January 27, 2015 Acknowledgements

By the time you read this final blog, we will have started our return trip home.  We land in Dar es Salaam at 6:30 a.m. EST on January 27th and fly out that same evening at 8:30 p.m. EST landing in Ottawa around 8:00 p.m. EST on January 28th.

Without the support and contributions from the following individuals, this BLOG would not have been possible:

•  Me - For coming up with the idea of doing a blog and for having the idle mental capacity to scribe it. Well done, Greg.

• Diane Boyle and Louise Riendeau - For being great and loving trip companions and providing some of the facts and kind of helping out with the editing by pointing out the odd spelling and grammatical error and challenging my factual accuracy for some of the details. Without their help, this blog would still have been good.

• Jeff Boyle & Lynda Levesque - For being loyal followers of the blog and the intellectual inspiration for me over the years.  Truly.....well....sort of.

• Adam & Erin Boyle - Again, for being faithful followers of the blog and for keeping silent over the years about their father's embarrassing behaviour.

• Chris "Herbs" Harber - For his sage advice on how to deal with a couple of fellows that play for the "other" team and keeping me grounded in reality over the years.

• Donna & Pete "Dad" Atkinson - For looking after Maggie in our absence and being the unwitting recipients of several barbs in the blog as well as in videos yet to be shown.

• Bob & Faye Kipp - For almost coming on the trip with us. Can we still come and visit you in Myrtle Beach? 

• Janet Leppard - For coming through as usual "guessing" what some of the words meant and coming up with hilarious interpretations.

• Marie Riendeau - who helped make this trip a reality. 

• Anita Boyle - for been the biggest fan of the blog and believing every word her son wrote.

• Nazmin Alani - a friend through work and an ex-pat from Uganda who did a similar trip to region the year before and for continuous encouragement to go through with the trip when things looked a bit unsettled.

• Maggie - For not giving a crap where we were.

• Mueima, Fred and Pascal - Our faithful drivers and tour guides throughout the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Reserve who kept us safe the entire time while over-delivering on our expectations. We made them honorary citizens of Canada by bestowing them with Canadian flag lapel pins.

• The people and the wildlife of Uganda and Tanzania - for meeting and exceeding our expectations and making this the trip of a lifetime.

Disclaimer:  The author does not take any responsibility for the accuracy of any of the statements or claims that he made as well as the factual veracity of the blog.  Further, should any individual(s) who may have been referenced in some form or fashion in the blog and feels slighted or offended, please get over it.

January 26, 2015 - Stone Town and the Infamous Slave Trade

It's our last full day of our holidays so we make the best of it.  I will forewarn you this blog is a bit of the long side.

Abdullah our tour guide is very thorough and detailed in his historical tour of the town. He starts off by explaining how the name Zanzibar was derived from the arabic words for "Coast of Black People".  All along the coast of E. Africa, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, etc. have heavy black populations. There was no indigenous people on Zanzibar when it came under Persian rule (Iranians) in the 9th century followed by the Portuguese during the 16th and 17th century.  It finally came under Arab rule during the 18th and 19th century. This is when the slave trade increased significantly under the Sultan of Oman and Zanzibar with the flow of Zanj (Bantu) slaves from South East Africa. It increased unabated until the British forced the Sultan of the day to abolish it in 1873.

But before we get into the history of the Slave Trade, you need to know the history of the Indians and the Arabs that settled here and the significance of their doors. The East Indian homes have large balconies with balustrades so they could go out on them and greet people.  The Arabs, on the other hand, had no balconies and had bars in their window.  This was because they were very jealous and did not want other men seeing their wives.  They've come a long way. The design of the doors have real significance in terms of status, ethnicity and occupation.  Most Arabian doors have large brass studs shaped like bullets protruding form the door and arranged in a matrix fashion.  This was a carry-over from their homelands where they had a practical purpose for stopping elephants from pushing through their doors.  There are no elephants on Zanzibar.  The doors are large and have intricate, detailed carvings and we took plenty pictures of doors some over a 1,000 years old.  If they were a slave traders, they would have chain links carved around the perimeter of the door.  If Arabian, it would have the Quran carved above the door.  If there were pineapples in the carvings it meant that you were welcomed into their home.  And finally, if there was a lion(s) carving, it meant that you were part of the Sultan's family. East Indian doors were also large but very different in design.  The doors were adorned with small boxes in a symmetrical pattern but had no significance other than purely decorative.

The Slave Trade which was the reason why we hired a tour guide was beyond what we expected in terms of cruelty and brutality.  The slave trade in East Africa served primarily the Arab countries and the spice plantations on Zanzibar island.  Whereas, West Africa slave trade primarily served the plantations in the U.S. When the British abolished the slave trade along with the Sultan in 1873 they erected a Anglican church on the site of the slave trade. Of note, of 1.4 million population of Zanzibar, 97% are Muslim, 2% are Christian and 1% are Hindi. This church is one of only two Christian churches in the country, the other being Catholic. The inspiration that the English missionaries had behind building their church on this site was to replace the bad with something good. In front of the alter there is red marble with beige marble in the centre.  The beige marble was where the "whipping" tree stood and all slaves were whipped there and if they survived the whipping they would go into the auction two weeks later when their scars heeled.  The red marble symbolizes the blood spilt during these brutal whippings that trenched the ground around the tree. Many died from the brutality in an already weakened state.  Behind the alter is the grave of Edward Steere the designer and builder of the Church. Steere became friends with another famous Brit name Dr. David Livingstone of famed explorers, Stanley & Livingstone. Livingstone, as my siblings Jeff and Lynda pointed out to me, achieved fame when he discovered Victoria Falls trying to locate the start of the Nile.  Livingstone told the British rulers about the plight of the slaves in Africa that resulted in England sending missionaries to East Africa which ultimately led to them abolishing the slave trade.  Livingstone loved Africa so much that he had his heart buried under a tree in Zambia.  A cross carved from that tree hangs in this church in his name.  At the back of the church, there are 12 marble pillars representing the 12 disciples of Jesus. While Steere was away on a short trip, the labourers installed the pillars upside down which is how they have remained.  And finally, also at the back of the church is the baptismal font.  The reason it is located at the back of the church instead of its normal place at the front of the church is because all slave children under 5 years of age were slaughtered on that actual spot.  

