Lap of Luxury – Tanzania

When you think of luxury, I am sure some remote country in Africa does not come to mind. I am here to tell you the most luxurious travel experience I have ever had bar none was our 2019 safari trip in Africa. Let’s start with how this trip came about. In late 2018, I was researching a travel experience for our 25^th wedding anniversary coming up in 2019.

After much research, it became clear that a once-in-a-lifetime safari in Tanzania made the most sense. Next came the tricky part. I quickly realized that December (our anniversary) was not the best time to enjoy a safari; several tour operators suggested September as the ideal time to visit. After much thought, I decided to tell my wife what I was planning—we agreed that it would be better to go in September and celebrate early rather than go at a not-so-ideal time for a safari.

Now comes the fun part: finalizing an itinerary that would fit the occasion. We decided to venture with SkySafari. The company offered an elite travel experience within Tanzania on a private executive plane. SkySafari is a part of Elewana Group, so all of their properties are Elewana Collection. These properties are true gems in East Africa— the hospitality is out of this world. I have stayed at a lot of nice hotels over the years, but the way Elewana cares for guests is unparalleled.  My friend Karim Wissanji is the CEO of Elewana Group and one of my LinkedIn connections—what a small world!

Let’s get on with the trip itself! Ethiopian Airlines has lie-flat seats from New York to Addis Ababa. Our journey from New York to Addis Ababa had a fuel stopover in Ivory Coast (West African Country). After a two-hour stopover and crew change, we landed in Addis Ababa around 8 pm. As soon as we landed, I could see the Chinese influence in Ethiopia. There were Chinese airplanes, Chinese banks advertising on the jetway, and so forth. We were looking forward to spending a night in Addis Ababa; Ethiopian Airlines gives you a complimentary hotel if your connection is more than 8 hours from when you arrive in Addis Ababa.

Connection Hotels

Of course, this is pre-pandemic data so take it with a grain of salt. Having said that, due to tremendous competition in international air travel, most airlines are giving free hotels and excursions if you fly through their home country. China Southern, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Ethiopian, to name a few. So if you have time, it would be a nice way to cover a country next time you are flying around the world.

After deplaning, we go to a counter to get our hotel vouchers. They put us at Ethiopian Skylight Hotel (a five-star hotel owned by Ethiopian Airlines). We get three copies of these vouchers (they call it triplicate) and they stamp all copies. Next, we try to leave the airport, and someone wants to stamp these vouchers again!

Third World Country

You know you are in a third-world country when they start to stamp papers multiple times. My theory is that this is probably a hangover from the colonial era. When these countries were ruled by the Brits or the French, they did not trust the people and made their lives miserable. After independence, the bureaucrats never realized that these were their own people now and they were not supposed to rule them.

Anyway, we finally end up at the hotel. A wonderful hotel an all-around nice experience. The staff was serving authentic Ethiopian food for breakfast which was a treat for us. After breakfast, off we go to the airport for the final leg of our journey! On our descent, we could see Mount Kilimanjaro. Everything looked dry and barren.

Once we landed in Arusha, we cleared customs within minutes and our host from SkySafari was waiting for us. He was a nice young man who quickly took us to the car for a quick drive to our hotel. Our first stay was at Arusha Coffee Lodge, a beautiful property on a coffee plantation. As soon as we arrived, it seemed as though the entire team was waiting to receive us. The SkySafari general manager, Mia Lawson, was there and asked us to let her know if we needed anything at all (apparently word had gotten around that I knew Karim). Our butler (we had a butler; can you believe it?!) took us to our room and a warm bath was ready for us at just the right temperature. It was heavenly. All of our travel exhaustion just melted away. After we freshened up, we toured the coffee plantation. It was fascinating to learn how the coffee business works. In the evening, we went for dinner and the Chef came and asked us what we liked and disliked. It seems that at Elewana, the staff keeps a WhatsApp group to communicate between properties about the likes and dislikes of each guest. We never had to say another word about our preferences again at any of the other properties. They just knew what we were in the mood for each day.

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The next day, it was off to Tarangire TreeTops (an amazing property).

Flying within Tanzania

When we talk about flying within Tanzania, for the most part, there are no airports. They have unpaved airstrips that are maybe a kilometer or so long. So, these airstrips can only handle small twin-engine planes at best.

Our driver and guide were waiting for us at the airstrip. After a snack break, we were off on the safari experience. Our guide was a great spotter. We ended up seeing a Leopard on a tree! We were so excited! After a few hours of adventure, we reached the Treetop Lodge. Again, it looked like the entire staff was waiting for us outside. After greetings, they showed us our room. To call it a room would be an injustice. We were in a treehouse (literally)! It was quite spacious—almost 1,500 SF. After freshening up, we went for dinner. They had a nice dance show during our meal. We ended up having a pleasant conversation with a young couple from Canada that was sitting next to us. After dinner, the staff escorted us to our room and said that due to security reasons (wild animals roaming around), they would close the stairs, so if we needed to come down in the night, we would have to call the reception!

