Final safari recollections and reflections.

We have moved on to the second stage of our travels.  We are now in Capetown for our last five days of the trip. Before I begin to tell you about our adventures here, let me try to catch up with some more recollections about our time in Tanzania on safari.

And to apologize if this account is somewhat repetitive or disjointed. A few reasons - I had little time to write because our time was pretty filled with activities plus I unintentionally forgot to save a couple of posts and had to recreate them. And so much has happened that has been hard to recollect and record everything. 

First let me recount the places we stayed.

Our first stop was at the Serena Hotel in Arusha which was actually about 10 miles outside the city. We drove down a dusty and bumpy road to arrive there. Once there we went thru a gate with a guard (all the lodges are gated and guarded) to a lush and elegantly rustic lodging .

We stayed there two nights. The rest of the group came a day later. We had  come a day early to relax and recover from the long trip before beginning the safari.

The next two nights were at the lodge in Tarangire National Park, where we saw a wealth of wildlife. (see previous posts.) That lodge consisted of tent accomodations.  To us it was what we would consider glamping. But it's all a matter of perspective. One of our group members was so excited because she'd never been camping before. She seemed relieved that she'd made it and enjoyed it.  The tents had several spaces, bedroom, toilet, and shower room.  The exterior and interior walls were canvas. There was running water. The toilet worked like one at home or a hotel. The shower was pretty funny, consisting of an attendant who came at our request with a bucket of hot  water and stood on outside on a ladder to mix it with the cold. It was quite a decent shower. All the comforts of home.

The meals there and everywhere were sumptuous with a great variety. My only complaint is that there was too much food. I constantly wondered what the staff thought about all the rich white foreigners and our consumption of goods and experiences.  Everyone was friendly and didnt seem servile, and yet... I hope they earn enough for their families to live a decent life. 

We returned to Arusha to meet up with the rest of the group. In the following days we stayed  the Ngorongoro Safari Lodge , the Serengetti  Serena Lodge,  the Ndutu Lodge, and   the Lake Manyara. We went on game drives at each and between destinations. On our drive between Ngorogoro and Ndutu we stopped at the Olduvai Gorge where Mary Leakey did much of her archeological research, from the 1930s up thru the 1980s finding some of the earliest evidence of humanity. She and her husband Louis had earlier worked in Kenya. 

All the lodges were beautiful and elegantly rustic, if that makes sense. They were constructed with a variety of local materials in quasi traditional style.  

Every day was an adventure. We never knew what sightings a day would bring. The long drives, through rough terrain at times, were never boring because we were always on the lookout for wildlife, and spotting a great variety and quantity every day. Although the sightings became common the experiences never felt commonplace. Each spotting of giraffes or zebras or baboons or wildebeests was a treat.  The baboons were often sitting in the middle of the road, totally nonchalant about our presence.  Once a little one climbed up on our truck and sat playing with the antenna.

We saw hordes of migrating wildebeests, close up and in an endless parade along the horizon. The were often accompanied by groups of zebras. Nixon explained that the wildebeests had good hearing and poor eyesight, the zebras were the opposite. So it was a symbiotic relationship. We saw pools of hippos, lions, cheetahs, and one elusive leopard lounging in a tree.

 I wouldn't be able to lists all the species of animals we saw, but here are some of the twenty types of antelopes found in the country that  we encountered- from the tiny dikdiks that look like miniature deer and are the size of a small to medium dogs, to the eland, the largest,  there were Thompsons and Grant's gazelles, impalas, topi,  and more. Other species included storks, flamingos,  blue balled monkeys, mongooses, and others that I have mentioned before.

The giraffes were without a doubt my favorite,  so elegant and beautiful poised against the landscape. And almost unearthly,  so unlike any other animal. It felt almost like a dream to be watching them.  The whole experience, in fact, seemed dreamlike,  so different from our normal reality. 

At our next to last stop, our group of nearly 40 ( not what we'd expected) including a school group,  split into several, some returning home, others going to places like a beach resort, a one- day gorilla trek in Uganda, and more. And us here to South Africa. 

The contrast between here and the safari trip is striking; one urban,  the other largely wilderness. We are here on our own compared to the large group. And we are here for five days in one place, compared to being almost constantly on the road.

