Field Notes Journal Entry
Our Safari Draws to a Close
The safari comes to a close with a final morning in Tanzania, bringing a mix of reflection, gratitude, and quiet departure as the journey continues on to Zanzibar
The 2nd of July had dawned and our Safari had drawn to a close. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
On one level, I was very, very sad - it had taken 43 years from the release of David Attenborough’s “Life on Earth”, in 1979, for me to realise my dream and see in person the dramatic and awe-inspiring scenes that were depicted in the wildlife documentaries I watched and that so-inspired me as a 14-year-old.
It’s a passion for wildlife and conservation that has stayed with me throughout my life.
And now that face-to-face experience had come to an end.
Sad, then, but also satisfied, grateful and extremely happy with the experience we had had. Realistic, too, as I don’t think either of us could do another day of game drives and another early start!
We had a lie-in, leaving Kilimamoja at 9 a.m. and heading directly to Arusha for lunch at the Mount Meru Hotel, where we started, and then on to Arusha’s airport where we said farewell to Philip and, after a brief wait in the “rustic” shelter that, in fairness, served well enough as a departure lounge, boarded our flight with “precision air” to Zanzibar, saying farewell, too, to mainland Africa.
Field Notes
- Arusha - gateway city for northern Tanzania safari circuit; point of arrival and departure for many itineraries
- Mount Meru Hotel - established hotel in Arusha; commonly used as a staging point for safari itineraries
- Safari Rhythm - multi-day game drives involve early starts and extended travel; cumulative fatigue often shapes the final days of a journey
- Zanzibar - island archipelago off the coast of Tanzania; commonly paired with mainland safari as a coastal extension