Tanzanian Safari: The People of Tanzania

Posted on 19 October 2008 by k

Finally, the last animals we’ll report on-Tanzanians and ourselves.

20234One of the highlights of a trip to Tanzania is interacting with the locals. The people there are friendly, happy and smiley. They go out of their way to help you and are optimistic and committed to driving their economy forward. And even the villagers who are very near the bottom of the economic ladder are proud and helpful rather than adopting a ‘begging’ stance.

20214On our first day in Tanzania, we had a local guide us through a nearby village. Children came out to greet us as we walked about. They spoke to us as best as they could in English. And those who couldn’t speak English simply lingered about us, smiling, soaking us in. There was the young, handsome high schooler committed to achieving his dream of becoming a doctor. Three little kids for a hillside hut with fancy dresses, but dirty faces. There were kids playing with wheels and sticks. And the group who excitedly shared a leopard tortoise with us as we passed. There were also the ladies grinding their corn at the local, commonary mill. And the ladies tending their vegetable gardens and accompanying stands to sell their goods. There were also moms selling fish cooked fresh while you wait. As well as little ones chasing chickens.

20229Really, walking about harkened back to the days of my parent’s childhood in America. Bathrooms were outdoors. Pleasures were simple. And neighbors stuck by one another to make it through. The chickens ran wild and the children came home REALLY dirty. You had to work hard and most walked to school as cars were hard to come by and gas was impossible to afford.

20219There are a few things, however, that make things different. 20% of Tanzania’s city population is estimated to suffer from HIV or Aids with approximately 10% of the country’s total population suffering as a whole. And a portion of the population’s beliefs support and encourage casual intimacy from an early age. If for nothing else, these two factors could make growing up so Smiley and Happy a challenge.

21047This said though, as emerging economies go, Tanzania is quite refined. The roads are generally good (much better than India’s!), most families (other than Tribal ones) appear to live in block houses with tin roofs (definitely a step up from India’s tarp slums) and while the plumbing’s primitive, it doesn’t appear to be exposed (not the case in Beijing or Shanghai).

21057Perhaps, though, our recent experiences in China, Morroco and India have dulled our perception of extreme poverty. Or, perhaps, it’s simply that we now see the scenes of dirty children, hay and water carried by cart or bicycle along the roads, or ramshackle huts serving as convenience stores through different glasses these days as it’s not our first go? But regardless, I continue to grow and realize that in many ways the people in emerging economies leading simple lives have an advantage over those of us in workaday mindset. Their stress levels are low. Their focus is on their family and their larger community. And they help one another out when they’re down instead of pointing fingers. And their kids get dirty–really dirty. And isn’t that what childhood should be about? Who wouldn’t want a childhood framed by chasing turtles and minnows and climbing trees–to be followed by helping in the garden and chatting with the neighborhood kids at the village mill. We, in more Western cultures, often stress so much about ensuring that our houses are perfect, cars and blemish free, children are clean in pressed white dresses with ribbons in their hair and we forget to have simple, carefree fun. Especially kids.

21052I’m certainly happy living in my white London tower in a nice clean, pressed, white dress. But, I have to say that those bygone days of my childhood on the farm–chasing minnows and getting dirty–really dirty–were pretty grand. And just as it’s hard to make your way to college from small town Tanzania, the same was once true (if not still true) of small town America. These kids have a chance.

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20349Now–for our favourite people. We were fortunate on this trip to have G’s parents along with us…and we have to give them credit for being low stress, high fun travel partners. We had a great time together catching up since we don’t see one another often and I believe the trip was made better by their presence. We’re very fortunate that they love and support us in our choice to move abroad–and that our love for travel (with their recent retirement) coincides. Thank you Allan & Virginia for traveling half way around the world to hang out with us! And we count ourselves lucky that we spent two lovely weeks together and parted while still smiling 🙂

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The Great Cupcake Parade

Posted on 19 October 2008 by k

…well almost.

