Around March 2006, I decided it was time for a vacation of a lifetime and Africa was the location. I began my research online looking for "best of" safari's for 2005 that offered the most days of wildlife viewing with the smallest groups. Thompson Safari's arrived at the top of my list and I put my deposit down and emailed my three travel buddies to find out who was in for a 13 day safari in Tanzania. To my surprise, my friend Christine who does not like nature, outdoors, wild animals or roughing it in any location less than a Four Seasons is the first and only friend to sign up. We spend the next 5 months pouring over books, blogs, internet sites and the travel package provided by Thompson eagerly anticipating our trip. As we get closer to the date, we apply for our Tanzania Visas, read and re-read the travel packet provided by Thompson and spend a full weekend purchasing the clothing and accessories necessary to be fully prepared for our trip.
DAY ONE & TWO - Travel from Houston to Boston to Amsterdam to Arusha.
We begin our journey reading the instructions to the new digital camera I purchased for the trip and testing out the self timer while killing time at the airport. We are in good spirits and excited as we make our way from Houston to Boston. After a little dinner, we hit the plane for Amsterdam (8 hours). We arrive a little travel weary at Amsterdam and patiently await the flight to Aisha, another 9 hour leg. We do survive landing and making our way through customs and onto a bus where we meet our guides who will be with us for the next 11 days. Our bus ride is about 50 minutes to Kigongoni Lodge, an historic 70 acre coffee farm.
DAY THREE - Wildlife Viewing in Tarangire National Park
We begin our day at 7a eating breakfast at Kigongoni Lodge. We enjoyed coffee, eggs, pinto beans, bread, bacon, pastries, rice. We get acquainted with our guides, Nasibu, Justo, Patrick, Msaferi and Kumbi. After debriefing we hit the road and spend about 4 hours wildlife viewing. Christine is all smiles as we take our first pictures of a huge bull elephant and scores of zebras. We stop for lunch at a National Park Site and enjoy a variety of sandwiches, fruit, and desserts. We head out again wildlife viewing while on our way to Kikoti Tented Camp. We arrive at camp around 5p and are greeted by the camp staff with mango juice and wet towels to knock off the dust from the days viewing.
Our tent is spacious and has a bathroom and shower. So far, we are two for two on lodging as Christine realizes this type of 'roughing it' is right up her alley after all. The camp staff brings hot water for showers and we get ready for dinner. Our evening consists of another great meal and we are entertained with a local tribe, the Maasai, who perform some of their ritual dances. The Maasai are herders who live in the area.
DAY FOUR - Wildlife Viewing in Tarangire National Park
We start out around 8a with a fabulous breakfast, more great coffee and a another fantastic day of wildlife viewing in Tarangire National Park. After returning to Kikoti Tented Camp, we enjoy a walking safari to see the sunset over the Tarangire. During the walking safari, our guides point out the local vegetation, spoor and animal tracks on our path. Upon returning, our dinner is waiting for us. After dinner, we have the option to view wildlife during the evening. We are loaded into open vehicles with warm blankets and head off into the night. We were privileged to see white tailed mongoose, zebras, dik diks, and impalas.
DAY FIVE - Wildlife Viewing in Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Highlands and Lunch at Gibbs Farm.
We head out of Tarangire National Park headed for Gibbs Farm, a working coffee farm. We are continued to be amazed at the abundance of the wildlife we see. It seems no matter which direction we look, we have have an animal viewing us as we go by. We arrive and enjoy another amazing meal, compliments of Veronica, at Gibbs Farm. Our afternoon consists of a 5.8 mile hike up a near by mountain to see the Elephant Caves. 
The caves were formed by elephants licking the side of the mountain to get the minerals found in the soil. From there, we head over to a waterfall that is only assessable from the top. We head back to Gibbs Farm to get ready for dinner. That evening we enjoy listening to our guides tell us about Tanzania's history of independence. After sleeping for about an hour, I wake to my room mate quite upset that a moth, now referred to as Mothra, is attacking her in her sleep. As she hides in the bathroom, I run around the room attempting to chase Mothra outside. I finally succeed and sleep through the rest of the evening peacefully. Christine is not deterred by the previous night's attack - she is up and ready to continue the journey to Ngorongoro Crater.
