Kenya and Tanzania - Day 8
Today is a travel day and I mean travel. After a one hour African deep tissue massage drive to the airport we will fly back to Arusha. We will have a tour in Arusha and take a bus to the Kenyan boarder. After crossing into Kenya we will have a serval hour Jeep drive to our hotel.
The Four Seasons Safari Club was an amazing experience. The accommodations and services were truly five star. I decided to check the room price for the next time we visit the Serengeti. The standard room rate including three meals a day is $1,800 plus 18% VAT tax. A suite with three beds and a sleep sofa is $12,250 per day plus 18% VAT tax. You can add on two game drives per day for $1,000.
This is the view from the Four Seasons lobby overlooking the pool deck and animal watering hole.
Just press select to book your next stay at the Four Seasons Safari Club.
We noticed a lot of preparation for a major event taking place including building a large stage on the patio. The hotel staff advised the entire hotel which is 77 rooms had been booked exclusively by one family for three days for a birthday party. Now that’s a destination party.
A view of the animal watering hole.
On our final game drive we saw one new animal and the usual hundreds of impalas, zebras, wildebeest and giraffes. There was less pressure on our driver since we had seen so many lions that we watched the giraffes for an extended period.
The new animal of the day is the cliff springer. It is an antelope and relative of the dik dik. The cliff springer has a cleft hoof to help it climb smooth rock surfaces.
Our farewell dinner was held in a round Maasai style building with a center fireplace in the floor. There was a traditional Maasai male dance troupe and brief lecture on Maasai culture and history.
The history of the Maasai sounded much like that of the American Indian where the Maasai were moved from area to area to accommodate the establishment of the Tanzanian national parks.
One of the animals that is plentiful in the Serengeti is the hippo. They are the most dangerous animal in Africa. They kill more people each year than any other animal. Do not get between a hippo and the water. Our driver advised the hippo has large incisor teeth and will chomp a person in half.
The hippo marks it territory by spraying bushes with its dung. The smell is horrific. You can always tell when hippos are nearby. During Covid it was a test by the drivers to ask “anyone smell anything unusual?” Anyone that could not smell the hippo dung most likely had Covid.
At the Serengeti airport we arrived before the security check point opened. We walked though the airport onto the dirt runway and onto our plane. It is the same De Havilland Dash 8 we took before. After a short 30 minute flight we arrived in Arusha.
We flew on an airline called Auricair. I had never heard of that airline but if the name is available I would call it Africair.
Upon arrival in Arusha we boarded our blue bus and drove a short distance to the Tanzanian Cultural Center. This place has acres of arts and crafts. Every beaded and carved item on the planet is available here. They also have a selection of tanzanite jewelry.
Tanzanite is a unique gemstone that showcases a range of colors from violet-blue to blue-violet. Tanzanite is only found in the Manyara region of Tanzania. The mining area is 4 miles long and 1.2 miles wide. The Tanzania government had banned the export of tanzanite its raw form. They want to encourage the domestic jewelry business to only export finished jewelry.
We enjoyed a traditional Tanzanian lunch and boarded our bus to ride to the Kenyan boarder. It was about an hour ride to the boarder. We cleared Tanzanian immigration and Kenyan immigration. We were harassed by a gaggle of Kenyan Maasai hags. They were aggressive and in our face with beaded items that they demanded we should buy. We finally reached the sanctuary of out Jeeps and our new driver Martin wisked us away to safety.
We were greeted at the Cultural Center by this Maasai worrier.
We drove on washboard roads to the Amboseli National Park. We were again accosted by a gaggle of Maasai hags. We escaped once more and drove another hour and a half to the Amboseli Serena Hotel.
We arrived safely at our hotel after several more adventures. We will resume the discussion tomorrow.