I cannot believe this trip was over a year ago. I’ve traveled to quite a few places in my life and seen quite a few things, but Tanzania will forever remain in the top trips.

How could it not?

I climbed Kilimanjaro, I explored the Serengeti and Ngorongoro and I got to wander along the beautiful beaches in Zanzibar.

It all started about 3 months before the trip when my husband announced he was headed to Rwanda and Tanzania for work. I immediately decided I would be joining him too.

At this point we had been trying to get pregnant for almost 2 years and had just started doing some tests at our doctor’s office which would likely lead to assisted fertility, so we decided it would be a good time to take a break and just enjoy life.

Traveling for me is the ultimate enjoyment and I had always has my eye on both the Serengeti and Kilimanjaro, so I started to research guide companies. Since my fitness leveled had decreased since my ironman year, I wasn’t sure I could make it up Kilimanjaro, but as faith would have it (or maybe it was some Facebook algorithm), I logged onto Facebook and a picture of a college friend at the Kili summit popped up. I immediately messaged him and ended up talking to him on the phone for over an hour about his trip. My other friend who had also climbed Kili had just moved to DC, so a couple of conversations with her and I had made up my mind. This was happening!

I briefly considered also heading to Rwanda, but with an expanding business, I decided 2 weeks was the max vacation I could handle and that would be just enough to see what Tanzania had to offer.

My husband, also limited on time, decided he preferred the safari over climbing, so that was set…I’d be climbing Kilimanjaro solo (and by solo I mean with a group of sherpas, so not quite solo) and then we’d meet up and head on a safari followed by a few days on the beach.

We’d also be traveling to Africa solo, as he’d be off to Rwanda for work while I headed down to Kilimanjaro. I’m personally a fan of traveling solo, although I am always concerned about safety, so I knew I’d have to plan things out and be well-prepared.

I ended up booking my flight with Qatar Airways, because…well if you have a chance to visit an extra country, wouldn’t you? I only overnighted in Qatar and stayed in the airport, BUT Qatar Airways offers a 2-hour city tour to its passengers with a long layover, so that’s exactly what I did.And I even got in a quick swim in the Qatar Airport pool.

Then it was off to Tanzania where I would be met by Popote Adventures, the company I chose for both my Kilimanjaro climb and our Serengeti/Ngorongoro safari. They do tours on Zanzibar too, but we decided that in Zanzibar we’d do nothing more than wander the beach.

Check out the details of each leg of my trip: On the way to Tanzania – Planning for Kilimanjaro – Climbing Kilimanjaro – Kilimanjaro Summit – Safari – Zanzibar (links coming soon as I write the posts!)