Tanzania page 2 of 3
Hey there...
Just thought I'd drop everyone a quick line before I head off on my safari tomorrow. Today we wandered around Dar es Salaam a bit. It's definitely much different than the other cities we've docked at. It's much smaller and less touristy. Today proved to be a bit of a challenge, simply because the first day in port always is, but it was also Sunday. Most things were closed today. We spent our first few hours just walking in circles really. It is unbearably hot here. We were about to give up on the day when we ran into some other students who had found an open market. We took a taxi there and found great crafts. I love all the markets in these countries, full of handmade artifacts. I even bartered a bit using some soap. Then, because the people were so nice, I gave them one of those post it pads that mom gave. It has a little cartoon that when you flip through the pad, this little guy surfs. I showed it to them and they were amused.
When we went back into town we ate dinner at a hotel restaurant and the food was great. There we also met our guide for our safari tomorrow. He seems really nice and reassured us that we wouldn't be eaten while camping in the bush. That's always good to know.
Alright, well I need to get some sleep, considering I'll be on a bus at 6 am tomorrow. Pray that no wild critters gobble me up in the next few days. I'm so excited!!! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.
I love you and I miss you!
love,
tracey
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Tracey M [item 2]
Hey y'all!!!
Thought I'd let you know that I wasn't eaten on my safari. I had a great time!
It took us 10 hours to reach the campsite and park that we stayed at. When we arrived at the campsite, we realized that they weren't joking when they said camping. There was a large horseshoe shape of tents, small tents. My friend Jessica and I went and claimed the biggest one we could find and set our stuff down. We wandered around to find the "bathrooms" which were wooden stalls with holes inside them. The showers were the same structures minus the holes but with buckets of water hanging above them. There were definitely some girls that were a bit freaked. Then we had dinner. Tt was pretty amazing what our camp staff made cooking over a campfire. It was really good. After dinner, Jess and I decided to grab our journals from our tents and write a bit before getting to bed. We found a lovely visitor in the tent with eight long legs. Considering both Jess and I are not fond of spiders, we couldn't deal with it. The boys were quite impressed with the size of the thing. Ok, everyone can stop laughing at me now. It took me awhile before I was able to talk myself into going back into the tent. I did, and slept fine despite the many odd noises going on outside the tent. Amazingly, the thought of wild animals didn't scare me, since I knew that there were Maasai warriors surrounding our campsite protecting us.
So we woke up around 6 and ate breakfast and then headed out for a full day game drive. We rode in these land cruisers that had panels in the roof that could be removed. It allowed us to stand up on our seats and see the great view around us. We saw elephants, giraffes, ostriches, impalas, warthogs, waterbucks, zebras, and LIONS! Some of the animals got so close to our vehicle that I didn't even need to use the zoom lens on my camera. It was incredible. We were really lucky to have seen the lions. We came upon a bunch of jeeps looking at some grass. One of the drivers said that they thought there might be lions out there somewhere. Eventually they got tired of looking and drove off. Our driver glanced around and then drove off the road, which is illegal. We went speeding through the bush and went around a tree and practically ran over two female lions lounging in the sun. I still can't believe how close we were to them. It was awesome! Anyway, so we drove around the park the rest of the day and saw tons of animals. That night we ate dinner and hung out around the campfire. Our interport lecturer came to our campsite to tell us about the Maasai tribe guarding us. They are the only matriarchical tribe in all tanzania. Before dinner that night, I was sitting where we eat, reading, and this woman warrior came wandering through. She was astonishingly beautiful. She was dressed in the traditional red garb and held a spear. She also had the tribal paint on her forehead and cheeks. We interacted as much as is possible with a huge language barrier and I ended up taking a few pictures of her. She couldn't be much older than me but its so weird to think about how different our lives are. Anyway, that was kinda random, but it's one of the highlights of the trip in my mind.
The next day we left early again and spent the entire day back in the game park. We saw so many elephants. A bunch of them actually gave birth recently so there were a lot of very small babies. It was really cool to see how they circle their young to protect them when the jeeps came by. At one point, this one large elephant grew a bit curious of us as we were watching him and starting to approach us. He was so close that I could have reached out and touched his trunk. It was ridiculous. We saw a lot of the same animals the second day and also saw some hyennas. I spent a lot of time the second day just standing up, to grasp my surroundings, as we drove through the park. I must have stood while we were driving for at least three or four hours straight. I can't explain it, but i think the air is different in Africa or something. It was invigorating. After leaving the park we stopped at a Maasai village where they were selling handmade goods. It was neat to see all that they could make, but it was also an assaulting experience. They swarmed us as soon as we exited the vehicles and were relentless. They threw necklaces and baskets at us. I guess someone must have given the kids stuff because they wouldn't leave me alone. It got to the point where I was scared. Even when I got back in the jeep they wouldn't let up. They shoved their hands through the open windows and were grabbing at us. It's obvious that this place is a lot different than those we've been to before. I guess this will help ease us into India.
Anyway, so today we woke up early and spent another ten hours on the bus to come back to the ship. When I got back here, I unpacked and all my stuff is so dirty; between the sweat and the dust it's just gross. I've talked to a lot of people that did different stuff and it sounds like everyone saw basically the same stuff and had a great time.
I hope I did an ok job explaining everything. I wanted to send this while it was still fresh in my mind. I may write again with content more responsive to my experiences, but it usually takes me a few days to get my thoughts together.
I hope all is well at home. Keep me updated!!!
