OTHER POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:
BUBUBU | STONE TOWN 
DAR ES SALAAM | THE SERENGETTI 

When planning our honeymoon in Tanzania, we were fairly confident that the Serengeti was going to be the highlight of the whole shebang (note: we were not wrong), which is why we saved it for last. But we also knew that we’d likely want a day or two to really slow down and do virtually nothing before heading back to real life. 

 {on the Arusha airstrip} {en route to our hotel}

We ended up spending two nights in Arusha before heading home, and while we originally had big plans to check out Mount Kilimanjaro, maybe take a day trip to the Ngorongoro crater or the Kikuletwa hot springs, after almost three weeks touring around Africa, we were ready to do a whole lot of nothing.

  {in my happy place}  {this little guy joined us for breakfast each morning}  {the lodge was surrounded by a coffee plantation}

We ultimately spent the last two nights hanging out in our hotel, drinking champagne, and lounging by the pool. And while a former version of myself would have been devastated by the idea of missing the aforementioned activities, the last two days were pretty special in their own right. Plus, I know with certainty that we’re not done with Tanzania, and we will absolutely be back to re-explore. 

{our beautiful hotel room}
 {the tip of Mount Kilimanjaro, from the plane ride home}

Thank you so much for following along on my honeymoon diaries! I hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed recapturing everything. 

ps: If you missed it, and are interested, I did save all of my Tanzainia stories under an instagram highlight (which you can check out here). 

To read past travel posts, head over here!  | To read part I of our honeymoon diaries, head over here!, for part II, head over here!, for part III you can find it right here, and part IV is here!

The post Our Honeymoon: Arusha, Tanzania appeared first on Lark & Linen Interior Design and Lifestyle Blog.

OTHER POSTS FROM THIS TRIP: 
BUBUBU | STONE TOWN | 
DAR ES SALAAM | ARUSHA

From Dar Es Salaam, we hopped on a quick flight to Arusha, where we headed off on Safari. This was my second time on safari (you can read about the first time, here, for my mother’s 60th birthday), but it was Justin’s first, and watching him experience the magic was arguably better than anything else. If you ever have the chance to head out on safari, please (please!) do it. It’s a life changing experience – very likely my favourite travel experience yet. I truly can’t recommend it highly enough.

We stayed in the southern part of the Serengeti at a place called Camp Kusini, which we booked through Sanctuary Retreats, and the whole experience from beginning to end was flawless. It’s one of the only permanent camps in this region of the Serengeti, and it somehow manages to feel quiet and rustic, yet infinitely luxurious all at once. 

When we landed on the airstrip, we were greeted with the most wonderful team of guides and rangers, and an incredible spread. Biltong, champagne, hot tea, dried mango… the way to my heart is through food (and champagne), so needless to say they had me hooked from the start. 

While driving to camp, we were informed that we were actually the only guests at the camp for three out of four of the nights we had booked. At first this made us both a little nervous. We started wondering if there was something we had missed – was there a reason nobody else wanted to stay at this particular camp? We very quickly learned, however, that the universe simply works in mysterious ways, and having the entire camp to ourselves for a few nights was definitely not normal, and ended up being pretty special. 

We were treated like absolute kings from the moment our eyes opened (typically to a hot tea & coffee delivery to our tent each morning), to the minute our mosquito nets were tucked around us before bed. Fabulous three-course meals were abundant. Late nights by the campfire, Amarula on ice in hand, was a daily specialty. And having the entire car to ourselves for each game drive, which was stocked to the brim with our favourite beer and wine, was amazing. 

And while the actual camp itself was perfect, the game drives were even better. We were lucky enough to spot everything from cheetahs, lions (both lion cubs, and their full-grown counterparts), and leopards, to jackals and lilac-breasted rollers, to hoards of elephants, an infinite number of giraffes, zebras, and beyond.

On our second day morning game drive, we managed to see a kill – and you guys, I can’t even begin to describe the experience. We watched a mama cheetah and her five cubs stalk, chase, catch, and devour a male gazelle from begining to end. The hunt was about an hour and a half long, but once they took the animal down he was gone in 10 minutes flat. It was like real life national geographic, and we were all legitimately shaking from the adrenaline once it was over.

I will admit that I had very mixed feelings about the whole thing (I swear I asked our guide, Joshua, a solid eight times if the gazelle suffered – I was promised he did not). I kept flip flopping between wanting the hungry cheetahs to eat, and wanting the poor gazelle to live out his days. The fact that not a single morsel goes to waste (once the cheetahs are done the hyenas swing by to eat everything leftover – bones and brains included), and the fact that it’s simply the circle of life calmed my hesitations. It was still conflicting to see in person, but apparently it’s super rare to see something of this nature, and it is an experience I feel honoured to have had. 

Stay tuned next week for the last portion of our honeymoon!

ps: If you missed it, and are interested, I did save all of my Tanzainia stories under an instagram highlight (which you can check out here). 

To read past travel posts, head over here!  | To read part I of our honeymoon diaries, head over here! and for part II, head over here! and for part III you can find it right here!

The post Our Honeymoon: The Serengeti appeared first on Lark & Linen Interior Design and Lifestyle Blog.

OTHER POSTS FROM THIS TRIP: 
BUBUBU | STONE TOWN 
 THE SERENGETTI | ARUSHA

If you’re following along our honeymoon recap, you are just the best (thank you!!) I’m a little partial, but I kind of love these posts if for no other reason than it’s so nice to go back and revisit some of our past trips (which I legitimately do regularly). If you missed it, you can check out Part I and Part II of our honeymoon right here and here. And today you can read on for Part III: 48 hours in Dar Es Salaam. 

