It's a Long Journey from Nairobi to Karatu through Kilimanjaro

Thursday, July 10, 2025:

Nairobi-Kilimanjaro.

It's a Long Journey from Nairobi to Karatu through Kilimanjaro

We need not have worried for we were out for the count during the entire flight. I have to say that traveling Business Class on Kenya Airways turned out to be a bit of a waste for the two of us as we merely sat down in our seats when we fell fast asleep. In fact, the last thing I remember was our aircraft picking up speed as it taxied on the runway and then climbing into the sky. That was it. It was almost 3.00 am in Bombay and we’d had no sleep at all through the night. Little wonder that we just sank back into our roomy seats, placed them in reclining position, accepted the offer of a drink (both of us had a glass of champagne) and were out like a light. We were so dead asleep that we did not even hear the trolly go by with the drinks and cocktail service, nor did we hear the trolley go by with dinner. We simply missed it all as we caught up on our sleep.

By the time we surfaced, it was about 6.00 am (local Kenyan time) and fellow-passengers were requesting the cabin crew for coffee. Assuming that we would be served at least a light breakfast before we disembarked, I was surprised when the stewardess told me that we’d be landing in under an hour and no breakfast would be served. My companion turned out to be a very nice man named Atul Mohod, who happened to be the CEO of Pepsico in Nairobi. This flight was a regular one for him as he moved back and forth between Africa and Nagpur, where his Indian home is based. Atul turned out to have a wealth of information about Africa as he has lived in various countries in Africa for over 25 years (including Tanzania and Kenya). He gave me a great number of tips about going on a safari and, when the plane was about to land, he very kindly offered me his window seat to enable me to see Nairobi National Park (NP) from the window (as it borders the airport). Needless to say, I took a few pictures while airborne and landing, little knowing that ten days later, we would actually be in Nairobi NP ourselves.

It was Atul who told me that Indians deliberately choose to fly to the West on Kenya Airways and opt for a long 7-8 hour layover (after obtaining a multiple entry visa) as it enables them to clear Immigration and head straight to the Kenya Tourism Board counter in the airport lobby. Here, they purchase a 4-5 hour safari (in Nairobi NP) which costs $50 per head. They are then picked up from the airport by the Safari company, taken on a morning game drive and returned to the airport well in time to board their connecting flight to other parts of the West (having, in the process, seen four of the Big Five—there are no elephants in Nairobi NP). It seems like such a brilliant idea to me and one I well might opt for in years to come).

Our touchdown in Nairobi was very smooth and as I looked around Nairobi airport from the aircraft, it seemed to be a very small one with very limited traffic. Atul confirmed this—it was small, he said, and had a very tiny duty free shopping area. He volunteered to lead us to the Pride of Africa Lounge which we could use for free as Business Class passengers. I had also done some prior research and had found out that the Aspire Lounge is also available for regular passengers who were offered some snacks and beverages for free (although they would have to pay for meals and alcoholic drinks).

Using the Pride of Africa Lounge at Nairobi Airport:

Well, having arrived in the Pride of Africa Lounge (take lift from Gate 17 to Second floor), thanks to Atul, we had about eight hours to kill before leaving to join a big group of our co-travelers who would be arriving later in the day from the USA. Llew and I surveyed the massive expanse of Lounge space that included bathrooms with full showering facilities, individual cubicles in a ‘silent zone’ with full size single beds for those wanting to catch up on sleep, a full bar with a vast range of alcoholic drinks and various food stations offering everything from soup to pizza, pasta and sandwiches to hot meals and desserts.

Not having had breakfast on the flight, we treated ourselves to a good feed. Llew had the FEB (Full English Breakfasts) by feasting on scrambled eggs, beef sausages, beef bacon, grilled tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, hash browns and toast while I chose waffles with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. We both finished off with orange juice and really good Kenyan decaff coffee. It was a very full meal indeed (and the first of the huge meals we would continue to consume for the next ten days). Wifi facilities were available and we kept track of the progress of our fellow-passengers in different parts of the world. Some of them had arrived in Doha as they were flying Qatar Airways from New York and needed to transit in Doha. It was all fun and very exciting. After a while, we went looking for free bed cubicles so that we could stretch out and go to sleep and we did this too. Both of us were too full to have lunch but we did have coffee and dessert at tea-time and then had drinks (wine and gin and tonic) and dinner (tomato soup, salad, pasta in marinara sauce) before leaving to look for our connecting flight to Kilimanjaro. That all this was complimentary was truly amazing. It was a fabulous way to stretch our legs, get used to a new time zone and ease into our travels in Africa with a whole, quiet, free day to ourselves.

By this time, having sent out an inquiring txt, we discovered that a group of our travel companions were in the Aspire Lounge on the Ground floor, We finished up our drinks and snacks and got organized to go down to meet them as our Boarding time was nearing. En route to the Lounge, we met them—I recognized them from the many pictures that they had kept posting on our ‘Africa 2025’ Whatsapp group ever since their departure from the US (Gino and company). They were delighted to meet us and after introductions were made, we continued walking towards our gate where we took the first of the many group pictures we would click for the rest of the week. They were a jolly lot and clearly close friends. However, they welcomed us warmly in their midst.

Fight to Kilimanjaro:

I was excited to take a flight to Kilimanjaro. Ever since I had become familiar with the work of Ernest Hemingway (his A Farewell to Arms is one of my favorite novels of all time), I had been fascinated by his novella, The Snows of Kilimanjaro and had actually downloaded it on my Ipad with the idea of reading it while we were actually in Kilimanjaro. I also hoped to catch a glimpse of the great mountain (the tallest on the African continent) just before we landed at our destination. I was told by the stewardess that it would be visible on the left side of the plane and since Business Class on this leg of our travel was almost empty, I positioned myself strategically to see the mountain.

