A $23 Safari, Hitchhiking on a Plane and a Dream Come True

Ten years ago, my mum had a dream. This morning it came true.

On celebrating forty years of age, she decided she'd like to celebrate her fiftieth by hot-air ballooning over the Serengeti. Props to Rach for convincing her to make this dream a reality.

However, it hasn't all been smooth sailing - in fact, the last couple of days have read a bit like a fortunately/unfortunately story:

Forunately, we found a bus headed out to Seronera in the Serengeti, 6 hours from Arusha.

Unfortunately, the bus driver was a bit of a maniac and drove extremely fast.

Fortunately, at only $23 for a bus tcier cheap safari, speeding through the park with giraffes, wilderbeest and even a lion out the window.

Unfortunately, they charged us $50 each to transit through one of the parks, even though we were only in it for about an hour.

Fortunately, the landscape was amazing, and it was like a dream watching Masai in their traditional robes herding their cattle.

Unfortunately, we were going too fast to take good photos, and we were scared for our lives of tipping over, or of the bus going up in smoke because the engine was so damaged, or us not making it when the bus driver went a wee bit off road.

Frotunately, we made it.

Unfortunately, Seronera - which we thought was a town - was more like a hole in the middle of savannah.

Fortunately, it had a restaurant.

Unfortunately, they didn't have the promised chicken and rice.

Fortunately, they had fish so we ordered that instead.

Unfortunately, they brought us beef stew where the beef was too grissly to eat.

Fortunately, we heard there was a hostel nearby we could stay at.

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay there, for some inexplicable reason. And it was the only place around.

Fortunately, we met a lovely Tanzanian tour guide who offered to take us to a lodge.

Unfortunately, the lodge cost about 20 times what we are paying to stay at the hostel we're at right now.

Fortunately, they had a room.

Unfortunately, we had to pay the same price to all squeeze into one room.

Fortunately, this was better than B Plan: sleeping outside in our sleeping bags (in lion territory).

Unfortunately, both Rach and mum snored.

Fortunately, we woke up on time for the hot-air ballooning and it was an amazing experience, being able to share mum's dream coming true, floating about the savannah and spotting game.

Unfortunately, the only bus leaving the Serengeti to Arusha was leaving late in the afternoon, meaning we'd overstay our 24 hours and have to pay another $150 to stay in the park, plus an extra $150 for that darn transit fee again.

Fortunately, our Aussie balloon pilot was sypathetic to our cause.

Unfortunately, everyone else - the tourist elite from the lodge - thought we were absolutely mad, because apparently it's just "not the done thing" to catch a local bus to the middle of the savannah with no idea where you're staying or how you're getting back.

Frotunately, the Aussie drove us to the airport and helped us hitch a ride back with a pilot friend of his who was just about to depart - a bargain at only $70, saving us a heck of a lot on park fees, and heaps off the usual $230 fee to Arusha.

Unfortunately, he still wouldn't let us live it down - that our 10-year plan was so, well, un-planned.

Fortunately, the flight was the most incredible scenic flight I have ever been on, in a tiny plane where I got to sit in the co-pilot's seat.

Unfortunately, we had to get out at Lake Manyara, before Arusha, because the plane filled up there.

Fortunately, there was a guy with a jeep driving to Arusha.

Unfortunately, he wanted to charge us $20 each for a seat.

Fortunately, we have been developing some negotiation skills and bargained him down to $10 each, and we had another incredible journey, driving through Masai territory past shepherds, and Masai sitting under trees, and beautiful little circles of grass-thatched huts.

And I remembered that everything works for the good.