Tanzania Safari

Tanzania Safari - June 25-July 4, 2008





On our third day, we looked out across the Serengeti with our heads on a swivel. Our main mission was to find the elusive leopard. This is the mission of many who go on safari because the leopard's numbers are gradually dwindling and they live very secluded lives. Mostly resting and watching from the strong branches of the tallest trees, the leopards forced me to look in every detail of every tree we passed for the first time in my life. Luckily, there aren't too many trees in the Serengeti.

And instead of the triumph of a leopard on a far off branch, the keen eyes of our Kenyan guide (Francis) spotted a line of ten 4x4's a few hundred meters down the dirt road. As we approached, the sight of a large male lion lounging next to the road made our hearts and cameras leap. But across the road was an even better sight - straight out of Animal Planet.

Two female lions had killed an eland (kind of a large antelope) and were feeding on it literally right on the side of the road. Francis estimated it had been killed 30 minutes before, so if we had been in this spot then we could have witnessed the chase and eventual kill. Now the male lion had eaten his fill and was happily snoozing while the females get the second round, even though they did all the work!


I realized as we were witnessing this grotesque and beautiful scene that the tourists and trucks have become part of the ecosystem in the Serengeti and the protected land that covers 3/4 of Tanzania. The only reason these animals can still exist here is because of the safaris. White people have become part of the daily life, just like the local tribes that have mixed with the animals for centuries.

These lions went on with their feeding under the click of 50 cameras, and didn't seem to bat an eye at our presence. And apparently an hour or so later, a pack of hyenas would gather and scare off the lions to take over on the eland. Soon after, the jackals would come and subserviently hang around the stronger hyenas hoping to get a few scraps. Then, not long after, the vultures that had been waiting patiently in the trees around the site would clean up what was left - actually a sizeable portion as apparently vultures eat up to 75% of the carcass - not the tasty bits though! And so Elton John's circle of life continues. Seeing it first hand definitely made me happy to be looking down on it from the protection of our massive Mercedes truck.


Safari is such an unusual experience, so it's hard to think of the best way to cover everything. From a logistical standpoint, Tom and I booked this a few months ago through a good tour company called Intrepid. We met our group in the Northern Tanzanian city of Arusha, then traveled with the 5 other clients and our mostly Kenyan crew (one guide, two cooks, and two drivers who were training) east to the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater, and Terengeri, before finishing across the Kenyan border in Nairobi. We did a "tented safari", meaning that the crew set up our 2-person tents for us in each campsite (with a bit of help from me and Tom when we could). There were toilets and showers at all sites, though rarely hot water. Our cook (Susan) made mostly rice and meat that was actually quite good for what she had to work with.

One of the biggest realizations for me came just after the sun set and we were camping in the Serengeti. All around were the tall, golden grasses you find throughout this region. As the multitude of stars began to appear, our guide lit a small fire and emphasized the importance of heading to the toilet at night with a flashlight and a buddy. If there is a pack of hyenas and they think you are a threat, you are in big trouble. Francis told us that they've learned to attach their prey from the "most sensitive areas first" - the balls. In doing this, they will pull out the intestines, liver, kidney, etc. "And hyenas never miss their bite." Yikes.


At this point, looking up on a million diamond stars in the sky, I truly felt the magnitude of where we were. I could feel the place they call a "sea on land" all around me. Despite all the modern life I'd known, this place was wild beyond imagination. There was no question that if I was left here somehow and no one came, that it wouldn't be long before I went from being at the top of the food chain to the bottom. It felt immense.


I'll Never Be A Masai

Two days later, we were back on the road to the Ngorongoro Crater, and agreed to the option of stopping at a Masai village. Tome and I were a bit weary after our impressions of the young Masai men in Zanzibar, but it turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip.

The Masai are a nomadic tribe, mostly living in Northern Tanzania and Southern Kenya. They are easily distinguished by their bright red robes, which has worked wonders for their branding. They traditionally have some cattle, which they bring to a good grazing spot and set up mud, stick, and dung huts until it is time to move to the next place several months later, leaving the huts in tact for future tribes to use if they can.

Upon arrival, our group (3 Americans, 3 Australians, 1 Algerian, and our Kenyan guide) paid our $25 entrance fee in dollars, as requested, and stood nervously near our truck as the tribe performed a chanting, stomping, flowing welcome dance. To us, it appeared to be more of a war dance, and their double bladed spears capable of hunting down lions were on prominent display.

