Serengeti Expedition

 The day a baboon attacked our truck….

               Today was  our first day of expedition, spent traveling across northern Tanzania to the heart of the Serengeti, a large expanse of protected grassland and woodland home to thousands of animals and part of the 8^th wonder of the world(im pretty sure), the great migration. We(or I) woke up bright and early at 6am, already packed and ready to go. Car assignments were set so there was no need to rush to get all the group(my 5 good friends and I) in the same car, we had been separated. I ate breakfast and packed my lunch for the day and headed to the truck to get a good seat in my assigned car. Soon we were on our way, and spirits were high. Camping in the Serengeti, what an amazing experience! About 10 minutes into a 6 hour drive, Neuro(the mechanic who was the driver of our car) pulls over. If it’s a problem with the car, it must be something he can handle, right? I mean, he’s the mechanic! The staff has been planning this trip since, well, before the program even began for us, you’d think they would make sure everything was good to go. But…as it turned out, our car was really, truly broken. Neuro couldn’t fix this on the side of the road. All the cars were radioed to come back and meet us, and the professors and drivers got out to have a pow-wow. Watching them talking intensely with brows furrowed in thought on how to handle the situation, we sat in silence watching and trying to read their lips to understand what was happening.

                Soon we were told we were to gather our things and get out of the broken truck and squeeze into the other 3 trucks, with seats completely full and all the other students gear already packed in. okay…we were hesitant but were able to squeeze 4 in the back of one truck, and the others took the front passengers seats next to the drivers that had previously sat the professors. So we now had about 9 people in each safari car. Were we going to ride like this the entire trip? We had no idea. A common theme here in Africa is we rarely really know what is going on. We are told a tidbit of what is happening but are mostly left in the dark, waiting until we reach our destination or until we can begin moving again. Then we headed off to the gate of the Ngorongoro crater, as we have to drive through the park to get to the gate of the Serengeti. We arrive shortly to the gate, where on our last visit people watching was almost more entertaining then seeing the animals themselves, and the displaced car riders are told once again we need to switch cars. The next one was a small, tan rented vehicle we were taking along in case any of our trucks got stuck in the mud while were were camping and needed to be pulled out. We have to move the stuff packed into that little car to the big white storage vehicle and then 5 of us piled into tan truck. Then we waited, unsure what we were waiting on, to be able to enter the park.

                Our driver was out and about, possibly taking care of paperwork, and had left the window open. Not a problem, it was hot, and the air circulation was needed. Meanwhile a troop of baboons wandered into the parking lot. These baboons are very, very used to people and in fact expect you to feed them, as many tourists feed them against the wishes of the tourist companies and drivers. Meandering over in our direction is a large, dominant adult male baboon. With what can only be described as swag, he walks up to our car and suddenly jumps to the open driver’s seat window, clutches the side of the door, and thrusts his head, teeth bared, violently into our small, packed car. Screams, yelps, and tensed muscles ensue, as we are legitimately frightened this bold male will attack us. I yell instinctively for help as I contemplate how I could maneuver my body from the back seat to the front window in a way in which my leg would be free enough to kick him, hard, in his chest or crazed monkey face. Meanwhile, Meghan opens the door to run out, and Emma in the passenger’s seat, is paralyzed with fear as he stares directly into her face, teeth bared. Just as suddenly as he came, he jumps off and casually struts away from the car. We let out a collective sigh of relief and then look at each other, suddenly bursting into fits of laughter. Did that really just happen? I think so.

                Soon we are on our way once again, onto the bumpy, steep road through Ngorongoro. I pop on my headphones and take in the sights while listening to Royskopp, Beyonce, and Aer. After a long ride we stop at Oldupai Gorge, the cradle of mankind. You may be thinking to yourself, isn’t it Olduvai gorge? Nope, Its actually Oldupai, which is a maasai term for the sisal plants that are so common there. It had been changed because people couldn’t pronounce oldupai as well or something of that nature, so it got twisted around. Our tour guide there was charming and very intelligent, but felt the need to express just how up with American culture he was by throwing out names like Rhianna(not sure how to spell that), Jay-Z, Chris Brown, and Oprah constantly. (Everyone is from Oldupai, Even Michael Jackson!). The small museum was informative and interesting, and the sight of the large stratified butte was truly epic.