There was an article in the paper this week that struck my fancy. They ranked all the cupcakes in London and gave a list of the top 8 establishments. With this in mind, I proposed that G and I fast so that we could venture out for a Cupcake Parade Saturday in order to give the best a ranking of our own.

With this in mind, we constructed a map and an itinerary for our day. First up, Primrose Bakery in Chalk Farm. Next, Peyton & Byrne at Euston Square. Then, Outsider’s Tart in Leicester Square to be followed by Konditor & Cook on Shafesbury and finally over for a couple others in Kensington before heading up to Kilburn for the final sample. And the eighth, called Treacle in Tower Hamlets, would have to wait until our next trip out to Columbia Road Flower Market to pick up orchids (a usual haunt).

21032So at 1pm this afternoon, we set out. We walked to Primrose Bakery from our flat–it’s right by a restaurant where we met our friend Krista and her boyfriend when they visited this year so it was easy to find. the cute logo imprinted on the shop’s window had a bird atop a cupcake saying ‘sweet sweet’–so inviting. And those of you who know me welll know that I LOVE mosaic tile. Hence, their mosaic tile welcome mat made a favourable impression. Upon stepping inside, I was transported back in time. The glowing laminate table tops, and sunshine coloured vinyl chairs harkened back to days gone by…to cupcakes in grandmothers’ kitchens around the world. And the smell…heaven!. Not to mention the fresh flowers on the tables. And the drawers. Not trays…but DRAWERS of cupcakes also make an impression.

21020So. G and I ordered a couple of the recommended vanilla cupcakes and were immediately struck by the vibrant colours. They were decorated with beautifully formed contrasting icing flowers, as well. But how would the cupcakes rate on our flavour, texture and overall ranks?

21027The vanilla cupcake didn’t have much flavour 🙁 And while the cupcakes were GORGEOUS, the cake texture was a bit crumbly and the frosting was just a tad too sweet by G’s palette (though I liked the frosting myself). But overall, I would have to say that the cupcakes would probably rank 2.5/5 on my scale with the aesthetics of the cake as well as the cafe allowing them the most points.

21042Next up? Peyton & Byrne at Euston Square. Unfortunately, this shop didn’t have the street presence that Primrose did. Tucked within a Museum Square (ironically housed inside a local Medical Museum), the big stone facade threw us. But finally once we were inside, the cupcakes were in plain sight.

21037Though there were lots of varieties, we opted for the recommended Coconut/Raspberry cupcakes. There was clearly as much frosting as cake. And tucked between the two layers was a bit of raspberry jam. While the ambience wouldn’t fare well against the Primrose Bakery, the cupcake was much better. The aesthetic of the cakes was more mature and perhaps less appealing. But, the cake was moist and solid and pleasantly flavoured with vanilla. And the touch of raspberry was a nice compliment to the coconut and vanilla flavours. Our only complaint was the sugar rush that followed thanks to all that frosting. But, overall we’d have to give the cupcake a 4/5 rank. It was very good.

Next, we moved South to Leicester Square and the name of our next haunt became more understandable once we realized it was in the gay club district. The Outsider Tart is run by two Americans, but is tucked in the basement of a gay bar. Upon entering the bar to ask where we could find the cupcakes, the bartender delivered the bad news that there was no one in to take us to see the cakes. Imagine our surprise. So….we moved on to the next shop on the list.

Konditor and Cook has heavenly things in the window within the location by my (K) office at London Bridge/Borough Market. So, we were excited to check out their Shaftesbury Avenue location. But unfortunately, it closed! But by this time, the sugar from the first two shops had kicked in and we were both feeling a bit ill. That’s right. We hit our limit after 1.5 cupcakes for K and 2.5 cupcakes for G. Who would have thought? Serious sugar shock.

So, since our Cupcake Parade derailed mid-course, we’ve decided that once our aversion to cupcakes subsides, we’ll resurrect the parade one location at a time.

