I've always found that the people of a place make it or break it for me when I come to thinking of the country itself. For Tanzania that is no exception - I'd give the people here a definite 11 out of 10 for friendliness, helping out crazy tourists and just generally being awesome!

First of all - Abraham. The guy Alice befriended on the bus from Moshi to Arusha. He ended up helping us out finding somewhere to stay and sorting out bus tickets that weren't special 'muzungu' prices for us to get to the Serengeti...

Next, the nice man on the 'death bus' through the parks who pointed out all the animals we could see out the window. I mean, yes, it did get a little annoying when I finally got to sleep only to have my shoulder shaken to let me know that we had just passed some giraffes that I had no hope of seeing now... but a nice idea!

Then there was the safari guide who after striking up a conversation in the one and only Impala hotel found out that we had been stranded by our bus and were at a bit of a loss to know what to do next. Not only did he drive us to civilisation but he stopped to let us take photos on a mini safari of our own and introduced me to some awesome Tanzanian hip hop!

Then there was the Aussie balloon pilot who took us to the airport and sussed us some cheap seats on a tiny plane so we could avoid not only the death bus that went about 200k/h but also the crazy park fees ($50 US for an hour driving through...). The plane may have been a tad scary but its not everyday that you get to go on a trip where the pilot takes the plane over the runway first to scare off the wildebeasts!

Last but not least there is my Mum, known in this country as 'Mama Barabara' who made this trip happen. Her 50th birthday dream, originating 10 years ago and finally happening! Apparently we will become a bit of a legend - "The 10 year plan that lacked any plans at all" but hakuna matata - it has been some amazing few days!