Tanzania - Arusha and safari

It's difficult to do anything in northern Tanzania without spending a little time in Arusha. And it's difficult to get anything done in Arusha. So one must prepare for a bit of difficulty.

But there are some who have faith in Arusha, such as foreign nations as Arusha has become a hub of international activities for East Africa. For example, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is being held in Arusha. If anyone anted to follow up on justice as it applies to the real-life "Hotel Rwanda" story, check out www.ictr.org

I also learned why there were no hotels available in Arusha when I arrived: because a very large business and political summit was underway, called The Sullivan Summit. Though I was oblivious, this was big-time for Tanzania, mostly because it drew some big names from America. According to the Arusha Times the names included "Reverend Jesse Jackson, Kelenna Azubuike of the 'Golden State Warriors' basketball team, actor Lou Gossett Jr. (of the film credit 'A Good Man in Africa), a team from Black Entertainment Television (B.E.T.), Frank Ski of CBS Radio, TJ Holmes of CNN Television" and and I'm also told that Chris Rock made a surprise appearance.

The reason I heard about Chris Rock was from overhearing chatter that he broke the news of Obama's clinching the Democratic nomination. A few days later, back in Arusha, I was sitting at a restaurant while a crowd of Tanzanian (black) men were watching Hillary Clinton on an Al-Jezeera broadcast. Everyone, including myself, watched intently. The words coming out of her mouth were measured, and when she declared her support for Barack Obama, people broke out in cheers. It was amazing. I even got a bit of a lump in my throat. For reasons beyond the obvious, Africans like Obama. It also helps that his grandmother lives but a few hours north in Kenya.

As I was saying, Arusha for tourists is difficult. This is because there are so many tourists, which draw many hustlers, who flock to the incoming bus terminal for their chance to get a commission from a hotel or a safari company. Being the "slow" season, the odds weren't in my favor.

Having shaken several touts, I walked briskly towards a recommended hotel. When I found out that they were full I had to eat crow and ask the tout who'd followed me, despite my impatience with him, for help. He pointed across the street and there I found my bed for the night. Somehow in the time it took to walk from hotel A to hotel B I was suckered in to booking a safari. Well not entirely, but I was on my way and in one hour I will have followed the text-book wrong-way to book a safari. But much to my pleasant surprise, all worked out.

Though the vehicle that showed to pick me was on time, it had a different company's name. And the people who joined me were of different nationalities than I was told. And their itineraries were a little different than mine. But by 9am we were on our way: a Canadian couple, a Norwegian couple, a cook, a driver and myself, rambling down the road towards Lake Manyara in a noisy diesel Land Rover. Our trip was a three-day, two-night camping safari. We were all anxious to share our concern and relief as the trip materialized.

I'll spare you every detail as there are many books and movies that describe African wilderness much better than I, but I will say it's grand and impressive. Especially having now seen four of "the big five" in Ngorongo Crater, Tarangeri National Park and Lake Manyara National Park. So that's lions, elephants, rhinos, cheetahs but no leopards (I think that's "the big five"). Add giraffes, zebras, water buffaloes, wilderbeasts and a myriad of other animals we've all seen in National Geographic and that was our safari. It seemed so strange to be able to drive around and see these animals in their natural habitat. Then again, all the safari cruisers made it seem less natural, though the animals didn't seem to mind, and in the end I didn't either.

There wasn't enough time for the Serengeti, and for the price I was paying I didn't want to push my luck. In fact, the third national park took some arm-twisting to get. Even to the last day, when our driver and Land Rover where no where to be found, we had to keep reminding the safari operators that they had to fulfill their end of the bargain ... and a bargain it was! … Let me back up.

Having booked a too-cheap-to-be-true safari I knew I was in for a ride. But the two other couples (from two other companies) had similar situations. The driver and cook were from another company and the vehicle was from yet another. Being the slow season it took FIVE companies to get this safari underway. Granted, it was all last-minute, but FIVE companies? This worked to our advantage as we played each company off each other and got the full tour in the end. Thank goodness for cellphones (the Norwegian couple had just bought one for Tanzania), as we were able to call the agents back in Arusha, even from our "remote bush camp", and keep everything on track. So on that last day, they were going to have us take a local bus back to Arusha, but we made them send the guide back and show us Tarangeri. An African adventure indeed!

Back in Arusha, I booked the next bus to make my long-awaited arrival to the Dar Es Salaam, followed by a time-traveling excursion to Zanzibar. But that'll have to be the next chapter as I need to get moving again.