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Hidden Gem
Boundary Hill Lodge will forever hold a special place in our hearts. My wife and I spent 2 nights here at the beginning of our 11 day self-drive safari from Arusha to the Serengeti. Being just outside of Tarangire park, the Bradt travel guide recommended Boundary Hill for economical yet luxurious lodging. We found both to be true. The lodge has quite a dramatic location and the staff were all amazing. The view from room 1 is absolutely breathtaking with the entire valley below filling the wall of windows. There is a similar view from the restaurant as well. The staff were available for all our needs: carrying our luggage, walking us to and from our room, washing our car, even providing us with hot water for tea. Everything was taken care of for us. Jerry the lodge manager was especially accommodating. His English is excellent and we enjoyed chatting with him very much.
The lodge is fairly remote. The shortest route from Arusha passes through the rather unknown Radinel Wildlife Management Area. If you're self-driving, you'll need to request directions to the lodge and I'd recommend allowing plenty of time for this drive to ensure you are not arriving at night. We were advised it would take 2 1/2 to 3 hours from Arusha. It actually took us 4 hours due to a couple hiccups along the way. Firstly, the ranger at the gate for Radinel WMA was not aware of our arrival and no permit had been pre-arranged for us. We had to wait at that gate for about 30 minutes while he contacted the lodge and sorted out the details. Thankfully there is an amazing viewpoint there with 360 degree views. Secondly, we got stuck in a sand pit on our drive! Luckily the lodge had sent a car to look for us, and the car was following us when we got stuck. Those two men were like angels sent from God at the exact moment we needed them. They dug us out and towed us out. I don't know what we would have done without them since we hadn't seen any other vehicles on our way.
We were surprised to discover that due to covid, we were the first guests to the lodge for nine months! The staff were understandably very happy to see us and gave us the full "Be Our Guest" treatment as if we were in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast". This was especially the case while eating at the restaurant. The food of which was the best I had for our entire trip. While the attention was a little overwhelming at times, it did make us feel very special. We are hopeful that tourism will soon return to normal as we would love to see the lodge packed with happy guests.
Our room was very large with a huge wall of windows to enjoy the dramatic scenery below. The rooms are designed for natural cooling. This is achieved with screened openings above the windows. While I'm sure this is great for most of the year, having arrived at night in the winter season, we were greeted with a chilly wind cutting through our room. Jerry assured us the wind dies down each night and it did. We requested an extra blanket for the bed and with that found the room to be quite comfortable.
A couple things could be improved at the lodge. While the lights in our room were available 24/7, we were told the power outlets in the rooms do not work. Perhaps this will be fixed in the future. The staff were happy to charge our devices for us during the day, but because they rely on solar power we were at the mercy of the sun. Also, there is no WiFi. We were encouraged to unplug and enjoy nature. Which is great, but being independent travelers we rely heavily on being connected in order to communicate with hotels, arrange taxis, etc. Luckily, we were able to get a cellular signal from our room, however not from the restaurant.
If self-driving, be aware that you cannot purchase a permit for Tarangire at the nearby Boundary Hill Gate. Upon entering the park there, we were told to drive an hour to the airstrip to purchase our permit. Driving to the airstrip and back ate up our entire afternoon game drive. We did encounter a large herd of elephants along the way which was amazing as they encircled the vehicle on their way across the road to the lake. Also be aware these permits are single entry only. When driving through the park the next day we had to purchase a new permit, this time at the main gate as we exited the park.
The highlight of our trip was our visit to a Maasai village. Having learned that there were many Maasai living in the area, we asked Jerry if a visit could be arranged. He assured us there is a nearby village that is accustomed to welcoming tourists and arranged for our visit. When we arrived, the entire village greeted us with a welcoming song and dance. This was the experience of a lifetime. We were overwhelmed with joy by their song, smiles, and beautiful culture. After dancing among them, we we were invited into a house to ask questions by way of Jerry as translator. Having the opportunity for such an intimate conversation was amazing. They told us about daily life, family and cultural customs, celebrations, their houses, dress, and songs, all of which are rooted in traditional roles and respect for each other, especially their elders. Our final question was what they’d like us to share with those back in the US. The tribal elder told us for much of his life he had only seen white people in pictures. Likewise, most white people have only seen Maasai in pictures. He hopes more will come to visit them, to be welcomed as friends and to learn about their culture.