Seventeen years ago a tourist from Sweden named Clare Sornas was so moved by the history of the slave trade that she financed a monument of 5 life-size statues of slaves made out of coquina stone linked together by chains in a slave chamber.  The 5 statues represent slaves from 5 different tribes chained together which was a common practice to prevent them from organizing an escape.  The final part of our tour involved us going under ground into the slave chambers.  This was actually hideous.  The ceilings were no higher than 5' 9" with elevated slabs on either side where the slaves slept  with a trench down the centre for when the ocean overflowed and to use as a toilet.  The elevated slabs were less than 3 feet from the ceiling.  The larger chamber was perhaps 25 ft. X 15 ft. and housed 75 slaves at a time, chained together at all times made up of women and children.  The smaller chamber was about 15 ft. X 15 ft. that housed 50 males.  Three slits in the end wall allowed for air to come in but they were maybe an inch wide.  The rooms were incredibly claustrophobic.  Again, no food or water for 3 days and those who survived were deemed strong enough to sell.  You will need to see the pictures to believe it. Di and I found this to be more disturbing than Dachau which we visited it in 1985. I thank the tour guide, Amilcar, who took us through the history of the slave trade and could not resist asking him if he was a descendant from the slave trade.  He smiled and said there were no black people on the island before the slave trade and there is no distinct tribe on the island.  He then simply said "yes".

Our next stop was the Palace Museum, originally built and ruled by the Portuguese from 1804 t0 1856 when the Arabs kicked the Portuguese out of Zanzibar. Several Sultans would call this home and they all proved to be a "randy" bunch.  The two sons of the first Sultan came from different women in the Sultan's concubine because his formal wives did not give birth to boys.  One was the son of a Russian slave and the other an Ethiopian slave. They ultimately warred when Barghash attempted to take the throne from his brother Majid which ended up being a short-lived failed coup. Nothing of consequence happened and they resolved their differences with Barghash took over as ruler from 1870 to 1888.

We then visited the market to see the fish auction which also houses a vegetable and a meat market.  You really need a stomach for this because it was very hot, open sided and dingy inside and festered with flies and an odour that was revolting. Having said that, we stomached watching the fish auction and a bunch of buyers and sellers (couldn't tell them apart) with an auctioneer did their trades.  Bare handed, fish right on the floor, everyone is slimy clothes, we lost our appetite for fish.  The meat and the vegetable markets were marginally better but they appeared to be doing a brisk business.  We think we are going to stick to coffee and only fruit that you have to peel!  LOL

Our last significant stop is the "House of Wonders" built by Sultan Seyyid Said Barghash (same one who took over after a failed bloodless coup).  The reason it was called the House of Wonders it was the first home/building on the island to have electricity and running water. Later on, when elevators were invented, he had one installed by none other than Otis elevators.  Ultimately it became the seat of government in 1913 but the last Sultan to rule there greeting Princess Margaret in 1953 with a portrait of her sister Queen Elizabeth at her coronation 1n 1952.  The last surviving Sultan of this clan now lives in Portsmouth, England.

This is our last full day and last blog covering our journey. In a few short hours I will post an acknowledgement of all those people who helped, encouraged and supported our "trip of a lifetime".  You might just be in it.

January 25, 2015 - Spice Tour and Dhow Palace, Stone Town Zanzibar

Our driver, Haji, picks us up at the Pongwe Beach Resort at 9:30 a.m. to take us to Stone Town via a guided tour of the Spice Trade. 

Zanzibar has been a major trading hub for spices for over 2000 years with Persia (Iran), India and other Arab countries. The spice farm has over 500 hectares where they grow the spices. A lot of the spice industry is controlled by the government especially cloves because of its importance to the Zanzibar economy.

Our guide's name is Abdullah who is very conscientious and gives us a tour involving more than 30 spices and several fruit trees.  Most we willl never remember so we take lots of photos. We are amazed at the variety of purposes that some well known spices are used for.  For example, cinnamon is used to treat high blood pressure and the roots of the plant are used as degongestant.  They cut a piece of root for us to smell and the scent is identical to Vic's vapour rub. Did you know that nutmeg is a natural aphrodisiac and women take it when they are planning children? Women also use it as a form of whiskey.  They make a powder, add water to it and drink it before going out dancing or meeting people to give them confidence.  We also were entertained by a local who skillfully climbed up a very tall Coconut tree with only his hands and a rope wrapped around his feet for traction.  He sang a song most of the time (called Hakuna Matata....no worries) and did some very skillful acrobats.  He then opened up young coconuts that Di and Louise drank coconut water from and ate some of the coconut pulp.  I passed on it.  The tour takes about 2 hours and Di and Louise buy some soaps and spices to bring back as gifts to Canada. We arrange a guided tour of Stone Town tomorrow with Abdullah.  It will help avoid the dozens of unsolicited approaches from street merchants.

After the tour our Haji drops us off near our hotel, Dhow Palace.  The place is right out of a Bogart movie. It obviously has Persian influence and appealing architecture.  The only problem is it is a "dry" hotel and thus dining out will be a priority. Originally built in 1559,  The first owner/occupant was a Sultan whose family dynasty owned it for over 3 centuries until 1899.  The original walls are 70 to 80 centimetres thick made from "coquina" which is sedimentary rock with embedded sea shells.  This type of construction is very common and is what gave Zanzibar Town its more famous name Stone Town. The walls are now covered in stucco whitewash white which is a common finish in this part of the world. Remember the movie Casablanca? Anyhow the one of the last Sultans of the clan to own it in the late 1800's put Zanzibar on the map.  His name was Seyyid Said Barghash.  He gained fame for abolishing the slave trade in Zanzibar along with the English missionairies in 1873 and brought electricity to Zanzibar even  before London England had it.  However, he was also "infamous" for having 99 concubines and apparently lost count of how many children he had.  We saw his portrait and the guy was butt-ugly. You got to love it!  The Palace exchanged hands several times through the first half of the 20th century and eventually fell into disrepair.  The current owners renovated it and re-opened it in 1993 and brought it back to its former glory. From 1995 to 2003 the Palace was only 2 storeys and 16 rooms.  After that they added a 3rd floor (which we are on) and a second wing.  It took them years to complete because they painstakingly finished it with identical materials used in the original construction and there are not many artisans available today who know how to work with those materials.  Fortunately our rooms have AC which turned out to be a blessing because the heat here is oppressive (6 degrees south of the equator and very, very humid).

Regardless of the heat, we decide to do a walk-around of the town even though we will have a guided tour tomorrow.  They're not streets as we know them...at best they are alleys. In fact, the tour guide books warn you that you will likely have to drag your luggage to your hotel because the taxis can't get them.  Dhow Palace was not an exception. Lunch and a walk-around occupied us for about 2 hours and you definitely need a map because there is "zero" street signs.  The only mode of transportation, other than on foot, are Honda and Vespa motorcyles/scooters and bicycles.The interior streets are pretty run down and the only source of light is straight up because of the building height and the narrow alleys.  Every place is either eatery, souvenir shop or some form of retail.  Many will ask you to come in and look around but a polite response, "Asante hopana" (no thanks) gets the desired effect.  

