Fred van Doorn - Safari Adventures

Travelogue Kenya / Tanzania / Kilimanjaro September-October 2013
Fred van Doorn
Content
Introduction
Preparation
On the road with the Djoser Group
Attachments
- Geology of East Africa
- History of the Serengeti
- The best (animal) pictures
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INTRODUCTION
As a child I was already fond of nature. There was no money at home, but as a small kid I
was a member of the local library, where weekly I borrowed stacks of nature books. Later, I
could buy some books from my pocket money myself. I devoured all the information about
nature, and held speeches about it in school. Later came television including the famous
series of my idol David Attenborough. I watched them as often as I could. Then I bought the
DVDs. Even today new series and documentaries are produced with new insights and
discoveries. Also from Sir David who is almost 90 years old now. I download them all. It
continues to fascinate me, and I 'm over 60 years old now. Love of nature is of all ages .....
I have arrived at a stage of my life, that I can afford to see the most scenic areas of the world
with my own eyes. I had planned to be at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro on my 60th
birthday, January 6, 2013, and overview (the area and also my life) from a great height. That
was not entirely successful, the climb was but the date did not. They told me that winter is
not the right time for the ascent of Mt. Kili. I found that strange because the volcano is almost
on the equator and at the summit, nearly six kilometers high, there are glaciers (eternal ice).
Later it became clear to me that the snow on the slopes knows seasonality, so the climb is
not always safe. There is also seasonal fog, making the climb effort for nothing due to lack of
views at the top.
But in the late summer of 2013 I went on an expedition to Kenya and Tanzania and the
three-week trip would have a peak at the top of the highest mountain in Africa, Mount
Kilimanjaro, the "roof of Africa".
This report briefly describes the journey, nature, landscape and climb.
PREPARATION
Since I had already booked almost a year in advance, there was plenty of time for thorough
preparation, and I love that. But where should one start? I did do a lot of hiking and cycling
tours in my life, and I also climbed in the Alps, but "only" to 4 km altitude. I also have plenty
of exercise through sports and work, but that I consider only to be "basic condition".
My equipment was partly old, worn or incomplete. Moreover, nowadays, there are many
"gadgets" for sale, which, as a technologist, I like very much.
So first I went to the outdoor shop (Zwerfkei Woerden) where they dressed me, according to
the latest findings, with lots of warm layers of synthetic fabric, covered with a topping of
Goretex. I also bought nice walking shoes and I was catching exercise every weekend. I was
lucky, the winter of 2012-2013 brought a lot of snow. When it was white again outside, I went
out again to walk. The soles of my walking shoes already showed wear tracks before the real
work began. From one thing I could not say goodbye, my almost 40 year old Lowe soft pack
backpack. That was always on my back as bonded and has never let me down. During the
winter I filled the backpack with increasingly heavy things to make my walking sessions extra
spicy. Because how else do you do altitude training in the Dutch polder?
No one could tell me if 6 km altitude was feasible for me. At that height, the oxygen supply in
the air is only 50% relative to sea level. I heard that the symptoms of altitude sickness are
getting less at older age. Yet another advantage for me, so .... Only after my trip, I read a
research article in which an association was found between sensitivity to great heights and
some (inherited) gene groups. Perhaps, in the near future, there will be a preventive (genes)
test available. For now, above 4000 m height, I used Diamox as a preventive medicin.
The gadgets included the necessary electronics and an insulated “camelpak” water bottle,
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you put in your backpack with a hose to the outside; hands free drinking! Unfortunately the
water in the insulated hose and mouthpiece proved to freeze at higher altitudes, despite
blowing back the water after drinking. There is still room for improvement. The electronics
that I tried was intended to recharge my equipment like the camera and the phone, partly
with solar energy. In fact, not everywhere on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro electrical power
is available! And, I could not resist, the only luxury was my iPad along the road to read a
book or watch photos on the big screen and to be able to download a newspaper within wifi
range, for example in hotels and restaurants, or to mail and internet. So camping 2.0!
Together, the luggage weight was about 13 kg, including my hiking backpack but I already
put on my walking shoes. The total weight was quite OK.
