Gorilla Videos

Here are some videos of my experiences with the gorillas. The first one is the first blackback we see and you can hear our guide telling us to "crouch down" when the gorilla comes super close to us. Then we stand back up and hear another gorilla right next to us behind the bushes, but we couldn't see it (we think it was a baby). By the way the first grunt is the gorilla, then our guide makes sounds.

These next videos are of some of the gorillas eating.









Now we have a gorilla chilling out and scratching his leg....




Get ready for the Silverback!!!

Rwanda

Here is the link to the best photos from my trip to Rwanda. I really did try to cut some more out, but it was tough! I'll try to do more day by day info later on.

Also, just a side note that some pics from genocide memorial are a bit rough to handle emotionally.

I knew many wanted to see the gorilla pics, so enjoy!

Rwanda Pictures (Click each picture to see larger view and to read captions)


Soon to come some videos from my experience hiking with the gorillas!

Tues. July 20

Karatu/Arusha
It was time to separate our two groups--those who were staying and those who were leaving. We had a great farewell dinner the night before and all chatted about how we loved our group and especially our guides!! Pictures were taken and info exchanged. Group shots and last meal as whole group.

our guides on the Gong Rock

Then we said our goodbye's and the 7 of us who were continuing on to Rwanda got dropped off at the East African Hotel in downtown Arusha. This place was the cream of the crop, and I shared my room with a lovely couple from NJ in the Presidential Suite. I wished we had stayed at this place more than one night!!

Sun & Mon. July 18/19

Unfortunately it was time to leave the Serengeti :( Although it was great to be in the camping site for 4 days/nights, I was glad to be back in a permanent structure. I did not miss the bucket showers and was glad to have running water again.
Dad and I just relaxed and took some time to enjoy the African sun by the pool. The Tloma Lodge was absolutely paradise and gave me a great chance to take some up close flower shots with my new camera!











Sunday morning we visited Olduvai Gorge, where the Leakey's first discovered human/animal fossil fragments. A good museum and great view of archeological digs.

Monday we had our visit to a local school and learned all about Tanzanian education. This was one of the highlights of the trip as we got to visit a pre-K/kindergarten and a 6th grade class (ages 12-15), interact with the kids, and chat with some of their teachers. The school we visited had 720 students with only 16 teachers! They have a very similar schedule to US schools in terms of breaks/vacations throughout the year and learn similar subjects. The biggest difference is that the kids go home for lunch--there are no school buses...the kids have to walk everywhere (they have about an hour and a half break). Both boys and girls keep their hair very short and some even liked touching/playing with mine. We donated some chalk, construction paper, pencils and Washington D.C. post cards for the kids. I shared some of my pictures on my camera with the children and they LOVED it. We practiced saying the names of the animals in English and they showed me some of the sentences they had written for class in English. All the students loved going to school, had to stand up when answering a question, and were very respectful. We learned that if the students do not pass their tests at the end of the year they do not move on to the next grade. Also, one needs to score a certain amount on a test in order to get into secondary school. Sometimes if they don't get a high enough score their parents have to pay for them to go to a private school--which is very expensive.


Check out this video of the pre-K/Kindergarten kids singing to us. Many are just learning Swahili for the first time since they are used to only speaking their local tribes language.

Fri. & Sat. July 16th/17th

Balloon Ride
We had a super early wake up (4:45am!) so we could get up, dressed and head out in the dark to our meeting point for our Balloon safari. This was my first time going up in a hot air balloon ride and it was paired so nicely w ith a gorgeous sunrise! Although we were only up in the air for about an hour it was very cool to slowly drift across the tops of the trees and watch the animals. Check out the videos below of our inflation and our balloon shadow with gazelles running.

After our amazing ride, we had a champagne toast, and English breakfast, and I even got to use the "Loo with a view." It was a once in a lifetime experience to use a toilet while watching giraffes stroll by! We met up with our group and continued to search for more animals. Finally got to see a leopard--boy are they tough to spot! Our group had missed seeing one the other day in the tree. This one was up on a rock with nothing else around. We even got to see a secretary bird feed it's baby.

