In the Beginning-Day 1

Q. What’s the difference between a DIY (Do it yourself) safari in a 1995 Land Rover, and a guided one?

A. A mechanically sound vehicle tricked out with refrigerator and pop-top roof for optimal game viewing, passenger windows that actually open and close, and an experienced driver who navigates the most narrow, winding, bumpy, muddy roads as well as crosses raging rivers in a single bound.

We’ve just returned from a weeklong safari with tour company Macho-ya-Tanzania over New Years. For those faithful readers, you may remember our car breakdown in the middle of the Maasai plains back in August  (see “Lost and Found” Parts 1,2,3). Our savior Dighton happened to work for Macho so when it came time to book our trip, he was the obvious man for the job.

 In addition to the anticipation of experiencing the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire, we looked forward to sharing the safari with friends from Seattle who are currently living in France doing a Fulbright year abroad. After their week with a naturalist in the Serengeti, we were to meet them for our joint safari.

 Our driver Simon picked us up in the nine passenger, nine month-old rig at our front door. The size, cleanliness, and comfort impressed the kids immediately; I think they held their heads a little higher on the way out of Moshi. We traveled the now-familiar highway through Arusha and onto the smooth tarmac (“This is definitely the best road in Africa!” per Anders) towards Lake Manyara National Park.

Just outside the entrance to the park is a commercial strip of bars, souvenir stands, Bureau de Change offices and cheap lodging that line both sides of the road.  Unlike when we’re in our unmarked Land Rover, hustlers approached the vehicle and asked for pens, suggested the trade of necklaces for iPods, and successfully peddled delicious, sweet red bananas.

 Because lodging during a safari generally includes breakfast and dinner, most tourists can be seen throughout the parks enjoying the classic lunch box, which is typically prepared by the lodge you’ve just departed. This being the first day, Simon had picked up boxes at a Moshi restaurant before our departure. The contents vary, but generally there’s some sort of vegetarian sandwich, a piece of fried chicken, hard boiled egg, juice box, samosa, cake-like dessert, piece of candy, and fruit/veggie sticks. I often found there was too much food for all of us and we ended up keeping a “snack box” of leftovers in the car.

After our picnic lunch we began the game drive in the heat of the day. We had been to Lake Manyara over Thanksgiving, so the roads and sights looked somewhat familiar. The beauty of a safari is you never know at any given time what you might see; it really is different every time.

 If you were to measure animal sightings per kilometer, it was a slow day in the park. While we did see giraffe, elephants, warthogs, hippos, and buffalo, it was the baboons that were the most, shall we say, memorable. Not only were the numbers of them impressive, but there also seemed to be a lot of visible STDs affecting the females. (I will tastefully decline describing the epidemic) Lena utilized her FLASH (Family Life and Sexual Health) curriculum from last year and our written guide to African mammal behavior to put all the pieces together. Nothing like hands-on learning Wild Kingdom style.

December twenty sixth is a holiday in Tanzania so Migunga Tented Camp was cheerfully bedecked in Christmas decorations. Like at all lodges/camps, dinner was served at 7:30. A lovely buffet with pop Christmas tunes belting from the rafters made for a warm and peppy atmosphere. There was even a large group of Americans, which is unusual. (most tourists are European)

 Since there were no electrical outlets in the rooms, camera batteries and the like had to be charged in the two power strips at the bar. I fortunately found a vacant outlet, but observed some creative “re-arranging” of cords by other guests to accommodate their own needs. It was fascinating to watch the “every man for himself” attitude, especially when it came to iPods /cell phones/ camera batteries / razors. Splayed out around the two power strips, I was struck by how many electronic devices per person we use, especially when traveling.

 When dinner is served so late and there’s no light in the rooms, bedtime comes early. The sweet sound of chirping insects lulled me to sleep long before the others. Apparently, I missed the rattling of the door handle during the night. David swears monkeys were trying to get inside.