My Safari Journey

August 16

 I wake up after an uninterrupted all night sleep. I see a crack of bright light between the heavy drapes and I crawl out of the bed and make it bigger. I am eager to see what is outside, the roofs, walls and trees behind. Bright sunny morning in Arusha.  I shower and finish the fruit I had saved from the plane. Then I stretch and go down to the reception area to check my emails and update my blog. I feel light and at ease, ready to experience Tanzania.
The breakfast buffet includes all kinds of melons and pineapple, sweet and tasty. When Boris later shows up I keep him company while he feasts on eggs, sausages, breads, and I sip my coffee. The first one in Tanzania. I do not yet know that milk in this coffee is redundant.

Then, our driver and guide for the next five days shows up. His name is Mushi. I mistake him for the contact that was given to us, Nickson Moshi and am blabbing away how it is great to finally meet him. We also mistook Emanuel, who drove us from the airport, for Nickson. The legend of Nickson is starting to shape up.

We store our leftover luggage in the hotel, load our safari bags and on we go in the powerful looking Land Rover. Mushi (and it beats me why they often call themselves by the last name) zooms through the morning rush hour between other vehicles until they become more and more scattered as we are leaving the city heading west and as the number of potholes on the road is increasing.

Soon, we are encountering Massai villages on both sides of the road and Mushi tells us why Massai are different from the other hundred and twenty Tanzanian tribes. For Massai men, the number of cows they possess means everything. The more cows they have, the more wives they can buy (the price for a bride is 25-50 cows), the bigger his family will be, the more children he will have who can take care of the cattle. Massai village is comprised of one family and each house belongs to one wife and her children. Wives get sold to their future husbands and have no say in it. But miraculously Massai families are all very happy, the wives are often seen hugging each other. My interpretation is that they are likely united against the husband. There is more to it, Massai men have it all figured out, they do not actually do anything once they have established the family. The women take care of the household, the children take care of the cattle, and they are left to admire what they have created, drink beer and relax, so they are rested for love making with one of the wives at night. The wives, of course, never complain about their husband's nightly choice. I admire the look of Massai, exceptionally tall, skinny and strong, wrapped in quilt-like bright red, blue and green patterned blankets, with a lot of wooden and cow horn jewellery.

After about 120km we reach Tarangire National Park and meet our first Baobab tree.

Mushi opens up the roof and now we look like real safari people. He reminds us to get our cameras and binoculars ready, as we do not quite yet realize that we were actually here, in the cradle of civilization and in one of the rare areas on this planet where animals roam free. We soon start seeing wildebeest, impalas and zebras, drinking and bathing.

Then we see termite mounds and I like the one looking like a finger pointing to the sky, elephants, ostriges, warthogs, baboons, waterbuck, velvet monkeys, eagles, storks and other smaller birds, and also the vultures (who do look kind of scary, as depicted in Lion King).

At one ridge overlooking the riverbed that cradles a shallow, narrow looking stream and many elephants on its banks, we have our lunch. It feels surreal, sitting in the Land Rover and eating, while a herd of elephants is going about their way, drinking water or squeezing under acacia trees.

We then move on and my jet lag kicks in… I dreamily mention how I'd pay anything for coffee and Mushi calmly responds, no problem, I will take you to a lodge nearby. And so we reach Safari Tarangire Lodge and have another amazing Tanzanian coffee, and it is free. At this point the idea of living for free in this world of freedom is a theme on my mind. Mushi disappears to talk to staff, while Boris and I lounge on the huge terrace overlooking the beautiful planes of Tarangire. It is quiet except for the sounds of few kids splashing in a nearby pool. This is when it hits me! I am living my dream and the dream is better than I could had ever imagined. I am sipping coffee and checking out giraffes and ostriches going on about their lives.

Soon after taking off we find ourselves surrounded by a large herd of elephants. They walk around our car and there are no other cars around. I am eye to eye to an elephant mom, her kid trailing after her as they pass a meter away from us to cross the road.

