This is a surprise post!!! As we were driving from Yaeda Valley to Ngorogoro Crater we pulled over on the side of the road at a gas station and our leader Thad told us we had 30 minutes to use the computer. My heart skipped a few beats!
For the past 3 weeks we have been travelling around rural Tanzania exploring its vaste natural beauty. We started off in Ole Sambu, a village north of Arusha, covered in typical Savannah brush and inundated with African wildlife. Because Ole Sambu is a village and not a park reserve we were able to get out of the trucks and walk around. On my first day walking around we came upon army ants raiding a termite mound. I felt as though I were watching the Discovery Channel, and kept waiting for David Attenborough to comment on what was going on. AS we walked around our guides carried rifles just in case we came upon an animal. At one point we came upon some Elephants and had to tip toe around them, downwind (so they couldn't detect our scent). Once past them we continued on and came upon some warthogs. It is truly amazing walking upon animals in their natural habitat verses driving up to them, no matter how close one is able to get. One night I got to sleep in a tree house in the middle of the savannah with three of my friends. When i got to the so-called tree house i was shocked to see that it was instead a tall bush with no pegs to get up to the plank on top. To get up we had to climb from branch to branch until finally we were up above, looking out on the vaste beauty of Tanzania all around us. The night i spent up on top of this bush was definitely one of my most memorable.
Next we headed to Tarengiri National Park. Tarengiri is on the same land as Ole Sambu, but is preserved by the government meaning there is no agriculture or pastoralism on the land. In Tarengiri we learned about all the bird, animal, and plant species there. I have actually come to be really interested in identifying birds, Brenda i know you are excited!!!
After Tarengiri we headed up to the Nou forest. In the forest we went on several epic hikes. One of which was to an amazing waterfall!!
After the Nou we headed to the Yaeda valley, a place inhabited by the Hadza hunter-gatherers. For the past week we have been hunting with them and gathering berries. It is amazing that they still live in a way that all of our ancestors lived millions of years ago. THeir society is fascinating, my anthro head has been exploding! Old old man even taught me how to make an arrow!!!
love you all, sorry this isn't longer, everyone is in line for a computer!
can't wait to be home with you all, and don't worry i am healthy and very very happy. xoxo
2 comments:
Hunting and gathering? arrows? epic hikes and birds? is this my Molly?! I love it and can't wait to hear every detail. We were hunting and gathering too this weekend in Las Vegas. Saw the Eiffel Tower, Caesar's Palace and the Cirque du Soleil. No birds or wart hogs, though— unless you count the old ladies hooked up to their oxygen tanks, smoking cigarettes at the slot machines. Love you and miss you so keep the stories coming. xoxo Susan
Molly--
Don't forget when you get home we have to find some flint and you can teach YOUR old old man how to make arrows, and how to do the ancient hunter gatherer "I can't take any more of these flipping flies on my face while I'm working" dance. It was amazing to get a real time phone tour of Ngorogoro--count the number of toes on the lion tracks yet?
XXOO
G
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