Alas! Twilight was fast falling over the land and there was heavy cloud cover that was certain to obscure the views. The stewardess spoke to the Captain who confirmed that while ordinarily I would have seen the mountain from my left side window, it was highly doubtful we would see it this evening. It was already too dark and too cloudy. Oh well…perhaps we would catch a glimpse of it from one of our lodges later in the week. Much later, I discovered that one of my travel companions and close friends, Doreen, had received quite a stunning view of it from her aircraft window. She shared her picture with me and I was satisfied.

Accordingly, we settled down to enjoy the short (one hour) flight and alighted at Kilimanjaro airport from where we had to walk about five minutes along the tarmac with our carry-on baggage to reach the airport terminal where we had to clear Immigration (as we had already crossed the border while in flight and were now in Tanzania). Llew and I posed by the ‘Welcome to Tanzania’ sign that featured Mount Kilimanjaro, the most iconic landmark in Africa. The border crossing took a vast amount of time as we were a large group and all of them had checked in their baggage. It took ages before the entire group retrieved their baggage from the carousel and we were able to get outside to meet our tour representative who was standing with a sign that said, “Farina”—the last name of one of the members of their group, Gino Farina. I identified myself to him and before long, he led us to a tall, strapping, young man who introduced himself to me as Amani. He said he was the tour representative for Faith Holidays. While waiting for the others to pick up their baggage, clear Immigration and join us, we discovered, through Amani, that the trip had started off on the wrong foot for two of our friends and fellow-travelers, Brian and Marilyn, whose baggage had not reached, the previous evening (they had opted to fly in early and take an extra day-trip that they had planned out themselves). What’s worse, Marilyn had left her phone in the transport that would take us to the Lodge and was stressed out about retreiving. She was eagerly awaiting our arrival in the hope that we would bring their baggage and her phone with us. Sadly, their baggage had not yet reached (more than 24 hours later) and we were unable to bring it with us.

Finally, almost an hour later, the entire group was out and able to follow Amani’s lead. We were taken to our waiting coaches where our baggage was piled in and, in the pitch darkness, we began our long drive to Karatu to our accommodation for the night, a place called The Retreat at Ngorongoro. Most of the group were dead tired or half asleep by this point as, unlike us, they had traveled halfway around the world to reach Africa—plus they’d had a seven-hour layover at Nairobi too. Many dozed off as the miles were eaten between Kilimanjaro and Karatu. There was some initial excited conversation in the coach, but very soon people nodded off and silence descended upon our van—there was another van that traveled alongside ours as we were a very large group indeed and could not all be accommodated in one van. Aside from Arusha, a large city, through whose outskirts we passed, we were basically in the rural heartland of Tanzania with nothing of real interest to see.

Arrival and Dinner at The Retreat at Ngorongoro:

I had assumed that upon arrival at The Retreat, we would check in and go directly to our rooms to crash. But the three hour drive had caused unexpected hunger pangs and, by the time we neared our hotel, we were all thinking about dinner. Fortunately for us, Amani reassured us that the Hotel was aware of our late arrival and would be staying up to serve us a hot meal.

The Retreat is indeed a gorgeous space—beautifully decorated with African Bush motifs and in earthy colors, it is a warm, welcoming place set in sprawling gardens that are superbly landscaped. We had a very quick check in before we piled into the Dining Hall. The buffet had been cleared out (as it was long past midnight) but we were treated to a delicious sit-down dinner with a vast number of interesting and delicious things to eat. There was Cream of Pumpkin Soup to begin our meal. This was followed by Candied Pineapple, Creamed Spinach, Beef Stew, Fried Tilapia, Sauteed Carrots and Green Beans, Cucumber Salad, Cauliflower Tempura, and three desserts including one they called “Creamy Cheese” which was like Panna Cotta. There were also African donuts called Mandazi (like New Orleans’ beignets without the icing sugar) that are found all over the hotels in which we stayed. Despite the lateness of the hour, we were hungry enough to devor it all and we did justice to the skills of the chefs who had taken immense time and trouble to feed our needs.

Settling Down in our Room at The Retreat at Ngorongoro—Finally!

After our dinner, our room key was handed to us. Our keychain was just wonderful. It was a large and very colorful bird! We soon discovered that room keys in each hotel are unique and charming: made of bone or horn or beaded, they were quite distinctive indeed. Our room turned out to be an individual villa set in delightful gardens—rather like the lovely resorts that have sprouted in Goa. As it was dark, we were escorted to our villa by hotel bell boys who showed us how light switches and bathroom fitments worked. It was a beautiful suite—very well appointed with an entrance lobby that doubled as a study and a bedroom with a large double bed fitted fully with mosquito nets (that brought an “Out of Africa” vibe to the setting). A fully working fireplace was a welcome sight as it was indeed really cold and we were grateful for our layers of warm clothing. There was a colonial ambience to it all, but sadly, we were simply too exhausted to enjoy the deluxe surroundings; and after unpacking our night clothes, brushing and flossing our teeth, we fell straight into bed (grateful for the freshly-filled hot water bottles that were nestled in our beds—such an unexpected but totally welcome luxury).

We looked forward very much to awaking at dawn in time for a big breakfast and a reunion with most of our friends—no to mention all the expected safari treats that lay in store.

Until tomorrow, Hakuna Matata…