Twiga means giraffe

On the way to Horohoro border on December 18th I spotted a Land Rover Defender with German number plate from Konstanz coming towards me from the border and I was wondering who that might be! The day before yesterday I asked Thomas in the German overlanding group about this car and he told me "Hey, I will meet these guys in Twiga lodge for Christmas. Come and join us!". Well, this is how Christmas plans are being made nowadays!

Awesome place, this Twiga lodge. Run by British Paul and Erica. The moment I arrive they are having a party with all their staff and their kids. It seems to be one big family and they are so welcoming that I directly feel like being one of their members! We have awesome dinner and Paul plays Father Christmas, distributing small presents to everybody. The next day we eat and eat and eat again, even a bigger Christmas lunch. In the evenings we gather with all guests on the veranda, tell stories and listen to the night. The lodge is located directly at the border of Arusha national park and one evening an elephant appears at the campsite, cracking some branches in the distance. The campsite itself is newly established with shady spots and great washrooms. It integrates very well into the relaxing and refreshing atmosphere of the whole lodge.

Thomas from Germany decided to leave his German life behind - temporarily - and to travel in Africa [1]. He started with a plan of 3 months in South Africa. Then he decided to buy a Land Rover Discovery Series I. This turned out to be crap and he bought a Land Rover Discovery Series II. Now he is here, sharing with Michi some beer. This is 15 months after he left Germany 😃
He will drop his Land Rover here for servicing of its buggy V8 engine while going to climb up Kilimanjaro tomorrow. Paul and Erica run a self-driving safari company [2] and rent old but well-maintained Defenders to their customers. This is why they also own a decent Land Rover workshop.

So, what about this mysterious dark Defender from Konstanz now? It belongs to Christine and Bernd who travel around eastern Africa for many years already. Their current round trip was for 10 weeks and they return back to Germany in a few days, leaving their impressively equipped overlanding truck here in Arusha. We have a great time together and I stay 3 nights here enjoying their company. Oh, what lovely people!

[1] https://my-trip-on-the-wild-side.com
[2] https://shawsafaris.co.tzRead more