Getting there

The entire trip came together on very short notice. On Monday I contacted a travel agency about Tanzania, and on Thursday I was already leaving.

They organized three days of safari, followed by a week of beach time on Zanzibar.

First, I had to get there. The original plan was Munich → Brussels → Addis Ababa → Kilimanjaro International Airport. I briefly considered adding a day in Addis Ababa, but that would have meant dealing with visa logistics, and potentially extra health paperwork depending on flight routing and layover length.

On the way to the airport, I got a message that my flight to Brussels was delayed by 30 minutes—followed shortly by an SMS that rebooked my entire journey via Frankfurt. Oh well. Either way, I was heading somewhere warm.

Three flights (and roughly 13 hours) later, I arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)—the main gateway for the northern safari circuit, located between the Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions.

Stepping outside into 30°C air felt like walking into summer. I was picked up by Abdul, who will be my driver and guide for the next four days. The first evening ended in a relaxing lodge—cold drink, warm breeze, and the nice feeling that the adventure had officially started.Read more