Our flight left at 10:05a
and arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport at 7:45p. It was an 8 hour and
35 minute flight. So, our total flying time (not counting any layovers we would
have had) was 19 hours. We’re glad we split it up and spent the night in
Amsterdam. Since it was a day flight I finished one of my books and we also
watched a movie. We probably dozed a bit as well. The same great service and
food helped the flight go by quickly. We arrived and stood in line to get our
Tanzania visa. We paid in one line and then stood in another to get photos
taken and finger prints. Well, actually we had to stand in a third line as the
camera was not working in the line we were in. It all went pretty quickly
however.
We were picked up by Duma
Explorer and our driver was Kasimbo. Too bad it was dark as we could have seen
Mt Kilimanjaro. We were on our way to Arusha Coffee Lodge which was
around a 90-minute ride. We decided
to spend 2 nights there to adjust to the time difference and rest after the
long flights.
Here is the link to the
Safari company we used: www.dumaexplorer.com
Here is the link to the
Arusha Coffee Lodge:
What a greeting we got upon
arrival! I think everyone that worked there was lined up to greet the new
arrivals with warm wash cloths and a welcome drink. We got checked in and they
grabbed our bags and we were shown to our cabin. What a charming place! We
unpacked a few things and got ready for bed. We had chocolate candy on the
night stand so of course we ate that first.
this wasn't our arrival, but a large group the next morning
not our luggage but a cute photo
our cabin
our cabin
our cabin
lizard on our deck
what a charming room
August 12
It was COLD in Arusha. The
water bottles made the beds warm, but man the bathroom and especially the
toilet seat was freezing! The room had a fireplace, but they never lit it. The
shower was nice though and we washed out a few things and hung them to dry.
Next to the coffee machine were the most wonderful shortbread cookies. We went
to the indoor restaurant and had a very good breakfast and
the dining room had an open fire. We then wandered around the grounds which had quite a few lovely
birds and beautiful flowers. We opted not to go into the town of Arusha (not
much there) and just walked about the coffee plantation and relaxed. I can't imagine if we would have flown in the evening and gotten right up early the next morning to start the safari. Plus, if anything had gone wrong with the flights we may have lost a day.
walkways around the grounds
another cabin
coffee plantation
from the parking lot
Golden-breasted Bunting
African Pied Wagtail
Common Bulbuls
Common Bulbul
Ring-necked Dove
Fork-tailed Drongo
Fork-tailed Drongo
African Green-Pigeon
Baglafecht Weaver
Baglafecht Weaver
Arrow-marked Babbler
Collared Sunbird
Collared Sunbird
Black-headed Weaver
Maribu Stork
Northern Fiscal
Behind the Coffee Lodge was a large open lawn and gardens where we had lunch. It was a
bit cool out, but they had a nice buffet and it was quite peaceful out there.
For dinner we opted for a lighter meal in the bar area. We turned
in early, excited that the safari would start the next day!
Already enjoying my virtual travels in Africa.
ReplyDeleteJane
Thank you for reading!
ReplyDelete