Don't Pet the Lions

Favorite Mt. Kili moments:

Stargazing
Being above the clouds
Night Summit Climb
The Swedish and Irish couples

Sunday, August 20, 2006

The safari portion of my trip starts today. Our camp for tonight is at Snake Park. Yes, there are live snakes but they are in glass cases. Good thing because I don’t like snakes. One of the snakes shows a newspaper article of a guy who took a nap by a tree out in the wilderness and this type of snake ate him. Gross.

There are 8 in the safari group including myself. A married couple from Montreal, Canada (Gen and Mathiew), 3 women from Toronto, Canada (Jen, Janis and Ivana), a girl from New York (Nadia) and a lady from Australia (Maryn).

Song Quote of the day: “Everyone’s saying different things to me…wasting my time in the waiting line” Zero 7 – In the Waiting Line

Monday, August 21, 2006

No matter where you go in Africa, you are bound to see a broken down car. I was warned about this before I came here, so I was not surprised when I kept seeing cars off to the side of the road. No wonder things take twice as long. NO HURRY…In Africa (bumper sticker on one of my safari guides car)…couldn’t be truer.
Today was our first game drive in Lake Manyara. Lots of wildlife: tons of baboons, elephants (crossing the road right in front of you), giraffes, zebras, lots of birds. At one point we stopped and watched a bunch of peligans/stork flying over and around a bunch of zebras, buffalo and hippos across the river. At one point I couldn’t see the birds flying above because of the car top but you could see their shadows.
After the game viewing, we took a tour through the village of the camp we were staying at for the night. We saw rice fields, banana plants, walked through a market. I tried my hand at carving ebony. As you can see from the picture, I didn’t do so well.
Going on this tour showed us how people in Africa really live. Dirt roads, small homes, children running around, kids on bikes two times too big for them, the kids would follow us and ask for pens. At one point 2 little girls held my hands for a bit.
Song Quote for the day: “And I see no bravery, no bravery in your eyes anymore, only sadness.” James Blunt – No Bravery

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Today we drove to the infamous Serengeti National Park. It covers 14,763 sq. km., the park is roughly the size of Northern Ireland or Connecticut. The name Serengeti comes from the Maasai word “Sirenget” referring to “endless plain.”
Once we enter the park, the roads turn to dirt. This is what I was expecting all the roads in Africa to be.
I would be completely lost if I were driving out here. It reminds me of an episode of The Amazing Race (yes, a reality show), where 2 brothers are driving in Africa out in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road and they roll the car. The ride is bumpy,dusty, and uncomfortable.
Before we reach the gates of Serengeti, we stop at the Olduvai Gorge. This historical site is famed for the discovery of 3.5 million year-old fossil fragments of an early human civilization.
Before arriving at our camp for the night, we see a leopard about 50 yards away. It stands on a mount looking in each direction.
The sunset tonight was unbelievable. One I have always imagined the sunsets to be like in Africa. The colors are a reddish-orange glow that is indescribably and amazing.
Song Quote for the day: “There’s no stopping curiosity….who’s to say I can’t do everything, well I can try…things aren’t always just what they seem.” Jack Johnson – Song Upside Down

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

The pace of the safari is much more slow paced then the Mt. Kili climb. On the climb, our guide has up early, eat breakfast and on the trail fast. We seemed to always be the first group out of camp.
On the safari we eat later and are not in a rush.
Today we got up early to go on a game drive before breakfast. We got our first glance of a Cheetah. We watched it walk across the plain and we got in a position to see it cross the road. It started running after a Giselle but didn’t try too hard to catch it. It was cool to see a Cheetah run.
After breakfast, we went out for another game drive. Our first sighting of lions. Lion in Swahili is Simba. I had quite a few Lion King movie moments....The Lion King had to be added to my list of movies to see or re-watch. We saw a male and lioness up close (at the most 20 feet). Lions are beautiful animals.
After lunch a little free time, we went out for another game drive. We went to the Hippo Pool which was disgusting and smelled pretty bad. Every time a hippo opened its mouth, it reminded me of the game “Hungry, Hungry Hippo.”
Song Quote of the Day: “Another dream to ashes and they all fall down.” Jason Mraz – Song Sleeping to Dream

