The beginning of My Love Affair with East Africa and our arrival in Tanzania at Maji Moto Camp in Lake Manyara National Park

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Our arrival in Tanzania was not an easy one, having left South Africa and all things familiar; we were entering the unknown and had little idea of what awaited us. Armed with a Swahili phrase book and our pioneering spirit, we set off to open one of &Beyonds five new properties in Tanzania

I can remember arriving at Kilimanjaro and driving through to the bustling town of Arusha, we were booked into a hotel in Arusha for a few nights before driving on to what was to be our new home, the original camp at Lake Manyara, called Maji Moto, meaning “hot water” in Swahili.

Our Arusha Hotel was a shock to the system, to get the elevator to work, the staff showed us that you had to jump up and down once inside, so that the doors would close …. Needless to say we climbed the stairs instead, until we relaxed and slowly grew to accept that this was just how it was done. Being somewhat of a Princess, I can remember phoning my mother in Cape Town, and being very upset because the pillows on the bed were paper thin and my hairdryer wouldn’t work as it had the wrong connections!  I made a decision to open the lodge as planned but that I was prepared only to give this six months tops!

Two days later we set off on our journey to Lake Manyara, in an open landrover on what were the worst roads we had ever seen. Eleven years ago, the roads were mostly dirt roads and in a terrible condition, and since we arrived in dry season the dust was unbelievable.  I wrapped a Masai Shukka around my head and kept my sunglasses on all the way. When I took these off, I looked like a bush baby, my face was black with dust and I had two white round circles around my eyes. Driving in Tanzania in those days was also something of an experience. If the roads looked impassable or too rocky, you simply made a new one, so there was this maze of interconnecting dirt highways all leading to the same destination. In addition, if you were travelling on tar roads, you reduced your speed, but if you were travelling on the worst dirt roads you simply put your foot down and drove like a demon – to this day, I have still not worked out the logic on this one.

We stopped in the little Town of Mto wa Mbo, meaning Mosquito River in Swahili, and bought cold drinks and were to collect a few supplies for the Staff waiting for us at the camp. My arm was resting on the side of the vehicle and four Masai gentlemen approached me, took hold of the gold bracelets on my arm … and asked me if I wanted to trade mine for their beaded bracelets. Not for a moment did I feel threatened. I think I was as fascinated by these four individuals as they clearly were with me.  I decided to venture a little further from the vehicle, now with the four Masai gentlemen in tow, and came around a corner to find a market in full swing. This was the turning point for me and the beginning with what will always be my love affair with Tanzania and its People. I felt instantly at home amongst all the hustle and bustle, the bargaining and bartering , the great mound s of legumes, nuts and beans on display, the piles of dried fish or as it’s known locally, “dagaa”; the multitude of banana’s – ranging in color from black to red, and from yellow and green. The plantains were longer than my arm and the smallest sweetest banana no bigger than my index finger. I was welcomed and made to sample everything…..for the first time I felt at home and knew then and there that this would be the beginning of what was to be the adventure of a lifetime.

We entered the National Park and drove through the Ground- Water Forests, stopping to watch the comical behavior of the baboon troupes that inhabit these forests. The Park is a long Park that stretches along the length of Lake Manyara, to your right the Great Rift Valley with the rock escarpment dropping dramatically, some 500 meters to the surface of the Lake. We drove through Acacia Woodlands, Grassy Floodplains and more Ground-Water Forests until we came to the Hot Springs which reach temperatures of 60 degrees Celsius. Our new Camp, Maji Moto, took its name from the Swahili translation of these springs. This Park boasts large numbers of elephant, and around each bend in the road we seemed to encounter a different group. This is where the famous Scottish researcher, Ian Douglas-Hamilton, took up residence and pioneered the individual recognition of his elephant subjects. I still have his book called Among the Elephants which is a must read when visiting this Park. The Buffalo grazing at the Hot Springs and wallowing in the warm mud at the Lakes edge were some of the largest we had ever seen. One of the largest of these, who has now sadly passed on, had a boss measuring 2.7 meters. This is a world record and his boss has pride of place in the Museum! It was amazing to see these creatures in such large herds, quite unlike anything we had experienced before.  At the entrance to the Camp, in an enormous Sausage Tree, we looked up to see what this park is world famous for …. The Tree Climbing Lions.  At first glance this is quite a bizarre sight as they climb up quite high and literally drape their bodies over the boughs of these trees, perfectly balanced with their legs hanging down in complete relaxation.

The Maji Moto Staff were standing at what was to eventually be our guest arrival area, shy, smiling faces that were obviously just as nervous as we were to meet them. Probably the best advice given to us, before we made this journey, was by a Kenyan gentleman, who at the time was one of our Company’s Directors, he shared with us that when you live and work in Tanzania, that you cease to operate just as Manager, and that you on fact take on more of a parental role and that after a time, your Team becomes your Family.  Our Staff at this lodge will forever hold the most special place in our hearts, and indeed we did become one big Family. Together we built one of the most beautiful Tented Camps in Africa.

Our Camp looked out on what was then a completely dry Soda Lake. Often we watched as a Journey of giraffe slowly emerged out of a mirage over the dry and cracked lake bed, we were visited nightly by herds of buffalo 300 strong and the Manyara Lions were our Guardians, resting up in the trees just outside of the camp. Manyara remains one of our favorite places in Tanzania and it possess a spirituality that is almost tangible, this is a place that will settle in your hearts.

To read more of my Manyara Adventures, please stay tuned to “My Adventures”

Our Son with his Masai Guardians

I was chatting to my friend, Karen Richards, the other day about when we both managed lodges in Tanzania.  We laughed so much about her arrival in Tanzania -she was arrested on entry for not having the correct documentation! I had to send a team of my staff down to the local Police Station to talk them into freeing her. I have just started writing up my experiences and adventures in Tanzania, as I would really like to share some of these wonderful stories with you.  Click here to read some of Karen’ articles on her time in the Serengeti, but remember to come back to my blog if you want to continue reading my stories.