I did not go to Africa to go on Safari. I know that is a lifelong dream for a lot of people. I mean, there are many people who travel to Africa to be immediately picked up by a safari guide and delivered back to the airport as soon as it’s over. That is just not me. The best part of going to another country for me is the volunteer project, culture, and most importantly, the food.
My first morning waking up in Africa to a Muslim Prayer service in Nairobi
The slums market in Nairobi
However, if you are going to be in Africa for 6 weeks, you might as well go on a safari. I toured national conservation parks in Tanzania, a quick blip in Kenya, a giraffe center and an animal orphanage. I learned so much and it was awesome.
Nairobi Giraffe Center
Nairobi Animal Orphanage
Here are the things you need to decide before planning a safari:
- On a scale from squatty potties to luxury lodging, where do you fall? I opted for the tent camping life with in-ground toilets and cold showers. Not your jam? That’s totally cool. There are nice hotels your safari guide can bring you to at the end of every day. Prepare yourself though, you WILL pay. I paid $160 per day (one person) for a 4-day safari with the most basic accommodations. For a decent lodge, that can easily jump to $300-$400 per day.
- Is there a particular animal you are looking for or do you just want to see the Big Five and some? I had spent a lot of time in Thailand with elephants and was interested in seeing the differences in African ones. However, for me, my priority was big cats. My friend went to Uganda to see gorillas. Different parks and regions are conducive to different species. Some safaris will give a little taste of everything and move between different regions.
- Does the thought of being stuck in a car for multiple days with people from other countries excite you or stress you out? I would much rather be in the car with many other people from all over the world but maybe you just want peace and quiet while observing these awesome animals. A full safari in a normal jeep is 6 if you need space for a cook, like when camping, or seven if you are all doing hotels. The people in my car were awesome! However, we randomly ended up needing to take another American woman from another jeep. She was truly an embarrassment. She complained the entire time and was certain everyone was there to serve her agenda. Let me tell you how small a jeep can feel after being stuck with Miss America for 3 days. If you do not want to risk that, you can take your own private safari, for a price of course.
As you can see, the vehicle is not very big. Love thy neighbor or go insane in Africa.
Stealth Mode Shot. Love thy neighbor or go for a private safari.
- Your guide will make or break your experience so do your research. Let me rephrase that, research in advance but there is no need to purchase until you are there. You will pay more if booking from home. I was volunteering in Tanzania and my in-country coordinator booked this for me. It was much cheaper than if I had booked it before coming to Africa. You can arrive and get on a safari the next day. There are tons. My guide’s name was China with Leopard Tours. He has been doing this for 19 years and was really funny. We stayed in contact after my tour so let me know if you want to reach out to him!
- Guides are fluent in English so you do not need to worry about that. They all speak to each other on CV radios to put out the word when they have found something good, like a leopard or a pride of lions. You will have a great experience. However, if you prefer your guide to speak another language, that is possible too! There are Spanish, Chinese, Russian guides. Don’t think you are stuck with Swahili or English options.
Every single Safari turns out different but here is how mine went:
Tarangire
First, I was picked up in Arusha, Tanzania by my safari guide China. Once we had all of our riders and we were stocked up on snacks and drinks, we headed out of town. Our first day was going to be at Tarangire National Park. It was cool but this is the day I would have cut out knowing what I know now, stay with me here. When you go into this park, you see animals immediately. It is a smaller conservation area and that means they are easier to find. We saw various herds of antelope, gazelles, and zebras! Awesome! We found giraffes, dik-diks, crazy birds, and monkeys. Then we stopped at a picnic area inside the park to each boxed lunches. They warn you to be careful of monkeys, who are trying to steal your food. The monkeys had just had their newborn babies that were all on their backs, so cute. Do not be fooled, these mamas are jerks. The monkeys were pretty easily scared off but then the mama baboons came with their new babies. I was watching one eyeing up one of my safari mates and coming up behind him to take his food. All of the sudden, she started running full speed screaming and jumped on our picnic table fighting for the food from everyone. Our safari guide chased her off but I thought my heart was going to come up my throat. I happened to take a photo of her and the baby right before she started charging.
Tarangire National Park
Mama and Baby Baboon seconds before the lunch-napping
Ngorongoro
We then continued in that same park and saw more of the same types of animals. That night, we drove closer to Ngorongoro National Park to our first campsite. This was the best of the nights as far as accommodations go. It had these cute little wooden cabins with beds, showers and western toilets. You have no idea how much you miss a sitting toilet until you haven’t had one for a while, but you know, my thighs are better because of it. It had this really awesome bar that was an old safari jeep converted to a bar top. The food was good and they had local entertainment. People from the local tribe came to do after dinner singing, dancing, and magic tricks. There was a very strong ask for tips afterward but I didn’t mind because they were really good. I did share my little cabin with two other girls from Belgium. You have to pay more to have your own.
The first night of fancy accomodations
Sweet Bar!
That tent life. There was a foam pad to sleep on.
Locals performing traditional dance
The next morning, we headed to the top of Ngorongoro, overlooking the crater. Where the park is located, it is believed it used to be a mountain larger than Kilimanjaro but then a meteor smashed into it, leveling the mountain and creating one of the largest craters in the world. In this crater, is where many wild African animals live, including white rhinos. We were on top of the crater at a view area, see below. Then all of the sudden, I hear this very distinctive voice and I was sure I knew it. I started looking around and I see this guy. I am certain this is a guy I met in the middle of the jungle in Thailand last year. So I am just staring at him like a moron. He is assuming I either have a mental handicap or I have magically fallen deeply in love with him. Ha, it was him, it’s the same tattoo. I see that as he is jumping in his safari jeep and driving away. Bummer, didn’t get to talk to him. Opportunity missed, oh well. (Then randomly ran into the same person later in Zanzibar. Life is crazy)!
