Tanzania for Diving and Safari
Nov 19, 2012, 6:38 am
#1
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: London, UK
Programs: Royal Orchid, BA
Posts: 70
Tanzania for Diving and Safari
Having just returned from somewhere that doesn't figure prominently on Trip Reports (Tanzania) I thought I'd pen one of my own. The missus and I are just back from a two week break with a week in Zanzibar and a week on Safari in the Serengeti, to celebrate our mutual 40th's. We flew British Airways out and back in WT+.
Going Out
BA47, 27th October, London to Dar Es Salaam, WT+, Scheduled Departure @ 19.20, actual departure @ 19.15. 767, G-BNWV
The morning started worryingly - checking in on-line the BA system told me that the flight had been delayed for over two hours and we wouldn't be leaving until around 10pm. As we had a connecting flight to Zanzibar at 9am, and the BA flight was due to land at 7am (and not knowing too much about the efficiency, or otherwise of small Tanzanian airlines) I e-mailed them (Coastal Air) to let them know of the delay. Encouragingly, they e-mailed back within the hour to let me know they'd put us onto the midday flight instead. All good. And then of course, around midday, a quick check on the BA app told me that the flight was now leaving on time, so back to original plan. I e-mailed Coastal again to let them know to put us back on the 9am flight and thought that's that (little did I know!).
We live in West London, so at most times of the day, the tube from Hammersmith is pretty much the fastest way to get to the airport.
As we were seriously restricted in luggage weight (internal flights in Tanzania have a 15kg limit per person), taking bags on the tube was easier than normal. Having checked in already, we didn't leave home until 5 and were in T5 by 5.45. The flight was still on time, so through security, a bit of shopping and ready to board. The flight was leaving from the main terminal so no worries about taking the train to the satellite gates. Boarding was well under way by the time we got to the gate at 6.45 and we were amongst the last onto the plane.
I didn't get a shot of the BA plane at Heathrow, but as we were waiting for our onward flight, it taxied past the domestic terminal
Unfortunately walking on to the plane it was immediately apparent that it wasn't one of the three LH 767's that has got the new WT+ cabins, but never mind. I still find the old seats in WT+ very comfortable, so it wasn't the end of the world. I do find the BA product infinitely better than the equivalent Virgin one - the seats are nicer (if showing their age) and you seem to have more legroom. We'd taken two middle seats rather than a window and an aisle, as on a night flight I think it's nicer if you don't have to clamber over your partner to get out, especially if they're asleep. The doors were shut nice and early and we pushed back 5 minutes ahead of schedule. We were taking off towards the west, so a longish taxi to the far end of the airport, but as we approached 27L, I could see out of one of the windows, that there were no planes in front of us, so a rolling taxi onto the runway and off we went. We were in the air at 19.35 an almost inconceivably rapid departure from Heathrow. I'm afraid there are no pictures of the flight itself as I'd stuck my phone into my bag and just plain forgot to get it back out! The flight was nice and quick and free from turbulence - I sleep well on most flights and this was no exception. After eating an unmemorable pasta dish after takeoff I closed my eyes and woke shortly before landing, 7 hours later. Arriving into Dar Es Salaam, we were treated to a view of the outskirts of the city and landed at 6.25, nicely ahead of schedule. Dar isn't the biggest airport in the world, as only a couple of other jets were at the terminal, one from Qatar and one from Precision (a local airline). Having picked up on lots of threads of Trip Advisor, we'd got our visa before we left London, although you can get them on arrival. And that was a rather good thing! They only had two desks open for the visa and the scrum that ensued was substantial. Talking to another passenger later on, they told me it had taken them an hour to get their visa and they weren't at the back of the queue! Bearing in mind the immigration hall is small and has no a/c, this wouldn't have been a pleasant experience!
