25th Anniversary Safari - March 11-27, 2008

March 11
Depart Newark for Amsterdam

March 12
Evening arrival Kilimanjaro Int’l Airport from Amsterdam. Transfer to KIA Lodge just a short distance from the airport. KIA is a wonderfully designed lodge with individual cottages, fine dining and great bar. See www. Moivaro.com Should be at the lodge by 2100 hrs.

March 13
Depart early heading west through Arusha and arriving at Tarangire National Park in early afternoon. We can stop at a market in town to pick up any bottles of spirits you may need. We will supply beer, wine and soft drinks in camp. You are responsible for drinks at KIA, Kisima Ngeda Tented Camp and Engare Sero Tented Camp. We will be in the Mibuyu Mingi Special Campsite in our exclusive tented camp for two nights. Tents will be 10x10 Meru Style with individual shower tents, enclosed pit latrines. Camp fare is planned and organized by the Peterson family from locally available food stuffs and is generally considered better than good. Tents are the traditional Hemingway-style with chairs, tables, wash basins, etc.

March 14
Tarangire National Park especially Silale Swamp and Tarangire River. Great interaction with elephants. Evening dinner by candlelight after sundowners at the campfire. This is thornbush country dotted by ancient baobab trees. Birdlife is spectacular...especially birds of prey.

March 15-16
Depart Mibuyu Mingi after early breakfast and head west on a spectacular drive up the Gregory Rift Escarpment through backcountry Iraqw Villages to camp in the Nou Forest, a highland forest on the edge of the rift escarpment. This is a co-managed forest between the central forest department and surrounding Iraqw villages. It is beautiful with some forest wildlife one can be lucky to glimpse—blue duiker, bushbuck, blue monkey, elephant—good forest birding and great for private solo walks with Iraqw guides. Two nights in the Nou Forest.

March 17
Drop into the Lake Eyasi Basin to camp in the Yaida Valley, home of the Hadzabe hunter/gatherer folks. Here the focus will be on learning about and from the Hadza by taking natural history walks with them and visiting their bushcamps. This is part of a structured, but not staged cultural tourist partnership—see attached tour introduction.

March 18
Yaida Valley

March 19
Travel along the stark, but beautiful eastern Eyasi Lakeshore to Kisima Ngeda Tented Camp on the shores of the lake. Our good friends Nani and Chris Schmelling own this wonderful permanent camp where they also raise cattle, have a cheese factory and raise tilapia in their spring -fed pools

March 20—21
To Ngorongoro Crater for afternoon crater viewing. We will camp on the rim of the crater at Acacia Special Campsite for two nights. Morning of 21st crater viewing. Late morning of March 22nd head onto the Serengeti Plains with our camp at Nasera Rock. See attached photos or Google Nasera Rock.

March 22—23
Continue to poke our way across the Serengeti Plains heading north to camp in The Soitorgoss Wilderness Area. Soitorgoss, which means ‘rock avenues’ in Maasai belongs to three Maasai Communities and is one of the most picturesque nooks in all of the Serengeti ecosystem. Here you’ll be able to view wildlife by vehicle and food amidst a stunning array of kopjes accompanied by Maasai guides.

March 24-25
Travel east down the rift escarpment to the Engare Sero Tented Camp on the shores of Lake Natron. This is harsh country with stunning landscapes. Birdlife is spectacular. Afternoon hike up the Engare River Gorge with waterfalls and natural Jacuzzis. Evening on the lakeshore. Day two will be to investigate the landscape around Oldoinyo Lengai— sacred mountain of the Maasai as well as Lake Natron and its large population of flamingoes. (visit www.nagare-sero-lodge.com/Natron_camp.htm)

March 26
Make our way back toward West Kilimanjaro and day rooms at KIA Lodge. Light supper and transfer to KRO for evening flight.

Throughout this two week safari you will be in close contact with indigenous peoples who will join us in camp and guiding some of our walks. We will also visit Oldupai Gorge and be taken to the Mary Leakey Site by our friends working for the Antiquities Department. This safari is far different than the one previously described and is off the main track of tourism going to places little visited.

Photographs by R. Carlson and J. Brett.

Permanent Mission of the Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations
205 East 42nd Street
New York, New York 10017 Tel: 212 972 9160
or:
Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania
2139 R. Street NW Washington, D.C. 20008 Tel: 202 939 6125
or: The Tanzanian Embassy or High Commission nearest to you.

* CLOTHING FOR WALKING SHOULD BE EARTH COLORS TENDING TOWARDS DARKER RATHER THAN LIGHT.