                Then we were on our way again, and I fell asleep pretty soon after. I opened my eyes, half asleep from my nap, to the sight of literally thousands of wildebeest across the expanse of the grassland landscape as far as the eye could see. The great migration. Every year animals like wildebeest and zebra make a long circular journey from Kenya to Tanzania and back to Kenya for breeding and feeding purposes. In fact, wildebeest are always on the move. They don’t stay in one place for very long. We arrived at the gate of the Serengeti where we are informed, yet again, that we have to switch cars. At this point I am hot, tired, a bit carsick from the bumpy roads, and getting irritable. I took some deep breaths, reminding myself that this was hardly a big deal in retrospect, as I am about to be camping in the Serengeti and I just saw the great migration. Life is so, so good. We then started the 2.5 hour game drive through the Serengeti grasslands to get to our campsite. The grassland was endless, dotted with acacia trees, and as far as you could see were swaying, undulating pains of tall grass. We saw a bunch of animals, including lions lazily sleeping on kopjes, these rock formations that actually looked like pride rock. It rained lightly, minimizing the dust being kicked up and making the air cool and sweet. Rays of light broke through the toy-story like clouds and I put my hands out, imaging I was flying through the air over the grasslands. My truck didn’t have a roof, you see, and it felt amazing.

We got to our campsite, a large open area with a bathroom and covered structure where we set up our kitchen. Tents were pitched, a fire was started, and food was prepared as we sat exhaustively but excitedly talked about plans for the next few days. Sleeping was fitful as I often woke up to hyenas and lions growling and yelping around the campsite. Our guard, Bura, is simply amazing. Walking the perimeter of the campsite with a chair leg he uses as a weapon, he makes sure the hyena don’t bother us and the lions stay away from the camp. He proudly shows off the hyena teeth marks on it. At night if we had to go to the bathroom, we were to flash our flashlights to signal him to come over. If he didn’t come, it meant that we were not safe to be out of our tents as animals were around, and would have to wait till the coast was clear. I woke up in the middle night and flashed my light. Bura didn’t come. I really had to pee. Like, badly. But bura wasn’t coming!! Did he just not see me? I didn't hear any animals, where was he! I hopped around waiting for what seemed like 15 minutes but was surely only about 5. I made the decision I had to go, so I listened intently for any movement, heard nothing, and then quickly dashed over to a nearby tree to take care of business. Within 45 seconds I was back at the tent, safe, and much much more comfortable. I learned the next morning that he had not come because he had his eye on a lion that was around the perimeter of the camp. There had been 3 hyenas that night also. Oops…..

The day I watched a Lion take down a baby wildebeest….

                It’s the second full day in the Serengeti. Yesterday and today we spent the morning on an early game drive to catch the animals when they are most active. We then came back for breakfast at 930am, then sat around camp reading and such till lunch at 1245, and then had guest lectures. Unfortunately, after the first night we slept in the tents, one of the students, Emma, got extremely sick. We all felt so bad that there was nothing we could do. I gave her some of a drink mix I had that helps rehydrate, but other than that she had to just suffer in her tent while we went out and did game drives. We also weren’t sure if it was contagious, so that caused me some anxiety but no one else got sick and she thinks it was a bacterial thing from something she ate, or perhaps water she drank that wasn’t safe. For our first game drive we spent most of the time observing and recording the behavior or giraffes, which was really interesting. The next day we went birding and identified so many different species of absolutely beautiful birds. My favorite was the lilac-breasted roller, ill try to post a picture. During our birding exercise our car decided to not want to start, so we had to get out and push it to get the ignition to catch, so I can say I was really, truly, outside in the middle of the Serengeti! But it actually got pretty annoying because we could either leave the car running and chase away all the birds, or turn it off, be able to see birds, but have to push it to get it started again. Also later on we were parked watching two female lions posing for us against a stunning backdrop and all the sudden we were “PSHHHHHHHHHH”, our back right tire was deflating. We hadn’t even been moving….

 This is a picture of the Lilac Breasted Roller, Stunning, no?

