Day 1: First stop – Tarangire National Park. Our drive took us out of the city,
westward. This drive reminded me of
driving up the 99 but instead of seeing acres and acres of grapes, we saw acres
and acres of corn. Shortly after
exchanging money, the highway pavement stopped and we veered onto a detour (or
what the Tanzanians call a “diversion.”) A
diversion is another name for pot holes, rocks, bumps, dirt, dust and off-road
terrain.
It took about 3 hours to get to our Lodge. We stayed at the Tarangire Sopa which was so
beautiful! We dropped our stuff off and
met Nirdin for our afternoon Safari. The
landscape of this Park was amazing. It's 1,100 sqare
miles and the 5th largest Animal Park in Tanzania. One minute it was dry and desolate, the next
green and lush. More than 500
species of birds have been recorded there! The major
attractions in this park include the tree climbing pythons (didn’t see one,
THANK GOD), herds of elephants, and swamps.
It is also noted for its Baobab trees and Acacia woodland. I don’t know if I enjoyed seeing the animals
more or the beautiful landscape.
We did encounter one very irritating species in this park, the Tsetse Fly. They are sometimes spelled tzetze and also known as a tik-tik fly. They bite and inhabit much of mid-continental Africa between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts. We applied our OFF Spray, but unfortunately, it didn’t help much. I think they liked me the best (of course) as I have a total of 5 bites that I am now itching non-stop. The blue flag below is something the locals put poison on and leave out all around the park to kill this fly.....didn't work too good :(
We have almost felt guilty as our weather (even though on
the equator) has been in the LOW 70’s with very little sun! Very nice weather to SAFARI in!
One of the things that we were warned about was the
intelligence of the baboons and monkeys. If any of
the windows (of the jeep) were left open, they would hop in and steal your
stuff! We saw this in action right
away! We got out of the jeep to stretch
our legs at the park entrance and saw a monkey head straight for someone’s jeep
and jump right into the driver’s window.
Day 2: Second Stop – Lake Manyara National Park. The cleavage, known as the Great Rift Valley,
can be identified from space as the most distinctive feature of the
continent. The seam of this cleavage has
developed a series of fascinating and beautiful lakes. Lake Manyara is a shallow, alkaline lake that
covers 89 square miles. It is said by Ernest Hemingway to be the "loveliest lake in
Africa.” Every
imaginable East African animal is found here in abundance. There are great herds of buffalo, zebra,
wildebeest, and several varieties of gazelle.
Mahogany, sausage trees, and monkeys are everywhere!
We did an afternoon tour here and began with some high school students doing a video interview with Lee. They asked him where he was from and why he came. He explained that we were here to bring medicine to some of the clinics in Tanzania. The students then had him give an “encouraging” word to the audience explaining WHY someone should come to visit Tanzania. He did a great job and Mitch said not to be surprised if you see Lee preaching in the pulpit some Sunday REAL SOON!
We actually didn’t see too many animals at this park. The most prevalent animal we did see was the
monkey. This park had more jungle-like
features with the branches of the trees intertwining and what you might imagine
the monkeys swinging from (or Tarzan).
We stayed overnight at the Manyara Serena Lodge with
an amazing view of the Manyara Lake below.
One of the highlights was getting to know our waiters and waitresses at
each Lodge. Most of them spoke very good
English. They go to school in Arusha to get
a certificate (one year) in Hotel Services.
Lilian asked us if we were Christian.
We said, “Yes” and asked if she was.
She said, “Yes” and to please pray for her country and it politics. She had the most beautiful smile and was so
friendly (another common characteristic found in Tanzania). Joshua and Andrew were also Christian. Joshua had a diploma (2 years) in Hotel
Services and said he had already earned enough money at this Lodge to pay for one semester of college for his
brother. Andrew thanked us for coming to
the Serena Lodge because it gives him a job.
They were all so grateful to have a job and to help their families
out. Very humbling!
Day 3: Third Stop - On the 4th of July, we visited the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area. It’s the largest inactive, intact, and unfilled
volcanic crater in the world. The crater, which formed when a large volcano
exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago, is 2,000 feet
deep and it's floor covers 100 square miles.
It is estimated that the height of the original volcano ranges from
14,800 to 19,000 feet high. The elevation of the crater floor is 5,900 feet
above sea level. It is recognized as one
of the 7 natural wonders of Africa. It
also receives over 500,000 visitors a year.
This place was packed! There were
Safari Jeeps everywhere!
It is here
that we were able to see 4 of the BIG 5 - Rhino, Lion, Elephant, and
Buffalo. The only one missing was a
Leopard. Apparently, they are very hard
to find because they are nocturnal and only come out at night. Our driver, Nirdin was AWESOME! He did everything in his power to find all of
these animals for us! He has got SOME
eye!
We had a
picnic box lunch down near the hippo pool and Nirdin told us we had to eat in
the jeep because of the Black Kite Bird which hovers over people and snatches
their food right out of their hands! And,
as if that wasn’t bad enough, their claws usually have flesh of some kind on
them (from previous snatches) that could cause disease if the skin was
scratched. We had a fun time watching
them as they were on the look-out for their next meal!
Our stay at
the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge was BREATHTAKING!
It was very chilly being 7,000 feet above sea level. We actually had a hot water bottle lying in
our bed to keep us warm. I’ve never had
that experience before! There were even
wild animals (deer & wildebeest) walking right by our balcony!
View from our room SUNSET
On the way
back to Arusha (80 miles but took 4 ½ hours…..can you say MANY DIVERSIONS??),
we got to watch Mitch and Lee in action as we hit the local markets for souvenirs
to take home. This was an experience to
behold! The mark up on most of the items
was about 100% (at least). One must be
patient and not fall in love with any trinkets.
I think Target will not know what to do when Mitch begins his bartering
skills there when we get back to the states!
Tomorrow will be a great day! Mitch and Lee will be meeting with the local Pastors to see what God is doing in Arusha and where He may want to use us in the future. Anne and I are going to “play it by ear.” Now, that sounds like a great day to me! It’s good to be connected again! Lala Salama!
Very beautiful
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