The Group - Aug 2

After a day in Arusha on my own, I finally met the 5 other “tourists”, plus our guide, cook and driver. Gwen and Ian were from Perth, Australia; Jill from Cornwall, England; Keith from Liverpool, England; and Marianne from Switzerland. We all got along fantastically throughout the trip. We all enjoyed our beers at the end of the day (although most of the time the beers were room temperature) and we laughed a lot!
Having such a close knit group really made the experience that much more enjoyable.
Naizeri was our cook – he was African but not Maasai. It was unbelievable what he made “out of nothing” every day. We had 3 huge meals a day. Every morning we began with porridge, fruit, toast and eggs. Lunch was either a box lunch – chicken, fruit, sandwich, cookies and a drink or if not travelling we would have soup and sandwiches or soup and rice with some meat sauce. Similar meals at dinner, always beginning with soup. We definitely consumed our share of the daily intake of fruits and vegetables. Usually around 4 we would have tea/coffee/hot chocolate with popcorn. We never went hungry.
Kingu was our driver. It was incredible how he got us through sand, water and uneven roads. The van/bus was a 4WD vehicle with 9 seats. We were definitely packed into the van with all our luggage and tents and such. But the pop-up roof was great – a great way to see and take photos of the animals. While he was driving he was also able to spot out lions, birds and other difficult animals. Kingku was also knowledgeable about most animals and birds and shared this information with all of us.
Laizer was our tour guide. His real name is Olotumi Laizer but everyone just called him Laizer. He is a Maasai warrior. Although quite quiet, Laizer was the “rock” of our group. He was a good listener and tried his best to make all our situations the best. He was also knowledgeable about the animals but if he didn’t know he would look it up. Laizer’s English was pretty good but some others had a difficult time understanding him. I think since I am a teacher I had a better time understanding and hearing him. I thought he was 32 but I think he is 22! He works for Imaginative Traveller (http://www.imaginative-traveller.com/) and Oreteti Cultural Discovery (http://www.oreteti.com/) .