                After driving around for a few hours and seeing little more than some impala, gazelles, and warthogs(which we have decided would have British accents if they were to talk, and would always be on their way to an appointment or engagement because they always seem to have places to go) we were getting frustrated we weren’t seeing anything exciting. We decided to follow a tourist safari truck on the move and came upon a cluster of trucks around a rock kopje. There in the grass next to the massive boulders were two lions, a male and a female, sleeping and cuddling. They were gorgeous. Up on the rocks were two more females and a younger male, also sleeping. That’s all you really ever see lions do. Except that day. We were about to pull away to cruise around when we saw something running towards the rocks in the far distance. What is that? We asked each other. An impala? No. a gazelle? No. As it came closer we saw it was a baby wildebeest, entirely lost and alone. It was running directly towards the rocks, into the lions den, if you will. We screamed at it to “run, run away baby!” but alas, it did not heed our warnings. Before we knew it the wildebeest was running directly to the patch of grass between the tourist cars and the lions sleeping. One female on the rock saw it, stood up, but seemed to be confused as to how to approach the situation, prey running directly at it. It was too easy. Then the two on the ground saw it and within seconds the lady was on top of it as it let out its final cry of life, breaking its neck. The male then swooped in to take the kill as his own, and walked to a different area farther away from the trucks to keep the kill safe. At this point we were freaking out, and could NOT believe we just saw that entire thing happen. Suddenly, the 10 cars around the rocks kicked into gear and surrounded the lions. Two even ran into each other, denting their trucks, and one got so close to the lion that he actually almost hit it. Everyone was fighting to get a spot to see the lion with the kill, and the tour guide drivers were going to do whatever they could to supply their clients with the best view. It was a disgusting example of the fundamental issues with the tourism industry, as the lions were basically trapped as people fervently snapped pictures and made the animals extremely anxious. We did not want to be in the situation anymore and drove away, but it was the most exciting series of events I have ever experienced! Later that day we saw not one, but two leopards(two separate instances) napping in a tree. They were far, but with binoculars you could see their stunning pattern and beautiful face.

The day there was cheese…

                The final full day we were in the Serengeti we had another game drive in the morning, and went to experience what may be the most memorable part of the entire trip. The buffet. We were dropped of at a tourist lodge in the park, luxurious and clean. We had been told in advance of the buffet there, and were salivating at the mere thought of the food possibilities. Many didn’t eat breakfast so they could really stuff their bellies with as much as possible. We walked in and my attention as instantly drawn to the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time. Cheese. Cheddar, Gouda, Havarti, Garlic something, oh my GOD, I tried them all and went back for seconds, thirds, fourths... Spread on a ridiculously fresh French baguette that was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I could barely handle the love I was feeling towards this edible aged delicacy. There was also FRESH vegetables. What? Veggies not fried in a cup of oil and butter? Those exist?! I had a large, fresh salad, some delicious grilled pork, a pasta dish in which I picked everything I wanted in it(even the spices!!) and a slice of apple pie for desert. I died. Basically. Then we swam, looking pregnant basically, in the infinity pool overlooking the Serengeti. Unreal.

That day we saw giraffes sparring, tons of hippoes, a race between mongoose and warthog, a cheetah meandering through the field, a ton of elephants(one of which was missing about half of its trunk), lots of lions, and a ton of gorgeous birds. Whew, what a great day. We got back to the camp and that night after dinner, as I was chatting with my ecology professor, my management professor ran towards Bura and said loud and clear “Bura. Simba. Hapa” (Bura. Lion. Here.) We suddenly heard a deep, rumbling growl. Then we heard it again. Close and loud. I looked at him, “is that really a lion?” I asked and searched his face for fear to decide if I should be scared too, as he casually replied “yes. It is at camp.” With his typical slow and wise cadence. Everyone had a bit of a freak out then. Other tourists were camping at the site now, we had about 50 people at the site. Immediately Bura ran over towards the growl and we heard another tourist guide turn on their vehicle, often a tactic to scare the animals away. People ran into the kitchen structure and our group ‘mom,’ whitney, sternly said (with a definite quiver in her voice) “get in your tents. Now.” People scurried to the tents and stared out the netting, trying to get a glimpse of what was happening. We heard more cars turning on and driving, as they herded the lions away from camp. In a few minutes we were able to come back out and we all excitedly shared stories of what we were doing when it happened, if we saw it, what we knew about why it was at camp. My management professor, who wrote a thesis on lion calls, hypothesized that it was just curious and came to check out the area. There was a male and a female, both adults. The male had come to the campsite clearing and walked between some of the other tourists’ tents close to the bathroom. They herded them away with three vehicles. Despite the excitement, I was exhausted and I slept well that night, let me tell you. Still had to pee though, but Bura escorted me this time and made sure the lions didn’t attack, as it turns out they came back and were wandering around the site. Thank god for that guy.