But, we got through quickly, picked up the bags and went outside. We were met by a rep from Coastal and taken (with a couple of other passengers) to the domestic terminal, a 5 minute drive away. At the Coastal desk, we checked in for the 9.15 flight as planned, our bags were tagged and we sat down for the hour or so wait in the rather unpleasant little terminal. Come 9am, the flight was called and off we went - except we didn't! At the door, we were asked to step aside and wait for a manager. He came over and explained that we were not on the 9.15 flight as I'd cancelled it and we were now on the midday flight. I explained the circumstances and showed them the e-mails I'd exchanged the previous day, but he was not budging and as the plane only had 9 passengers on it, and they'd sold our seats, we soon saw our plane leaving. To cut a long argument short, I slightly lost my rag and this seemed to prompt them into action. Another manager came over full of apologies and explained that they recognised that it was a misunderstanding and probably their mistake and were getting another pilot in from the city to fly us by ourselves He'd be there by 10 and we'd only be slightly delayed. 10 came and went, with no sign of the pilot and me getting annoyed. By 11, I was very hot (no a/c in domestic either) and very annoyed. The manager explained the traffic was really bad in Dar but the pilot would be there within 10 minutes. At 11.20 he came over and told me the pilot had given up and gone home and as it was nearly 12, we'd go on that flight as originally planned........ Was the whole thing my fault for being pre-emptive in my mail to them - probably, but I rather suspect there was no pilot and they had no intention of flying us out on our own. Oh well, lesson learnt.
Coastal Air, 28th October, Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar, Cessna Caravan
Anyway, at 12, we finally walked onto the tarmac for the short flight to Zanzibar.
Most of the planes on the tarmac were Cessna Caravans and this is what we would be in - it was well maintained and seems to have been updated with a touch screen nav panel, which was pretty cool.
I bagged myself a seat behind the pilot and a quick taxi and we were off. The flight itself is only 20 minutes long, but the views over the Indian Ocean are pretty special.
A quick descent into Zanzibar airport over Stone Town
Stone Town and it's main harbour - the large building you can see on the front is the old Sultan's palace, which was the setting for the shortest war ever - 42 minutes long, between the British and the German-backed Sultan.
and the journey was over. The terminal is pretty catastrophic, but a new terminal is being built with the intention of being able to handle larger amounts of passengers and possibly direct flights from Europe. Oddly,you have to go through passport control again, but once through the bags from the plane were there and we were in our taxi on our way to our hotel on the West side of the island.
Safari
A week later, after a lovely time on the beach and diving, we were ready to depart again, this time for safari in the Serengeti and beyond. Our itinerary from the travel agent was a bit mysterious, basically saying we'd be picked up at 5am from the hotel and would arrive at our safari lodge at about 1pm in time for lunch - how we were going to get there was a mystery, though as it was about 400 miles away over water one suspected a plane journey was likely!
Come 5am on Monday 5th, there was indeed a car to take us to the airport at Zanzibar. Our driver took us to a desk for a company called Flightlink and checked us in for the trip to Seronera. At this point it's explained that we'll fly first to Dar and then change plane for the flight to Seronera. On the way out of London, we'd bought a bottle of rum and a bottle of vodka for evening cocktails in our room (a nice way to save cash on extortionate hotel booze!). Because of the 15kg weight limits on internal flights, we had the booze in our carry on bags; I had the rum and my girlfriend had the vodka. As we went through security, both our bags were pulled off and the security lady asked to open them - seeing the bottles of booze, she told us, in broken English, that they weren't allowed in our bags. Before the lady could react, my girlfriend picked her bottle out and, as our hold bags were about 5 metres from us, went over and put it in her case! The security lady looked rather surprised and as I went to do the same, she stopped me rather forcibly. As I was about to protest, she very quietly said "Tip?" - thinking I'd misheard her, I asked her to repeat herself and she went "Tip" again. Figuring out she wanted a bribe, I didn't bother arguing and went to my wallet - she immediately walked away hurriedly, whilst watching what I was doing. I got a dollar bill and waved it at her - she looked even more terrified and through the medium of sign language, I got that she wanted me to put it under a bloke of wood in one of the x-ray trays! Which I did and then passed it to her - she was happy, I'd had a laugh and kept my booze!
