February 2022
Every safari is completely different. I, Ben, had heard this before, but now I get it. I am way up on the animal lover spectrum so it’s not surprising that my first African safari would be superlative. it was A M A Z I N G ~ animals SO close we could hear them breathe and chew…
But since we were based for one month (for our Live Anywhere on Airbnb adventures) in Arusha, Tanzania, which lies at the epicenter of a network of wildlife parks and reserves, it is not ONE safari, but a whole smorgasborg of safaris that we get to experience.
We are within 2 hours of several entirely different safari propositions. Tarangire National Park is our first and it is elephant rich, but also my first time seeing the most elegant and graceful animal of all, giraffes. Dozens and dozens of giraffe, sauntering by, unbothered by our presence.
How could the next safari come even close to this “once in a lifetime” experience? I thought…
And then we discovered that we can go on a WALKING safari. One walks with and amongst the wildlife. Crazy. Again, giraffes steal the show, along with the albino baboon and the handsome cape buffalo.
If a photo is worth a thousand words, then a video of these beautiful animals must be worth a thousand photos.
Tarangire National Park: first African elephants, first giraffes, first olive baboons… (
Arusha National Park: A walking safari.
Say no more. Just unreal. Rare albino baboon, warthog moms and their babies, gazillion flamingoes…
We are currently in Cape Town, South Africa! Doing our best to catch up the blog… For the most up to date photos and journal of our Live Anywhere on Airbnb journey, follow us on instagram @greenglobaltrek.
Thanks everyone for all the feedback here, on instagram and on YouTube. As always we do love to hear from you!!
Ben (and Peta)
Oh how I miss travelling in Africa.
Yes, once you have been to Africa it gets under your skin! Hope you make it back one day Peggy.
Peta
Breathtaking videos. An African Safari is high on my Bucket List. Thank you, Ben and Peta for sharing these.
Thanks Donna, for the high compliment. Glad you enjoyed these so much, and the best (ie Serengeti is yet to come, working on the that video currently.)
Safari in Africa has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. So now that we have extended time and funds, it has worked out really well. Worth the wait.
Peta
Thank you for the neat videos and the fancy dancing by Peta.
I agree, the giraffes are amazing.
I guess there are no crocs or gators to bother the flamingos. Nice.
Well thank you Charles. Next time, it will need to be tango!
In that particular lake no, no predators, so the flamingoes can breed and congregate freely.
Thanks for watching and for your feedback.
Besos
Peta
Awesome! Not your average Airbnb!
Did you wonder though what those animals made of you animals? One giraffe was giving you the once-over.
Yes, that one giraffe was certainly intrigued by us and come quite close! As you will see in the next youtube lions came even closer!
Glad you so enjoyed this Johnny. Thanks for your feedback.
Peta
There is absolutely nothing like your first safari. Mine was Kenya, 1970. But my favorite was Kruger about 7 years ago because we rented a car in Johannesburg and drove through the park for 5 days. Not as high up a view but there’s nothing like being able to go wherever you want, whenever you want and stop as long as you want- all on your own. And we saw the Big 5 our first day. Giraffes are my favorite too, but aren’t the elephants graceful!
Safe travels
Steve
Steve, very true that first safari is always a memorable event. As a child I used to go to Kruger twice a year with my three siblings and parents all crammed into a car driving around the park hoping to spot something. I don’t think we ever saw a full lion.. maybe just an ear peeking over the tall grass haha. So for me, it was quite the treat to be in a safari jeep with a guide.
Love all the wildlife!!
Thanks for watching, reading and leaving us your feedback.
Peta
Wonderful! I love the idea of a walking safari. I’m so happy for you that you get to communities beautiful animals. Enjoy and safe travels. As always. I love reading about your journeys.
Thanks Mark. The walking safari was quite an incredible experience. Glad you are enjoying.. thanks for reading and thanks for leaving us your feedback.