We then went inside the village and split into groups of men and women. The men continued an energetic chant, this time it was a bit more jovial than the welcome performance. The classic Masai jumping then wowed us, and each of the guys in our group participated in a 3 jump sequence with a final stomp at the end. We didn't really understand it, but had fun along with them nonetheless. Leaping as high as I could and still looking up to the 5 foot Masai to my left made me wonder why the NBA scouts hadn't showed yet.

Afterwards, we toured the village and crouched low to enter a hut. There, the chief's son described the life of a Masai in patient, broken English, and we asked a few questions about school (they try to learn basic Swahili and English along with some math, but seems not much else) and their interactions with the Tanzanian government that I think were lost in translation. The strong odor in the hut and cramped space made me happy we decided not to take the other option of spending a night in a village - probably would have been the most difficult night of my life.


Next on our tour was the tiny school hut where excited children squealed at our arrival. Cleverly, they had a box requesting donations for the school and we all were compelled to give what we could to help. The children were more filthy than any we'd seen before and many looked seriously malnourished. We high fived the elated kids and made our way out for the spear throwing contest.


The contest was short. I started and they handed the double ended spear to me with a stern warning that both ends were very sharp, so I was to throw it very carefully. Not much more direction came than that aside from another warning now to throw it too far either, as some goats were grazing only about 25 feet away in the direction of the throw. So I stepped up with our crew and most of the Masai village looking on, gave it a reasonable effort, and it sort of flopped on the ground about 10 feet away. I definitely wasn't battling any lions in the near future.


But a gasp of the tribal men was followed by Tom being handed a stick to throw rather than a spear. Apparently the back end of my spear dipped during my throw, coming dangerously close to slicing open my whole forearm. The 50 mile race to the nearest Tanzanian hospital was averted and the Masai smartly thought it better not to press our luck again.

Safari Continues

For the next few days, we marveled at herds of zebras, wildebeasts, elephants, buffalo, and hippos lazing in the shallow pools.














The Ngorongoro Crater was my favorite as there were huge groups of animals and we had a great view of a pride of lions. Plus, rather than our massive, but cool, 21 person truck, we took small jeeps that made you feel like you were part of the action as you popped out of the top of the vehicle.








We never did find any leopards - the only animal of the Big 5 we missed - but the whole trip felt like a once in a lifetime experience that I won't soon forget. I seem to be collecting these on this trip and, feeling very fortunate, celebrated the 4th of July in a peaceful Nairobi with Cuban cigars, Irish whiskey, and Kenyan food from a local hotspot with a few other Americans we'd met in our hotel. A nice way to say goodbye to East Africa before flying up to Cairo the next day.

Zanzibar

Zanzibar - June 21-25

We arrived on the ferry to Zanzibar with nerves and excitement. I was greatly looking forward to seeing the souk-like labyrinth of Stone Town and getting a few days to relax on the world famous white sand beaches. Tom chatted with a local reporter for much of the ferry ride over, so we had some good inside info on what to do.

A tall thin local guy followed us for a lot of the way to the hotel because he figured we'd get lost, ask for directions and then we'd have to tip. But my watch compass and reasonably good Rough Guide map showed us that by turning left at "The Big Tree" (actually a place on the map), we'd find it just down the way.

We were greeted pleasantly by the manager - a headscarf-clad woman with sharp eyes that softened when she gave out her occasional smile. The dominant feature of the rooms were "box nets" over the beds to keep away the mosquitoes and make each night feel like you were climbing into a crib.

The rest of Stone Town is crumbling, however. We did have some excellent, cheap food and greatly enjoyed the market, House of Wonders, and former slave market, but we had constant concern that the old, dilapidated buildings had seen their last summer and were going to topple all around us.

We spent our second day on a Spice Tour, which took us to a plantation of sorts and a beautiful, secluded beach. The spice tour really focused on the local fruit, which was outstanding, and walked us through several small villages where local kids ran up and held our hands. As usual, they were mostly just friendly and pleasant, but a few clever ones had made rings and bracelets out of thick grass and were trying to get us to buy them.

We then drove to the East coast of Zanzibar and arrived at our own "bungalow" camp in Paje. The place we settled on wasn't actually bungalows, but we bargained for a good price and were happy to have all the amenities we wanted - except for hot water, which became pretty common until we got out of East Africa.

For us, Paje was the closest thing to paradise. The beach was beautiful with perfect white sand that extended as far as the eye could see. The water was an aqua marine and the light color lasted far out into the ocean - owing to the knee deep depth that went out several hundred meters. This is terrific if you want to stay fairly close to your towel, but don't want to be crowded - just walk out a bit further and you can get your own personal space for relaxing and cooling down.