More Shots/Videos

While in the Serengeti I also took these videos and pictures. Some other animals seen included

numerous birds:

• blackbilled bastard
• black kite
• black horted kite
• grey breasted spurfowl
• white headed vulture
• purple roller
• egyptian geese
• lilal breasted roller
• secretary birds

Other animals:

• mongoose
• numerous termite mounds
• blackbacked jackal
• warthogs
• elands
• topi
• hartbeast
• rock hyrax
• baboons
• jack rabbit with HUGE ears
• leopard turtle
  

Yes, the female lions really did walk right past our jeeps and sat in the middle of the road and/or next to our jeep!

7/15-7/11 Serengeti

The Serengeti National Park is the size of the state of Connecticut. It actually translates into "endless plain" and it really it. The Serengeti stretches over 5,700 square miles of plains, riverine bush, woodland, and a dominant environment of acacia grassland. The acacia trees are everywhere (the flat top looking trees). We stayed in tents for 4 nights and even had encounters with animals at night stealing our water buckets, lapping up water, or howling in the distance!

During the migration season (we were there towards the end of it) over 200,000 zebra and 500,000 wildebeest cross through the plains in pursuit of water. It is beautiful here and the animals amazing! We saw 4 out of the big 5 (lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard) Although we tried, we did not see the rhino. Some more shots of animals seen:

yes the cheetahs were this close to our jeep

black backed jackal

hyena finishing a snack

Wed. July 14th

Animals in the Ngorongoro Crater we saw were SO numerous:

• lions
• cheetah

numerous types of birds (including a crested crane. vultures, white and pink flamingos)

• hyena
• wildebeest
  
• 
• giraffes
• water buffalo
• lots of zebras
• ostrich
• hippos (in fact ate lunch right by their pool)
• more Thompson gazelles (there are thousands of them!)

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Tues. July 13th

Maasai Village Tour:
The Maasai tribe definitely have their own way of making life simple and easy to live. We had a fantastic visit with the tribe where we were welcomed with dance and song (something very popular in Tanzania!). We even got special necklaces to wear and had to use our shoulders to push it up/down (ending up being a workout for muscles we're not used to using!).

We performed many of the tasks the women do around the house--carry the hay in, thatch the roof, build the house, etc. As you can see the women do all the work, while the men often sit and think (and drink moonshine). We had a very open and frank conversation with wife #1 about the tribe's life versus ours (Maasai men can have multiple wives and the women don't mind b/c it means extra help around the compound.) The women get to keep all the money they earn from selling their beaded items, baskets, and other crafts--usually they buy things for the home or it helps to pay for their children to go to school. When you see me in person ask me more about what we discussed in her hut.

Now a time for change in scenery. We went from dry, dusty, yellow and flat landscape to outside the crater where it became full of deep red clay, mountainous and lush around us. Headed to the Ngorongoro Crater: largest volcanic caldera in the world, 12 miles across with steep walls of over 2,000 feet; was once volcano size of Mt. Kilimanjoro with rim set 7,500 feet above sea level. Since it has a unique and delicate ecosystem with a permanent supply of water, many wildlife live here year-round. Numerous wildlife we seen around the Ngorongoro River as well as in the trees and fields.

Check out the elephants we saw and information our guide shared with us:

Mon. July 12th

More game drives at Tarangire National Park. Today we saw (not in order):

• bushbuck (antelope with stripped legs)
• impala
• zebras
• mongoose
• vultures (many types), cranes, eagles, lavendar bird (not it's official name!), red hornbeak
• dik diks
• monkey's (black faced veret)
• LION
• warthogs
• giraffe
• waterbuck
• ostrich (the males necks get red when they want to mate)
• more baobab trees--very strange looking, but cool.
  

• herd of elephants where the mama was very protective of her baby, stomped her feet, protested, growled at us, and put her ears wide--she let us know she was in charge!

Check out this video of elephants crossing the road right in front of our jeeps.


After came drive, back to camp and has a nature walk with some local Maasai men. They pointed out all kinds of native plants that have been used for medicinal purposes still to this day. We saw/smelled all spice, lemon bush of some kind, acacia tree that when you poke it natural sunblock comes out in a lotion form--was very neat, plant like eucalyptus, Sodom apple tree (little yellow tomato looking plant) that helps with ear aches although poisonous if ingested. Most help with stomach aches although a few plants were used for rashes, ear infections, coughs, etc. Along the way the men pointed out numerous animal tracks: wild dog, zebra, giraffe, lizard, birds, etc. Of course we also learned how to identify diff. animals poop--yes it was exciting to learn that the little dik-dik always goes back to the same place for poop time. Saw a giraffe bone (not sure if it's just there for them to point it out to us).

