The Serengeti!
The following blog post is brought to you by Vaughn.
After our day of exploring Arusha, it was finally time for our safari to be underway!
We started the morning by eating breakfast, and packing all of our things into three safari trucks. These trucks could sit about 6 passengers each and had big, retractable windows, not to mention the roof that could be raised and viewed from once we were ready to see game. We drove for three to four hours, making our way to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. We arrived and were met with the cutest baboon mother and child. While we were watching out one side of the car, two large baboons entered through the opposite window. Our guide yelled, “Close the window!” and we were startled to realize their was another baboon in the seat right next to us! Luckily, they got out without too much hassle, though they did steal a bag of Doritos and left our hearts beating through our chests.
We drove a little while longer before we made it to the rim of the crater, but once we were finally able to look out across the crater, it was breathtaking. We spent the rest of the day driving through the bottom of the crater. We were excited to see lions, elephants, serval, water buffalo, zebras, cheetah, wildebeest, hyena, and gazelle, just to name a few. When evening approached, we made our way back out of the crater and headed to our campsite, where many of us played soccer with fellow safari campers and guides until it was time for dinner. That night we went and stargazed, with hardly any light pollution the stars were bright and beautiful. We were told to keep an eye out for elephant and water buffalo that were grazing nearby.
The next morning we set off on our way to Serengeti National Park, but first we stopped at the Olduvai Gorge Museum. The Olduvai Gorge is the location that many remains of early hominid fossils have been found. Fossils here have been dated to be nearly 2 million years old. The museum had many of the original fossils that were found in the gorge. We also got to go down in the gorge and see the dig site where some of the fossils were found. It was clear to see the different layers in the sedimentary rock.
From there we continued onto the Serengeti where we spent the rest of the day searching for and observing many animals. Initially the game viewing was more sparse than in Ngorongoro, but we still were able to see a bunch of cool animals, including many that we hadn’t seen previously, like giraffes, different species of gazelle, guinea fowl (or Serengeti chicken), ostriches, and more. That night we camped in the middle of the Serengeti, with a huge herd of zebras just outside the campsite. During the night, our safari drivers said that they were able to hear noises from lions and hyenas, so it was a good thing I didn’t need to go to the bathroom!
It was now the final day of our safari. We packed up our camp and rolled out, having what I would consider the best day of animal-viewing of the trip. I am a little biased because we were able to see my favorite site of the safari, a herd of hippos in a river! The smell was definitely a downside, but very funny how they would constantly run into each other and how they twirled their ears, splashing water as they did so. This is also the day that we saw over 20 lion throughout the morning. Unfortunately, we were unable to spot a leopard, but we were close. We made it to a tree where a leopard was lounging but it had hidden itself in the tree so well we couldn’t see it at all.
We exited the Serengeti around midday and headed to the Ikoma Cultural Center, where we watched and participated in a cultural dance. The dancers attached what looked like metal cans hammered shut with stones inside. When they stomped their legs, a loud sound was made that accompanied their singing. For the last song and dance they did for us, they made a fire using a long wooden rod which they spun very fast between their hands on another piece of wood, eventually creating small coals which were then coaxed into a blazing fire. They allowed us to try and make our own fire. Our inept fire making abilities brought joy and laughter to all who had gathered to watch.
With our safari now ended, we headed up to Musoma. We stopped along the way to visit the Mwalimu Nyerere Museum Centre, which contained the history of Julius Kambarage Nyerere who succeeded in gaining Tanzania’s independence. It was a very cool museum that housed many items used by the former president throughout his life including his favorite clothes, many gifts he was given by other leaders, and other everyday items, like a cup he drank from. There was a display with a quote from him about Good Governance. It read, “I have no doubt that all intelligent people believe that in any country good governance is one that cares for the needs and wellbeing of all citizens, men, women, the elderly, the young, the uneducated, the educated, the poor and the rich, and the governance that is built on the foundation of freedom and justice.” It went on to say, “Good governance must satisfy all those who are ruled and must be built on the basis of freedom and justice.”
Once in Musoma it was our final day and half together. We had a time to gather reflect and write each other encouraging messages to take with us on service. We also received the letters that we wrote to ourselves during the previous semester. In the evening we walked to a beautiful lakeside hotel/restaurant for our final dinner together.
The following morning we packed up all of our belongings, said our goodbyes, and traveled on our own to our individual service placements to begin our next adventure.
