Archives for August 2014

Karatu Simba Lodge is a eco-friendly lodge located near the Ngorongoro Forest in Tanzania. Many safari travelers stop for a night in Karatu because of its strategic location between Lake Manyara National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The Karatu Simba Lodge is committed to environmental conservation with its reliance on solar power and emphasis on water conservation; however, the lodge also offers all the amenities that weary safari travelers will be wanting after a day of bumpy, dusty roads, including en-suite flush toilets and hot showers, wireless internet, a swimming pool, complimentary afternoon tea and coffee, and nightly campfires. The lodge sits off the main road along the northern safari circuit amongst a series of small farms and offers beautiful views to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Forest. If you’re lucky you might even get to spot elephants, buffalo, baboons, or other animals wandering outside the forest from the safety… Read the rest

The day we completed our trek of Mt. Kilimanjaro, we headed back to Arusha to enjoy the warm beds and gourmet dining at Machweo Wellness Retreat & Fine Dining. We were told during our recent trip to Africa that “you don’t come to Tanzania for the food”, which is likely true given the stunning scenery, amazing wildlife, and endearing people to be found in this enchanting country. Ethan and I found the food to be quite tasty throughout our travels in Tanzania, but travelers looking for restaurants serving up gourmet dishes may be hard-pressed to find good options. Tucked away in the green hills just outside of Arusha, travelers will be pleased to discover not only a small boutique hotel but a restaurant that has been critically acclaimed for its European-African fusion four-course gourmet meals. Sitting side-by-side Onsea House and Machweo are two properties jointly run by the Janssens, a… Read the rest

Mount Kilimanjaro is the hike of a lifetime for many seasoned hikers and amateur climbers as while it is one of the Seven Summits, it requires no technical climbing and no real experience. However, rising to an elevation of 19,341 ft. and taking most people an average of 6 days to complete the trek, it is no walk in the park. Ethan and I attempted our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro as part of a charity climb to raise money for Vision for the Poor through their biannual Climb for Sight event. There are several routes you can take to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and we chose the Rongai Route, which is also called the Nalemuru Route, and we chose to do our hike with the Tanzanian-based trekking and safari company Amani Afrika. We’ll discuss how to pack for Mount Kilimanjaro, how to choose a trekking company, and how to choose a route in… Read the rest

This past January Ethan and I made the decision to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to help support a non-profit organization called Vision for the Poor. Through our climb, we raised donations from both individual and corporate sponsors to be used to support the treatment of children and families in need of sight-saving eye surgery and new eyeglasses in Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru, and Tanzania. We just completed the climb about one week ago and Ethan summited and got to stand on the top of Africa as Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 19,341 ft. (5,895 meters)! Neither of us are mountain climbers and while Mt. Kilimanjaro does not require technical climbing, it is quite a difficult trek because of the altitude and the final steep ascent at the top. I found this out first hand as while Ethan successfully… Read the rest