Safari

The safari was amazing! I got to see Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Oldupai Gorge (where the Leakeys uncovered evidence of our human ancestors), and the Serengeti Plains. Turns out that my visit to the Seregeti coincided with the annual migration and I was able to witness the migration of over 2.5 million animals, or in other words the largest mammalian migation on earth. Zebra and wildebeest stretched out on the plains as far as the eye could see. It's one thing to see something like that on the Discovery Channel, but it definitely doesn't compare to real life.

In addition to animals of the plains our group was able to get up close with elephants, giraffes, lions, baboons, rhinos, hyenas, impala, buffalo, gazelles, and even the elusive cheetah and leopard. Not only was the wildlife spectacular but the scenery was incredible. Especially the views from the top of Ngorongoro Crater.

The most frightening part of the safari was that we camped in areas where the wild animals live. You could hear hyenas and other animals making noises at night. We had a jackal vist the camp just to check things out. Our guides warned us to not leave our tents at night for any reason. And then they also told us about close encounters and people who had been attacked. Somehow I was still able to get a few hours of sleep at night.

I know all of you are anxiously awaiting the posting of photos and I am equally eager to share, but it seems that Africa has not advanced beyond dial-up and uploading anything takes a lot of time and effort. I promise to post once I find a fast enough connection.

Yesterday I had a chance to visit Tanzania's National Museum. As most of you reading this already know, in what feels like a former life I worked on museum exhibits. I know all of you guys back at G&A would enjoy hearing my impressions of African museums. I've been to a few now and have found that the standard is really just printouts and photos posted on corkboard. The artifacts are usually behind flimsy cases and arranged in some kind of grouping. There aren't any guards or security cameras. It's not really a bad thing, the effect is something like "hey, check out this really cool skeleton that I found in the dirt." And there are lots of really cool things too like witchdoctor tools and decorative masks but most use preservation techniques that made me cringe a little. There's no air conditioning in the hot, humid buildings and the ceilings leak a lot especially next to the wood carvings from colonial trade ships. I even saw a wasp fly in through the open window at Oldupai Gorge and happily continue making its nest in a million-year-old elephant fossil. But hey, that's Africa for you.

Tomorrow I fly to Ethiopia. I will be spending a week there before I move on to Egypt. Can't wait!