And now on the road!
ON THE ROAD WITH THE DJOSER GROUP
New to this trip for me was, that I do not have much experience with group tours. This group
consisted of 19 members, and I knew only three of them! So how do you recognize the other
adventurers? I decided to look after the walking shoes of people at Schiphol airport,
especially in the plane. They cheated, more walking groups were in the same plane. After
arriving in Nairobi, everything became clear. Outside the tour guide of Djoser, Moses, was
waiting for us with a text panel and the safari truck. He took us to the Comfort Hotel in
Nairobi for the first, and for the time being last, time of a luxurious stay in Kenya.
A quick exchange of money the next
day, buying bottled water, and then on
safari!
The safari truck was super, a converted
Mercedes truck, down multiple pockets
for a complete field kitchen, supplies,
chairs, tents, insulation mats and space
for everyone's personal luggage. On top
the cabin with comfortable seats and a
great view all around. The crew
consisted of a driver, a cook and a
guide.
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The program of the 22 -day trip in 2013 is shown in the table below.
Friday, September 13 (Day 1): Amsterdam – Nairobi
Saturday, September 14 (Day 2): Nairobi –
Naivasha
Sunday, September 15 (Day 3): Naivasha
Monday, September 16 (Day 4): Lake Naivasha
- Lake Nakuru National Park
Tuesday, September 17 (Day 5): Lake Naguru
NP – Baringomeer
Wednesday, September 18 (Day 6):
Baringomeer
Thursday, September 19 (Day 7): Baringomeer
– Kericho
Figure 1 Travel plan (from Djoser)
Friday, September 20 (Day 8): Kericho Musoma ( Lake Victoria )
Saturday, September 21 (Day 9): Musoma
Sunday, September 22 (Day 10): Musoma - Serengeti NP
Monday, September 23 (Day 11): Serengeti National Park
Tuesday, 24 September (Day 12): Serengeti – Ngorongoro
Wednesday, September 25 (Day 13): Ngorongoro Crater - Crater Highlands - Mto wa Mbu
Thursday, September 26 (Day 14): Mto wa Mbu – Moshi
Friday Sepember 27 (Day 15): Moshi - Marangu – Mandarahut
Saturday, September 28 (Day 16): Mandarahut – Horombohut
Sunday, September 29 (Day 17): Horombohut
Monday, September 30 (Day 18): Horombohut – Kibohut
Tuesday, October 1 (Day 19): Kibohut - Uhurupiek – Horombohut
Wednesday, October 2 (Day 20): Horombohut - Marangu – Moshi
Thursday, October 3 (Day 21): Moshi – Nairobi
Friday, October 4 (Day 22): Nairobi - Amsterdam
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From Nairobi we drove into the Great Rift
Valley area. This area consist of a system of
rifts, depressions in the landscape. In an
appendix to this report I will elaborate on this
topic. For now it is sufficient to note that East
Africa through geological processes slowly
breaking away from the rest of the continent
and over millions of years from now will end up
as an island, like Madagascar is now.
The attached map shows that the "crack"
begins in Lebanon, following the Dead Sea,
the Jordan Valley and later the Red Sea and
splits up in Tanzania. The rift is characterized
by elongated mountain ranges on both sides
and a bottom that slowly falls sometimes far
below sea level. In some places, the rift can be Figure 2 Great Rift (from Wikipedia)
over 100 km wide and is only from space
clearly visible. By local stretching and thinning of the crust, weaknesses occur through which
liquid magma from the deeper soil can flow, so lava beds and even volcanoes arise. The
most famous volcano, Mount Kilimanjaro, we will climb this trip.
Another feature due to the crack formation which is sometimes very deep, are lakes that
have been created locally; at the lowest places of the expanse more and more water
remains. Many of these lakes are salty, which means the lake is more ancient (or salt is
highly concentrated because of evaporation of the water). Salt is in fact dissolved from the
minerals of the soil by water and is normally discharged to the ocean. Some lakes have little
drainage capabilities or are crater lakes, they are often surrounded by mountain ranges. It is
striking that the lakes are mostly elongated and that they form "strings" in the landscape;
gradually they will interconnect through rising water levels or further collapse of the crust.
