottle so I could mix my drink for myself. The difference, I concluded, must have come from using Gordon’s instead of Gilbey’s.

When I finally got to Nairobi, I put my hypothesis to the test. When next asked what gin I wanted served when ordering a gin and tonic, I alternated between choosing Gilbey’s and Gordon’s. Whenever I ordered Gilbey’s, I got the same G&T that I had become accustomed to. Whenever I ordered a Gordon’s, my drink tasted as superb as it did that afternoon in Arusha.

I quickly became a convert. For me, if you ask me whether I prefer Gilbey’s or Gordon’s, my answer is clear: it’s definitely Gordon’s. I am not sure what makes Gordon’s a tastier gin – I am not a connoisseur of gin like that – but in laywoman’s terms, there’s just something more aromatic about Gordon’s. I like to say it has a “rounder” taste by which maybe I mean it has a more complex, symphony of flavor (as opposed to being flat and one-dimensional), but that’s just me. After all, taste is a highly personal thing.

How about you? Which do you prefer? If asked Gilbey’s or Gordon’s, what is your response? Why? I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Until the next time,
Biche

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