I'm so excited to post about our safari trip! It was a culmination of everything I love - public transport, adventure and good deals :) .
All of the travel agents gave us estimates of planning a $500-600 safari trip, but we decided to be student-budget friendly and design a trip that ended up costing us less than $150.
Our safari adventure started bright and early with us walking up at 4:30AM to catch a 6:00AM bus.
We grabbed an Uber to the Ubungo Bus Station. Getting inside the bus station was among the most stressful 15 minutes of my trip to Tazania. We ended up getting at the bus station at 5:50, 10 minutes before the bus was supposed to leave. Ahead hunter tout escorted us to a bus that was headed west, towards Mikumi National Park. The bus ride was surprisingly very pleasant. The flat plains rolled in to hills that raised in to mountains among the back splash of a sunrise. Six hours, two elephants, two giraffes and one lion sightings later we arrived at Mikumi Village. We decided to try our like and find a hostel by just walking down the road, otherwise we would catch a taxi to Morogoro, a larger town an hour away.
We stumbled on to the Mikumi Veta. We later realized that the Veta was actually a vocational school and we would be getting serviced by students. That made me really excited and I wanted to meet some of the students. I went to the information desk and one of the students, Diana was exceptionally friendly. We quickly bonded over student life and she gave me a tour of the entire campus. We got to the dorms and she excitedly introduced me to all of the girls. It was one of those moments that you just thank life for.
Jessica and I then headed out to the Mikumi National Park. We returned the next day for the safari. I'll let the pictures of the park do the talking. Inside the National Park, we met three US citizens who were actually also working at Muhimbili's Medical Campus, as well. What a small world :) .
When we got to the Veta, Diana and I had dinner and promised each other we would stay in touch.
The way back to Dar from Mikumi was a little bit more...adventurous. We waited on the side of the road with other Tanzanians waiting for a bus that would take us back to Dar. The buses came and went without set timings. After waiting an hour and a half & being told that three buses to Dar were too full to take more passengers, we finally got on a bus. This bus was a little more full than our bus coming to Mikumi, but the conversation was pleasant. We arrived back to Dar around 8:30, and all we really wanted after this weekend more than anything was a nap and shower.
XOXO,
Naheed
All of the travel agents gave us estimates of planning a $500-600 safari trip, but we decided to be student-budget friendly and design a trip that ended up costing us less than $150.
Our safari adventure started bright and early with us walking up at 4:30AM to catch a 6:00AM bus.
We grabbed an Uber to the Ubungo Bus Station. Getting inside the bus station was among the most stressful 15 minutes of my trip to Tazania. We ended up getting at the bus station at 5:50, 10 minutes before the bus was supposed to leave. A
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| Arriving in a foggy Mikumi Village nestled in the mountains |
We stumbled on to the Mikumi Veta. We later realized that the Veta was actually a vocational school and we would be getting serviced by students. That made me really excited and I wanted to meet some of the students. I went to the information desk and one of the students, Diana was exceptionally friendly. We quickly bonded over student life and she gave me a tour of the entire campus. We got to the dorms and she excitedly introduced me to all of the girls. It was one of those moments that you just thank life for.
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| Some of the students and I (Diana is the student directly to my left in the picture). |
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| In the Veta girls dorms. |
Jessica and I then headed out to the Mikumi National Park. We returned the next day for the safari. I'll let the pictures of the park do the talking. Inside the National Park, we met three US citizens who were actually also working at Muhimbili's Medical Campus, as well. What a small world :) .
The way back to Dar from Mikumi was a little bit more...adventurous. We waited on the side of the road with other Tanzanians waiting for a bus that would take us back to Dar. The buses came and went without set timings. After waiting an hour and a half & being told that three buses to Dar were too full to take more passengers, we finally got on a bus. This bus was a little more full than our bus coming to Mikumi, but the conversation was pleasant. We arrived back to Dar around 8:30, and all we really wanted after this weekend more than anything was a nap and shower.
XOXO,
Naheed
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