Flightlink, 5th November, Zanzibar to Seronera, via Dar & Arusha, Cessna Caravan
After half an hour in the "departure lounge", we get called over by a guy in a vest who points at a plane and tells us that it's ours.
It's another Cessna Caravan, this time operated by a company called Flightlink. Unlike the first flight, there were two pilots, and a couple of other passengers. The pilot gives us a rapid safety briefing and off we went. It was obvious that off the two pilots one was senior and was testing the junior one, as he seemed to be marking him, similar to a driving test. Was waiting for the slap on the dashboard and the emergency stop, but luckily not!
Pilot driving test?
After 20 minutes, we're back in Dar and as we're getting off the plane a despatcher meets us to tell us we're staying on the same plane, but we have 10 minutes for a loo break before leaving again. So, back to my least favourite terminal for 5 minutes and then wandered back onto the tarmac and to the plane.
This time we had a new pilot by himself and he explained we'd be flying first to Arusha and then onto Seronera. This time we were the only people on the plane.
Private Plane!
After a quick safety briefing, we headed off. The first flight was to be 1h 45m and the second flight about 50m. So, off again from Dar and a nice climb to 15,000 ft. The flight was pretty easy, with only a few bumps leaving Dar. The views weren't great as it was a pretty cloudy day and we were soon descending towards Arusha. Arusha has two airstrips (of which more later), the secondary one by the town and the main airport about an hour outside, which goes by the name of Kilimanjaro. We landed at the smaller strip, which seems like a centre for little regional prop planes.
The pilot asked us to wait by the terminal (!) whilst they refuelled, so we wandered off for a loo break while the plane was rejuiced. I'm not sure why we had to stop there as there were no other passengers and I'd have thought the Caravan would have enough fuel, but I think Arusha is a major airport in the area, so it might just have been a chance to juice it up for a long day!
After 20 or so minutes, we got waved back over by the pilot and climbed on board. The pilot turned round, grinned and asked if we'd like another safety briefing - we declined! So, off we went again for a nice and quick 50 minutes. Arusha's at about 4,500 ft, so the climb out to 15,000 was quicker this time, but it's quite odd being in a plane climbing at 800fpm, compared to a jet at 3,000 fpm! This time on the flight, we were treated to some quite astonishing views. The clouds cleared and we got some fantastic views of the Serengeti. The Seronera airstrip's roughly in the middle of the Serengeti, so around 20 minutes of the flight was over the National Park. The scenery is quite diverse, from never ending plains of scrub to heavily tree'd areas - even flying over I was getting excited by the prospect of safari.
The flight had one more treat for us - as we descended to the airstrip, we passed over a herd of giraffe - I was a bit slow getting my camera out, but seeing these incredible beasts from 2,000 feet above them was superb.
Seronera is slightly more than a dirt track in the middle of nowhere, but not much! It's the main airstrip for the Serengeti (there are 4 in the park in total), so for most people it's where they come in and out of. At peak (during the summer migration) it's handling in the region of 20 flights per hour (according to our guide), so a few facilities, such as toilet's and a coffee shop are well used. We touched down and it wasn't as bumpy as I expected. There was a large crowd of people and safari 4x4's standing by the parking area (tourists on their way out) and a couple of other planes.
As we got off the plane, we were met by our guide and our bags were taken to our car (a converted land cruiser, with a pop up roof - the most common form of 4x4in the area).
And that was the main part of the journey over - a couple of hours in the 4x4 and we were at the hotel (30 mins ahead of schedule!). For the next week we enjoyed the most spectacular safari covering the Serengeti, The NgoroNgoro Crater and Lake Manyara, seeing the big 5 and a score of other animals - highlights included seeing a Cheetah chase an African Hare, a pair of mating lions and a massive herd of elephants that didn't really like us! A few pics below.
