SAFARI – A word that conjures up images of adventure, danger, discovery, and rugged conditions. We experienced a bit of each of these on our recent trip to Tanzania.
We purposely selected a trip that would give us meaningful time with the Maasai and Hadza tribes in order to absorb the life of traditional people of this area, their way of life and traditions.
The Maasai are a tall, confident people, where passage into manhood for young warriors has meant killing a lion with a spear. The Hadza are among the very last hunter-gatherers on the planet, hunting monkeys and baboons with handmade weapons for today’s meal.
Of course, everyone goes on an East African Safari to view the spectacular animals God put in this part of the world, glorious in their diversity and beauty. We viewed the cycle of life of predators and prey, watching three cheetahs take down gazelles, albeit giving one kill up to a more powerful hyena who happened by.
We visited Ngorongoro Crater, a large caldera referred to as “The Cradle of Life” because it contains a microcosm of wildlife due to its year round water supply, and, of course, the famed Serengeti, whose vast plains are punctuated by granite outcroppings, or kopjes, used by lions and other predators as a refuge and to observe prey. Sunsets are spectacular, to be enjoyed with adult beverages as a “sundowner”.
We visited at the time of the annual migration, when two million wildebeest and zebras migrate north to follow the rains and grass. We observed a massive wildebeest crossing of the Mara River, which goes on for endless hours sometimes. We also saw a crocodile attack a crossing wildebeest.
It is a life privilege to visit this special part of the world and experience exotic humans and animals as they play out life in this very tough but very beautiful place.
