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Mt. Kilimanjaro
View from Moshi HotelNormally when we talk about the ‘Big 5 in Africa’ we are speaking about the 5 most cherished animals to view on safari. These are: the lion, buffalo, elephant, rhinoceros and leopard. However, when I am speaking of the ‘Big 5’ for the purpose of this blog I am speaking about a recent visit from Jeannie’s sister Fran and her husband Jack. They arrived on March 24
th for a three week adventure. During that time they experienced what I am referring to as their ‘Big 5’; being safaris, experiencing life in the town of Dodoma (and Moshi), village visits, life at Msalato campus, and finally, a trip to Zanzibar. They experienced as much of Africa as they possibly could during their time with us and we would like to share Africa with you through their journey.
After landing at Kilimanjaro Airport, the first stop was Moshi where they got a chance to acclimatize to Africa and rest after their long flights from Calgary. As we picked them up at the airport in the evening, their first experience was driving on Tanzanian roads in the dark. It
Mountain Hikers
Climbing Kilimanjaro is a scary proposition as the roads are not well marked, the oncoming headlights are blinding and the number of people walking along the unlit road is unnerving.
During our time in Moshi, we enjoyed visiting the base camp at Mt. Kilimanjaro, having lunch at a coffee plantation and walking through the markets and craft shops in town. As lovely as Moshi is, it is still third world culture and many sections are representative of most of Tanzania.
After 3 days in Moshi we headed to Karatu to experience the first of the ‘big 5’, safaris. This would be our home base for the next 5 nights and from where we would access Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area and Lake Manyara National Park for our African safari adventure. We stayed at the beautiful Country Lodge with its white-washed semi-detached cottages which surround beautiful gardens centred by a refreshing swimming pool and where we would enjoy wonderful home cooked meals by the owner/chef Reggie.
The next morning we were picked up by our guide Stephen in his typical safari vehicle where we headed for Fran and Jack’s first safari at Ngorongoro Crater. This crater is an amazing
The Adventurers
An Eatery in Moshi natural wonder that was created long ago by a volcano collapsing into the centre of a mountain and forming a high rim that encircles the whole crater. It is an open plain with few trees but which is home to enumerable animals and birds. There are always several different species of animals within sight and quite a collection of unusual and colourful African birds. Jeannie and Rob were particularly pleased to encounter a total of 9 lions in this park in 3 different places, including a pack of 4 which were playfully fighting with one another. We also saw 4 of the big 5; lions, rhinos, buffalo, and elephants (no leopards), as well as wildebeest, gazelles, zebras, hippos, wart hogs, spotted hyenas, black backed jackals, baboons, and a total of 21 different bird species including ostrich and flamingos. Ngorongoro with its abundance of animals was definitely a good first safari for Fran and Jack.
The next day we visited Gibbs Farm, an amazing inn and coffee plantation up in the hills just outside of the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Here we enjoyed a guided tour of the property which includes a coffee plantation along with an amazing vegetable
A Tout Attack
Fran with Sales Boys garden that is specifically for their guests and which produces a healthy crop of every kind of vegetable imaginable. It also included a walk through the plantation’s own rain forest to a waterfall within the property.
On the third day our guide Stephen came to take us to Lake Manyara National Park which is much different than the open plains of Ngorongoro Crater. Its vegetation is more like a deep rain forest. Here we didn’t see as many different animals, but we did see giraffes that aren’t in the crater due to its lack of trees, and vervet monkeys. And we saw tons of elephants including a few within touching distance. What a thrill to see these magnificent creatures up close in their natural environment, here more than the other two parks because of the dense forest. For the most part they just ignore us, but if we give them our utmost respect by being still and quiet and waiting patiently; that’s when they dare to venture near and offer you the most awesome close-ups. Our biggest hope here in Manyara was to see lions in trees, but alas we ne’er did.
Our fourth day took us on
Lions
Lions at Ngorongoro an excursion back to the hills outside Ngorongoro Crater but still within the park boundaries for another walking safari through the rain forest to a magnificent waterfall and a huge elephant cave. The waterfall drops straight down 100 feet into a beautiful green gorge. Beyond that is this extensive cave that has been carved into the side of the mountain, mostly by elephants, but also other animals that require the nourishment of the minerals that are abundant in this particular section of earth. Our tour guide, named Gia (for Gabriel), who was a spry wisp of a man 70 years old and who has been a natural healer, was a wealth of information about the healing qualities of so many plants, and the habits of the animals and birds. His sense of humour and warmth made our walk so enjoyable. This trail is quite safe to walk during the day because the animals tend to pass this way during the night, however we did catch sight of a cape buffalo galloping up the hill just across the valley from us. We felt very safe with Gia though, because he had his umbrella with him (to protect us, of course).