Because our hotel is "dry", we book dinner at a place on the ocean called "Africa House" hotel. It is actually pretty luxurious and we book dinner on the second floor on a huge lanai for 6:30 p.m.  It's back to the hotel for a quick swim in the pool in the open atrium and it is fantastic.  Louise shows her "bohemian" side by going in the pool without using the shower in the Ladies room first.  (Thank God she warns Di and I when we came down).  I go to shower in the Gents room and I am stunned to see a full toilet "inside" the shower!  No...it is not dirty....in fact very clean as they demand but you can literally relieve yourself while showering.  (My brilliant wife has just informed me that it is very common in Asia and is called a "wet toilet".).
                                                   
Dinner out proved to be to our liking and the crowd on the Lanai was made up of well-to-do Aussies, Persians and some lonely looking femmes fatales (i.e. cougars).  It has a bar-like atmosphere with Western music. I had grilled Octopus and the girls had different versions of Red Snapper.  Right behind us were 2 Arabs smoking from a Hookah pipe.  Apparently one smoking session (called shisha) is equivalent to having more than 100 cigarettes. One of the guys tips the scales at least 350 lbs. and smokes for about 2 hours without moving.  Hakuna Matata big boy!

We were back to the Dhow Palace by 9:00 p.m. and readied ourselves for tomorrow's tour and get deep into the history of Zanzibar.

January 24, 2015 The Out-Takes for the Trip

While we spent all of today either walking the beach, playing in the ocean or poolside there is not really much to say about it other than it's great to relax by the ocean. When we move to Stone Town tomorrow, we anticipate that we will have lots to share with you about the slave and spice trade and Zanzibar itself.

So what to cover in today's blog was really not a hard decision.  We decided to let you know about the "out-takes" of the trip.  That is the "caca that happens" that we weren't going to cover so the naysayers couldn't jump on it and say...."I told you so."

Out-Take #1 Louise throws down the gauntlet, day 1 in Uganda

After a series of flights through the night that take us through Kigale Rwanda, Entebbe and Kihihi Uganda, we arrive at our first African destination Mahogany Springs in Bwindi.  The check-in goes smooth until they take us to our suite, which is not the President's suite that we reserved.  Louise immediately and firmly expresses her displeasure to the poor hotel clerk and we are given two separate accomodations.  She really drives home the point and all Diane and I could do was listen in silence.  By this time, we just want to relax.  That evening for dinner, the hotel manager comes and sees us and profusely apologizes for their error and will move our stuff in the morning to the two bedroom, two bathroom President's suite.  By now Louise has cooled off to a simmer and the manager in recognition of our inconvenience offers us a bottle of wine of our choice from the wine list, on the house. We choose well.  After we get the wine, both Diane and I compliment Louise on her strength of conviction and I simply ask her, "Louise, it's not like you to be so forceful.  Why did you feel that you needed to say something?".  She quickly responds "I didn't want you to make a scene".  I am stunned and find myself speechless. She might as well have kicked me right in the cojones.

Out-Take #2 Louise suffers a foot injury

While at Katara Lodge, I took a picture of Louise and Diane on our outdoor open balcony overlooking the Great Rift Valley and then asked Louise to take one of Diane and I.  Without looking, Louise walks over to get the camera from me only to stumble on my hiking boots and slashes her left foot open.  She berates me for leaving the boots in the middle of the balcony and Sister Sledge joins her in criticizing me (a French coup d'etat). It goes without saying that I don't take it well and Louise bleeds like a pig all over our floor. She somehow manages to get to her banda (hut) limping where she has this unbelievable elastic foot bandage that slips over her foot that she brought for just such an occasion.  Talk about being prepared.  Anyways...Louise is no worse for the wear and is now the proud owner of a  one inch scar on her left foot that resembles a smile.

Out-Take #3 Diane get ticks

No kidding. She wakes up one morning in Olduvai and said she felt itchy in the middle of the night and thought she had something thorny stuck in her abdomen.  I look closely and sure enough, she has a few blood-sucking little buggers attached to her tummy and back.  I freak out but she surprises me with a pair of special tweezers that she brought for just such an occasion. And I thought Louise came prepared! I pluck them out for her with these special tweezers accompanied by the occasional yelp.  We believe it was a result of hanging our laundry on low hanging branches of an acacia tree at our previous camp at Dunia.  I'm still not convinced that this is a permanent remedy so I seek out a Masai warrior named Luwinda who had holes the size of silver dollars in his ear lobes.  Luwinda accompanies me to our tent and while Diane has already changed for breakfast, we convince her to allow him to provide her some Maasai treatment.  He breaks off a piece of an aloe vera plant and immediately a syrupy yellow sap (not clear like our North American aloe vera) starts to drip.  We lift her "white" top and he liberally applies this very yellow liquid to her stomach and back. You can imagine what her shirt looked liked after.  Bottom line is everything cleared up fine and the stains in the white shirt washed out.

Out-Take #4 Greg gets sinus treatment from a Maasai medicine man

It seemed the minute we arrived in the Serengeti I reacted to pollen in the air and my sinuses were overflowing.  By the time I got to Olduvai, I was going through a 1/2 box of tissues a day. Pascal our driver, convinced me to visit a genuine Maasai "medicine man" who just happened to be sitting under a tree next to our Land Cruiser the day we trek to the Olduvai Gorge.  The guy couldn't speak a word of English and he looked like he belong at the hostile on George Street in downtown Ottawa. I'm kind of stuck amongst several Maasai warriors and this medicine man so I put on the brave face and say "sure...yah....why not....ha....ha".  So money exchanges hands and this scarecrow of a guy takes my water bottle and from a cheap plastic container start filling it with a concoction of bark, saw dust-like stuff and roots from a variety of acacia trees.  He then shakes it somewhat vigorously and then hands it back.  Kitende and Kone who had accompanied us on the trek also give it a shake and then hand this amber coloured, loamy water to me to drink.  Remember, I've got four of these Maasai, my driver and the two women staring at me in silence. So I drink it. Gawd.  It takes me about 15 minutes to drink all of it and they turn around and re-fill it!  I'm thinking this would be a good time to find religion.  Anyhow, I struggle through another whole bottle of this quite dirty and gritty concoction and await the much anticipated reaction.  Whether purely in my head or real,  my sinuses clear up that night.  I stopped short of another medicinal treatment that they wanted me to take that involved cow's blood.

January 23, 2015 Hakuna Matata Pongwe Beach Resort, Zanzibar

No...I'm not going to go native on you. Just that "Hakuna Matata" really sums it up.  In Swahili it means "no worries" (Something Ad likes to say a lot...not always sure he believes it.LOL)

They have great food here.  We start off the morning with an early breakfast around 7:45 a.m. We have mango and papaya fruit and for those of you who have never tried them (likely most of you) they taste really good.

We do plan a beach day to catch some sun rays because we were in pants and long sleeve shirts for most of the safaris in Uganda and the Serengeti to avoid pests and nettles. Try that on the equator! Anyhow, I wouldn't bother reading a blog about beaching so I won't bore you with covering that.  There was too many other ridiculous as well as interesting things to report on.

Each time we landed at an airport, our travel agency had arranged for a driver to meet us at Arrivals and take us to our accommodations.  For Zanzibar it was a nice Muslim gentleman names Haji (named after the Haj....look it up Janet). He was hired to take us to our first destination, Pongwe Beach Resort.  When we explained to him what we hoped to see and do while in Zanzibar, he proposed a package deal to pick us up and take us to our second destination and on the way, stop and wait for us while we did the Spice tour. For some unknown reason he also took the time to explain to us that there is a thriving drug industry in Zanzibar including the distribution of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, etc. This morning, my dear sister-in-law "Weezie" read from the book we purchased prior to our trip on Tanzania informing us that many of the tour guides in Zanzibar are heroin addicts.  Oh, oh.  Hakuna Matata.

On this same drive, we travelled through an area that looked like a market and Haji informed us it was called Bububu.  There use to be a train on the island and this is where it was headquartered.  According to Haji the region got it's name from the sound that the train made......bu....bu...bu.  The hotel manager at Pongwe Beach, on the otherhand, told us Bububu is where all the bottled water is processed for the island and the area was named after the sound of bubbling water.  Bu.....bu....bu.  Strike 2 for Haji.  Hakuna Matata.

The people themselves, have proved to be very industrious. As you might expect, there are a lot of "village industries".  One of these industries is fishing with nets during low tide which we witnessed this morning.  The fish they catch is called "dagaa" and they sell it in the local markets. Two individuals stretched out a fishing net in the ocean that was about 50 feet long and slowly created a corral in the water.  A third individual started splashing the water to direct the fish into the corral as well as the two individuals at either end of the net. It took them about 1/2 hour but they successfully filled a bucket only about a 100 feet offshore in the shallow water.

At the same time, there was several muslim ladies in full garb in the receding tide with baskets on their head picking up "tuale" (pronounced twal-ee) which are small crabs and "mwani" which is a seaweed that they extract oil from, again, both to sell at the local markets. They don't seem to be concerned that their "saris" are getting wet and they spend the next 4 hours in the shallow waters working away until the tide starts coming back in.

During the low tide, we decide to walk towards a nearby village to explore the area.  By now the ocean has receded about 1/2 mile allowing us to walk further afield.  Again we observe several women collecting large quantities of seaweed and hanging it on racks to dry in the midday sun.  We see literally hundreds of these bundles of seaweed on racks along the shoreline.  We are told by the Pongwe hotel manager that this seaweed will be exported to Japan and used in the manufacturing of rubber.

It is really remarkable that everything seems to have a purpose especially in generating an income similar to what we experienced on mainland Africa.  The people seem really content and fulfilled with what they are doing.  We try to imagine if this will always be the case. Hakuna Matata.

January 22, 2015 Gibb's Farm departure and off to the Island of Zanzibar

Gibb's Farm was definitely a place where we would have like to stay longer. The accommodations were probably the best of our journey in Africa so far but experiencing a working farm combined with walking tours in the surrounding jungle and the farm gardens had been a real treat.  As well, we got to sit out both nights in large Muskoka-type chairs and sip on wine before dinner overlooking the farm valley. Absolutely relaxing. I managed to put a good dent in the bottle of Abelore that Di picked up fo me at duty-free in Entebbe. I'm certain Zanzibar is going to be quite different but hopefully as rich in history and experience.

There were other neat things about our stay at Gibb's.  

Certainly an eclectic group of tourists made up of Canadians, Americans and yes, good ol' Brits.  In fact there was an ancient Brit who has been coming back to the same place since 1947 even before it had a lodge.  He was quite old and stooped and still mostly there but had that British "air" about him of days gone by.  Nothing pretentious about him and he reminded me of the deaf old Major on Fawlty Towers holding his hand to his ear when he talked.  He told us his wife was going to be "right good mad at him" because he misplaced/lost $400.  (Been, there done it, got the damn T-shirt).  Anyways, he was off to a big game hunting reserve (yes...they still have them) and I doubt he could hold up a pistol let alone a game rifle and shoot it.  Nice old lad....not like my "bush baby" buddy.  There was also a table of well-to-Americans and wouldn't you know, one of them grew up on Wellesley street in McKellar Park in Ottawa.

As I mentioned in our previous Blog, they put hedges of "nettles" around the vegetable patch that the baboons like.  If you have never experienced nettles, you will be happy to pass on it.  Little stingers that radiate stinging pain once they pierce your skin.  Regardless, Di got one of the grounds keepers to shoo baboons away from our cottage since they were outside the washroom window while she was showering.  LOL

While their wines and beers were all new to us, they were tasty and enjoyable without exception.  Everything was very affordable and all the food (including meat) was farmed or raised on the property.  Everything 100% organic and service was excellent. 

Enough on Gibb's Farm.

We have a 1 1/2 hour road journey to Arusha where we will catch a regional flight over to Zanzibar.  For the first time in our entire trip, to date, we are on a smooth paved road between destinations. It's almost boring if it wasn't so comfortable. It is a very smooth and quiet ride through hills and the Rift Valley.  We immediately noticed the absence of wildlife and it makes us realize that large areas of Africa have given way to farming and herding and have forced the wildlife out. The Maasai control the land all the way down to Arusha and you see herds of cattle mostly and herds of sheep and goats during the drive.  Kind of sad when you think about it for such a large expanse of land with no wildlife but fortunately the country had the wisdom to put aside large tracts of land like the Serengeti and the Ngrorongoro Crater Reserve to protect and maintain a stable population of wildlife.

We finally arrive at the airport in Arusha and board a 12 seater to fly over to Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean (Did you know that is where it is Janet? Wildebeest......I'm still chuckling).  The flight from the mainland takes 1 1/2 hours and we are looking forward to a couple of days of beach time before heading into Stone Town for the last couple of days touring the area and learning more about its Portuguese and Arab history and the infamous slave and spice trade.  (BTW.....There are 10 passengers on the flight, 8 of which are Canadians).  Go figure.

It's a long drive to Pongwe Beach but well worth it.  Right out of a Somerset Maugham novel.  We get private villas with large Lanais and we are about 100 feet off the Indian Ocean.  We have a palm thatched roof umbrella with two chez lounges on the beach in front of our villa and two hammocks tied to palm trees.  (We haven't figured out where Louise will sit.). We get changed and get right into the ocean.  Very warm and the salt water is not too strong.  They caution us not to step on sea urchins that apparently are in the water. 

As my brother Buck and sister Lynda reminded me before heading out on this trip, the famous Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama first set foot upon Zanzibar in 1499 when he sailed around the Cape of Good Hope.  (Damn it was inspiring growing up with such well informed siblings). Since then it has undergone several regime changes and was once considered for a protectorate of the U.S. of A.  But we will wait until we get to Stone Town for more on its history to do it justice.

For now, it is off to the large open dining room for fish stew, beef biriyini and a French Bordeaux.

January 21, 2015 - The History of Tanzania through Gibb's Farm and a Walk to Elephant Caves

When we chose Gibb's Farm as one of our destinations on this trip, it was primarily because its easy access to the Ngorongoro Crater.  And why we chose it over other lodges was because it was still a working coffee plantation and a throw-back to colonial times.  Little did we expect it to play a part in the rich history of Africa pre-dating Tanzania as a country.

During the Berlin Conference of 1885, Germany and England carved up East Africa's as part of their empires.  Uganda and Kenya came under British rule and the pre-cursor to  Tanzania, Tanganyika and Zanzibar, came under German rule.  Both empires would establish large coffee plantations and the Ngorongoro Game Reserve all of which flourished in the region.  As we know big game hunting was the sport of the rich and famous and  the term "The Big 5" was the successful killing by a big game hunter of a lion, elephant, rhino, cape buffalo and leopard some to the brink of extinction.  This practice is illegal today.

By this time the Germans had started the coffee plantation in the area and had built some buildings as sleeping quarters and for the manufacturing of coffee.  It remained  much that way until the end of World War I when the League of Nations declared it a British mandate and the territory served as a military outpost up until World War II.  The Germans left the region temporarily only to return in 1929 since the King of England and the Chancellor of Germany were on friendly terms and agreed to let the Germans farm the land. They built the first farmhouse where the reception area and gift shop sit today. 

Along comes WW II and by this time the coffee plantation is well established and has flourished.  The Germans lose the war and abandoned the coffee plantation and it declines into a state of disarray. James Gibb who was a war veteran who fought for the British in Egypt,  travels through the region on his way to South Africa and like so many former British military officers to seek his fortune.  The governor of Tanganyika meets with James in Arusha and convinces him to stay and rehabilitate the farm with the help of locals who barters their employment in return for food. In 1958 and pushing 50, James is encouraged to find a wife and marries Margaret, the daughter of two British missionaries who was born in Tanganyika. She becomes the driving force of the farm.  In 1961, Tanganyika gains its independence and in 1963 joined up with Zanzibar and they become one country called Tanzania.  In 1967, a socialist President nationalizes all industries but Gibb's keep their working farm because Margaret is a natural citizen.  She maintains good relationship with the socialist government and the Gibb's coffee plantation flourishes and she hires a local German experienced at running coffee plantations to work for them.  In 1972, the government encouraged Margaret to build a guest house for all the business people and diplomats that visit the region. She carefully expanded the lodge to 20 cottages and created large vegetable gardens to feed the guests. James dies in 1977 leaving her with 3 children so Margaret married her German plantation manager.  She remained owner until 2003 when she sold it and now in her late 80's lives on a hill overlooking Gibb's farm.

We did the tour walk of the farm property and were amazed at its size and diversity.  Our host is a Mbulu tribesman whose name is "Honest". Whatever vegetables that you know or you think you know, grows here.  No chemical pesticides and all vegetables consumed at the meals are freshly picked that day.  The vegetation is in such abundance that all staff on the lodge and plantation (120 plus)  have access to the gardens.  Insects are not a problem (they grow Marigold and spread ashes around the plant) but a couple of times a month they have to deal with baboons and elephants.  The elephants are easy to scare off by simply burning a fire but the baboons keep an eye on the plantation and raid when the farmers are not there.  They grow hedges of "nettles" around the favorite plants of a baboon and if you have never experienced the sting from a nettle plant, you're lucky. Apparently, not much is lost to these pesky night-raiders. Gibb's farming techniques are manual labor intensive and traditional plowing with oxen and donkeys.  The upside is it provides a lot of employment to the local region.

The Elephant Cave walk which we did in the morning with a Maasai warrior named Leskar was very interesting.  A little more than a 2 hour walk at 6,000 feet above sea level, we come to these dug out caves in thick red soil. The purpose of the caves is not for sleeping or hiding but instead elephants dig  with their tusks for much needed minerals - arsenium (spelling?), iron, magnesium and phosphorous.  This is particularly important to female elephants during gestation and they visit early morning and evening to dig for the minerals.

January 20, 2015 Visit to Ngorongoro Crater and onto Gibb's Farm

Leaving Olduvai was heartwarming and certainly a place we could have stayed another day just to learn more about the Maasai but it was time to go.  Our hosts gave gifts to the three of us, necklaces and wristbands for the ladies and a ceremonial walking stick for me (Greg) depicting a leader that would be welcomed into any tribe carrying it. How did he get me right so fast?

Our next stop will be at a working-farm called Gibb's Farm.  Prior to that, we spent the day in the Ngorongoro Crater and by some accounts, the "8th wonder of the world".  It's not all that long a drive to the crater compared to what we have experienced over the past 10 days and we arrive in under an hour.  The crater has security check-in and check-out because no one is allowed to remain overnight.  It has had problems with poachers over the years and in fact, some of the rangers have died at their hands.

According to our guide, Ngorongoro is, in fact, not a crater but a caldera.  The reason being it was an active volcano up to 2 million years ago and was as big as Mt. Kilimanjaro  when it simply imploded. That implosion left a 250 square kilometre patch of sub-tropical forest and plains surrounded by steep, unbroken crater walls more than two thousand feet high.  It would ultimately be home to its own special wildlife sanctuary cut off from the rest of the world.  It has it's own stable herd of wildebeest that don't migrate as well as hippos, elephants, lions, several predators, etc. and the much sought after and close to extinction black rhinoceros.  Other than the precarious one-way switchback roads ascending and desccending the crater walls, I don't know how any animals can get in and out but the Savannah elephants do it on a regular basis. It is too steep for giraffes and we are befuddled how hippos and rhinos made the journey.  While it is an incredibly beautiful valley with a climate onto itself it was a day for savages. Terrifying brown hyenas ripped a wildebeest to shreds and a pride of lions took down a cape buffalo.  I admit to filming it but it was gruesome.  I think that we humans have to admit we possess morbid curiosity. We did get to see black rhinos, 4 in all.  Nothing up close and personal but definitely they exist.  However, even in this guarded sanctuary poachers still get in.  They need to be stopped with less than 25 of these magnificent beasts left in the wilderness who are one of the last ties to animals of prehistoric times.

Ngorongoro is truly worth seeing and while we would have like to spend more time, we did want to get off the road for some down time.  So off to Gibb's Farm.

Gibb's Farm is in the highlands not far from the crater at 5,700 fee above sea level.  Originally owned and established by a Brit in 1920, it is a working coffee plantation and farm with cows, pigs, hens and donkeys and a few acres of coffee beans.  They also have a larger coffee business so all of the coffee grown on the lodge property including the raising of livestock must be for personal consumption of the lodge clients and/or staff because the Tanzanian government limit you to owning two businesses. This place absolutely rocks. Unbelievable scenery, unbelievable accommodations and the right quantity of snootiness of the several British guests.  (One prick I wanted to nail in the head when he said excuse me indignantly to me because I was standing in front of him when he was taking a picture of a "bush baby" which is a monkey.  I keep finding myself staring at him but Di keeps telling me to grow up.  Really).

Anyhow, the place is surreal and we have a 2 storey, 2 bedroom overlooking the plantation.

We are going to explore the property tomorrow and will go and see elephant caves and will explain the purpose of them in the next blog.

January 19, 2015 A Big Day for Birds and Animals of Prey and Birthing on the Serengeti

It's an early start at 7:30 a.m. because we intend to return around 3:30 to enjoy the camp and spend some time with the Sukuma (pronounced Sku-ma) and Maasai and understand more about their cultures and interaction.

Our intent is to zero in on the migration herd popularized on Wild Kingdom by Marlin Perkins back in the 60's.  But before we get going, our guide/driver informs us that they are definitely in the area but are grazing rather than migrating so we will likely not see them progressing in an orderly fashion but there will still be lots to see.  We drove mostly "off road" today so most of the time we were travelling under 20 km/hr. to properly avoid bumps and dens from wart hogs and hyenas.

But the highlights of the day were centred around lions making fresh kills and the birthing of 100's of wildebeest. We mustn't forget that this is the wild and "kill or be killed' is part of the circle of life. It turns out to be a rough day for the wildebeest.  

Score:  Lions 4, Wildebeest 0

    

The lions end up providing most of the close up and personal photo shots.  We come across a pride of 5 lions made up of two juvenile males and three females who have just completed a recent kill. They're massive and you literally sense their incredible strength.  They have just killed an adult wildebeest and it's baby likely hours or days old. They are eating the baby and have neatly stored the mother wildebeest under a tree to eat later in the day.  (Don't get wimpy on me). The scavenger birds (vultures, buzzards, Maribu storks) and hyenas keep their distance and won't be able to move in until the lions permanently leave the kill site. Not more than 400 metres away is a herd of wildebeest that may be aware that there has been a kill but no idea where. The lions go about their eating in a very relaxed fashion and 4 tour jeeps surround them as they lazily finish their meal ignoring us totally before falling asleep. A male and female lion affectionately lick each others faces after eating and the irony of the situation is not lost on us. Twice more we come upon lion prides, one of which is finishing off a fresh kill and the other pride is basking in the sun along the water's edge of the gorge basin.

The other significant source of feasting on wildebeest this day comes from the scavengers on the Serengeti and there are plenty.  They include vultures, buzzards, jackals, hyenas and Maribu storks.  Their source of food is primarily wildebeest dying or weakened from old age, thirst and/or disease. You can easily spot them on the open plain where groups of them will surround a kill with wings flapping, hissing and fighting. They ravage the corpse during this melee and you know that they will "pick the bones clean" with the exception of the tuff of the hair that was part of the wildebeest's tail.  Disgusting. It is not a pretty sight and these birds of prey are both ugly and evil looking which is likely why they are portrayed so often as scary in novels and movies.

We don't get to see hyenas feasting on any prey but we do see them frequently in groups of 1 or 2 at a time. We were surprised at how big the Spotted Hyena was (weighing up to 180 lbs.) compared to Brown Hyena approximately 100 lbs.  Unlike lions who always look spotless, the hyenas are always dirty and look like they just awoke from a big binge! We also see a lone, newly born hardebeest who has lost its herd and is chasing after a herd of Elands in hopes of finding its mother.  The Elands ignore the baby and when we asked the guide if the mother hardebeest will go find its infant, he politely says she is stupid and will not likely while the baby will likely fall victim to a scavenger this day or shortly after. This upsets Diane.

But there waa a positive side to the activity relating to the wildebeest this day.  Birthing.  First off, although they have not amassed for the big migration, wildebeest are everywhere.  We do several 360 degree observations during the day and wildebeest were in abundance as far as the horizon and in all directions.  I cannot even start to estimate how many we see but it is literally in the 10's of thousands.  Similarly, the number of newborns we saw were countless.  You could tell they were less than a day old from their colouring and their umbilical cords still attached. The guide told us that they need to be standing on their own within 10 minutes or they will be left behind. They stick to their mother's side like glue for food and protection.  There is definitely a separation of herds made up of pregnant and birthing mothers together and separate herds with no babies and purely males. 

The day has been full and diverse and I am feeling the effects of the "off road" journey so it is back to the camp. I am pleased to say that the "cocktail hour" is alive and well and after a quick shower, we sit on our porch and reflect on another great day.

Tonight we were treated to beef Stroganoff and Olduvai camp has a full house, not something we had seen at our other stops. We think it is a result of location, accommodations and the gentle environment of the tribal people.  As mentioned earlier, our hosts come from the Sukuma tribe who were warring with the  Maasai tribe less than 3 decades ago but you would never have known.  Apparently the Maasai believed that all cattle on Earth belong to them and they would attack neighbouring camps and steal their herds.  They obviously have gotten past that and the tribes are very cooperative and respectful towards each other.  The top man at the camp is Shuiz (pronounced "shoes") a member of the Sukuma tribe who talks very slowly and purposefully.  A gentle soul, he doesn't change his demeanour at any time and he can't do enough for you.  In fact, when he hears that we will be sending an email birthday greeting to a friend in Canada (none other than Donna) he surprises us with a hand-made envelope containing a gift for us to give her.  And the Maasai are no less endearing.  Always greeting you "Jambo, Jambo" they suddenly appear out of nowhere to accompany you back to your tent safely after dinner.  Three of them are "night watchmen" and keep the camp safe during the dark hours.

Tomorrow we will be living Olduvai for Ngrongoro (gor-un-gor-o) Crater in search of rhinos.  

January 18, 2015 Trekking with the Maasai to a famous Archeological Dig Site at Olduvai Gorge and a Final Farewell

Our decision to do a walking tour today instead of a driving tour is a good one.  It gives us a change of activity and lots of exercise. We start early as usual (8:30 a.m.) when it is still cool (about 18C) and the sky is partially cloudy. Accompanying/guiding our walk are two Maasai warriors equipped with one spear, machetes and walking sticks for our personal protection. Their names are Kitende (pronounced Key-ten-dee) and Kone (pronounced Cone-ee). We undertake a 12 kilometre walk through the open plains among the wildlife to the famous archeological dig at Olduvai Gorge where Dr. Louis Leakey and his wife Mary discovered the remains of a hominid (pre-human) dating backing 1.8 million years on July 17, 1959. The walk takes us 2 hours and 25 minutes with plenty of stops for photos and by then, it has gotten warm.

The walk to the dig is a story onto itself. The Maasai are rich in culture, community and tradition and the lead guide, Kitende is willing to share their story. Their customs and their ways are based on survival similar to that of the wildlife.  They raise goats, cattle and sheep as their source of income but they are not allowed to kill wildlife (unless for personal protection) or raise crops. They have been restricted from these activities since wildlife tourism is a major part of Tanzania's income but why they were forbidden to raise crops was because the government was trying to drive them out of their current location which obviously didn't work. Their mode of transportation is walking.....period.  It is nothing for any of them to walk 20, 30, 40 kilometres in a day. In fact, a Maasai warrior must be able to walk a 120 kilometres within a day.  Kitende explained to me, that if an Elder is sick and in need of help, they must be able to make a return trip in the same day to provide assistance.  They know that walking is good for their health and that combined with a focus on self-medication based on herbs, it is not unusual for males to live to 95 to 100 and females 80 to 85. 

The goal of all Maasai males is to become a warrior.  This usually occurs around the age of 15 and they are then circumcised. Ouch. Although they no longer battle other tribes since 1995, the traditions of a warrior still exists.  To become a warrior is not a birth right but needs to be earned. According to Kitende, the overriding requirement is the warrior "must know everything". (Sound familiar?). They must know the habits of all wildlife in order to co-exist.  They must know how and where to dig for water in the dry season.  They must know how to properly throw a spear and the several uses of a machete. They have to be able to distinguish hoof patterns to know which ones belong to their herds when tracking them since some are very similar to several predators such as cape buffaloes. And dangerous interactions with wildlife does occur.  He told us cape buffalo can be very dangerous and will attack.  If you are close to a tree you can always climb up it.  If not, lie down and stay still.  I asked him if that ever happenned to him and he responded "many times".  We found out Kone, the other warrior on our walk, was chased by a bull elephant up a tree as a boy.  His name was changed to Kone after the type of acacia tree he climbed up. And elephants have been known to kill humans.  Ironically, when they have, the elephant will dig a grave and bury the human out of respect before leaving. If there is a killer lion on the loose, the warriors gather together and hunt it.  When they find it, one warrior is sent forward as bait and when it goes after the warrior, the rest surround the lion and kill it. I didn't ask if one volunteered as the bait.

The family unit is based on polygamy and males will have 4 to 5 wives and will raise 20 to 22 children.  (I can see Bob Evoy salivating). The Maasai warriors wear predominantly bright red cotton robes and the females wear rich blue nylon robes.  The Elders of the tribe have to approve all marriages and you can only earn a wife if you give her father cattle in exchange for her hand in marriage. Elders are definitely revered and Kitende told us that all Elders of the tribe become your father.  Whatever they ask of you, you do. Likewise female Elders become your mother.  Children, both boys and girls, starting learning how to herd at the age of 5.  They must also learn to distinguish hoof prints so as not to endanger themselves.  At the same time, they do attend school and are taught by the mothers several different disciplines including Swahili and English.  We saw adolescent boys who were herding approach us and the warriors and they bowed.  The warriors gently touch their heads and I could have as well.   This is how they learn to show respect.  The expression "it takes a village to raise a child" is alive and well in this part of the world.  You may not agree with their lifestyle especially around marriage given our Western sensitivities but it works for them.  We saw no signs of discontent but instead a close bond and respect for one another.

All of this we learned from the Maasai during our walk to the dig site. But shortly before we arrived, Kitende turned to me and said this was a good spot for Diane and Louise to sprinkle their mother Marie's ashes. They took turns sprinkling her ashes without undo ceremony and when we started to move on Louise said "Good bye mom" and I couldn't help feeling the emotion of the moment.

      

The Olduvai Gorge is one of the most important dig sites in the world and it is a gorge approximately 50 kilometres long.  This is where Dr. Louis Leakey and his wife Mary first discovered early chopping and cutting tools and weapons made by hominid (pre-historic man)  and in 1959, discovered the oldest hominid at 1.8 million years old. They named it Zinjaantheropus. Zinja is ancient arabic for "east Africa" and antheropus means "man". From the basin of the gorge some 300 feet deep, you can see 5 distinct sediment layers that date back from 3.4 million years ago to 1.8 million years. In which layer fossilized remains are found roughly approximates when they existed.  Just walking around, we found fossilized bones and ancient plants which we are bringing back.

     

We return to the camp shortly after 2:00 p.m. (by vehicle) for a much-needed shower from all the dust and then lunch.  We took the afternoon off to relax on our porches and sip some wine and talk about the day.  We topped the day off by walking to a large outcropping of Kopjes look out at miles and miles of open space hundreds of feet below us as the sun set.

Tomorrow will be focused on finally seeing the big migration herd.

January 17, 2015 - Journey to the Birthplace of Humankind - Olduvai, Serengeti

The camp that we are leaving, Dunia, is the first experience that we have ever had in tented accommodations.  Dunia (pronounced dun-ya) is a moving camp and although high end you can tell that things are temporarily established.  It was a great atmosphere, safe and we would recommend it to others. The people running the camp are all locals and most are married with young families.  They come from a village over 2 hours away and work 8 straight weeks and then 2 weeks off.  Quite a sacrifice by Western standards but you wouldn't suspect it given the warmth and friendliness of their service. While we were there we did learn some Swahili.  "Jambo, Jambo" is their greetings to others much like we say hello.  "Asante" is thank you and "Karibu" is welcome.  Add "sana" to asante or karibu and it is thank you very much and you are most welcome.  Let's see how long we remember that!

Today we head out to Olduvai (pronounced Ol-do-vie) which is in the southern part of the Serengeti and is a permanent camp run by a Maasai tribe. We will be staying with them for 3 days which will be our longest stay at one place for the entire trip.  We have been told that the terrain is very different in the south compared to the central Serengeti and likely the majority of the migration will still be down there.  The central Serengeti has high grasslands whereas the south has short grasslands.  This is significant  since we understand that the wildebeest prefer eating short grass.  Hence, this is why the migration is constant throughout the year and its progress is impacted by the amount of rain and water available to them.  We also find out that Zebra often proceed the mass migration because they prefer the longer grass and eat it creating an effect much like mowing your lawn. 

So we head out around 8:30 a.m. to go approximately 110 kms.  This journey will take us 8 hours to complete and the length of time is only partially impacted by stopping to look at and photograph wildlife.  We have gotten into the habit of actually watching the wildlife instead of simply snapping pictures.  You get to see some pretty interesting interaction between male, female, juvenile and babies of the various species. When you get to see the pictures that we took and how close up to them we were, it will be hard for you to believe.  The second and the majority of the reason the trip took so long is 90 of the 110 kms. is "off road".  The overwhelming majority of the route is simply paths that have been created by guided tours' land cruisers.  No gravel, no sides to the path but lots of bumps and muddy ruts that slow you down to under 5 kms/hr at some points. We do get the luxury of a major gravel/dirt road for about 10 kms when we pick up the passes for the Ngorongoro Crater Reserve (pronounced gor-un-gor-o) but it is back to not only "off road" but "off path".  Our guide races over the open plains with no paths at all up to 50 kms/hr because the Serengeti in this area is so flat that he rarely has to dodge a depression in the terrain. Did I mention he is a really good driver? I, of course, am standing up looking for the damn groundhog holes.

Even though the main purpose of the day is to get from Dunia to Olduvai, it is the most spectacular day for seeing wildlife.  The first half of the journey has wildlife sprinkled around and while you see lots of variety (gazelles, ostriches, water bucks, hardebeest, etc.) none of them are in big herds.  By mid-day we starting see Zebras by the dozens, then by the 100's and finally by the 1000's.  They spread out as far as the eye can see to the horizon in all directions and while in abundance, not yet to rival the million plus herd of the migration. Slowly but surely, we starting seeing wildebeest that will make up the majority of the migration population. Again, initially by the 100's then by the 1000's.  The driver estimates that we saw between 15,000 and 20,000 for the last 30 minutes of our trip.  But interwoven with these big herds, we see predators appearing, most of which, we get really close to. First we come across a pride of 10 plus lions (including big Leo himself) sitting on Kopjes baking in the sun.  They don't even bother with us.  Then our driver goes "off path" and races to the horizon where we can see a solo land cruiser stopped.  We come across a mother Cheetah and her 2 cubs and get as close as 25 to 30 feet from her.  She doesn't seem to mind our presence and walks ahead of the cubs indifferently.  Wait till you see the pictures! Several minutes later we come across another lion pride made up of 3 females (one pregnant) and 3 babies.  This time we get within no more than 20 feet of the pride and they are all sleeping lazily.  The guide actually shuts his engine off and I'm wondering, what the hell, what if they attack?  Guess he knows something we don't know. Anyways, great pics once again.

  

When we finally get within a few kilometres of Olduvai,  you can see a large Kopje where the camp is and off in the horizon there is a mountain range at least 10,000 feet high. As we get closer to the camp we start seeing herds of cows and goats and only the Maasai are allow herds because they have been forbidden to kill wildlife for food. As we pull up to the camp, we are blown away.  Large tourist tents line the outside of the Kopje and their dining room, lounge area and other buildings include the Kopje as part of their design.  This is no Super 8.  Incredible architecture and the nicest facilities yet.  What a surprise. The view is spectacular beyond anything that we have ever seen. The camp is elevated looking down on a panoramic view of open plains that you can see for 10's of miles. Incredible architecture and the best facilities yet.  The 17 tourists tents line the outside of the Kopje and like the other tented camp,  you are escorted by the Maasai during darkness. Before dinner, Di and I join Louise on her porch for a drink and take in the sights. For tomorrow, we decide to do a walking tour with two Maasai warriors instead of a driving tour and we will visit the famous archeology dig site of Dr. Leakey where he discovered the first human-like foot print that is 3.5 million years old.   

That is why it is called the birthplace of humankind. 

January 16, 2015 Alas, the Serengeti in Seronera

Our much anticipated safari on the Serengeti begins around 8:30 a.m.  with our guide Pascal who will be with us for the next 7 days. We are in Northern Tanzania in the Seronera region which is approximately in the central part of the Serengeti.  It is actually the transition region between the Forest region and the Savannah plains.  Serengeti stands for "endless place" and the open plains stretch for literally 100's of kilometres unfettered. Imagine looking in one direction and seeing nothing but endless fields of grass to the horizon and then turn in the opposite direction and see an abundance of acacia trees dotting the Savannah grasslands.  We experience this switching from one topography to another frequently throughout the day and it seems absolutely remarkable to have such a change in ecosystem next door to each other.  The area itself was formed from volcanic eruptions well before  the existence of any form of life. The volcanic ash is rich in minerals so when there is a rainfall, the grasslands flourish.  Unique to this region is the oddest looking rock formations called Kopjes (pronounced "copies") where almost perfectly round boulders sit atop other round, smooth surfaces and you wonder how they don't roll off.  It is these Kopjes that we see our first male lions of the journey.  They actually don't do much of the hunting and rely on the female lions to do their beckoning. I would say they got it good.

The massive migration itself is south of where we currently are (where we will be heading tomorrow January 17th) but it will eventually move North depending on the conditions of the wet versus dry season.  We find out from our guide and the literature that while the migrations followed a circular clockwise pattern for more than 3 million years, the timing of where and when it will be is not predictable. While we got to see a lot of wildlife it is certainly not in the realm of a million plus wildebeest which is the approximate size of the migration herd. This we expect to see when we move on to Olduvai.  However, what we did experience and also learn from our guide does not let us down.  Water buffalo were in abundance in breeding herds and these creatures weigh in at approximately 800 kilos (or 1700 pounds).  Lions will try to take them on but are often rebuffed since the buffalo will team up together to fight them off.  According to our guide, when they attack it is to kill not simply maim.  The breeding herds has over 100 members with a dominant male and several young calves. But this is where the male gets his "come-upance" as he ages.  When the male gets to old to lead the herd, he is booted out to fend for himself.  We saw a herd of 24 of these older male water buffaloes roaming the savannah together to live out their days as outsiders.

We got to get close up and personal with a herd of about 70 elephants including a baby elephant maybe a week old. They surrounded our vehicle and were no more than 15 feet away at times.  The savannah elephant has very large ears compared to the forest elephant which you don't find on the Serengeti. I really like the way they move slowly but gracefully and we spend a lot of time just watching them do their thing. There are plenty of hippos at these water holes as well but they tend to stay submerged most of the time with only their snouts and eyes showing.  By the way., the red on the skin is not blood but a red oil they secrete to keep their skin protected.

A pleasant surprise was the number of giraffes that we encountered.  The odd one would be solo but most of the time we saw them in groups of 10 to 20 eating from the tops of thorny acacia trees by grabbing the leaves with their long tongues.  (Apparently their tongues are long enough to wrap around your head....wouldn't that come in handy?).

Herds of impalas are everywhere and the guide tells us that is because they are not many lion prides in the area.  They are male-lead and some of these herds have over a 100 females.  I'm not going to go there.  Other similar species that we see that are easy to confuse with the impalas are Topi, hardebeest, water bucks, gazelles but somehow the little frenchmen manage to tell one specy from another. They are having a blast marking down the various breeds in their illustrated books and there is a bit of a competition going on between them.

Two funny stories to share with you occur in the vehicle itself.  Although real roomy with seat belts we are often standing up taking pictures through the covered roof  and thus disregard them for most of the journey.  You have to remember that while there are established paths on the Serengeti, the guides do make their own modifications.  Louise is sitting taking a picture out the side window when Pascal does one of these maneuvers and the next thing you know, Louise is in the air launched  over the isle and lands in Di's lap.  Of course I think this is pretty funny.  A few minutes later, I attempt to get out of the jeep for a "Bio break" and our guide Pascal panicks and says you can't and I find myself hurled backwards by my loving wife landing on my ass looking up at Louise with a contented smile.

There is lots more to tell but this blog will get ridiculously long.  In future blogs, we will try to concentrate on unique or new things so as not to be redundant.

It's 4:30 in the morning when I am writing this blog and there is a couple of impalas outside the tent rummaging around and grunting.  Di is tenting with Weezie for the night.