Tanzania & Safari

There is probably no trip more photo-focused than an African safari. So this should be a post with lots and lots of stunning pictures. However, upon finishing safari and arriving in India, I promptly left my photo storage drive in an internet cafe. I know.

So instead of seeing the cheetahs, lions, elephants, rhinos, monkeys, baboons, giraffes, hyenas, hippos, vultures, and warthogs like I did you get two photos of cats I grabbed from Zoe's facebook page and a lone photo of a giraffe that managed to remain with me despite my ineptitude.

Tanzania was a remarkable place to visit. I was constantly checking my urge to compare my experiences there with images from the Lion King and other stereotypes because thanks to them everything was both foreign and familiar.

Before I saw any wild animals, I stayed in a city of more than 1 million people but only one stoplight, saw an army squadron torturing a man on the side of the highway, learned a song whose chorus includes the phrase "Hakuna Matata," and withdrew 400,000 shillings in the 1,000 shilling denominations printed before rampant inflation. So you could say it was easy to resort to cliche.

But the safari did not fail to be an exhilarating learning experience. I learned that warthogs are adorable, leopards are shy, giraffes are beautiful (unless they need to drink in which case they're hilarious), lions are not, elephants are shy, and bugs are the scariest animals in the Serengeti. Oh and zebras are so common I almost forgot to mention them.


Here's something: did you know cheetahs like to climb on top of safari jeeps? They get a better view of the plains. Plus they're just kind of chummy. But remember to open the door if they fall through the roof hatch.

Also, you should know that millions of dung beetles follow millions of wildebeest across Africa every year and fertilize the plains so that (if) and when the rains do come the grass grows an inch per day.

I discovered off-roading, and I rediscovered outdoor showers. I learned how to eat a bungo and mom learned she was allergic:)

I met a Maasai chief in royal blue wellies, rubbed his children's shaven heads, and toured his wives' cow dung plastered homes. Their brilliant red robes used to be died with clay, but now they import from India just like the rest of us.

Finally, I learned how fragile all of it is. This year the rains have not come as they ought and the plants and animals, both wild and farmed, are dying. I dived down to the only reef in the Indian Ocean that's growing not shrinking. I was on what should have been the first, but instead was the last, of the tours for the season, because the economic crisis has forced travelers to cancel their safaris - leaving the industry they feed as malnourished as the landscape they explore.

So I feel lucky to have seen all this, especially since I got to share it with my family. Eventually I'll get to post pictures of Zoe covered in dust, mom wrapped in a turban, Sophie drinking from coconuts, and Dad on a mysterious moving sand dune.

xoxo Jessie