Author Archives: rjt5075

Hakuna Matata

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

Survey Says…

This past week has been a lot of work and non-stop adventure.  It began on Tuesday when we went to Magombero Forest with a professor from the Sokoine University of Agriculture.  We went traipsing through sugar cane fields and a then through a very dense forest to see examples of deforestation.  I didn’t have much time to observe the deforestation because I was too busy dodging stinging nettles and sprinting through nests of biting fire ants.  Those things are the most malicious bugs that I’ve ever encountered!  They actually borrow through your clothes to get to your skin.  It’s like they’re out for revenge for disturbing them.  One of the guys on the trip got them all through his clothes and actually had to strip down in the middle of the forest to get them off of his skin!  Welcome to the jungle.

Wednesday was spent working on my paper about how rural land use planning can aid biodiversity conservation…whew!…a definite challenge for a marketing major.  Can’t say I’m not earning my science credits. 

Thursday and Friday were spent surveying the village of Tundu.  We took a tiny rickety bus called a Dola Dola 75 minutes each way over the rockiest dirt road I’ve ever seen.  Oh, and the horn sounded just like a carnival ride theme song – not at all like the standard “Beep! Beep!” that we’re used to.  The bus driver seemed to really enjoy the sound of the horn as he laid on it for minutes at a time (as though a bus full of white kids didn’t attract enough attention on its own)!  At long last, we arrived at Tundu and got right to work surveying the town to help them create a map.  Only a basic outline of the area exists, which makes planning for roads and other structures nearly impossible.  We spent the entire day measure people’s homes and yards.  It was a really cool way to see the culture.  Tanzanians are so proud of their homes.  One man took me by the hand and led me to a wooden crate in his back yard.  He opened the lid and out jumped four or five rabbits!  He really enjoyed my shock (an expression that translates in Swahili).  Some of my favorite highlights from surveying were the witch doctor’s house, the school of children swarming us, and a mansion belonging to a woman who is a top five sugar cane grower in Tanzania.  Rumor has it she kicked her husband to the curb because she was already rich and didn’t find any need for a man.  In Tanzanian society, especially in rural areas, that almost NEVER happens.  Women are very submissive and do intense manual labor for their husbands, so I got a big kick out of this female power house.  We made a ton of friends simply by giving high fives when they would yell out “Obama!”  It’s a good time to be an American in East Africa!

Today we saw a ton of performances from the elementary school kids for a national holiday known as World Environment Day.  They performed traditional African dancing, drumming, singing, and even skits.  It was a ton of fun to support them and all of the work they’ve put into this conservation education.  They took to us as well.  By the end of the day, I think 500 kids had pet my hair, help my hand, or danced with me.  I couldn’t walk anywhere without a giant mob surrounding me – a very strange feeling.  Tomorrow I leave for an African safari in Mikumi!  It should be absolutely amazing.  I met a tourist today who came straight from Mikumi and described it as the Garden of Eden.  I’ll fill you in when I’m back!


Location: Mang'ula, Tanzania

First Week in Udzungwa

Geoblog #4

Today marks the conclusion of my first week in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park in Tanzania.   Although I’ve had fun exploring Dar es Salaam and Morogoro, this section of the trip has been my favorite by far.  We have been learning about the human-wildlife conflicts in the area, and now I can finally see how real the situation is.  We have spent several days in Mang’ula, the local village, meeting the people and beginning to understand their way of life.  It’s so easy to get attach  ed to the little kids here.  They’re so affectionate!  From the moment I enter the village I have a swarm of about ten adorable little kids holding my hand, asking to be picked up, giving high fives, or just walking along next to me.  Even the adults come up to us, shake our hands, and offer a blessing or a greeting.   Tanzanians are so friendly!  While in the village, we not only talk to these amazing people.  We also take note of their living conditions.  In some cases, people’s homes are built right on top of the park boundary.  We see women (because men are forbidden since they can carry even more wood) carrying over 100 pounds of firewood out of the park on their heads to light the stove that feeds their family. These are serious issues of encroachment on park resources that are leading to deforestation problems for Udzungwa.  There are so many people and too few resources for both the people and the wildlife.  Even the firewood collection has been minimized to only women on Thursdays but will be completely illegal in 1 year from today.  The situation in this particular region is so challenging, but I’m learning so much by simply observing it.