I love you and I miss you.
love,
tracey
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Subject: The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Hello, hello, hello! Well, I have returned from my safari in Tanzania. Luckily, I was not stepped on OR eaten by any wild animals. I would like to say now that the artists who made "The Lion King" really did their research� I was amazed that the animals I saw in real life were so incredibly similar to the animated ones in the Disney movie.
I really didn't see Dar Es Salaam at all, except for driving through it, so I won't really talk about it except to say that it was kind of interesting to see how people reacted to us. Semester at Sea has not been to Dar Es Salaam in 20 years, whereas it regularly goes to all our other ports of call, so the people here were not "used" to us.
Unfortunately, after our port was changed from Mombassa, Kenya to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, it was a longer trip to the place my safari was, so I had to do a lot of driving. The first day was about an eight-hour drive to get from Dar to Arusha. On the way, however, I was able to see lots of scenery� including Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro! It was interesting to watch all the little towns we passed and see the people.
This was our first exposure to a third world country and there was lots of poverty. This is also a very Muslim society, so the women wore long skirts and the men were all wearing long pants. I often saw women walking down the street carrying heavy loads on their heads; either buckets of water, sacks of grain, or some other thing. I was amazed that they could carry them! Others would have large loads of heavy firewood strapped to their backs, because it is also the woman's responsibility to collect the firewood.
I also saw lots of Maasai� you have probably seen pictures of this tribe before: they usually are wearing bright red, they have lots of jewelry on, including lots of big earrings so the holes in their ears are very large. They live in houses made of dried dung and straw with thatched roofs, and they are often seen herding cattle and/or goats and donkeys, and every so often camels. The Maasai believe that God gave them cattle, and so therefore all of the cattle in the world rightfully belong to them. They use cattle for everything in their lives: dowries for wives, other sorts of payments, milk, etc. The cow is the most important thing in Maasai society. The only things the Maasai eat are blood, milk, and beef, and they do not have the diseases like heart diseases that we have in our society. They were an interesting culture to learn about, so it was neat to see them all over.
I was on a special safari, which about 25 or so SAS parents attended. It is a special thing that Semester at Sea does where they have a trip in one port on the itinerary that brings the parents and students together. When we arrived in Arusha, the parents were waiting for us (they had been in Kenya for several days already before coming to Tanzania to meet us). It was nice to see my mom (although she was a bit disheveled� the airlines lost her luggage and it never made it to Africa� she had been without luggage for 5 days by the time I saw her. Luckily, it had arrived that morning so she finally had her things again).
All the parents were very excited to see the students, so there was a nice reunion. We proceeded to dinner and a small acrobatics show. Our hotel the first night was really nice (Actually, all of our lodges were. They all had beautiful settings). The parents had already been on a game drive, but so far the only animals I had seen were goats, cows, donkeys, and chickens. I was excited to get going on our safari!
The second day started early. We all split up and loaded into small vans with eight people apiece. My van consisted of my mom and me, and 3 other sets of mothers and daughters. Our driver's name was Louis, and he proved himself to be wonderful� he had eagle eyes that could spot animals from far away or while they were hiding in the trees or grass, and he was very knowledgeable (i.e. what is the difference between the white rhino and the endangered black rhino? They are actually the same color� the white rhino is slightly larger and has a wider mouth. The name white rhino came from the German mispronunciation of the word "wide").
On this day we drove farther into Tanzania and stopped off at Gibb's Coffee Farm. It was quickly apparent why we had switched to the small safari vans� the paved roads ended and then dirt roads began. And when I say dirt roads, I don't mean like rural back roads� I mean dirt roads that are full of pot holes and rocks and bumps so much that the vans have to be serviced after each safari (which only last a few days).
This day we were in the back seat, so the dust and the bouncing were even worse. In fact, I had an allergy attack from all the dust even though I had taken medicine, and I spent most of the rest of the day using up all the Kleenex everyone in our van had with them. I think I inhaled so much dust the past few days that I will be coughing up rocks. Your clothes and body would literally have a layer of dirt on it by the end of the day so that when you took your socks off it looked like you had been lying in the sun for about a month straight.
The coffee farm was up on a mountain with beautiful scenery, and so before lunch we set off in a small group with a guide to go on what they described as a "nature walk" that would be short and we could see the grounds.
Well, our "nature walk" ended up being a two-hour-long steep hike up the side of the mountain in the sun and noon-time Africa heat. By the time we came down, we were exhausted. We had brought along very little water, and had on no sunscreen, so when we returned we were hot, dehydrated, and sunburned. The hike wouldn't have been bad (it actually was very beautiful) if we had just been better prepared and actually expecting it; and, also if it hadn't been between noon and two o'clock, the hottest time of the day. After our hike we had lunch and relaxed for a while. Then we climbed back into the vans and set off to our next lodge.
This lodge was on the top on the Ngorongoro Crater, where some of the best game viewing in the world takes place. As our van climbed up to the top of the crater, we looked down and saw the treetops white with storks. It was really neat. The view from our room looked straight down into the large crater, and from a telescope on the balcony upstairs we were able to see elephants and water buffalo.
After dinner there was an amazing acrobatics show, which was really just an extended version of the one from the night before. The young men had amazing strength� they could have been gymnasts� and they could contort themselves into the most awkward positions imaginable. They ate fire, took running leaps and stacked themselves four-high on each others shoulders, and did all kinds of stunts. It was really cool.
That night my mom and I went out to look at the stars: I have never seen so many stars in all my life. There was no light pollution because the nearest large city was hundreds of miles away. You could see the Milky Way and it was much bigger (and milkier) than I have ever seen. I think my favorite part was the constellations: I always complain about how they never look like what they are supposed to and I have no idea how people came up with them. However, when you are able to see all of the little, faint stars in addition to just the brightest ones, you can actually see the pictures and easily tell how they were named. Orion actually had a whole body! It was really amazing.