Top of the Ngorongoro Crater
This is Dustin, later reconnected in Zanzibar. The world is crazy.
Serengeti
We did not go down into the crater but instead drove on to the Serengeti. So there is this joke that all Africans will tell you about driving on the terrible roads that are really bumpy. They call it an “African massage.” I would describe it more as the adult version of shaken baby syndrome. My brains were totally liquefied after the drive to the Serengeti. On the way, we passed many Masai Tribes. In case you were wondering, the Masai do not wear undergarments and it was a very windy day. I am just going to put that right there for you to think about….
Masai Tribe
Masai have many traditions but one that I was able to witness a lot during my adventures in Africa was the coming of manhood for the young adolescent boys. During this time, these boys have been working on completing many challenges and goals to become a strong warrior. When they have reached a certain level, they will be circumcised as a rite of passage. Nope, they are not sedated, and it’s done in the village. Then they dress in all black and are sent to live out in the woods alone for one month while they heal. The purpose of wearing all black is to not be noticed. I thought they were the most beautiful of all of the tribes that we saw when they were in this stage.
This is not my photo. My local guide recommended I did not take photos of them but they are so beautiful during this stage. Photo Credit: Vlad Cioplea
More Serengeti
The Serengeti is so vast and spread out, you really have to be on high alert to find animals there. Additionally, this time of year (September- October), the grasses are all dead and very dry and this means it is the same color as many of the animals. I saw many prides of lions, but only females here. I also got to see an amazing sunrise that looks exactly like the opening of the Lion King. You can even book a hot air balloon trip to go up and watch the sunrise. I would be hysterical if I had gone up but I thought the balloons looked so cool in the sunrise. However, the best thing I saw was a morning cheetah hunting gazelles and then running at full speed to get one. It was so surreal!
I dare you to not sing the opening song right now. Am I right?
Not my jam but pretty beautiful right?
Watching this lady hunt was the most amazing part of my safari
Group of ladies just chilling under the tree
That night we camped in the Serengeti in tents. I had hyenas outside my tent howling all night. Fortunately, I was so exhausted that I didn’t even care. That night, I had just closed the screen of my tent but not the actual door. I fell asleep and I am half dreaming about the hyenas when all of the sudden, my tent is being unzipped. I started screaming bloody murder! I mean, I am sure I scared everyone in the camp. Then I hear someone outside my tent saying, “No, no, no Dada (miss).” I am still half asleep and screaming because I am pretty certain that an animal is trying to eat me and magically understands zippers. This guy is saying, “NO MISS RACHAEL, I DO NOT WANT TO SLEEP WITH YOU!” Then I woke up completely and was laughing so hard. I thought it was an animal. He thought I was thinking he was trying to sneak into my tent. He was just shutting the main door to my tent for the night so no animals came in. Next morning…..awkward, haha.
That tent life. There was a foam pad to sleep on.
We did a second day in the Serengeti, seeing some rare hawks, leopards, and up-close encounters with elephants. That night, we drove back to Ngorongoro to camp on the top of the crater. I had this really funny huge blue stork that was following me around at this campsite. He was just super chill and walking behind me as long as I pretended not to see him. That night, as we were in the mess hall area eating dinner, a huge bull elephant camp trampling through the campsite to find his favorite trees. He kicked the stakes of my tent. Everyone wanted to go out to see him. I tried to take a photo and didn’t realize my flash was on. Then all of the safari guides were yelling at me, NO FLASH! Apparently, this will make the bulls charge. The top of the crater is a mountain and I froze in my tent all night. I put all of the clothing I had packed on, plus a huge sleeping bag. It was still so cold.
He and I are just two kindred souls. Legs for days and the “Don’t look at me” comfort zone.
Ngorongoro Crater
The next morning, we made the trek down into the crater. I was surprised by how long and steep it was to get to the bottom but you guys! Once you get down there, it is SO SO beautiful. It was definitely my favorite place on safari. I finally saw the African Buffalos there, by the hundreds! There were huge herds of zebra that would come right up to the car. This is also where I finally saw huge male lions. Up to this point, I saw a ton of females and 3 very young male cubs. As cliché as it sounds, the males are so freaking majestic! They did get annoyed with the people watching them and they did this really funny thing. See this video!
Wifey
His Majesty
The crater is where there are white rhinos, but there are only 17 remaining. We did not get to see any that day. They tend to climb up the walls of the crater to eat and are hidden by the trees. I was bummed about that. I did see a rhino in Kenya later though, so that was cool.
All in all, Safari was amazing, but I was checking out mentally on day 4. The first day was full of many animals we saw in every other park so if I could change it, I would have cut that day out and saved myself some money and time. Just go do it, you will not regret it.
Have more in-depth questions about Africa, Tanzania, or Safaris?
If you have questions about safaris, you should get in touch with a good friend of mine who is from Arusha, Tanzania and is very experienced in working with tourists, abroad interns, and volunteers. Email Iddi at iddiriddi90@gmail.com. He can help with any questions you may have.
Nope, not a paid sponsorship, collab, or commissioned deal in any way. Just a super cool dude you should probably know.
What about volunteering abroad?
If you are wondering more about my project in Tanzania, check this post to learn more about volunteering abroad and how to give back while seeing the world or you know, just call me maybe.
