Tanzania Dream Trip

In many conservation and hospitality industries located in the bush, like Mwiba, you work for a couple of months without stopping and then you get a couple of weeks off.  There are ups and downs.  The up is that you get several big chunks of time off every year to see family and friends.  However, you always seem to leave Tanzania, because why would you stay here on your time off? The problem is that you never see the country you are living in. When many people think of Tanzania they think of the Serengeti and Zanzibar…for good reason, as they are both incredible places BUT there are so many places in this country that are remarkable, and to get to them all takes time. SO here is my Tanzania Dream Trip.  

Let’s take a month to see it all, starting in the West and moving in a circle back to the Northeast:

Where: Moyowosi Game Reserve:  The Swamps.  A Completely different ecosystem to the Eastern part of the country and my husband will be happy because he can go Tiger Fishing. I also have always wanted to see a Shoe Bill and Situtunga.

Days: 4

Accommodation: Malagarasi (Legendary Adventures)

Where: Mahale National Park: Chimps Please! A beautiful park in the Southwest of the country- I have seen incredible pics and videos and heard some awesome stories (from friends who lived there and friends who have visited…a definite must).

Days: 5

Accommodation: Kungwe Beach Lodge

Where: Selous Game Reserve: The biggest game reserve in Africa and it is at my doorstep.  Very excited because we could see lots of wild dogs (my favorite animal of all time!).

Days: 3

Accommodation: Selous Safari Camp (Selous Safari Company)

Off to the coast!

Where: Kilwa! And the Rufiji river- supposedly some of the most beautiful beaches, close to where the river enters the ocean! Bringing a tent and sleeping bag, as there is not a lodge that I know of and it would be cool to camp on the beach, completely isolated.

Days: 2

Accommodation: Tent and sleeping bag

Where: Mnemba Island: Catch up on my tan that is sadly fading, even though I live in Africa.  Get my diving certificate?? Chill out on a dow and possibly some deep sea fishing.

Days: 3

Accommodation:  Mnemba Island Lodge  (& Beyond)

Where: Natron: beautiful area in the North.  I really want to see a gerenuk and go back to Lake Natron, with lots of flamingos and natural hot springs at the base of Gelai Mtn.   The last night, I want to camp in a gorge called Sanjan, where animals’ calls echo off the gorge walls and lovebirds nest in the crevices.

Days: 5

Accommodation: Tandala Camp   (Legendary Adventures)

                                  Merugoi    (Legendary Adventures)

Where: Singita Grumeti: The crème de la crème of African luxury.  Catch up with amazing friends, who work in an amazing place, go on a horse safari, eat unbelievable food and feel like an African Princess.

Days: 6           

Accommodation: Sabora Tented Camp   (Singita)

          Faru Faru Lodge      (Singita)

Back Home

Where: MWIBA! Private conservation concession south of Serengeti national park. Amazing wildlife, exclusivity and many inimitable activities!

Days: 90

Accommodation: Home (Legendary Adventures)

Now, I need reservations and about 5 charter flights! Who’s coming with me? 

Americans in Africa

For the last three weeks we have had our first three groups of guests in Mwiba! I am not the only American in the bush after all! Mwiba guests stay at a tented camp called Mwarubushu, which overlooks several natural springs.  The activity list in Mwiba gets longer every week and the feedback from our guests on some of those activities has been great. Swimming in the hippo pool (which does not have hippos), sitting in the blinds, going on walks, visiting the Lake Eyasi escarpment, are a few of the one of a kind experiences that Mwiba has to offer (pictures below). Wildlife viewing has also been incredible and there is no doubt that it played a major role in the guests’ experiences, as the animals seemed to have entered on cue. Although it is not the Ngorongoro Crater and you are not guaranteed to see the Big 5, when you do see something like a leopard, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, lion, roan, waterbuck, zebra or giraffe or any of the numerous bird species (which I am not listing, because my bird knowledge is close to atrocious), you deserve it and you get it all to yourself.  Because Mwiba is a private area, your experience there is completely private.  No other game viewers or guests you do not know or who you have to share your sighting with.  One of the main goals moving forward is to maintain that exclusivity while the wildlife, as well as the camp, gets better and better.

On a totally personal note- this is a very exciting week because I will get to move into a tent that has the following: a zipper that works (the three bobby pins keeping my tent closed are not cool anymore); hot & cold water AND faucets (this is probably the biggest thing!); and NO mice.  Yay for progress. 

Lake Eyasi Escarpment

Sundowner Set Up 

Hippo Pools (no, the man in the upper left hand corner is not attacking Grant...he just cannot believe someone would be so crazy as to jump of a 20 ft rock into water)

Conservation + Eco-friendly Tourism = Sustainable Ecosystems and Economies

The above calculation is only valid when executed properly.  Conservation requires skilled management as well as a team of skilled law enforcement scouts and more capital than one probably realizes.  There is an organization in Tanzania which figures that if you want to successfully protect a wildlife area, you need to put approximately $1000 into every square kilometer of land.  Unfortunately, many of the African states which have made a concerted effort to protect their wildlife, do not have enough capital to put that type of money into each protected area.  In Tanzania alone, there are over 20 protected areas (National Parks, Game Reserves, Wildlife Management Areas, etc)!  However, there are some individuals who are investing privately in conservation areas in East Africa, supporting and training law enforcement teams and single handedly making a HUGE difference.  What fuels some of this investment is tourism.  But what tourism is really fuelling is a huge economic sector and employment for a vast amount of individuals living in places and situations where they would otherwise be unemployed.  I was informed at one stage a couple years ago that in sub-Saharan Africa, tourism is the second largest hard currency earner, behind natural resources….that is big!  If tourism did not exist, the governments and people in these areas would not be protecting these incredible ecosystems.  There are multiple obstacles for conservation in East Africa, some of which are poaching and a lack of funds and private individuals/companies assisting the government in conservation/law enforcement systems.  SO if you can’t fund an entire project, then at least come visit and contribute to the driving force of the protection of incredible wildlife, people and places.  As the rest of the world homogenizes, support the uniqueness of what Africa has to offer before it gets lost!

Below is a list of organizations, safari companies and people which I respect and which I will no doubt elaborate on at later stages:

Paul Tudor Jones/Grumeti Fund/Singita Grumeti: www.singita.com

African Parks Network: www.africanparks.org

Friedkins/Friedkin Conservation Fund/Legendary Adventures: www.legendaryadventure.com OR www.friedkinfund.org

A Lost Boy and Thirsty Elephants

It seems the newsletter did not work....here are some pics from those months.  My favorite is of a little Masai boy whom we found in the bush.  He was four years old and had gotten lost from home (probably while tending to his goats) and was in the bush (rife with elephants and lions) for 3 full days! What a survivor and what a testament to how if respected, humans and wildlife can live in peace.  He is now back with his family, who were ecstatic to see him.  

The second photo is not a spectacular photo, but it was a spectacular moment.  Grant and I were sitting in the tree blind (that Grant built), which is in a big acacia tree overlooking 5 natural springs. Just after the sun set, a herd of over 30 elephants came strolling in, drinking and playing and splashing in the water.  It was an indescribable moment and sitting there 10 feet above their heads, without them knowing we were there, we were able to see them engaging with each other in their utmost natural behavior.