The third day was another early morning. This time we left our luggage at the hotel because the roads in and out of the crater were so steep that the vans couldn't have made it with our luggage. The first animals that I saw up-close- and- personal were zebras. The crater is actually full of zebra, gazelle, and wildebeest. They are the main animals in the crater. Right now it is actually right in the middle of migration before the rainy season comes, and so there were tons of animals, many of which had babies! Actually, I would have to say that the majority of the species of animals that I saw had babies. In the crater we saw zebra, gazelle (grand gazelle and Thompson's gazelle), hippos, elephants, rhinos, lions, water buffalo, wildebeest, jackals, hyenas, warthogs, flamingos and TONS of other kinds of birds.
My goal had been to see an aardvark, but Louis told me they are nocturnal, so no such luck. I was also disappointed to learn that he had never seen a meerkat (they are actually called something else, I had to find their picture in a book because Louis had no idea what I was talking about.) He told me he had never seen one before, so I guess they must be in a different part of Africa.
(Try this link for more info: http://www.pbs.org/kratts/world/africa/meerkat/ )
However, we did have some neat encounters� the vans cannot go off the roads and the crater is quite large, so a lot of what you see depends on luck (my friend was on safari in Kenya and didn't see lions the whole time!). Right at the beginning we were the only van to witness something really cool� thanks to Louis' eagle eyes and fast driving. We were zipping through the crater over to some hyenas that Louis had spotted through his binoculars.
Suddenly, he changed direction and took off at top speed somewhere else. We were all really confused as to why we were headed away from the hyenas, when suddenly he braked. There were three lions (a young male followed by two females) that had fresh blood on their jaws and were walking into the tall grass for a rest after their meal. At this point I was in the front seat of the van. The top came off the van so everyone could stand up and take pictures, but in the front seat this was not possible. Therefore, Louis was allowing me to sit in the window of the front seat to take pictures. However, the three lions were so close that he told me I would have to get in and stay in because it wasn't safe. The lions stopped and looked straight at us before continuing on.
Another cool thing that happened was when we were looking at a bird by a small watering hole. Louis started to continue on� suddenly I yelled to him to stop. "There's something in the water!" I exclaimed� and sure enough, about a minute later (a minute in which everyone was convinced I made them stop to look at a rock that was barely visible in the water) we saw our first hippo. I was excited because I had spotted it when no one else, including our guide, had.
The last cool thing in the crater was the rhino. There are only about 15-20 black rhinos in the crater. They are solitary animals and tend to stay in the parts of the crater where there are no roads, so often safari groups don't see them. We actually saw four. We were the first group to spot a rhino, and we called the other vans on the radio with our location so they could see it, too. They weren't what I was expecting. They are big and amble around slowly and every so often a huge stream of urine (it looks like water coming out of a hose) sprays straight out of them to mark their territory. Anyway, on the way out of the crater we saw three more, two of them were a mom rhino and a baby, but they were all actually pretty far away. We were never able to get close to one.
After we left the crater we had lunch and then left to drive to the Serengeti. On the way, I saw my first giraffe! They are so goofy looking, but they are really cool. It is so weird to just be driving down the road and randomly see a giraffe or some zebra out of your window. The Serengeti is huge� about 8000 square miles, so the animals are a lot more spread out than in the crater and can be harder to spot, but it was a lot more what I had imagined Africa looking like and a safari being like.
The word "Serengeti" actually comes from the Maasai word "Siringet" (sp?) that means "endless plains." That is just what it was, too� plains that stretched out for as far as your eyes could see. On the way to our lodge in the Serengeti, we saw some elephants up-close and I also saw my first male lion with a big mane! (He was sleeping with some lionesses and cubs). We also saw lions eating an elephant that had died. We saw a baboon with a little baby on its back, a leopard in a tree (incredibly hard to see� I didn't even take a picture because I knew I wouldn't be able to pick it out later) and our first sighting of cheetahs! We also saw more hippos, zebra, gazelle, wildebeest, and buffalo.
Our lodge this night was right in the middle of the Serengeti. It was an outcropping of rocks that they had built the lodge around. You could actually hear the animals outside at night. The sunset was beautiful because there was smoke in the air from the controlled burning that was taking place around the park.
The following day was a day that I had been looking forward to� the day of the hot air balloon ride! I was at a fair when I was about six years old and I waited in line all day to go on a balloon ride (it was tethered to the ground� it just went up and back down) and there was only one person left in line ahead of us when they decided it was too windy to do any more rides that day. Ever since then I have wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride (as all my friends know). So, we woke up bright and early and headed out for what everyone told us would be an amazing experience: watching the sun rise over the Serengeti and seeing the animals hunting in the coolness of the morning.
The day was off to a promising start - while driving to the place that we would take off from, a hippopotamus suddenly crossed the road on the way to the watering hole. He was so close that our driver had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting him. It was interesting because no one on our safari had seen a hippo before that wasn't almost completely submersed in water.
When we arrived at the take-off site, we split up. Sixteen of us would be in one balloon, and 12 would be in the other. The other balloon was named Simba, and ours was Tembo (lion and elephant in Swahili). The balloon basket was lying on its side, and the balloon man explained to us what would happen. He would bring the fans out to start filling the balloon with air, and then go inside to check everything. When he came out and gave the signal, we would all get in the basket. He would start shooting the fire in to heat the air, and away we would go.