Despite the natural beauty and warm sun, some of Zanzibar didn't feel quite right. Seeing young Masai tribesmen on the beach was at first fascinating, but after they approach you for the 50th time attempting to sell their bracelets, necklaces, and occasionally hash, they lose their appeal. I have to say, however, that watching them pick up four Scandinavian girls was quite a sight. They seemed to be together for the whole three days after that. Apparently, it's not uncommon for white girls to come down and find themselves an 'African boyfriend' for their trip. You can read about one famous example in the book The White Masai, by Corinne Hofmann.

Something else I struggled to understand was why, despite all of Tanzania & Zanzibar's natural gifts, were the people so devastatingly poor. On a broad scale, it is much more significant than anything I've ever come across. How could a place that won it's independence from it's British & Arab occupiers in 1961 still look like it came out of images from America in 1861?

From what I can tell, the answer lies in a combination of factors. First, the population started from a collection of extremely rural and uneducated tribes. This meant there was no strong city-center location for educated people to gather and develop the economic/political structure. In fact, there was no educated people AT ALL - my "Rough Guide to Tanzania" tells me that at the time there were just "12 doctors and 120 university graduates" in the country. I can't think of another instance where there was such a shocking lack of education in a country, even amongst the elite class.

They were easily swept away first by the "blame the foreigners" mentality, especially on Zanzibar where in one night in 1964 twelve thousand Arabs and Indians were killed by rioting locals. After that, the ideals of socialism and a collectivist concept called "Ujamaa" brought many people out of rural living and together into somewhat planned towns, but the forced lifestyle was poorly implemented and the typically free and independent people didn't adjust well - leaving the economy in absolute shambles.

Many years of strife and violence has gradually given way to a more democratic coalition approach on Tanzania. It appears to be making some progress, but I've never seen a place that seems so raw. Opportunity appears to be around the corner, but it makes me nervous when the World Health Organization has one of the most prominent buildings in Dar Es Salaam.

Tanzania needs absolutely everything a place could need in terms of development, but its strongest selling point is still very strong - it is a tourist jackpot. The magnificent beaches of Zanzibar combined with probably the best safari location in the world make it one of those rare places that can offer everything in one neat package. I did my first scuba dive off the Zanzibari coast and it took my breath away. Add in a climb of Kilimanjaro, which climbers don't need oxygen or more than basic experience to do it, despite being Africa's highest mountain, and in a 3 week holiday you can tick off several items from your bucket list.

This in itself should breed stability and growth as Western people come to accept they'll have to travel a bit further to find places that haven't already been trampled by the boots of a billion tourists. Plus, assuming long-haul flights remain reasonably priced, the air travel to Tanzania continues to improve.

Finally, I honestly think things in Stone Town may be beyond repair. But I'm optimistic about people's ability to improve their lives, and even if it's not the same center of trading between East Africa and the Middle East/India it was 200 years ago, I think it will eventually grow into a new and wonderful place to see. If the WHO can help them clear out the malaria, there will be absolutely no reason not to.

Pics from Dar Es Salaam and Stone Town

Here is the view of Dar from our balcony I wrote about last blog post. It didn't look so scary in the morning!


Tom and I ducked into the back area of this stall to get away from the rain that came down while we were looking through the fish market in Dar. This guy was happy to help us out and pitch to us some of the craziest shells I've ever seen.


Tom at the National Museum in Dar. This garden was by far my favorite part. These little concrete seats were so cool....but overlooked basically nothing except the tree. Note the sticks on the left holding up the tin sheets they used for walls around the garden.


Picture #1 from a market in Dar. This market was set up in an old conference center building and was totally crazy because you kinda felt like you were walking into a rap concert but instead you get a lot of stalls like these. We walked upstairs and I shot this down on all the buckets one guy was selling.


Picture #2 from the market in Dar. These really cool bags were on sale in a few places, but we liked these best.


This is from a shop in Stone Town, Zanzibar. There are zillions of these little wooden figurines and of the pictures you see. Click to zoom in and note the cartoonish paintings in the middle. They are Tingatinga paintings that are especially from Tanzania and are very famous apparently. I thought they were cool, but liked the ones of the Masai a bit better personally.

I'm alive...and Dar Es Salaam

Apologies for not posting for a while. Tom and I have been in Tanzania for a while, and the internet access there is patchy at best. Plus we've just finished a 7 day safari - definitely no internet out in the Serengeti! We have made our way up to Cairo now, and things seem to be better already, so hopefully can be more consistent from here.

