Victoria Falls, ZW Day 1
Victoria Falls, ZW
Day 18--Day 01 PT - Friday, October 2, 2009 - Serengeti National Park/Fly to Arusha/Overland to Nairobi, Kenya to Begin Trip Extension to Victoria Falls
This was our last day of the Kenya and Tanzania portion of the trip. It was the last day in a tented camp – and our last day with Bariki and Leonard.
We were able to sleep in until 6:45. The porters brought the water for our showers – how we appreciate the on demand water system at home, but we realize if we wanted things just like home, we would never travel!
I paid the laundry and bar bill, we thanked our camp staff, and said our official good-byes to Bariki and Leonard. We had breakfast, checked our tent one more time, and then had our last Learning and Discovery.
The cooks welcomed us to the kitchen tents so we could see how they had been preparing our meals for the past four days. Food and supplies are flown in or trucked in from other communities.
Most cooking and baking are done over open fires, but the 2 cooks do have propane for a gas stove and oven. There is not much storage so almost all of the food is fresh!
At 9:00 all of the bags were packed and loaded into the trucks. We made the short trip to the Kogtende Air Field in 30 minutes. There was no traffic out here in the Serengeti!
The airfield was tiny, but while we were other 5 other planes landed and took off with couples or small groups of tourists. At 10:15 two single propeller 208B Caravan Cessnas landed to pick up our group.
We had expected a larger turbo prop aircraft, for all of us. John, Hazel, and Scott got on board one plane and the rest of us boarded the other with our pilot Steve. There was no co-pilot so I was allowed to sit in the front with Steve.
The flight was a short one to Seronera. Flying over the Serengeti was as remarkable as the 4 days we spent in the park. We flew south at an altitude of 8,600 feet with an air speed of 140 knots.
At Seronera we picked up 3 more passengers and took off again at 11:15. The flight to Arusha was to the East and South and our maximum altitude was only 11,700 with a ground speed of 130 knots.
While Gennie took notes to keep her mind occupied, I took photos and watched Steve work his magic with the little Cessna Caravan. Down below we could see the migration trails of the animals and the roads with Safari Trucks just like ours stopping to see the many animals!
By 11:45 we were flying over the Ngorongoro Crater – no black rhinos! By 12:10 it was time to land in Arusha. We retrieved our bags and left the airport at 12:31.
We were met by our new driver, Shaubat who took us for a brief stop at the bank. We had box lunches that he suggested we eat in the Toyota Safari Truck to save time. We had a long trip and a rough road to Nairobi!
The post–trip To Victoria Falls had only six of us, Beth and Phil and Ellen and Stewart from Portland, Oregon. Back on the East Africa Highway, we thumped and bumped along the same road we had traveled on 15 days ago.
The road was not any better! Our OAT personally designed itinerary said we were to fly to Nairobi, we had talked to Elizabeth and Bariki earlier and even volunteered to pay for the flight from Arusha ourselves.
The road construction made the road almost impassible and the trip that should have taken 4 hours took over 7½ hours! Someone from the Boston OAT office should have to ride in a Safari Truck at least one time and they would understand our complaint!
We crossed the border at Namanga at 3:30. There were exit papers on the Tanzania side and when we entered Kenya again, we thought we would have to pay the $50 re-entry fee for our second trip to the country.
The immigration agent who checked my passport and visa told me mine was good for 6 months. Sure enough, none of us had to pay; What a wonderful surprise!
It was 4:00 by the time the 6 of us and the driver and car were cleared for entry into Kenya. We were back on the road and then at 6:15 we hit Nairobi traffic!
The narrow roads were blocked by cars, busses, huge trucks, pedestrians, bicycles, and motor bikes! Gennie had guessed we would not get to the hotel until 6:30 – her optimism always makes me smile!
By the time we got to the hotel it was 8:15 and we were all very tired and ready for dinner, a shower, and bed. While Gennie straightened out the room arrangements, I got internet access for us and Shaubat told us that dinner was not included in our plan contrary to what it said in two places in our itinerary.
We were happy to be safely back in Nairobi, happy to have a clean room, a hot shower, and happy to have internet connections with the world again!
We have a very early flight to South Africa in the morning so we tried to get some sleep before our 4:00 wake up call. Tomorrow is another day!
Accommodations: InterContinental Nairobi - - - Meal: B, L, D
If you wish to travel with OAT Click Here.
To receive $50 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062
Comments
Flight from Serengeti to Arusha (1:31)
Camp Kitchen
Sign Outside Airport
Getting Ready for Our Flight
Barikiel and Leonard Saying Goodbye
Co-Pilot? NOT!
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