However, it was a little bit windy (I would have called it a light breeze, but for ballooning that is a lot of wind) so he wanted to wait until the sun came up, because usually the wind died down then. Well, they brought the fans out and started blowing up the balloon, and our balloon man gave the signal. We all got into the balloon basket. It was like an egg carton: it had little partitions and two people were in each "compartment." The basket was on its side, and you laid in it on your back like you were sitting on a seat and held onto the handles on the top in front of you. When the balloon rises, you will be in a sitting position. This is also the position for landing.
My mom and I were on the bottom (there were two rows each with four compartments and the balloon man was in the middle.) The bottom is actually more "dangerous" because when you land the balloon "jumps" across the ground and if you have long hair it can get caught under the basket. Anyway, the balloon man tried incredibly hard to get us airborne� our balloon bounced along the ground, the basket started to turn upright, but he just couldn't make it; there was too much wind.
It was the first time they have had to cancel a balloon ride due to wind since October. When he opened his suitcase up, he had certificates made out for us and everything. It was disappointing, but I would rather be safe and I'm glad we didn't go if it was dangerous. I have to give the man credit� he tried so hard to get us up into the air that he actually burned a hole in the balloon. So, it looks like I will have to try ballooning another time�
After our botched ballooning attempt, we returned to the lodge to have breakfast (with no balloon ride we also missed out on the champagne breakfast that you traditionally get with a balloon ride). Everyone on our tour who didn't attempt to go ballooning had gone on a morning game drive, so we set out on one, too.
We saw the normal animals: zebra, gazelle, wildebeest, etc. We got to see more giraffes, and also we saw a herd of elephants that had babies of all different ages and sizes� there were three little ones that couldn't be seen over the tall grass when you were farther away. In late morning we left the park and began the drive back. We stopped at lunchtime to eat our boxed lunches at the Olduvai Gorge (actually, the name is the Oldupai Gorge, but once again German mispronunciation changed the name to what it is known as now).
I was excited that I actually got to go there. When I was in middle school I did a big presentation on the gorge and Louis and Mary Leakey and the discovery of the oldest known ancestor to humans. My partner and I had a box of sand that we buried some "bones" in, and we dressed up like archeologists (stereotypical ones, at least, in safari-type gear) and pretended we were the Leakeys and dug up the "fossils" during the presentation.
Then in college I took an anthropology class and learned all about human evolution, and many of the discoveries at the gorge. I never imagined that I would actually visit it. We only were there for a very brief amount of time before we went on. I would have liked to stay longer. I did, however, have the man who has worked at the gorge with the Leakeys and been there for a long time ("A century" according to our safari director) give me a job offering� he told me to get my degree in anthropology and archeology and come back to Africa to work with his team at the Olduvai Gorge. I think he was just impressed with my middle school project.
After we left the gorge we stopped at a Maasai village. I didn't like it much, but I had known that I wouldn't� it was a Maasai village, yes, but it was a Maasai village that was there to earn money off of the tourists. We walked in and immediately began to be haggled to buy beaded necklaces and earrings, to pay a dollar to take a picture of someone, or to give them free gifts, like pens and things, which they quickly put inside their clothes and moved on to the next person.
My mom and I retreated into a small Maasai "house"� a hut made with cow dung and with a thatched roof. One of the people from the safari was inside with the lady who lived there, and explained everything in the hut to us and answered our questions. I was fine sitting in the small, hot hut even with all the flies that were around� until I saw a spider crawling down the man's shoulder. I said goodbye and exited the hut in a flash� my mom managed to stay inside for about 5 more minutes before coming out. Luckily, we only stayed at the village for about half an hour before continuing on.
Our final stop for the night was at Lake Manyara- another beautiful place. The next morning we set off back to Arusha (about 2 hours away) where we said farewell to the parents. They left for Kilimanjaro airport to fly back to Nairobi, Kenya, and we went the opposite direction for another 8-hour drive back to Dar Es Salaam.
The safari was definitely one of the coolest things I have ever done, even though there was a ton of time in cars and not much time to enjoy the beautiful places that we stayed. I think that I will have to go back someday� if for no other reason than to finally do my balloon safari.
I hope everyone is well� next stop: India.
Hugs,
Christina
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The trip to the Maasai village was very difficult - the poverty, the smells, the aggressiveness of these desperate people left a very indelible impression.
She said her bus of 8 people was great. I wish I knew their names so I could share with you (I only know Porsha). On the 4th day the long drive was not bad because they told jokes for three hours and were in tears. The last night at the lodge they danced to a band, someone played a guitar and they sang.
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Eric K [item 5]
Well as our ship sets sail for Chennai, India I thought I would provide an update on some of the incredible things that have happened during my stay in Tanzania and Kenya.
Got into Tanzania port on March 2nd and that day I went out to the market and to a local shopping center. Most of the shops in the center were closed, however, but the market provided a place to pick up some suveniors. That night I chose to stay in as I had to be up very early the next morning. That next morning I started off for my Safari at about 7 in the morning. We went to the local airport and flew to Nairobi, Kenya. We then transferred to a local airport where I ran into my mom (we thought we were meeting at the camp) and got to catch up on a lot of the details that are tough to describe or tell through e-mails. We then took a bumpy flight to Kichwa Tembo Tented Safari Camp in the Masai Mara area of Kenya. If anyone is interested in the type or camp or lodging that I stayed in and maybe even bored, feel free to search that on the web and you should be able to find their web-site.