Thursday, August 24, 2006

This morning’s game drive was awesome. We saw and watched a leopard in a tree eating its catch. Some sort of animal with antlers. As it ate, a hyena was below hoping that the leopard would drop a piece of meat. The hyena got lucky a couple of times. At one point, the leopard slowly made its way down the tree ,with his breakfast still in his mouth, trying his best not to drop any. In order to avoid the hyena from stealing his food, he jumps from the tree and runs, with the hyena following behind, to another tree to finish eating.
Earlier today we saw a male lion sitting quite far back. Male lions are massive, beautiful creatures.
Some Serengeti Park Facts:
-it would not be the same without the beautiful rock outcrops known as kopjes, from the Dutch meaning “Little Head.” These granite rocks are the result of cracking and erosion from exposure to sun, wind, and rain. They provide shelter and capture water for a wealth of wildlife and plants.
-Plant Wild Sisal (type of plant) is a strong rope with fibrous leaves
-The Sandpaper Tree is so rough, it is used for Makonde carvings, washing dishes and pots
-The white latex from the Candelabra Tree can cause blindness
-The Serengeti faces many threats to its survival. The most serious is poaching and the ever increasing demand for land to feed a large and growing human population.
-Words of a famous patron “Serengeti Shall Not Die.”

After lunch we headed to the Ngongoro Carter. Ngorongoro is an impressive 20 km wide volcanic crater with 600m walls.
Before reaching Ngorongoro we stopped to visit a Maasai village. The Maasai people wear bright colors, wear lots of jewelry (bracelets, necklaces, earrings, anklets), shave their heads (yes, even the women), eat only cows, goats, maize and drink milk.
To welcome us to their village, they performed a welcome dance which consisted of a lot of grunting, standing in a circle, jumping around and moving in single file line. This is done by the men only and then they take us into their village (before we were on the outside) and continue the ritual. The women stand in a semi circle and one or two come to the middle and jump around. They also do some chanting. The women have the tourist women dance with them. First, we are adorned with one of the native necklaces and hold our and which we do some jumping.
After this, we split into two groups and see their living conditions. They live in little huts that circle the outside of the main meeting grounds. The huts have no light except for a little from the natural light. There kitchen and beds are in a super tiny space. After 6 months, the men move to another village. They have big families; the chief of this particular village has 20 wives and twice as many children. The kids are beautiful and fun to watch. Can you tell that I like the little ones?! They are just too cute. I guess stealing an African kid would not be a good idea ;)
At 15, the males go to school to learn to become a Maasai warrior.
The women can marry as early as 14. The male must kill a lion before they can marry. However, I believe that it is against the law now to kill a lion.
They make lots of beaded jewelry and try to sell it to you. They are pushy (actually all the people in Africa are pushy) and it can get very overwhelming. They circle around you and even go as far as putting the bracelet on your wrist.
Personally, the Maasai people kind of scare me. What a weird lifestyle. They just seem to appear out of nowhere in the middle of nowhere.
Tonight’s accommodations will be at the Simba campsite which is a top the Ngorongoro Crater. Outstanding view but cold. Tonight as I was stargazing, the Southern Cross was pointed out to me. Pretty cool thing to see. The sky in Africa is so different because you see the stars quite clearly.
Song for the day: “His path was marked, By the stars in the Southern Hemisphere, And he walked his days, Under African skies” Paul Simon – Song Under African Skies

