Day 1: Safari in Tarangire / Arrival Day
Today marks the beginning of an incredible journey! Everyone has arrived safely at Mount Meru Hotel in Arusha, Tanzania. Similar to Mount Kilimanjaro, which comprises of three volcano cones, Mount Meru is also a dormant volcano and stands at 14,968 ft. Let’s hope our climbers have good weather on Mount Kilimanjaro because on a clear day, you can see Mount Meru from Mount Kilimanjaro which is 43 miles west! Keep an eye on this trip journal! We’ll be posting everyday from now until the end of the trip!
Thank you for going us on our journey with the first ever All-Women Kilimanjaro trip with Beyond! Team 1 arrived from Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, and Kenya late night on 1/17. After a wonderful night’s sleep, we awoke and boarded two safari vans to Tarangire National Park for safari. Tarangire supposedly has 1 elephant per square mile (over 3,000), but we wouldn’t spot our first one until late afternoon.
We spent a delightful morning watching giraffes, mongoose, zebras, buffaloes, antelope, and warthogs (declared by our group as the cutest animal in the park). After a picnic lunch our guides drove us down a seldom used muddy, bumpy path in search of lions. We were not disappointed! Over the next hour we witnessed a pride of lionesses and cubs stalk a heard of impalas. We were able to observe the cubs from a close distance, and we delighted when the warthogs helped usher the young impalas to safety while the stag and females made a defensive stand. We learned that impalas make noises to threaten prey, and they fall into defensive formation quickly to protect their young. The lions decided to retreat to the shade, and we continued in a search for elephants.
Winding through a beautiful valley, we found 9 elephants, including a tiny calf in a stand of palms trees. We traveled the road alongside them for 20 minutes until they crossed the dried river bed. As we crested the ridge, we paused for a quick picture with a boabab tree- the largest and longest living flowering tree. Here’s hoping it represents our friendships built on this trip: long lasting and flourishing! As we departed the park for the hotel, it was as if all the animals received a notice for a grand finale. The road was lined on both sides with every kind of animal. It felt like a Disney ride!
If the exit felt like Disney, arriving at the Maramboi Tented Lodge felt like a dream! We pulled up just before sunset and fairly ran to put our feet in the pool. The grounds between us and a giant lake were full of zebra, warthogs, antelope, and wildebeests. We met a group of ladies that climbed Kilimanjaro last week and enjoyed visiting with them about their hike. They were 9 women and 2 teenagers, so we felt comforted by their success and toasted to common adventures as the sun dipped below the horizon!
This morning we arose before the sun for a walking Safari along the grounds and down to the lake. The experience was UNREAL! We wandered among the animals, watched the wildebeests and zebras run, laughed at Thompsons gazelles have the “zoomies”, learned to identify each type of print and scat on the grasses, and walked right up to baby giraffes and their mom. We ended the walk with a pass by the lake full of flamingos, then returned to the hotel for a proper breakfast.
After leaving the hotel, our guides took us to a Maasai experience stop. We were dressed in traditional Maasai garb, invited to dance and jump with them, then enjoyed a tour of their huts. The dancing and chanting was exhilarating; we each said “this is my favorite day” over and over again. It was a beautiful experience to begin our adventures together.
As we ate our picnic lunch today we discussed how excited we are to be here together. I began dreaming of an all female trip to climb Mt Kilimanjaro over a year ago. The idea of my own YL alumni girls (now grown ladies) joining YL DGL staff and other friends on this trip is overwhelming to me. In Young Life, when we talk about the relationships between our international and stateside staff, we often say “Pamoja Pamoja” or “together-together”. It is a dream come true to have these incredible women together, learning about one another, building relationships with each other, and already speaking life into each other as we prepare for an adventure of a lifetime! As I write this, I hear a table full of women belly laughing and sharing pictures from the past two days. We just learned a new Swahili toast “maisha marefu” or “cheers/long life”. Here’s to lifelong friendships beginning as we break bread and await the arrival of the rest of our team!
Entry by Camille Brantley