Rhino
A Rare Sighting Finally, it was time to leave Karatu and head to our favourite park, Tarangire. However, during our stay at Karatu, we experienced a lot of rain, so much so, that the bridge at Mto wa Mbu (Stream of Mosquitos pronounced ‘umtoowombu’) through which we needed to pass, was covered with rocks from a mud slide. As a result we had to sit in our car for almost 4 hours in a long line of traffic while the town worked laboriously to remove enough rocks so we could all pass. That was a scary bumpy crossing with the river rushing right underneath us through the rocks. You’ll have to check out the pictures on this one. Our little Rav4 bounced right through.
We finally arrived at Tarangire in time for a delicious evening meal and then headed off to bed in our cozy tented bandas. Early the next day we began our safari this time in our Rav4, but not till we enjoyed a buffet breakfast of fruit, grains and a variety of hot dishes including a custom made omelet while you wait. There were lots of animals spread throughout the park, mostly elephants, but the highlight of this day
Cape Buffalo
Or African Buffalo was seeing a pride of 5 female lions meandering across the road directly behind the safari vehicle parked in front of us. Before they got to the road however, Rob couldn’t see them, and Jeannie kept pointing,’ there, there’. He was looking too far in the distance and when he finally saw them approaching, he very quickly rolled up his window. They were that close. It was quite astonishing when the third lion in the group who had a tracking device around her neck, decided to lie down and have a rest in the middle of the road. After a few minutes of realizing that the group had continued on, she got up and slowly ambled off. Though we missed seeing lions in trees at Manyara, this made up for it.
At the Tarangire Safari Lodge, the tented bandas are lined up along a high ridge overlooking the park with the large circular stone lodge in the centre housing the dining room and a very big lounge. In the evening, before dinner and before it gets too dark, you can sit out on a beautiful stone terrace and look out at the animals traversing the lower plain area. Because
Baboon
A Snooty Fellow the lodge is within the park, it is necessary to be escorted back to your banda after dark because the animals can come very close. This fact hit home next morning when, after we had breakfast and were packing up to leave, we were called out to witness a family of 8 lions walking away from us along the river at the bottom of the ravine directly below and to the right. The pride consisted of 5 females and 2 cubs, followed up a very large male. That made a total of 21 lions we had seen on this trip with Fran and Jack – and more than Rob and Jeannie had seen since they arrived in Tanzania.
That same morning, as we were leaving the lodge and driving out of the park, we experienced the most incredible sightings. The lodge is on a high ridge overlooking the park below, and the road leading out of the park runs back behind the lodge over a plateau. As we continued on that short drive out, we saw almost every animal we had seen the day before. It seemed as if they had all come out to say goodbye to Fran
Green Parrots
Also Called Lovebirds and Jack, and to us, knowing it was our last safari before leaving Tanzania.
After leaving Tarangire and our safari adventures behind, our drive back to Dodoma took us through some of the most beautiful scenery in the country through the lush Rift Valley. This valley covers a great swath of Tanzania and is visible for miles, with its mosaic design of crops in varying shades of green and its huge rock formations poking out here and there. Even though it takes 8 hours, it’s difficult to be bored with so much beautiful greenery.
The second of the ‘Big 5’ was experiencing the town of Dodoma and the surrounding area. Our home at Msalato is 11 km. north of Dodoma – 6 km is tarmac with many speed bumps and the other 4 is dirt with potholes. It is necessary to go into town at least once a week for certain supplies and to visit one of the very popular ATMs – a lifesaver for missionaries and visitors so far from home. Over the past six months most of the streets in town that were potholes of dirt have been paved and the town is looking
Gibbs Farm
Garden View quite smart. The streets are still narrow though and sometimes difficult to maneuver. Our first day back after being away 8 days, required us to head into town to shop and get money. This was where Fran and Jack could get an idea of the culture and the people in the town. It is quite different from Moshi, which being at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro and near the game parks, is more of a resort town.
One day Rob took Jack for a bike ride through the local villages and surrounding area. That provided another perspective of the culture and the people and a pretty good representation of real life as it is in most of Tanzania. One highlight was visiting the dormitories of Daniel’s kids. They live right beside their English speaking primary school called Bishop Stanway. Daniel’s kids are recipients of Reids’ African Mission who, as previously reported, provided the fence and gate for their compound and 5 new sets of bunk beds and bedding as well as books and games. As always, the children were happy to see us. Some of the students were doing their homework and as Jack took a closer look at
Waterfall
At Ngorongoro Park one student’s math note book, he was quite impressed to see her good results. Page after page was marked with ‘Excellent Work’. This student seemed particularly pleased to share her work with Jack, and as always, a number of the other students gathered around to share in the interaction.
Number three, was visits to the villages. On Saturday we headed to Lugala where Jeannie and Rob had been invited to review all the projects from the past partnerships with St. Philip’s Church and Ballantrae Public School back in Canada. When we arrived we were greeted at the pastor’s house - still in good shape - by Moses Mkasi and the new pastor, Michael. Moses is the headmaster at the primary school that partnered with Rob’s school six years ago.
