Tanzania: the Magical World of Maasai and Wild Animals
I’m a traveller with great experience. I have travelled around the world and have seen many unbelievable places and people. But this trip to Africa was different. It was like a dream which turned over my consciousness. Now that I am back and can think rationally, I can confirm, “This was the best and most vivid trip of my life”.
Our trip started with exploring the former capital of Tanzania, Dar El Salaam, and the country’s largest city.
The most interesting aspects of Africa, in our opinion, are the people and the animals. We were ready to discover both. So, for the first few hours, we just watched daily life in the city.
People say, here in Dar El Salaam, the same as everywhere else in Africa, that it is not desirable to walk around after 6pm. We decided not to check the truth of this statement and travelled mostly by car in the evenings.
People in Tanzania, unlike the animals, don’t like posing in front of cameras. Some of them can even become aggressive when they see someone trying to take a photo of them. That’s why I have a lot of photos from the side, which the locals couldn't see me taking.
Lunch in Moshi, a Tanzanian municipality situated on the lower slopes of the famous Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. On a clear day, you can see the summit of the mountain.
For the first time in my life I saw marabou, the local “sparrows”. They are huge, but sit quietly and wait for food. I decided to share my meal with one of them.
The next day, we set off for our main goal – to see one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa - Ngorongo Crater.
As we got closer to the crater, the weather was very foggy and we were afraid we would not see anything. But our guide reassured us and promised the sun would be waiting for us in the crater.
We could not believe the benevolence of the weather, but our guide was right! In front of us incredible views opened up that I will never forget.
Ngorongo is a former crater of a large volcano which erupted and collapsed in on itself approximately two or three million years ago. Nowadays it is the world’s largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera (about 610 m deep, and its floor covers 260 square km).
Ngorongo is justifiably one of the continent’s most breathtakingly beautiful settings and a famous safari destination in Tanzania. To say this place is amazing doesn't really cover it. You have to see it with your own eyes.
Approximately 25,000 large animals, mostly ungulates, live in the crater. My dream was to see Pumba, my favourite cartoon character.
And voilà, just 20 minutes later my dream came true! Pumba came to meet us. “Hello, Pumba!”
Pumba and his big family.
We decided to have our breakfast by this beautiful and peaceful lake.
This place is not so peaceful in reality. You have to be very careful and protect your food. These “small” birds can easily leave you without breakfast. My husband lost his sandwich...
Ngorongoro means “Gift of Life” in the Maasai language. These tribes have lived here for many centuries. We decided to visit them next.
You can also meet Maasai people in the cities, they always wear red and blue capes and they are far from contemporary fashion.
Maasai villages are still very typical and traditional: the man’s responsibility is to tend the cattle, while the women construct the houses from mud, grass and goat dung and take care of the home and children.
I was lucky to visit one Maasai hut in the village. A family with small children and young cattle live here. I saw even a calf near the family bed. Maasai men are polygamous and can have up to five wives whom they usually visit in turn.
The Maasai perform their traditional dance of jumps. The women, by the way, also jump very high. I couldn't jump like they do.
Maasai school.
On the way back to the hotel. I was so impressed after visiting the Maasai village that, next time, I plan to spend a night there. And I'm already looking forward to having an experience like this.
Smiling hippopotamus.
For me, without any doubt, this was the most vivid trip of my life.
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Written by Jana Ultra
There are two things in my life that I love the most – traveling and photography They go together perfectly. Traveling always inspires me to capture the best moments, to show my feelings and emotions through pictures. And it’s always exciting for me that my feelings and emotions are interesting for thousands of people, who read my blog on Live Journal.
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