Blogs from North, Tanzania, Africa - page 3

We were driving into Central Serengeti along the Western Corridor. Over 100 kilometres, the route was all on rough stone/dirt roads. At what seemed like a high speed (probably about 50 - 60 kph), we careened through big potholes and deep ruts. Later I learned that the speed reduces the effect of the corduroy conditions by hitting the tops of the ruts. Obviously, Jay Kim knew his job, and part of which was to get to the camp before dark. Even so, he and Edward, the other new driver, were generous in stopping the vehicles to watch wildlife being themselves. Almost immediately we stopped to watch a mother and a juvenile elephant pulling and crunching green bushes. Soon we saw a line of bachelor elephants crossing on the plain; male elephants roam together during their early ... read more

Day 6 is sometimes referred to as a mini summit. It's basically the start of the summit push as you get up at 6, and simply straight hike to base camp. This day was cold and rocky as well as very sunny. The terrain is pretty straightforward, as you aim towards the ridge that takes you to the summit. The hike up is a little easier than going to the lava tower because of acclimitization, but still difficult. As you achieve the ridge, you get to the lower base camp, Barafu camp. This is where most people set base camp, and it usually gets very crowded. There are some permanent structures here, but not many. My group kept hiking a little higher, in order to not cross some scrambling terrain at night. There is a little ... read more

The 4th day was the second climitization day. It involved hiking up to the Lava tower to climatize about 15k feet, and then come back down to around 13k feet at the Barranco camp. Every day gets us up at 6, so again, up at 6, hiking by 7. This day of hiking mostly was going though rocky terrain up to the Lava tower. This was a long, slow, hike. I was breathing heavy for a lot of it as my body adjusted. We finally made it to the lava tower around noon or so for lunch. The lava tower is exactly what its name makes you think it is. A tower of volcanic rock from an eruption many many years ago. You can approach the summit from the Lava tower, and some routes do this, ... read more

Day 2 started with a 6am wake up call, 6:30am breakfast, and started hiking at 7am. This day was the first climate zone change from rainforest to mooreland (I initially thought it was alpine desert, but I I think I was kind of wrong). this day had all kinds of cool looking flowers as we transitioned out of the rainforest, past tree line, and started walking east towards the mountain. The climb was steep out of the rainforest, but then evened out as we approached Shira 1 camp. The weather was still pretty warm and I could wear shorts during the day for most of the hike, but did need to start applying sunscreen almost immediately leaving the rainforest. The sun was direct, and in charge. My body felt good and wasn't really feeling the elevation ... read more

My http://www.heygo.com live stream tour took me to Tanzania, an incredible insight into life in a Maasai village near the Serengeti with Mufasa our guide. Welcomed with song & dance we then ventured into the village where the gate is made out of a pile of Acacia sticks to keep them safe from wildlife. Cow dung & mud are daubed onto the houses by the womenfolk. The sun was setting as the cows returned from their grazing with one of the mothers immediately taking milk for the children which was served to them by the fathers. We listened to the children practice their counting skills and Mufasa sang them a song, much to their delight. As darkness fell it was time to eat, on the menu soup & goat. The younger men served the elders. A ... read more