A Fully Authentic Safari

 
 
Arusha Times (Arusha)
OPINION
3 May 2008
Ben Wilkinson
Arusha

Tanzania is the country of the safari. All of your notes and coins boast an animal of some kind, and it is what most visitors to Arusha come to do. Thousands descend on this region every year in search of the raw drama and beauty a safari can promise.

Keen to fully experience everything Tanzania had to offer, I signed up for the full works. I became a one of these 'click and point' tourists. I would spend the next few days glaring down the lens of my camera, eager to get the best possible pictures in my hunt for the big five.

 
Our first stop on the four day safari was Lake Manyara. I was pleasantly staggered as we weaved our way through a herd of elephants and their playful young. We were also blessed with the sight of giraffes attempting to breed.

Our second day saw us journey into the depths of the legendary Serengeti, where we were instantly surrounded by a characteristic African beauty. We saw masses of migrating wildebeest crowding the vast plains, whilst the occasional lion lay inert by the roadside.

Camping in the Serengeti was an experience I will never forget. We were told not to drink too much to avoid having to make a midnight toilet stop. This is because, as darkness and silence fell, our campsite was surrounded by and infested with the local wildlife. We heard hyenas scuttling around and barking literally metres from our tent. There were also reports of a nearby lion.

In the morning, a radio call led to us to the rare sight of a leopard resting in a tree. This picturesque scene soon turned into a ridiculous one, as we were joined by 15 other cars, all surrounding the animal, jostling for a better view.

Our final day was spent inside the Ngorongoro Crater. The crater promised to be a crucible of animal activity, with a large variety of precious animals all living within close proximity to each other.

Despite not seeing any hunting or killing, it was clear that the lions were eating enough. They were content to roam unaffected around the revving engines of our vehicles. One male happily relieved himself all over the rear of our car.

Our hunt for the big five was also completed when we saw, swarmed, and harassed, a rhino and her baby.

I had not been expecting the views to be so impressive throughout the trip. Particularly worth a mention was the Ngorongoro Crater. The prehistoric volcanic activity had fashioned a beautiful landscape, which provided a striking backdrop to the magnificent animals.

We paid a visit to Olduvai Gorge, the site where the discovery of the first man was made. It was both interesting and appropriate as the marks of evolution had been so abundant in the working habitat of the parks.

Safari tourism obviously has a firm grip on Tanzania and some of its people. I was disenchanted to see it had poached some of the Maasai's culture. When we arrived at the the tourist hotspot that was the Ngorongoro Crater rim we were immediately mobbed by Maasai hawkers. They were attempting to sell us cheap tourist tripe under the guise that they had made it themselves. They tried to sell us swords that had 'Made in China' written across. We were fed nonsense about necklaces that featured a piece of plastic that was apparently a genuine lion's tooth. This particular untruth provided a pitiful contrast to the stories of how the Maasai used to have to kill a lion as coming of age requirement.

Perhaps it was inevitable that the safari's popularity in Tanzania has resulted in a loss of authenticity. We drove through wide, unnatural paths that paved the way across the parks, cutting through the most active spots. Now the bombardment of vehicles is an almost daily occurrence, and the wildlife's indifference to our conspicuous presence did not make them seem entirely wild.

At the end of the day though, what you can see on a safari is a fully functioning ecosystem that features some of the most remarkable animals in the world, and I have taken much more than a few photos away from the experience.