What's up next?

We've just been relaxing the past few days since our return from the top of Kilimanjaro. The weather here in Arusha hasn't been great. Rain on and off, and hard at times. So we've been doing some computer work and getting caught up on things from our almost a week away. And, we've been doing some planning to figure out what we're going to do next!

We are so close to Serengeti National Park. Just about any tourist who comes to Arusha is here because it's the set off point for safaris in the Serengeti. But apparently we are not "just anybody"...

Originally, our plan was to do some kind of walking or camping safari in the Serengeti. But when we started researching prices... we just can't justify it. Doing an African safari is usually a once in a lifetime experience for most people, simply because it's so expensive. 

And if we had not already done several days of safaris in Namibia's Etosha National Park back in December of 2013, I'm sure we would just bite the bullet and pay the money to do it here.

Just to give you an idea, the cheapest way to do a Serengeti safari is to do a self drive with your own camping vehicle. To rent one with all the gear is minimum $100 USD per day. Then, entrance fees to Serengeti National park are $60 USD per person per day. Then, a campsite is $30 USD Per person per day. 

So, five days in the park would cost minimum $1,640 USD ($2,086 CAD) including the fees to get through Ngorongoro crater both ways. Start using any kind of a tour or guided trip, and you're looking at minimum $500 USD per day for two people.

So we're going to pass on that. We just finished spending big bucks to climb Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro so we're going to give the bank account a break for a while.

Sort of.

We've decided to head over to the Usambara Mountains and the town of Lushoto. We've booked a villa for two weeks at a cost of $30 USD ($38 CAD) per night. It's a bit nicer than we would usually book, but in comparing it to other places in the area, we think it has more to offer for the extra money. And again, because tourism is down, prices are lower than normal. It looks like a really beautiful spot, and we are looking forward to showing it to you.

The Usambara Mountains are a popular hiking area. Lots of trails for all levels, and viewpoints and scenery and village walks. We should be able to keep busy there for two weeks, and we have an option to extend for another two weeks if we are really happy there. At this point, the more we move around Tanzania, the more it costs. 

We looked at renting a vehicle, but the very best price I could find was 55,000 shillings ($23.70 USD, $30 CAD) per day, and that was for a long term rental. Can't justify that either, so we are taking the bus and the local transportation on Saturday to get to Lushoto.

Having lunch with our friend Justin.

Just came back from buying the bus tickets. It turns out there is one bus line that goes direct from Arusha to Lushoto. Fortunately, our friend Justin came down to the bus station area with us. What a circus! There's no real organization... you simply ask around until you find the guy who sells the tickets you're looking for. We ended up buying two tickets on the Chakito Longway bus for 20,000 shillings ($11.00 CAD, $8.65 USD) per person. It leaves at 6:00am tomorrow morning! Supposed to be a six or seven hour ride.

Saturday morning's bus ride, 334 kms (207 miles).

So, Saturday will be a long travel day and you likely won't hear from us again until after we arrive in Lushoto.

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Nice deal on a variety of Dragon Glassware.

And in Canada...

Echo Dot with Clock