Video: Diving into Tanzania

I finally just finished editing a travel video to tanzania. It took a lot of time and energy but I promise you wont get bored!

https://vimeo.com/57891760

I spent roughly 3 weeks there with my family  (my brother lives in Chicago and mother lives in Jakarta…I live in São Paulo)

Landed in Dar es Saalam to lay low and see my family after a year, which was very nice. There is  a big expat community in Dar and we were lucky enough to connect with a diverse range of people to talk about working in Africa and previous posts they had had in other countries. I even bumped into a couple that had gone to graduate school where I had done my undergrad. Small world!  The expats were in close proximity to one another all living in a peninsula. Lots of expats but such a small place that the chemistry among people was interesting. Not too much to do in Dar though.

After 2 days there we set off to the airport and landed in Kilimanjaro. We were met by our future guide and the contact person through email. From then on we went to Arusha and started our safari. I had a smile from one side to the other the whole time during our safari. The combination of being in an awesome safari Land Rover, driving in rough terrain, seeing absolutely beautiful landscapes and of course the animals! I have been practicing timelapses at home and the storms in the Serengeti had such awesome strength and clarity that it was incredibly dificult not to stop the truck and set up my tripod and camera. Unfortunately you are not permitted outside of the vehicle and we just did not have the time. One day I will go back to make a Serengeti Timelapse video…for sure.

We did not see any hunts or kills during our 6 day safari but I was very happy with all the animals we saw. We even got to catch the tail end of the migration, which was spectacular. I have never driven through so many animals. The Wildabeast are amazing in numbers. It might have been the most amazing single thing I have ever seen. Really great for a photographer, videographer as well.

After the Safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, we left for Zanzibar. Zanzibar at first glance was quite a poor island. We went to the east coast called the Paje area, which had the most beautiful, blue and clear water. It was also the warmest water I have ever been…something like 29 degrees Celsius.

I went diving with my mother, which was a great experience, off the coast of paje. The tide was quite ridiculous. In the morning it receded almost a kilometer out and then by 2pm or a little bit later the tide would come in all the way with beautiful turquoise water. Went on 4 dives, 2 on the outside reef and 2 on the inside. Reached 20 meters in depth and visibility pushed 17 meters or so.

After Zanzibar’s Paje area, we went to Stone Town. Spice tour was quite interesting. Had some great food at the end of the tour and for the most part just hung out for 2 days.

After a long trip, we returned to Dar to the same house we were at before and relaxed for another 2 days. It was a perfect trip with a lot of rich beauty. I am going to have to go back for sure!