The day with the dust…

                It was the day to pack up and leave, after an amazing and eventful trip. We loaded up the cars, packed up the tents, and were on our way. We did a last game drive with tops of the cars off to take in the Serengeti for the last time. I popped in my headphones and listened to the Darjeeling Limited soundtrack while gazing out at the passing grasslands, peppered with gazelle grazing and buffalo staring out into the distance. The wind whipped through our hair as the dust was kicked up behind our trucks. This place is truly amazing. We then were on the bumpy ngorongoro roads and I decided I had to sleep a bit. With the window open I napped for an hour, as did the rest of the car. We woke up and looked at each others faces and burst out laughing. We all looked like we had a five o’clock shadow across our entire face. Some of us looked straight up Indian, others had dust mustaches and dark, dark circles around their eyes. The dust had been coating us through the open windows as we slept, and it was hilarious to see the difference in skin color as we washed it off when we got home. Overall it was an amazing trip that I will NEVER forget. Ever.

I hope you have enjoyed this lengthy blog post, I can only hope it was interesting enough to read to the end. If not, hey, totally understandable. I leave for Kenya in two days. Very excited.

Baadaye(Later)

Natalie

Water is Life

Its pouring tonight in Rhotia, as the short rains are upon us in full force. Thus, i decided to name this post accordingly, as everything here seems to depend on water resources. The heavy drops fall from the sky in straight lines, hitting the already saturated soil. Thunder and lighting boom and flash, and the air smells sweet and warm with rain. Simon and Garfunkel plays on my little speakers, one of the best gifts i received from my mom and dave this year as they are used almost constantly by everyone in the camp, and my opinion is strengthened that the soothing yet powerful music is alarmingly fitting for rainy days. Through the window in front of me, looking out onto our little cement porch, my banda mate holds her water bottle out to catch the rain, inefficiently, but with patience. It rains at least once a day now that we have entered the short rainy season, usually all night and a few times on and off during the day. Farmers are busy plowing the fields and planting, many of the staff is taking days off to tend to their land and capitalize on the sporadic rains that become more and more unpredictable with each passing year. Its striking to experience how dependent the community is on the weather, on natural occurrences and patterns. As the climate changes, it is communities like this that are the most strongly impacted, as their livelihoods depend on the regularity of the rains and the vegetation it supports.

Ive been very busy here lately, classes are winding down strangely enough, and we have finals coming up over the next few days. Today i had my last swahili test and i believe it went well. I wrote two papers for the class as well(very short, but still i am very proud of my level of swahili understanding from less than a month of an irregular class schedule.) and Ritha, our teacher, actually praised me in front of the class as i had one of the best papers. I admitted to her though, that i had help editing them from one of the staff, but she didnt seem to mind and still told me i did a great job. I feel like i dont fully deserve the praise i guess, but im glad she liked the paper. Tomorrow is a study day and then exams begin, essay format, on everything we have covered so far. Daunting, as they are worth 40% of my grade in each class. After exams we head out to the Serengeti for a 5 day expedition that i can only imagine will be a once in a lifetime experience.

It has been some time since i have last posted. So, i will insert a portion of a paper i had to write about my homestay which was some time ago. It may end rather abruptly because i am not putting in the entire paper in which i go on to examine the conservation implications of their lifestyle and how cultural influences can help or deter conservation efforts. Skip down to the non double spaced text below to hear about my trip to ngorongoro. here is my paper exerpt:

One other SFS student, Emma, and I spent a day with the Kolette family. The day went by quickly as we worked to overcome the language barrier with Mama Josephine and Baba Ferdinand, helping to cook, clean, and sew, all the while spending time conversing and getting to know the family. I learned so much about how they live their everyday lives, how they interact with each other and friends, and how they work with their environment.

