Day 1 - Safari briefing

Travel is about the experience and Tanzania offers so many experiences, where to start? There's the Big 5 experience, the Serengeti experience, the Kilimanjaro experience; oh so many. But our first experience is the Tanzanite Experience and where better to experience Tanzanite than in Tanzania! Tanzanite is the famous, blueish, violet precious stone that can only be found in Tanzania . Happy Anniversary My Precious.

We've never felt uncomfortable about wandering around a new place on our own. An assertive "no" to the hawkers, watch your bags, always read your surroundings. But that wasn't to be today. "No" according to our Safari representative , she would feel much better if we had a guide around town. It would "stop my heart beating fast with the thought of you on your own in town" Okkie dokkie , one guide pronto! and we were off to investigate the area around Arusha and get a feel for the town and it's offerings. Overall, Tanzania is confronting and once out of Arusha we started to feel we were part of the World Vision documentary.

So the Tanzanite Experience done, a quick lunch at a cafe and back to the hotel to meet our safari guide Hussan. Turns out Hussan has been a safari guide for 40 years so a great start, plenty of local knowledge. "So how many on our safari Hussan?", "only you two" he replied. Well I'll be a monkey's uncle, that's a private safari for us!

We set off in the Land Cruiser Troopy, the vehicle of choice for safari operators and made a beeline for picturesque African villages through to Lake Manyara. "Golly" as Gomer Pyle said to Sargent Carter, did Lake Manyara deliver. Within a couple of hours we saw Baboons, Elephants, Giraffes, Zebras,Blue balled monkeys (no really they have blue balls!) and a variety of bird life. They walk around and in front of the car like we aren't there. Already we are stunned, but wait there is more!

We made our way for the night to the Lake Manyara Lodge and WOW, WOW, WOW, this was one of the most amazing places we have ever stayed at. In the middle of nowhere is this rustic, African hunting lodge styled place with so much glam it was out of a travel guide. We stayed in one of 50 self contained lodges of which pictures, and our words cannot describe. Unfortunately we are here for 1 night only. OH, and one of the cool features, you get escorted to your lodge in the dark in case animals are lurking!

The bar is set high, what else awaits us?