Back Home via Dar
So after the spectacular, back to the mundane and long old trip back home. The last stop on the safari was Lake Manyara and from there we were to be driven back to Arusha (only a couple of hours), have a quick bite to eat and then onto a plane for Dar es Salaam from where we were leaving the following day bright and early.
Precision Air, Kilimanjaro to Dar, via Zanzibar, 737-700
All was good until we were eating lunch in Arusha, when our guide, who we'd just said goodbye to, wandered over to give us some slightly annoying news. Our flight from Arusha (on Precision Air) had been cancelled and we were now taking a later flight from Kilimanjaro airport an hour and a half's drive away. As there were a number of people at the restaurant who were in a similar position (it seems to be a traditional end of safari stop!), the airport had laid on a bus that would take us. So, instead of a nice leisurely lunch, we had to bolt down our food and traipse out to the bus. We all got on, save for one couple and sat and waited - and waited - and waited. Turns out there was a problem with the other couple's passports and the bus driver wasn't prepared to take them to the airport until the airline said it was ok. So, we sat on a non-ac bus in the midday African sun for 45 minutes, not being let off as the bus driver told us "we'd be going in a minute". To say tempers were as high as the temperature would be an understatement as fearing a revolt, the bus driver hussled the other couple on and off we went. Sure enough, 90 minutes later we arrived at Kilimanjaro airport and I was rather shocked. Unlike the previous 3 airports I'd been at in Tanzania, this was a modern well equipped airport, with decent catering, check in etc. All good, until we checked in, when we got told that instead of going to Dar, this flight was going to Zanzibar first and then back to Dar. As it was an hour later than the first and the Dar detour adding another hour, we'd be arriving into Dar at 7ish rather than 5. Rather annoying as I'd planned to go to a restaurant by the coast for dinner, but as its reservation only and we'd booked for 8, not a lot of chance of that. Once the flight was called, we found (as my partner put it) that we were on a proper plane, a 737
As the clouds in the area had been looking ominous, I was actually not to upset. There were storms around and the thought of flying in a Cessna through them hadn't been too fun. So, off we went for a quick 45 minute flight to Zanzibar, somewhere I didn't think I'd see again in a hurry! Half of the plane got off and a bunch of passengers got on for the quick flight to Dar. Off again and 15 minutes later we touched down in Dar, having climbed to a staggering 6,000 feet (according to the captain) - interestingly the flaps were never fully retracted during the flight. Dar arrivals were nice and quick and our driver was waiting for us. We got into the hotel at 8 and decided to have a quick bite there and a drink, and repack everything as we needed to leave the next morning at 7am for our flight back to London.
BA46, Dar to Heathrow, 767-300
After a decent nights sleep, we grabbed some breakfast and met our driver again who took us through a slumbering early morning Dar to the airport. BA check in wasn't too bad, but Tanzania had one more little annoyance for us, an additional $10 pp departure tax that was to be collected for every passenger, due to a recent tax rise. Ho-hum. Unlike Kilimanjaro, Dar is a dump of an airport, with very little in the way of facilities, and certainly no a/c! So, after a not particularly pleasant hour or so in the departure lounge, the flight was called and we trooped on. Unfortunately, this 767 was also not refurbed, but the TV worked and it wasn't too bad. Most of the time I wanted to go through my pics and edit them, so the flight wasn't going to be too onerous. We were due to leave at 9.15 and we pushed back at 9.10 and were in the air five minutes early. So, with the exception of the cancelled one, every flight we took left ahead of schedule - not bad! After 45 minutes, the Captain mentioned we were passing close to Kilimanjaro on the left hand side. Very luckily I was in a left hand window seat and got some great shots of it. And that was pretty much it.
- The flight was slightly faster than scheduled and after a quick couple of circuits over London,
we landed at around 3.45, 30 mins ahead of schedule. Through T5 nice and quick, popped into M&S to get some milk, onto the tube and home by 5.15. The end of a fantastic two weeks.
