Day 9 – Last Day of Safari (Lake Manyara/Arusha/Kilimanjaro)

And so it is…last morning in Africa! Great night sleep and it’s so chilly in the tent, neither Rich or I wanted to get up. Breakfast and goodbyes at 7:30 and we’re in route to Arusha by 8:00am. It’s cool here this morning so the tops are still on the jeep. Driving out I’ve come to terms with leaving and looking forward to a little shopping along the way.

Stopped by a t-shirt shop and another souvenir shop – pretty much got all we were looking for with the exception of that special gift Rich was looking for for Linda. Rich and I both dressed for the long flight home, completely forgetting we had one last driveq through Lake Manyara National Park (a much smaller park) on the way. Ally took the tops back off so we could enjoy our last drive. Park here is much greener because it has under water springs. But that also means it is very wooded so a little more difficult to see the animals.

Lots of monkeys (which are so adorable) and the normal grazing animals. Ally said though there ARE lions here, he hasn’t seen them in 2 years…and I can see why. We stopped by a lunch area there in the park to eat before continuing our drive in to Arusha. What’s in our lunch boxes everyday is always a surprise…Edward sent us left over farewell cake for our last lunch!

MSafari, the security guard that works the gate at the Mt. Meru hotel was there when we drove through today. It was good to see him again and he remembered to ask for his photo I promised to send him. I’ll have it framed and sent through Dawn at ADS. Martius and Timan were waiting at the front of the hotel as we pulled in. I appreciate them both so much for what they did to get me a camera. Both went way beyond for me.

As we all sat and talked about the week it was time to settle up with Ally and say our goodbyes. I thought I was ok until I hugged him good-bye. I don’t know if he fully understands how much this trip has meant to me and how big of a part he played in it being so memorable. Rich and I will never forget you Ally! God bless you and your family.

We had a day room there at the hotel for a few hours; to freshen up and get some lunch before we leave for the airport. Did a little more shopping there in the gift shop and waited for Martius and Timan to pick us back up. Have to admit that on our drive, we actually saw Mt. Kilimanjaro for the first time. The mountain we took pictures of day 1 (which we thought was Kilimanjaro) was actually Mt. Meru. It’s difficult to see it because the peak is normally in the clouds, but we caught just the right angle so the highest peak was visible. Was able to get photos of the snow on the peaks, which was amazing.

They got us to the airport 2.5 hours early, but that’s ok. Allowed us to get through customs, etc. with time to spare. Rich was able to find that special gift for Linda and I picked up a few more things. Good thing we decided to check our luggage this time. Our souvenir bag is getting heavy! Funny story is that they made Rich fill out some declaration form to get through customs, but not me? Not sure why. Rich said it was because I batted my eyes…LOL! I think it was because the customs officer I had didn’t want to mess with it. Who knows. I was also pretty sure Rich was going to have to completely uncloth to get through security…LOL. Provided a great deal of entertainment for not only me, but a few others in the waiting area…LOL! Sorry Rich, it was funny.

1st flight went to Del Sar which is South of Arusha. That one stop added two hours to our already lengthy flight to Amsterdam. So 9.5 hours later we arrived in Amsterdam. Three hour layover there allowed us to see parts of the airport we didn’t get to see when we came through the first time. At that airport, each gate has their own security check point verse one area for the entire airport. Also allowed me to pick up some flower bulbs (Tulips are famous in Amsterdam). Thought if I plant them, every year when they bloom, I will be reminded of this adventure. Rich and I both slept off and on, watched a couple of movies (including Born Free…:)), taught Rich how to play Sudoku and counted down the hours until we would be home. Once we started the journey I couldn’t wait to get there.

