Day #2 – Safari Lake Manyara, Tanzania

Greetings from Endoro Lodge, near Lake Manyara, Tanzania.

Click here to jump to a web gallery of 50 images from today.

I am writing this entry at breakfast of day #3. Yesterday was quite an adventure – an affirmation of why we came to Tanzania and an official crossing-off-the-bucket-list day.

We started our day at Kigongoni Lodge near Arusha with a nice American-style menu-ordered breakfast on the outdoor patio. We were running a bit late, so our driver/guide Nickson briefed us on the day’s adventure:

We loaded everything into our Toyota Land Cruiser, which serves as our base of operations for the trip. It is quite comfortable, with seating for 9, a roof that raises several feet (but stays on) for wildlife viewing, a cooler, electrical plug, etc.:

We drove along the main highway through many towns and villages. Along the way, we saw an equal mix of pedestrians and drivers, as well as many herds of animals (ranging from a few to a few dozen, often corralled by children) eating vegetation along the side of the road:

We also passed many small Maasai villages, two of which we will visit later in the trip:

After about 2.5 hours of driving, we arrived at our destination: Lake Manyara National Park. This large park surrounds a salt-water lake that rises and falls significantly with the season (we are currently in a dry period), providing broad habitat for a large variety of wildlife:

We spent the day in our vehicle (you are not permitted to walk in this park) driving along muddy roads spotting wildlife. The roof was raised up so that we could stand (the boys stood on the seats) and lean on the cross bars to view the animals. Our driver would stop any time we spotted something – about half the time, he would spot it first, about half the time one of us would spot it, most often Forest. We could spend as much time as we wished observing and photographing the wildlife, and Dickson would inch the truck forward or back to facilitate the best view.

We stopped for lunch at a picnic area overlooking the lake. It was rich in bird life and offered wonderful views. We enjoyed an American-style boxed lunch (sandwiches, salad, brownie, etc.):

For the rest of the afternoon we toured the park spotting wildlife. It was spectacular! It reminded me of a drive-through safari theme park but, you know, for real. Some of the views were spectacular. I mean, hold cow! Zebras! Lots of them! And giraffes! And look at those elephants! You get the idea. It’s hard to choose just a few photos of wildlife to show here. You can see the gallery of 50 photos from today by following the link at the top of this page. Here are a few to whet your appetite:

We left the park around 4PM and drove to our new lodging, Endoro Lodge. This was quite a nice place, with clean spacious bungalows (ours had 3 bedrooms + 3 baths), really well manicured grounds, and a swimming pool that we enjoyed:

The people of Tanzania are wonderfully friendly and welcoming. I am aware that we are traveling in something of a "white man's bubble". The service is beyond what I would normally expect. Whenever we arrive in a new place, we are greeted with hot towels and fresh squeezed local juice (hibiscus, baobab, passionfruit). We never carry anything. When we finished dinner last night, a man with a large flashlight was waiting for us outside (how long had he been there?) so that we didn't have to walk back in the dark. When we visited the pool, a very nice man named Richard stayed with us the whole time, making sure we were comfortable. It's nice, but I also feel a bit of liberal guilt about the whole thing. Tourism is Tanzania's #1 industry and provides many desirable jobs. But I can't help wondering if we are spoiling that which we come to see. For example, Endoro lodge had Maasai teenagers working as porters. Am I, in some small way, contributing to the destruction of their culture? I have thought a lot about this while we have been here but have not yet settled upon a final opinion. I have spoken to our guide about it, and although he sees my point, he feels that anyone taking a tourist job can (and often do) return to their tribe once they have saved money (to buy cattle, for example). More thoughts on this as they develop!

We enjoyed a buffet dinner (great curry! weird desserts) at the Lodge, with a lovely patio with a fire pit and fragrant views. We slept fitfully (lots of strange animal noises both familiar and exotic).

Thanks for reading!