Urusha & Urusha National Park


Day 28 & 29 – 6th & 7th Jully 2019

We left Same (the town just outside Mkomazi NP) early morning for Urusha.  We planned to make our bookings for Serengeti at the TANAPA Head Office and to do some shopping in this up-market supermarket other travellers had told us about.   It was a Saturday and we thought that the TANAPA Head Office would close at 13h00 - no such luck, they only operate from Mondays to Fridays.  As they say in Tanzania, “Hakuna Matata”.  We were told that we don’t have to book Serengeti, be it for public or special campsites, at the offices as one could now do it at the gate. (Wrong!)

The traffic in Arusha was horrendous.  Motorbikes are a law unto themselves and the taxi’s don’t differ much from those back home in terms of road rules! We eventually arrived at the supermarket, stocked up on fresh veg and some meat, and enjoyed a 500ml tub of Dairymaid ice cream on route to Meru Mbega Lodge, our digs for the next two nights.

Meru Mbega Lodge is a mere kilometre from the Arusha National Park entrance.


Arusha is one of Tanzania’s smallest parks, but is renown for its beauty.  From the stunning montane forests, lakes and mountains, it is one of the prettiest parks we have ever seen.  At the outset we wondered whether we should bother going into the park as it was overcast and very hazy, and we thought that it would be a waste of money, but when it looked as though the sky was clearing, we decided to bite the bullet.  Afterall, we were there to see Mt Kilimanjaro from Mt Meru!  We firstly traversed the Ngurdoto Crater, then the lakes and made out way up Mt Meru to the Kilimanjaro View Point.  This was the best sighting we had of Kilimanjaro in the overcast weather:



Just a half of a kilometre from the view point is the Old Fig Tree, really a sight worth seeing (and driving through 😊).

We were thrilled to find some Black Colobus Monkeys, Blue Monkeys, and loads of Water Buck, necking Giraffe (who we think were courting), Zebra and Buffalo. 

Blue Monkey
Necking giraffe

Black Colobus Monkey
The cherry on the top was that when we got back to Meru Mbega we climbed what they call the tower – a beautiful deck about three stories off the ground – and got our sighting of Kilimanjaro, albeit a hazy one.

Mt Kilimanjaro in the background

Our next stop is Tarangire National Park.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tarangire National Park

Image
Day 30 & 31 – 8 th & 9 th Jully 2019 The trip from Arusha to Tarangire was absolutely facinating.  Being Masaai territory, you expected only to see the Masaai tending their herds.  But our journey co-incided with a special cattle market in the Mgagau area.  It is here where people come and buy and sell cattle, goats and sheep for either for butcheries, milking and farming. Mgagau Cattle Market  And, of course, some Masaai are too lazy to walk their goat to the market! A Masaai taking his goat to market Tarangire National Park thus far has been the best National Park we have ever visited.   Not a large variety of game, but massive herds of zebra, buffalo, elephant and giraffe.   Also, huge prides of lion. Upon arrival at the gate, the large number of tour operated vehicles was overwhelming.  This is possibly forerunner of what we can expect in the Serengeti earlier next week. Tour Operator's vehicles for Tarangire We wanted special camps
Read more

Peponi Beach Resort

Image
Peponi is really off the beaten track, and for a resort, terribly unspoilt.   We were pleasantly surprised that the campsites had electricity.  We did nothing other than relax for the three days! Peponi Beach When the tide was low, like Zanizibar’s East Coast, the water ebbs for miles. We enjoyed huge bon fires after dinner at the campsite and also bought a big fish (we think a yellow tail) and a much smaller bottom feeder which sort of looks like a grunter, off a local fisherman.  They were prepared on the braai with lovely roasted vegetables and sweet potatoes that we had bought along the road.  Delicious! As there were only 4 vehicles camping, we got to meet the other two couples – the first a young couple from north London, Gabby and Fred, who were on a six-month belated honeymoon that started in Sri Lanka, followed by India and now Africa for the remaining 4 months.  They joined us around the camp fire one evening. The second couple were South Africans from
Read more

The countdown has begun!

After tons of internet research and input from experienced overland travellers who are members of the 4 x 4 Community website, we have finalised our travel plans.  Our thanks go to all those who contributed to our proposed itinerary.  As a great mentor, Stan Weakley deserves a special mention for his valuable input and advice on our plans.  Thanks Stan! This trip will take us from the east coast of South Africa through Botswana, into Katima Mulilo in Namibia, Zambia,Tanzania and Rwanda, and then returning through Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Botswana  home.  A trip of 90 days. Travelling through Africa does not come without its difficulties.  Due to the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the Limpopo, no raw meat can be taken into Botswana.  Also, when entering Botswana this time last year, they confiscated our fruit and veg at the border because of an alleged "fruit fly problem" which according to Botswana border controls up north should not have happened.  A fu
Read more