I didn’t put an alarm today and woke up some time around 8 am. Now that I saw my little cabin in daylight, I liked it even more! First thing to try was the shower. It took a while before it got warm but then – oh my God, heaven on earth. When I went for breakfast, I was overwhelmed with the food: fresh baguette bread, butter, jam and honey, with tea or coffee. But the best were the fruits: banana, watermelon and mango. What a feast for breakfast! I already loved this place after barely 12 hours.

A little strange surprise happened around 10 am when I was just ready to go into town and the receptionist knocked on my door. He told me there were two men at the entrance asking for me. They said they had driven me here last night from the airport and wanted to see me. At first, I thought ‘oh my God, he came back for the 5000 shilling’ but then realised that that would be ridiculous. In any case I told the guy that there was only ONE taxi driver last night, that I don’t know anybody in Arusha and that I didn’t want to meet them. They could leave a message for me if they wanted. He was very kind and understanding, so he said he would try to find out what they wanted and I’d better stay in my room until they are gone. So I sat in my room, totally dressed and ready to go into town, waiting and feeling stupid. Now I already had to hide from harassing people! After 15 minutes I carefully walked towards the reception, which was visible from the breakfast room, and I saw that they were still there. So I waited a little more. Finally, they left. The receptionist said he told them I was still sleeping and gave me a note they left for me. It read: “Hallo Person! The driver who brought you from the Airport works in our tour company. He told us that you would want to join other people for a safari because in that way it is cheaper as you are sharing the cost. Of course, you are now tired, we will try to see you at 3.00 pm. Welcome to Tanzania!” and then a phone number where to contact them. In a way, I was relieved but also annoyed. It seems that you cannot tell anything to anyone on this continent without being followed or harassed afterwards. Quite sad.

I asked the guy at the reception if he knew this company but he didn’t. So I asked him for some tips where to go to book a safari. Having had the experience of Ethiopia, I was at least prepared that it might be a little difficult and time-consuming to organise a trip. The receptionist was really very helpful and gave me some names and places he could recommend. I looked up some additional information in my guidebook and finally set off to check out the different options I had. One thing to mention is the fact that it was bloody cold in Tanzania compared to Ethiopia and that it was raining (!) when I finally set off to town...

The first Safari Operator had his offices in the same street as The Outpost was, so it wasn’t far. The Indian lady who advised my on my options was very friendly and ‘Roy Safaris’ had a good reputation for its high quality services. The issue, however, was the same as in Ethiopia: they didn’t have anyone signed up for a trip, so there was no group I could join. I was just back in the street, when a white jeep drove by and I heard somebody calling “hello, hello you”. I didn’t react and kept walking. The car slowed down beside me and somebody continued to call for my attention. I still kept walking and couldn’t believe it when the jeep drove ahead a little and then pulled over. A guy in a suit stepped out and came towards me. I really had to pull myself together not to start yelling at him. Why couldn’t they just leave me alone? All I wanted was to be left in peace! He introduced himself as Joshua and worked – of course – for a safari company. I was so annoyed by his obtrusive behaviour that the only reason I decided to actually listen to him was because the operator he was working for – Shidolya Tours – was one of the companies the receptionist at The Outpost had mentioned to me. Joshua gave me his business card and said that they had two people leaving for a 5 days camping safari to Serengeti and Ngorongoro tomorrow. He invited me to his office where he wanted to show me the exact itinerary and some references. Although I was interested and generally willing to check out what he had to offer, I first wanted to go to the Tourist Information Centre that was supposed to provide a list of registered tour operators for review. Besides, there were some other travel agencies in the same neighbourhood and I had made my plan how to get around and check out as many places as possible on the way. Of course, I didn’t want to explain all this to Joshua, so I just said I was on my way to the Tourist Information Centre – and he offered to drive me there. Although it wasn’t very far, I thought this might be a way to avoid further harassment, so I agreed.

At the Tourist Information Centre I found out that Shidolya Tours was registered and considered reliable whereas the company who had left a note for me at the hotel wasn’t known under the name they had put on the paper. I collected some brochures and checked out the information on the black board before leaving the office. I was outside for a second, okay five seconds, when I already had four guys surrounding me from all sides and talking all at the same time, trying to sell me something. I could have slapped them. Suddenly Joshua showed up. It turned out that he and his driver had been waiting for me and although that pissed me off as well, I was somehow relieved to be rescued from the hassle in the street. I postponed my city tour to later and decided to accompany Joshua to his office. The information given to me there were nothing new but I received a printed version of the itinerary and Joshua showed me a book in which previous clients had written their appraisal. All comments I read were VERY positive and this was probably the best advertising I have seen in the past six weeks. Still, it turned out that only one person had signed up for the safari, the other one still had to confirm this afternoon. I told Joshua I would think about it and come back later to meet the other two before taking a decision. As a last favour (or sales trick), Joshua then drove me to another place where I wanted to go and which was a little further away from the centre of town. At least, I was grateful for the service.

This place was the booking office of a lodge where I planned to stay for a few days after the safari. It was managed by friends of my parents who had already been here before and who highly recommended the lodge to me. I was looking forward to some time to rest and recover from past weeks’ endeavours, so I arranged things with their booking agent. Afterwards I walked back towards the centre, buying a local phone card and passing by a bank on the way. As it was 3 pm by now, I headed back to the Shidolya office but took the time to check out two other operators just to make sure I was going to make the right choice. As it turned out, Shidolya did have the best and most suitable offer according to what I was looking for. So it basically only depended on the other travellers - nothing is worse than being doomed to spend holiday time with people you cannot stand or don’t get along with!

On my way, of course I was addressed by guys again and I’m afraid I was not very nice with them. I remember having told one that his whole approach of following me and getting on my nerves was totally counterproductive to what he was aiming at. All it would lead to was the exact opposite of what he wanted. Even if he could offer me something worthwhile, I was so annoyed by him that I would never buy it! Even then he kept running beside me, replied something about competition and that they needed to address tourists like this in order to get business. I actually don’t think he got a clue of what I was saying…

At Shidolya’s office I met Aaron, the guy who had signed up for the safari. He was American and just came back from climbing the Kilimanjaro which was another tour he had done with Shidolya Tours. Joshua was happy to tell us that the other traveller - “a lady on business trip” as he called her - had confirmed earlier today but that she had left already and that, unfortunately, we couldn’t meet her anymore. Well, at least I wanted to take the opportunity and get to know the guy a little, so I asked if he wanted to go for a drink. I promised Joshua that I would decide and definitely tell him yes or no when we came back. Aaron left his luggage at the office and we went for a snack in the neighbourhood. We sat together for an hour, which was enough for me to decide that I would give it a go. Back at Shidolya, I signed up.

Aaron was brought to his hotel and again Joshua was so kind to give me a lift back to The Outpost. I was exhausted and tired after having spent all day organising myself again but I guess this is what budget backpacking is all about. I spent the rest of the day on the internet and at dinner which was an excellent all-you-can-eat-buffet for 7 Euro. Here I met Catrien, a Dutch woman who had lived two years in Malawi and gave me tons of helpful tips and contacts for my time further South. Bedankt!!