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| Mt Kilimanjaro on our way from Nairobi to Kilimanjaro |
If someone had asked me a couple of years ago where I saw myself in two years’ time, I wouldn’t have put DR Congo or Africa on that map. I had thrived on having my everyday life meticulously planned, organised and controlled based on a check list. Life has changed volumes since then. Today I realise how important it is to live for today and just let the future beckon us. “Be prepared, never plan” has become my motto. I have unconsciously learnt to enjoy the small courtesies, the simple pleasures and life’s little miracles. Expectations have ceased to carry much weight, having learnt to go with the flow, living large with what is available being the only option. As mentioned in my earlier blogs, there’s little Lubumbashi affords in terms of infrastructure and amenities but then again one just stops measuring life in terms of such tangibles. I look at the peace and quiet, the basic uncluttered life and the time spent with family and close friends as luxuries I have been bestowed with, something I would never want to compromise on. In context, I can’t stop pondering how recurrently most of us complain about being ill-equipped to appreciate these finer nuances back in the big bad city.
We always knew we wanted to travel to this part of the World, to Countries like Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and Kenya that are celebrated for their tourist friendly demeanour, which also brings into focus how less we know of those less visited. However, we have always preferred the road less travelled, to experience the landscapes, the people, the hospitality, the cuisines and everything local. Tanzania called us with all its heart and we decided this beautiful Country it would be for our first African outing.
Our Tanzanian adventure took us through Arusha, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Zanzibar, ending with a day at Dar-es-salaam. It would be more than appropriate to call it a complete African safari with experiences ranging from the famed safaris, the hospitable countrymen, the local cuisine, the beautiful topography, the intriguing masai folk, the heat, the cold, the plateaus, the mountains, the sunrise, the sunset, the blues, the greens, all encompassed into one big safari.
On the downside, I have begun questioning if I could ever enjoy a Zoo, post the brilliant safari experience. Having watched the animals in their natural habitat, one gets to feel their personalities, respect their need for freedom and also understand their need to exhibit their inherent behaviour. Something I heard, “A Zoo is a place where animals study the behaviour of man “. It ought not to be.
Here are some pictures from Beautiful Tanzania; it has been a staggering effort to pick and choose. I hope I have done justice to them. Must add a disclaimer of sorts, some of the pictures look more elongated than they actually are. Enjoy!!!
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Our first animal sighting, Arusha to Lake Manyara
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| The gadget heavy safari vehicle |
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| A lone Impala |
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| Sneaking through the bushes |
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| The Maribou storks |
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| Making our way through Lake Manyara National Park |
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A Dik Dik, mesmerising eyes
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| Wildebeests everywhere |
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| Mr Jack |
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| Sunset on the horizon at Lake Manyara National Park |
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| Our cozy den at Manyara's Serena Lodge |
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| The Ngorongoro landscape, made bare by the Volcanic eruption |
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| Masai folk with their herd of cattle, their livelihood |
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| A visit to one of their villages |
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| Welcoming us in |
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They don't need trampolines
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| Their huts, kept cool by plastered cow dung |
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A school session in progress
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The Monolith at Oldupai Gorge
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| Thomson's Gazelles in their backyard |
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| Up close with the King |
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| The Topi |
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| The mighty Buffalo |
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A couple of Grant's Gazelles
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| One of my favourite animals |
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| There's enough space for all of us |
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| A Chettah on the prowl |
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| Lined up to watch a Leopard in action |
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| A bird, an insect, a stick, no idea but he sure has a name |
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| A 360 degree view with teamwork |
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| Staying cool on a hot summer afternoon |
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| Standing tall are these Giraffes |
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| Hosting us, Lappet-faced vultures |
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| Putting on a show for us |
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| In view...the rim of the Ngorongoro crater |
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| Descending into the Ngorongoro crater |
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| African Sacred Ibis taking flight and African Spoonbill all perched |
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| A female Ostrich |
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| A male Ostrich |
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| Zebra crossing |
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| Synchronised Swimming |
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| A group of Pelicans taking off |
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| An Eland in no man's land |
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Crowned Cranes
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| A Blue Monkey posing for us |
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| What is left of the mountain after the volcanic eruption |
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| View of the rim of the crater from the Lodge |
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| Our flight to Zanzibar from Arusha |
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| Miniatures galore |
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| View of Mt Kilimanjaro on our flight path to Zanzibar |
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| Almost there |
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| Zanzibar beckoning |
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| A calming view from the bar |
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| View of our cottage on top |
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| View of Water transport from the 'House of Wonder' |
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| The beautifully carved Zanzibari doors |
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| View of the beautiful cottages at Blue Bay Resort |
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| View of the Zanzibar coastline from the ferry to Dar-es-salaam |
Life is beautiful, keep it simple!!!