Peta
Beautiful place, absolutely amazing. Your videos capture it all so well. We have never been on a safari, although it has been in our wish list for years. I must catch up with your other videos, I have been travelling in Brazil and we sometimes didn’t have good Wi-Fi.
Thanks Gilda. Safari in Africa was on our list for decades as well but always seemed like it would break the bank. Of course there are all different levels and prices of safari but for some reason I was determined that when we did finally go, it would be to Serengeti. So that video is coming up soon but the interesting thing is that each safari in Tanzania was absolutely incredible in and of itself.
Yes we are often plagued with bad wifi which is why we are SO behind in our youtube videos. Thanks for watching and for leaving us your feedback.
Peta
So exciting that you had this opportunity. And staying in Arusha must have been a wonderful experience as well. I, too, spent a long time in Africa, and was able to go on about nine different safaris from Tanzania to Botswana to Namibia to South Africa. And, yes, each one was different. If youre going to be in Africa longer, I recommend booking a mokoro safari into the Okavango Delta. I know you would love that. I also want to refer you to EHRA, a grassroots NGO that helps mitigate conflicts between subsistence farmers and the desert elephants of Namibia, by bringing in volunteers to build walls around water sources, and other efforts. We did two weeks with them, building a wall one week and tracking desert elephants the second week. A truly wonderful organization and an unforgettable experience. Enjoy!
Jane how incredible that you have experienced safari in so mamy different countries. I was in Namibia with my parents and brother many years ago and still remember vividly some of the scenes we saw in Etosha Pan.
EHRA sounds like a wonderful organization doing some really good work. We can see how building walls would be useful for the human population but since elephants have multigenerational history and go on very distinct paths to water sources, wondering how this effort accounts for the elephants need for water?
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments.
Peta
How wonderful to see those animals up close! Some day, I hope to travel the world. Until then, I live through blogs like yours….
I grew up in South Africa and went on safari as a child with my family, but have always wanted to go back and to go back with Ben. So this really has been an amazing opportunity to finally do this, together. So glad you are enjoying vicariously.
Peta
So very amazing! Wildlife safaris in Africa are very high on my list of things I’ve never done and would love to experience. One day… Your photos and videography are stunning. It’s nice to see the parks be this lush and fertile. The animals must love it. They look happy and healthy!
Liesbet, I have wanted to go back to Africa with Ben and go on safari, probably since we first met decades ago. It really has been a dream come true and worth the wait. I hope you get to experience it one day as it really is something very special.
Thanks for the compliments on the photos and videography. Yes, there had been a lot of rain in the area before we arrived and it was amazing how lush and green everything was. Wonderful for the animals. Some say that its better to be on safari in the dry season, as that way you see all the animals coming to the water holes. But honestly, any time you get the opportunity to go, GO. Wonderful to see animals in their natural habitat.
Peta
I’ve missed your regular posts (and, by “regular,” I mean “more often,” not regular = conforming, which the never are 🙂 ) so I was happy to see this. I’ve never been to Africa… but one of these days, I will go. The videos are wonderful.
Thanks Janis for such lovely encouraging and supportive comments. We experienced a long spell of very intermittent wifi when we were in Mexico in Dec/January and that has impacted our ability to put out consistent blog and videos. So we had to make a choice when we finally go to go wifi and opted to prioritize our youtubes.. but as you know, all of them are very time consuming. One day we will be all caught up… (maybe, hopefully.)
Peta
You’re having the most amazing adventure and I’m enjoying keeping up with your travels on Instagram.
Thanks so much, so glad you are enjoying. Yes, our instagram is the most up to date visual travel dairy for us now. Thanks for following.
Peta
Oh I’m so jealous. I travelled overland through Africa back in 1980 and will never forget seeing giraffes wandering by camp, and have longed to return ever since. It looks as though you two had a truly unforgettable and special time there. How fabulous!