The hotel here is great, funky and in a central location. It is called the Granddaddy.  Today is our second day.  We are about to head out on a ferry to Robbins Island where Nelson Mandela and many others were imprisoned. I will write more later. 

A Tower of Giraffes

Did you know that a group of giraffes is called a tower? Every animal,  it seems,  has a group name. Some make sense, some are whimsical,  and some seem strange. A group of crows, for instance, is called a murder.

 A tower of giraffes seems appropriate.  

Of all the African  animals, the one I wanted to see most were giraffes. I wasn't sure we would because they weren't mentioned in the literature for the trip. 

But we have seen them, many times often at quite close range.  Tower after tower of them. 

On our first day of the two day pre safari we were totally unprepared and astonished by the quantity and variety of wildlife we saw. There were zebras, giraffes, a variety of antelope species,  and perhaps more impressive of all, a herd of elephants that we saw first from a distance and then later, they came in a procession up the hill to right beside our land cruisers. They were literally close enough for us to touch them, although we didn't.

The thirteen of us agreed that nothing  could top this first day, and perhaps we were right. But no day has been a disappointment.  We have seen more and more species, and more of each one, every day. On the second morning we saw a pair of lions close up, just at the edge of the path. They seemed as docile as pet cats, lounging and not a bit concerned by our presence.  We sat watching for quite a while. it could have been fifteen minutes,  or a half hour. I lost all sense of time. Eventually  the male stood up, and mounted the female. The mating took perhaps five seconds.   Our guide Nixon (yeah he was born during Nixon's presidency) said they would mate repeatedly, every half hour or so. So we watched and waited until they did it again. Easy to miss if you had not been watching closely.

We've seen lions a few times since then, at times a pair,  other times a couple of males. Each time they have been equally languid, although they probably wouldn't be if we ventured beyond our vehicles. We wonder if they have just become used to humans.  

Where the wildebeests roam, and the zebra and the antelope play

The wildlife we have seen on the trip have been incredible, far beyond my expectations. I tried to keep my expectations low, or not to really have any expectations. But if I thought about it I would have said we'd maybe see wildlife from time to time from a distance, maybe just from a distance.

Instead it's been almost constant sightings, of individual and group sightings. We've seen more species than I can remember. But I will try to list as many as I can. There have been lions, cheetahs, elephants,  giraffes,  warthogs, antelopes, baboons, rhinos, storms, wildebeests, hippos, hyenas, and ostriches , jackals, and more. There are 20 species of antelope in the country of which we have seen about a half dozen. Not sure I could name them all, quite sure I could recognize them all.

Yesterday we saw our first kill. We didnt actually see the animal being killed,, but the immediate aftermath was impressive enough.  First  we saw a heetah, then two more.  We later found out that they were three males known to the rangers and referred to as the three brothers. We could see blood on their faces. Then we saw the victim, a wildebeest,  although unrecognizable as one. We could see the ribcage and some of the innards. A black backed jackal slowly approached, taking its time, cautious.  It then took its time picking the parts it wanted.

Meanwhile an eagle circled overhead. More big birds approached, vultures and storks, more and more of them. The birds waited their turn patiently, while the jackal continued to pick at the carcass. When it had its fill the jackal moved off and the vultures moved in. In turn, the storks waited until the vultures were finished. The storks attacked the wildebeests' intestines with a couple each pulling on an end, stretching it out between them. It was almost comical to watch, but also rather unsettling to the stomach. 

I will continue with account tomorrow.

Into Africa

We left Boston on a Monday night, flying to Amsterdam and then Kilamangaro airport in Arusha, Tanzania. We arrived the following evening, with a seven hour time difference ahead of home. 

At the Arusha Serena hotel, they served us a full meal even though it was about 11pm. And I do mean full.  

Our material for the trip told us to watch The Lion King movie, which seemed a bit silly to us. We watched a documentary and a drama set in Tanzania instead. 

But on the plane both the original movie and the more recent sequel, both animated, were offered. So I watched a bit of each, about 15 minutes of each film. That was enough. Then I switched to a movie about Temple Grandin I'd always wanted to watch. 

They two Disney films were entertaining, and reintroduced me to several Swahili words  (ie Hakuna Matata, which they really do say.) And Simba, Pumba, and a few other animal names. And the music for the original was by Elton John, and by Lin Manuel Miranda for the new prequel. But I didn't watch enough to hear much of the music.

