Julia's Travels: Safari prep

Independently organizing a safari is more difficult than one might think. Chris and I spent 3 days spinning our wheels trying to coordinate a reasonably priced safari.

Challenge #1 was getting to Northeastern Tanzania from Zanzibar. We decided to fork over a little extra dough for a flight, in order to avoid the two days of land and sea travel that would be required to travel from Zanzibar to Arusha. We booked our flight with a company called “Fly 540”, a Kenyan discount airline. Let me tell you that flying to Arusha was definitely an African experience.

The night before our departure we received a call/text message informing us that the flight time had changed….not once, but twice. So being the organized Americans that we are, we showed up at the airport bright and early only to find that the airline employees had no idea about the earlier flight time (the flight had been moved from 11:45 am, to 9:00am, to 10:45am, and then apparently back to 11:45am). Hmmm…interesting. So we checked in early and headed to the departure area. At 10:30, just after Chris had wandered off to use the facilities, someone announced over the loudspeaker that our flight was boarding. The plane was a Cessna 15-seater, so the boarding process was quick, and I was left standing at the gate, waiting for Chris (Chris would like me to note that he was only gone for 5 mins). The captain and the gate agent were surprisingly anxious to get the show on the road, and I tried to explain t that we thought the flight was going to leave at 11:45, and that Chris should be back any moment. Employing all of my well-honed stall tactics, I was able to get them to hold the flight for a couple of extra minutes. Finally Chris showed up, and we had an otherwise easy flight to Arusha.

This experience was quintessentially African: it was chaotic and slightly disorganized, but in the end everything worked out.

Challenge #2 was sorting out which safari operator to use. There are literally HUNDREDS of safari tour companies in Arusha, and it can be difficult to distinguish the legitimate companies from the scammers. Chris and I were also looking for a safari on the more budget end of the scale, which meant that we had to be extra careful that we were getting something that was a good value and not just cheap and crappy. After hours of internet research and phone calls, we ended up settling on a company called Bobby Safaris. Their prices were reasonable, and we got confirmation from some other travelers, who had recently done a safari with Bobby Tours, that they were a decent company.

Challenge #3 was perhaps the most amusing. Safaris are priced on a per-person basis and are typically less expensive if you have a group of at least 4 people. That meant that Chris and I needed to link up with two other travelers in Arusha who were also looking to go on safari. In a place that’s filled with travelers and known as the departure point for some of Africa’s best safaris, you’d think this would be easy, right? As it turns out, it’s not.

The hardest part was just meeting other travelers. Arusha has some of the most aggressive touts I’ve ever encountered, so most travelers shuffle quickly between the hotel, restaurant, internet café, etc., all the while trying to avoid eye contact with the guys shoving woodcarvings and safari brochures in their faces…not exactly an environment that’s conducive to strolling down the street and chatting with other travelers. When we did see other travelers at restaurants, etc., we would find almost any excuse to strike up a conversation to see if they were also trying to organize a safari. After a while, we both started to feel like that sleazy guy at a Jersey Shore nightclub who uses cheesy lines to pick up on chicks. Ha!

In the end, almost everyone we met had just finished safari or had organized their trip with a tour operator at home. We decided to go for a two-person private safari, which ended up being a great experience. All’s well that ends well, and we have had several good chuckles about our days in Arusha spent trying to organize safari.

-Julia