The next couple days we went on Game Drives out into the Game Reserve, went on a sunrise hot-air balloon ride, and in general saw tons of amazing animals. I saw Lions, Leopards, Cheethahs, Elephants, Giraffe, Zebra, Gazelle, and Hippos. I'm not necessarily talking from a large distance either! We got pretty close many times. I'm sure my mom might even e-mail some of you with pictures to "prove" how close we were. (see pictures on the message board!)A really cool part was that we were in open sided Land Rovers. They had a canvas roof to protect you from the hot sun but the sides were open except for a couple support bars.
The camp we stayed at was incredible. The "tents" had wooden desks, cabinets, personal showers, flush toilets, sinks. The camp actually has an electric fence around it but there are still many animals such as baboons and warthogs that live inside the compound.
The weather wasn't too bad. It got hot during the day but at night it really cooled off to about 50 or so. Since we didn't have the luxury of heating, a hot water bottle placed under our heavy sheets had to do.(Also had down comforters!)
Being with my mom was great too. It almost seemed some of the other kids were more enthusiatic in seeing her than I was. She took many pictures, too, so if she suddenly starts sending e-mails with attachments don't think I'm home or anything, it's just that cable is much faster then satellite, in our case. And she even did a great job embarrasing me on my birthday with a cake and everything.
I'm sure that I might be leaving out some stuff but up ahead lies 8 days of straight classes with no hope for breaks as they rarely encounter rough seas.
.
Eric
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Mary A [item 6]
She had a great time on her safari ( I think that it was MOM9). She said that they saw four of the "big five" - whatever that means? She also said that that it will probably be the last time - for a long time that SAS stops in Dar Es Salaam - it was somewhat of a disastrous port.
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Mary A [item 7]
I am back with my safari report, safe and sound. We arrived in Dar Es Salaam early on Sunday morning and soon after, me and 30 of my closest friends and faculty members left for the airport to fly to Nairobi. That evening we all went for dinner to the world famous "Carnivore" Restaurant, kind of a scary name for a girl who would prefer chicken or fish over steak, but it was one of the coolest restaurants I have ever been to. As the name suggests, it is pretty much a feast of game meat. As the dinner began, waiters walked around with meat on a sword, they told you what it was and then cut a slice and put it on your plate; there really was no deciding if you wanted it or not. The meal started off with chicken, easy enough, then we moved on to gazelle, hartebeest, eland, oryx, ostrich, and zebra. I am happy to say that I tried each and everyone, and enjoyed them all, I figured that this would be my one and only chance to eat zebra so I might as well go for it. The next day we realized why they took us there on the first night, we probably would not have been too keen on eating all the animals had we seen them earlier in the same day.
Monday morning we all got in our 7 person safari vans and Albert, our guide, drove us 5 hours to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. The roads between Nairobi and the reserve must be the reason why SUV's were built; winter in New England hardly warrants 4 wheel drive anymore. They were a "bit" bumpy, or what Albert called "The Kenyan Massage". The fact that we got just 1 flat tire was an accomplishment. We drove right through the Great Rift Valley (for those of you who are geologically unaware (like myself) its where two plates of the earth's surface are diverging from each other, and in hundreds of years it will no longer be part of the continent of Africa). It was an absolutely amazing site. We finally arrived at the Mara Sopa Lodge, which was a beautiful hotel,right in the game reserve,looking over the reserve. Soon after we settled in, we left for our first game drive. We started off seeing zebra, wildebeest, impalas, and gazelle, which was all amazing to see. After we drove a little more through the park among the trees we saw some heads popping up and there were the giraffes. It was so amazing to see these animals in their natural environment; we had to keep telling ourselves this was not a zoo. Later in the afternoon we stopped our van no more than 10 feet from five lions relaxing in the sun, a little too close for comfort. And as we are driving through a giant herd of buffalo, Albert let us know that the buffalo were some of the most dangerous animals in the reserve (thanks for driving us right through a herd!). Later in the evening we saw some hyenas feeding on scraps of food and bones. The entire day was like the Lion King brought to life.
On Tuesday we all woke up at 5:00am for a game drive before breakfast. On this drive we found about 10 lion cubs from two different mothers waiting for their breakfast to return. They were so cute, but I am not sure it would be too easy to get them back on the ship. We then parked the safari van in the middle of about 15 elephants making their way across the grass. As they started to get a little too close we had to move quickly because there were a few baby elephants, which the parents are very protective of and if they came any closer we might not have made it back to the lodge. We saw plenty more lions, giraffes, baboons, gazelle, and zebra and later in the day we were lucky enough to see a leopard. That afternoon we visited a Maassai village. The Maasai are an ethnic group in East Africa, who, for the most part have resisted the transition to a western way of life. We got a chance to go in their homes made from cow dung, and they demonstrated traditional dances. We flew back to Dar Es Salaam early Wednesday evening. The port was, as my mom described, "a nail biter".
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Laura K [item 8]
Hi Mom and Dad,
How is everything? I am great. I am sailing to India right now. Tanzania was excellent. I wrote you a letter on the bus on the way home from my safari. I hope you get it. I will tell you about it now in case you don�t. Basically, it was so so awesome. We drove for 12 hrs total to get to Tarangire. The bus ride was cool b/c I looked out the window almost the whole time and saw stuff that was so cool and new to me. People were working on the side of the rode, cutting grass with machettes, Maasai people were herding cattle, all types of animals were running around, women were walking around balancing huge buckets and plows on their heads with babies in sacks on their backs, children in all types of school uniforms all over. The homes/huts on the side of the road were awesome. Made out of mud and cow dung, with straw roofs. It was cool.
