Lions, and zebra's and giraffes - oh my

We have just returned from our weekend in Mikumi National Park. What a great time! Friday was International Workers Day in Tanzania. This is a public holiday, similar to Labor Day - so the offices were closed. We took the opportunity - with alot of help from our ever-gracious hosts - to arrange a weekend in Morogoro and in Mikumi National Park to go on a safari. Mikumi is the fourth largest park in Tanzania, though is home to most of the animals found in the larger parks - and it is much less crowded. For us, it was also the most realistic place to go to - as there is a good road to get there from our home in Dodoma. In Tanzania, for travel, it is important to ask about the quality of the roads. Many major routes do not have paved roads, and once you have traveled a long distance on an unpaved road, you do not forget to ask that question! and the answer may determine the choices you make.

On Friday, we spent the morning in Dodoma just taking advantage of a little bit of time. I went to the markets with a small group, and visited several local shops selling a range of merchandise made in Africa, and largely in Tanzania (or so they said!). We tried our hands at negotiating deals like the locals, and minimizing the uplift placed on most goods for those that are obviously not local (the tourist price). The weather was again, beautiful, so we enjoyed being out, and went to a cafe for a nice cold drink and a rest. One of our shop owners escorted us over to the cafe and sat down and had a drink with us. We also believe he sent out a message near and far telling all of the peddlers that we were there - as we were swarmed upon by people selling all sorts of things - from electronics, to paintings and jewelry. This similar swarming had happened the day before when we stopped in a minimarket - and as we left - they all had arrived. I'm fairly certain they're all in this together and are always on the ready to surround local tourists.

Later that day we left for Morogoro - our overnight stay before heading to Mikumi. We were a bit skeptical about the hotel, as so many others were called and did not have rooms - but it turned out to be a great place with the only quirk being a shower curtain that enclosed both the shower pan and the toilet. Not too bad for the price and it felt safe! We had a good dinner, a few rounds of euchre and headed to bed for a 6 am start in the morning.

We hit the road and headed to Mikumi in the morning - arriving on time and expecting two safari vehicles. That was not to be. Safari vehicle driver #2 got a better deal and did not show up. Rather than finding a backup solution before we arrived, the park waited for us, and only then worked on finding another vehicle. Fortunately they were able to do so, and we headed out for a day of viewing.

The park is 1250 square miles and is connected to an even larger area called the Selous Game Reserve. The Mkata Flood plains is at the center of Mikumi and the scenery is wonderful. We saw so many different animals - elephants, baboon, giraffes, wildebeest, impala, zebra, hippo, and water buffalo - and ultimately - after accepting we might not see a lion - as they are hard to find in the tall grasses - we found a lion - layin down on the edge of what looked like a dried up river bed. There was also a lioness on the other side, but she was much harder to see. We finished up the day heading back to the Mikumi Wilderness Lodge, where we would spend the night before heading back Sunday morning.

The Mikumi Wilderness Lodge is pretty cool. There seem to be about 10 different buildings - we had reserved 5 - so naturally there were only 4 available for our use. This presented some logistical challenges - though after a while everyone was allocated their cabin for the evening. After a great dinner at the lodge, we went to our cabins, and spent some time on the patio enjoying the views. We saw at least two elephants very close to our cabins. We also were completely unnerved by the sound of a lion's roar - and it did not seem too far away. Here we were - in East Africa, in a huge National Park, staying on a great plains, surrounded by animals living in their natural habitat - wow!

We got up at 5:15 in the morning to enjoy the sunrise - but it was not to be. It was damp outside and 100% cloudy, so the sun could not be seen. We had tea in the lodge and relaxed in their comfortable chairs until breakfast - and then rushed to get out of the park by 8:20 am before we were charged for another day!

We spent the day driving back to Dodoma - stopping along the road to pick up items at roadside stands. We are all pretty tired - so must get some rest to start the week.