Eventually the Mediterranean will be joined to the Indian Ocean, by cutting off East Africa. By
then East Africa will formally become an island. Some of these lakes we will visit this trip.
Wandering in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa is in fact hiking on future ocean floor.
The first lake we went to, Lake Naivasha, is a
freshwater lake, which contains many water birds.
From a boat trip on the lake we could admire large
groups of swimming flamingos from close by. At
Hell's Gate National Park, we held a walking safari
and we saw a lot of wildlife. The next day the
group split up, some went mountain biking and my
sub group went climing a local volcano, Mount
Longonot. The climb was intended to be a
morning walk, we would be back "before lunch".
However .... when we arrived on top of the crater,
at about 2800 meters altitude, there appeared to
exist a wonderful tour around the crater rim. I
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have somewhat mistaken the gravity of the climb. Since I did not had enough to eat and drink
with me, my strength left me at lunchtime. A good lesson for Mt. Kili ..... I would not have
wanted to miss the trip, however, the views were breathtaking. Climbing the crater rim you
get to see steep sloops on both sides; inside the crater and slopes down to the surrounding
savannah.
We also could have going down to the bottom of the crater, but that seemed not a good idea.
I was glad that a bottle of water was
handed to me on the way back, that tasted
good! And of course the support of Patricia
helped very well. It was a pity that we as a
group went into the National Park, and so
only as a group again had to come out,
after counting the whole number of
persons. Unfortunately some fast climbers
had to wait at the gate until we were
completely again.
The following morning we went to Lake Nakuru, that is a shallow soda lake. This lake is
famous for its large population of
flamingos. There are also many rhinos
on display in an additional protected
habitat. However, due to raising water
levels of the lake, that is surrounded
by mountains, most flamingos moved
out to nearby salt lakes. Flamingos
need shallow water to be able to
reach for their food. Also, a number of
roads around the lake were flooded
and no longer accessible. We went
into the national park from the north,
had lunch at the visitor center and drove around the lake to the extreme southern tip, where
we set up our tents at Makalia Falls, a small waterfall that appeared to be occupied by a
large group of baboons. Before we got there,
however, we enjoyed our first "real" game
drive, a game drive by car. But armed with
cameras and binoculars.
That was wonderful, we made beautiful shots
of big game! In the evening we saw a group of
buffalo not too far from the camp watching us
curiously. Thankfully we were left alone that
night. The toilet block however was far away
from the tents ...
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The next day we left the park on the other side of the lake and we continued our way to the
next lake, Lake Baringo. But before we arrived, we first crossed the equator. On the spot we
were given a demonstration of the Coriolus
effect. In the northern hemisphere, runoff water
turns counter clockwise in a drain and in the
Southern Hemisphere clockwise. An African
beauty showed us that in a very convincingly
way. Then we were of course quickly brought
into the souvenir shops, both turning clockwise
or counterclockwise, as long as we bought
something. Then we continued our way to the
campsite on the shores of Lake Baringo. Once
there, we were somewhat disappointed, there
was not much left from the large sloping
campground to the lake. Also in this lake, the
water level had risen sharply, again by abundant
rainfall. At the edge of the lake we have seen
many ruins of houses that were half submerged.
Also many trees died in the high water.
There was only a small piece of dry bank left on the site. Fortunately, our dome tents do not
have ropes so we could put them back-toback. Some were only a few decimeters
from the water. That was not wise: that night
we had visitors from the lake. The next
morning we found several fresh footprints of
hippos between the tents .... Later that day
during a boating excursion we discovered a
number of crocodiles in the vicinity of the
camp. Totally innocent according to our
guide. But for them who slept close to the
water, I don’t know. And we "had" one more
night to go .... Fortunately, indeed nothing
has happened.
Before we went on the water we did a walking tour in the morning, led by local guides who
took us to a school where we were
allowed to have a look in the class. Then
we climbed a 100 meters high lava field
from which we had a beautiful view over
Lake Baringo. This lava field stretched to
the horizon but is very brittle, while
climbing pieces broke off very easily.