Our camp site was wonderful- tents set up in a circle, with grass and a bond fire in the middle. I shared a small tent with my neighbor, Jamie. She is really nice, from Minnesota (where she lives) and North Dakota (where she goes to school). The weather was very warm with a nice breeze. The food was very good.
the bathrooms were holes in the ground and the showers were run by Maasai who poured water into buckets and hoisted them up with a rope. It was neat. A lot of work for them. The workers had a Swahili sing-along with us. We all talked a lot, sang songs, and told riddles around the fire at night. And looked at the amazing stars. I went on hikes everyday. It was so nice.
The game drives were excellent. 6 girls were in car #1. Our driver was John. He was so nice, he was smart, informative, talkative, and cared about how we were. He was a good driver too. We cheered him on as he sped past other vans and got us in the best viewing position- though we all felt a little tortured by the repeating Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers tape- which we eventually knew all the songs. We were all so excited we were the first to leave for the park in the morning. Right inside the park, buffalo ran in front of us. Then I spotted the first elephants. I was so excited and happy. John promised we would see more closer. But we were so excited we were snapping pictures like crazy. Over the next 2 days we saw hundreds of elephants, giraffe, buffalo, warthogs, baboons, all types of birds, eagles, impalas�and more. Unfortunately we only saw 2 lions; the grass was too high. It is not really safari season- but I was still so happy. I hope I got some good pictures, but I was just staring at all the animals. It was so cool. It was awesome to see animals in their natural habitat. Elephants are definitely my favorite. I took soooo many pictures. All the animals were amazing but I loved the elephants. They are so cool. They often threatened to charge to protect their babies-who were so cute-some were only a week old- they would growl and trumpet at the car- thrashing their trunks. Then they would make a circle around the babies- it was really neat. The safari cars were neat b/c you could stand on the seats so the roof would be about at your waist, or you could even sit on the roof at times. I stood up about 95% of the time. I had dirt all over my face but didn�t even care. I wanted to look around the whole time. The scenery was beautiful, more green than I expected. Basically, we drove around from 8 am to 4 pm every day- it was awesome. I want to go on a safari in the season some time. I think I would see a lot more. But this was excellent, even out of season. The first day we ate lunch at this picinic area- everything was very nice and calm until we were bombarded by baboons. It was crazy. About 50 of them were all around us. They would run up to us and steal food out of our lunch boxes. They were completely fearless- it was kinda scary- but really cool too. The guides told us they are afraid of black people but not whites b/c they know they are tourists. It was funny. So the next day we all ate on top of our cars. The whole safari was awesome.
The first day I hung out in Dar. I was a little nervous b/c they told us of all the dangers- but I actually liked it. I walked around w/ 5 girls. We were trying to find the tourist market where they sell all kinds of crafts- well we were asking for directions and got all types of answers- our map wasn�t too adequate. Then somebody offered to accompany us and said it wouldn�t be the best idea to go alone- we didn�t know why b/c the interport people said it is fine. Well, it ended up that we went to an all locals market, not the one we were originally looking for. It was mostly food-with some clothing and jewelry. But it was the neatest thing ever. I felt fine b/c we were with this guy- but we did get some weird looks- we were definitely Outsiders. It was a good experience. We then went to the Village Museum- it has replicas of huts that Tanzanians live in. It was neat. There was also a drum circle and a dance for us- we were the only ones watching. Then we talked to some kids our age who were setting up for an AIDS fundraiser. They were cool- we talked about music, school, the US, Tanzania, our trip�they were just like us- we laughed and joked for an hour. It was fun.
Throughout this trip I have realized the wonderfulness (I know it�s not a real word) of it all. But when I was camping in the wonderful outdoors I think it kinda hit me that I am half way around the world in Africa! I feel so lucky and fortunate for being able to do this. I am so thankful to you both for helping me out so much, for allowing me to do this, supporting me in everything and for teaching me all you have. I am learning so much and experiencing more than I have ever imagined. I feel like a new person- well the same- but improved, much wise, more aware, happier and more grateful for what I have, but a little sadder about how the world really is. What I am experiencing is the real world and I am glad to know what is out there. I love seeing the world. It is all amazing and incredible.
I got a note that this boy's mom was bringing me a package- but he does not have it- what a bummer. I wonder what happened? Tonight was open mic/ Express yourself. It was really good. I like announcing it and all that- everyone has been talking to me after in the halls and stuff- it was kinda cool. People had a wide range of experiences in Tanzania. Some terrible things happened- 4 crew members were mugged and beat up the guy in retaliation. The next night 2 Filipino men from another ship- I think a cargo ship with a few passengers were murdered, by the cab driver, thinking they were from our ship. That is really horrible and sad. Total unnecessary violence and loss of life. Sorry to end on that sad note- but I loved my stay in Tanzania. Everything I saw was so interesting and eye opening. Take care. Love you.
Love, Laura
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Hi everyone,
Things in Tanzania went great. I decided not to do a safari. I was one of very very few people who did that and I couldn�t be happier.
Day 1- Today was spent in the Holiday Inn in Dar Es Salaam trying to find a safari to a game reserve in the south. When everyone decided to go north, I decided to stay. Maggie and Kim were doing a homestay that I was very interested in and I was not up for a 13 hour ride. I went to a nice dinner and tried Ugali, an African side dish. It was very good.
