Habari za Safari?

  Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania
Saturday, June 21, 2008

Since it rhymes "Habari za safari" is currently my favorite Swahili phrase.  "Safari" is Swahili for "Journey" and  "Habari za safari?" simply means "How was your journey?".  Initially I found it disappointing when I learned that safari meant nothing more than "trip"; however, I learned this week that a safari is in a way a journey.  A safari is a journey back to a time when I took deep breaths, lived in the moment, and never worried about the future.  As these are all things that I no longer have memory of doing on a daily basis, a safari is essentially a journey back into childhood.  Back to a time when I found pure delight in watching my surroundings unfold.  Back to a time when making a new discovery brought me sheer, uninhibited joy.  Back to a time when animals were one of my favorite things and I believed the world was an extraordinary place.
 
Before leaving for Tanzania, I signed up for a 5 day/ 4 night camping safari to Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater.  Since I am traveling alone, I knew I would join another group and hoped I would enjoy my safari companions.  Nature Beauties Safaris picked me up Saturday morning and I climbed into the Landcruiser with Stella (age 23 from Colorado) and Joe (27 London).

Jamie, Joe, Stella, and Carson

 Both were traveling alone which greatly pleased me as I did not want to be a 5th wheel.  At the company's headquarters, I met Carson and Jamie (both 21 from Vancouver) and instantly felt comfortable with them. We loaded the vehicle and headed to Lake Manyara.  The drive took about an hour and a half, but the time passed quickly as I gazed at the scenery and got to know the others.
 

Lake Manyara National Park

Baboons greeted us as we pulled into Lake Manyara National Park.  Sadi, our guide, opened the landcruiser's sunroofs and the safari officially begun. We entered the Underground Forest (Lake Manyara sits just below the eastern edge of the Rift Valley and the water apparently comes from under the escarpment). The vegetation was thick and huge tree branches canopied the road. We had not driven far when I spotted an elephant eating a tree about 25 feet from the road.

Our First Elephant

I had seen elephants before, but there is something extremely different about seeing an animal in the wild.  It is not a sad, captive creature but a truly majestic being.  Although the elephant was indifferent to our existence, we were simply mesmerized watching him do nothing more than eat.  After several minutes of gaping and photograph snapping, we resumed the drive.  Blue and velvet monkeys were easily spotted in the trees lining the road as well as a large clan of baboons.  The dense forest became more sparse as we wound our way through the park, and  it was not long before we happened upon a giraffe.

Giraffe

The forest ended and turned into a large prairie as we neared beautiful Lake Manyara.  The lake, backdropped by a large mountain, is home to almost three million flamingos creating a uninterrupted pink belt across the water. The amazement washed over me and remained throughout the rest of the afternoon.

Mama and Baby Elephant

 A family of elephants including two babies greeted us as we drove into another forested areas, and we continued to see giraffes and impalas.  From a distance we saw hippos, zebras and warthogs. Sadi even spotted a lion although it was far away from the road.  We waited awhile to see if it would come closer, but no luck.  It did not matter as I left Lake Manyara feeling no disappointment only contentment and happiness.