Coming Home

Monday, January 17^th

So far we recognize very little since we landed at Kilimanjaro Airport yesterday afternoon, after ‘Im-Precision Air’ lived up to its reputation and deposited us there 4 hours late, other than the general shape and appearance of the landscape.  We still haven’t seen so much as a giraffe, zebra or gazelle, where there used to be an abundance everywhere outside of the cities, villages and farms.  Where once was bush, inhabited only by Masai, cattle, goats and wild animals, now there are farms and villages everywhere.  The main roads are tarred and well maintained and there are people and cars everywhere.  The city of Arusha, only a small town when we last saw it, with only one grocery store, a market and a few tourist shops, is now home over a million – and that’s not counting the outlying suburbs.  The tiny village of huts at Usa River, quite a ways out of town, where the cook, Sebastian, came from is now is the swankiest suburb of the city.  At least the centre of the city looks pretty much the same.  The New Arusha Hotel, the traffic circle with the clock tower, the cathedral, the pink government building, the tourist store that used to sell makonde carvings and the building that used to house Fatehali Dhala’s grocery store are still there.  Fatehali Dhala has long gone and been replaced by many supermarkets and dukas all over the city.  However, I expect the swallows still nest in the roof of the arcade outside the store.

Mount Meru

 We were met a the airport by Willy, Jo and Judy’s driver and driven to their lovely home, with a view of Mount Meru which they run as a bed and breakfast and is where we stayed the night.  They have their tour company, Safi Safaris, office out the back.  We were made very welcome, fed a delicious supper and spent the evening reminiscing about the old days and mutual friends.  Many of their clients seem to be research scientists, with some of the names familiar to us, such as Tony Sinclair, now living in Canada, who had recommended Jo to us and still has projects running at SRI as well as a house by Lake Victoria and David Bygott & Jeanette Hanby, who were at SRI at the same time as we were.

Jo and Judy

Jo and Judy's house

This morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we set off for town to buy a few essentials for our safari, such as toilet rolls, bottled water, batteries and snacks, visited an ATM, purchased a Tanzanian SIM card for our phone, then we picked up our rental vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser.  We ate lunch with Jo before setting off on our much anticipated trip. 

Highway through Mtowambu

What remains of Mtowambu Market

Still selling bananas at the roadside

Cell phones and modern transport

The main highways are now paved and well maintained

Mtowambu

Mtowambu

The road was paved all the way until we came to the turn off for Plantation Lodge just after Karatu – another collection of huts that’s grown into a town.  Pam and Robin, this is for you!  Mtuwambu, the nearest place where we could buy bananas and fresh vegetables in the market when we lived in the Serengeti is still the only place in the area where one can buy stalks of red bananas (and many other varieties, both sweet and the cooking plantain sort), but it has become a big town now with inflated prices and tourist stalls and dukas lining the main highway.  The old market is barely recognizable.  We didn’t stop.   




























































Then came the entrance to Lake Manyara National park and the steep winding road up the side of the rift valley, filled with memories at each bend.  I recognised the place where we had to stop and mend a puncture in the dark as night fell when we were newly arrived and newly wed, in January1975.  Then, the road was a narrow, rutted dirt track and we were travelling in a Landrover with all our belongings, 4 other passengers and food supplies for everyone at Serengeti Research Institute!  Now it’s a smooth, well maintained highway.  However, every turn as well as the amazing views down into the rift valley are etched into our memories.

Rift Valley Escarpment

Farmland at the top of the escarpment

Plantation Lodge, another beautiful lodge run by Germans, is somewhat reminiscent of the Gibb Farm, where we used to stay sometimes, but is much fancier.  The dirt track leading to it felt more like home than the main road.  The lodge consists of small cottages scattered about amongst beautiful lawns and gardens reminiscent of an English stately home or a botanical garden, with a central building containing the reception, bar and dining rooms.  It is also a coffee plantation.  The whole place is tastefully decorated with superb attention to detail and an army working both inside and out to keep it immaculate.  There are geese and a family of turkeys running free in the grounds as well as a large family of kitties.  We were awoken by a stupendous dawn chorus of birds at 6 a.m. this morning.  Helmut had a field day taking hundreds of photos of birds and flowers.  We stayed until after lunch, spending a leisurely morning enjoying the peace and beauty of this spot.

Plantation Lodge