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“We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals…For the animals shall not be measured by man…They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.”    

-Henry Beston The Outermost House

 

 

 

Safari Day 1

Travel from Moshi to Lake Manyara National Park

 

Breakfast at the hotel and while we were waiting for our safari guide/driver to arrive I introduced myself to another group heading out for safari.  They were part of an organization called Friends Together which is based in Florida and does HIV/AIDS work, including education, camps and various other activities.  They were visiting Tanzania as part vacation/part work – traveling to schools and orphanages delivering health care supplies and providing education.  We noticed their t shirts which had a picture of Kilimanjaro with the words “Steven Pickett Memorial Climb”.  Turns out Steve and his wife Kathy started Friends Together and Steve recently passed away.  On the group’s last trip to Tanzania, he had made it to the summit.  Now, they were back again in his memory.  Several of us bought hats and t shirts to contribute to their organization.  We would also end up bumping into them several times during the safari. 

 

Friends Together Group  (photo courtesy of M.Donoff)

link to their website

  

Our guide, Madil (a nickname – given name, Mohammed) arrived and we got settled in our “home” for the next few days, a large land cruiser, with a top that popped up for animal viewing.  It was relatively comfortable and just like students who settle into their favorite seats in the classroom, we did the same.  Marsh sat in front next to Madil, with Roger behind.  Jane sat behind Madil, I was behind her and Sharon and Mick shared the row behind me.  Our luggage fit in the very back.  Except for Mick and Sharon’s row, there was an aisle between the seats, so it was easy to get up and out.  Also had large seat pockets and bottle holders.  All the comforts J.  Madil uses the same vehicle for all his safaris – he had a great “bumpa sticka” (yes, it actually said that on the sticker!) posted above the windshield that said “Hakuna Matata”.  Roughly translated to “No Problem”, it’s OK, chill…  We all loved it and the “bumpa sticka” pronunciation became a running joke from then on.  Plus we learned another Swahili phrase!

 

 

 

 Life near Arusha; we stopped to pick up a part for the radio, photo taken out the window of our vehicle

 

We had a long drive ahead of us, first to and through Arusha and then to Lake Manyara National Park.  Outside of Arusha, we stopped at a large and rather touristy curio shop, which was also an official tanzanite dealer; the stones are beautiful.  We ate boxed lunches there and took advantage of their clean restrooms.  Our lunches were huge, chicken, bread, cake, fruit, candy bar etc.  We put all the extra food into 1 bag and Madil gave it to one of the Maasai boys that we saw later on the side of the road.  We would end up doing this each day.  During the safari, we would travel through areas where the Maasai live; the boys we saw were herding cattle or goats. 

 

 

 Power Shopping, Lunch, Restrooms

 

Open Market, Mto-wa-Mbu Village, near Lake Manyara

 

After lunch we drove to Manyara; the word Manyara means “nourishment for the soul”.  (I think the total drive from Moshi to Manyara was about 5 hours – long - but all on paved roads.)  At the park gate we stopped so that Madil could fill out paperwork for us to enter.  They had a small museum and an area to walk around. 

 

Sharon, checking out the exhibits

 

Then we headed out for our first game drive.  The first animals we saw were impalas, quickly followed by baboons, monkeys, hippos, elephants, many different birds, giraffes, gazelles.  Saw the actual lake from afar, it is covered with flamingos but we didn’t see this up close.  I was amazed at how many animals we saw and that many of them were so close to the roads.  We often stopped and watched an area for 15 or 20 minutes before moving on. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was not expecting to see so many animals so quickly; I thought there would be long periods of driving between sightings.  But that wasn’t the case at all, there are tons of animals in these parks and they were really fascinating to watch.  The baboons and monkeys were very playful and had some babies who were cute.  The elephants were busy eating and ignored us.  Madil would stop and let us watch and take photos; he also knew a LOT and answered all our questions.  He was constantly watching for and pointing out animals as we drove.  We were seeing so much that Mick started using a checklist in his guidebook to keep track.  The guides have radio contact with each other and there is constant chatter on the radio.  They share info and if it’s a “good” sighting the other drivers will show up in the area.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rookie rock climber - he made it up after several comical attempts and rolling falls!

 

We spent a couple of hours driving through Manyara before heading to our campsite for the night – Twiga Campground.  Twiga means “giraffe” and it was nice and grassy with a pool and bar area.  The showers were sketchy at best with not much hot water, so we mostly stayed grubby.  At the camp, we met up with our support crew, cook and driver, who drove a vehicle with the food and camping supplies.  Erastu was our excellent cook and Mzava was his driver plus took care of camp set up.  (Mzava also drove us down from the Mweka Gate on Kili.)

 

We sat outside for dinner, which started with soup and bread, followed by grilled meat and vegetable kabobs with rice.  Yum!  Fruit for dessert.  All the cooks in the campground share a communal cooking area and help each other out.  Everything is cooked over charcoal.  It looks chaotic but everyone gets fed!  Madil ate meals with us which was nice.  He is super friendly and personable.  His nickname has something to do with being a major partier!  Madil sets the schedule and lets the cook know what time to have meals ready.

 

We lingered outside after dinner, drinking marula (kind of like Bailey’s) which Marsh brought.  Then fairly early to bed, though not as early as on the mountain.  Our tents were canvas and very roomy – you can stand up in them.  Zara also supplied a thick comfortable sleeping mat.  The night was uneventful, we weren’t camped in the park so no animals were around!

 

Continue: Safari 2nd Day

 

 

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