As we continue, the colours become warmer and Tarangire becomes vibrant with life, a giraffe couple on the horizon, an ostrich couple, small scared impalas, dick dicks, the smallest antelopes, more elephants, zebras and wildebeests, all living peacefully, never rushing, soaking in the warmth of the late afternoon sun, grazing and walking, showing us how beautiful life is. I am feeling life all around me, the real one, the one that matters, stress free, one with the nature.

Kikoti tented lodge is a little piece of pure luxury. Tented rooms with massive wooden furniture are spread on the tall wooden platforms. The central point of the main area is the fire pit, dining tables around it and the best dinner of this trip - rice, indian flavoured beans, cabbage, green bananas and pineapple-beet salad with pickled mango and a selection of barbecue meats. We try Kilimanjaro and Safari beers and enjoy them by the fire. A Massai walks us back to our tent while hyenas are howling in the darkness. A neat surprise that my feet love is a hot water pad in the bed.

August 17

I wake up at 4:30 AM in total darkness and silence. The wind has died down and the moon is gone. It is beautiful to be in African savannah and breath in the African air through the thin tent walls. Next thing I know, I am woken up by a knock and offered hot chocolate. We pack up and, take pictures of our beautiful home and leave for breakfast. I savour watermelon and pineapple, then enjoy a veggie omelette and baked beans. The coffee is different than any I have ever tested, earthy and subtle. Boris and I try it black and agree that it is the best coffee we have ever had. It is 7:30 am and Mushi is waiting in the car.

Mushi explains that pythons that live in trees are common in Tarangire, but we only see what might be a trail of one. Following it, our eyes meet African Cape buffalos, grazing behind the bushes. Next we see two lions resting on the termite mount and regret not having better zooms. I try the trick I read about and take a picture through my binocular, and it works!

Heading out of the park we drive by the spot where we saw a dead wildebeest yesterday and find tens of rapid and white buck vultures, a marabou stork and hyenas fighting over the remains. Nothing goes to waste in nature…

We then head to Great Rift Valley and Lake Manyara National Park. The closer we get the greener it becomes until we find ourselves in tropical forrest, ascending to Ngorongoro crater, with vast Lake Manyara to our left. I like the village Karata, with the wide road in the middle and red volcanic soil underneath many little shops on each side.

At Ngorongoro entrance we register and visit a small museum then drive to the crater rim at 2300m and absorb this wonder of the world, a hazy humongous valley below us. We eat lunch at the picnic site weary of the huge birds charging at us from above.

We then continue down the crater on the other side onto the planes that are geographically part of Serengeti. On the slopes we pass by Massai villages, protected by the fences built of the tree branches and mud, inside the fence, round huts made of the same materials and covered by dried grass. Colourful Massai blankets stick out even more on the grey background. 

The drive to the entrance to Serengeti National Park is long and uneventful. Around us, endless plains (the meaning of Massai word 'Serengeti') of dry land covered by sun burnt short grass. The straight dirt road's surface resembles small waves, probably caused by rains, and it makes our drive very bumpy and noisy. At the entrance, we climb a viewing hill to witness the endlessness. Here though, the presence of acacia trees makes the scenery look stunning. 

Mushi excitingly announces that it was time for the late afternoon game drive and he lifts the rooftop. The rest happens in a blink, we encounter a leopard, a couple of lions, an elephant, and a pile of hippos. We are shouting and cheering and Mushi is equally happy, 'this is my playground', he explains. Continuing in the direction of our next tented lodge, Mopito, we see a lot of giraffes, impalas, warthogs,  but best of all is the nature around us, bathed in the later afternoon sun, at the same time warm and freshly sharp after a recent rain, beautiful trees and everyone so peacefully alive.

It seems that we are following the rain and at once the sharp smell of the rain soaked soil and the wet leaves surround us. The smell reminds Boris of how Sarajevo smelled after the summer rain many years ago, and I agree.