As for the fun stuff…last night I camped on top of the Sanje Waterfall, the highest waterfall in the Tanzanian National Park system (TANAPA).  After carrying a tent, water, food, and extra clothes up an unbelievably steep trail to the top of the 750 meter waterfall, a swim in its pool felt incredible!  Actually, the water falls in three segments, so we swam in two separate pools.  I had to keep telling myself, “Yes Rachel!  You really are swimming under a waterfall in Tanzania.  This is really happening.”  After our swim, we set up camp under the stars at the top of the falls overlooking the entire Kilombero Valley.  I was standing on top of the fall and feeling like the rock beneath my feet dropped off the face of the earth to the breathtaking view below.  The only thing even more amazing than that was standing there this morning and watching the sun rise over the valley.  I was actually on top of some of the clouds squinting to see the sugar cane plantations far below.  Now more than ever I wish I could upload a photo to show you!  The internet here is steady but slow…too slow for uploading pictures.  I promise to share the photos when I return.

Here’s looking forward to the next three weeks in Udzungwa.  More adventures to come…


Location: Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania

Morogoro, Tanzania

Since I arrived in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday evening I’ve been staying in an incredible hostel called CEFA, an Italian NGO.  It’s a tall white building covered in pink floral vines with a rooftop terrace that overlooks the Indian Ocean.  Here I am in a developing nation with better accomodations than the dorms!  I was shocked!  They’ve been serving us a home made breakfast of rolls and local tropical jams, fresh bananas, eggs from the chickens outside, ginger tea, and chicory coffee.  Again, better than the breakfast I prepare for myself at school.  We’ve been discovering the former capital of Tanzania all week with an awesome Tanzanian guide named Patrick.  He’s been teaching us Swahili (how to thank, greet, barter, etc) and keeping us in the best parts of town.  He’s been a huge help! 

This morning we left Dar es Salaam and headed for Morogoro, a much smaller village about 3 hours from Dar.  Ironically enough, we’re staying in the HiLux Hotel.  Again, very comfortable accomodations aside from the pet lizzard in our room that won’t seem to run back out the door.  In trying to get him outside, we’ve only let the mosquitoes in.  You win some you lose some.  We arrived mid afternoon.  I ate kuku wa kopaka for lunch (a traditional Tanzanian dish that’s basically coconut sauce on chicken wings with veggie rice) and a beer known as Safari.  DELISH!  The rest of the day was spent playing soccer with some of the locals and walking around the town to get our footing.  For being so rural, the town is obviously making serious efforts to become more developed.  Three cell phone stores in a row serve as one example.  Dinner wasn’t worth writing home about, but it did the job.  And like I said, I’m eating better than I usually do when I microwave frozen meals at school anyway!

Tomorrow we’re off to Sekoine University of Agriculture to learn more about the country’s #1 industry and how it effects quality of life, land, and community planning.  Should be really cool.  I’ll write again once we reach Udzungwa Mountains National Park, the place where we’ll be settled for 4 weeks, on Monday.

My internet connection doesn’t allow for me to upload photos, so I’d be happy to share once I’m home!


Location: Morogoro, Tanzania

Waiting to Board

I’m sitting at the gate in JFK ready to board Emirates Air – service to Dubai then Dar es Salaam.  The group got through security no problems and no line!  The plane is 9 rows wide, so should  be huge!  Should be a long flight with 13 hours first then another 5 hour flight.  We’ll arrive tomorrow afternoon and stay in Dar for 3 days.  I’ll be able to get over my jet lag and discover the former capital of Tanzania at the same time. 

Time to board!  I’ll follow up when we land!


Location: JFK Airport

Pre-trip Jitters

I’m heading to Tanzania in less than a month!  I’ll be staying at the Mang’ula National Park while I create an ecotourism marketing plan (including a new website) to increase tourism in the park.  Although I’m a Marketing major, I’m traveling with the School of Landscape Architecture.  I’m so excited to work with them on community development issues that will be identified in part by face to face interviews with the villagers every morning.  I couldn’t ask for a more authentic experience!

I just received my airfare confirmation in my inbox…it’s official!  I’m really going! The nerves just started to set in now that it’s really happening (and soon).  I can’t wait to see a new continent, a new culture, even a new economic status.  Hopefully this study abroad will stretch my limits and beliefs.  I’m hoping to reevaluate the way I live my life as it relates to the rest of the world.  I’m hoping to come back more thankful for the “streets paved in gold” in the USA as compared to the more simple life in a developing country like Tanzania.

I’m nervous for a lot of reasons.  How will I be perceived there?  Is my help wanted?  Am I imposing or “fixing” a life that isn’t even broken to begin with?  As a white girl, I’ve never been a minority before.  I’m nervous to stick out so blatantly.  I’m nervous about the language barrier.  I’m nervous about offending someone of the Muslim religion by being too bold. I’m nervous about the theft problem in the big cities like Dar es Salaam.  I guess I’m just nervous.  BUT I did ask for an experience that would stretch me, that would make me a more well rounded person who understands the world more completely.  So here is the opportunity staring me in the face.  Here goes… I’ll make the most of it!


Location: University Park, PA