DAY SIX AND SEVEN- Wildlife Viewing in Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Crater was formed by a collapsed volcano and is currently the world's largest unbroken caldera in the world. It is 610 meters deep and 260 kilometers squared (it's huge!) and is the home of 25,000 larger animals, mostly zebras and wildebeest. This is the location to spot the Black Rhino and Black Maned Lion, which we do on our first day!! The crater is also home to older male elephants and buffalo who have come to the crater to retire in peace.
We arrive in time to eat lunch at the Serena Lodge. We spend the afternoon in this amazing caldera viewing lions, cheetahs, black rhinos and every other amazing animal we can lay our camera on for a fantastic photo. Regrettably, we leave the crater around 5:30 pm as the crater gates close at 6:00pm. We enjoy dinner talking about the photos and animals we saw that day. We awake the next morning for a full day of wildlife viewing. The crater is truly an amazing experience. The wildlife is abundant, the landscape is beautiful and our days fly by on the crater floor.
DAY EIGHT - The longest of the Travel Days - The Road to the Serengeti National Park
We depart the crater on our 6 - 8 hour drive to the Serengeti National Park. After leaving the elevation of the top of the crater, the landscape stays consistent - mostly flat and dry, with Maasai children spotting the landscape with their herds of cows and goats.
We make our first stop at Olduvai Gorge (home of Lucy, the oldest hominid) and enjoy hearing the history of excavation currently going on in the Gorge. The Gorge was originally named Oldupai, but somehow got recored as Olduvai. The Gorge is 30 miles long and 295 feet deep as is home to remains dating as far back as 2.1 million years. 
After leaving Olduvai/Oldupai Gorge, we stop at a Maasai village. The Maasai are dressed in colorful robes and welcome us into the village to view their homes, bomas, and look at the jewelry they have for sale. I am easily overwhelmed by the bartering and sales pitch, so I snap a few photos and exit the village as quickly as possible. My travel buddy, however, is right at home and I last see her with about 20 Massai surrounding her trying to make a sell. She hops back into the Land Rover with a new bracelet and big smile on her face, letting me know she is still having the time of her life.
After a quick visit with the Maasai, we are back in the Land Rovers and making our way into the Serengeti National Park. We stop for lunch, because we never go more that 4 or 5 hours between a meal and enjoy yet another amazing picnic lunch. And, finally after a long day of travel, we enter the Serengeti National Park. The word Serengeti means 'endless plain' and covers 14,763 square kilometers. It was declared a Game Reserve in 1929 and became a National Park in 1951. We enjoy wildlife viewing and I get my first picture of the very elusive leopard while headed to our Wildlife Camp. 
We arrive at our campsite and we will split our time at two Thompson Safari Wildlife camps for the next four days. The tents are huge and have comfortable beds, big pillows and a shower and toilet. 
However, as we are enjoying a cup of coffee, Christine is looking a little leary of an actual tent. She bravely tells me she hopes the next 4 days go by very quickly. But, that evening we enjoy one of the best meals we have had on the trip and retire for the evening which is very cool (low to mid 50's). We fall asleep to the sounds of wildebeest, hyenas and lions outside our tent.
DAY NINE, TEN and ELEVEN - Wildlife Viewing in the Serengeti
The next morning over another incredible meal and fantastic coffee, Christine tells me that the tent is her favorite location so far. I breathe a sign of relief as Christine finishes her transformation to an 'outdoor girl' knowing that she will leave the safari on a good memory. After breakfast, we hit the road for amazing wildlife viewing and we spend the next 3 days traveling over the Serengeti viewing the most spectacular landscape and wildlife the world has to offer. Each night, we come into the camp and enjoy an amazing meal along with after dinner entertainment by the camp staff.
DAY TWELVE AND THIRTEEN - Flight to Aisha, Shopping and Depart for Amsterdam
We sadly depart the Thompson Classic Camps and make our way to an airstrip in the Serengeti. From there, we fly over to Aisha, and stop off to do a little shopping. After depleting all funds purchasing jewelry, tanzanite, bowls, paintings and hand carved masks and animals our groups makes our way over to KIA Lodge to check into a day room. We are then escorted to our flight and begin our journey from Mt. Kilimanjaro to Amsterdam to Boston to Houston.
I want to extend a special thanks to Thompson Safaris for a fantastic safari and a trip of a lifetime. The camp staff and safari guides made the trip exceed any expectation I thought I had. Please take the time to view the photos also located on this site. If you get the opportunity to take a safari, do not pass it up. It is a wonderful experience.