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The Big Cats

Posted on 18 October 2008 by k

20514Apparently, lots of people who travel on safari are obsessed with cats. Everywhere we went, people were talking about which cats they hoped to see and which they had. And the very fortunate few who saw cats kill prey couldn’t stop gushing. It’s a bit of a phenomenon, really.

We saw our share of cats, but, for us, we were most struck by the hippos, giraffe and elephant. Call us freaks?

20704That said, here’s a laundry list of our ‘cats’. First was the leopard lounging in a tree in Tarangire. Then, a pride of lions (with a male present) in the Crater followed by two Cheetahs fresh off a kill walking through the high grass plains. Next, a male lion alone (again in the shade) and a mom and two cubs (though one of them seemed to be nearly an adult) lounging in the shade of a bush in the Central Serengeti. And finally, a pride of at least10 lions in the Mara Triangle in the Northern Serengeti lounging under bushes and high trees atop a high rock kopte amidst the grassy plains.

20807Notice a theme? The most striking thing to us is how lazy the cats seemed. They hunt every day or every few days, but it’s not necessary for them to constantly hunt for prey. The food source is plentiful, so they just laze between meals waiting to get hungry again. We did see the Cheetahs walk about after finishing their lunch—that was exciting…for cats?

Whenever we saw other animals (elephants, giraffe, buffalo, wildebeest, birds, rhino, zebra, etc), they were doing something entertaining. We felt enlightened.

20812Perhaps we were in the wrong area for cats and hence, they didn’t seem to have much personality. Or, perhaps, the cats we saw were atypical and others have more spirit. But overall, we weren’t too in awe of the cats and were left feeling that all those nature shows with exciting footage of cats doing things must have loads of boring footage that doesn’t make the cut. The cats’ lives didn’t seem, to us, nearly as exciting as made out to be on TV.

The giraffe’s still my personal favorite. They’re just SO cute.

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Tanzanian Safari: The Great Wildebeest Migration

Posted on 12 October 2008 by g

Every year, the Serengeti is the stage for the largest and longest overland migration in the world. About two million wildebeest and zebra follow the rains, and the green grass that comes with it, from the Serengeti in Tanzania up into the Maasai Mara in Kenya and then back down again in an annual cycle. With the dry season coming to an end soon, we headed up to the remote northern corner of the Serengeti National Park to see them as the return from Kenya.

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After seeing mostly small groups of animals in the first part of the safari, we hoped to see thousands of animals covering the plains. Once we arrived at our camp just on the edge of the Mara river, we learned that the prized sighting is a river crossing. As the migration moves between Kenya and Tanzania, the animals must cross the Mara river. This is a handy opportunity for crocodiles, lions, and other predators to catch a wildebeest snack.

The wildebeest know that crossing the river is dangerous and are very cautious. They gather on the edge of the river wanting to cross but aware of the danger. They spend hours of indecision approaching the bank of the river, only to turn around and head back before circling around again. Finally, one animal will start across. Others follow. Then the flood gates open. The thousands of animals that had gathered on the bank start stream across the water. The riverbed and riverbank churn with mud increasing the challenge of each following animal to make it across and up the bank on the other side.

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After following the herd, waiting and watching them try to decide to cross, we finally hit the jackpot on our second day. We kept watching a huge herd of wildebeest gather on the bank. We were sure they would cross. But they started to retreat en mass. We moved the vehicle to get a different view and discovered they had started crossing further down. Our guide estimated we saw about 30,000 animals cross. Take a look in these videos.

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Maasai and Mount Makarot

Posted on 9 October 2008 by g

One of the unique experiences of our trip was hiking over Mount Makarot and into the Serengeti plains where we stayed at the Olduvai Camp run by Maasai.

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We started at a fly camp where we spent the night just outside the Ngorongoro Crater. The next morning we got an early start and followed our Maasai guides to the false summit and then on to the summit. We also had an armed ranger with us for protection. The area is known to have buffalo which it turns out buffalo are one of the most dangerous animals that you can come across in the bush. They are big, mean looking and charge easily. Our guides warned us that if we came across them, we should either climb a tree, or lay down and play dead.

