Don't Worry Be Happy

Zanzibar joined the rest of Tanzania (Tanganyika) in 1964 but until then had been under the rule of sultans from Oman, and later was a British protectorate. The Arab influence is clear to see, mostly in their architecture and religion (95+% Muslim).  We stayed a couple of nights in Stonetown, the old section of Zanzibar city. It’s basically a maze of narrow alleys, including markets, shops, hotels,etc. There are no cars and even a motorbike barely makes it through the narrow streets. Our hotel had some interesting design features. Our room was on the 3rd floor (no elevator - I think I counted 70 stairs) and you entered through the bathroom. The 'bathroom' had a bench and several chairs and we hosted drinks there one evening mostly because it had a large fridge for our beverages. The toilet is behind that curtain and the whole room was basically 'outside'. Fortunately the bedroom had air conditioning as it was hot and humid. Like all the beds we’ve been in this one had m...

Another fabulous lesson on a culture that has almost nothing in common with ours. The Hadzabe people are hunter gatherers and are in danger of becoming extinct. We had to drive quite a ways along a very rough road that resembled a dry river bed. There are only about 1300 Hadzabe spread over many small groups - some so remote the government doesn’t even know how many or where they are. The men mostly wear animal skins but had 'western' clothes as well. This group had about 30 men, women, children. Their homes begin as wood frames which are then covered in sisal (a type of agave).  During the rainy season they live inside the baobab trees which are naturally hollow. They are a very vocal, animated and gregarious people. Their language is one of the few click languages still surviving and really hard for us (me) to replicate. One member grabbed a two stringed instrument called a zeze and led the others in song. Their music is more polyphonous than the Maasai (blending melodies wi...

It’s impossible in words or pictures to describe the vastness and intensity of the Serengeti. The first day we arrived there had been a vicious rain storm the previous night. A lion had left these prints on the path to our tents. Yikes   During our drive that day we saw many lions in different groupings. These two young males had trouble getting comfortable in this tree and kept repositioning but I like this pose.  The Serengeti has large rock outcrops called kopjes not unlike Pride Rock (from Lion King) and we searched a lot of then until we found this guy. You’ll need to zoom in.  I used to think seeing a herd of 100 zebras would be impressive. Or even 1000. But looking out over the expanse of the savannah there were zebras as far as the eye could see. It was indescribable. I’m estimating tens of thousands. All migrating with the wildebeest. Just as we thought we’d seen it all a cheetah appeared by the roadside.  After dinner we were required to have an employee to...

We started the day on the hunt for cheetahs but instead we came across a pride of lions finishing up the buffalo from their hunt the night before. The pic doesn’t really show it but there were about 18 lions gnawing on the ribs to start but they gradually moved away. This is a topi - an animal I’ve never seen before. The bad news is that my camera broke (maybe sand in the lens mechanism) but the good news is we’re getting so close to the animals no zoom is necessary. These are all iPhone pics. This leopard is looking out for something.  Three brothers in a coalition group (they are still young and work together). This may not look like much but there are about 100 hippos in this pond. See the lions on the hill behind me.  There were actually 3 lions on the hill. Some warthog parents with a few babies. Then finally we spotted 2 cheetahs hidden in the grass and they were beauties. This one even sat up and posed for us. We watched awhile while the zebras got closer and closer but...

Every year several million wildebeest travel almost 500 kilometres in a circular route around the Serengeti. They are joined on their journey by several thousand zebras, gazelles, and eland. This migration is one of the iconic features of the Serengeti and is one of the main things that drew us to this safari. We’ve seen the National Geographic videos and had kept this on our bucket list.  We started early in the morning and came across hundreds and hundreds of wildebeest crossing a small river. This isn't the river with crocodiles in it so they’re not risking their lives here.  This went on for about 10mins before we moved on. Wildebeest may have originated the phrase 'the grass is always greener' as they follow the rains in order to feast on the new growth. Right now in the migration they are calving and they may stay here for a month. If the rains are late they can delay having their babies for 2 or 3 weeks. That’s a neat trick.  We saw lots of babies today. The camp w...

I’ve long been interested in music and cultures of Africa so I was glad when I heard there was entertainment at the lodge we were staying at.  A group of musicians started and were soon joined by the dancers - traditional performance from the Makonde people. Following that we had a nice acrobatic show.   We were able to visit a boma, which is the traditional home of the Masai people. They build round huts out of mud, dung, and straw and often keep the animals inside.  They performed a few songs and dances for us.  One of the songs included a jumping contest. This guy did pretty good.  Then they wanted us to join in - jumping isn’t my forte unfortunately. I learned that the Masai don’t really use any musical instruments such as drums or rattles like many other African tribes do  likely because they spend most of their time walking and travelling with their herds and the singing voice is the easiest thing to carry.  

There’s an elephant between the baobab trees.  This area has 2 main types of trees - the acacia and the baobab. Baobab trees have a very distinctive shape and can be up to 3000 years old and reach up to 50 m in circumference. They store water in their spongy trunks so they can survive in this dry climate. Acacia tree has great big thorns, one of which went right through the sole of Ross's sandal and into his foot.  The safari vehicles we ride in every day are enclosed but have a pop up roof so you can stand and look out. They’re pretty rugged, but comfortable and they need to be rugged for these roads. Our driver/guide Joseph is here waiting for us. The tent in the safari camp has a concrete floor, canvas sides and thatched roof. See that little monkey - he and a group of friends had just created havoc when our neighbours (no names mentioned) left some snacks out for mere seconds. Needless to say the rule in this camp is 'no food in this area'. And inside - plenty of room. ...