At Mopito, friendly faces welcome us. Not all friendly faces one meet seem genuine, but these smiles are real. We sit down with Timothy at the reception area, drink a juice that reminds me of keniada that I used to drink as a child, and we get briefed. What I like the most is when Timothy explains that Mushi would join us for dinner and breakfast. There are more friendly details that I keep on noticing around Mopito, such as a big shampoo bottle for multiple uses, solar energy shower, no food waste…

The dinner is in the dining area and it includes a good selection of meats, vegetable sauté, rice and polenta, soup and salad. Boris gets worried when the soup and meat run out, but more comes our way. We enjoy chatting with Ernest Mushi, who shares facts about Tanzania. We laugh a lot over beer.

August 18

First thing I did after waking up in the morning was to go outside and smell the sun rays breaking through the morning mist and emitting the scent of red soil, grass and acacia. We were staying here for two nights, and it was nice not to have to say goodbye just yet.

After breakfast, Mushi picked up our lunch boxes. The night before I had given my spelt bread to the manager Frank to use to prepare my lunch sandwich, as an alternative to wheat. I had also explained that I don't eat meat and he promised to include some fish. The end result was that this was by far the best lunch box on this trip - my spelt veggie sandwich, two pieces of fish, potato salad, an apple and two mini bananas - yay!

As we set on the game drive the scent of freshness after rain was still around. We first visited the hippo pool that we saw yesterday. The bridge creates a natural pool with steady water that hippos like. They stick together and don't move much, resembling the oblong rocks in Lion King. We also spotted a small crocodile in the back. 

Next we spotted a group of impalas and Mushi pointed that one male was controlling a group of ten or so females, reminding me of Massai men. He gently moved and waited for all females to cross the road in front of us, then he crossed last.

Nearby, what I thought were baby impalas were actually Thompson gazelles, both, together with Grant and dick dicks belong to the antelope family. Antelopes are too fast for lions, but not fast enough for leopards and chitas. Instead of wasting energy on antelopes, lion usually goes for slower animals such as zebras and wildebeests. 

We spotted zebras and impalas together, and zebras and topi together. Mushi explained that topi only lived in Serengeti and Masai Mara. I had seen it in the zoo before but was not aware of this important detail. 

Mushi pointed out that giraffes were feasting on soft acacia thorns and counted some of the many variety of acacia in Tanzania - umbrella, flat, yellow fever (used to treat the illness) and tol tal. Looking around, these trees were everywhere around us. They provided comfort to the animals - giraffes graze on them, pythons, leopards, eagles and owls rest in their branches and search for prey, birds nest, and others gather under it's umbrella-like canopy to seek shelter from the mid day sun.

One of the first spots of the day are two male lions lazily resting. We watch them for a while, but there is not much action, for lions, it s the lazy time of the day. Mushi shares that it is usual that lionesses hunt down the prey, then call their males and let them eat first. Men have it all here in Africa!

Few hundred meters away we encounter a heard of terrifying cape buffaloes. They are peacefully grazing and do not look scary. Yet, Boris lets a sigh of relief when Mushi turns on the car and announces that it is time to move on. Along the way we see a leopard shape in the tree above and a hyena.

I am sitting in the car while two chitas are resting in the shade of mulga acacia tree, lifting heads once in a while, and checking out close to ten vehicles parked and carrying us tourists, fingers on the camera triggers, ready to shoot. Tourists come from everywhere… well, let me narrow it down, they come from all rich first world countries. I just had a chat in German with a couple from Bonn. Now, next to us are Chinese… one of the women has her head wrapped in a fancy scarf and a hat and wears light grey gloves. I am guessing that she is protecting her face from sun and dust. I, on the other hand, cannot be bothered, and I let the trace of wonderful events of my life, show on my face.

I notice that people here are generally good looking, dressed well, polished and clean. Abundance of good looking guys too, although I do not let that disrupt my current obsession with the animal world. Behind me Boris has fallen asleep. His watch is showing the Mountain Time, it is 2:30 AM at home and Boris feels tired. Chitas or not, Boris needs to rest. He tells me he likes to plan ahead, but I say he often lives in a moment and lets life steer him. Then, he is awake and so are chitas. Boris gets up and so do chitas, snap, snap, we got them both nicely aligned with their heads up. The moment is complete.