Quick stop through Detroit and a short 1-hour flight home. We were in the last seat on the plane so the last people off. Dave picked us up and we were at moms by 5:00. Had to stop by to see my boy and take him his goodies. His favorite gift was the two small pieces of lava rock I picked up at the park before we left (sorry Ally, I know I wasn’t supposed to do that). He said “cool MiMi…thanks”. He had his Tanzania bracelet (like mine) around his ankle. Not sure what he ended up taking to school today for show and tell but I’m sure he took something. Plenty of hot water and water pressure here at home. I actually lost 4lbs during the week, which is unbelievable since all I felt like we did was eat, but I’ll take it. Once last funny story is about my step counter on my phone. Mid way through the 2nd day of our Safari, my achievement sound went off letting me know I had reached my goal of 10,000 steps. Walked 5.23 miles…lol! I guess the jarring of the jeep counted as steps for me. Plus climbing up and down looking out the top must have counted for something.

Crawled into bed, missing my hot water bottle…LOL! Sure could have used it last night. I’m not sure how I slept. Dave said I woke up a couple times, looked around like I wasn’t sure where I was and laid back down. Up at 6:30 which would be 3:30pm in Africa. Not sure how long it will take me to get back on track. Atleast I’m home.

DSC_2195

DSC_2192

DSC_1731

DSC_2119

DSC_2113

DSC_2110

DSC_2153

Posted on

14,828 thoughts on “Day 9 – Last Day of Safari (Lake Manyara/Arusha/Kilimanjaro)”

  1. I discovered your weblog site on google and verify just a few of your early posts. Proceed to maintain up the very good operate. I simply further up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader.

  6. I’m really enjoying the theme/design of your blog. Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility problems? A small number of my blog readers have complained about my blog not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Safari. Do you have any advice to help fix this problem?

  10. You can certainly see your skills in the article you write.
    The world hopes for more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to say how they believe.
    Always follow your heart.

  14. I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your website. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Exceptional work!

  17. Good site! I truly love how it is easy on my eyes it is. I am wondering how I might be notified when a new post has been made. I’ve subscribed to your RSS which may do the trick? Have a great day!

  23. I like the helpful information you provide in your articles. I’ll bookmark your blog and check again here frequently. I am quite certain I’ll learn many new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next!

  25. This is my first time i visit here. I found so many helpful stuff in your website especially its discussion. From the tons of responses on your posts, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! keep up the excellent work

  30. I do believe all of the concepts you have introduced to your post.
    They are really convincing and can certainly work.
    Nonetheless, the posts are very short for starters. May just you please prolong them a little
    from subsequent time? Thank you for the post.

  32. obat aborsi,aborsi,child porn,child porn video,porn child,child porn videos,child porn site,child porn situs,child seks porn,child porn web,child porn seks,small child porn,mother
    and child porn,porn child video,KONTOL,chinese child porn,mom and child porn,child porn sites,porn small child,child porn video,child gay porn,gay
    child porn,child porn link,child porn xxx,child porn hub,child porn free,child porn vid,how to watch child porn,porn mother and
    child,ai child porn,seks child porn,how to find child porn,child and mom porn,watch child porn,video
    porn child,porn with child,porn hub child,porn mom and child,gay porn child,child girl porn

  37. Thank you for any other excellent article. The place else could anyone get
    that type of information in such a perfect approach of writing?
    I have a presentation subsequent week, and I am at the
    look for such information.

  39. Hello! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when browsing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve this issue. If you have any suggestions, please share. Many thanks!

  40. Hello there! This post couldn’t be written much better! Looking at this post reminds me of
    my previous roommate! He always kept preaching about this. I’ll forward this information to him.
    Pretty sure he’ll have a very good read. Many thanks for sharing!

  45. hello there and thank you for your info – I have certainly picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise a few technical issues using this web site, as I experienced to reload the site lots of times previous to I could get it to load correctly. I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but slow loading instances times will very frequently affect your placement in google and could damage your quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I am adding this RSS to my email and can look out for a lot more of your respective intriguing content. Ensure that you update this again very soon.

Leave a Reply to 國產 av Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *