Trip to Africa

 

With Barry and Royce Raven

 

 

Summary: In the fall of 2000, Barry and I made a decision to travel to Tanzania, Africa and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and go on a short safari. We made all our reservations in February of 2001.  We departed DFW on 1 October 2001.  We arrived in London on 2 October 2001 and took a bus and riverboat tour of London. We departed London and arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on 3 October.  We took a taxi tour of Nairobi and then took a shuttle bus to Arusha, Tanzania arriving late in the day. On 4 October we checked in with our tour company, Predators Safari Club, and drove to Kilimanjaro National Park and started our climb of Kilimanjaro. We arrived on the summit of Kilimanjaro at 0630 on the morning of 8 October 2001. We returned to Arusha and started our three-day safari. We returned to DFW on 14 October 2001.

 

 

 

1 October 2001        Bridgeport to London, England

 

 

Peggy drove Barry and Royce to DFW for connection with British Airways Flt 2192 to London. We boarded the flight on time at 3:35 PM.  The plane was a Boeing 777.

 

Note:  To view a photograph full size click on the Thumbnail photograph. When the photograph is full size and you have finished viewing click on "BACK" in the upper left corner of the screen and you will return to this page.

 

0100-Kilimanjaro.jpg
0100-Kilimanjaro
0101- British Airways.JPG
0101- British Airways
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0102-DFW

 

 

2 October 2001         London, England to Nairobi, Kenya

 

 

We arrived in London at 6:30 AM. Since we had a 16-hour layover, we took the Gatwick Express Train to Victoria Station. We then took the Big Bus tour of London.  The tour lasted from 9:30 AM until 5 PM. The tour included a boat ride on the Thames River. After a snack at Garfunkels we returned to Gatwick Airport via the Gatwick Express. We left Gatwick at 10:25 PM on British Airways Flt 2069 for Nairobi, Kenya.

 

 

0200- London Bridge.jpg
0200- London Bridge
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0201-Barry
0202- Parliament.JPG
0202- Parliament
0203-Big Ben.JPG
0203-Big Ben
0204-Ferris Wheel.JPG
0204-Ferris Wheel
0205-Tower of London.JPG
0205-Tower of London
0206- Westminster Abby.JPG
0206- Westminster Abby
0207-Buckingham Palace Gate.JPG
0207-Buckingham Palace Gate

 

 

3 October 2001.       Nairobi, Kenya to Arusha, Tanzania

 

 

We arrived at Nairobi JKIA Airport at 6:30 AM. We had an eight-hour layover so we took a taxi tour of Nairobi. At 2 PM we departed Nairobi on a Pallson's shuttle bus for Arusha, Tanzania. We arrived in Arusha at 7 PM and were dropped off at our hotel, The Ilboru Safari Lodge. The lodge was outstanding,

 

 

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0300- Nairobi, Kenya
0301-Karen Blixen Home.JPG
0301-Karen Blixen Home
0302- Giraffe.JPG
0302- Giraffe
0303-New USA Embassy.JPG
0303-New USA Embassy
0304-Street Scene.JPG
0304-Street Scene
0305- Pallson Shuttle Bus.JPG
0305- Pallson Shuttle Bus
0306-Street Scene.JPG
0306-Street Scene
0307- Tanzania.jpg
0307- Tanzania
0308-Kilimanjaro Area Map.jpg
0308-Kilimanjaro Area Map
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0309-Ilboru Lodge
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0310-Our Room
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0311Canna
0312-Canna.JPG
0312-Canna
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0313-Mt. Meru

 

 

4 October 2001         Arusha to Marangu Gate to Mandara Huts

 

 

After a good nights sleep and breakfast at the lodge, we were taken to the Predators Safari Club Office.  Nabeela Khan briefed us on our schedule for climbing Kilimanjaro. Our guide, Aloyce Manyanga, was introduced and we were on our way to Kilimanjaro National Park. On the way, we toured Arusha and Moshi arriving at the Marangu Gate at 12:30 PM. We checked in at Reception and started our hike on the Marangu Route to the Mandara Huts. The hike was through the rain forest and we arrived at the huts at 4 PM. The distance was about 7.5 miles. The altitude change was from 6100 feet to 9100 feet. Our hut was a dormitory style building with three rooms. Each room had three bunk beds. The beds had foam mattresses and pillows. Our roommates were from Germany, Holland and Norway.

 

After getting settled in our room tea was served. Visited with our roommates before dinner and went to bed at 8:30 PM.

 

 

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0401-Predators Safari
0402- Arusha.JPG
0402- Arusha
0403- Arusha.JPG
0403- Arusha
0404-Kilimanjaro National Park.JPG
0404-Kilimanjaro National Park
0405-Trail Head.JPG
0405-Trail Head
0406-Marangu Route.JPG
0406-Marangu Route
0407- Mandara Huts.JPG
0407- Mandara Huts
0408- Mandara- Huts.JPG
0408- Mandara- Huts
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0409-Bunk Beds
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0410-Room Mates
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0411- Guides & Porters
 

 

 

5 October 2001        Mandara Huts to Horombo Huts

 

 

 

 Woke up the first time at 4:30 AM with two of our roommates chasing large rats.  The rats were scared out of the room. Got up at 6:30 AM, had breakfast at 7:30 AM. Loaded up our gear and started the trip to Horombo Huts at 8:10 AM. The trekking started in the rain forest, but broke out into open rolling moorlands and continued that way to Horombo Huts. AT 10 AM we had to stop and put on our rain gear.  It rained and hailed for an hour or so. We arrived at Horombo Huts at 12:30 PM.  The distance between huts was 9.3 miles and an altitude change from 9,100 feet to 12,340 feet.

 

We checked in at Reception and were assigned to a small hut # H-19 with three bunk beds. Two guys from Australia were also assigned to our hut.  The men were a day ahead of us on the climb and they were on the way down for Kilimanjaro. Mark Rigby and his friend Dean gave us lots of insight to the rigors of the final climb up the mountain.

 

Had tea at 2 PM and dinner at 5 PM. The dinner consisted of chicken, rice, potatoes, and fruit. It was very good but they always provided too much food.  Went to bed at 8:45 PM.

 

 

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0501- Trekking
0502- Porter.JPG
0502- Porter
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0503Kilimanjaro
0504-Royce on Trail.JPG
0504-Royce on Trail
0505- Horombo Huts.JPG
0505- Horombo Huts
0506- Senecio Kilimanjari.JPG
0506- Senecio Kilimanjari
0507- Horombo Arrival.JPG
0507- Horombo Arrival
0508- Horombo Huts.JPG
0508- Horombo Huts
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0509-Dining Hall
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0510Kilmanjaro
0511- Mawenzi.JPG
0511- Mawenzi
 

 

 

6 October 2001             Horombo Huts

 

 

This was an acclimatization day. We got up at 6:30 AM for breakfast.  After breakfast we made pictures of the area, assembled our day hike gear and started our hike at 8:30 AM.  We hiked up to Zebra Rock and on to the Mawenzi Saddle and back to camp, arriving at 11:30 AM.  The round trip distance was 6.9 miles and an altitude change from 12,340 feet to 14,260 feet and back to 12,340 feet..  Had a good afternoon nap. Had dinner with three nice French ladies. Went to bed about 9 PM.

 

 

0601-Day hike to Saddle.JPG
0601-Day hike to Saddle
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0602-Day hike to Saddle
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0603-Day Hike
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0604-Zebra Rock
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0605-Royce
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0606-Royce & Guide
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0607- Kilimanjaro
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0608- Mawenzi

 

 

7 October 2001             Horombo Huts to Kibo Huts

 

 

Got up for breakfast at 6:30 AM.  Packed gear and started hiking to Kibo Huts at 7:30 AM. The trek went through the moorlands past the last water hole then across The Saddle and by Middle Red Hill and Triplets Peaks. The Saddle is a broad desert zone between Kibo and Mawenzi Peaks. We arrived at Kibo Huts at 12 PM. The distance was 9.4 miles and an altitude change from 12,340 feet to 15,500 feet.

 

Checked in at Reception and were assigned to Room 2 of the sleeping quarters. Our roommates consisted of two Finish Ladies, a British couple, two German ladies, one German man, and one Canadian man. One of the German girls was very sick.  Her friend took her back down to lower altitude and we never saw them again.  

 

We ate dinner at 4:30 PM and went to bed at 6 PM. Slept very well and got up at 11 PM. Put on all our cold weather clothes and secured all the rest of our gear. We were ready to leave at midnight for our assent to the summit of Kilimanjaro.

 

 

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0701-Korombo Huts Huts
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0702-Heading to Kibo Huts
0703- Kilimanjaro.JPG
0703- Kilimanjaro
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0704-Trail
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0705-Trail to Kibo
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0706-Kibo
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0707-Barry at Kibo Huts
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0708-Kibo Bunk House
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0709- Dinner at Kibo
 

 

 

8 October 2001              Kibo Huts to Gilman's Point to Uhuru Peak to Kibo Huts to Horombo Huts

 

 

We departed Kibo Huts at 12:10 AM on the final assault of the summit of Kilimanjaro. The climb took us past Hans Meyers Cave and Ratzel Glaciers edge arriving at Gilman's Point at 5 AM. We took pictures and rested about 10 minutes and struck out for Uhuru Peak. The sun came up 6 AM. We arrived at Uhuru Peak at 6:20AM.  The distance from Kibo Huts to Uhuru Peak is about 3.8 miles almost straight up. The altitude change is 15,500 feet to 19,344 feet.

 

We took pictures and rested about 15 minutes, then started our descent back down the mountain. We arrived at Kibo Huts at 9:30 AM, changed clothes, packed our gear and headed back to Horombo Huts arriving at 12: PM. Took a nap and ate dinner at 6:30 PM.  Went to bed early and got a good nights sleep.

 

 

0801-Arrival at Gilman's Point.JPG
0801-Arrival at Gilman's Point
0802-Sunrise.JPG
0802-Sunrise
0803- Glacier.JPG
0803- Glacier
0804- Uhuru Peak.JPG
0804- Uhuru Peak
0805-Barry on Summit.JPG
0805-Barry on Summit
0806-Royce on Summit.JPG
0806-Royce on Summit
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0807-Barry,Royce & Guides
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0808-Crater
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0809-Glacier
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0810-Glacier
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0811-Glacier
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0812-Leaving Summit Area
0813- Hiking Down Kilimanjaro.JPG
0813- Hiking Down Kilimanjaro
 

 

 

9 October 2001         Horombo Huts to Marangu Gate to Arusha

 

 

Got up for breakfast at 6:30 AM.  Left Horombo Huts at 7:30 AM, stopped at Mandara Huts for a coke and short rest. Continued on to Marangu Gate arriving at 11:30 AM. Checked out at Reception, received our Summit Certificates and departed the Kilimanjaro National Park at 1 PM. Arrived back in Arusha at 4:30PM. Spent the night at the beautiful Ilboru Safari Lodge.

