Kenya + Tanzania
WHY WE WENT
Honeymoon!!
When I was little and still living in Portugal I saw a girl that looked exactly like me but with brown skin and dark brown eyes and hair. I wanted so badly to play with her. Before I could even get near, a woman yelled at her to get out of her store and then told my mom to keep a better eye on me because *insert a very racist, very inappropriate remark here.*
Although I never saw her again, I did hear that the girl I was supposed to fear was from Kenya. Almost immediately, East Africa went to the top of my bucket list. Needless to say this trip was a dream come true for me, made that much better because I went with Dave.
It was a three part honeymoon so see here and here too!
HOW LONG WE STAYED
December 24, 2013 - January 18, 2014
WHO WENT
Dave and Ana
WHERE WE WENT
Full itinerary: 3 days in the Nairobi Area, 11 day camping safari, 5 days in Uganda, 5 days in Zanzibar
HOW WE DID East Africa
Not in the typical honeymoon style. I knew exactly where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do but unfortunately I was quoted about $25k per person. Instead of giving up on this dream, I decided to keep researching. I worked with an agency called African Budget Safaris and got amazing service and attention in making my vision come to life. Claire at ABS was amazing and I will be reaching out to her the next time I go to Africa (which I hope will be sooner rather than later!)
Time change
There’s a 7 hour time difference but this didn’t matter then.
transportation
For this leg of the trip we were on safari so we were with a group and were driven around in a large truck (kind of looked like a military truck).
accommodations
We pitched our own tents and slept on cots. You see, once I eliminated the fancy beds, the price dropped significantly. We slept in some amazing locations - sometimes in the actual middle of nowhere, sometimes overlooking a lake full of hippos.
Our days
Before we started the 11 day safari we spent a couple of days just outside Nairobi where we visited Giraffe Manor for one of the best service and dinners we’ve ever had.
Once we started the safari, we’d unzip our tents to amazing sunrises, and one time a hippo that had gotten too close but we were behind an electric fence. Everyone contributed to either breakfast or setting the table / dishes and then we’d hit the road. We drove through the national parks or sometimes through towns or villages and then back into a new national park.
We had picnic lunches in beautiful spots, I loved watching animals play. And then we’d settle into a new spot for the night and pitch our tents over again. Sometimes, like at the Ngorongoro Crater, we’d get into a small Jeep to get up closer to the animals but really, we were always pretty close.
We left our group in Arusha, Tanzania, at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro.