By Brad Horn: I recently returned from guiding a safari in Tanzania incorporating the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Mnemba Island (just of the coast of Zanzibar). I had the great pleasure of the company of three families of repeat clients who had collectively been on safari with me in Botswana a couple of years back. It presented a wonderful opportunity to rekindle friendships and also see how the kids had matured in the intervening years. In fact by my way of thinking, the greatest benefit of a family safari in Africa is that families are removed from the outside world, presenting unrivalled “family time” (given that there are no external influences to dilute the experience).
We had the good fortune of experiencing some wonderful wildlife and cultural encounters; with families it is more often than not the latter which makes the biggest impact. In my experience the people of Tanzania are very special. In the north it is of course the Maasai people who are iconic. Tall, stately and proud, they encompass a bygone era through their very simple pastoralist existence. We also had some great cultural experiences on the coast with the Swahili peoples of Zanzibar. The following “showreel” of highlights hopefully gives some insight into what I am alluding to.
On the game front the viewing was as always very productive as one expects with the northern parks of Tanzania. Among the highlights were; a lioness kill of a wildebeest, mating lion, and black rhino on the Crater floor, incredible elephant encounters on the Serengeti plains in addition to the Migration being in full movement north. Zebra and wildebeest were very much the “order of the day”.
The trip concluded with a stay on Zanzibar culminating with the beautiful Mnemba Island, a small atoll off the far north coast of Zanzibar. The lodge itself is the epitome of unparalleled rustic elegance. Some of the highlights here included night scuba diving, snorkelling with a large pod of dolphins and the hatching of a green turtles’ nest. Some of the kids also undertook an introductory dive.
All in all it was a safari to savour; great company, great game and life long memories.
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