Adventures on safari

Hello all,

We have safely returned from safari and are now at the airport, about to fly to Dar es Salaam, then to Dubai, then to JFK as scheduled.

The safari was exceptional. It began with a stay in the bushlands south of Arusha, in Maasai territory. Before arriving to camp on the first day, we saw a giraffe and several elands. We set up in tents and enjoyed well prepared camp food at each meal.

On our second day we did a hike up a nearby small mountain for a breathtaking view. In the afternoon we headed on a nature walk to examine the tracks of big game in the area. We saw lion, hyena, and elephant tracks along a dried river bed that we crossed. In the evening we enjoyed the warmth of the campfire on the cold Tanzanian steppe.

The next day we embarked on a 28 kilometer walk across the Maasai land, where we spotted countless huge termite mounds, bush pigs, and arrived at the site of a lion kill 10 minutes after they had taken down a full size ostrich. This was an extraordinarily rare sight to see. Our students snapped photos to document the moment. We arrived at our destination of a Masai Boma at about 5:30pm after over 8 hours of walking.

That night the head of the Boma (homestead) offered up a goat for sacrifice in our honor. The Masai warrior guides in our group performed the traditional and time honored sacrifice and allowed interested students to skin the animal and drink its blood straight from the body, a true honor.

The next day we talked with the Masai in the boma and made out for Tarangire National Park on an extraordinary game drive where we saw elephant herds, giraffe, countless birds species, gazelle, lions, ostrich, and more.

We stayed in the shade of an enormous Baobab tree at night and broke camp early to head for our camp on the rim of Ngorongoro crater (actually a caldera). This was an amazing place to camp before our final day of safari. The next morning we left early to head down into the crater and view more extraordinary sights of game in their natural habitat. Baboons and cheetah were big highlights.

Our plane is now boarding, so we are off to New York!

See you all soon.
-Freeman and Jo