Blogs from Lake Eyasi, North, Tanzania, Africa
October 14th 2010
Wake up time was at 5:30 a.m., because we were scheduled to do something few tourists have done. We picked up a local guide named John who directed us to an area where the Hadzabe tribe, also known as Bushmen, were temporarily camped. This is a small tribe who speak a click language, have no homes, and are nomads. John went into the brush and found them sleeping under some bushes. When we reached them they were dressed in skins and sitting around a fire straightening their arrows. They knew we were coming, so they put on some shorts that had been provided to them by the cultural visits group that lined this up for us. They live on wild meat that they hunt and the nuts and berries that the women find. We were there ... read more
October 12th 2010
Day 2 After breakfast we continued to see animals as we drove back through Tarangire on our way north. There are a few paved roads leaving the town of Arusha, but most of the roads are dirt paths. This was the end of the dry season, so everything was dry, and clouds of dust from other safari vehicles caused us to feel like we had sand in our teeth! By now we were getting to know Francis and we realized he was going to make our trip wonderful! He is from Arusha, is 27 years old, has a wife and one year old daughter. His parents realized the importance of education, so they made sure he was able to attend school and become a tour guide. He speaks Swahili, Spanish, and English, and he has a ... read more
September 25th 2008
17/09/08 - 19/09/09 We were up at 5am this morning with a cup of tea and half a banana. We visiting the Hadzabe tribe who are hunters and gathers, and we were lucky enough to be going hunting with them. The Hadzabe tribe is apprx 300years old and numbers only around 2000 tribesman and women within the area. Their numbers are decreasing due to inter family marriage and pregnancies, there is a large number of babies being still born or dying of complicated birth defects due to the small gene pool. We were greeted by the all the tribe members of this this area, and soon found ourselves hunting with 5 of the younger boys of the tribe. They use bows and arrows to hunt with, speak a language simular to the click click speak of ... read more
April 2nd 2007
After our less than successful search for the hunters of Kondoa, we set out yesterday morning from Arusha to Lake Eyasi. And this time we had partners in crime. Our total cast included Chris Piley and Bea (from Bush2Beach Safaris) and a new addition: Our friend Eliza and her Masai boyfriend Lengolin. (Eliza has just moved to Tanzania to live with Lengolin.) The road to Eyasi is not nearly as long as the road to Kondoa and, thankfully, significantly better quality. Our arrival at Lake Eyasi was at dusk so we set up camp in the near dark. The full moon - which marked exactly one lunar month since we stood at the top of Kilimanjaro - provided some extra light. The campsite is situated at the top of a small field that begins where ... read more
November 15th 2006
Lake Eyasi is one of a series of salt lakes near the Ngorogoro highlands. The plan was to camp near the lake and visit the Hadzabe tribe, a group of people culturally similar to the San Bushman. Our drive took us through some rough roads, which had James wishing (for the twentieth time) that he had brought his mountain bike. The campsite was fairly basic, but instead of bugs flying onto our plates, we had monkeys jumping onto our tent. Once again, camp was set up, we had lunch, then we set off to locate the Hadzabe. Our guide/translator was from the nearby Datoga village and he trades with the Hadzabe tribe so speaks their language. We drove for half an hour to the valley where the Hadzabe live. They are nomadic so do move around, ... read more
Day 4 The paradise of Lake Eyasi, Tanzania
Published: January 24th 2006Africa » Tanzania » North » Lake Eyasi
February 6th 2005
Sunday 6th February. Anyone who has stayed in a camp is aware of 'early morning tea'. This is a wake-up call before dawn, for people wanting to go on a morning drive in the park. This morning we got up before we were able to get early morning tea, which could not be served earlier than 6 am. We had our alarm clocks on for 5.40am. It turned out to be only us four adults going, as Harriet's youngsters thought there were too few animals around to warrant getting up at that un-godly hour, and of my two one was ill and the other impossible to wake! Imagine if you will getting dressed in the cold morning, needing a torch to get to the car, shivering and trying not to make any noise as all sound ... read more