Hi Alison, writing back to you now from South Africa. It has been an incredible experience to be back in Africa and wonderful to have started in Tanzania which was very special. Seeing wildlife in their natural habittat is an experience that stays with you forever.
Peta
Abi and I have been enjoying your videos on Youtube, and traveling with you vicariously. That part of the world isn’t “yet” on our radar so we are enjoying your experiences. Well-done on finding amazing Airbnb stays! Continued safe travels.
Thanks Patti. So glad you are enjoying our YouTube channel. Thanks for watching and for leaving us your feedback. It has been great fun finding interesting Airbnbs in all the different locations. We are enjoying the diversity. Thanks.
Peta
Being able to hear animals breathe and chew in their natural habitat sounds really amazing, Peta! I remember the first time I saw a giraffe at a zoo I was wonderstruck not just by how long its neck was, but also by the fact that this giant was such a gentle and elegant animal. But that was a long time ago and now I very much wish to see all those animals out in nature where they truly belong. I love the idea of a walking safari!
Bama, the giraffes have been an unexpected highlight of our safaris and for the reason you state… how elegant and graceful they are and how they move across a landscape is something to see. Incredible to see giraffes in large numbers, in their naturally social environment of small herds. We started to realize that if they were two giraffe, then most likely more would be nearby…
The walking safari was definitely a highlight for both of us. But every single safari was unique and memorable. In fact, Ben found some of the safaris at the outset to be quite exhausting because of the high excitement and adrenalin at seeing animals in the wild. It can be a bit overwhelming (in a good way).
Thanks for watching us and for leaving us your thoughtful comments. The next YouTube is of our safari in the Serengeti with all the wildebeest during the birthing season.
Peta
Hello Peta and Ben,
Hopefully you have a great time in South Africa as well. If you visit the Gardenroute (Plettenberg Bay) you are very welcome to pop-in. We’d love to chat among World Nomads.
Hi Marcelle
Thank you that is a very lovely offer. We are currently in Cape Town and loving it and hope to be in the Garden Route as well but as of yet have not made any plans for that yet.
Thanks for stopping by to read us!
Peta
What fun to see the animals in Tanzania! I agree: every safari is different, but all must be really good if I can judge from the one safari we’ve taken. Keep traveling and posting. Some of us are living vicariously through you!
Thanks Rusha. We are currently working on the next video of the big safari in Serengeti. Yes, it’s hard to think of a safari not being good.. So glad you are enjoying our travels vicariously.
Peta
I remember giraffes stealing the show on my safari as well. Enjoy being back in SA Peta! I’m sure everything looks both very different and same-same after so long away.
Writing back to your comment from Cape Town South Africa and we are loving it here. There are many differences, mostly in how built up things are but then as you say some things don’t change. The expression “the more things change, the more they remain the same” comes to mind.
thanks for stopping by to read us and leave us your comments.
Peta
WALKING on a safari sounds ideal. Love the photos here, and I enjoy them religiously on Instagram. What an adventure you two are on!
Haha Pam, I love that “enjoy them religiously” 🙂 As you might have observed our blog has fallen a bit by the wayside but at least on instagram I can keep a visual diary of our travels and then hopefully one day catch up on the blog. So glad you are enjoying… It truly has been an adventure beyond our wildest expectations… Thanks for your lovely comments.
Peta
Amazing where travel is taking you, Peta and Ben. The walking safari sounds fantastic, getting up and close with wildlife and nature. Sounds like the animals see you as friends. Love the video you put together – photos and videos both well shot, and Peta really can dance anywhere and show us how fun it can be 😀 Keep traveling and looking forward to seeing more of your travels 🙂
Thanks Mabel.. It was my dream to return to Africa and am very grateful that we could travel here thanks to the opportunity afforded to us by Airbnb. The walking safari was something I never even knew existed. So glad you enjoyed our videos and photos. Thanks for watching and for your positive feedback.
Peta