Prologue:
I can't believe the day is finally here! My parents have been waiting for 10 years for this, and I've been waiting for this for, like, 4 years. It was worth it! Our trip to Tanzania with Thomson Safaris was perfect! The guides, the wildlife, our accommodations, and just the idea of being there was amazing.
Date: 6/13/15
Place: Arusha; Weather: Cloudy
We met with our guides - Charles, Mohammad, Ali, Mustapha and our mentor Emmanuel. We are going to head to Tarangire National Park in a Land Rover. The van is filled with talking, laughing and rule-reviewing. People in Arusha have nice clothes. Today is market day so many people have booths for food, clothing etc. Many villages have houses with advertisements on them. I saw a green automatic rickshaw!
We went in a land rover to Tarangire. The road was smooth and we saw a lot of wildlife. We saw Zebras, Starlings, Impala, Ostriches and lots of lots of elephants (the babies were so cute) and Waterbuck. We even saw a lion!Then we veered off into a side road. It was really bumpy. After a while I got used to the bumps and started loving it! We were allowed to stand up on our seats and watch wildlife from above. Then we got to our camp and played soccer for a while. Then it was dinnertime and then we went to bed. The tents were very well made. There was a bathroom with pump-flush toilets (you pump a knob to flush them), and hot showers where you ask the staff to fill them for you. There are actual twin beds inside the tents!!! There were also solar powered lights.
Date: 6/14/15
Place: Tarangire; Weather: Sunny
We drove in the rover again. My friend spotted a lion! We sang songs. Elephants are commonplace around here. One even tried to scare us as she had a small baby. It sorta worked. Many starlings and white headed buffalo weavers were found. We also saw a lot of Masai Giraffes.
A little game of soccer when we came back, a class on the main language Swahili (not click speaking), good food, cake and a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we are going to Ngorongoro
Date: 6/15/15
PLace: Ngorongoro Crater; Weather: Cold
We drove from Tarangire to Ngorongoro. On the way we visited a school, the Ayalabe school and we learned how they take tests, their schedule and the school history. We then played soccer with the school kids. I was shy. We then left to have lunch at Gibbs Farm.
Soon we were at Ngorongoro Visitor Center. There were a lot of baboons. We soon arrived at our Nyumba. We played soccer and I found a game table, so my friends and I played Uno, Jenga. We ate dinner, a real African dinner that was very good and went to bed. The hot water bottle really helped!
Date: 6/16/15
Place: Ngorongoro; Weather: Cold
Today we drove to the crater floor. We saw Zebras hugging, lots of lions, buffalo and Three elephants! Wildebeest noises were really annoying. My mom thought she spotted a rhino but it was a warthog. We did see two black rhinos. On the background behind the rhino were a thousand flamingos.
We then had a picnic lunch. There was juice and chinese style rice and vegetables. We saw hippos in a pool. Then we returned and on the way back we saw more animals.
Date: 6/17/15
Place: Way to Serengeti; Weather: Moderate
Today we left for Serengeti. On the way we stopped at Oldupai gorge and saw early hominid footprints and also had a talk. Then we left for Serengeti. We stopped for lunch and are a puff, chocolate and juice and did a small walk to a view point.Serengeti was full of animals.
We saw many (putting it lightly) zebras. We saw a leopard in a tree licking itself. 6 lions were on the road! Too much wildebeest (migration is happening!). We also saw a serval cat hunt.
Then we came to our camp, played Uno, ate dinner and went to bed.
Date: 6/18/15
Place: Serengeti; Weather: Moderate
Today we are going to do storytelling! We started the day with a nice breakfast and went on the land rover. We saw like 30 lions including 3 cubs! CUBS!!! They even had spots on them. A little while later, we saw two cheetahs! Only, they were just stickin' their heads out of the tall grass.
We then had a picnic lunch and on the way back we saw more lions including two lions on a tree.
We then returned to the camp, played games, had dinner. Then it was story telling time and I talked with Emmanuel. He told a Masai story about a two-mouthed monster. I really liked it! I even guessed the moral really good. I told a Madlib. Here is how it turned out
Zebras have black and red stripes. Each zebra is disgusting. Zebras dance plants. They are herbivores. We see them all over the Taj Mahal. Zebras are komodo dragon like. They are very chunky animals. Zebras hug to sleep each other. The Swahili word for Zebra is tembo.
