Safari Experience of a Lifetime by Darby Grow

Jambo everyone! Today was filled with a lot of excitement and adventure. We woke up this morning to the beautiful sounds of birds and found out at breakfast from our guide Ernest that we could hear hyenas last night, which was so cool! We also discovered from our Maasai guide Emanuel that an elephant had roamed through our camp and had even brushed up against Abby’s tent! I thought it was magical to be sleeping amongst the animals last night. It was such a surreal experience. Before heading out on our safari day two adventure, the beautiful Maasai women we danced with last night were there to send us off on our adventure by singing to us. It was a wonderful moment and we were lucky enough to get a group photo with them before we left.

Then we began our day two safari adventure which involved a long journey to Lake Manyara. We took the back roads to get there and drove by many rice fields and small villages. Our guide Eki was so excited to see that the rice fields were plentiful because in the past it has not been a good season for growing rice for Tanzanians. I learned that the rice in the fields are used by many Tanzanian women to cook with on Sundays where the families would gather around and enjoy a meal together. To Eki, the smell of the rice reminds him of home and family and that resonated with me because the smell of spaghetti reminds me of my home. I realized how similar we all are in that way of how certain smells remind us of our home and family. While passing the rice fields, we saw men working hard out in the fields. They were carrying bags of rice that weighed over 200 kilograms. We even saw one man wearing a Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg t-shirt while working.

 As we drove through the back roads, we also passed multiple villages and many children as young as two or three would run out onto the road, waiving excitedly at our trucks and yell for candy. All of the children we saw were so cute and seemed so excited to see us. At first, I felt guilty that I didn’t have candy or some snack to give them but I realized that giving candy to children actually is a significant issue. The children around this area have learned that by waiting for these safari trucks to drive by and waiving at them, children will get treats from tourists. However, it is dangerous because of how fast these trucks drive by as there is a risk that children could get hit. In addition, many children wait on the side of the road for the trucks to come by instead of attending school. Although I enjoyed being able to waive back at the children we saw, it was heartbreaking to see the impact that tourism has had on these children in this area.  As we entered into Lake Manyara, the scenery reminded me of a scene from Jurassic Park with how tropical and green the trees were that surrounded around us as we sped down the roads. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

 As we drove down the roads, we saw many baboons in the trees. We also saw waterbucks, the cute little dikdiks, various birds, and even saw a hippo in the lake!  When we stopped for lunch, we walked down to see a hot spring, which led into the lake. We each had the opportunity to feel the hot water and encountered another hippo sighting. As we continued through the park, we had a very close encounter with elephants and saw firsthand how fierce an elephant’s maternal instincts were. It was incredible! I felt like I was in a movie with how close we got to these elephants. It was such an exhilarating experience that involved many screams and laughter. It is an experience that none of us will ever forget. Ernest explained that through his time as a guide, the encounter we have had with the elephants has only happened to him one other time so we were incredibly lucky. We also encounter a giant group of baboons on a bridge and saw their cute little babies. The baboon babies were so small, they had to be only weeks old and only some were able to walk. The baboons were interesting to watch as they would meticulously pick insects out of each others’ fur.

As our safari journey through the park was coming to a close, we stopped to use the bathrooms and see the gift shop. While we waited for everyone, Tanzanian school buses stopped too. The children were on a school field trip to Lake Manyara before school was was out for the summer. Many children came up to us, wanting high fives.  Some children even asked us what our names were. We learned that one girl was named Rachel and we introduced her to Rachel in our group. Little Rachel’s face lite up when she met Rachel and she ran back to her bus and came back, gifting Rachel with half of her cookie. It was such a heartwarming moment and one that I won’t forget for the rest of my life. It was the kindest and purest gesture and I was glad I was able to witness it.

We continued onto our journey to our hotel for the night where we were able to contact our loved ones and tell them about our adventure today. So grateful for the opportunity to be here and have these experiences. I am excited to see what these next few weeks will bring! Until next time! -Darby :)