Safari

-Trip

This past weekend we got to go visit Mikumi Park. Everyone was looking forward to our safari as it was the first time in over a month that we had left Morogoro, and did not have to follow a set schedule. On our way to the hotel we passed by the outer rim of the park and it wasn’t long until we saw a herd of gazelle, which we quickly renamed as “safari deer.” As we continued on we began to see baboons and were greeted by a giraffe who was chilling right next to the highway. Literally at one point his head was directly above our bus. We continued on to our hotel which had a reptile zoo which had crocodiles (one of which Jeff would later name Cuddles McCroc), turtles and snakes including the black mamba which isn’t actually black, but supposedly that does not change the fact that it is the most venomous snake in the world. As one of my friends Shioban said, “It doesn’t look very poisonous.”
After lunch we left to headed into the park itself. Things were slow for awhile as I’m sure buses on dirt roads are not not quietest, but we eventually came across some zebras and more giraffes. We then headed onto the Hippo Pool, where we were able to get out of the buses, which in hindsight was a great idea considering that supposedly hippos are one of the most dangerous animals. After everyone took more pictures than can possibly be healthy considering they never show more than the top of their heads, we headed on. We were all still anxious to see elephants, and lions. I also really wanted to see a rhinoceros not realizing they don’t live in Mikumi, but I accidently managed to convince a bunch of people that a water buffalo was one. Before long we were granted with part of our wish as we came across 3 elephants romping through some shrubs. Next we found an awesome Rafiki Tree (we decided that the Lion King was the basis for all of our safari knowledge). It was by far the biggest tree I have ever seen. It had ladders leading onto the tree and one of the branches. The climber in me was in heaven as I climbed one of the limbs and one of the sides which had natural pockets in it.

   

After the safari we were all excited to get to be on our own for the night. Considering that our hotel restaurant was so expensive we decided to venture out to in search of a cheaper option. We soon found a place that served the Tanzanian staple rice and beans. The real fun started after dinner when we started dancing with some of the locals. They taught us a dance of theirs that involves squatting down and bouncing up and down very quickly. Another local favorite dance seems to be the electric slide, which Amy and I followed with a swing dance. After this we headed back to the hotel where the dance party continued. It started with someone playing their ipod on some portable speakers before the hotel staff brought out some actual speakers and provided a mix of local and 90’s hip-hop music. One of the more entertaining parts had to be when Ryan challenged one of the older volunteers Mark to a dance off. Little did Ryan know what he was getting himself into as he was immediately swept off the dance floor. We all had an awesome time dancing late into the night as the local Tanzanians enjoyed watching and dancing with us. Probably the most interesting part though involved one of our group members falling chin deep into a sewage pit, but that is a story for a different time. All in all we had a great time on our safari!
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We begin our internship teaching this week where I will be teaching Form 1 (roughly 8th grade) students units of measurements including mass and time, as well as having our mid-term Kiswahili Language Proficiency Interviews. Check out my facebook page for more safari pictures.