Day 2 and 3- Today Anna, Maggie, Kim, Brianna, Julie and I set out to Akita�s Garden. It was such an adventure. We took a ferry. I felt very out of place. We paid about 10 cents to ride a ferry to a village called Kigambone. When waiting for the ferry, men sat on one side and women on the other. When it was time to get on everyone rushed to go onto this barge filled with people and vehicles. We arrived in Kigambone and we stuck out so much. People stared at us. We asked a cab driver to bring us to a village called Guazalole, where Akita�s Garden was located. He told us that would be $80. Yeah right. We got on a dalla dalla. What an adventure that was - 28 people in a minivan driving down the bumpy roads of Tanzania. 2 men hung out the side. Maggie had to keep her legs elevated because someone put a bag of grain under her feet. So funny! On the dalla dalla we met a boy, Shaban, who was also heading to Akita�s Garden. He helped us out. Akita was in town and would not be back for about 3 hours. No cell phones to call him ?
We went to lunch and played in the Indian Ocean for a while. Amor, a man we met at the �restaurant� climbed a tree to get the girls coconuts to drink. It was cool. While he was doing that, I played with all of these little kids. I gave them each a crayon and a piece of paper from my little memo pad. They all wrote their names on them and showed me. It was cute.
Akita arrived home early. Why? Because he heard about us. He heard about the six white girls running around Kigamboni and figured we were there to see him. He gave us a tour of the village. We met the most amazing people. Mama Ria and her husband cultivated seaweed. We learned how to make the roofs on the houses. We saw a woman making mats out of palm leaves. Everyone was so inviting. We met some teachers and the head of the local school. We talked about politics. Akita was amazing.
We went back to the garden for dinner. Akita�s wife made a delicious meal. We ate with our new friends Shaban, and Zakia. Zakia was Akita�s sister in law. They were our age. Zakia was married with a child. She�d been married since she was 16. It was time for bed. We slept under mosquito nets and it was so hot. I�ve never camped before. I had no idea there were so many stars in the sky. There was no electricity. We filled an oil filter from a bucket of water to bathe. It was so different that what we are used to. It was great.
I woke up before everyone else. Shaban was up too, so we went for a walk. We went to the school. I asked to see an English class. Communication was rough because my Swahili is limited. The teacher asked all of the kids in the 7th grade to go inside. I felt bad that they had to stop playing. I sat in front of the class all by myself. I said �do you speak English?� �Yes� they answered. Now what, I thought? I introduced myself. And asked their names. Each student stood, in their white and blue uniforms, and said �My name is ________� It was so cute. I said "Nice to meet" you 30 times. Then I had to dismiss them. I told them they could go. No one understood. I said, �go outside� and pointed outside. Still nothing. Finally, I stood up and motioned with my hand. �Come on,� I said and walked out. They all followed. It was really fun. It was incredible to me that of 1000 people on the boat with me, I was the only one who had that experience. All by myself in a village in Tanzania.
After breakfast Akita took us around the village some more. We met Mama Leah. She made pottery. I bought a bowl from her. It�s great. We returned to the garden to get our things and left. There is no way in the world I will not return to Akita�s garden. I hope everyone I know can go there. If anyone knows anyone in this part of the world encourage them to go and you are all invited when I return there.
We took a cab back to Kigambone and it was like being in a different place. We knew some Swahili at that point and were saying hi to everyone. People were so nice. We had such a great experience we weren�t scared of the looks anymore. We were excited to talk to people. We shopped, bought many really pretty skirts (I�ll share, mommy.)
That night we took Zakia and her husband to dinner. It was nice to spend some time with them. They live in the �city center� section of Dar Es Salaam.
Day 4- Back on the ferry�back to Kigambone. Shaban offered to take us to an orphanage, so we went back. It turned out all of the children were in school, so we did some shopping. One our way back to the ferry this man approached me. He came about 3 inches from my face and started screaming in Swahili. I knew he wasn�t mad. He kept smiling. I asked Shaban what was going on. This man was really causing a scene. He was telling me how beautiful I was and asking me to marry him. It was so funny. He was really screaming. When I get home I�ll do the impression. I laughed for about a 1?2 hour. By the way �toto� means beautiful in Swahili.
Ebony wood carvings are big here and my roommates had gone on the first day to buy things. I knew what I wanted so I was in and out of the market quickly. While we were there the girls ran into Doreen, a friend they had met on the first day while I was at the Holiday Inn. She hung out with us for the rest of the day. It was fun. We did lunch and some more shopping.
That night we went to a concert with two professors. It was a famous band in Tanzania, Double M Sound. It was fun. The dancers were like acrobats. So cool.
Day 5- Today we decided to spend the day on this deserted island with Doreen and her friend Ursula. We got on this boat straight out of pirates of the Caribbean. It broke 3 times on our way to the island. The island was nice. I snorkeled for a bit. We had dinner and some Kilimanjaro beers (they�re great) and headed back to the boat.
We went back to the boat to listen to everyone�s safari story. I hope that people don�t forget that there is more to Africa than the animals. I�ll bet giraffes were cool, but I�m willing to bet Mama Ria is a hell of a lot cooler. I am so happy for my experience in Tanzania. I have had several good conversations in each country, but this is the first place where I have made real connections. We cried when we left. It was an incredible 5 days in Dar Es Salaam.
Hope all is well at home.
Alyson
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Jamie [item 10]
Hi ~
About my safari!! I just got back tonight. It was an experience. The one down side was that it is late in dry season, and most of the cats have moved north to Serengeti, etc. But I saw almost everything else. Elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffalo (at a distance) wart hogs (Like Pumba in Lion King), meer cats (Timon), impalas (a breed of antelope), a lioness� head, and so many more. We left at about 6:30 in the morning the first day for an 8 hour drive to Arusha, and then we got off of our coach buses, and loaded up into safari jeeps for the last 2 hour stretch to our campsite. We got there, ate, and that was about it. I must say it was a little difficult to get to sleep that first night hearing bugs and everything. But we got up around 6:30 the next morning, had breakfast, and headed off to Tarangire National Park. It was about 10-15 minutes away from our campsite.
