Some things just don’t live up to the hype, and some exceed all expectations… I am DELIGHTED to report that our safari experience completely blew me away! I’ve been dreaming about a trip like this for literal decades. I have always been an animal lover (my childhood bedroom even had wallpaper covered in jungle animals!), and was obsessed with the idea of cruising around to see them in their natural environment.
I’m not really sure why, but I expected that it would be kinda hard to spot the animals, and that we’d spend a lot of time driving around barren landscapes, being lucky to see a couple creatures. Man was I ever wrong!!! The homies were out in ABUNDANCE! Everywhere we looked there was magic happening.
We booked with Makasa Safaris, and I would highly recommend them. We got driven around in a pop-top Land Cruiser by our guide, Julius, who was very knowledgeable and also clearly passionate about the well-being of the animals. He spotted things that we all were totally mystified by, and always had an answer to all of our questions.
We did a 3-day safari, including pick-up from our previous hotel, 2 nights at a lovely hotel, all meals, and drop-off at the airport. To me, this was the perfect length! We got to see 3 different locations: Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire National Park. Each one had something unique to see, which I loved.
Despite not seeing the entire big 5, I’m not disappointed (we just missed the leopard, but saw lions, rhinos, elephants, and African buffalo). What we did see was incredible and I couldn’t believe how lucky we were!!
We spotted elephants in larger numbers than my eyeballs could comprehend; lions lazing in the sun after finishing up the last scraps of their night hunt; wildebeests lining up in their great migration formation; warthogs scurrying around in their little families of four; zebras cuddling together and nursing their babies; water buffalo staring curiously at our car; baboons performing morning and evening rituals of grooming and play; giraffes breaking into a loping run; hippos marinating in the lake; so many kinds of gazelles I can’t even remember their names; and even more still!!!
Here’s a YouTube video from our experience:
This safari was part of our larger trip which included climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and beach bumming in Zanzibar. Not to toot my own horn, but it was the perfect mix of grinding, exploring, adventuring, and relaxing. So if you have the time, go for the triple threat! If you’re tight on time, drop either Kili or Zanzibar… but I’d say keeping the safari is a must.
