I went on safari in Tanzania over spring break. It was a solo trip because Alekka had to stay home and study (IB is a bear, if I haven’t already mentioned it). I booked a custom safari through a tour operator called Shadows of Africa, whom I highly recommend. I visited four national parks as well as Oldupai Gorge and a Maasai village. I am going to divide my pictures up into three posts so I don’t give you eyestrain.
My driver/guide Timothy picked me up at the Kilimanjaro airport and took us directly to Lake Manyara National Park for a game drive.
The next day we drove to the Serengeti. On the way we stopped at Oldupai Gorge, which many of us learned as Olduvai Gorge because someone got the name wrong somewhere along the way. There is a small museum there built by Mary Leakey. They had a picture of Tim White, my Anthro 1 professor at U.C. Berkeley! I used to want to be a archaeologist. It really was quite thrilling to see this place in person.
We also stopped at a Maasai boma (village). Although I was the only visitor at the time, it was a sort of touristy experience. The people came out their houses and did a dance, and there was a huge assortment of beaded jewelry on display for sale attached to the inner fencing where the Maasai keep their animals at night. It was the kind of choreographed thing I don’t usually go in for, but then again, when am I going to get another chance to visit a Maasai boma? It was interesting.
Lorna of Arabia 