Going Out
BA47, 27th October, London to Dar Es Salaam, WT+, Scheduled Departure @ 19.20, actual departure @ 19.15. 767, G-BNWV
The morning started worryingly - checking in on-line the BA system told me that the flight had been delayed for over two hours and we wouldn't be leaving until around 10pm. As we had a connecting flight to Zanzibar at 9am, and the BA flight was due to land at 7am (and not knowing too much about the efficiency, or otherwise of small Tanzanian airlines) I e-mailed them (Coastal Air) to let them know of the delay. Encouragingly, they e-mailed back within the hour to let me know they'd put us onto the midday flight instead. All good. And then of course, around midday, a quick check on the BA app told me that the flight was now leaving on time, so back to original plan. I e-mailed Coastal again to let them know to put us back on the 9am flight and thought that's that (little did I know!).
We live in West London, so at most times of the day, the tube from Hammersmith is pretty much the fastest way to get to the airport.
As we were seriously restricted in luggage weight (internal flights in Tanzania have a 15kg limit per person), taking bags on the tube was easier than normal. Having checked in already, we didn't leave home until 5 and were in T5 by 5.45. The flight was still on time, so through security, a bit of shopping and ready to board. The flight was leaving from the main terminal so no worries about taking the train to the satellite gates. Boarding was well under way by the time we got to the gate at 6.45 and we were amongst the last onto the plane.
I didn't get a shot of the BA plane at Heathrow, but as we were waiting for our onward flight, it taxied past the domestic terminal
Unfortunately walking on to the plane it was immediately apparent that it wasn't one of the three LH 767's that has got the new WT+ cabins, but never mind. I still find the old seats in WT+ very comfortable, so it wasn't the end of the world. I do find the BA product infinitely better than the equivalent Virgin one - the seats are nicer (if showing their age) and you seem to have more legroom. We'd taken two middle seats rather than a window and an aisle, as on a night flight I think it's nicer if you don't have to clamber over your partner to get out, especially if they're asleep. The doors were shut nice and early and we pushed back 5 minutes ahead of schedule. We were taking off towards the west, so a longish taxi to the far end of the airport, but as we approached 27L, I could see out of one of the windows, that there were no planes in front of us, so a rolling taxi onto the runway and off we went. We were in the air at 19.35 an almost inconceivably rapid departure from Heathrow. I'm afraid there are no pictures of the flight itself as I'd stuck my phone into my bag and just plain forgot to get it back out! The flight was nice and quick and free from turbulence - I sleep well on most flights and this was no exception. After eating an unmemorable pasta dish after takeoff I closed my eyes and woke shortly before landing, 7 hours later. Arriving into Dar Es Salaam, we were treated to a view of the outskirts of the city and landed at 6.25, nicely ahead of schedule. Dar isn't the biggest airport in the world, as only a couple of other jets were at the terminal, one from Qatar and one from Precision (a local airline). Having picked up on lots of threads of Trip Advisor, we'd got our visa before we left London, although you can get them on arrival. And that was a rather good thing! They only had two desks open for the visa and the scrum that ensued was substantial. Talking to another passenger later on, they told me it had taken them an hour to get their visa and they weren't at the back of the queue! Bearing in mind the immigration hall is small and has no a/c, this wouldn't have been a pleasant experience!
