So why are we sure that the MVCC African safari lodge is in the right place?

Well, let’s forget all the National Parks for a minute. Imagine zooming down from Google Earth (which is unfortunately very blurry in our region) to our safari lodge overlooking the Rift Valley near Lake Manyara. Just our lodge! It is beautiful - just being there is an amazing experience of beautiful landscapes - in every direction.

Behind us you can see the wooded hills, the groundwater forests of the Northern Forest Reserve which clads the slopes of mount Lolmalasin (3290m) and Ngorongoro and you can rest in the peaceful knowledge that the one and only active volcano in the region is at least 70 kilometres away. Now turn round, and look full frontal, over the edge of the Rift Valley escarpment, towards the east. The green band just below us is fed by the ground waters that seep through the volcanic pores and stream down at the foot of the escarpment, and parallel to it, until they spill into Lake Manyara. The broad yellow savannah lands stretch out and look bare but they are scattered with the black dots of Maasai Bomas (village) - just here and there, one or two of them, or are they rocks? The steppe runs wide across to the mountains in the east, where we can organise foot safaris led by Maasai warriors.

The view to the south, from bungalow C, shows the northern tip of the Lake. The national park is just twenty minutes from our safari lodge, so you can sit down on your terrace and think, "Wow, that was a beautiful experience, a day in Manyara Park, where we saw hippo, elephant, a leopard and lions lazing in the trees! Where every bend in the road takes you to another experience of wondrous views with different vegetation and animals. Every curve in the road holds a different surprise, and the bird life is incredible." Or you can just sit back and think, "Great, I am going there tomorrow".

But don’t think that only the view to the south is beautiful - the east we have covered, but not entirely, just every minute of the day shows the folds and creases of those hills in a new light. From bright gold to a lustrous brown, shimmering and burning orange as the sun goes down.

And now we slowly turn our heads to the north. The escarpment is incredible, wow - are we just perched on an edge like that! Yes we are, but the wooded slopes below us seem a little gentler as they are covered in trees and shrubby undergrowth. As you drag your eyes away from the escarpment and study the savannah lands sweeping up to the north you will see the amazing form of mount Kitumbeine, the whole profile of this almost 3000 meter high volcano is visible to us. Sometimes a little shrouded in the hazy air and at other times, in the spotlight of the sun on a clear day, you can see the natrium gulleys that were once burned out of the ground during its active era.

If it was just this corner of earth that was of significance in this region then I would be happy just sitting on the terrace and looking around!

Such is the beauty of our African Safari Lodge in Manyara, Tanzania!

There are Diamonds at the bottom of our African Safari Lodge in Manyara, Tanzania.

Let’s start with our little, local town: Mto Wa Mbu (pronounced mtowombu). The name may not be very appealing (translates to Mosquito River) but its charm is! I guess I know the secret of this fabulous little place, but I am not telling you until later...

It sits on the green stripe that runs along the bottom of the escarpment. That narrow strip of land is very fertile, at least for bananas, many small plantations are located here and bananas are on sale all over town. A little sugar cane is farmed there too and on the southern side of the main Arusha-Ngorongoro road a number of rice fields sink into the swampy lands going down to the lake where Pied Kingfishers rest on the overhead cable looking out for food. Yes, there are mosquitoes here but during daylight you are mostly not bothered, just make sure you protect yourself with propellants by about five o'clock. Up in our safari lodge at 1197 meters we are less bothered but not immune.

The green stripe provides Mto Wa Mbu with a rich, dark green colourful background and together with the grey-green and rust brown slopes of the escarpment behind, it is a magnificent backdrop. But that is nothing compared to the abundance of bright colours in town itself. Every shop either displays vast colourful arrays of cloths, paintings, or vegetables or the shop itself is painted in bright hues of blues, yellows and reds with murals and great writings in contrasting black or white paints describing the nature of the business. Interspersed between the shops are equally colourful restaurant-cafes with their gaudy plastic red and white tables and chairs - presented as a gift from a relatively famous cola company. Those seats are rarely occupied by the occasional tourist, but frequented by safari drivers, Maasai warriors and other locals. In fact sitting around, if you were to ask, would be a multitude of different tribal cultures from Chagga and Pare to Mbulu and many others. And there is still more colour in this little town: look at all the school kids, proudly walking along the main road to their homes in their school uniforms of maroon, blue and green with white shirts and blouses. And we are still not finished! If you haven't noticed them already - a multitude of pretty women, plump and petite, are sitting around at the cafes or crouched at the side of the road selling their fruit or rice, and every one of them a bundle of colour, from head to toe!

Now, to the secret, of this tiny town: what can be even more colourful? What is its charm? It’s an easy answer once you have been there, and taken the time to talk to them - its people! The diamonds of this town and, indeed, the whole of Tanzania, are its people. Spend some time with them and you will see. There are well over one hundred different tribes in Tanzania and they all live in peace, they even inter-marry these days. You will feel the diamond scintillating in every person and you will enjoy just being in Mto Wa Mbu.