As we finished our hike, some enjoyed some freshly cooked goat (which unfortunately i saw being slaughtered a few hours earlier). This was defin. NOT the highlight of my trip, but at least the Maasai use all parts of the goat once they kill it. Hiked up a mini-mountain to watch sunset, sing songs, tells stories, and have a cool refreshment.

Early evening of star gazing and looking up animals in my book since tomorrow is an early wake-up!

Sun. July 11th-Tarangire Nat. Park

To find our new tented camp site we took the shortcut--that meant going thru sunflower fields, cotton fields, corn fields, tiny roads, safflower/sesame fields--they were stacked up. This was to avoid the horribly dusty and very bumpy road that was being worked on. We kept saying we must be close as we followed the electric power towers, but yet the narrow path kept on going. Finally, our destination over looking Lake Burunge...very peaceful and beautiful.

We had our first game drive today in Tarangire National Park (they call it that b/c it's like a game to try to find the animals).What a great place to start us off....HUGE baobab trees and our first time in our open hatched Land Rovers! Tarangire is Tanzania's 3rd largest national park with 9 distinct vegetation zones ranging from grassland to woodland, deep gully vegetation to scattered rocky hilltops. There are over 400 different species of birds in this park and boy were some of them gorgeous! Supposedly this park is home to the largest recorded concentration of breeding bird species in the world!


Today we saw:

• dik dik (the smallest antelope)
• gazelles
• elephants
• wildebeasts (gnu b/c of the sound they make)
• ostrich
• zebras
• water buffalo
• warthogs (they aren't very attractive)
• giraffes
• impala
• griffon vulture
  

Sat. July 10th--first meeting/visits

On our first local visit through town and already the cameras were snapping along for women carrying everything and anything upon their heads. Went to Mesiaki Kimerei's house/studio where he creates water filters. We had a great presentation about how he makes his water filters by hand, as well as interlocking bricks for building homes. (If you want more info contact me as I have his email address).

Also had a presentation about stingless bees and how they collect their honey (we even had a taste test!)

On to Shanga River House Co-Op/Coffee Plantation! Motto at the Co-Op is" Kindness is a language which blind people see and deaf people
hear."


Here people can get jobs despite if they have a disability. We saw men working with recycled glass to help create beautiful artwork, women beading, sewing and crafting. We had a mini Tanazian sign-language class where we learned a few words for the animals we were to see in a few days.

Learned ALL about coffee and how to go from planting, proper picking, shelling, drying, etc. I even helped the women carry the coffee beans into the storage house (it was very heavy and took many of us to carry!).

Arusha: What our rooms/beds looked like....

So today we formally met our guide, Ronald, and the rest of our OAT trip companions. Found out I was NOT the youngest on our group, as a 16-year-old teenager was with his grandparents for the trip!

As we were learning of each others past OAT trips and adventures the local church right next to the lodge was praying, gospel type Halleluyah sound--it was very peaceful and great sound to be welcomed by.

Olasiti Lodge: our mosquito nets around our beds....we were very happy to have them, but it did make it a bit tricky getting in/out of bed.

We even got to see our first wildlife: black-faced monkey's in trees nearby our rooms.

Fly Away

KLM airlines are very nice, decent food, and good movies. Just a long flight to Amsterdam (about 8 hours).

Excitement of trip made it a bit hard to snooze, but managed a few zzzs.

Don't really remember arrival in the Netherlands, but remember thinking it was a HUGE airport!

Back onto plane heading for Kilimanjaro Airport!
What I wrote in my journal Thurs/Friday:

Upon arrival into Mt. Kilim. all I can think is excitement! Dad & I are really about to land in Africa!! Just finished reading a few past OAT posts and I am even more excited. To be thinking in just a few nights I'll be sleeping in tents with animals right outside--how amazing!

Getting Ready!

Before heading to Africa:

• I got all my shots (I think it was 7 total!). Too bad during my entire trip, no one ever asked to see my immunization booklet (mini yellow book) nor proof of yellow fever vaccination.
• Renewed my passport and got the Tanzanian visa.
• Started the anti-malaria pills (2 days before entering, one every day, then for one week once back in US).
  
• Went last minute shopping.
• Did a trial pack to make sure I could fit everything in the bag under 40 pounds.
• Practiced using my new camera.
• Read up on history of Tanzania and Rwanda.