            When we first arrived, we met the family and went inside their lovely brick house to sit in the living room. We introduced ourselves in broken Swahili, and they patiently helped us get across the messages we were aiming for-- our names, where we were from, what classes we are taking, our siblings and parents names, etc. They then told us a bit about themselves, that Baba was from the Arusha area, and Mama was from the Kilimanjaro area in Kenya. They informed us they have three children, two of which were gone at primary school for the day, while their youngest peeked around the corner shyly, homemade toy truck in hand. After introductions Mama and their youngest son retreated to a different part of the homestead while Emma and I stayed to chat with our new Baba.

 He helped us learn Swahili as he pointed to various objects and colors in the room, explaining slowly how to pronounce them and put the new vocabulary into sentences. He was quite proficient at English, as he learned it in school and worked in the tourism industry for some time. After asking if he still works in the industry, a look of discomfort crossed his face as he told us he stopped working 6 years ago after bandits raided the tour site and attacked him breaking his leg, rib, and nose. We did not press the issue further as it seemed an inappropriate topic to force, so we changed the subject by asking if we could see around their house and yard. He took us around the garden, where there were multiple fruit trees and a small patch of planted vegetables. Then we worked our way to the older clay and wood house he had built before they had earned enough money to build the brick structure they currently sleep in. There was a small structure which was the kitchen, housing the newer version stone stove and some metal cooking pots and utensils. The chicken coop was next to it, and the latrine next to the chicken coop. He told us they did not own any livestock, other than the two chickens, and farmed no land except what was on their property, as his inherited farmland is some kilometers away from where they live. This is a bit different than most families in the area, is it is a largely pastoralist and agricultural community.

After the tour Emma, Mama, and I entered the kitchen to make Chai. We brought in small sticks of firewood and lit them in the stone stove structure. It consisted of two openings on the bottom to feed the fire and two on top on which to balance the pots. We began boiling two pots of water, and we learned one would actually be used to wash dishes. Once the water boiled she poured in a spoonful of tea powder and a few cups of milk. Bringing it all to a rolling boil, we removed the pot and strained the liquid through a small liquid straining utensil to remove the tea powder. Mama poured the milky tea into a thermos as we set out cups, spoons, and sugar. Baba and Kaka mtoto stayed outside of the kitchen as we made the tea, occasionally helping to translate while watching us prepare the comforting hot beverage.

After chai we washed dishes using as little water as possible, and soon after began preparing to make lunch. We helped cut up vegetables and meat and then carried the ingredients to the kitchen to start preparing the fire. We prepared a cabbage dish, a meat stew, and ugali. Watching Mama maneuver her way around effortlessly was a lesson in itself, and learning how to make the ugali was much harder than expected. The technique for stirring the thickening white maize and water mixture took practice, as Emma and I often spilled bits over the side of the pot while Mama laughed and showed us yet again the proper way to stir. Before we ate Mama held a pitcher of water over a bowl and had us rinse our hands. She helped everyone at the table but didn’t ask anyone to help her rinse her own hands. We ate the food with heaps of ugali using our hands, and had fruit for dessert fresh from the trees around the house.

After eating we had just enough time left to learn to sew. Mama sews dresses, shirts, and pants for friends in the community as a source of income for the family. She helped us cut out the fabric for a young girl’s dress, teaching us the Swahili vocabulary to go along with what we were doing as Baba napped in the corner. We then took turns learning to use the sewing machine, practicing on small scraps of fabric. Emma quickly got the hang of moving her feet in motion with the wheel, but it took me awhile to finally get a straight, continuous line. All the while Mama and Baba helped us, laughing with us at our meager attempts but encouraging us without fail. At one point Baba even got on the machine to show us how it was done! During our lesson multiple people stopped by to chat with Mama and Baba on their way to another area or to check up on the progress of a garment.

