Hippo Serenade: Sleeping at the Lake Masek Tented Camp

01 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Africa

Tags

Africa, Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Lake Masek, Lake Masek Tented Camp, Lake Masek Tented Lodge, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania

This is the last of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

For our last night in Africa, Mrs. Selfish and I stayed at the Lake Masek Tented Camp, a group of permanent tents on the shores of Lake Masek.

Unlike our accommodations at the Ndutu Under Canvas Safari Camp, the Lake Masek Tented Camp is a permanent lodge – where the “tents” are built on wooden platforms. The main lodge is pretty modern, with modern plumbing, wifi, and unlimited free booze.

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Giraffe for Breakfast? Day 2 at the Ngorongo Park

31 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Africa, Tanzania

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Africa, Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Ngorongo, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania

This is the eleventh of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

After an adrenalin-packed day at the Sergenti, it was back to the Ngorongo National Park. Having watched the lioness showdown with the herd of buffalos, the previous day I was pretty sure it was all downhill from there. Boy was I wrong.

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Simba and the Rest of the Pride in the Serengeti

30 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Africa, Tanzania

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Africa, Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tazania Safaris, Great Migration, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Serengeti, Tanzania

This is the tenth of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

After 6 days on safari, we finally reached the Serengeti. Spanning northern Tanzania and southwestern Kenya, the Serengeti is a massive park at roughly 12,000 square meters.

While way too much for us to cover in a week (let alone 2 days), we were in the Serengeti for one thing and one thing only: the Great Migration.

All sorts of zebras and wildebeests!

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Glamping at Ndutu Under Canvas in the Serengeti

29 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Accommodations, Africa, Tanzania

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Africa, Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Ndutu Under Canvas, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Serengeti, Tanzania

This is the ninth of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

Mr. Selfish and I stayed at the Ndutu Under Canvas campsite, which is a seasonal campsite in the Serengeti National Park from December until March.

This campsite was the epitome of glamping (glamorous camping). I’ve never been too much of an outdoorsy kinda girl, so I was a little bit weary of this campsite. I didn’t have anything to worry about. Apparently, “[w]hen you’re glamping, there’s no tent to pitch, no sleeping bag to unroll, no fire to build.”

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Safari-ing in the Ngorongo Park: Day 1

28 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Africa

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Africa, Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Ngorongo, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania

This is the eighth of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

Mrs. Selfish and I bid the Kitela Lodge a fond farewell, and boarded our Landrover for our tents in the Sergenti. To get there, we passed through the Ngorongo National Park.

Bordering the Serengeti, the Ngorongo Park is 3,202 square miles. While it is not well known outside of Tanzania (except for the Ngorongo Crater, which is stunning), the Ngorongo National Park is well worth a visit.

The roads in the Ngorongo National Park are limited, and pass many Maasai villages. The Maasai are one of the few tribes in Africa that still keep to the old ways. They are famous for their bright red garb, which are used to scare away lions.

The Maasai are known for their exceptionally high jumping skills, bravery (they are legally allowed to kill lions with their spears), and their many, many wives.

We saw a number of Maasai on cell phones, which seemed a little odd since the huts didn’t exactly look like they were bursting with electrical outlets. Apparently the government provides them with solar panels, which they use to charge their phones.

And who do they call? Other Maasai of course!

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A Close Encounter with a Lion at the Ngorongoro Crater

27 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Africa, Tanzania

≈ 1 Comment

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Africa, Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Ngorongo Crater, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania

This is the seventh of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

Confession time: I’ve never been into small animals. This has been a reoccurring problem when scuba diving as dive masters seem particularly excited to point out a seahorse, or nudibranch, or other tiny animal.

I get that they’re rare and I can see why people like them, but they just don’t do it for me. Where are the sharks, turtles, manta rays, whales?

Similarly, while I enjoyed seeing antelopes, dik diks, and wild dogs on our safari, what I really wanted to see was a lion. And man did I ever get my wish at Ngorongoro Crater.

So close you can touch him!

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2 Nights at the Kitela Lodge

26 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Africa

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Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Kitela Lodge, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania

This is the sixth of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

While Mrs. Selfish and I enjoy hiking, scuba diving, snorkeling, and other outdoor activities, we are city people at heart. So while I enjoyed our time at the various campsites we visited during our African safari (especially because of the proximity to wildlife), I was absolutely blown away by our two nights at the Kitela Lodge.

The Kitela Lodge is the newest offerings from the Tanganyika Wilderness Camps group, the company that owned all of properties we stayed at during our Tanzanian safari.

I’m not entirely sure why it’s called a “lodge” as each guest stays in a private villa. The main building is pretty posh, and comes replete with indoor and outdoor dining, a pool, a spa, and a swanky fireplace area.

