SAFARI SERENGETI - PART TWO - TANZANIA
This morning, after saying goodbye to our Maasai guide George, our small group flew in a 12 passenger plane to Arusha, Tanzania for the next part of our African adventure.
While in Arusha our group visited the Safe Water Ceramics of East Africa, which is a non-profit organization providing clean drinking water for the people of Africa. We heard the story of how this business came into being, watched the demonstration of how these water filters are made, then saw the difference between a glass of dirty pond water and a glass of pure clean drinking water from the ceramic filter. Each water filter comes with instructions plus a scrub brush so the person receiving the filter knows how to care for it. The water filter costs $40 and lasts 5 years, at which time they can be exchanged for a new one for $25. Our group was so impressed we purchased 11 filters to be given away as we continued on our adventure.
Later that day as we were traveling back to our lodge we passed a small village and two women walking there with water buckets on top of their heads. Our guide asked if we would like to donate a couple of our water filters and we all responded yes. While we stood around watching, Nixon, one of our drivers, spoke in Swahili and demonstrated how to care for the filters. The younger of the two ladies wanted to make sure she knew what to do so she proceeded to repeat the instructions (in Swahili) back to Nixon. Watching this interaction was very special and made me feel so happy that our donation could have such a positive impact on improving the lives of the people in this village who would benefit from clean water.
While in Arusha we also visited the “Albino Peacemakers”, a women’s sewing group for women with albinism. We learned that 80% die of skin cancer by the age of 30. Many women with albinism are rejected by their villages and families. The building we visited provided a safe environment for them to work so they could provide for their families. Some of the items they create on treadle sewing machines are double-sided aprons, tote bags, placemats, and many other textiles, all made with beautiful African fabrics.
While going on game drives in Tarangire National Park we stayed in a private camp at Lake Burunge. One of the days was spent visiting a Maasai village, where we joined in their dance celebration, and also learned about their traditions. I even sat with the Maasai women to bead jewelry using thin wire. At the end of the visit I had an opportunity to buy some of the hand-beaded jewelry the women of the village had made.
Another important part of every OAT trip is a visit to the local primary school. These are schools all over the world that The Grand Circle Foundation helps support. We, as travelers, bring much-needed school supplies as well as make private donations if we choose to do so. The classroom we visited was ages 10-12 and they sang a couple of songs for us in Swahili and then we sang a song for them. The children encouraged us to sit with them at their desks so they could practice communicating in English and show us some of their school work. The school visits are always my favorite part of a trip because the children are so excited to see us, and of course that includes taking many, many photos which they love to pose for.
The next day, on our way to the Serengeti, we passed through the Ngorongoro entrance gates. Before long we arrived at the viewpoint for the Ngorongoro Crater. I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was such a beautiful sight and absolutely enormous, with no sign of life whatsoever. As I looked from one side across to the other side of this massive crater I kept thinking “this is the garden of Eden.” I could see water at the bottom with a pallet of green colors throughout the crater. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Land is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The circular crater is 2000 feet deep and about 12 miles across. We drove along the rim of the crater for a while as we made our way to the Serengeti far beyond the crater.
The great Serengeti was a vast, open plain as far as the eye could see. We traveled on rocky, dirt roads, kicking up a huge plume of dust as we sped along. Eventually the terrain changed to more hills and valleys, mountains and canyons. Our tented camp was set up in one of these valleys surrounded by mountains and trees and bushes.
Each tent had comfortable twin beds, sink, toilet, and shower area, everything you needed. Every night I heard the chilling sounds of vicious hyenas calling out to each other. They actually terrified me more than the lions did.
Showers in the tented camp were fine for a Californian who learned how to take a “seaman’s shower” a long time ago in order to conserve our precious water. Each day when we returned from the afternoon game drive there was one of the camp staff boiling water somewhere behind the tents for our showers. We were each given 4 gallons of water to shower with. There was a shower head with a chain to pull to start or stop the water. I yelled out “tent number 3, shower number 1” and I could hear the water being poured into the top of my shower bucket. By starting and stopping the water flow I was able to wash my thick hair as well as my body and still have enough water left for my husband to use when I was done. He probably only used less than a gallon of his own 4 gallon allotment to finish his shower.
On one game drive we made our way far up into the mountains where we got to witness part of the “great migration” of the wildebeest and zebras as they made their way north. It was truly a sight to see these animals running together kicking up enormous clouds of dust as they went.
One morning we awoke before sunrise to take a hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti. It was an amazing ride, so peaceful as we drifted along the river, watching the hippopotamus below. Afterward we enjoyed a champagne bush breakfast in the Serengeti.
After leaving the Serengeti we traveled back to the Ngorongoro Crater again, only this time we took a narrow, winding, one-lane rocky dirt road down to the very bottom of the crater. Once down at the bottom I could see all the many different species of animals grazing alongside each other, something I couldn’t see from the top of the crater. We spent many hours on the game drive at the bottom since the area is quite large and spread out.
When we finally left the Ngorongoro Crater we drove to Arusha to take a flight to the island of Zanzibar, where Part Three of my adventure concludes.
