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Published: June 28th 2011
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It seems that my travels in Tanzania coincidently have correlated with several of my pre-teaching work experiences. First, there was my Zanzibar Pan-Tropical Bistro gig. Now, having gone on safari with my mom, I am reminded of my first real job, a summer working at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo before heading off to college.
Specifically, I was assigned to the African Veldt section. One of my main responsibilities in said position was to assist with the Safari Ride, a set of electric safari jeeps that followed a track through an open area meant to simulate a savannah, replete with African animals wandering about. Most days that meant loading and unloading obnoxious kids who complained that they couldn’t actually drive the jeep (“Sorry, kid. They are automatic…"). But sometimes those of us who were rather low on the totem pole among the summer staff were sent out into the “veldt” with buckets, trowels, and…ostrich sticks. Our task: scrap tar off the Safari Ride’s track (while it was still in operation, mind you – “Daddy, daddy! Look at the funny animals! Haha!”) and, at the same time, keep the overly curious ostriches at bay. That was when I learned to respect
these 300lb birds with the brain the size of a walnut. (“Remember the stick! Those birds can disembowel you with one swipe! Have fun…”)
Flash forward almost two decades (*shudder*) and I am bumping across the REAL savannah in a REAL jeep (ok. Land Cruiser), spotting freely wandering animals in their natural habitats. Ostriches included.
And, the best part, I didn’t need an ostrich stick.
***
The plan was to arrive within a half hour of one another at Kilimanjaro International Airport, my flight coming from Zanzibar (via the craziness that is Dar es Salaam’s airport) and Mom’s arriving just a bit later from Amsterdam. Alas, due to the unexpected eruption of what had been assumed to be a dormant volcano in Eritrea, Mom arrived three hours late. Still, at least she made it…the first time we’ve been together in almost a year!
Our seven-day safari took us on a big loop through northern Tanzania, starting with Tarangire National Park, then Lake Manyara, and of course on to the famous Serengeti, and wrapping up in the Ngorongoro Crater. We “roughed” it, taking the camping option (no fancy tented lodges for us!), which ended up providing a
wealth of unexpected surprises.
During our first night in Tarangire, we were startled awake by a nearby rumble. Somehow I convinced myself that sound was a nocturnal wildebeest. In the morning, Mosses, our driver/guide, asked us: “Did you hear the lions last night?”
Lions. Ok.
The second night, as we sat down for dinner under the African stars, Mosses swept his flashlight out into the darkness – and we saw slithering towards us a five-foot long black spitting cobra. I guess it wanted to join our meal! If the lions weren’t enough reason to stay in our tent during the night, the snake solidified our resolve. And the fun didn’t stop there.
At some point, in the middle of the night, I awoke to the sound of crashing tree limbs. A small herd of elephants was munching its way through a nearby stand of acacias. I prayed “please don’t step on us, please don’t step on us!” Mom slept soundly through it all.
During our first night in the Serengeti, our camp was invaded by a pack of hyenas intent on ruffling through the leftovers outside the cooking pavilion, laughing loudly the whole time.
We also were visited by a friendly elephant on our last night on the rim of Ngorongoro, but this time in broad daylight. It calmly materialized out of the woods next to the pit toilets and stuck his trunk into the water tank. What’s a thirsty elephant to do?
***
I had, of course, expected to see animals on our safari. That’s sort of the main point of the endeavor. However, I was constantly amazed at the immediacy of it all. Not only the night time (and day time!) visitors to our camps, but even while we were out on game drives. The animals were completely unperturbed by our presence. We could have reached out and touched them (if we’d been stupid).
We were stared down, more than once, by bull elephants who could have overturned our vehicle with a simple toss of their tusks. Lions lounged in the shade beside our Land Cruiser, including a massive pride of 37 individuals. A decidedly not shy leopard and her cubs wandered around a Serengeti picnic-spot, pulling a recently killed impala (dinner!) into a nearby tree and then going for a drink ON the public washrooms. Herds of zebra and
wildebeest flowed around us in mind-boggling numbers (they were so ubiquitous that we almost got blasé about them…”Oh, there’s another zebra…”). Giraffes lazed alongside the road, casually reaching into the trees for an afternoon snack.
Many who go on safari aim to see the “big five” – elephants, buffalo, lions, leopards, and the elusive rhino. Well, we saw the “big five plus” – the “plus” being the cheetah (which we again saw up close and personal). Aren’t we good?
There were many others, of course. We tallied our sightings: 31 mammal species, 36 (at least!) birds, and a number of other “odds and ends” (such as our friend the cobra). I particularly was excited to spot a glimpse of a serval cat and add a few new-to-me species, such as the beautiful topi. I think I’m ruined for going to a zoo again…
But it wasn’t all about the animals. The landscapes we traversed were stunning, and remarkably varied for such a relatively small corner of Tanzania. Tarangire was largely open woodlands, studded with acacia and baobab. Lake Manyara, shadowed by the escarpment of the Rift Valley, was a mix of dense forest and Mars-like salinated plains
along the shores of the park’s namesake lake. The Seregenti, especially its vast southern grasslands, stretched, with a daunting emptiness, to the horizons. The Ngorongoro Crater was shrouded in lush cloud-fed vegetation, while the bottom of the crater offered a patchwork of grasslands and woods.
Even being the start of high season for Tanzanian safaris, it was easy to get “lost” in far corners of the parks where we often felt like the only human beings on earth. Which I love.
We also managed to fit in a little history, visiting the museum at Oldupai Gorge (known to most of the world as Olduvai due to the error of one earlier explorer). This was the stomping grounds of the indefatigable Leakeys , the desolate valley on the Serengeti plains that yielded some of the most important discoveries on human evolution, including the remains of Australopithicus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and even an early version of us – Homo sapiens. The museum also had a cast of the famous fossilized footprints of Laetoli, another site in the area. They evocatively preserve the forward – and upright – motion of our distant ancestors
***
On my last day
at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, I went to say goodbye to my favorite animal in the park, an old giraffe named Seymour (get it?). Seymour always kept himself aloof from the crowds, trying to hold on to some of his dignity. However, quite unexpectedly, when I went to the giraffe viewing platform, he walked over and bent his long neck towards me, nuzzling my palm. I was stunned, and elated. It was as if I had been blessed.
Leaving Africa felt like that. I have been blessed.
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niraj
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logistics?
Hi...loved reading this and looking at the pictures. Could you add some more details about what you did before getting there: 1) How did you decide to go to this particular place for a Safari. Many countries in Africa offer Safaris, why did you choose this one? 2) I am sure there are many operators which organize safaris in this particular park. What made you choose the one you went with? What is their website? It has long been a dream for me, but the expense, and the proliferation of choices have stumped me so far. Thanks! Niraj