Going on a "Trip"

Most people come to East Africa excited to go “on safari.” What many people don’t realize is that “safari” is just the Swahili word for “trip” or “journey.” 

Of course, over the years “going on safari” has come to mean a wildlife watching trip in a national park or game reserve in Africa.

Driving through a national park and spotting a “zoo” animal on the side of the road is a thrill!

Of course, some animals give a bigger thrill than others. . .

But, what most people want to be sure to see is the “Big Five” (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, and leopard).

The Big Five are Featured on South Africa's Money

Safaris weren’t always about spotting wildlife and shooting a picture. Originally safaris involved spotting wildlife and just shooting. The “Big Five” were the five most dangerous animals to hunt. These were the animals that gave hunters bragging rights. Today, most people are shooting with cameras instead of guns, but they still want a shot of these animals! Here are some of my favorite pictures of the Big Five:

Elephants are huge and regal and never cease to amaze me. I could watch them for hours. . .

The ”King” is really just a big kitty. A rather scary and dangerous one. . .

Being up close and personal with a rhinoceros is incredible. It makes you realize how small humans are!

Mother White Rhino with Calf

Black Rhinos

All of the hunters and park guides I’ve met in Africa are most afraid of the buffalo. I hear they are unpredictable and incredibly aggressive when threatened. I never saw this side of them. To me, this guy looks like a cow wearing a bad hairpiece.

Then there’s (in my opinion) the most beautiful member of the Big Five. . .the leopard. A solitary animal but an incredible hunter. Not always easy to spot, but so stunning!

The Big Five can be found in many places in Africa, but the quintessential place to go “on safari” is the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Its vast, acacia-filled plains have come to symbolize Africa in the minds of many.

I was fortunate enough to visit the Serengeti at the start of the annual “Great Migration” -- the largest movement of land mammals on the planet. For a few months each year, over 1.5 million wildebeest (as well as half a million gazelles and zebra) travel 500 miles through the Serengeti, up to the Masai Mara in Kenya, and eventually back to the Serengeti in their quest for water and fresh grasses.

Interestingly, the annual Great Migration only began in the early 1960’s. In the late 19^th century, East African cattle was inoculated against rinderpest, a disease that killed both cattle and wildebeest. After the inoculations, the wildebeest population boomed, from 260,000 to 1.5 million in the Serengeti area. These growing herds were forced to migrate to find fresh water and ample grasslands.

It is amazing to see so many of these animals gathering, all heading in the same direction, led only by their survival instinct.

Just one of hundreds of incredible, memorable, moments a trip through an African game park produces. Memories I’ll never forget.

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It's Not Easy Being Red

The island of Zanzibar is home to one of four species of red colobus monkey.

This species is only found on Zanzibar and is, sadly, critically endangered, with only 1500 individuals remaining. While in Zanzibar I had to take the opportunity to see them in person!

Due to habitat destruction, red colobus are now primarily found in the Jozani Forest National Park – the only National Park on the island of Zanzibar.

These monkeys are protected on Zanzibar – it is illegal to kill or harm them. The hope is that the remaining 1500 monkeys can keep the species alive on the island. Citizens of Zanzibar now take pride in their red colobus and work hard to protect them as well.

When walking through the forest, you must pay close attention to your surroundings. The monkeys are not always easy to spot.

In the distance, you can see something living in the trees. . .

As you get closer, the distinctive red hair becomes visible. . .

Finally, you get close enough and really see the red colobus and their awesome punk haircuts!

Red colobus live in troops of up to 40 individuals with up to four adult males in each group. I had the pleasure of watching a troop of about 30 for nearly an hour.

It’s amazing to see how indifferent they are to humans – when they are protected and humans don’t pose a threat, they really could care less if we’re in their area. In fact, they let us get quite close and even ran right past my leg when passing between distant trees. I loved hearing them run past – they’re large monkeys and have a gait similar to a horse when running on the ground. Of course, they are most at home in the trees. . .

Red colobus monkeys are often found living with Sykes monkeys, the other species of monkey found on Zanzibar.

These two species live in the same habitat, but eat different diets. Colobus monkeys have multi-chambered stomachs, which allow them to eat some toxic plants that other primates are unable to eat. They are also known to eat charcoal which is believed to combat the cyanide that some plants contain. Sykes monkeys, however, eat mature leaves, flowers, and fruits. Fortunately, with the two species living in close proximity, there are more eyes watching for danger.

It was immediately apparent when watching these two species of monkey, that one is endangered and protected, and the other is not. While the red colobus were completely indifferent to humans, the Sykes, were very skittish around people and ran as soon as they saw us. Sykes monkeys are not endangered and, therefore, not protected. They are often hunted or taken as pets on the island and have become very wary of humans. The difference in the reactions of the two species was striking.

More than anything, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to spend some time in the presence of these animals. I have always been fascinated by primates and their similarities to us. I believe that all primates are worth saving – we can learn more about ourselves the more we learn about them.

Pondering the future of his species, perhaps?

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The East African Slave Trade

In the 1800’s, spices weren’t Zanzibar’s only major export. Zanzibar was home to East Africa’s slave market.