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The Start of the Great Migration: Lake Manyara

25 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Africa

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Africa, Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Lake Manyara, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania

This is the fifth of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

After our exciting encounters with elephants in the Tarangire National Park, Mrs. Selfish and I packed our bags and headed for our next location, the Lake Manyara National Park.

Just 1.5 hours away from the Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park is located on the banks of Lake Manyara, and was said by Ernest Hemmingway to be the “loveliest lake in Africa.”

While the lake itself is quite pretty, I was more impressed by the area surrounding the lake, which was absolutely beautiful.

Simply stunning

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The Elephants at Tarangire National Park

24 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Africa, Tanzania

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Africa, Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania, Tarangire, Tarangire National Park

This is the fourth of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

Mr. Selfish and I spent our first two days in Tanzania exploring Tarangire National Park, which is close to our accommodations at Maramboi Tented Camp. Tarangire is about 75 miles southwest of Arusha and is approximately 1,100 square miles in size. Tarangire is famous for its vast amount of elephants.

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Moving in to the Maramboi Tented Camp

23 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Africa, Tanzania

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Maramboi Tented Camp, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania, Tarangire

This is the third of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

Mrs. Selfish and I arrived in Tanzania around midnight, on our direct flight from Istanbul. We were greeted, by Francis, our driver for our 7 day-safari, who took us to Arusha for our short overnight stay. The next morning we woke up early and drove to our first real accommodation, the Maramboi Tented Camp.

Located near the Tarangire National Park, the Maramboi Tented Camp is a group of 3 dozen or so permanent tents, located a short distance from Lake Manyara. As a result, there are tons of animals nearby.

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15 Tips for Better Safari-ing in Tanzania

22 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Africa, Tanzania

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Africa, Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania

This is the second of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

Mrs. Selfish and I spent an epic seven days safari-ing in Tanzania in order to catch the Great Migration, the migratory pattern of millions of wildebeests and zebras as they traverse the Serengeti.

An African safari is usually high up on people’s bucket lists, but for some reason was never on my radar. I guess I thought it would be rather boring, since you’re confined to a car for 10+ hours a day with nothing to do but stare at animals. I figured it would be like a portable zoo where the weather is over 90 degrees and there’s no air conditioning.

The only that separated us from this guy was a 5-inch thick car door.

And while the experience on paper was very much like that, I can say that our safari was definitely one of the most awesome and most memorable things I’ve ever done and will likely ever do. Our experience was nothing short of 5-stars from start to finish, and we managed to see pretty much every African animal imaginable. Simply amazing.

If you’re interested in taking a safari of your own, know that it is definitely not cheap. There are no miles or points options. It can also be quite a feat to find the right safari tour group.

After much searching, and reading other people’s trip reports on flyertalk and tripadvisor we decided to go with Allan Tanzania Safari, which I highly recommend.

Not only were there prices very competitive (at 70% the cost of most places we found), but our guide, Francis, was extremely professional, knowledgeable, and just really darned likeable. Even better, the entire tour was private – meaning Mrs. Selfish and I were able to do everything on our schedule.

There’s also very little planning involved once you’ve found a tour group to your liking. Once you’re booked, all you have to do is show up.

That being said, there are definitely some things you can do to make your experience better. Here’s our top 15 tips for better safari-ing in Tanzania.

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One Week of Glorious Safari-ing in Tanzania

21 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Africa, Tanzania

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Africa, Allen Tanzania Safari, Allen Tanzania Safaris, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania

This is the first of twelve posts on our safari in Tanzania. Check out our other posts here:

Mr. Selfish and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out if we wanted to go on a safari at all. After speaking with friends and family, who had been on a safari, we started doing research about safaris we could take in February.

Immediately, I saw that the Great Migration starts in Tanzania in February. Then, I realized that it was the “life” part of the Great Migration, wherein nearly half a million wildebeests are born. This was distinguished from the “death” part of the Great Migration where tens of thousands of wildebeests are killed crossing the Mara River. I started making arrangements to book a week long safari for late February.

I contacted Allen Tanzania Safaris and after going back and forth a little via email, we settled on the following itinerary:

Day 1 – after arriving on a evening flight into Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO), we drive to Maramboi Tented Lodge and then explored Tarangire National Park.

Day 2 – we have another safari day at Tarangire National Park.

Day 3 – we have a game drive in Lake Manyara National park and then drive to Kitela Lodge.

Day 4 – we explore Ngorongoro Crater and spend another night at Kitela Lodge.

Day 5 – we drive through Ngorongoro Crater and Seregenti South Ndutu area and spend the night at Ndutu Under Canvas.

Day 6 – we have a full day game drive in Serengeti South and spend a second night at Ndutu Under Canvas.

Day 7 – we safari in both Ngorongoro Crater and Seregenti South again and spend a night at Lake Masek Tented Camp.

