Epic Air Safari: Campi ya Kanzi to Serengeti
First 372 nautical miles down, only 6,385 to go…
6th May
We left Campi ya Kanzi at sunrise with a beautiful Kilimanjaro covered in fresh snow glowing in the pink color of dawn. A full moon was setting -- a view hard to forget.
The low flying over the plains was amazing, and “our” wildlife seemed to want bidding us farewell. We saw zebra by the hundreds, elands, wildebeest, hartebeest, giraffes, impala, Grant's gazelles, and more. We arrived at Wilson Airport with a few low clouds, so the new Garmin 500 electronic flight display become immediately handy.
Customs at Wilson was quick, and we left for Musoma on the Tanzanian side of Lake Victoria. We flew over the Rift Valley and then the Maasai Mara: superbly scenic. We saw hippos, buffalo, and elephants. Just lovely. Then we entered Tanzania while flying over the Mara river and landed right on its delta in Musoma. A great little airport with gravel sand. It has a small office for customs, which cleared us in less than 15 minutes.
Then off we were toward the Serengeti. We passed on the Western corridor and landed at Seronera. The Frankfurt Zoological Society was very kind and assist us with avgas.
After a beautiful hour-long drive, we were at Moru camp site, where our mobile camp was charmingly set up for us. The kopjes, the plains, the wildebeest, the lions… it is impossible to describe the beauty which surrounded us. A bonfire sundowner and a great dinner in the dining tent were the perfect ending to a memorable day.
7th May
Early morning shower... not in the bathroom, but outside... meaning it rained!
A dramatic gray sky made the lions on the kopje in front of camp even more beautiful. Yes, we had breakfast watching twelve lions atop a majestic kopje and then headed toward the migration. On the way to the Serengeti plains, we saw a black rhino and her baby, the highlight of the day.
Prides of lions were all over, but what was most superb were the 300,000 wildebeest we saw in the plains. This is a view no camera can captured and, not being Hemingway, I cannot adequately describe it. It was a view of what I think planet Earth was like in the Neolithic age… Nature, Nature, Nature. It made me feel insignificant.
Back at camp in the afternoon, we were welcomed once again by the breakfast pride of lions, which now kept us company for tea. I am writing these notes while watching them from my tent and feeling like the happiest man in the world, both for myself and for our guests, who are having a blast!
Stay tuned for news from our next stop: Lake Tanganyika and Mahale National Park. Our internet connection will be intermittent throughout the safari, but we will post updates as often as possible.
6th May
We left Campi ya Kanzi at sunrise with a beautiful Kilimanjaro covered in fresh snow glowing in the pink color of dawn. A full moon was setting -- a view hard to forget.
The low flying over the plains was amazing, and “our” wildlife seemed to want bidding us farewell. We saw zebra by the hundreds, elands, wildebeest, hartebeest, giraffes, impala, Grant's gazelles, and more. We arrived at Wilson Airport with a few low clouds, so the new Garmin 500 electronic flight display become immediately handy.
Customs at Wilson was quick, and we left for Musoma on the Tanzanian side of Lake Victoria. We flew over the Rift Valley and then the Maasai Mara: superbly scenic. We saw hippos, buffalo, and elephants. Just lovely. Then we entered Tanzania while flying over the Mara river and landed right on its delta in Musoma. A great little airport with gravel sand. It has a small office for customs, which cleared us in less than 15 minutes.
Then off we were toward the Serengeti. We passed on the Western corridor and landed at Seronera. The Frankfurt Zoological Society was very kind and assist us with avgas.
After a beautiful hour-long drive, we were at Moru camp site, where our mobile camp was charmingly set up for us. The kopjes, the plains, the wildebeest, the lions… it is impossible to describe the beauty which surrounded us. A bonfire sundowner and a great dinner in the dining tent were the perfect ending to a memorable day.
7th May
Early morning shower... not in the bathroom, but outside... meaning it rained!
A dramatic gray sky made the lions on the kopje in front of camp even more beautiful. Yes, we had breakfast watching twelve lions atop a majestic kopje and then headed toward the migration. On the way to the Serengeti plains, we saw a black rhino and her baby, the highlight of the day.
Prides of lions were all over, but what was most superb were the 300,000 wildebeest we saw in the plains. This is a view no camera can captured and, not being Hemingway, I cannot adequately describe it. It was a view of what I think planet Earth was like in the Neolithic age… Nature, Nature, Nature. It made me feel insignificant.
Back at camp in the afternoon, we were welcomed once again by the breakfast pride of lions, which now kept us company for tea. I am writing these notes while watching them from my tent and feeling like the happiest man in the world, both for myself and for our guests, who are having a blast!
Stay tuned for news from our next stop: Lake Tanganyika and Mahale National Park. Our internet connection will be intermittent throughout the safari, but we will post updates as often as possible.
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