Oct. 12, 2026
Tomorrow, we leave the hotel at 545(hopefully) to get our transfer to the airport for an 845 flight to Frankfurt. We have one stop, but don’t think we get off the plane. But it’s 12 hours total to get there. More tomorrow on that.
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Oct. 10, 2026
We were up before 5 am for breakfast at 520 or so, then finish packing, pay our bill, leave tip, etc. Mateo, our driver informed us last night that the normal route to Kisoro was just over an hour. But there was a bridge collapse and thankfully there was another route but it would take close to 2 hours.
Our waitress recognized the truck. It was hauling charcoal.
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Oct. 7, 2026
This morning we were up early to eat before our ride to the airport at 550 am. We breezed right through the airport for another bush plane ride with 5 other passengers. We flew to Kisoro, Uganda. We met our driver from Hornbill safaris and he drove us through the very mountainous terrain to get to our lodge. He asked us our fitness level because tomorrow we hike in to see the gorillas in the Impenetrable Forest, a national park. It scared me a little because he said we can hire a guide that will carry our day pack and push and pull us up hills. Wish me luck!
We were going to have a local village tour but it was raining pretty hard and all the roads are claylike dirt. So, we checked in to the lodge, beautiful! Then ate lunch at noon, wonderful food! Then downtime until 2. Our driver drove 5 minutes to the village. We then meet a town guide who walked us through town like the villagers do. This village bumps right up next to the park. There was a local tribe that lived in the forest and when they made the park a park in 1991, they asked them to leave. But they did give them acreage in this town to start over. Also, the town gets 20% of all the tourist fees paid to the park. So the locals seem to like having tourists around.
We visited some woman who make baskets out of reeds and raffia or even plastic bags. I got to try my hand at it. Then off to tour the community school. Godfrey, our guide had to walk 11 kilometers to go to school and 11 back, all in one day. So the village made a school but they don’t get any money from the government. They relie on donations from the tourists. We went into a classroom of 12-13 year olds and they sang a song in English. It was basically saying how important school is for them. Later, we went into the babies room, but this was 3-4 year-olds. They sang for us too, but didn’t understand any of it. They all wanted high fives and fist bumps and to hold our hands.
After the school, we walked more to meet some people from the pygmy tribe. They sang and danced and beat plastic cans as drums. It was beautiful. Even a little 2 year old was dancing around.
One of the villagers found a male 3 horned chameleon.
Tomorrow we are to leave at 730 to hike to find the gorillas. Once we find the gorillas, with our guide, we get to spend one hour with them. Then hike back out.
Oct. 5, 2026
This morning we were out by 740 to go on our game drive with Frank. We decided just a half day drive to the northern Serengeti. It is so far and long to get to other areas in the Serengeti and we were actually looking forward to a free afternoon. It is a lot of work, scanning and constantly looking for animals. It is also very breezy in the car and lots of dust in the air. So, our eyes get tired.
The whole Serengeti is 12000 square miles.
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Our room at Ngorongoro farm house.
We left our lodge at 615, after a quick breakfast. The roads to the crater, which is actually a calderra, are a little scarey. Basically a one way dirt road yet it is two way and at times, we had to pass many trucks. Lots of uphill, then down hills. In Tanzania, like S. Africa they drive on the left side of the road. We made it safely to the bottom of the crater by 730. The first thing we saw was a serval cat with a mouse in its mouth.
Oct. 2, 2026
The picture above is Mt. Meru, second highest in Tanzania at 14,900ft, 500 ft above Mt. Rainier. Rainier looks bigger….it isn’t.
Today we left Simba Farm House where we stayed the past 2 nights. It is a 4000 acre working farm. We got up to eat breakfast and be ready to leave promptly at 8. We bid adeau to our room and the fully stocked pantry.
Frank is our driver and guide for the next 5 days. We drove 4 hours to the village of Mto Wa Mbu, a home to 120 African tribes. We met Peter our “walking through town guide” to take us on a walk through the town, to visit a member from a tribe, to see the local market, and then to take a short hike in Manyara National Park.
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