After short introductions and a tour of the house, we were guided around the village to view the rest of the past projects. We started at the school and visited the two classrooms built with funding from BPS. These were still in good shape and used for students in standard (grade) 5 and 6. Our next stop was the dormitories and cafeteria. The dormitory is used by
Walking Guide Gia
At Ngorongoro Park students from neighbouring villages and generates some income for the village to be used to support future village projects. The cafeteria is in very good shape with tables and chairs available for small conferences, but is not used often because there is no outside washroom handy and the kitchen is not suitable for large groups. Next we visited the church and the adjoining church hall which is used for offices, meetings and Sunday school. These buildings have all held up well. From here we went to inspect one of the three wells that we also had installed. Unfortunately, although the wells are in good shape and surrounded by locked secure fencing, they were not working. It seems the water table has dried up from lack of rain over the past three years. This means that they now have to get their water from surrounding water holes that are not always very clean. From the pictures you can see the condition of the water that is being used for cooking and cleaning clothes, and the difficulty in extracting it. Of course Lugala, as in most villages in rural Tanzania, have no electricity either. Most cooking is done outdoors on a charcoal
cooker.
We concluded our tour with a lovely lunch at Pastor Michael’s home where he and Moses gave us a presentation of their plans for future projects at Lugala. We think Fran and Jack got a real opportunity to see the challenges of life here in this very difficult environment.
The next day, Sunday, we travelled to Peter’s village of Chikola. Peter’s wife Nelly lives and works at Msalato College and we took her with us. As it had been raining in this area for a few days, we were concerned about the condition of the road. Our fears were realized when we came across the first of three very muddy sections. At each section everyone got out of the car to determine the best way to get through the mud. Then we would all walk ahead through the mud and let Rob make a go with as little weight as possible in the car. It was a scary sight watching as Rob slide sideways and forward through the mud. At one point he got stuck in a ditch, but with a little back and forth he got out. We knew many people from Peter’s church were praying
Resting Lion
On Road at Tarangire for our safe arrival, especially Peter, who knew how bad the roads were. These kinds of road conditions are not unusual in the rainy season. But Jack and Fran were real troupers and never once suggested going back. This was all part of their African adventure. When we finally made it to Chikola, Peter greeted us without surprise, as he was confident we would make it.
The rest of the day Jack and Fran got to experience a typical four-hour Sunday church service with greetings, sermon, singing from at least 3 choirs and an added bonus of 64 baptisms. Fran took many photos with her new camera which was able to capture excellent close-up face pictures. After the service we went back to Peter’s for lunch and then it was time to say good-bye and begin our journey back home through the mud. However, the road had all day to dry so the return trip was a little easier. We know that Fran and Jack were pleased to have these rural village experiences to remember and ones that they would never get on a typical African holiday through a tour company.
Back at Msalato on Sunday, the students
Huge Elephant
Unusual Curved Tusks began returning from their holidays and Fran and Jack prepared for the fourth segment of their ‘Big 5’, the campus experience. Fran and Jack met, and got a chance to interact with many of the students and staff, and experience the college life at Msalato. One gentleman they met was our local beggar, Shamba. He travels throughout Msalato each day on his route visiting his clients and usually gets something to put in his bag of goodies at each stop. They visited Rob’s classroom and even joined in on the lesson that he was teaching. Later that evening there was a dinner for all staff to welcome back old friends Kate and Iri from New Zealand. Here Fran and Jack got a taste of better-than-rural local food – a schmorgasborg, in fact – and enjoyed meeting all the staff at Msalato along with their many introductions that are very popular with Tanzanians in their social get-togethers.
The last experience on their ‘Big 5’ was a trip to Zanzibar. We were able to organize a 5-day package tour for them which included a flight from Dodoma to Zanzibar and back to Dar es Salaam for their
Tarangire Park
View from Lodge Terrace final flight home. In Zanzibar they enjoyed staying at a lovely hotel in Stone Town with a dining room on the roof overlooking the ocean. Their package included a tour of Stone Town, a spice tour, a trip to Jozani Forest to see the rare colobus monkeys, a trip to the beach where they could see dolphins in the ocean and a trip to a nearby island that included snorkeling in the clear blue water. From their emails, the trip to Zanzibar was a complete success and a wonderful conclusion to their three-week African adventure.
It was great to have Fran and Jack visit and be able to share first hand many of our experiences from the past two years. We are now looking forward to meeting them in Vancouver on our trip home and being escorted around the San Juan Islands by Fran and Jack. We know we will have lots of memories of Tanzania to rehash while at the same time making new ones.
Our final date of departure from Tanzania is slated for June 13
th and we hope to have another blog added by that time to close out our mission here in Africa.
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Audrey
non-member comment
What an amazing trip.
I loved hearing about your travels with Fran and Jack. It sounded so amazing. It is so nice that you have this all written down for your memories. Glad you got your window rolled up quickly Rob and that you didn't get stuck in the mud. Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.