Day 8 – we drive to Arusha for lunch and depart from JRO.

It was a lot of driving, but it was entirely worth it. We saw tons of wildebeest babies and even witnessed the birth of two. It was epic (us slowly tracking two momma wildebeests while in a Landrover and then watching them give birth).

It’s cuddle time little baby wildebeest!

Tomorrow, Mr. Selfish will go over some general tips for safari-ing in Tanzania. Then, we’ll start our trip report in earnest.

Heading to Turkey and Tanzania!

28 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Africa, Europe, Hyatt, Travel Hacking

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Grand Hyatt Istanbul, Grand Migration, Istanbul, Safari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tanzania, Turkey, United Airlines

Mrs. Selfish and I have been enjoying our time in San Francisco. We’ve seen the Golden Gate bridge from just about every possible angle. We’ve day-tripped to Sonoma, and Napa. We’ve even taken a few short weekend trips to Carmel, San Luis Obispo, Vancouver, and San Diego (trip reports coming soon!).

But with the pending United devaluation coming up, I decided it was time to burn through our United stash and slash a couple more items off our bucket list. So a few weeks ago I booked tickets to Istanbul, and Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

120,000 UA miles in business to Europe and Africa!

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A Selfish Year in Pictures

30 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Africa, Asia, Best Of, Europe, Living Abroad, Oceania

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Living Abroad, Selfish Years, The Selfish Years

Mr. Selfish and I are starting to settle down in San Francisco and are happy to be here for the next few months. It’s odd being in one place and being able to fully unpack our suitcases. We are definitely enjoying SF life thus far, especially our new view:

We can’t believe how fast this past selfish year went by and are truly grateful for all of the wonderful experiences we had.

Here are our top 60 photos of the past year. Enjoy!

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The Selfish’s Top 10 Biggest Letdowns

07 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Africa, Asia, Best Of, Europe, Oceania, Rant

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Angkor Wat, China, Downton Abbey, Great Barrier Reef, Highclere Castle, New Zealand, Nha Trang, Russian Tourists, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Terracotta Warriors, Yellow Eyed Penguins

Mrs. Selfish and I were very fortunate to be able to travel the world (safely!) for a year, seeing and doing things we would otherwise never do. While the majority of the trip was amazing, we had more than our fair shares of letdowns.

Whether we went in with inflated expectations, or the experience really wasn’t that worth doing, there were things that just didn’t live up to their reputations.

For your consideration, I present you our 10 biggest letdowns (in no particular order). The first image is what I imagined the experience would be (thanks to the magic of the internet) and the second is reality.

Enjoy!

The not-so Sanguine Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Imagination: Sunrise over mystical Angkor Wat. Peaceful. Tranquil.

Reality: Shoving your way through throngs of tourists to catch a shot of overcast ruins at 5:00am in the morning.

Siem Reap, and Angkor Wat are awe-inspiringly awesome and totally worth doing. That being said, catching the sunrise was one of the most touristy experiences of our entire trip. We woke up at 4:30am to hit Angkor Wat along with what seemed like 1000 other people. Totally packed, and not that sanguine – definitely not what I was picturing.

Definitely not Downton: Highclere Castle

Imagination: Strolling the grounds of Downton Abbey with Maggie Smith on a perfect day.

Reality: Rainy weather most of the time. Plus they rent it out for weddings. Wha-wha.

While we still had a blast at “Downton Abbey,” Highclere Castle is actually quite different from what you’d hope. The Castle is used to shoot the show mostly during the summer, and is open to the public for a few (hotly visited) months. The inside is peppered with familiar rooms, but it’s full of family skiing photos from the 80’s. Plus the duchess of Highclere will try and sell you her book on the REAL Downton Abbey in the gift shop. Classy.

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The Selfish Years

~ Over 200 cities, 42 countries, 6 continents and counting.

Category Archives: Africa

Hippo Serenade: Sleeping at the Lake Masek Tented Camp

Giraffe for Breakfast? Day 2 at the Ngorongo Park

Simba and the Rest of the Pride in the Serengeti

Glamping at Ndutu Under Canvas in the Serengeti

Safari-ing in the Ngorongo Park: Day 1

A Close Encounter with a Lion at the Ngorongoro Crater

2 Nights at the Kitela Lodge

The Start of the Great Migration: Lake Manyara

The Elephants at Tarangire National Park

Moving in to the Maramboi Tented Camp

15 Tips for Better Safari-ing in Tanzania

One Week of Glorious Safari-ing in Tanzania

Heading to Turkey and Tanzania!

A Selfish Year in Pictures

The Selfish’s Top 10 Biggest Letdowns

The not-so Sanguine Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Definitely not Downton: Highclere Castle

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The not-so Sanguine Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Definitely not Downton: Highclere Castle

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