July 7, 2017

 

IMG senior guide, CJ, just called us from the sat phone to check in from our luxury safari lodge. The team had another amazing day on safari. They woke up early for another game drive as they made their way out of Serengeti National Park. They stopped at Oldupai Gorge for lunch. Oldupai is the location where some of the very first human bones where found. Its full of history and is a great place to stop to break up the drive. Then, the icing on the cake for this whole safari has to be their final stop of the day – Ngorongoro Crater. Hard to do this place justice with words, so I’ll let the pictures tell the story. After several hours trying to contemplate the amount of animals they were seeing, they made their way out of the crater and to the small town of Karatu, just outside the conservation area. Here they checked into their final night’s accommodation. The wilderness camps on the Serengeti are very plush, but this is truly a luxury safari lodge. This is where CJ has just given us this update from. The Team is about to sit down to their final dinner and, man, the stories they are going to share tonight are going to be fun!

This Team has had an incredible experience over in Tanzania. They were able to stand together as a team on the Roof of Africa. Then they had another amazing experience – this one without nearly the effort! The Serengeti is certainly a unique and special place and everyone should visit at least once. I hope you’ll be able to join us in Tanzania for a Kilimanjaro climb and Serengeti safari in the near future. We’ll be following our early fall Kilimanjaro trips right here starting in early September.

Dustin Balderach

July 6, 2017

 

We just heard from IMG senior guide, CJ, over in the Serengeti and all is well. After 100% of the clients stood on the summit of Kilimanjaro just a few days ago, the group has been rewarded with tons of wildlife viewing on the Serengeti. This really is the dessert of this trip and people are always amazed by what they see. The group has now made it back to their extremely comfortable wilderness camp for the night after a full day of game viewing. Yesterday they saw a leopard, which is typically the hardest of the “Big 5” animals to get a glimpse of. Lions, buffaloes, and elephants – 3 more of the Big 5 – will easily be seen, along with numerous other creatures, from big to small. What you see out here is always different and always exciting!

Tomorrow, the group will make their way out of Serengeti National Park and over to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which is basically a huge crater in the ground filled with a very high concentration of animals. This is also their best chance to see the last of the Big 5 – the rhino. The Team could not be having more fun than they are right now! They are right in the middle of their safari – right in the heart of the Serengeti. After dinner, they’ll probably sit around the camp fire for a bit swapping stories before heading back to their ‘tents’ for the night. I use the term ‘tent’ loosely here as the tents have full beds and bathrooms attached. They are hardly roughing it. They’ll have another big day tomorrow watching wildlife before spending their final night in our luxury safari lodge.

Dustin Balderach

July 4, 2017

Craig John called from the hotel in Moshi to report that the Kilimanjaro Team are happy, healthy, and clean!  They were about to sit down to their celebratory dinner with their local Chagga staff to celebrate their successful climb.  Well done!   They had a good day today, finishing up the descent from Mweka Camp to the Gate in under three hours.  Craig said they had some rain this morning, and the trail was a bit muddy.  Now the weather has improved, and it is sunny in Moshi.

Tomorrow the Team will make the 2-hour drive over to the large city of Arusha from where they will take a short afternoon flight to the Serengeti. A scenic, 50-minute flight takes them from a city of over million people to the wilds of the Serengeti. Its magical! By this time all discussion will be about what animals each person is most looking forward to seeing. The Team is about to be blown away by the diversity and quantity of wildlife that the Serengeti supports. Its truly amazing and hard to comprehend, much less explain in a few words. We’d like to once again congratulate the Team on a job well done and we know they will enjoy what they are about to experience.

Dustin Balderach

 

July 3, 2017

 

Congrats to the Kilimanjaro Team on being 100% successful on reaching Uhuru, the highest point of Kilimanjaro.  Also, congrats to IMG guide Craig John, for his 25^th  Kili summit.  That is quite a milestone! The Team had perfect weather and conditions for their climb up to the summit and then back down to Mweka Camp (~10,000 feet).  Everyone did well—their training and hard work paid off as they stood on the Roof of Africa this morning!

They will sleep soundly tonight down in the (relatively) thick air of Mweka Camp.  The trees and humidity of the forest are welcome after many days spent above tree line. There will be no difficulty falling asleep tonight for the Team. It’ll be a quick, 3-hour walk out to the Mweka Gate tomorrow morning where our shuttle bus will be waiting to take the Team down to our hotel. Lunch and then showers – or maybe the reverse – and then they will turn their attention to the next prize – the safari! Conversation during the celebratory dinner tonight will be equal parts talking about the extraordinary climb they just had and the anticipation of the upcoming safari. It’s all good over in Tanzania. Congrats again to the Team on a successful summit of Kilimanjaro and enjoy the safari! You’ve earned it!

Dustin Balderach