But, we got through quickly, picked up the bags and went outside. We were met by a rep from Coastal and taken (with a couple of other passengers) to the domestic terminal, a 5 minute drive away. At the Coastal desk, we checked in for the 9.15 flight as planned, our bags were tagged and we sat down for the hour or so wait in the rather unpleasant little terminal. Come 9am, the flight was called and off we went - except we didn't! At the door, we were asked to step aside and wait for a manager. He came over and explained that we were not on the 9.15 flight as I'd cancelled it and we were now on the midday flight. I explained the circumstances and showed them the e-mails I'd exchanged the previous day, but he was not budging and as the plane only had 9 passengers on it, and they'd sold our seats, we soon saw our plane leaving. To cut a long argument short, I slightly lost my rag and this seemed to prompt them into action. Another manager came over full of apologies and explained that they recognised that it was a misunderstanding and probably their mistake and were getting another pilot in from the city to fly us by ourselves He'd be there by 10 and we'd only be slightly delayed. 10 came and went, with no sign of the pilot and me getting annoyed. By 11, I was very hot (no a/c in domestic either) and very annoyed. The manager explained the traffic was really bad in Dar but the pilot would be there within 10 minutes. At 11.20 he came over and told me the pilot had given up and gone home and as it was nearly 12, we'd go on that flight as originally planned........ Was the whole thing my fault for being pre-emptive in my mail to them - probably, but I rather suspect there was no pilot and they had no intention of flying us out on our own. Oh well, lesson learnt.
Coastal Air, 28th October, Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar, Cessna Caravan
Anyway, at 12, we finally walked onto the tarmac for the short flight to Zanzibar.
Most of the planes on the tarmac were Cessna Caravans and this is what we would be in - it was well maintained and seems to have been updated with a touch screen nav panel, which was pretty cool.
I bagged myself a seat behind the pilot and a quick taxi and we were off. The flight itself is only 20 minutes long, but the views over the Indian Ocean are pretty special.
A quick descent into Zanzibar airport over Stone Town
Stone Town and it's main harbour - the large building you can see on the front is the old Sultan's palace, which was the setting for the shortest war ever - 42 minutes long, between the British and the German-backed Sultan.
and the journey was over. The terminal is pretty catastrophic, but a new terminal is being built with the intention of being able to handle larger amounts of passengers and possibly direct flights from Europe. Oddly,you have to go through passport control again, but once through the bags from the plane were there and we were in our taxi on our way to our hotel on the West side of the island.
Safari
A week later, after a lovely time on the beach and diving, we were ready to depart again, this time for safari in the Serengeti and beyond. Our itinerary from the travel agent was a bit mysterious, basically saying we'd be picked up at 5am from the hotel and would arrive at our safari lodge at about 1pm in time for lunch - how we were going to get there was a mystery, though as it was about 400 miles away over water one suspected a plane journey was likely!
Come 5am on Monday 5th, there was indeed a car to take us to the airport at Zanzibar. Our driver took us to a desk for a company called Flightlink and checked us in for the trip to Seronera. At this point it's explained that we'll fly first to Dar and then change plane for the flight to Seronera. On the way out of London, we'd bought a bottle of rum and a bottle of vodka for evening cocktails in our room (a nice way to save cash on extortionate hotel booze!). Because of the 15kg weight limits on internal flights, we had the booze in our carry on bags; I had the rum and my girlfriend had the vodka. As we went through security, both our bags were pulled off and the security lady asked to open them - seeing the bottles of booze, she told us, in broken English, that they weren't allowed in our bags. Before the lady could react, my girlfriend picked her bottle out and, as our hold bags were about 5 metres from us, went over and put it in her case! The security lady looked rather surprised and as I went to do the same, she stopped me rather forcibly. As I was about to protest, she very quietly said "Tip?" - thinking I'd misheard her, I asked her to repeat herself and she went "Tip" again. Figuring out she wanted a bribe, I didn't bother arguing and went to my wallet - she immediately walked away hurriedly, whilst watching what I was doing. I got a dollar bill and waved it at her - she looked even more terrified and through the medium of sign language, I got that she wanted me to put it under a bloke of wood in one of the x-ray trays! Which I did and then passed it to her - she was happy, I'd had a laugh and kept my booze!
Flightlink, 5th November, Zanzibar to Seronera, via Dar & Arusha, Cessna Caravan
After half an hour in the "departure lounge", we get called over by a guy in a vest who points at a plane and tells us that it's ours.
It's another Cessna Caravan, this time operated by a company called Flightlink. Unlike the first flight, there were two pilots, and a couple of other passengers. The pilot gives us a rapid safety briefing and off we went. It was obvious that off the two pilots one was senior and was testing the junior one, as he seemed to be marking him, similar to a driving test. Was waiting for the slap on the dashboard and the emergency stop, but luckily not!