During the descent we had to share the
trail with a group of goats that have not
heard of priority rules, resulting in
hilarious scenes.
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In the afternoon we went up the lake with three boats to visit an island and to see a number
of tiny sulfur hot springs. Along the way, we were visited by an eagle, which was actually
only interested in the thrown fish. This fish was brought to our boats by a local fisherman in a
very characteristic boat made of very light wood but as leaky as a sieve.
On the way back we were greeted by heavy weather, in the middle of the lake the sky
suddenly was covered with heavy clouds, from which
soon fell a heavy shower. Fortunately, no storm or
lightning. We got soaked in the camp, but the advantage
of the tropics: it's never really cold.
Moreover, there was already something warm ready for
us, prepared by the cook. Later in the afternoon we
walked to the village, where again we were attacked by
violent
winds
and
torrential
rains. In the evening we could drink a beer in
the bar next to the campsite and charge our
electronics. The whole evening we heard the
characteristic grunting of the hippos in the
water near the camp, as if they were
laughing at us and wanted to say that they
would come to visit us again in the night.
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The next day we broke camp, everything was soaked and muddy from the rain. We
continued our route to the sunny Kericho. First we had to go back to the south, crossing the
equator again and then we turned to the west. Kericho has a mild climate and fertile soil,
there is a lot of tea grown. Tea picking is intensive work. The stems can be decades old, but
the young leaves are harvested several times a year. The pickers must complete a minimum
number of baskets a day, before they are allowed to stop. They get about $ 5 wage per day.
But in return the landowners have build villages for the workers and their families with
amenities like schools and hospitals. That night we camped at the compound of an old
plantation house in monumental Victorian style. There is however some lack of maintenance
on the house ..... The location where we took our meals was less luxurious; we were "kept
indoors" in a dark damp garage. This night we were visited by sheep, goats and monkeys
around the tents. That day in the house a conference was going on with so to see wealthy
Kenyans. The hotel costs $ 100 per night and it was packed!
From Kericho we went to Musoma, on the shores of Lake Victoria. There we camped on a
sandy beach and we were able to use
luxurious beach chairs. With a beer in
hand we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
Unfortunately, they advised us not to
swim in the lake. There were warnings of
parasites in the water that can penetrate
into the skin. So only watching, no
swimming.
After breakfast we had a trip with a
fishing boat on the lake. We visited an
island to meet locals. Two things caught
my attention; huge boulders in the
landscape and in the lake, and solar panels in the otherwise very poor village. It seemed they
had skipped a number of steps in the technological evolution and enlightenment was
immediately switched from a wood fire on to solar energy.
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In Northwest Europe or North America the large boulders might indicate remnants from the
Ice Ages, but in East Africa? Later it turned out that these so-called "kopjes" are remains of
hills. In the annex more details will be mentioned. In the village Patricia shared sweets with
the children. They liked that very much, the whole village ran out.
During the route from Kerigo to Musoma we crossed the border between Kenya and
Tanzania, and we drove into Masai Mara, a famous nature reserve through which the Mara
River runs. Large groups of grazers like wildebeest and zebras have to cross this river,
death-defying. In the river gather many crocodiles that seem to sense when the seasonal
migrations of large herbivores in this area brings food. For some reason we had to cross the
border on foot, behind us the safari truck followed. Because of different nationalities in the
squad the driver was temporarily cook, the guide was driver and the cook was tour guide.
This worked apparently, there was no delay at the border!
The next day we left from Musoma to
go into the Serengeti. This famous
national park is one of the highlights
of this trip. We went camping at
Seronera, in the heart of the national
park, amidst the big game. Well, we
have known that! The "camp" was
nothing but a notice board and a
toilet block with a water tank on the
roof and a septic tank under the floor.
No fences. At night, no one dared to
go to the toilet block, because there
were roaming hyenas in the camp.
We also heard lions roar. How we did
do our needs, one can only guess ... Just before we arrived at the camp, we had been
spotted a group of lions who had just slain a buffalo. The next morning we were awakened
by a group of elephants behind the tents, busy creating more space for us by removing and
eating some trees. In short, excitement and adventure all over!