Our tour leader, Dolly, had also suggested some books. One was by Sy Montgomery, a prolific nature writer. We'd read several of her other books, including the one about the pink dolphins of the Amazon. She had actually stayed at Amazon lodge we'd stayed at when we went to meet Carolina's birth family. And of course knew Dolly and Paul Beaver, owners of Amazonia tours. And it's Dolly who is now leading our group here to Africa. 

Sy Montgomery's book was about the great migration of the wildebeests, which happens twice yearly. We aren't here for the migration, but have seen many of the animals in the last few days, both afar and upclose. 

We bought several other books with a Tanzania theme, one historical novel about the Leakey's and their research. We are going to the Ulduvai site and museum tomorrow, where the bones of Lucy were found, and why Tanzania is called the cradle of civilization. 

And also bought Hemingway's short story The Snows of Kilimanjaro, which I probably read in high school but haven't yet read here. 

Several of the folks in our group have been to the Amazon lodges, and that is what led them to this trip, like us.  One, Shannon, went there to work with Dolly, helping the villagers with health care and education in the same village where we went with Dolly to meet the basketmakers and buy some of their wares. 

There were thirteen of us on the pre trip to Tangire, in two Toyota Landcruisers with a guide each. 

After those three days, a number of others joined us, including a school group with about 14, half students and half parents. Together we have now become a group of 36 plus seven guides and Dolly, a much larger group than we had expected.  We weren't thrilled about being part of such a large group, unexpectedly. But everyone is nice and it's kind of interesting to have the teens along. The school is in Tampa and is where Dolly and Paul's daughter attended, and is how the school began these trips. They actually do three trips a year, to different places, all of which are optional to both kids and parents. I'll stop here and continue in a new blog entry.

The pre- Safari Safari

 We met the first two members of the group the first night, Cathy and Susan. The next arrived the following night and we met them at breakfast. 

We'd deliberately come a day early to acclimate to the time change and rest before starting the safari.  That first night, we arrived close to midnight, and to our surprise were served a complete dinner. We chose parrotfish, and also had cream of cauliflour soup, and a flan for dessert. All was delicious. 

The next day we hired a driver and guide to take us to the local twice weekly market. We've been to many markets in many countries. This one was quite expansive, with largely produce, of which there was an incredible variety. We didn't see any other foreigners, nor were there many people buying things. It made us wonder what the vendors did with all the produce they didn't sell. Many came in by bus from outlying areas, and I also wondered how they were able to carry all that they sold. The great majority were women, some with young children who might have been their grandchildren.

The piles of produce were beautifully arranged in small piles, which Loring thought were arranged in advance to be a certain weight. We saw carrots, melons, many kinds of beans, much more.  I noticed thin green beans, even thinneer than the wonderful French haricots vert, and asked if I could try one. Our guide looked puzzled when I bit into it, astonished that we would eat them raw.  I didn't try to explain what veggies and dips were, but Loring explained that we often ate a lot of them when we were preparing to cook them. I wonder if he will try at home. Probably not. 

There were other areas of the market that sold clothing, and some that had shoes, both new ones and used. They were also artfully arranged.

One thing I didn't see were small restaurantas within the market for the vendors and locals and anyone else. We have seen them in many places in the past, but I didn't notice any here. 

Throughout the market people were friendly and said "Jambo" which means hello.  I knew that, probably the only word in Swahili that I knew, because years ago, when I was managing a children's bookstore, we had a book titled "Jambo Means Hello." Funny the things that stick in one's mind. 

The breakfasts here have been delicious and copious, at both places we've stayed. We've hardly needed lunches. But we were served them, boxed lunches with more than I could eat. I am still full from today's lunch, and it's almost time for supper. The lunches have been different each day, one day a beef stew with rice, plus fruit, juice, chips, chocolate bars, more. Another spaghetti with sauce, with as many accoutrements, and one day sandwiches with a  good filling that I couldn't place. 

Each day we set off at 8am after breakfast, and the first day drove to Tangire National Park, where we stayed two nights in a lodge, in tents. The tents were quite fancy, with bedroom and bathroom, and shower, and electricity. To us it seemed like glamping. But one of our fellow travellers was very excited because she had never slept in a tent before.

 The shower was the most interesting part. We each had a helper, a young man who brought hot water to mix with the cold when we asked him to. He stood outside the tent and hoisted up the bucket with a pulley. It was actually quite a good shower, strong and a perfect temperature. 