We have lunch at Serengeti museum where we connect what Mushi told us with some facts about Tanzanian tribes. Mushi belongs to Chagga tribe, they are from around Kilimanjaro and it is common for Chagga to travel abroad and emigrate. Kuria live in and around Serengeti, they are big and strong looking and often become policemen and soldiers. Suhnas are fishermen and cotton farmers. Iraqw are known for farming and agriculture and are said to have come from north. Niakusha from Mbea region in the southern highlands plant tea. We also learn about Wahaya and Wahehe and that the president is from small Kuau tribe near the coast. In total, there is about 120 tribes in Tanzania. Mushi explains that the lack of dominance of a small number of tribes is the prime reason for the political stability of Tanzania, just like the presence of three main tribes is the reason for violence in Kenya.

Wildebeests are another interesting topic, they all mate in Masai Mara within the three week period, they give birth to their babies in Serengeti, again within three weeks, resulting in about eight thousand wildebeest babies being born per day. An hour after the birth, the babies can run as fast as their mothers. Mushi also said that mothers can pause the birth if they sense a danger nearby. They are sometimes seen running with a leg sticking out of their uterus. Because so many babies get born, they often end up separated from their moms, and if this happens the babies move to the side of the heard waiting for their moms to find them, and they usually do!

Another interesting story is about Kopje, one of the oldest granite rocks on Earth, that used to be covered by soft volcanic rock that eroded with times, leaving the small islands, kopje, in Serengeti plains.

After lunch, we drive around some more and see dik diks, the smaller antelope in the world. They mate for life and if one of the mates dies, the other one remains single forever. They also find a mate within their own family.

Another hippo pool at the crossing of three rivers is interesting. The adults squeeze around their babies to protect them from the crocks roaming around.

Later in the afternoon the rain sways over the planes of Serengeti and it is still falling when we reach the camp. I shower under the rain as the bathroom on the side of the tent does not have a roof. Serengeti rain washes away the last traces of stress that I brought to Africa with me and I am now like a leaf blown around by the power of life.

At dinner, Mushi tells us many interesting facts that I interweave into this journal. He also shares some of his personal stories and I especially like the one about how he and his wife occasionally spend the whole night dancing to African music. He invites us to join them but we are in Arusha during the week and apparently Saturday night is a universal world day for going out.

August 19

The morning in Mopito is calm and clear, the grassland smelling of hey and wild flowers. I soak it in and want to take it with me forever, the smell, the perfect 26C temperature, the cleanness of air, the vastness of the savannah and the friendliness of the people in this camp. We say goodbye to Frank and he wishes us a successful Kili climb, adding that now that he has quit smoking he might consider climbing himself.

Driving back to central Serengeti, or, as we call it, Mushi's playground, we greet topi, gazelles, zebras, thompsons and a lone buffalo before spotting a pride of lions eating a prey. Hyenas are few meters away, waiting for their turn, and so are the vultures.

As we continue, we keep spotting lions, in the end I loose the count… There is a pregnant lioness in the shade next to our car. Then there is the lioness that Mushi knew from before, 35 years old, yet still strong enough to hunt. He tells us about the time when he witnessed her taking down a buffalo, all by herself. The battle lasted two hours, after which she disabled his back legs and finished him. 

Then there are two chitas resting in the shade. Boris recommends me to be more like them, take rest, love myself more and simply pick a moment to lie down and do nothing. He notices how I tend to always do something, for example, my idea of resting is reading a book and drinking tea. His idea of resting is lying down with his eyes closed.

Speaking of resting, as Mushi was crossing Saronera river over a narrow bridge, I asked him to pause so I can soak in the surrounding - palm trees, crocodiles and unusual birds, hadada ibis, small avoset, and a few blacksmith plovers. The time stood still, the air warm and not moving in the midday sun, the oasis adopting us for a moment. This is my meaning of rest.

As we keep driving around, I notice myself being immersed more and more into the landscape around me, the animals become a part of it as am I and I recognize the beauty and the simplicity of nature.

