I just returned from a safari at Mikumi National Park.  It was nothing short of amazing!  I felt like I was going back in time thousands of years…aside from riding around in an open top Land Cruiser.  We drove through the park as we searched the savannah for signs of animals.  I was so lucky that I got to see all of the most picturesque scenes!  To name a few, I saw herds of impalas, lions, elephants, warthogs, wildebeests, elands, jackals, zebras, birds, butterflies, and my favorite, giraffes.  Not to mention the landscapes themselves were breathtaking.  The long grass and baobab trees stretched for miles into the blue ridges of the Eastern Arc Mountains.  At one point I watched a mother elephant cross the road ourside the park entrance right in front of me.  Her shrew was on the other side of the road afraid to cross.  She waited for it to build up the courage to follow her lead.  Eventually, the shrew looked both ways and started to cross.  He even did a spin move in the middle to check behind him.  Once he made it to the other side, the celebrated by trumpeting and eating!!  It was adorable!  I also saw so many giraffes close up.  Apparently they can’t make noise, so they communicate by whipping their tails and sending vibrations to one another.  Also, lions are afraid to attack them because giraffes kick them so hard that they usually break the jaw!  Maybe the most shocking thing I saw was a mother lion and her 6 cubs devouring a wildebeest for dinner about 20 yards from me.  I couldn’t close my mouth the entire time!  For the rest of the night, I couldn’t stop yelling, “I just saw lions eating a wildebeest!”  It was hard to grasp.  When we came back to camp, we had tents on raised wooden platforms with real bathrooms attached!  I even took a hot shower!  I’ll never take the basic amenities for granted again!  A Masaai lit a clay stove outside our tent to heat the water before we showered.  Truly amazing!

Now that I’m back in Udzungwa it’s time to start working on my final project which will be presented for the WWF (World Wildlife Fund).  I’m working on a prototype for the Udzungwa Mountains National Park website that markets the key attractions of the park as well as the surrounding villages.  Hopefully this will encourage tourists to stay for a few extra days to get a well rounded immersion experience when they visit, which will bring revenue to the park and to the villages.  

I can’t believe how quickly the trip is going.  I’ve already been here for a month!  Just two weeks left.  I’m doing my best to savor these last two weeks and take it all in while I can.

Again, sorry for the slow internet connection.  I have AMAZING photos from the safari to share!!

Location: Mikumi National Park, Tanzania