Pilot driving test?
After 20 minutes, we're back in Dar and as we're getting off the plane a despatcher meets us to tell us we're staying on the same plane, but we have 10 minutes for a loo break before leaving again. So, back to my least favourite terminal for 5 minutes and then wandered back onto the tarmac and to the plane.
This time we had a new pilot by himself and he explained we'd be flying first to Arusha and then onto Seronera. This time we were the only people on the plane.
Private Plane!
After a quick safety briefing, we headed off. The first flight was to be 1h 45m and the second flight about 50m. So, off again from Dar and a nice climb to 15,000 ft. The flight was pretty easy, with only a few bumps leaving Dar. The views weren't great as it was a pretty cloudy day and we were soon descending towards Arusha. Arusha has two airstrips (of which more later), the secondary one by the town and the main airport about an hour outside, which goes by the name of Kilimanjaro. We landed at the smaller strip, which seems like a centre for little regional prop planes.
The pilot asked us to wait by the terminal (!) whilst they refuelled, so we wandered off for a loo break while the plane was rejuiced. I'm not sure why we had to stop there as there were no other passengers and I'd have thought the Caravan would have enough fuel, but I think Arusha is a major airport in the area, so it might just have been a chance to juice it up for a long day!
After 20 or so minutes, we got waved back over by the pilot and climbed on board. The pilot turned round, grinned and asked if we'd like another safety briefing - we declined! So, off we went again for a nice and quick 50 minutes. Arusha's at about 4,500 ft, so the climb out to 15,000 was quicker this time, but it's quite odd being in a plane climbing at 800fpm, compared to a jet at 3,000 fpm! This time on the flight, we were treated to some quite astonishing views. The clouds cleared and we got some fantastic views of the Serengeti. The Seronera airstrip's roughly in the middle of the Serengeti, so around 20 minutes of the flight was over the National Park. The scenery is quite diverse, from never ending plains of scrub to heavily tree'd areas - even flying over I was getting excited by the prospect of safari.
The flight had one more treat for us - as we descended to the airstrip, we passed over a herd of giraffe - I was a bit slow getting my camera out, but seeing these incredible beasts from 2,000 feet above them was superb.
Seronera is slightly more than a dirt track in the middle of nowhere, but not much! It's the main airstrip for the Serengeti (there are 4 in the park in total), so for most people it's where they come in and out of. At peak (during the summer migration) it's handling in the region of 20 flights per hour (according to our guide), so a few facilities, such as toilet's and a coffee shop are well used. We touched down and it wasn't as bumpy as I expected. There was a large crowd of people and safari 4x4's standing by the parking area (tourists on their way out) and a couple of other planes.
As we got off the plane, we were met by our guide and our bags were taken to our car (a converted land cruiser, with a pop up roof - the most common form of 4x4in the area).
And that was the main part of the journey over - a couple of hours in the 4x4 and we were at the hotel (30 mins ahead of schedule!). For the next week we enjoyed the most spectacular safari covering the Serengeti, The NgoroNgoro Crater and Lake Manyara, seeing the big 5 and a score of other animals - highlights included seeing a Cheetah chase an African Hare, a pair of mating lions and a massive herd of elephants that didn't really like us! A few pics below.
Back Home via Dar
So after the spectacular, back to the mundane and long old trip back home. The last stop on the safari was Lake Manyara and from there we were to be driven back to Arusha (only a couple of hours), have a quick bite to eat and then onto a plane for Dar es Salaam from where we were leaving the following day bright and early.
