The Moivaro Coffee Lodge is a fairly well hidden gem in amongst a huge pile of rough gravel; that being the town of Arusha in Tanzania. After a long and bumpy ride in the shuttle bus from Nairobi, we arrived in the town centre and were glad to be picked up and taken to the hotel by our safari tour guide Chris (else the usual dodgy haggling of taxi fares would have been necessary which I don't enjoy after a long haul flight).

The lodge itself has 40 acres of surrounding coffee plantation (which adds to its authenticity), although there was no mention of it being served in their own coffee pots? We spent a very enjoyable three nights here between safari trips and Kiimanjaro mountain climbing and we would definitely recommend it. The perfect way to revive after a long, hard, dusty trip.

As far as location goes, Arusha and the Moivaro are perfect jumping off points for Safaris and climbing Kili. After seven days of skanking it on the mountain, that first hot shower and cold bottle of beer became as memorable as any other part of the trip. Their official web site can be found at www.moivaro.com.