Tanzania - Tarangire National Park and Mto Wa Mbu Village

We are now headed to the Tanzanian border with Kenya.  Both our visas were checked, while exiting Kenya and entering Tanzania.  More importantly, we have to show our yellow fever vaccine certificate.  Everything went smoothly as we have been prepared as to what to expect.  Both Kenyan and Tanzanian border officials were housed in the same building, their offices almost next to each other.  It facilitates travel back and forth.  The officials were friendly.  Many tourists probably visit both countries on one trip and this makes it very convenient to go from one to another.

Aside from the fee for the tour, the fees for the visas, yellow fever vaccination, malaria drug prescription and other medication, amounted to another $1,000.  The costs add up very quickly.

After exiting the border station we boarded a bus and head to the city of Arusha.  It is a big city by Tanzanian standard, with a population of more than half a million people.  What is unique about this city is that the residents are from different background, from Africans to Arab-Tanzanians to Indian-Tanzanians to  Europeans and North Americans.  They practice Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Hinduism.  We had lunch at the beautiful Arusha Coffee Lodge, one of Tanzania's oldest coffee plantation.

It took several hours to drive to our lodge, the Burunge Tented Camp.  This is one of those unfenced lodges where if you go outside at night, you have to be escorted by one of the workers at the lodge.  Wild baboons run freely around the lodge and most of us do not know how to react to these wild animals.  The room itself is spacious and at night we slept with the mosquito netting over our beds.

A village on the way to the Burunge Lodge

Location of our lodge

In the morning we started our game drive in the Tarangire National Park.  This is not as busy as other national parks.  We nevertheless saw many animals, especially a big heard of elephants.

Entrance to Tarangire National Park

One tree is unique to Africa, and that is the Baobab tree.  It is called the "Tree of Life" in Africa because it supplies food, water, health remedies, or places of shelter.  It is also a key food source for many animals.  

A Baobab Tree

The hole is so large that I can stand inside the trunk

The guides explained to us that some of the baobab tree trunks are hollowed inside so that poachers can hide themselves and their loot inside.  

Another unique feature of the African landscape are termite mounds.

Termite Mounds.  Some animals feed on the termites

Tarangire NP is known for its variety of birds,  The guides pointed out the different birds but since none of us bird-watchers, there was very little interest in them.  We saw the typical animals:  zebra, wildebeest, giraffes, lions, and many elephants.

Lion sitting under the shade of a tree

3 Zebras facing different directions on the lookout for predators

Herd of elephants playing in the water

They came very close to the safari vehicles 

One thing that OAT  is different from other tour companies is it always include a home visit to a local family.  On the way to our next destination we stopped at the Mto Wa Mbu Village, which translates to "Mosquito River" due to the permanent water source located here.  It has about 18,000 residents from all 120 tribes in Tanzania living peacefully together.  Agriculture is an important part of the local economy.

First, we stopped at a local market to buy ingredients for the lunch that we will be cooking with this family.  

All kinds of produce are sold here

Buying a bunch of bananas

Dried sardines

A small market but it's important to the locals

Non-food items are sold here too

The family that we are visiting belongs to a banana farmer.  We used the food that we bought at the market and used them to cook a local meal.  The women helped in the kitchen while the men had a tour of the banana farm.  Our host explained to us how he harvest the bananas and how he keeps the trees growing.  He came from the Kilimanjaro region and he is a Catholic.  He said his father was also a Catholic, having been converted by early missionaries to Tanzania.

A 1-acre banana farm

Our host, the banana farmer

Ladies helping to cook, while drinking beer

A wonderful feast

A Group Picture

It was a long day and we were ready to drive another 3 hours to Karatu, where our next lodge is located.

Amboseli National Park and the Masais

 I thought we've seen enough animals at Masai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) but no, we are headed next to Amboseli National Park, famous for its variety of birds and large elephant population.  It is not as well known as Serengeti or Masai Mara but it still attracts a sizable number of safari tourists.

We took an early morning flight from MMNR to Nairobi.  Our drivers/guides picked us at up at the airport in two Toyota Land Cruisers and we first drove through Nairobi before heading to Amboseli NP, which sits in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.  Its peak is over 19,000 feet above sea level and it's the tallest mountain in Africa.  It is a popular climbing and hiking destination.  The hike up the peak takes about 7 days, according to friends who have hiked to the peak.

One of the highlights of this portion of the trip is a visit to a Masai Village followed by a visit to a Masai school.  There are seven Masai villages in the area.  In spite of all the encroachments from the outside world they try to keep their traditional way of life.  We were welcome by the chief of this village.  He did not speak much English but one of the villagers spoke excellent English and interpreted for us.

Masai Elders.  The chief is dressed in red

They keep cows and goats and trade them for stuff they need.  As part of the cultural exchange with tourists I am sure they receive tourism dollars to supplement their living.  They don't look poor or unhealthy.  They probably keep most of their traditional way of living as a way to show the outside world.

A Masai mother with her two children in front of their house

This village owns many cows

They also own many goats

They plaster their houses with cowdung

The village has a beautiful view of Mt. Kilimanjaro

One of the traditionsl practices of the Masai is drinking the blood of the cow, mixed with milk.  The chief showed us how it's done:  they used an arrow to puncture a wound in the artery in the neck and collect the blood.  The Masai told us that the cow does not feel any pain.  After collecting enough blood they cover the wound with a certain kind of leaf that stops the bleeding.