Precision Air, Kilimanjaro to Dar, via Zanzibar, 737-700
All was good until we were eating lunch in Arusha, when our guide, who we'd just said goodbye to, wandered over to give us some slightly annoying news. Our flight from Arusha (on Precision Air) had been cancelled and we were now taking a later flight from Kilimanjaro airport an hour and a half's drive away. As there were a number of people at the restaurant who were in a similar position (it seems to be a traditional end of safari stop!), the airport had laid on a bus that would take us. So, instead of a nice leisurely lunch, we had to bolt down our food and traipse out to the bus. We all got on, save for one couple and sat and waited - and waited - and waited. Turns out there was a problem with the other couple's passports and the bus driver wasn't prepared to take them to the airport until the airline said it was ok. So, we sat on a non-ac bus in the midday African sun for 45 minutes, not being let off as the bus driver told us "we'd be going in a minute". To say tempers were as high as the temperature would be an understatement as fearing a revolt, the bus driver hussled the other couple on and off we went. Sure enough, 90 minutes later we arrived at Kilimanjaro airport and I was rather shocked. Unlike the previous 3 airports I'd been at in Tanzania, this was a modern well equipped airport, with decent catering, check in etc. All good, until we checked in, when we got told that instead of going to Dar, this flight was going to Zanzibar first and then back to Dar. As it was an hour later than the first and the Dar detour adding another hour, we'd be arriving into Dar at 7ish rather than 5. Rather annoying as I'd planned to go to a restaurant by the coast for dinner, but as its reservation only and we'd booked for 8, not a lot of chance of that. Once the flight was called, we found (as my partner put it) that we were on a proper plane, a 737
As the clouds in the area had been looking ominous, I was actually not to upset. There were storms around and the thought of flying in a Cessna through them hadn't been too fun. So, off we went for a quick 45 minute flight to Zanzibar, somewhere I didn't think I'd see again in a hurry! Half of the plane got off and a bunch of passengers got on for the quick flight to Dar. Off again and 15 minutes later we touched down in Dar, having climbed to a staggering 6,000 feet (according to the captain) - interestingly the flaps were never fully retracted during the flight. Dar arrivals were nice and quick and our driver was waiting for us. We got into the hotel at 8 and decided to have a quick bite there and a drink, and repack everything as we needed to leave the next morning at 7am for our flight back to London.
BA46, Dar to Heathrow, 767-300
After a decent nights sleep, we grabbed some breakfast and met our driver again who took us through a slumbering early morning Dar to the airport. BA check in wasn't too bad, but Tanzania had one more little annoyance for us, an additional $10 pp departure tax that was to be collected for every passenger, due to a recent tax rise. Ho-hum. Unlike Kilimanjaro, Dar is a dump of an airport, with very little in the way of facilities, and certainly no a/c! So, after a not particularly pleasant hour or so in the departure lounge, the flight was called and we trooped on. Unfortunately, this 767 was also not refurbed, but the TV worked and it wasn't too bad. Most of the time I wanted to go through my pics and edit them, so the flight wasn't going to be too onerous. We were due to leave at 9.15 and we pushed back at 9.10 and were in the air five minutes early. So, with the exception of the cancelled one, every flight we took left ahead of schedule - not bad! After 45 minutes, the Captain mentioned we were passing close to Kilimanjaro on the left hand side. Very luckily I was in a left hand window seat and got some great shots of it. And that was pretty much it.
- The flight was slightly faster than scheduled and after a quick couple of circuits over London,
we landed at around 3.45, 30 mins ahead of schedule. Through T5 nice and quick, popped into M&S to get some milk, onto the tube and home by 5.15. The end of a fantastic two weeks.
Dec 8, 2012, 8:40 am
#4
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Atlanta but Washington DC will always be home.
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Posts: 2,076
hifirob, with which outfit did you go on Safari? I'm planning my own trip and it sounds like you had a really great time and your safari went well.
Dec 9, 2012, 10:47 pm
#5
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: Hilton Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Sixt Diamond, Hertz PC, Bonvoy Gold, UA G
Posts: 596
ARK has one of the crappiest attempts at a terminal ever, and the flight schedule is literally on a chalkboard there. Did you get a chance to go to the lounge at JRO? They have a pool table.