We spotted the lions for two days, every
time we passed there was less remains
from the buffalo. Meanwhile, the lions
became increasingly encircled by a
growing number of hyenas, who also
love to eat the bones with their strong
jaws. Eventually the lions retreated, and
the hyenas where again increasingly
harassed by pushy vultures. The "circle
of life .... " The last remains of buffalo
are probably eaten by ground bugs.
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The use of the open plains of the Serengeti is disputed for a long time. This will be discussed
in an appendix. Nowadays for Masai people it is no longer allowed to graze with their herds
of cattle in the Serengeti, but now the conservationists of the national park have to maintain
the open landscape structure by controlled burning of parcels. Overgrowth and forest
expansion is similar to the Dutch heather lands, which are no stable end situation in the
succession of the vegetation evolution, but a "fixed intermediate" which is maintained by
grazing sheep, peat winning and partial burning.
We had a number of game drives in
the Serengiti National Park and we
did meet the "big five". The big five
are elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and
leopard. The name does not include
the big five most dangerous animals.
It is known that hippos alone kill more
people annually than the big five
together. The name refers to a
bygone era when game drive still had
the sense of pleasure hunting, and
heads, horns and hides of the big five
were collected as trophies.
Unfortunately, poachers, paid by
powerful rich people (mostly from Asia) to do the dirty work still hunting for the big five. This
hunt is now very professionally organized with airplanes and helicopters equipped with (track
and trace) radar and deadly modern weapons. Rangers and managers of preservation do not
like the (unequal) battle with this group of criminals. There are regularly kills and not only
among the animals. There is evidence that even animals, which are equipped with GPS
collars for research, are easily detectable by poachers by "hacking" into the signaling system
or due to bribery.
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Sometimes it's a little busy on the sandy roads. By radio the drivers are signaling to each
other the location of sightseeing, sometimes indeed very touching.
From the Serengeti we drove to the
Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In this area
the Masai are still welcome with their herds and
it shows too. The highlight of this area is the
crater with a diameter of over 20 kilometers.
One suspects that the crater ("caldera") is a
remnant of a fairly large volcano that exploded
and then collapsed.
From the edge of the crater the landscape
descends about 600 meters to the bottom of the
caldera, where there is a saltwater lake with lots
of flamingos. That night we had a visit from pigs (probably a group of warthogs). No one has
actually seen them, but they have heard them and several people were attacked in their tents
by their burrowing. The next morning everything was OK. After breakfast we got a
spectacular game drive in the crater. We left behind the big safari truck at the car park and
switched to "4x4" terrain cars. In the parking lot
we were attacked by intrusive Masai souvenir
merchants. Once safely in the cars, we went
down into the crater. We drove around all
morning on the floor of the caldera. A game drive
one will never forget. Again we saw the big five
and large herds of wildebeest and zebra. Due to
protecting from the crater wall, the desire to
migrate all year round, had gone. There is plenty
of food and drink in the caldera for the large
herbivores and therefore also for their predators.
Only giraffes where not there. For these animals,
the steep descent from the crater rim apparently
is too dangerous. The Masai are the only
population group permitted from the Tanzanian
government to live in villages within the crater rim.
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At the edge of the crater lake, we saw lots of flamingos. A group of wildebeest moved very
slowly to the lake, in a neat row. Suddenly the leader stopped and then the whole herd
stopped. A little later we discovered two lions in the grass who waited until lunch came within
reach. This status quo took too long, we could not wait for the outcome.
A little further we saw a group of ostriches. Males are easily recognizable by the black and
white feathers. Females are less noticeable, you can see that more often in the bird world.
Experts say that females, often for weeks have to incubate the eggs, are vulnerable in the
open countryside and with their less conspicuous plumage they are more camouflaged. That
is the explanation that we people are willing to give, the birds may think quite differently .... It
is impressive to see how tall these birds are. A few just walked in between the cars, as if they
are well aware of their protected status in the national parks. The birds stand so high on their
legs, they could look over the car into the terrain around.