2. Equipment:

• camera and film. Try to bring as much film as you will need for the entire trip as film is very expensive here and not available everywhere
• binoculars GOOD BINOCULARS ARE A MUST FOR DAY TO DAY ANIMAL & BIRD WATCHING
• sunglasses
• 1 liter plastic water bottle
• flashlight with extra batteries and bulbs (lighting is provided in camp but not in tents)
• sun screen
• insect repellant
• wet wipes (optional but can be handy on long dusty, hot travel days)
• reading material for the occasional free hour
• we will have field guides along but for those who wish to keep their own records we recommend for Mammals “"The Safari Companion"” by Estes and/or Kingdon's “"Field Guide to African Mammals; for Birds" "Field Guide to the Birds of E. Africa"” by Stevenson & Fanshawe and/or "Birds of Kenya & N. Tanzania"” by Zimmerman et. al

3. We suggest packing in a sturdy duffle bag with a zip opening and having a smaller day pack in which to keep things you will need during the day.

Additional items for those participating in an overland trek of several days

• light weight rain gear
• one's most comfortable shoes for walking longer distances. These can be tennis shoes, running shoes, light weight hiking boots or whatever but should be well broken in before arrival in Tanzania
• a second 1 liter plastic water bottle
• a large day pack or preferably a small to medium sized internal frame backpack for carrying personal items while walking.
• a larger second bag (zippered duffle bag) in which to pack things that aren't needed on the walk and can be left with the vehicles

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The Yaida Valley Tourism Program

The Yaida Valley Tourism Program began in the early 1990s when the Hadzabe community invited a small, family-owned safari company to bring tourists to the Yaida Valley. The relationship between the Hadza (as they are called in English) and the Peterson family goes back some forty years, and it was of concern to both parties that tourism in the valley serve the Hadza's needs and values. The Hadza's invitation led to a series of powwows, resulting in a carefully monitored program.

The Hadza, a small ethnic group of hunter-gatherers, are the earliest known inhabitants of the Yaida Valley, though no one can say for sure when they arrived or where they came from originally. Linguistic studies show that while their language is superficially similar to the Khoisan language group of the Bushmen and Hottentots, it cannot be placed in any of the recognized major ethno-linguistic groups.

Remarkably, the Hadza have managed to keep their culture intact despite many of the same pressures that have all but wiped out the world's hunting-gathering societies since the advent of agriculture some 10,000 years ago. In the past few decades, however, the Hadza have lost as much as 90 percent of their former homeland in the region to settlement by other ethnic groups. Today, the Hadza number altogether between 1,000 and 2,000 people, and the Yaida Valley is one of their last stands.

 

The Yaida Valley Tourism Program is based on certain principles, among them:

The Hadza have valuable knowledge that the rest of the world has lost. Hunting and gathering cultures, with their foundation of ecological prudence, have lessons to teach all people. What the Hadza would like you, as a visitor, to take home is an appreciation of their culture not as an antiquated tradition disconnected from the modern world but as a valid part of it. This approach to tourism bolsters self-identity among a people victimized by severe prejudice and discrimination across the board.

Community values and goals are paramount. Because Hadza land is a communal resource and Hadza society is egalitarian, tourism is judged worthwhile only if it enhances community land and resource rights. In particular, tourism should not permit individuals to profit at the expense of the community. Tourist proceeds go primarily to community accounts, though smaller fees (structured by the community) may be paid to local individuals who take part in a given tourist visit.

Yaida Valley Tourism Today The Yaida Valley comprises three official villages, only one of which, Mongo wa Mono, is dominated by Hadza. The second is dominated by Datoga pastoralists who are also victims of civilization's march, having lost former homelands and moved more recently into the valley. The third is a mix of Iraqw, Iramba, Isanzu and Barabaig (a Datoga group), all of whom have moved in from neighboring areas. After seeing the benefits tourism generated for the Hadza, the other two villages asked to be included in the program. While the Hadza village still benefits most, the other villages and the District Council now receive financial remuneration for each tourist night in the valley. Their inclusion has broadened support for the program's initiatives, notably protection of the valley's environment.

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Your Visit With the Hadza

• The following guidelines, while not fixed in stone, are designed to help tourist groups conduct their visits in a way that minimizes impact on local culture. Further advice and assistance will be provided by a "village representative", chosen by the Hadza community to accompany your group.
• Tourist camps should be located at least one kilometer from Hadza bush camps.
• Visits to bush camps should generally last about two hours, and never more than half a day. As a visitor, you can make the most of your limited time in the valley by reading background information provided by your guide or tour company and by going with an attitude of "just being", participating if and when it seems appropriate. Take your lead from your guide and the village representative.
• Before visiting a bush camp, designate a group photographer to take pictures if and when your guide and the village representative say it's appropriate. This will leave you free to interact with people instead of regarding them as photo ops.
• Further interaction and picture-taking can take place in a less intrusive setting, such in as your camp with the village representative or with Hadza employed as teachers.
• Visitors are asked not to purchase artifacts or give gifts. Failure to observe this guideline will quickly result in every encounter turning into a marketplace. This position has been discussed and agreed on by the community.