Friday, August 25, 2006

At 3:30 in the morning, I was startled awake by a man screaming. Apparently, an Eastern Forest Hog (Bush Pig) tried to get into someone’s tent because they had food in there, which the man claimed there wasn’t any food in there. We were warned not to leave any food in our tents. After that little middle of the night wake up call, I had a hard time getting back to sleep because I was a tad scared of a bush pig attacking my tent but there was also a lot of commotion going on outside the tent.
Every once in a while, there are dust storms which I saw a bunch in Serengeti in the distance. Sometimes they are small and sometimes they can be quite large. At lunch on Wednesday in Serengeti National Park, a small dust storm blew through out camp getting dust in our food and blowing a couple of our tents a few feet away from there original spots. Today at lunch, a larger one swept through our camp. Luckily, we were inside a concrete shelter. I saw it as it swept through blowing tents, and tarps away.
A couple of Zebra facts: zebra stand in the opposite direction next to each other so they have a 360 degree view of a potential attacker; young zebras are brown and white until adulthood.
Today was yet another awesome day of game viewing. Our last game viewing of the trip. Our game viewing was done down in the Ngorongoro Crater. We saw zebras and wildebeest bout 10-20 feet away. Saw hyenas and jackal fight over an animal which was most likely taken from a lion. There was not much left of the animal. The head and bloody carcass was about what was left. A hyena ran off with the head. I never thought that I would find joy out of watching animals eat another animal. I was pretty fascinated with it. Is that sick and wrong?.....don’t answer that.
A little farther down the road, we came across a lioness that was probably not happy because her food was stolen. All the animals surrounding the lioness were standing very still as she moved across the plain. Kind of an eerie sight. It was like they felt her presence.
After taking a short break by a lovely lake, we were heading back to camp and came across a bunch of male and female lions. There are no trees in the Ngorogono and the lions are always looking for shade so they were just lying down in the middle of the road in the shadows of the cars. At one point, a lioness laid right next to our car. Kind of crazy to think that I was so close to a lion. All I had to do was look over the side.
Our guides for the safari are cool (poa in Swahili). Their names are Mohammed, Rasidi and the cook Yusufu. Four of us have been riding in Rasidi’s car the whole time. It is green so we gave it the nickname “The Green Machine.” Probably the most uncomfortable ride on dirt road but the driver and company is much better which makes the ride fun. We dubbed Rasidi as our good luck charm. We would chant his name and pump our fists in hope of finding good wildlife. It seemed to help because we saw the big 5, which are buffalo, rhino, lion, elephant and leopard.
Song Quote for the day: “Cause they've never gone this long without a kill before” John Mayer Trio – Song Vultures

Saturday, August 26, 2006
Today was traveled to Marangu village. About a six hour drive. Once we arrive and set up camp, which is on the property of a nice hotel, we take a tour of the village. We pass through banana plants, coffee plants, and rice plants. Each family grows their own on their land.
The area takes us through some beautiful rainforest areas and down to a couple really pretty waterfalls.
The children were following us asking for pens and chocolate. We would take their pictures and then show them on the digital screen. They seemed to really enjoy that.
The area made me think of trekking in the Annapurna region in Nepal. The area in Nepal was green, lush and terraced hills with trails going from village to village.
I had a Utah moment today as I was walking through the village. The smell was reminding me of being up Millcreek Canyon at my cabin or just hiking, biking, hiking or trail running. I can’t wait to enjoy the cabin once I return to good ‘ol City of Salt.
The car washes in Africa are done on dirt roads which seems to defeat the purpose because it is bound to get dirty even before it leaves the car wash.
For our last safari dinner, we enjoyed some traditional Tanzania food. Peas with coconut and tomato sauce, spinach type dish, something that looked like and had the texture of mashed potatoes but had no taste. This is used more as a spoon to eat with a sauce type dishes. You roll a little in your right hand and with your thumb, make and impression and then scoop up food.
After dinner a few of us went to the bar in the hotel, talking and listening to Bongo Flava (African Music). The workers in the bar were dancing. One guy was really getting into it. I got up and danced to a couple of songs. Something to do when you are in Africa in a hotel bar that you most likely won’t visit again. Always best to Seize the Day!
Song Quote of the day: “The more we take, the less we become. The fortune of one man, means less for some.” Sarah McLachlan – Song The World is on Fire