In the middle of the Ngorongoro Crater there is a
saltwater lake called Lake Magadi. The water level of
this shallow lake fluctuates with the seasons. During
the rainy season, the water surface can be tenfold
compared to the dry season. The banks sometimes
fall dry, but remain swampy.
It seems that in the past, salt winning took place on
the shores of the lake. From the crater rim, the
bottom of the crater looks arid, savannah-like, but
the lake and specially the vegetation looks oasis-like.
The area is a refuge for many animals. Where animals and birds are finding fresh water is
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not clear to me; salt water they don’t drink. Some animals get enough moisture in through
their food. Other will find fresh water. In any case, the Ngorongoro crater has so much to
offer, that the crater floor has become home for many animals, and therefore also became a
permanent residence and domicile for the Masai!
In the afternoon we left the crater and we
moved on to the village of Mto wa Mbu. In
Swahili this means "river of mosquitoes".
Swahili is a language spoken in some East
African countries as a general language. In
addition, many people and local tribes have
their own language. In this town again we
camped on a neat site (Twiga campsite and
lodge), actually with a pool.
Secretly I missed the nightly visits of animals
around my tent .... The drive from the crater
to the village brought us again along beautiful
roads and mountains of the crater highlands with sometimes breathtaking views.
After a good night's sleep, we moved on to Moshi. But first a stop in Arusha. This large city is
located south of Arusha National Park. From the city, you have a beautiful view of Mt. Meru,
a volcano in the middle of this park. A bit decadent, we decided in the break of the ride just to
go into town and to enjoy coffee and cake.
We went inside a nice restaurant, a bit like
Starbucks. Street vendors, who followed us
since the parking lot, were not allowed in
there. We did, so we were just relieved of
their persistently pushy sales techniques. The
street vendors were outside around the
corner waiting for us, to harass us after
leaving the restaurant to remind us to so
called promises, we would have done to buy
souvenirs. When we refused this, they were
almost getting aggressive.
The route to Moshi was not very interesting. What I have noticed is that the main roads in
Kenya and Tanzania are very good. Nicely paved and wide lanes. Only usually no separate
lanes for slow traffic (yet). But when one realizes that the highways are cut through Masai
area, the question arise to me how fast traffic is related to the Masai warriors who traverse
this area with their herds of cows. Inevitably, there will be conflicts. I saw work at the road
that resembled the construction of wildlife overpasses. There were hollow concrete elements
buried beneath the road surface, where animals can pass trough. But here also flows
through the abundant rain in the wet season. Still much room for improvement. The
government seems to do their best, in order to maintain Masai interest, partly as a tourist
attraction. Hopefully this does not lead to much conflict. Also because many farmers will
settle on ancient migration routes of large herbivores. Their plantations growing in numbers.
If I were an elephant and I'm suddenly into a juicy corn or banana plantation on my annual
migration route that my ancestors followed for generations, which is just ripe for the harvest, I
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'know what I would like to do ... Sometimes I think that conflicts with the very traditional
Masai people in East Africa are somewhat similar to the conflicts that exist in Europe with the
Roma groups.
After all these considerations inside the
safari truck on the way to Moshi, we arrive
at a very nice hotel. The contrast with
camping in the Serengeti, several hundred
kilometers away, could not be greater. But
before we go into the city we prepared and
consumed our last safari meal. After which
we conducted our last camp task, the
dishes.
At the hotel, we said goodbye to our safari
team that served us for two weeks during a
memorable and very adventurous journey.
Thank you for this nice work! !
After enjoying a real bed, and a dive in the
swimming pool of the hotel, it was time that we
would begin the last part of the journey: the
ascent of the Kilimanjaro.
In the morning we were picked up by a rickety
Van that would bring us to the Marangugate at
a height of 1800 meters. This place will be the
start of a very exciting climb to the "roof of
Africa". We saw the clouds open and the
glaciers on top all glistening, as if to say "come
on, we will eat you alive". Fortunately we did
not have to do the climb in one day, there
was plenty of time for acclimatization in the
huts on the slopes of the volcano where we
would spend the night. The world record of
climbing Mt. Kili from 2010 is about five
and a half hours. This young man of 22 has
reached the top running and probably he
did not see much. We wanted to be able to
have a look around us, as much as
possible, so we took it easy. "Pole pole" as our guides often admonishing told to the fast
climbers in our group.
