Down on the farm in … Tanzania?? That would specifically be Gibbs Farm, ideally located in the green and fertile hills near the Ngorongoro Crater. It’s difficult to convey the sheer beauty in that part of the country. And it was a complete departure from our time spent in the Serengeti (see previous posts).
The concept of “farm to table” food could have originated at Gibbs with it’s 10 acres of vegetable and fruit gardens, picked and consumed twice daily as shown below in the menu and salad. Then there are 200 chickens providing nearly as many daily eggs, cows, pigs, ducks, goats, a turkey, rabbits and a few domestic cats.
Impressively, nothing goes to waste. There’s a very sophisticated composting system with 14 staff tending the garden’s needs. The essential crop rotation is a lot of hard work — most by hand. Then there’s the need for night security to keep the local elephants and baboons away, who will otherwise eat the crops.
The main crop in the area is coffee and it’s everywhere. I learned it’s a six-year investment from seed to usable beans. That is a commitment to say the least, but the end result is a delicious and aromatic product. Corn and bananas are the other enormous crops; the by-products are staples in the Tanzanian diet. With an ideal location near the equator (reminiscent of a 2014 visit to Ecuador), this so-called (by the hubby) “gardener girl” was in heaven and more than a bit envious.
Below: Masses of italian parsley, broccoli (top); artichoke field, kohlrabi which made for a delicious soup, pineapple and a pumpkin field
Below: the duck pond in foreground. The goats climb up the ramp around the tower and enter the top to escape hot weather.
We made the drive to Ngorongoro Crater where one must first ascend to the rim before descending to the floor of the immense area created many millenia ago by volcanic eruption. Unlike the Serengeti where zebras or gazalles would scatter if the vehicle got too close, in the crater they are near enough to touch (but not allowed nor advised). Additionally, the different animals seemed to congregate more freely. And the landscape is just breathtaking.
NOTE: The following photo was just awarded PHOTO OF THE WEEK by the esteemed travel site Peter Greenburg Trusted.Travel.News. I am honored!
After our stay, we made the four-hour drive to Kilimanjaro International Airport for the hour flight to Entebbe. We should have had our results from covid testing (administered more than 48 hours prior) at the Serengeti departure. A negative result is necessary both to leave the country and enter Uganda, our next destination.
If you’ve seen the fabulous movie Argo, with the nail biting ending, that is a good metaphor for our experience. Not exactly life or death but still there is never a desire for an “oopsie” to occur and go to a Plan B. Fortunately, with the assistance of our ATR agent in London and the local Asilia team on the ground, the results magically appeared minutes before the gate closed. I even offered a bribe of the airport personnel with our plentiful boxed lunches from Gibbs, but to no avail. I was happy to give the food away regardless. Everyone was very kind and simply abiding by the rules.
Next post: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Forest
