Jambo! Hello from Arusha!
- Pam Carey-Mackenzie
- Aug 30, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 1, 2025
Jambo means Hello in Swahili! Welcome to my blog about our trip to Africa. Hopefully I will have good WIFI service and I'll be able to update the blog daily but we will be in the bush so as they say in Africa and the Lion King :-) 'Hakuna Matata " No worries. The first two weeks will be all three of us (Meredith, Don, and I) and we are on safari through Tanzania and Kenya. We are on a guided tour traveling with Tauck. It is a small tour 24 people in total! We traveled with Tauck through Australia and New Zealand in 2020 and liked it so much we are using them for Africa. After we finish the Safari in Nairobi Don I and we will be traveling to Cape Town South Africa for 5 days and Meredith will be going back to Cincinnati.
Quick quiz, here are our three pieces of luggage - guess whose was the heaviest? Yes it was mine the blue colored bag!!
Here is the flight map so you can see where we are in Africa and the flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro:
Saturday August 30th we flew from Cincinnati - Detroit - Amsterdam - Kilimanjaro. The two last flights were 8 hours each. So a long journey but worth it! We arrived Sunday August 31st at 9pm and then took a 90 minute bumpy ride to our hotel. We are staying in the Gran Melia in Arusha. It is a beautiful hotel at the foot of Mount Meru. They say we can see Mount Kilimanjaro if it is perfectly clear but we haven't yet.
Here are a few pictures of the hotel:
Today we had a relaxing day exploring the hotel and just hanging out. We took a small city tour with a driver and saw this clock tower which is the central point in Africa, halfway between Cairo and Cape Town!
We have a busy schedule of early mornings and long days ahead so we are resting up. We kick off our tour tonight with a dinner where we will meet our tour guide and traveling group. Tomorrow will kick off the adventure as we head to our next hotel in the Ngoronogoro Crater and also our first game drive!
Asante sana! Which is thank you in Swahili! I appreciate you taking the time to read about our journey.
This sounds wonderful- I wish I could have snuck myself in your suitcase! Looking forward to reading more blogs and hearing about the trip in person- Africa is on my bucket list!!
We just crossed paths in Arusha. We left yesterday and had a day room at the Ngare Sagre Mountain Lodge before our flight out of Kilimanjaro. It was a beautiful small lodge outside the city. You will love your time in the bush. My favorite was all the camps we used as a base for our game drives. Enjoy the crater, but look forward to more animals and species in the bush. We saw some Tauck Safari vehicles and thought of you. Have fun my friend.
Looks like beautiful weather!! You are going to LOVE the crater!!!
Love the pictures! Excited to follow along on your amazing journey!
So exciting! Have a great trip!