From Stone Town, we hopped on the ferry to Dar Es Salaam for two nights, and one full day, before hoping on a plane north to the Serengeti. In light of full discretion, this portion of the trip is one we both agreed we don’t regret experiencing, but we very well could have skipped (and would likely do just that) next time. Not only was the ferry ride very choppy (read: most everyone on board was sea sick or very close to it by the time we docked 2.5 hours later), but Dar Es Salaam itself was… let’s just say it was interesting.

{the view from our hotel room}

First and foremost, we stayed downtown at a hotel that was very well located, and the staff were amazing, but the rooms themselves left little to be desired. I will say that for the duration of our honeymoon, it was the only hotel that went all out with “rose” petals and the like sprinkled all over our room upon arrival, which was really kind, and totally adorable, but everything else was pretty dated and lacklustre. I don’t like calling people out in a negative fashion in such a public way – especially when they were so kind and gracious to us – so I’ll leave the hotel itself unnamed, but if you do head to Dar just do a little more digging before solidifying your stay.

{“rose” petals on our bed upon arrival – adorable and so sweet}

{the streets of Dar}

The city itself, one of the biggest in Tanzania, was absolutely fascinating, but we ultimately found that there isn’t really a ton to do. And that wasn’t for lack of trying. We tried checking out the botanical gardens, which were little more than a parking lot. We attempted visiting a rooftop shisha bar, which boasted great city views in their ad, only to find it abandoned. And a few of the markets and cultural tours that piqued our interest ended up being 45 minutes, or more, away… We ultimately ended up spending a very long time walking the aisles of a local grocery store, which sounds sort of odd but is one of our favourite things to do when we visit another city (note: the chips aisle is always my favourite).

 {en route to the botanical gardens}

I debated skipping my recap of this city entirely as it felt strange to dedicate an entire post to a place that we didn’t fall completely in love with, but I’ve always felt it’s important to keep it real. And while this experience wasn’t our favourite, upon further review it was still very special. Primarily because it was so different than any other city we had seen before, but mostly, we found that what Dar Es Salaam lacked in activities,  it made up for time and again in food.

{a fantastic lunch at Chowpatty}

{incredible chai & kebabs at K T Shop}

We ended up meandering the city in between meals, simply wasting time until we were comfortable enough to indulge in another meal. From African, to Turkish, to some of the best chai and kebabs I’ve had since my trip to India in 2011 (here!), that part was kind of amazing. And for that, I’d likely head back. But if you’re not a foodie, of sorts, you could safely skip this portion and head straight to the Serengeti (which is ultimately why were visiting Tanzania, anyway, let’s be honest). Stay tuned next week for that portion of the trip!   

ps: If you missed it, and are interested, I did save all of my Tanzainia stories under an instagram highlight (which you can check out here). 

To read past travel posts, head over here!  | To read part I of our honeymoon diaries, head over here! and for part II, head over here!

The post Our Honeymoon: 48 hours in Dar Es Salaam appeared first on Lark & Linen Interior Design and Lifestyle Blog.

OTHER POSTS FROM THIS TRIP: 
BUBUBU | DAR ES SALAAM 
 THE SERENGETTI | ARUSHA

The next leg of our honeymoon brought us into Stone Town, in Zanzibar, where we spent two glorious nights being treated like absolute kings at the Park Hyatt Hotel (a literal dream in every sense of the word!) And while the teeny-tiny, yet bustling, winding streets teeming with artists, cooks, and small shops alike, were slightly overwhelming at first (mostly in contrast to part I of our honeymoon, which you can read about here), it didn’t take long for us to get right into the swing of things.

With just two nights to tick off everything on our Stone Town bucket list, we quickly got to work. Between dining under the stars at Emmerson Spice (an experience I can’t recommend highly enough), braving the Forodhani Night market in search of Zanzibar pizza (verdict: odd but delicious), and stuffing our faces with chapatis and aloo gobi at Mah Shas Allah Cafe, it’s safe to say we definitely weren’t hungry at any point (not that that stopped us from gorging on goodies hourly).

In addition to eating our way through the city, which is basically my favourite way to experience most destinations, we also made sure to visit the Cathedral, and the Slave Market Memorial, which I can’t recommend highly enough. And while it admittedly feels odd to recommend a Slave Market Memorial, which depicted the sordid, not-so-distant, past of the East African Slave Trade in vivid and gruesome detail, Zanzibar has a very rich history, and I’ve always been of the belief that education is king. Because with education comes compassion, understanding, and real change. And while I like to think of myself as pretty worldly, it was an eye opener, and an experience I’m really grateful to have had. And I’m already daydreaming on how I, too, can help in one way or another (and perhaps, for now, it’s just through spreading awareness?)

Much like our stay in Bububu, we worked with Booking.com for this leg of the trip as well, and the whole experience from beginning to end was flawless. From our sweet attendant, Nelson, who insisted on walking over to the ferry terminal to pick up our ferry tickets himself, to finishing each evening on the patio, cocktail in hand, overlooking the Indian Ocean, it was literal perfection. 

And while we are not opposed to roughing it when we travel, I will admit, however, that it was quite nice to have a next-level-beautiful “home” to retreat to at the end of the long, hot, days of meandering. My heart, you guys, was full to bursting at any given moment. Stone Town is uniquely special, and I cannot wait to visit again one of these days. 

ps: If you missed it, and are interested, I did save all of my Tanzainia stories under an instagram highlight (which you can check out here). 

To read past travel posts, head over here!  | To read part I of our honeymoon diaries, head over here!

The post Our Honeymoon: Two Days in Stone Town, Zanzibar appeared first on Lark & Linen Interior Design and Lifestyle Blog.