Right away we see two buffalo run across the road in front of us. By the time we got up to where they had crossed, they were too far away to get a decent picture, but it was really cool to see them. Then we saw a bunch of elephants. A herd of about 25-30. It was so cool to see them. They�re HUGE. And one of them just stopped right by the side of the road and ate some grass, and we were only about 20 feet away from him. But we eventually moved on, and were driving along, and this group of really funny looking birds was in the road. They were kind of blue-ish, built like a turkey, and had a yellow triangle on top of their heads. And instead of just moving to the side, they run in front of the van. Our driver is driving so slowly so that they will move, but they just run in front. And they can fly too. It was funny to watch them run. As we drive along the road, we see these things in the bushes and grass, and they�re warthogs. They are so ugly, they are cute. They run with their tails straight up in the air. I got a really cute picture of about three little baby warthogs crossing the road. Then we came across what seemed like a thousand baboons. They were crossing the road in front of us, and were not affected when we pulled up and just stopped. There were babies that were riding on the backs of their mothers. I was amazed at how many of them there were. So after they started to move away we left. We saw another jeep, and they had said that they just saw some lionesses. We followed them to where they were. You could just barely see the head of one. I got some pictures, but they are not the greatest. And unfortunately, that is the only encounter with cats that I had. It is kind of disappointing. But Kristin has some awesome pictures. She was up in Kenya. She has a male lion with a kill in its mouth. She has cheetahs eating an impala, and a whole pride of lions. I will definitely try and get some of her copies just so I can show the kids in Jamestown a lion, and although I didn�t see one up close, it would still be nice to have the picture. We saw giraffes too. They are so funny looking. We learned that they always travel in pairs. It was really cool how when you spotted one, there was always at least one more close by.
My days are starting to run together. On the first day for lunch we just met up at a campsite. We got the same boxed lunch for four days straight. It got a little old. Anyways, at our campsite, when we first got there, there were some baboons in the trees. A couple would try and sneak up, but you kick a little dirt at them and yell, and they would run away. But as more people came, and more lunches were being distributed, the baboons got braver. And some people are just stupid and leave there lunches just sitting there. We were doing fine until this big guy came along. He had to be about three feet tall. We tried to scare him away but he just charged, and since it was about three girls trying to scare him away, we just screamed and scattered. Needless to say he got about three bananas. I couldn�t get over how aggressive they were. Some even came up and opened the lid of people�s boxes to get at the food. They are very smart. The first day afternoon was soooooo hot. We had rations of water � two bottles and then your choice between water, or a soda. At least that was how it was supposed to work. But our driver didn�t get a cooler, so we had no water on our drive, and then when we got back to the camp we didn�t get our third choice of whatever. But because it was so hot, they made water free that first night. But it was a little too late because we had about 2-3 people get heat stroke to the point where they were throwing up. But in general things were good.
The campsite itself was interesting. It was just a bunch of tents ranging in sizes set up. You just picked one on a first come, first serve basis. Luckily I was one of the first there. The girl I roomed with is actually my neighbor here, her name is Laura. She is a sweetheart. The "bathrooms" ranged from two holes in the ground, and one stool that only a lunatic would sit on. I got lots of practice in the art of hovering.
The showers weren�t too bad. There were two in a brick building, and two in tents. I got a building one the first day, and a tent one the second day. The water pressure was hardly any, and the water was straight out of a lake, but it was warm, and with soap, it made you have the illusion of clean, until you got out, and had to spray yourself with bug spray. But I took two after we got back from our game drives. Two showers in four days. I was lucky though. Apparently, on the first day, a snake was in one of the tent showers. If that would have been me, I would have probably asked to leave. I couldn�t have handled that. The bugs were bad enough. They weren�t really scary, but just really annoying. On the game drives the flies were horrible, and seemed unaffected by bug spray � even the 100% DEET. And they bite too. I have a bunch of little fly bites. I don�t think I saw a single mosquito that whole time. And the last night, the gnats were horrible at dinner time. I was close to a lantern, and they had to turn off the lights they were getting so bad.
I would have to say that one of the best things about going on a camping safari was the bonfire, and stars. The stars were amazing. You could actually look up and see the Milky Way. I had never seen that many stars and they were so bright. It was so beautiful.
But overall, it was really cool. Even when we weren�t seeing animals, it was cool to know that I was on a safari in Africa. On our drive to Arusha on the last day, we left camp at about 6:15, and got the most beautiful sunrise. It was straight out of Lion King. I really hope that all my pictures turned out. I know that I can see them, but it�s so small, I just hope they turn out.
I don�t really know what else to say. I�m sure I am forgetting something, and will remember it as soon I send this. I think that is all.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
Love,
Jamie
I just figured I should add this in, because you will probably hear something about it if you read the message board. Apparently, on the second or third night that our ship was docked, a group of our crew went off the ship. They got a taxi, but the driver took them to this remote place, where they were held at gunpoint, and robbed. After this, they got a different taxi to bring them back to the ship, where an argument followed, and the crew members beat up the driver. The next night, there was another cruise ship docked here, and two of their crew members were robbed and had their throats slit, and died. This happened right outside the harbor area, along the port. When I got back, I was so happy that I had been on safari. There really wasn�t anything to do in the city, and it was just not a safe place for us to be. But I am fine, and safe, and had a wonderful experience on my safari.
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