There was also a serious discussion about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a common practice in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.  Some called it female circumcision.  Many modern organizations, including Christian churches, NGOs' (Non-Governmental Organizations) and United Nations Organizations have opposed it.  Many countries have also outlawed this practice.  A social worker who is herself a Masai, came to lead the discussion on FGM.  Many of the older women in the village had FGM but it is now outlawed in Kenya, and many younger women do not have it.

Social worker (L) and village women discussing FGM

We continue our education of the Masai culture by visiting a Masai secondary school.  This school is supported by the Grand Circle Foundation, the philanthropy arm of OAT.  The Foundation has built a dormitory, wells for drinking water, toilets, to help the school.

A big class - about 50 students

The teachers explained to us how the school works.  Some of the children stay in a nearby dormitory and some students have to walk 10km one way to attend school.  Masais carry a short stick to ward off animals and defend themselves.  The children said they are not afraid of lions but afraid of the elephants.  I guess they are also afraid of the hippopotamus, which get out of the water at night to forage for food in the dark.  It is very dangerous to encounter one of these animals.

The children sang to us one of their Masai songs and we sang a couple of American schoolchildren songs to them as well.  It was a wonderful learning experience to understand how they live.

Amboselli means dust devils, which are common here

We continue our game drive in the afternoon and saw many animals.  It is not as crowded as Masai Mara but we don't see as many of a variety here.

One of the beautiful species of bird 

Elephant in the swamp

A group of lions hanging out

One of the entrances to Amboselli No Problem

Our tented lodge at Sentrim Amboselli

Although the game viewing here is not as interesting as in MMNR, the visits to the Masai village and school was one of the highlights of the trip.  Most safaris don't include this type of cultural learning.  We would have never experience visiting a Masai village without the arrangements by OAT.

Masai Mara National Reserve

We boarded a 7:30am flight from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR).  Why is it called a National Reserve and not a National Park?  I think it’s a country’s preference or perhaps it’s not big enough to be called a National Park.  But for all intents and purposes it is a National Park.

We were met by our drivers/guides Martin and John.  Just as we were coming, another OAT group is leaving.  This is how frequent OAT runs these safaris.  There were other group coming and leaving as well.

Arriving at the Masai Mara National Reserve

We did not waste any time driving to our lodge.  Our first game-viewing drive starts as we drove to the Nahdy Travel Mara Sentrim Lodge.  I can't believe the abundance and variety of animals we saw:  giraffe, elephants, lions, wildebeest, zebras, etc.  They are all in their natural habitats.

Game drive vehicle with pop-up roof

A Majestic Giraffe

Herd of Wildebeests

A Male Lion and his mate

An Elephant

The MMNR is contiguous and north of the Serengeti in Tanzania.  Wild animals don't know anything about the border between Kenya and Tanzania.  To them it is one big expanse of land to roam.  Every year around July these wild animals migrate from the plains of Serengeti to find new pasture in the MMNR.  This is called the Great Migration and is one of the most impressive wildlife events of the world.    More than a million wildebeest, plus hundreds of thousands of zebras, gazelles, and smaller numbers of elands and topis move north to feed on fresh pasture before returning to the Serengeti in October and November.  This is the reason why I signed up for this tour in July.

By the time we arrived in Kenya, most of the migration had already happened, a few weeks before that.  That's why we saw so many animals in the MMNR.  We spent three days driving around the reserve looking for animals.  We were not disappointed.

Topis and Zebras

Impalas

Cape Buffalo

I capped off my visit to the MMNR with a hot-air balloon ride.  I have never been on a hot-air balloon before.  I thought this would be a good way to see the MMNR.  I also signed up for another balloon ride in the Serengeti.  

We were given a briefing the night before by one of the representatives from the ballon company.  We started very early the next morning, at about 4:30am, and it took about 30 minutes to drive to the balloon launch site.  There were quite a lot of people and a lot of balloons there.  Several balloon companies run the balloon business.  Sixteen of us were picked to go into the same ballon. There were five of us from our OAT group.

Two giant fans are used to inflate the balloon

Turning on the burner to heat the air in the balloon

We were give instructions on how to get into the balloon and eventually get out.  Once the balloon is properly inflated we got into the basket and took our positions sitting down but lying backwards.  The captain then turns on the burner to heat up the air in the balloon and soon we are upright.  We sat up and slowly we lifted off.  It was a smooth liftoff and soon we are higher up in the air.  

The balloon goes where the wind blows.  The only thing the pilot can control is the height by turning on or off the burners.  It was a beautiful sight from above.  The captan helped us identify animals we see on the ground and pointed out different landmarks.  The entire ride took about 1 hour.  The ground crew followed the ballon in vehicles to help us when we land.  

The burner is on and we are ready for take off

Other balloons are launching at about the same time

Groups of wildebeests seen from above

A view of the lush fields and river

A picture with the captain after we landed

The lodge where we stayed is just outside the MMNR.  However, there are no fence separating the lodge from the reserve.  Wild animals do wonder around the lodge.  Because of that, whenever we leave our room at night, guards will be there to escort us.  These guards are stationed around the property and are mostly native Masais.  They are used to encountering wild animals and know how to react to them.

My room

At night the mosquito net is put down