Tanzania - First Impressions

 

We left Doha in the wee hours.  I think I’d slept for 5 minutes, but five hours had passed and before long we were landing at Kilimanjaro International Airport.  What an odd scene to be disembarking from a large jet at the smallest of airports. 

We breezed through customs, grabbed our bags and stepped out of the airport terminal to be surrounded by people holding name cards looking for their safari travelers.  In that crowd was a beautiful lady with a hand written sign:  David Victor.  That’s us!  She moved forward and greeted us with a big embrace as if we were long lost cousins.  Welcome to Tanzania. Karibu

It was quite disconcerting, sitting in the front left seat of the car and not being the driver.  They drive on the left side of the road, with motorcycles passing, people walking alongside, and on-coming traffic swerving into your path to overtake other vehicles. 

The streets were lined with small shops, from hair salons to motorbike repair.  There were also temporary roadside stands selling fresh produce or hand made wears.  There were people, motorcycles, bicycles, buses all sharing the same roadway.  We’d never been to Tanzania before, but our first impressions were like those of other African countries.  We were back in Africa.

The roadway was very dry and dusty.  The trees and plants along side the road were covered in dust and the fields were dry.  Hopefully the short rains would come in October and freshen up the landscape. 

Veneranda and Boaz, our host couple for this Catalyste+ project, were excited to get to know us as they drove us to the hotel which they had booked for us.  The Safari House was a long way out into the countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of village life.  We had travelled many miles along a very stony road when they had to call for directions.  Even they weren’t sure where we were headed! 

The Safari House was one of the many lodges in the area used by travellers on the way to the big national parks, like the Serengeti; or on the way to hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak.  We were not their typical guests staying for two weeks on a volunteer assignment.  Before long we were checked in and headed off for a long nap before lunch at 1 p.m.  Our Tanzanian adventure had begun!

View from our room