The Heart touches the Sky – Heart Retreat
A 9 day coaching, mindfulness hart retreat
This safari is a feast, an entertaining discovery trip “off the beaten track” through the mountain and coastal area of Tanzania. It outshines every other safari in a diversity in landscapes, activities and sleeping accommodations.
The Usambara mountains in the North with all their beautiful curves and rough rock parties and the Uluguru mountains in the South, rising up majestically over the plains, south of Morogoro, are very suitable for fantastic walking tours.
The coastal area offers deserted beaches and fishermen villages where we will be able to slow down, to relax, to enjoy the waves, to meditate, to snorkel, listen to historical stories, eat with a local guide and his family, and more.
You will stay in budget, medium and medium-luxe hotels and lodges. In Selous you will camp, and in the middle of nature, you will be able to listen to the sounds of the bush.
Extra attention for your heart
During the safari there will be a program of meditation techniques, sensorial and nature exercises. The sweetness of Usambara, the ecstacy of Mambo World Viewpoint and the lively and joyful Tanga are calling especially for more attention for your heart. It is the aim to walk around without a head; to be in your heart, to talk to others from your heart, to radiate from your heart and to keep your heart open, whatever it takes.
Do you recognize there is so much in your life to be grateful for, but it still doesn’t feel like that? It is as if your heart is not taking part at all?
The wounded heart
There is a reasonable chance you are experiencing some enclosure in your heart. It is the place that protects you from young age, if you don’t get enough what you need from others. We have the tendency to harden every time again when it looks like we are short of what we need. Now you are grown up, you can recognize it is not necessary anymore to close your heart. The heart meditations and other exercises will support you in this.
Everybody gives what they can
If we could give more, we would do so. Learning seeing that, helps to appreciate what is there and is the road to more satisfaction and warmth in your relations.
Day 1
Today you fly to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania. We will pick you up and bring you to Kilimanjaro Eco Lodge. Kilimanjaro Eco Lodge is only half an hour from the airport and close to the entrance of Arusha National Park. It is a friendly local lodge. Here you will meet with all participants of the safari and share your first impressions.
Day 2
After breakfast we start with the mindfulness heart program. Then we leave for Arusha National Park for a walking safari. Arusha National Park is located close to the active volcano Mount Meru. It is a small park with landscapes and views that are touching the soul. Here you can look for buffalo, elephants, hippos, giraffes, warthogs, impalas, zebra, blue monkeys and sometimes leopard or hyena. After the park we will drive to Moshi, on our way to the Usambara Mountains. In Moshi you will spend the night in Secret garden, a popular and african decorated hotel.
Day 3
The Usambara Mountains will steal your heart. It starts right away when the landcruiser enters the mountain road. Beautiful colors, flowers, trees and sweet people in colorful clothes; a treat for your eyes. The first word entering your mind will be: lovely. They call it the Tuscany of Tanzania, but it also has more rough parts with great views.
From here you will make a three day trekking of 6-7 hours per day. The extra reward of your walk will come when you arrive at Mambo World Viewpoint. Next to the spectacular view, you have a big chance of seeing a breathtaking sunset.
It is fun to stroll through town, sniffing up the atmosphere of streetlife and have a look at the market. Later on we will go to Irente Viewpoint, and hopefully witness another Usambara sunset. You will spend the night in the nice Lawns Hotel.
Day 4
Our local guide Dennis Munga will pick you up for your first walking day (15 km). Through a little village you will arrive at Magamba rainforest, the homeland of the black and white Colobus monkey. We will do a nice heart exercise, eat the lovely selfmade Usambara guacamole with chapati for lunch and continue our walk through farmland and forest, arriving at Papaa Moze Lodge to spend the evening and night. Our guide Dennis Munga grew up in the Usambara Mountains, you can’t have a better guide.
Day 5
Your second walking day will bring you to forest and farmland, meet with the local Shambaa tribe, learn about medicinal plants, play with chameleons and deepen your experience of mountains and views with the help of mindfulness instructions during the walk. This night you will sleep in Magumba Hill Lodge.
Day 6
On your last walking day we start early in the morning with a meditation. Then we walk through the forests of Shagayu to the village Sunga. Here we will have a lovely lunch together with the locals. In the afternoon we arrive at a pottery where the women are showing their merchandise. At the end of the afternoon we will arrive at Mambo Viewpoint. The view over Tsavo in West Kenia, Kilimanjaro, Mkomazi National Park and the mountains is world class and very likely we will witness an unforgettable sunset. You will end your day with a drumming lesson and performance. We sleep at Magumba Hill Lodge.
Day 7
In the morning we will leave the the Usambara Mountains. We will drive to Magoroto Forest Estate in East Usambara (4 hours). Magoroto is a lovely, peaceful nature area where you can relax, meditate, swim and have lunch. Around 4.00 pm we depart to Tanga. Tanga is a special, lively but also a bit sleepy town at the Indian Ocean. It has much Arabic influences. Wandering through the streets you will fall in love with the authentic character of streets and buildings, the markets, the sometimes cheerful processions of singing people, men playing outdoor a popular game and all the nice food that you can find displayed along the streets. We will walk around a bit before we will have dinner at the Seaview hotel and spend the night in the Raskazone hotel, a local hotel.
Day 8
In the meantime you will be up for a day on the beach. And that is what we are going to do today. We leave for Pangani/Ushongo, also at the seaside. A short but fun ride with the characteristic landscapes of Tanzania’s East Coast. Here you can enjoy the bright white beaches, the fisherman villages and the peaceful local atmosphere. You can take a swim and a sunbath. Despite the perfect beaches, there is not a lot of tourism here. Most people go to Zanzibar. We don’t mind at all and love the peace. At the end of the day, when the sun sets we offer a dance meditation on the beach, a joy for your heart. You will spend the night in Drifters Lodge or Mikes Beach Cottages
Day 9
After a completion of our mindfulness program, we will bring you to Dar Es Salaam to take the night flight home. On the way we will stop at the historic Bagamoyo. Bagomoyo was one of the most important settlements along the East African coast and the terminus of the trade caravan route linking Lake Tanganyika with the sea. Slaves, ivory, salt and copra were unloaded here before being shipped to Zanzibar Island and elsewhere. We will have a break here and look around before taking of to Dar Es salaam. Your plane will leave in the evening.
Safari njema na karibu tene – have a good trip, you will always be welcome.
It is possible to extend your trip with a visit to Zanzibar. Please contact us if you would like to do this!
This offer is covered by the STO Garant guarantee. You can find the conditions for this guarantee scheme on STO Garant’s website