Observing how the family ran their household and used resources provided ample insight into how efficiently they use water, power sources, and food resources. The family has a large rain water collection tank made of cement that connects to a tube on their roof, so that the water during the rain runs off the roof and collects in the tank. They also have water supplied through a pressure system from Mtu wa Mbu, and use that water as sparingly as possible. For example, when we washed dishes after making chai, our Mama had a specific system of washing, rinsing, and double rinsing while using very little water. She would pour a specific amount of water into the largest bowl and much smaller amounts into two medium sized bowls. We would wash with soap in the largest bowl, using a piece of a burlap bag as a sponge, and then do the first rinse in a medium sized bowl, being careful not to lose any water. As the first rinse bowl became more and more soapy the second bowl came in, so we would rinse a second time to get all the soap off. We used the same amount of water the entire time, about a gallon, and washed everything very effectively. This is a very efficient use of a scarce resource, and this careful use of water can ensure that water resources are not overused and can be sustained for a long period of time. It would be wise of the American culture to adopt these water conservation habits as well.

Whew, did you get through that? If so, im impressed by your dedication to this blog. 

After the homestay we took a day expedition to Ngorongoro crater, my favorite place i have been so far. about a 30 minute drive from Rhotia, we entered the parking lot outside of the gate of the park and were greeted with the sight of more safari trucks than we have seen at any other Park. Immediately we knew this was a popular place and must be fantastic to support such a tourism industry. One of the professors forgot some necessary paperwork for us to enter the park, so we spent the better part of an hour heckling the European tourists in their brand new safari themed outfits, waiting to enter the crater. Khaki, olive green, and eggshell white were the clothing colors of choice, with never-used hiking boots tied tightly to feet that wouldnt step outside of the safari truck for the duration of the trip. Hats with stiff brims covered noses with sunscreen and UV protected sunglasses. Then there were the tourists who looked as though they were ready to go to a beach in bermuda, light pastel colored shorts of different colors with white tank tops, hip sun glasses, and sandals. One girl actually had her hair curled in a half up-do, with a blue denim dress and a large, white bow tied into her hair. Makeup done and fancy sandals on her clean feet, she looked absurdly out of place. But then again, Im sure they looked at us and thought "who are these 20-somethings, dressed haphazardly in dirty tshirts, barefoot and standing out of the roof? Where are their parents?"

after the long wait we finally began the ascent up the crater wall. The vegetation was as if we were in the rainforest, my field Beth commented that it reminds her of the amazon, which she spent time in last semester studying in Ecuador. The road is bumpy and winds up the steep wall of the crater. My excitement builds.

One of my favorite staff members, Yohanna, tells us he grew up here in Ngorongoro, two craters over. He is Maasai and was raised traditionally as a pastoralist. He attended primary school and against his parents wishes accepted a scholarship to attend secondary school and college. He is now a Ph. D. student. Facial markings branded on his cheeks remind us of his upbringing as he talks scientifically about the ecological relationships between the vegetation and wildlife in the crater.

We finally reach the top of the crater, stop for a bit to take a picture, and start descending into the crater, basically a bowl of animals. Actually. It was hot and dusty, our wheels kicking up clouds of redish dust that drys your eyes and gets all over your clothes. This is why we wear old tshirts and not new white shirts, ahem....Again, water is life here. Animals congregated around the water sources in the crater, and vegetation was scarce because of the dry season. Thus, dust hung in the horizon like blurry clouds descended over the land.

Immediately we saw hundreds of animals. Zebra, wildebeest, impala, bushbuck, elands, and more. In the far distance Yohanna points our eyes to two small masses in the hazy distance. "see those? one is standing and one is laying down." i could barely see the mounds let alone tell their posture. "those are cheetahs!" and pictures began to frantically attempt capture the two figures in the distance, pictures that will inevitably need our commentary to inform the viewer what they should be seeing.

The rest of the day passed quickly. We saw two rhinos, of 28 left in the park, and a group of 4 lions lazily reclining in the grassland as two cubs played together. We saw so many animals and i cant wait to show everyone pictures! I didnt want the day to end, and as we began the ascent up the crater, tired but full of adrenaline, i felt true sadness to be leaving such an amazing place, most likely to never return.

However, i can not wait to go to the serengeti, where we are guaranteed to see lions again. i hope to see cheetahs up close!

Ill let you go now, Thanks for reading. I really appreciate your support and interest in my experiences!

lots of love,
Natalie