My Easter break was spent on Safari in Mikumi National Park and on the Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania. The Safari was fantastic! It was even better then I imagined but at the same time it was not what I expected. When I think of safari, as I think most people do, I think desert, dry, dirty, etc. This was lush green lands with lots of trees and mountains surrounding the whole park.
There were elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffalo, hippos, lions, but no leopards, and lots of birds. Oh and I almost forgot - tons of baboons - blue butts and all! We road around it the typical big green safari truck. Our driver Olai had the tourist safari hat. He is a Maasi and could jump about 3 feet off the ground! He let me wear his hat on the trip, but he got a little creepy after awhile. He wished he would have meet me when he was younger - he made weird comments at me - it was creepy - so I ended up giving the hat back so he would maybe leave me alone. It got to the point were I was unconformable! So sorry aunt Martha, but I tried and failed at getting you a used safari hat from my safari guide! I guess I will just have to come (maybe with you) and try again!
Also my home girls Kim and Kelly have this crazy obsession with this yellow zippy hoddy I had made here- they think with my hair braided I look like a gangster or something. We had a good time with it - there are a lot of pics of this on facebook, you should check it out. With this, the theme of our safari was " we're on a safari bitch".
After the safari we headed to the Udzungwa mountains to see some waterfalls and go on bike tour to a rubber factor. The waterfalls were amazing. We even got to swim in the pools at a part of the falls. The water was really cold and the force of the water was incredible! The bike tour the rubber factory changed my views on candy and gum. I am no longer going to chew gum. It has the bi-products of rubber in it! At least it is organic - it comes from trees! I helped my friend Leah learn how to ride a bike too. Only her brother was taught how because it was not a female activity! The longer I am here the more frustrated I get with the human rights issues and how woman are viewed and treated. Ok enough with that...enjoy all the pictures!!
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| Safari!! |
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| hiking to the water falls! |
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| Sanje - the highest waterfall in Tanzania |
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| View off the big drop of the Sanje waterfall |
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| teaching Leah how to ride a bike |
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| out on the bike tour - riding through a village |
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| drying maze |
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| if i were to be barred i want my head stone to be like this. open dirt on the top so people can plant flowers instead of buying them! |
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| main source of income and work for the women because it is easy and no need for "real" skills (ugh!) rubber trees! |
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| collecting rubber like you would collect maple syrup |
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| the fire where the rubber is burred to take making the color change from white to black |
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| left over rubber pieces getting packed up and sold to gum and candy companies |
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| the rubber |
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| me in the safari hat! |
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| mama lion and her cub playing in the road - it caused quite a traffic jam |
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| Kim Leah Kim |
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| yes we got this close to the elephants! they walked right by our safari truck! |
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| zebras - jumpy little guys - it was really hard to get a good pic of them |
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| Me - Kelly in the back - Jen - Allison - oh and the giraffe out side! |
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| I love this pic! Look how tall the giraffe is! its as tall as the tree! |
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| hippos! but they never came out of the water to play! |
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| love this pic too! |
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| me getting ready to go play in the waterfall! |
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| the girls basking in the sun after the cold water |
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| Safe (one of our guides) and me - it was a sweet ride - the locals found it hilarious - and Safe informed me that he has a Harley |
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| reward for showing us some sweet dance moves - hanging out at the local duka on the way back from the hike |
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| me with a Kilimanjaro after a long day of safari - and thats all folks! |
