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We landed in Nairobi before first light and by sundown we had kissed giraffes and hugged baby elephants, flown over the Masai Mara, and stood at the centre of the great migration.
48 hours later we’d seen lions, cheetah, zebra, giraffes, hyenas and flown over hippos and crocodiles in a hot air balloon before flying to the border of Tanzania and crossing over at a little town called Isbania.
And then suddenly there was no wifi. Our skyroam stopped working. Our phones received texts saying “Welcome to the United Arab Emirates!”.
And alas we could blog no more.
We have now resurfaced thanks to checking in to the Acacia Farm Lodge in the Town of Karatu near Ngorongoro.
Karatu is a town of unusual beauty in this part of the world. After crossing the plains of the Masai Mara and the Serengeti and then over the steep mountainsides of the Ngorongoro Crater you reach the Karatu.
Ngorongoro Crater from the rim above
The mountains around the Ngorongoro crater create clouds and rain which runs down the valley into Karatu creating green fields which are ripe for farming on the steep hillsides.
Getting ready for the Sundowner at Acacia Farm Lodge
Our journey to Karatu had been an adventure in itself involving driving 300km down dirt tracks, an armed soldier, a near death experience, a car crash and a family of hyenas …So it was a relief to finally arrive at the Acacia Farm Lodge and be welcomed by staff singing a traditional Swahili greeting song.
Welcome ceremony at Acacia Farm Lodge
The Acacia Farm Lodge is a new hotel which is making a habit of going the extra mile for its customers often surprising them with romantic candlelit dinners by the pool, in the forest or arranging sunset camp fires with local songs and entertainment for weary travellers coming home after a long day on safari.
And of course, importantly, high speed wifi.
Tomorrow the adventure continues as we visit the Ngorongoro crater, sometimes known as the cradle of life, to hopefully see the elusive Black Rhino and possibly even a hyena chasing a herd of Buffalo….
Hyena chasing the wildebeest
We promise to bring you all our stories of adventure and our reviews of the safaris we’ve done and review of hotels such as the Acacia Farm Lodge… But all in good time.
Until then we shall be keeping you up to date on Twitter so follow us @theworldinawknd to keep up with us as we continue our #EssentialAfrica adventure.
Last modified: 20th September 2016
Gorgeous shots Rachel and good deal on getting WiFi there!
We perused house sits in rural African areas – South Africa one of them – but no WiFi was available. Lovely mix of pristine, raw nature and convenience to keep your blog humming along.
Awesome hyena hunting snap too 😉
Ryan
Thanks so much Ryan! Wifi wasn’t the be all and end all of why we chose Acacia Farm Lodge, but it did feel like such a luxury to be able to reconnect with the world again! I bet rural African house sits would be a great experience too!
I think with such special experiences like you had, it might be a good thing to be cut out from the ‘digital world’ in order to enjoy it to the fullest? Of course you want to report on it on your blog and social media, but I find that usually it is important to stay in the moment. I have to admit, I’m not always good at it myself! I also have to force myself to look to things through my eyes rather than through a camera lens!
It looks like you had such an amazing trip!
Hi Maaike, I absolutely agree, we tried to immerse ourselves in the wildlife and experience whilst we were there, but we did need to post on our blog and social media so it was a welcome relief to find a good connection. I totally agree about the camera lens though, trying to just sit back rather than always taking photos.
How nice for you except the WiFi part. I’m enjoying my Skyroam – most of the time. I hope that your battery lasts longer than mine wherever you may be next.
Hi Elaine, that is a problem with the skyroam, the battery life, but we just bring a portable charger with us which usually does the trick for long days out on the road. Have you found any countires that it doesn’t work in?
I love Tanzania and the wonderful people of the country. I’d love to go back and stay here, I know the people there go above and beyond to make your stay amazing! That wildebeest photo is great btw!
Hi Cathy, they absolutely do go above and beyond, don’t they! Such wonderful people. Thanks about the photo, it was amazing to watch them all cross!
Have a blast. I loved my time in Tanzania. Don’t let it stress you out. It’s okay to go off the grid sometimes.
Now following you on twitter and enjoyed reading the updates. Karatu looks lovely and can not wait to hear more about your holiday.
Hi Jamie, thank you so much! We hope you enjoy following along with our travels. Karatu is coming up so keep watching this space…