At night the men escorted us to our tents after dinner. They were pretty spread out, you couldn't see one from another, or hear others.

The first night two of our fellow travellers camae to dinner asking who was in tent !2. That was us. They said there had been a lion right outside our tent. But we'd already been up to dinner and didn't see it. But another couple came up rather late, and explained that the lion had been sitting  calmly outside their tent for almost an hour, and they sat there watching it until it moved along. 

Too bad we missed it. But that doesn't mean we missed seeing wildlife close up. We had an incredible first day, beyond anyone's expectations. I will stop here and describe it in the next post, because it's almost time for dinner. It's also time for Dolly to arrive to join us, along with the rest of the group. 

And onto Africa

 We left Boston five days ago(I think) on route to Kilamanjaro airport in Tanzania. 

The flights went smoothly, six hours the first flight, a 2 hour layover in Amsterdam, and about nine hours to Tanzania. 

Dolly and Paul Beaver had urged us to watch the Lion King before coming, which seemed rather comical to us.  Hakuna Matata? We didn't watch it at home, but it was available on our flight, not just the original one, but a more recent one with music by Lin Manuel Miranda and voices including  Seth Rogen, Beyonce, and also her 14 year old daughter. I watched about fifteen minutes of each. That was plenty.  The second one had much more sophisticated animation, of course. 

They had also suggested several books, including Sy Montgomery's book about the great migration of wildebeests, which we aren't going to see. Wrong time of year. 

You may be familiar with some of Sy Montgomery's books or her regular appearances on Boston Public Radio with Eagen and Broude. We first encountered her writing on our trip to the Amazon, about six years ago. Her book about the pink dolphins was at the lodge, and I read it. We met her later on at a book signing, told her about our Peru connection. She had stayed at the Amazonia lodge also, and knew Dolly and Paul. 

But we have seen an incredible amount of wildlife in the last three days, on our pre-safari safari with some of the group we'll now be travelling with . There have been thirteen of us so far, plus our two guides, in two vehicles. 

Paul is the founder of Amazonia and the lodges, and Dolly is his wife, and is Peruvian. We had met Dolly in Peru, and went with her to purchase baskets from a women's collective of artisans, which she had created.  She also founded Angels of the Amazon which is supporting the same village by building two schools, providing Christmas gifts for the children,  and more. 

One of the women on our current trip has done volunteer work with Dolly and the Angels of the Amazon, and has been there twice. Anothe couple has stayed at one of the lodges as well. It's an interesting group of people. About half are from the West, California, Arizona, maybe another state as well. The other half of us are from the Boston area, two couples who know each other well, and us. Coincidentally, the Easterners all wound up in one vehicle, and the Westerners in the other. But we all spend time together, at the lodges, at lunch and dinner, etc.

We will meet up with Dolly and the rest of the group tonight, at the Arusha Serena Hotel, which is sort of our home base. We stayed here the first two nights, back again now, and back once more at the end of our trip.

Jambo Means Hello

Jambo is the first word I knew in Swahili from many years ago in my children's book selling days. There is a book with that title, Jambo Means Hello. More recently I learned a few other words, basically names of animals from The Lion King. 

I have to mention that despite my slightly disparaging attitude toward the Disney movies, I thought the Lion King play was one of the most spectacular and creative Broadway shows I've ever seen, one on the short list of plays I'd consider seeing again. 

Now we've learned caribu (not sure of the spelling)  which means welcome, and  the response asante sana, which means thank you very much. Caribu means both welcome and you're welcome, which means they say it a lot, in a way that's different from the way we do. 

The staff at the hotels here are friendly and gracious, although a little unctious. Not sure how much that's the culture, and how much it's because the hotels are pretty fancy. The servers, for instance, spread the cloth napkins on the women's laps when we sit down to meals. (But not the mens'!) The staff at the hotels are constantly asking how we are, is everything fine, etc. which is kind of charming.

The meals are delicious and copious, a combination of local and more international dishes. A few examples: coconut curry with peas, barbequed beef skewers, fish stew,  sweet potato greens (much like spinach.) A wealth of choices at each meal. A different creamed vegetable soup every night. I could write an entire entry just about the food, but there's so much more to tell. And this is, after all, a safari.