Zanzibar beach vacation

The family was picked up from Kilimanjaro International Airport by the Twende Tanzania guide and taken to the hotel.

After a hearty breakfast, a visit to the market in Arusha is on the agenda. Sabrina really wants to visit the Declaration Museum. Kevin and his father would rather see a real coffee plantation. Without further ado, the guide organized a nice colleague and everyone got their money’s worth. In the late afternoon, they met up at the hotel for a relaxing swim in the pool and a delicious dinner.

It is the dry season. This means that many animals come to the course of the Tarangire River to drink – almost the best time to observe a wide variety of species. Kevin is thrilled that he gets to sit behind the wheel of the jeep for a short distance. Bets are placed on whether the Big Five, all of Africa’s large animal species, will be seen during this vacation. There were plenty of buffalo along the river. And on the way back, Ernst spotted a leopard. But it didn’t count because the others hadn’t seen it.

This was the longest, but also the most exciting ride for the whole family. The journey through the seemingly endless savannah put Susann to sleep until the guide braked rather abruptly. A few meters in front of them, a family of elephants stepped out of the bush. The animals seemed excited, their ears folded forward. But they proudly crossed the track and disappeared again on the other side. The lake was then the highlight with thousands of birds and a whole herd of hippos. Towards evening, the family arrived at Olduvai Camp – completely immersed in nature, as if they were living like the Maasai. Almost, of course …

Susann and Ernst stayed at the camp, but Kevin and Sabrina, accompanied by the Twende Tanzania guide, were shown a hike by two Maasai. Later, when looking at the photos, the parents regretted that they had not come along. But the afternoon made up for it. The trip to the Ngorongoro Crater with Lake Magadi was one of the highlights. Even for the guide, because Sabrina spotted two black rhinos, which are extremely rare.

A detour into the Serengeti brought another surprise. After a long drive, on which they kept seeing buffalo and zebra and buffalo and zebra and once a few ostriches and a lot of empty steppe, the guide slowly stopped the jeep. The reason: a large cloud of dust could be seen to the left, caused by a herd of wildebeest and a cheetah that had separated an older animal from the herd. From a distance, the family could see that the cheetah’s hunt had been successful. Later, they also spotted a pair of lions on a rock. The BigFive were considered safe.

After a hearty breakfast, we headed back to Arusha, this time passing the northern end of Lake Manyara. We would stay in Arusha for another day before flying on to Zanzibar.

The family had chosen a quiet and elegant hotel for their trip to Zanzibar: “The Residence” left nothing to be desired. Beautiful beaches, fascinating underwater worlds for diving and snorkeling and a boat trip with Pick-Nick to a secluded bay rounded off the safari beach vacation. It was a real dream vacation!