Chemka Natural Springs…what is there to say except that it is absolute paradise?

While it’s much easier to get to Chemka from Moshi, going from Arusha after a safari is totally doable! You can either charter a taxi/guide privately (or with a small group of course) or take the bus. I ended up chartering the taxi/guide because I was only in Arusha for a single extra day, and I wanted to get back in time to shop, go for a nice dinner and buy my bus ticket to Dar for the next morning. I negotiated with 7wonders, who had done my Ngorogoro/Serengeti safari, and I ended up paying $100 for the trip and lunch. After chatting around with some other companies, this actually seemed like a rock bottom deal, since no one else offered to best it. Score.

Anyhow, on to the tour!

My guide picked me up at 8am, we scooted to the ATM for me to grab some cash, and then he told me we were…going to the bus station.

Um… what?

I started to object and told him what the owner had promised me the day before, so he called and relayed the message. He tried to convince me that I was mistaken, but I KNEW there was no mention of the word “bus” in our negotiations the day before. Fifteen minutes later, a minivan and driver pulled up. Phew.

The drive from Arusha is about 1.5-2 hours, and it’s quite frankly HYSTERICAL in a minivan. There are no real roads, just dust paths where other vehicles have gone… and we’re essentially offroading in a soccer-mom mobile. I tried pretty hard, but there were a few times where giggles escaped… I couldn’t help myself!

Finally, out of nowhere, we came up on a copse of trees and… we were there! We paid the 2,000 shilling admission fee (aka less than a USD) and were admitted in to park.

I just stared.

There are some places in the world that simply exemplify raw, natural beauty. The Chemka Springs are one of those places.

It’s literally in the middle of nowhere, essentially in the desert of Tanzania and POW. Flowing, fresh water, gorgeous trees, shade, fish swimming… it’s essentially the kind of place you’d hallucinate if you were wandering for 40 days and 40 nights and about to become certifiable.

I quickly changed into my swimsuit and popped myself in the water because…. While there were a few people milling around having snacks, NO ONE WAS SWIMMING. I had the entire springs to myself.

Eventually more people joined me, and I swam for about 2 hours before hopping out to sun myself dry.

After a while, we had our boxed lunch, and then I climbed a tree with my kindle to read.

I’m not kidding.

I literally scaled branches with my flipping kindle paperwhite to hang out in the sunshine so I could finish drying off my suit from a more choice vantage point.

Finally, around 3pm, I was dry, and it was time to call it a day and head back so I could get my bus ticket and run my other errands.

I’ll leave you with a couple more photos… but I really don’t know what to say aside from if you’re ever in Moshi/Arusha, to take a day detour to this paradise. You won’t regret it, I promise!