In the hotel we had to divide our personal luggage into three parts: one part remained in the
hotel, one part was hand luggage and other belongings were packed in waterproof bags.
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These bags were carried by porters. The next day hand luggage contained extra clothing and
especially drinking water. However, not in disposable bottles. Management of the National
Park Kilimanjaro has a strict policy to keep, given the many warning signs. A neat park
indeed, there was very little litter in the park.
Figure 3 Kilimanjaro massif Roadmap (source Hofland expeditions)
Right at the entrance the porters went off with
our luggage. Later we found back everything
neatly in the Mandarahut. The first night took
place on the slopes of the volcano. It was
unclear right from the start how many "staff"
was waiting for us. On their arrival at the hotel
after the climb, it became clear that our crew
consisted of about 10 guides, 40 porters and a
group of cooks and waiters. In a group of 19
tourists that means about three helpers for
each tourist. Unfortunately it must be said that
the guides were not really there for us. It also
showed that essential safety items for immediate help such as oxygen bottles against acute
mountain sickness and a satellite phone were not included.
On the way to
the first hut we
climbed up
along the base
of the volcano.
The fun of
Kilimanjaro is
that you cross
all climate
zones with
temperatures of
+30 °C at the
base of the
mountain to -20
°C at the top.
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Starting in a tropical rain forest, where we encountered Colobus monkeys, the climate grows
slowly into a more temperate belt, whith gradually
less exuberant vegetation and eventually only
conifers and characteristic giant lobelia remain.
Even higher you'll only have left grasses, mosses
and lichens. Above four-kilometer altitude you will
find only rocks, gravel and volcanic grit. At the top
of the volcano large ice shelves are visible.
Remnants of large glaciers that covered the
whole top hundreds of years ago. The glaciers
are significantly reduced in size. Extensive study
is done to find out the causes of this proces. Of
course "Global Warming" is one of them, whether
or not because of human activities. But also other causes are being considered. Thus it is
possible that the volcano itself is slowly warming up ... Sometimes there is seen some smoke
from the crater. The volcano is certainly not "dead" but there are no human memories of
volcanic activity of Mt. Kili. The last eruption took place around 1700.
In the stages can be camped or you can sleep in
halls or sometimes in small huts for example to
accommodate four people. The cabins on the
slopes are simple but comfortable enough, even
in bad weather. After arriving in the camp the
accompanying cooks prepare three-course meal
which is served by the waiters. Funny detail is
that tablecloths were taken with the luggage. Now
the group was quite large and the cloths were not
so large, while the tables offered plenty of space.
You can guess, we were to eat shoulder to
shoulder because the table was only set on the cloths and not next to it! Despite our
repeated changes in the setting arrangement, the waiters persisted in the way they used to
set the table.
In the camps power is generated by solar energy and waste water disappears into septic
tanks. Drinking water is drained from mountain streams until approximately 4100 meters and
is boiled before drinking. To greater heights, the water is transported within jerry cans. The
caretakers took all the water bottles from anyone in the morning to be filled with fresh water
for the next trip. It is recommended to drink about 2
to 3 liters of fluid a day, but alcohol is not
recommended and therefore does not count.
After the night in the Mandarahut we climbed on to
the Horombohut at 3700m. We stayed there two
nights to acclimatize. This camp is much larger
than the other camps on the slopes, because this
cabin is also used on the way back, and therefore it
can accommodate twice as many quests.
17
To acclimatize, it is recommended to climb a little
higher than the camp, and then descend to the hut
again to overnight. On the resting day we climbed
to the Zebra Rock, a geological formation of black
and white stripes, caused by precipitation of
different minerals. Some did clime even further, to
"the Saddle", a pass between Uhuru Peak, the
highest of the three peaks of Kilimanjaro massif,
which we would climb, and the Mawenzi peak, 700
m lower. The third peak, Shira, to the west, is a
collapsed cone with a plateau at nearly 4 km altitude.