 

 

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0901-On the way down
0902- Maundi Crater.JPG
0902- Maundi Crater
0903-Flower.JPG
0903-Flower
0904-Rain Forest Trail.JPG
0904-Rain Forest Trail
0905-Water Falls.JPG
0905-Water Falls
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0906- Reception Area
0907- Royce's Certificate.jpg
0907- Royce's Certificate
0908- Barry's Certificate.jpg
0908- Barry's Certificate
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0909-Back to Arusha
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0910- Arusha
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0911- Arusha
     

 

 

10 October 2001        Arusha to Tarangire National Park to Tamarind Tented Camp

 

 

Steven, our guide for the safari, picked us up at 9 AM. We went to the Predators Safari Club for a safari briefing. We sent e-mails from the Internet Café, exchanged some money, picked up our lunch and drove by Steven's house to pick up his suitcase. We drove through Arusha to Tarangire National Park. This park offers wide panoramas of open acacia woodland and grass savanna, where huge herds of elephants (often two hundred strong) and other unique residents, such as fringe-eared Oryx and lesser Kudu roam free. We saw elephants, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, jackals, dick dicks, lions, Oryx, waterbucks, and lots of monkeys.  At our lunch stop we saw some of our mountain climbing friends. They were on safari with other companies. During lunch we saw a lion stalking wildebeest but the lion never made a kill.

 

In the late afternoon we left the park and drove a short distance to the Tamarind Tented Camp. The camp is located in the bush on the border of the Tarangire National Park.  The camp consisted of a dining tent, a kitchen tent and about 10 lodging tents. The tents were scattered around in the bush. Our tent was on the perimeter of the camp. In fact, we were the only two guests in the camp. We cleaned up and went to dinner.  Following dinner I returned to camp with a Maasai guide.  There were elephants close to our tent and the Maasai scared them away from the area. At about 11 PM Barry woke me up and we could hear elephants walking by the tent. Barry shined a light on the big bull elephant and he didn't like it.  The elephant had three companions that we could see.  The big bull went to the next tent and tore down the shower stand then came back to our tent and tore down our shower stand. He was shaking our tent and it sounded like he was going to rip our tent down. Gee, we were scared but didn't know what to do.  The bull elephant drank the shower water and walked off.  We didn't sleep much this night.

 

 

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1001- Nabeela
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1002- Arusha
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1003- Maasai
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1004- Tarangire
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1005-Royce
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1006-Zebra
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1007-Elephants
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1008- Giraffe
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1009-Lunch Break
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1010- Baboons
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1011- Watering Hole
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1012-Lion
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1013- Jackel
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1014- Leaving Tarangire
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1015-Camp
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1016-Camp
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1017- Sleeping Area
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1018-Shower Bucket
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1019- Shower Water
   

 

 

11October 2001          Tamarind Tented Camp to Lake Manyara to Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

 

 

We got up at 6 AM and went to breakfast.  We were told that the elephants came to the camp kitchen area during the night and tried to knock down the camp water tanks. The Maasai had to drive them away. They assured us this had never happened before.

 

We left the camp about 9 AM and drove to Lake Manyara.  It was a 40-mile drive on horrible dirt roads. The Lake Manyara Park is relative small but contains a variety of habitat and diverse animals and birds. The lake area is noted for its tree-climbing lions but we didn't see any lions. Since we didn't get much sleep in the tented camp we didn't stay in the park very long.  We opted to go to the next lodge and get some rest.

 

We drove over about 20 more miles of bad roads before arriving at the Ngorongoro Crater.  The Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge is located on the crater rim and that is where we were heading. The lodge over looks the Ngorongoro Crater. We checked in at the Reception Desk and went to our room. We then took a tour of the lodge.  It was one of the best lodges we had ever seen. We had a drink in the bar, had dinner and retired for the night.

 

 

 

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1101- Damage by Elephants
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1102-Water Tanks
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1103-Camp Kitchen
1104-Lake Manyara.JPG
1104-Lake Manyara
1105- Elephant.JPG
1105- Elephant
1106-Wart Hogs.JPG
1106-Wart Hogs
1107- Monkeys.JPG
1107- Monkeys
1108- Overlook.JPG
1108- Overlook
1109-Park Entrance.JPG
1109-Park Entrance
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1110-Crater
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1111-Crater
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1112-Lodge
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1113-Lodge
1114-Lobby.JPG
1114-Lobby
1115-Pool Area.JPG
1115-Pool Area
1116-Our Room.JPG
1116-Our Room

