Day 1 was spent recovering from their 2:30 am landing and sorting out the luggage.
Day 2 saw us driving about 3 hours to a guest house near Usa river, where UK-born Paul and Erica Shaw runs a 4x4 rental company and safari planning agency. Their hospitality was great (they barely had guests for 2 years!) and we chatted late into the night about life in Tanzania and options for our short trip. We eventually decided to leave the cruiser with them and rent one of their kitted Landrovers (the same one Kingsley Holgate had a few months prior). The park fees structure is somewhat greek to me, but a local number plate is a lot cheaper per day ($18 vs $150).
Day 3 was spent driving the 6 hours to Migombani, a camp site outside Lake Manyara. Halfway there.
Day 4 we drove another 6 hours to central Serengeti, where we camped in one of the public (aka budget) camp sites. Signing in to the park took a good 2 hours, since they have a complex computerised registration system. Despite covid the camp site was relatively full. That night we heard lion, jackal and hyena.
Day 5-7 we were spoilt with a private tented camp run by ex-South African Sally. We had two friendly Swahili chefs (Alex and Francis) cooking for us, there was hot water for showering and the fantastic Zeb took us out for two game drives. Zeb has been working the serengeti migration circuit for 5 years and has a wealth of knowledge and experience (and witty stories) to share.
Day 5 we experienced a proper Tanzanian downpour of rain, and the drive back in the open game vehicle was pretty miserable. We also encountered the horrendous condition of the park roads - eish. The landrover's hard suspension soon had me missing our Cruiser very much!
Day 6 we were absolutely spoilt to see a large group of wildebeest crossing the Mara river. Some people wait for days and see nothing, and if you're in the wrong place, you'll easily miss a potential crossing. There are no guarantees in nature, as Zeb reminds us. We also saw a cheetah, leopard and lioness with cubs to round off a very special day.
Day 7 we greeted Zeb and the others and drove back to the Southern exit of the park. That night we camped at the lush public campsite on the rim of the NgoroNgoro crater, a freezing night at 2200m elevation, a total contrast with the yellow plains of the days before.
On Day 8 we had a few hours to explore the inside of the caldera with its stunning vistas and wildlife scenes. We saw two male simbas, large herds of buffalo and zebra and the quietness of the place felt like a world unspoilt by human civilisation - really special. From there we drove to Paul and Erica, about 6 hours back, who suggested that we do the covid test in Arusha the following morning.
Day 9-11. We had a bit longer trek back to get the parents on their flight home, with the drive to Dar taking a lot of time with all the 50km/h zones. We did have two great stop overs before their flight out, one in the Usambara mountains and one at Kimbiji on the ocean with amazing seafood.
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