Driving on, we stop where all jeeps of Serengeti are starting to pull away, and we learn that a lioness has just attempted a kill but missed. Mushi announces that we would have our lunch here. Frank certainly took great care of us again, the contents of our lunch boxes are cole slaw with veggie pieces and raisins,  veggie fritters, cheese sandwich (mine made of spelt bread), an egg, a juice, two mini bananas, peanuts and two candies. We happily and hungrily eat while Mushi plays reggae on the car radio and nobody talks. The lioness walks back and forth about 200m from us, looking for another victim. Mushi gets out of the car to pee and Boris immediately starts talking about the possibility of a buffalo showing up out of nowhere, our friend lioness not worrying him at all. Then it is my turn to go out to pee and as I am leaving the car, the radio plays Buffalo Soldier and we all start humming along. The song injects courage into Boris and he decides to leave the car to pee. I sneak out and take a picture of him fearfully looking left and right. I startle him at first, then he relaxes and we take pictures of each other on the road to nowhere. Mushi yells, 'lioness', and we see that she has gotten up and was looking in our direction, probably not quite sure what to think of the crazy creatures. Boris pushes me inside as Buffalo Soldier is dying down, and we drive on.

As we are leaving Serengeti I cannot get enough of its vastness and my camera naturally follows the horizon. The dry area between the central Serengeti and Ngorongoro that seemed deserted on the way in, is now full of new details, there are areas of moist grass that elephants are aware of, the secretary bird does not seem lost in the endless plain, and the colours have come to life. Kopje rocks as the gate keepers say goodbye to us as we cross into Ngorongoro. 

On the way to Ngorongoro we encounter few broken cars and one overturned Land Rover. The reason is the state of the dirt road, we are driving over the 10 cm wide waves of hard dirt. Driving the speed of say 50 km/hour that seems suited for the conditions, you are constantly bouncing up and down. Instead, Mushi's strategy is to drive fast, about 80 km/hour so that the car almost flies over the bumps and does not catch the vibrations. We start off with the open windows, it is dusty and hot until Mushi turns the A/C on and even though normally I am not a big fan of it, I breath a sigh of relief. Mushi complains how it gives him headache (where have I heard that before?), but he leaves it on.
As we are ascending up to the crater rim we pass a Massai village, men standing out as usual in their red and blue gowns.

In a couple of hours we reach Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, the best part two long terraces with breathtaking view of the crater. The hotel itself is just ok, after three nights in tented lodges I am spoiled and this feels too touristy. I am not pleased that Mushi cannot have dinner with us, instead we agree to meet him for a beer afterwards. Over beer, we work on Boris trying to get him to agree to leave early and be one of the first cars in the crater, see animals as the sun is breaking through. Long negotiation leads us to the 6:45 am departure time.

August 20

We wake up at 5:50 am as planned, quickly pack up and get into the dining room in time for dawn. We  get the table by the glass entrance to the terrace and spend it going in and out and catching the sunrise. High on the rim, we are at the level of the clouds that are pushing each other up and over the rim. Awakening.

Mushi is in the car, waiting outside the lodge as we are checking out, the porters loading our bags into the trunk. We set off at 7 am sharp, up the dirt road through the hotel gate. The road is surrounded by tropical vegetation. Mushi slows down in the right curve, I am facing the side of the road as I come eye-to-eye with a big male lion, coming out of the bush onto the road. His look lasts only a second but for me it will last forever. As Mushi is halting, the lion moves by our side, crosses the road and disappears in the jungle. No feelings or thought, just an acceptance and gratefulness from my side, reminding me that this is their land, we are just passing through. 

We then climb from the hotel at 2300m to 2800m, the highest point on the crater.

Then we descend down the serpentines of the dirt road, 600m into the crater. Mushe switches to four-wheel drive. I trust his driving abilities more than my own.

As we reach the bottom we are greeted by wildebeest and zebras, calmly walking around and grazing, seemingly less fearful than their friends in Serengeti. 