As you can see the Madlib was total nonsense. The Swahili word for Zebra is actually Punda Milia.
Then it was time for bed.
Date: 6/19/15
Place: Serengeti; Weather: Chilly and Rainy
Today we woke up got ready and set out for track identification with Emmanuel. We saw a bunch of hyena tracks, wildebeest, zebra, dik dik, gazelle, reedbuck and guinea fowl tracks. When we came back we ate breakfast and once again set out on a Land Rover journey. We saw the hippo pool, where we saw a hundred hippos, and a dead one with a crocodile sneaking bites of it. It was so stealthy. After a picnic lunch we saw mainly birds and we saw a Ground Hornbill with a puff adder in its beak, and a Martial eagle with a guinea fowl in its talons. It started raining heavily, while we returned to the camp. We needed to enter into the lounge under umbrellas. After a while, the rain turned into a light drizzle. We headed back to our tent (#7) and took a shower and put our things away. We had dinner and then I completed a beaded necklace. Then I went off to bed.
Date: 6/20/15
Place: Arusha; weather: nice
Today we headed off to Arusha on a plane. Funny airport, Serengeti airport! Just toilets, a grass landing strip, and a place for you to stand and wait for the plane. Right before the plane lands the guides are supposed to chase off the animals from the landing strip so the plane can land. It looked so funny from afar. After a while the zebras were chasing the trucks instead of the trucks chasing the zebras.
I was really, really sad to leave, but once we touched down in Arusha. We bought some souvenirs, had a snack of Bajiya, visited a workshop for the disabled called Shanga. We saw glass blowers, weavers, and painters. Then we left for Mount Meru hotel where we had shower and a nice break before we headed off to the airport to take off to Amsterdam.
Epilogue:
Overall the trip was one of the best I ever had. Tanzania is very much like India. When I grow older you can be sure I will go back. Everything was well planned and the accommodations were more than I expected of what camping could give me. Just observing the animal behavior was really interesting. I did not expect to see so, so, so many animals!!!
Dear reader, this trip can change perspective and can make anyone a better person! Observing wildlife has changed me and I became more interested in field biology. I would really like to share this interest with you.
I can't believe the day is finally here! My parents have been waiting for 10 years for this, and I've been waiting for this for, like, 4 years. It was worth it! Our trip to Tanzania with Thomson Safaris was perfect! The guides, the wildlife, our accommodations, and just the idea of being there was amazing.
Date: 6/13/15
Place: Arusha; Weather: Cloudy
We met with our guides - Charles, Mohammad, Ali, Mustapha and our mentor Emmanuel. We are going to head to Tarangire National Park in a Land Rover. The van is filled with talking, laughing and rule-reviewing. People in Arusha have nice clothes. Today is market day so many people have booths for food, clothing etc. Many villages have houses with advertisements on them. I saw a green automatic rickshaw!
We went in a land rover to Tarangire. The road was smooth and we saw a lot of wildlife. We saw Zebras, Starlings, Impala, Ostriches and lots of lots of elephants (the babies were so cute) and Waterbuck. We even saw a lion!Then we veered off into a side road. It was really bumpy. After a while I got used to the bumps and started loving it! We were allowed to stand up on our seats and watch wildlife from above. Then we got to our camp and played soccer for a while. Then it was dinnertime and then we went to bed. The tents were very well made. There was a bathroom with pump-flush toilets (you pump a knob to flush them), and hot showers where you ask the staff to fill them for you. There are actual twin beds inside the tents!!! There were also solar powered lights. Date: 6/14/15
Place: Tarangire; Weather: Sunny
We drove in the rover again. My friend spotted a lion! We sang songs. Elephants are commonplace around here. One even tried to scare us as she had a small baby. It sorta worked. Many starlings and white headed buffalo weavers were found. We also saw a lot of Masai Giraffes.
A little game of soccer when we came back, a class on the main language Swahili (not click speaking), good food, cake and a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we are going to Ngorongoro
Date: 6/15/15
PLace: Ngorongoro Crater; Weather: Cold
We drove from Tarangire to Ngorongoro. On the way we visited a school, the Ayalabe school and we learned how they take tests, their schedule and the school history. We then played soccer with the school kids. I was shy. We then left to have lunch at Gibbs Farm.Soon we were at Ngorongoro Visitor Center. There were a lot of baboons. We soon arrived at our Nyumba. We played soccer and I found a game table, so my friends and I played Uno, Jenga. We ate dinner, a real African dinner that was very good and went to bed. The hot water bottle really helped!
