Travel stories

Indescribable

On the last evening of our holiday we have dinner at The Rock on Zanzibar, a special location in itself, to conclude a very special trip. With a cocktail in hand, we wonder how we should summarize our adventure when we get home. Where do we start, how do we select the photos, what do we say, how do we describe the feeling? We try to find the right words, after a few minutes of silence Cato comes up with the only correct description. ‘Mom, it’s just “indescribable”!’. And that’s right. However, we would like to try to share a few highlights of our trip here.

The anticipation already started in the Netherlands, together with Explore Tanzania (ET) we have carefully put together our trip. Our wishes all came together in 1.5 weeks of safari and a week of Zanzibar, which was presented in a very beautiful presentation.

We land in Kilimanjaro full of expectation and curiosity. We are welcomed and dropped off at Rivertrees Country Inn after an hour. And that is where the warm hospitality of Tanzania begins.

After a short night and a delicious breakfast we are met by our guide Stanley who will take us with a great Landcruiser for the next 1.5 weeks. During this trip he showered us with all his knowledge about politics, culture, history, geography and of course flora and fauna. We really couldn’t have asked for a better guide. He took the initiative himself and came up with good ideas and tips, so we were able to get the most out of the trip. He showed us all the beautiful and special places in Tarangire NP, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and (Central and Northern) Serengeti. His knowledge and way of looking at the animals and their habitat has brought us a lot and taught us to look at nature in a different way. In those 10 days we were inundated with a diversity of animals. Every time we thought we had seen the most beautiful or special thing, we were surprised again with something more beautiful.

The lodges and staff were also great, we always felt very welcome and at home. Each lodge had something special, each in a different way, but hospitality and quality were always of paramount importance. We ended the overwhelming week with a fantastic balloon safari and as icing on the cake we stood in a very special place for a crossing of the wildebeasts on the Mara river. In short; too few superlatives.

Our flight from Kogatende to Zanzibar was an experience in itself. After saying goodbye to Stanley, we flew low over the Serengeti with the ‘caravan’ with some stops and via Arusha on our way to Zanzibar. And after a few hours you find yourself in a completely different world again. The accommodation was again beautiful and very nice, here too the staff was very friendly and hospitable. After two days of relaxing, we looked for some adventure here again, a tour of Stonetown, a beautiful snorkeling tour with a delicious fish BBQ on a private beach and a day of looking around in Pajé. And finally, Cato fulfilled her great wish by swimming with wild dolphins.

And so you spend your last evening in The Rock, toasting an indescribable adventure and not really wanting to go home. This trip was supposed to be a ‘once-in-a-lifetime experience’ and it certainly was. Although we cannot promise that, it could easily become a ‘twice’. The plans are already being made very carefully.

Frédérique & Cato