Dar Es Salaam - June 19-21, 2008

Tom and I arrived in the early evening in Dar, the largest city in Tanzania. We were feeling a bit nervous about arriving in Tanzania, as it's one of the poorest countries in the world, so after the second world comforts of South Africa, we knew that things in the third world were about to hit us pretty quickly. And at the start, we were definitely overwhelmed.

Stepping outside the baggage area of the airport, you are thrust into a barrage of helpful "friends" willing to provide you with everything you could imagine. They were pushy, but our strong declines of their offers kept them away pretty well. We changed money at a forex counter that had an uncomfortable lack of privacy from the prying eyes all around, and then went to the taxi stand in hops of not getting ripped off too bad.

Arriving at our hotel (after only getting moderately ripped off), we met Jignesh, the Indian manager who seemed out of place to us in this most African of cities. His assurances that our room was "first class all the way" became our motto for East Africa, as it was most definitely not first class in any way.

The room itself was the closest thing to prison that either of us had experienced. The concrete walls, dramatic with the complete lack of any attempt at decoration, was combined with a stark bathroom that looked like an occasional splash from the watering can in the corner was the only attempt to clean it.

One thing it did have, though, was a small balcony. From our third floor vantage point, we heard the call to prayer from the largest mosque in the city - our first of many that I'm expecting to hear as we continue to visit Muslim dominated countries. Looking out over the two streets within our view, we started to get a sense of the flow of the city, and built up a bit of courage to wander out for dinner.

Immediately upon leaving our hotel, we came across a local guy who seems to have duplicates in many parts of of Tanzania, and I'm sure the world. He basically just hangs around a street and strolls up to tourists. Initially, it's all friendly - where are you from? what brings you to Dar Es Salaam? etc. But quickly he is making his pitch to take you to some restaurant, bar, strip club, you name it. I assume he gets a small commission from the place for each tourist he brings in. If we wanted anything, he claimed to be the man to get it. Usually, the whisper of light drugs makes its way into the conversation somewhere....marijuana, hash, skank...all first class of course. But what really surprised me, was that when we left our restaurant, he was still there waiting for us and ran over, "Hey Americans, how was dinner?" This repeated four more times the next day! He certainly gets points for persistence, but we kept our cash tucked away safely in our money belts.

The man who did get our money, however, was in an entirely different category. Ali Baba is the owner of the Chef's Pride restaurant and a few others in Dar, and is a classic local hero. He made his way to every table, conversing with people in as many as six languages. Clearly, this guy who probably didn't even have a high school education was someone who knew what was what in Dar Es Salaam. We chatted with him for a while, about everything ranging from life in London to pretty American girls who come and volunteer, to the local "roaches" of the type I described above. He offered us three suggestions, all of which we took and made our experience significantly better.

First, he said we should switch out of the hotel we were in and go to the Starlight instead, where a bit of negotiation and the mention of Ali Baba scored us 10% off our 'fixed price' bill. This room was much less of a prison, but certainly not a palace. It was our first time we had a 'shower as whole bathroom experience' - which Tom, not yet acquainted to the third world, shied away from.

Ali Baba also described for us the Zanzibar situation. As I mentioned before, we'd been debating going there because the power had been out for 6 weeks. Can you imagine that? It would be like saying Oahu, Hawaii was without power, and the thousands of visitors who had trips planned would either just show up to a dark paradise island, or would simply cancel their trip (as many had - a major blow to an economy that could not afford it). But life still goes on and, lucky for us, the power was restored the day before we arrived by a combined Swedish and South African team. So, with very little effort, we took Ali Baba's second suggestion, and booked two nights in Stone Town on Zanzibar at the Pyramid Hotel, also one of his.

Finally, and most endearingly, he offered us a third suggestion for dinner that night. We thought this was fantastic because we were already standing in his restaurant chatting with him, and he was telling us about a local Lebanese place down the road rather than pushing us to stay there. A rare thing in a place like that. The hummus was cheap and the smooth I'd tasted, and the green apple tobacco sheesha was great after a long day of fighting life in the city.

Earlier that day, we were touring around Dar's National Museum (little more than some dusty, cobwebbed artifacts and photos) and the city's markets, and I stopped into a Vodacom store in the small business district. For less than 30 US cents, I bought my first "local SIM" card, something I'm expecting to do in several countries along the way. Of course, each minute costs a bit, but it worked straight away - one thing I think will actually be better outside of the first world, as even the poorest farmers here have cell phones.

An the next morning, feeling comfortable that our two days in Dar exposed us to much of what the city had to offer, we fought the 'friends' at the ferry port and got on the 2 hour ferry to Zanzibar, the exotic spice island that would soon capture our hearts.