Date: 6/16/15
Place: Ngorongoro; Weather: Cold
Today we drove to the crater floor. We saw Zebras hugging, lots of lions, buffalo and Three elephants! Wildebeest noises were really annoying. My mom thought she spotted a rhino but it was a warthog. We did see two black rhinos. On the background behind the rhino were a thousand flamingos.We then had a picnic lunch. There was juice and chinese style rice and vegetables. We saw hippos in a pool. Then we returned and on the way back we saw more animals.
Date: 6/17/15
Place: Way to Serengeti; Weather: Moderate
Today we left for Serengeti. On the way we stopped at Oldupai gorge and saw early hominid footprints and also had a talk. Then we left for Serengeti. We stopped for lunch and are a puff, chocolate and juice and did a small walk to a view point.Serengeti was full of animals.
We saw many (putting it lightly) zebras. We saw a leopard in a tree licking itself. 6 lions were on the road! Too much wildebeest (migration is happening!). We also saw a serval cat hunt.
Then we came to our camp, played Uno, ate dinner and went to bed.
Date: 6/18/15
Place: Serengeti; Weather: Moderate
Today we are going to do storytelling! We started the day with a nice breakfast and went on the land rover. We saw like 30 lions including 3 cubs! CUBS!!! They even had spots on them. A little while later, we saw two cheetahs! Only, they were just stickin' their heads out of the tall grass.We then had a picnic lunch and on the way back we saw more lions including two lions on a tree.
We then returned to the camp, played games, had dinner. Then it was story telling time and I talked with Emmanuel. He told a Masai story about a two-mouthed monster. I really liked it! I even guessed the moral really good. I told a Madlib. Here is how it turned out
Zebras have black and red stripes. Each zebra is disgusting. Zebras dance plants. They are herbivores. We see them all over the Taj Mahal. Zebras are komodo dragon like. They are very chunky animals. Zebras hug to sleep each other. The Swahili word for Zebra is tembo.As you can see the Madlib was total nonsense. The Swahili word for Zebra is actually Punda Milia.
Then it was time for bed.
Date: 6/19/15
Place: Serengeti; Weather: Chilly and Rainy
Today we woke up got ready and set out for track identification with Emmanuel. We saw a bunch of hyena tracks, wildebeest, zebra, dik dik, gazelle, reedbuck and guinea fowl tracks. When we came back we ate breakfast and once again set out on a Land Rover journey. We saw the hippo pool, where we saw a hundred hippos, and a dead one with a crocodile sneaking bites of it. It was so stealthy. After a picnic lunch we saw mainly birds and we saw a Ground Hornbill with a puff adder in its beak, and a Martial eagle with a guinea fowl in its talons. It started raining heavily, while we returned to the camp. We needed to enter into the lounge under umbrellas. After a while, the rain turned into a light drizzle. We headed back to our tent (#7) and took a shower and put our things away. We had dinner and then I completed a beaded necklace. Then I went off to bed.
Date: 6/20/15
Place: Arusha; weather: nice
Today we headed off to Arusha on a plane. Funny airport, Serengeti airport! Just toilets, a grass landing strip, and a place for you to stand and wait for the plane. Right before the plane lands the guides are supposed to chase off the animals from the landing strip so the plane can land. It looked so funny from afar. After a while the zebras were chasing the trucks instead of the trucks chasing the zebras.
I was really, really sad to leave, but once we touched down in Arusha. We bought some souvenirs, had a snack of Bajiya, visited a workshop for the disabled called Shanga. We saw glass blowers, weavers, and painters. Then we left for Mount Meru hotel where we had shower and a nice break before we headed off to the airport to take off to Amsterdam.
Epilogue:
Overall the trip was one of the best I ever had. Tanzania is very much like India. When I grow older you can be sure I will go back. Everything was well planned and the accommodations were more than I expected of what camping could give me. Just observing the animal behavior was really interesting. I did not expect to see so, so, so many animals!!!
Dear reader, this trip can change perspective and can make anyone a better person! Observing wildlife has changed me and I became more interested in field biology. I would really like to share this interest with you.
