Mbono
Phew, I feel shattered even thinking of the trip. It really was amazing and we had a lot of fun and lots of giggles BUT it sure was hectic. Sunday morning early rise, 5AM. We had to meet "The Camp Inspection Team" at the airport. Fortunately it is minutes from the house.
George was on the camp inspection run before the beginning of the season, so Camie and I were lucky enough to be able to join in. I love being in our house in Arusha but my true love is being out in the bush in the wilds of Tanzania, and this place is wild!! No make-up, no dress-up, just throwing on a pair of jeans and a t'shirt and some track shoes and hitting the dusty tracks..................... as a teenager that would have been my worst nightmare and now I am passionate about it and lucky enough to be given a second chance to enjoy it all.
We met up with the rest of the team at Arusha Airport. The plane was packed with camp supplies and the new camp furnishings. Once we were all aboard we set off on our venture, an hours flight to Mbono. We landed on a bush grass airstrip, a very smooth landing, the pilots are amazing!! A cruiser was waiting for us and we just had a short drive to the camp. They have had late rains so everything is lush and green, the bush very thick.
Mbono Camp is very pretty, it over looks a little river, fed by a stream, which apparently always has water in it and during the dry season there are herds of elephant on the other side of the river enjoying a good sip of fresh water.
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| View of camp from across the stream |
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| Mess Tent |
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| Fire Pit |
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| Wash hands after a game drive |
A cuppa tea.................. delicious, the first of the day!! Mmmmmm all of us relaxing and enjoying the beautiful view from the camp mess tent. All a bit jaded from our early start but eager to get going we set off on a morning game drive. George very eager to show Camie and I Mbono a place he has talked so fondly of for many years and now we can visualise it!!
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| on safari |
Gosh, what a beautiful beautiful morning for a game drive, we saw quite a bit of game despite the lush dense bush. Zebra, Warthog, wildebeest, giraffe, hyena and a tortoise.
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| Wildebeest |
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| Warthog |
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| Giraffe |
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| Tortoise |
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| Zebra on the runway |
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| Woolly necked Stork |
We came back to camp for a yummy lunch. It started to go all dark and stormy, the thunder and lightening started and down came the rain. It set in for the afternoon so we all hit the sack for a lovely afternoon Zzzzzzzziz. Nothing more delicious than snuggling up under a warm duvet in a tent listening to a lovely African thunderstorm...............grumble!!
Once the rain had eased up a little we set off for a sun downer on the rocks (well we thought it had eased up). Anyway, it was light enough for us to see the stunning view from the kopje, one glass of vino and an ice cold Tusker for the guys!! Then we dashed home for a hot shower, dinner and an early night - we had a 2 hour drive to the new camp, Subeti , in the morning and then another hour to Mwiba where we'd spend the following two nights.
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| Sun downer kopje |
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| Excellent Camp Staff |
Subeti
Subeti is the latest camp and is still being worked on, they have a way to go yet. They hope to have it up and running in the next 3 or so weeks. Subeti is tucked away on the side of some hills, it will blend in nicely with the scenery and have an incredible view of the plains below. Once it is up and running it will definitely have the wow factor everyone looks for in a camp!!
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| Roan |
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| View from where the Mess Tent will be!! |
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| Future Mess Tent |
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| one of the rooms |
Mwiba
We arrived at Mwiba late afternoon, BEAUTIFUL and just in time for a very late lunch!!
We had a lovely afternoon drive, the first evening, we saw a few animals and walked a bit looking at different sites for new camps (looking for that WOW factor that a camp site needs)!! Just something about being in the bush that makes my heart sing!!
the next day we were up very early so that we could fit everything in. Wow, what a day it was!! Site searching is always on the list BUT we visited the stone blind which allows you to virtually sit right amongst the elephant while they drink AWESOME!!
The view that looks down on
Lake Eyasi is one of the most amazing sites, a site that a camera never does justice. You find yourself clicking and clicking and not a single picture captures the real essence of it. May just be the one and only time in my life that I have ever thought I'd love to paraglide or wing dive!! Lake Eyasi is a mildly alkaline lake stretching 50km's to the south west. To the north east the horizon is dominated by the Crater Highlands and to the north over an escarpment are the plains of the Serengeti.
From Lake Eyasi we headed to the Hippo Pool to meet up with Camie and Loise the guide.Another wow to add to a pretty amazing day. All the guys jumped into the pool to freshen up as well as the little adrenaline rush that goes with it. Even more so when we spotted a Puff Adder swimming with them - didn't seem to worry the guys at all, it was promptly rescued and allowed to rest awhile on the rocks to warm up in the sun. Two Hippo's played in the pool beside us and didn't seem to worry too much about us being there.
What a fabulous end to a wonderful wonderful morning/afternoon, home for lunch and a cuppa tea!! Brief lunch stop and then we packed a cooler and headed out for a late afternoon drive and of course sun downers on a kopje that we all decided was the winning spot for the next camp!!
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| Cheers!! |
on the way to the airstrip.............. home to Arusha
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Paying back the micro-business loan
and making an order for more jewelry |
The last morning before we headed for the airstrip to meet up with the rest of the camp inspection team, we went to a Mungati village where the Masai ladies have a little jewelry business, we met them all and bought some of their creative jewelry. Then from there we went to have a look at the new playground for the children at the little school in The Makao village. Clients sponsor different projects through The Friedkin Conservation Project and this was one of them. The children are super excited for the opening. They will also have a netball court and soccer field and nets and a running track.
Makao Village school playground - Maswa
jungle gym
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| Seesaw |
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| merry go round |
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| jungle gym |
Serenade at the airstrip while we waited for the plane..... super cool!!
Hope you enjoyed, have a great day xx
The view that looks down on Lake Eyasi is one of the most amazing sites, a site that a camera never does justice. You find yourself clicking and clicking and not a single picture captures the real essence of it. May just be the one and only time in my life that I have ever thought I'd love to paraglide or wing dive!! Lake Eyasi is a mildly alkaline lake stretching 50km's to the south west. To the north east the horizon is dominated by the Crater Highlands and to the north over an escarpment are the plains of the Serengeti.
From Lake Eyasi we headed to the Hippo Pool to meet up with Camie and Loise the guide.Another wow to add to a pretty amazing day. All the guys jumped into the pool to freshen up as well as the little adrenaline rush that goes with it. Even more so when we spotted a Puff Adder swimming with them - didn't seem to worry the guys at all, it was promptly rescued and allowed to rest awhile on the rocks to warm up in the sun. Two Hippo's played in the pool beside us and didn't seem to worry too much about us being there. 
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