 

 

12 October 2001         Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge to Crater to Kirurumu Luxury Tented Lodge

 

 

We got up early, had breakfast and started our tour of the crater. This oval shape 180-sq.mile and 2000 ft deep crater is a repository of Africa's finest wildlife. All the big five (Lions, Elephants, Leopards, Rhinos, and Giraffes) are present living a privileged existence on the crater floor. We saw all the animals except a leopard. We had a full day tour of the crater, which included a box lunch at an animal watering hole.

 

We were taken to the Kirurumu Luxury Tented Lodge for an overnight stay.  The lodge had permanent tents setup overlooking Lake Manyara.  The food at the lodge was the best we had on the trip.

 

 

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1201-Crater Tour
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1202- Buffalo
1203-Lion.JPG
1203-Lion
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1204-Lion
1205- Elephant.JPG
1205- Elephant
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1206- Buffalo
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1207-Hippo
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1208-Zebra
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1209-Water Buck
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1210- Flamingo
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1211- Hippo Pool
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1212- Wildebeast
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1213-Wildebeast
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1214-Zebra
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1215- Cheetah
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1216-Wart Hog
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1217- Elephant
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1218-Tent Lodge
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1219-Our Tent
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1220-Barry
1221- Dining Room.JPG
1221- Dining Room
1222-Bar.JPG
1222-Bar
   

 

 

13 October 2001          Kirurumu Tented Lodge to Arusha to Nairobi to London

 

 

This morning we returned to Arusha in time to board the Pallson Shuttle Bus for our trip to Nairobi JKIA Airport. We arrived at the airport at 6:30 PM and boarded the British Airways Flt 2068 at 10:25 PM.

 

 

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1301-Back to Arusha
1302-  Village.JPG
1302- Village
1303-New Construction.JPG
1303-New Construction
1304-Barry at Lunch.JPG
1304-Barry at Lunch
1305- Jacarand Trees.JPG
1305- Jacarand Trees
1306-To Nairobi.JPG
1306-To Nairobi
1307- Garage.JPG
1307- Garage
1308-Going Home.JPG
1308-Going Home

 

 

14 October 2001           London to DFW to Bridgeport

 

 

We boarded British Airways Flt 2193 at 9:45 AM and arrived at DFW on time at 1:45 PM. Peggy pick us up and we drove to Bridgeport arriving at 3:30 PM

 

 

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1401-Ray Hubbard
1402-Dallas Area.JPG
1402-Dallas Area
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1403-Dallas Area
1404-Love Field.JPG
1404-Love Field
1405- Downtown Dallas.JPG
1405- Downtown Dallas
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1406-NAS
1407- Mountain Creek Lake.JPG
1407- Mountain Creek Lake
1408-The Ball Park.JPG
1408-The Ball Park
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1409-Fort Worth
1410-Fort Worth.JPG
1410-Fort Worth
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1411-DFW
 

 

 

 

Epilogue: We had a very successful and thrilling trip. The trip started shortly after the World Trade Center destruction. British Airways had just resumed service to the United States. Security at DFW had been tightened but there was no delay in the departure schedule. The British Airways flights were prompt and the service was excellent. We flew on a Boeing 777 from DFW to London and a Boeing 747 from London to Nairobi. The security in London and Nairobi were about the same as DFW. At the Tanzania border with Kenya, the security was very lax. We heard about the bombing of Afghanistan from an American couple while we were in the Horombo Huts.  In fact, these were the only two Americans that we saw on the trip. We were not surprised about the bombing.  We were hungry for details but didn't get any further information for several days. The Safari companies reported that they had 50 to 70% cancellations after September 11. The people that we had contact with in Tanzania and Kenya were very interested in what we thought of President Bush. We gave them a good report on our President.

 

 

Royce & Barry

 

 

 

The End