Here is a summary from DW trip notes. Edited a bit. Not much time in Kenya but I shared the time we spent there.
... we crossed the border into Tanzania and arrived by bus in Mbeya well after dark. Another couple from Mayoka Village arrived even later at the same hotel; it had been recommended by the owners there. We had more time than expected in Mbeya; the Tazara train was very late arriving from Zambia. We were able to get a first class compartment when we bought our tickets that morning, and were told the train would leave 5 hours late, at 8 PM that evening. But a phone call from the ticket office informed us we wouldn't leave until 1 AM, so we booked a dirt cheap room for the 3 of us, resting until we left for the train station at midnight. Arriving at the station, we found the entire lobby filled with sleeping bodies and luggage. We too tried to sleep, without much success, until the train finally did arrive at 9 AM, 18 hours late. Our four bed compartment, which we had planned to have only for us three, ended up being filled with another American. It worked out fine, and was very comfortable. The ride through southern and eastern Tanzania is beautiful; the large, open country is dotted with small villages, fields, baobabs, and hills. Half of the 22 hour ride to Dar Es Salaam was during the night; we arrived in Dar early on the morning and, at the suggestion of our cab driver, found a comfortable room at the Safari Inn, a backpackers in the city centre. We found Dar to be a friendly, safe city, where we were able to walk to dinner after dark. The following morning we boarded the early, fast ferry to Zanzibar.
I could ramble on and on about Zanzibar, the exotic island off the coast of Dar. We spent a glorious 5 days there, three nights in Stone Town and two nights at Kendwa Beach. Stone Town is an African-Arab town whose narrow alleyways and buildings reminded us of Jerusalem. We spent one day on a spice tour, learning and seeing dozens of different spice plants that used to be a large part of the industry; now only cloves are exported from there. Our two wonderful days at the beach near the northern tip of the island were picture and book perfect. The accommodations at Kendwa Rocks were very comfortable ; the food was great, and the beach....ah, the beach. Soft white sands, and the most crystal clear, turquoise water. With no waves (not sure why) it was possible to see several feet to the bottom. Tofo Beach in Mozambique had been like paradise; Kendwa probably only beat that because of the lack of the waves-allowing the visibility.
After a very bumpy ferry ride back to Dar, we arranged a two day safari from Arusha, in northeast Tanzania, where we were headed the next day. We fortunately nabbed two of the last seats on a 'luxury' bus for the next morning. The all-day bus ride passed near Mt Kilimanjaro, though it was covered by clouds. Arusha was our least favorite city, being filled with touts, who constantly bombard tourists selling either souvenirs or safaris. The city's location near Kili and the Serengeti make it a busy place. We spent a fantastic two days/one night on a safari that took us to Lake Manyara National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. Prior to taking this trip we had decided we wouldn't be doing any safaris or game drives; we had done our share already and seen most of the big game. But this safari was so different; we are so glad we listened to other travelers' advice. Lake Manyara was beautiful; the crater was exceptional. The drive starts out on the rim, then you descend into the huge crater; it's filled with large herds of animals. We had seen all of these animals before, but the sheer numbers were amazing. Wildebeests, or gnus, by the hundreds, as well as the dwarf antelope, the dik dik, roamed the crater floor. Hyenas, warthogs, gazelles, hippos, elephants, buffalo, rhino, and so many birds were sighted. The only animal that doesn't live in the crater, understandably, is the giraffe. But we had seen them the day before in the Park. Giraffe had become my favorite park animal; and here I was treated to seeing a new species, the Masai giraffe (as opposed to the Cape giraffe). The crater was definitely another highlight of our trip so far; we began recommending it to other backpackers as well.
Our last day in Arusha was spent at the International Tribunal for Rwanda Genocide. This is something we were very interested in visiting, knowing that we would be ending this trip in Rwanda, and having read about it in a book in preparation for the trip. Unfortunately, most of the day was spent waiting--sometimes waiting for a trial to start, but primarily waiting for one of the three courtrooms to have an open session. Anyone with a passport can watch the sessions, but only a few of them aren't closed to the public. We finally got to watch and listen to about one hour of testimony from a man who had apparently murdered several people. It wasn't very exciting, being slow and repetitive, but it was still eerie to be there watching this proceeding.
The following morning we caught a shuttle (small bus) to Nairobi, Kenya. Mt Meru was still clearly visible that morning, as it had been the day before. At one point before crossing the border, looking out the window at the dry and mostly flat landscape, I spotted a lonely giraffe. This was a timely sighting, saying goodbye to Tanzania by seeing my favorite animal in the exotic Great Rift Valley through which we had been traveling.
Nairobi is a huge, bustling city, and supposedly dangerous. So we were cautious since we stayed in the city centre, walking to dinner while it was still light out, but taking a cab back the 6 blocks later. We were able to have a delicious lunch and spend an afternoon with a friend whose family lives there. We had expected, with Kenya being Obama's father's home, to find much more Obama paraphernalia here; there was literally nothing--how odd! We finally happened upon a store with a Obama t-shirt in the window--turns out the Indian owner has another store outside Chicago and goes there often. We had him make us each a t-shirt, that we had to pick up before noon, since Ramadan had just started. After two nights in central Nairobi, we caught the morning bus to Kampala, Uganda