Islam was spreading and the Koran forbids the enslavement of Muslims. So the growing Muslim population in the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, and Indonesia needed non-Muslim slaves. (Slaves bound for the Americas were primarily sold out of West Africa) Accordingly, the slave market flourished in East Africa. Sadly, by the mid-19^th century, as many as 50,000 slaves were being sold in the markets of Zanzibar per year.

Many missionaries fought to end the slave trade in Zanzibar. The most famous of these was David Livingstone who spoke before Parliament in Britain and campaigned for the abolition of slavery. His death, in 1873 brought much publicity to his cause and on June 6, 1873, the world’s last open slave market was finally shut down. Sadly, the Sultan ruling in Zanzibar continued to secretly sell slaves out of a cave on the north side of the island. In 1907, the British used force to finally end human trafficking in East Africa.

The Zanzibar slave market has since been destroyed but some remnants of the slave trade remain.

The two rooms of the slave chamber still exist. These rooms were used to house 125 slaves while waiting for auction. All of the slaves were chained together and left in these rooms for several days without food and water and with sewage flowing on the floor. Sadly, many of the slaves died of suffocation or starvation here before ever reaching the auction block.

While marching from the interior of Africa and while in the slave chambers, each of the slaves was chained together. Care was taken to ensure that slaves were only next to those of other tribes. The slave owners didn’t want them to be able to communicate and potentially rebel.

Today, an Anglican Church sits on the site of the infamous Zanzibar slave market. Inside the church is a very meaningful crucifix. When David Livingstone died (in Zambia), he asked that his heart always remain in Africa. So his heart was buried under the tree he was sitting under when he died. (The rest of his body was returned to England and buried in Westminster Abbey). In honor of Livingstone’s tireless efforts to close the market in Zanzibar (which he didn’t live to see), a crucifix was carved from the wood of that tree. This crucifix hangs in the church at the site of the slave market he was instrumental in closing.

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The Spice Island

In the Indian Ocean, just twenty miles off the coast of Africa, lies the archipelago of Zanzibar.

Welcome to Zanzibar!

The largest island in the archipelago, Unguja, has been used for centuries by the Persians, the Portuguese, and later the Arabs as a stopover along the ocean trade routes. For over 200 years the islands were ruled by the Sultans of Oman. In the early 1900’s, the British took control of Zanzibar and ruled the country until its independence in 1963. In 1964, Zanzibar joined the country of Tanganyika and created the Republic of Tanzania (Tanganyika and Zanzibar Independent Association).

The largest city in Zanzibar is Zanzibar Town. The area of Zanzibar Town near the port, Stone Town, is centuries old – the oldest city in East Africa.

Although it’s called Stone Town, the buildings aren’t made entirely of stone – dried coral from nearby reefs was also used.

It’s fascinating to walk the streets of Stone Town. The architecture, with its Arabic and Eastern influences, makes Zanzibar feel so far from the rest of Tanzania.

The Beit el-Ajaib (House of Wonders) was built by one of the Omani sultans in 1883 as a ceremonial palace. At the time it was built, it was the largest residence in East Africa. It was also the first house in East Africa with electricity and the first with an elevator.

Stone Town is also home to a massive fort. The fort was built around 1700 by the Omanis for defense from the Portuguese.

The Arabs influenced more than just the architecture of Zanzibar. When they settled here, they brought spice plants with them for the highly lucrative spice trade. They built large plantations on the island growing dozens of different spices. These plantations earned Zanzibar its nickname – The Spice Islands.

The Tanzanian government nationalized the spice plantations in 1964. Since nationalization, only vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg are farmed for export. However, dozens of other spices are still grown and sold locally. 

During my visit, I took a tour of one of the plantations. It was so interesting to see the actual plants spices come from – I’ve only ever seen them in tiny bottles and tins!

Vanilla “beans” grow on a vine.

Lemongrass – one of my favorite smells!

Zanzibar was once the world’s leading producer of cloves – which are native to Indonesia. Cloves are the buds of this tree and can only be harvested by hand.

A clove tree – it wasn’t budding season when I was there.

The nutmeg tree is the source of two different spices: nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg comes from the seed inside the fruit, mace is the red coating around the seed.

Black, white, green and red peppercorns all come from the same plant – the color differences are from the timing of when they are picked and how they are processed (with or without skin) after harvesting.

Tumeric comes from a root – after boiling and drying, the yellow spice is produced.

I was the most fascinated by cinnamon. I had no idea that cinnamon comes from the dried bark of a tree. Thin slices of the bark are cut off, rolled and dried. The tree is able to regenerate its bark every 3 months! I  want to know who the first person was who decided to eat bark? How many trees did he or she try before finding the one that tastes good?

The plantations don’t just grow spices:

Pineapple Bush

Almond Tree

At the end of the tour, one of the workers climbed up a huge palm tree to get fresh coconuts! It’s incredible how easily he can shimmy up that tree!

I was even treated to some coconut juice (from a young coconut) and the meat which comes from more mature coconuts!

In addition to spices, Zanzibar is known for its beautiful beaches. Unfortunately, I visited during the rainy season. Sadly, my beach experience was wetter than usual!

But the rain didn’t stop me from enjoying the beauty of Zanzibar and its captivating mix of cultures!

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