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Tanzania

Visit the vast grasslands that are home to the great migration, ascend Mt. Kilimanjaro, or relax on the Indian Ocean, exploring the rich history and cultural diversity of Zanzibar.

Mills Africa in Tanzania

November 5th, 2015 by Kristina

Travel Report – Tanzania: Northern Serengeti, Katavi NP & Mahale NP/Chimp trekking

Helga Casto, Mills Africa

My October 2015 travels to Tanzania were wonderful: very rich game viewing in the Northern Serengeti (the crossing of the Wildebeest at the Mara River was, as always, quite  a spectacle), a truly remote bush camp experience in Katavi National Park in Tanzania’s Western Corridor, and finally Chimpanzee trekking at Mahale National Park on Lake Tanganyika.
tanzanie-detail
Katavi National Park is located in the much less travelled Western part of Tanzania.  It is my first visit to this area and I loved the remote experience, away from the crowds of the Serengeti & Ngorngoro Crater.  In my opinion, explorations of these lesser-travelled national parks are a must for a well-rounded Tanzania itinerary.  Katavi is an opportunity to experience the real Africa, very remote, good (if basic) camps with all necessary conveniences and a stunning diversity of landscapes. Within 70 miles you go from open Savannah to a tropical looking environment with lots of growth, particularly an abundance of palm trees.

Elephants, Katavi National Park

Elephants, Katavi National Park

Leopard, Katavi National Park

Leopard, Katavi National Park

After Katavi another flight to Lake Tanganyika – Mahale National Forest. After landing at the airstrip, a dhow waits at the edge of the lake to take guests to Mahale’s Greystoke Lodge.

The white beach and the thatched, high peaked buildings of the lodge is reminiscent of the South Pacific. The immediate backdrop of the tropical beach scene of the lake is the escarpment of the Western Great Rift with dense forests and mountain peaks up to 8,000 ft. Very dramatic and stunningly beautiful.

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The lake has an abundance of fish. Guides on the boat provided simple fish line (no reel, just a hook at the end – as you see in South East Asia) and everybody that had a go at fishing pulled out a beautiful, yellow-colored iridescent fish, at least 1 ft. in length. Some of the fish was served for appetizers as sashimi (delicious)and most of it was used as food for the mascot of Greystoke Lodge, an orphaned, habituated pelican named Big Bird.

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Chimpanzee trekking is arranged similar to the process in Rwanda for the Mountain Gorillas. Only 12 people can go up per day; the group is then split into 3-4 each, based on physical conditions. There were 3 guides from the lodge and 3 wardens from the park authority to watch that all rules are strictly enforced, i.e wearing face masks whenever around the chimps, no eating/drinking, no pointing, no direct eye contact and, of course, no touching. The park wardens were instrumental in getting us into the thick growth, by using their machetes to create small openings for trekkers to gain access.

https://www.millsafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-10-11-01.40.50-chimp-close-good.mp4

The trek is fairly arduous, steep, hot and long but it is worth every effort. The experience is very lively with a cacophony of shrieks, chimps running up trees, young ones swinging from tree to tree and some chasing around on the ground.

After a while the initial ruckus calmed down and our guides lead us to openings where we could sit down and observe the group at length. From that point on they were very relaxed, the males lying down on the ground and taking short naps, grooming themselves, looking around and slowly acknowledging our presence. And when it came time for them to move on they very calmly passed right through us. The small families are fun to watch, especially of the babies that are doted on.

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The trek down passes a Japanese research center from Kyoto that has been in the Mahale National Park for 50 years, studying the M-Group. This group consists of about 60 members, many of which we saw.

Jane Goodall’s chimps and her research center are located in Gombe National Park, two mountains away, also on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, where a group of approximately 30 is left.

Overall a fantastic return to one of my favorite countries in East Africa – with lovely experiences, both new and old.  To observe these close relatives of ours was the highlight of this trip.

Posted in Chimpanzee Trekking, Remote Experience, Tanzania, Testimonials

Two trips with Mills Africa.

March 10th, 2014 by Kristina
The start of our Tanzanian safari.

We’ve taken two African trips with Mills Travel.  Our first trip included 8 travelers, one month, six countries, and a mix of safari, cultural and sight seeing experiences.  Our second two-week trip to four safari camps in Tanzania focused around our nine-year-old grandson with high safari expectations.

Mills Travel took the time to get acquainted with all of us and helped sort out our priorities within our price guidelines.  Planning ended with “Big Book” consultations where we went over every detail of our trips.

Mills was personally familiar with the places and people we were visiting, making it easy to arrange smooth trips, but also to solve problems if any occurred during the trips.  On one trip, a scheduled flight had been cancelled so Mills made alternative arrangements before we even became aware of the situation.

Mills Travel’s expertise, flexibility, and understanding of their clients were keys to making our African trips truly life-changing events.

– John S Seattle, WA

Posted in Tanzania, Testimonials

An Amazing Safari

January 15th, 2014 by Kristina
Leopard in the Serengeti

In 2013, Mills Africa, an excellent company based in Lynnwood, WA, organized an amazing safari through four national parks in Tanzania for us. With their help, I was sure that our trip would be awesome!  But it far exceeded that expectation.

As we journeyed through Tanzania, we saw lots of wildlife in memorable sightings with the help of a great guide, Mike Taylor. We saw a lion hunt, unsuccessful leopard hunt during the day, and several huge elephant herds. We also spotted abundant rollers, ubiquitous hornbills, and long-legged secretary birds and ibis.  It was amazing to be with Mike.  Thank you so much Mills Africa, with special thanks to Helga Casto and Nancy Tonkin.

Aidan. L, Age 10 – Seattle, WA

  • Leopard resting in a tree.
  • Pride of lions in Tanzania.

Tags: Hornbill, Leopards, Lions
Posted in Tanzania, Testimonials

The Latest – Africa updates.

November 22nd, 2013 by Kristina

We pride ourselves on creating the trip of a lifetime for our clients – many of whom who are kind enough to provide highlights of their experiences.  Browse the posts in “The Latest” to see their thoughtful feedback.  Here you will also find interesting articles and snippets, posted to give you a sense of the amazing sights, sounds, experiences, cultures and histories awaiting you on your journey to Africa.

Posted in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Testimonials, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

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