We then see two crown cranes and a see of flamingoes and avocets filling the shores of the central crater lake, also few marab storks. We are as close to the lake as you can get, the pink glow of the early morning sun stroking the sides of the crater and reflecting on the water, making it all look like a dream. The birds, the grazing impalas, wildebeest and zebras, having breakfast.

Then we meet the crater buffaloes. They look our way, as if ready to charge at us, and Boris says, 'they are by far the most shocking discovery of our journey'.

As we approach a bunch of jeeps, we arrive just in time to witness the lions love story, the lioness approaching her mate and lifting her back. Shockingly, the mating lasts only 10 seconds or so. Mushi explains that they repeat the ritual every fifteen minutes or so over seven days, often going without food. 

Once done, the lioness walks over closer to our car and lies down. Meanwhile, nine serious looking buffaloes are slowly approaching, stopping to graze. As they come to about 50m from the lions, they stop and stare, making lions visibly alert. The lion vs. buffalo fight is a the legendary ultimate fight in Eastern Africa. Not this time though, buffaloes slightly change the direction to the left and pass behind our cars. Immediately, as the danger has passed, the lioness returns to her boy and the mating continues, this time finishing with a gentle bite on her left ear.

Continuing, we say hi to a curious looking ostrich.

Driving only five minutes or so,  Mushi abruptly stops the car and shouts, lions, look, they are hunting! And from then on, we are frozen and witnessing nature as it truly is. Over the short yellow grass, two lionesses are moving slowly, close to the ground, and then they split up. Farther out is taller green grass and as they are approaching it we realize that the wind is blowing towards us and hundreds of zebras even farther behind the tall grass do not know the lions are there. The lioness on the right side is approaching impalas, who notice first and move away, they are too fast for lions. Zebras notice next and start running away. She is now running at full speed towards them, they are scared and confused and few choose to run on the left, where the other lioness shows up, running towards them, until one simply gives up. Both lionesses jump on its back, and within seconds, the zebra is down. Then they go for the neck, another few seconds and the zebra stops moving, dead. I look at Boris, he is shouting, 'teamwork, look at that, what a teamwork! Animals know how to do it, and we humans always only think about ourselves, always want all for ourselves'. 

Lionesses sit, looking away, calm. They stay like that for 10 minutes, catching breath and waiting for their heartbeat to come down. Then they start feasting, they drop into the grass and we cannot see them any longer. Around them, all animals are calm and continue grazing, the balance of nature restored again. 

I am emotional, shaking inside, speechless but grateful. I did not pull my camera, I wanted to see it with my own eyes. Today is the last day of safari and I know that as I embark on my journey up Kilimanjaro, I will carry these memories with me.

Mushi literally starts driving and few seconds later shouts, four male lions! The males are crossing the road moving towards the zebras and wildebeest far in the back behind the swamp. They stop, then split up into two pairs and lie down to drink water. Meanwhile, a small group of zebras is walking by their side and watching them. I don't get why they would not walk away, later I find out that zebra can outrun lion when aware of it, and lions need the element of surprise in order to catch them. We wait as the lions are resting. They eventually move forward behind the swamp, the zebras watching their every move. Then all four of them lie down, as do Boris and Mushi. I am the only one awake here, taking notes of today's amazing stories.

I remember feeling like I was one in the mass of tourists at the lodge last night, but now I am overwhelmed by what I saw today. I also really need to pee but with other cars and four lions around I have to wait. I give the lions 30 minutes, they are not moving, so I wake up the boys and ask to go to the lunch site. Life is often determined by simple instincts, whether it is to kill so one can eat, or to pee, so one's bladder does not burst.

After the lunch we say goodbye to this wonder of the new world where animals live together, respect each other and obey the laws of nature. True paradise! The meaning 'high place of gods' serves it right! The drive to Arusha is good, we make lots of jokes with Mushi, stop for coffee on the way and buy buffalo souvenirs to take home with us.

The first leg of our journey is over and the next one begins as soon as we reach the hotel and meet our Kili guide. The real challenge starts tomorrow!