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Just before we reached the summit, we came across a few buffalo. The ranger too aim and the guides took position along our flank with spears ready. We backed away (toward a tree conveniently by the path) squatted down and waited. The buffalo started to head down toward us and stopped. We continued to wait. Finally, the turned, went along the ridge and on their way.

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From the top of Makarot, we had spectacular views of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. After taking it in, we started down the mountain and through the Maasai villages. There were no roads here. No tourists streaming through. We were experiencing the real Africa. We stopped at one of the villages and met the locals. Not speaking Maasai, we weren’t able to communicate much, but our guides provided some basic translation. K bought a bracelet and had her picture taken with the girl that made it.

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The decent was much worse than the climb in many ways. It was rocky and was punishing on the knees. Some parts of the trail were covered in “African snow” — a fine dirt the collected and blew like snow drifts. One of the guides was excellent in helping my mom through some of the tough spots on the way down.

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Just before we reached the bottom, we ran across a few giraffes about 100 yards in front of us. They sat and watched us for a while as I quickly grabbed the camera. We saw giraffes fairly close from the vehicle, but it was a completely different experience being on foot. After a bit, they decided to run and I got a good video. I don’t see it in our gallery at the moment, but I’ll track it down and post it. It is interesting to watch them run.

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Finally, we made it to Olduvai camp. They greeted us with drinks and we all sat in the lounge slumped in the chairs cheering our successes complaining about our aches. We also learned from our guides that my parents are the oldest people they have taken over the mountain. I think the guides were a bit nervous that my parents wouldn’t make it, but they made a good showing and impressed them all. Certainly a great achievement.

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From the fly camp near the mountain, it didn’t look that big. But looking back from Olduvai we were all amazed that we just climbed over that mountain. It was a fantastic day.

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African Queen

Posted on 8 October 2008 by k

20399Well…almost. The Queen of the birds, that is.

We were quite surprised as a mating pair of ostriches quickly approached our vehicle from the plains shortly after entering the gates of Tarangire on Day 1 of our safari. They were simply crossing the road, but provided a lesson on evolution. Just for kicks…give some thought to a simple question. What colour’s an ostrich?

20274In my mind they are black and white. But as with most of the feathered folks, the female is a more modest brown. But this brown beast is a BEAUTY. Apparently, both the male and female ostrich sit eggs. The male sits during the night (hence his black colour) and the female sits during the day (hence, she’s the colour of the grassy plains). The female is surely one worth fighting over as short video clip we took below.

We were just driving along when we noticed two male ostrich chasing one another on our final day in the Tarangire. Our driver stopped suddenly as one of the birds fell onto the ground and began to writhe and splay like a Thanksgiving turkey. Suddenly, the other bird approached and the first dropped stood, propped one leg against the other and they both began to pummel one another taking shots with one foot while bracing with the other. An INCREDIBLE scene. Ultimately the one who started the fight ran away after being squelched by the other male. But what a show–much better than any dinner theatre I know 🙂

20469This bird is also FAST. As if floating, it holds a steady gait despite its ample size and awkward physique.

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The Jailbirds

Posted on 7 October 2008 by k

20269Not quite. But their pattern is arresting…

These animals are unbelievable. Horses for sure, when we observed them, they seemed to act just like the run of the mill domestic variety (though I am quite sure I’m mistaken). But their pattern is mystifying. Apparently some predators see only in black and white. Hence, the zebra has evolved with the characteristic stripes so that it and its thousand closest friends read as a disco ball in the night, confusing the cats and increasing their chance of surviving as compared to the brown gazelle, wildebeest, antelope and other deer-like species.

20549Only the old, young and ill fall behind the crowd and are singled out for the kill. Often when driving over the plains, we noted select animals of this description and our guides duly noted that it was unlikely the animal would make it throught the week. Only the fittest survive on the plains of Africa.

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