Day 68
Today we are travelling to Mount Meru Game Lodge for the next 3 nights.
We get up, have breakfast and then arrange with Millie to leave the majority of our stuff at MTAD as we will back again on Friday.
At 10.30 Robert’s friend Evodi, who is a taxi driver, arrives to pick us up. It is about a 60 Km drive to the lodge. It is located on the main Moshi to Arusha road just before the town of Usa River. This journey was never going to be quick. The road is always busy as it is the road to the airport and it now has large sections with a 50 Km/hr speed limit as well as several uphill sections where the large trucks go VERY slowly and it is not always easy to get passed them.
Anyway after about 1 hour 15 minutes we are just approaching the town of Maji ya Chai, about 4 Km from the lodge when we join the back of a queue. It appears that a large tree is blocking the road. We sit in the queue for a while but we don’t move. Eventually we decide to travel the last 4 Km on our own and let Evodi go back to Moshi.
Luckily we only have 2 small rucksacks with us so we walk down to where the tree is blocking the road and carry on into town where we are able to get 2 pikipikis (motorbikes) to take us the last 4 Km. This doesn’t turn out to be quite as straight forward as it sounds when it turns out the guys don’t really know where the lodge is!! First of all they take us to a different lodge and then when we redirect them they go back to the main road but then try to turn up the road to Arusha National Park. Eventually they understand our instructions and we get to the lodge. To be fair to the guys I am sure that locals never come here!! I am also sure they don’t get many “Western” visitors asking for lifts!! This is backed up by the reaction of Moses who is on reception when we book in at the lodge, who looks horrified when we tell him the story and says “Oh My God”....clearly not many guests arrive by pikipiki!!
Anyway for us this was all fine. I think it does just show that as an independent traveller though you just need to be a bit adaptable and go with the flow. It also helps to have some limited knowledge of Swahili and shows that you do need to know exactly where you are trying to get to or else you could have problems.
We check in and get shown to our room which is lovely.
The lodge first opened in 1959 and although it has obviously had several updates since then it still has quite a colonial feel to it. We settle into our room, have a quick wander around and then have a light lunch. There are a few other guests staying here but it is really pretty quiet.
The lodge also has a wildlife sanctuary for rescued animals. The restaurant and grounds overlook the sanctuary’s waterhole. We can also see it from our terrace.
During the afternoon we see the zebra, buffalo and ostrich. There are also quite a variety of different birds around including some peacocks!! It’s not quite the same as staying on safari but definitely worth the extra $5 per night we are paying to stay here instead of MTAD!!
African Fish Eagle
About 6.30 they light a bonfire outside the restaurant and we go and have a pre dinner drink. This is definitely one of the best constructed bonfires we have seen here.
We then have dinner in the restaurant before going back to sit on our terrace to read our books before going to bed.
Day 69
This morning we had breakfast on the terrace overlooking the sanctuary. Breakfast is all table service, there is no buffet, which is quite nice. We get a fruit platter and juice, followed by a cooked breakfast or pancakes and then a basket of toast and pastries. All very nice.
During breakfast we here a loud noise coming from above us in the trees. We look up to see a group of about 8 colobus monkeys. They stayed for quite a while jumping from tree to tree. I am guessing they were a family group as some were quite small.
The lodge is pretty quiet for most of the day. We spend quite a bit of time in and around the pool. We are joined by a family for a short time by mostly we are there by ourselves.
We skip lunch, having had a large breakfast but mid afternoon we retire to the terrace outside our room for a drink and some snacks we brought with us. We have a mixture of sun and cloud this afternoon meaning that the temperature is very pleasant. Infact we both agree that overall the atmosphere is less humid here compared to Moshi.
This afternoon we enjoy watching the wildlife including these tiny vervet monkeys. I assume there were some larger adults around as well but we didn’t see them.
Later some of the buffalo come down to the waterhole along with the zebra and ostrich. If you look closely at the photo below you can also see one of the monkeys on the left.
And then late afternoon we also saw some blue monkeys, one was right outside our room.
During dinner this evening one of the lodge owners came and had a chat with us which was nice. Dinner was good and afterwards we returned to our terrace for a game of cards before bed.
Day 70
Today we have spent the day lazing around the lodge, mainly by the swimming pool often in the company of the storks and peacocks who get fed in this area around the middle of the day.
This afternoon I take a few photos of the lodge’s bar and restaurant area. It is nicely laid out and has a very relaxed feel about it.
Today we have been the only guests here until about 5.30 when 2 other couples arrive. A little later we are having a cup of tea on the main terrace when we are also joined by one of the blue monkeys.
We enjoy a final evening round the bonfire followed by dinner on the terrace. Tomorrow we are back to Moshi.
Takes me back a few years.
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