I am going to summarise this week in only one entry because I basically didn’t leave the lodge and spent my days relaxing and mainly catching up with my diary. I hadn’t have computer access for almost three weeks, so I had to make use of the facilities at Plantation. Plus, I spent a bit of time with Renate, the German lady who managed the lodge together with her husband Udo, who – what a coincidence – was just visiting Helgoland while I was at their place. Yep, I consider myself quite lucky that my parents know these people, otherwise I could have never afforded to stay here. It is really a gorgeous place. Just to give you an idea, I’d like to quote the following from African Dream Safaris’ web site: “Plantation Lodge is our top pick for accommodations in the Lake Manyara area. The property, rooms and gardens are wonderfully unique and stunningly beautiful. (...) The lodge is situated on a 45-acre property of rolling green farmlands and highland forests. The farms main exports include flower seeds, coffee beans, and corn. The lodge consists of several houses spaced throughout the serene and well manicured grounds. Each house or chalet is decorated a little differently. In addition to the rooms, the facilities are first-class including an idyllic swimming pool terrace with great views out over the surrounding farmlands. (...) A night at Plantation Lodge is a splendid addition to any safari itinerary and is an excellent choice during any month of the year.”
Well, there’s not much I have to add to that. The whole week, I basically slept as much as I wanted, enjoyed EXCELLENT bathroom facilities (the first warm shower in ages!) and was pampered with top class food and all-round service. I even got Nutella for breakfast!!!!!!!! I guess you can only fully comprehend my enthusiasm when you have travelled for six weeks under similar circumstances and know what it means to appreciate every tiny bit of civilised life’s luxury.
When I didn’t sit at the computer writing, I spent time in the garden or strolled around on the lodge’s grounds. It was too cold to go swimming in the pool (don’t forget it was deepest winter here at this time of year and temperatures would drop to 14 degrees) but I didn’t mind to spend my time indoors. On Saturday, Renate and I went to Karatu because she had to take care of a few things in town. It was weird to pass by the same shops I had seen with Jerry, Hanna and Aaron just over a week ago. Karatu is a small town with quite a special feel to it. At first, it looks like just a few mud huts in the dusty middle of nowhere but once you get into the labyrinth of clay streets, Karatu turns out to have a lively market area, lots of small artisan shops, banks, a post office and so on. The place I liked most was the one and only internet cafe in town. It’s called “Bytes” and is run by an English couple. It is a very cosy place with friendly staff, great food, books and video nights on weekends. Definitely worth an extensive stop if I ever come back here!
Well, this basically summarises my time at Plantation Lodge. It was a very relaxing week that made me recover a little from previous exertions. I could spend my time reading and writing or simply chilling out. The staff at the lodge was very friendly and it was nice to be with people I knew via my parents. My room was beautiful, the bed was a dream and I can’t praise the bathroom enough. Last but not least, I had very good food the entire week which helped to regain my strength for the continuation of my trip. The only downer was that I lost some underwear and one of my bras in the laundry, which is kind of annoying when you don’t have much with you anyway. But hey, if that’s the only loss of this trip, I still consider myself quite lucky...
For more information about Plantation Lodge, please check out my photos in the Tanzania Picture Section and refer to www.plantation-lodge.de (in German and English) or search for it on the web – there is plenty of material out there!