top of page
Tanzania Mt. Meru Astronomical Observatory and African Safari Tour
  • Tanzania Mt. Meru Astronomical Observatory and African Safari Tour

    SKU: 364215376135191

    DAY 1: ARRIVE ARUSHA, TANZANIA
    Arrive at Kilimanjaro International airport late this evening. You are met upon arrival and escorted to your hotel in Meru. Hotel services not included

    DAY 2 to 5: Free days for school visits, Observatory projects and inauguration. No transport services needed for these days. Hotel services not included

    Day 6 - ARUSHA / LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK/ NGORONGORO
    This morning depart on the first leg of your safari to Lake Manyara National Park, a Mecca for seekers of wildlife. Along its western border lie the cliffs of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, and its eastern border runs along the shores of Lake Manyara. Within this long and narrow corridor are dense concentrations of wildlife inhabiting a lovely and diverse landscape, which ranges from forest of tamarind, mahogany, and fig in the north to the wide open grasslands of the park center. Elephant, giraffe, lion, buffalo, and zebra are all to be found here, in addition to many other game and bird species. Lunch & afternoon game viewing in Manyara and continue drive to Ngorongoro. Upon arrival check in at the Lodge and rest of the evening is at leisure. Dinner at Hotel. LODGE - LD

    DAY 7 - NGORONGORO CRATER GAME VIEWING
    Breakfast at Lodge. Descending nearly 2,000 feet to the crater floor of this World Heritage Site, you will discover the open grassy plains is home to swarms of exotic animals, including the 'big five.' One of the most spectacular game-viewing areas in the African wild, the Ngorongoro is often dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World! There are 25,000 larger animals within the crater itself, mostly Zebra, wildebeest, leopard, cheetah, hyena, elephants, warthog, impala, buffalo, hartebeest, and eland. This is undoubtedly the best place to see the black rhino in Tanzania as well as prides of lion that include the magnificent black-maned males. There are lots of colorful flamingoes and a variety of other water birds around the Soda Lake on the crater floor.

    Picnic Lunch at the crater. Return back to Lodge in the evening. Dinner & overnight. LODGE- BLD

    DAY 8 - NGORONGORO / OLDUVAI GORGE / ARUSHA
    After Breakfast, travel 30 miles west towards Serengeti to the Olduvai Gorge, site of many archeological discoveries including the estimated 1.7 million-year-old Zinjanthropus boiset fossil by Mary and Louis Leakey. Some of the discoveries are displayed in the museum overlooking the gorge. Lunch & continue drive back to Arusha after the visit. Transfer to international and connect with international flight.

    • History

      In the summer of 2010 Sue and Chuck Ruehle traveled from Wisconsin to Northern Tanzania, and brought with them three 50mm Galileoscopes. Traveling and living between six and eight thousand feet they stayed in the villages of Mulala, Kilinga, and Kyuta. From this location on the side of Mt. Meru (4,566 meters) they enjoyed viewing the dark skies, they also visited Ngarenanyuki and Songoro secondary schools, sharing their passion for astronomy. These two schools and the Mulala community each received a telescope and tripod, two modern eyepieces, and other astronomy materials. Instructional sessions ranged from a brief equipment overview, to introductory training, and an evening viewing session. They were able to show teachers how to use these instruments when instructing the students about astronomy and optics, and sharing the Southern night sky with children and adults in their communities.. In October 2011 Chuck returned to Tanzania for a month to work with five Secondary and three Primary schools. On that visit he met Eilneema Nassary, a history teacher at the school who was so excited about astronomy he founded a Science Club for students after participating in the workshop. On that visit Chuck worked with about 80 teachers, staff, and community members, and more than 500 students. The total number of teachers and staff at the eight schools was more than 150, with more than 3,500 students. In early 2011 Sue and Chuck spoke with Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) president, Mike Simmons. AWB provided telescopes and tripods for distribution to several school. AWB support for TtT expanded in July of 2012 when they became an official project of Astronomers Without Borders. Since then Astronomers Without Borders has provided program support, raised money for the 2012 training, and donated 2000 pair of solar viewing glasses for the 2013 Solar Eclipse. In 2013 Kai Staats was traveling through Africa while working on a film about astronomy. He met Chuck and Mponda in Usa River. Kai became involved in the project, assisting with the fund raising in 2014 and returning in 2015 to design an observatory to house the 12" Cave-Cassegrain telescope, initially refurbished by the Racine Astronomy Club. Telescopes to Tanzania suffered a major setback with the passing of Chuck mid 2016. At this point, Kai took leadership of the project, working with Sue, Mponda, AWB, and the board of directors for the newly formed, Tanzanian Organization for Science, Education, and Observation. Kai's high school physics professor Dan Heim came onboard mid 2018 to guide the reconstruction of the gear box and motors for the telescope. The observatory was completed in early 2019. Kai returned in July of that year to guide the installation of the fully refurbished, upgraded telescope.

    • RETURN & REFUND POLICY

      I’m a Return and Refund policy. I’m a great place to let your customers know what to do in case they are dissatisfied with their purchase. Having a straightforward refund or exchange policy is a great way to build trust and reassure your customers that they can buy with confidence.
    • The Place

      https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ailanga+Lutheran+Junior+Seminary/@-3.315816,36.8632623,2144a,35y,90h,38.74t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x1837140f965d3dd1:0x71421faa7948fde!4b1!8m2!3d-3.3159005!4d36.8800521

    $4,889.00Price
    bottom of page