That Time We Made Coffee ...

Kijereshi Tented Camp in the Serengeti Western Corridor itself could be a delightful place to stay. There is an awesome pool, a spacious lounge and dining room, a Boma and a Lapa. The food is good, the tents are comfortable and the native staff are really really nice.

The problem is the Indian manager. He stinks. And he has been managing the property for two years. (He has four months left on the remainder of his contract before he returns to India and you could see his feet were already out the door - though it's not clear his feet were ever *in* the door in the first place. When we asked if he communicated with the staff in Swahili, he told us he hadn't learned any - and had no interest in ever learning it.)

Along with not learning a single word of Swahili, he has built absolutely no rapport with his staff; he communicates with them by barking orders in (sort of) English from afar.

It is a shame. There were 20 staff people working while we were there and we three were the only guests staying at the camp. And yet, we were completely under-serviced. How is that possible? It wasn't the willing staff; it was the bad management. (By the way, he is famous too all throughout the Serengeti. All the guides and hotel managers we spoke to about him knew exactly who he was.)

I won't go through all the grievance - I will save that for my travel agent's ears and Trip Adviser - but as an illustration of his ineptness, I will share a story about the time we made coffee.

After two breakfasts in a row being served instant coffee, we had had enough! We finally complained to him that it was unacceptable to be served instant coffee in a country that is covered in coffee trees and plantations. We suggested that if he wanted to attract more than three visitors from Europe and the USA, he needed to invest in a coffee-maker. He said he had two French Press coffee makers but he didn't have any coffee. Besides his chef didn't know how to use them because he himself did not know how to make coffee.

So for breakfast on our last morning, Vince volunteered to show the manager and the chef how to make French Press coffee. He used the Tanzanian coffee beans we had purchased in the Spice Market at the Cultural Heritage Center in Arusha.

First Vince asked him for some hot water and watched with amusement as the manager started to draw it out of the tap! Vince explained that you need to use boiled water for French Press coffee just like tea. Next, Vince ground some coffee in the blender - they didn't have a real grinder - and finally Vince showed him how it's done.

We had gloriously fresh coffee on our last morning before heading off to the Northern Serengeti. I sure hope the chef keeps it up!