East Africa Day 5 - Simba Farm Lodge

Our flight to Tanzania was absolutely brutal. It was a function of the way we had to restructure this trip because of Covid. We had limited flight options to get to Africa and our gorilla permits were scheduled for a specific date, which we couldn't adjust. To make everything line up there was only one flight from Kigali to Tanzania on the day we needed to fly. It was a stupid flight. It was on Ethiopian airlines and it connected through Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. We had to go the complete opposite direction of where we wanted to end up. We also had a five hour layover in Ethiopia. Since it was our only option we made it work. In total we spent about 9 hours in airports and 4.5 hours flying to travel a distance that shouldn’t take more than 2 hours, if the flight was direct. It was a hellish travel day. It also meant we didn’t sleep much. Alison and I both tried to sleep on our flights, which meant we got 4.5 hours of fairly restless sleep. It was not ideal, but we did get to our destination on the day we needed to be there. 

We arrived in Tanzania a little after noon. We had to get through the health protocols and passport control. We had all of our paperwork in order so it was relatively painless. We also had to take a rapid Covid test on arrival. Alison and I both came back negative. When we got our results we breathed another sigh of relief. Six test down and two or three more to go. We were pleasantly surprised by the efficiency and organization of the process. Props to Tanzania. 

We collected our bags and left the airport. Our guide, Richard, was waiting for us outside. He will be our guide throughout our stay in Tanzania. He is very friendly and helpful. 

We had about a 90 minute drive to our lodgings for the day - the Simba Farm Lodge. Richard tried to tell us about some local areas that we were driving through, but Alison and I were so tired we didn’t engage as much as we normally would. Once we get a good nights sleep we should be back to our normal inquisitive selves. 

One bummer is that it is a fairly cloudy day so we really couldn’t see Mount Kilimanjaro. The Simba Farm Lodge is located right at the base of the mountain so we were hoping to have some nice views along our way, but no such luck. We caught a few glimpses, but that was it. Fingers crossed that the the clouds move out today and tomorrow. 

Since we couldn’t see Mount Kilimanjaro we were both second guessing our decision to stay at this lodge. It is out of the way from the rest of our safari sites. Plus it is connected to a functioning farm so the first impression you get as you drive in makes the place seem run down. However, once we got settled in the lodge portion we were impressed. The lodge is a series of cottages each with multiple rooms. The grounds of the lodge are immaculate and are decorated with many beautiful flowers. 

These pictures come from a book I read before this trip. Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds

We settled in, showered, and changed into a fresh pair of clothes. After that we felt much better and decided to explore. We walked around the gardens. We were followed on our self-guided tour by a trio of farm dogs. We visited the garden and the bird pen where they keep chickens, roosters, geese, and turkeys. We marveled at all of the beautiful flowers. This is a great place to stay. 

As afternoon turned to evening we sat on our deck enjoying the tranquility. Alison found a book and I lounged. This was the perfect way to counteract the long travel day. The Simba Farm Lodge is such a serene environment. Alison and I watched a beautiful sunset in Tanzania. What a way to end the day. 

Alison took a little afternoon nap right before the sun started to set

There was more, shortly after sunset we had a romantic candlelight dinner on our balcony. We sat out enjoying the cool night air watching the stars appear in the sky. We were treated to a  fabulous dinner full of farm fresh foods. It was a dinner we won't soon forget.