In the winter of 2019, Henderson Productions took a small group to Tanzania for a 14-day adventure. This blog series tells the story of the trip and our fellow travelers. Using our network around the world, we curated a tour to give us local connections and experiences beyond the normal tourist choices. For more information about our upcoming trips, subscribe to our newsletter.
Sunrise on the Serengeti Plain
The Kati Kati Camp is decidedly and delightfully rustic compared to previous nights, but EXACTLY as early planners had requested, and I love it! We had a nice welcome with a few rules like: do NOT go outside your tent if it’s dark; If you want to come to the main tent, wave your flashlight in that direction and someone will come get you; and, you need to not take showers after dark so please schedule when you want. A charging station and refrigerator to help yourself are in the main tent. Quite an array of plugs and power strips for all types of configurations all powered by battery stored solar power as are our interior tent lights.
I loved my shower. Stepped in fully clothed, soaped up hair, clothes and body and rung it all out in the pull chain shower on a wooden platform in a zipped-up tent compartment. Awesome. I’m lying in our comfy king-sized bed with laundry drying outside, a full belly and a snoozy companion by my side. Doesn’t get much better than this but we can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Our two days on the Serengeti were beyond applicable adjectives. Some might not have liked the tent camp, but I would have appreciated another couple of days there to completely explore the camp. Maybe an afternoon of snoozing and writing. The beds were hard, not so private but definitely glamping with battery-operated lights and indoor plumbing and wood floors. Late night glow of dinnertime candles or lanterns on porches with the flapping of laundry drying on a line, the distant flashes of lightening and the welp-welp of hyenas struck a romantic tone for me. It was just delightful.
Add quality food and the modern convenience of a massive charging station and that’s gravy on the taters. I DO wish there was no Wi-Fi service at all within the parks to make it seem more of an adventure. We did play Pass the Pigs one evening – just to say we did – as well as participate in “bush tv” sitting around a bonfire. Our truck – Johnson’s Serengeti Six – contributed a saucy limerick, D’s bustard poem and M’s Ode to Johnson. Very stiff upper lippy of us!