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The next morning, we went for breakfast and realize the beauty of this place. They have a watering hole on the property.

Watering Hole

The dry season is the best time for a safari experience because animals have to gather at a few places where they can get water. So, when Treetop Lodge created their watering hole, it was practically guaranteed to have animals on their property.

We could see dozens of elephants as well as other animals at the watering hole. I saw a unique thing. A monkey came to a table a few tables away from us, opened the lid on the sugar dispenser, and used a spoon to get sugar out! I just could not believe my eyes.

After breakfast, we went on the safari again. We saw some amazing animals. To my surprise, there were a lot of species of birds we were able to see up close. In the evening, the guide took us to a sunset hill and set up a nice hi-tea experience. Then, it was time for a night safari. They had a native guide who was standing on the ledge of the vehicle looking for animals in the dark. I was more worried about him and focused on him rather than looking around for animals. My wife has a great eye for spotting animals and was able to spot quite a few difficult-to-find animals. We saw some lions staring straight into our eyes!

The next day, we went on an early morning safari and then off to the airstrip after lunch. Our next stop was Ngorongoro. Again, our guide and driver were waiting for us in Ngorongoro. Same amazing hospitality. This property had a farm and was also on a plantation. We decided to take it easy that day and just enjoy the farm and horses. We also had a nice massage. After another wonderful dinner, we were off to sleep for an early morning safari drive to the Ngorongoro crater. It is certainly a drive from the property, but as soon as you enter the Ngorongoro crater, you see the majestic surroundings.

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Humanity Started Here

It seems that everyone wants to think humanity started in their backyard. When we were in Ethiopia, they told us about the first human bones found of Lucy (3.2 million years old) and how the human race started in Ethiopia. As soon as entered the Ngorongoro crater, our guide told us when the crater was created, it resulted in the migration of four-legged human relatives-they needed to move fast, leading them to walk on two legs and eventually start the human race.

If you only have one day for your safari, Ngorongoro is the place to be. In one day, we were able to see literary hundreds of animals. Although it is not a jungle, animals just naturally gather here—maybe because of a crater they cannot go anywhere else? At lunch, we were at a lake and this bird was trying to eat a fish that seemed twice the size of its mouth. Everyone was watching. I thought no way is this bird going to eat this fish. After about half an hour or so, it managed to eat the entire fish. Check out this video!

The next day, we were off to the Serengeti Migration Camp. Serengeti is quintessential Africa, the kind you see in the Lion King movie! This property was off the beaten path. The tents we were staying in were just spectacular. Hippos were surrounding our tents and wild animals roamed next to us. You need an escort to move about the property to make sure you are not harmed by animals. It was just mind-boggling.

We went for an evening safari to see some large lion pride. The following day, we started early in the morning for a breakfast in the Savannah. They were prepared with everything you could want in a royal breakfast! After breakfast, it was off to see the river crossings. This is a site to see. This was on the Mara River at the border of Kenya and Tanzania. The Wildebeests and Zebras were coming back from the Kenya side into the Tanzania side as part of their seasonal migration. There were hundreds of them gathered on the Kenya side of the river. There were crocodiles in the river and they all just watched. They were all waiting for one of them to jump in! You just wait in the Jeep and wait some more. There were probably 50 plus vehicles there waiting just like us. All of a sudden one of the Wildebeests jumps into the river. Our driver was so quick he started driving fast to get a nice vantage point. We found an excellent position. All of these Wildebeests are trying to cross the river. Unfortunately, a couple of them were eaten by the crocs. Check out this video my wife took.

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This was an exhilarating day. When we went to our room after dinner, they had nice warm water packs throughout the bed to get the bed warm and ready for us to sleep. How cool is that? The next morning, we started with a walking safari. This was an interesting experience. Afterward, we began our driving safari again to look for a Cheetah. We had seen all the animals we were going to see in these seven days except for a Cheetah. My wife really wanted to see a Cheetah—she challenged the guide and said if you can show me the Cheetah then I will give you kudos. He took it on. We found a Cheetah and a few more animals.

The next day, it was back to Arusha. We went to the Arusha Coffee Lodge for lunch, and we had a day room to relax for a few hours before going to the airport to return home. It was an end to a wonderful trip. My wife and I looked and each other and said we don’t think we can top this anytime soon. What a journey.

What was your most luxurious trip? When were you pampered by the hotel staff last? Please do opine. Until next time…