From Horombohut we had a beautiful view of
the white summit of Kilimanjaro, over 2
kilometers higher. At Horombohut there is a
helideck. For emergencies only. Are you sick or
injured, you will be driven from the mountain
with a gurney. Unfortunately, this often
happens. Also one of our porters became sick
and was quickly taken to a hospital. In the night
we reached the Uhuru Peak, a participant from
another group deceased on his way to the top
due to heart failure. Of another group that same
night a porter deceased from hypothermia. If
this would be an average night with good weather, then the question is what happens in
nights under less favorable circumstances, for example if there is more snow or rain. The
death rates on annual basis are easy to guess. Like for instance, in the Alps and the
Himalayas, also people on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro will die because of illness or
accidents. In Tanzania, as far as I know, these statistics are not made known, because these
facts could harm tourism.
18
After a good night sleep, and lots of hot tea and
hot porridge for breakfast, we continued our
route to the Kibohut at 4703 m. From here we
had a breathtaking view of the Mawenzi peak,
which is considerably more difficult to climb, as
shown in the picture.
The last stage to the summit was very exciting.
The plan was in fact to stand on the crater rim at
Stella Point at sunrise. To make this happen, we had to leave Kibohut around midnight. That
meant early in the evening to bed and
one last meal just before departure. It
was pitch dark when we left, everyone
had a miners light on his head. As
more groups ventured an attempt to
reach the summit that night, you could
see climbing strings with moving lights
on the slopes, both below you and
above you. A surreal image. We
zigzagged up on gravel slopes, you
could not really look around you to see
where we were. You simply followed
the footsteps of your predecessor
hoping that he or she did the same.
The group was divided into
subgroups, each walked at his own
pace. Fortunately, there were plenty of
guides to accompany every subgroup.
Figure 4 Marangu route (from Rucksack Readers)
19
At the top everything turned out to be perfect,
the sun rose in a cloudless sky and was shining
right in our face above the lower hanging
clouds. A fantastic experience!
Stella Point is not the absolute top. To really
finish the job we wanted to follow the crater rim
to Uhurupeak. Being at 5895 meters, the
highest point in Africa was really accomplished!
Just a quick picture at the sign as evidence for
those at home, and then move away again to
make way for the next group.
On the rest of the flattened summit of Kilimanjaro there is enough space to have a look
around. There are vast ice sheets that you
could almost touch.
Over 100 years ago the glaciers seemed to
have been covering the entire summit. Now it
is hard to imagine any more. Luckily we were
not too late. It is estimated that over 20 years
from now most of the ice will be disappeared.
Eventually we decided to go down, we still
had a long walk in front of us because we
would return to the Horombohut. We would
reach the hut at the end of the afternoon.
While going downhill is faster than climbing, it
is also more dangerous because your ankles
and knees, descending with outstretched legs,
are vulnerable. Only now, in daylight, we
experienced the danger of the steep gravel
slopes that we had climbed in the dark. The
grit slips away easily, forming a miniature
avalanche.
We would not reach the cabin dry, sometimes
we had a lot of rain. Looking back to the top,
we saw that the summit was covered with a
layer of fresh snow. Groups after us would get
more difficulties than we had.
20
Finally, after nearly 12 hours of descent, we reached the Horombohut. I do not know what
the others in the group were going to do, but I could only think of one thing. Roll out my
sleeping bag and sleep until the next morning. Only interrupted by an evening meal.
Reasonably fresh we started the final descent to the Marangu gate. I bought a Coke there.
The bubbles in my stomach did gratefully after this significant effort. The rangers at the gate
provided everyone who wanted with a stamp of Kilimanjaro in the passport. Back at the hotel
in Moshi, we said goodbye to our group of caretakers. There was even some discussion
about the height of the tip. Djoser gave an indication of what we could possibly pay, broken
down by the function the people fulfilled, but because of the large group of helpers,
nevertheless the total amount was simply too much. It turned out you cannot actually speak
of a tip in terms of a supplement to their income. It turned out that their income more than
doubled.
We all got a certificate as proof of the
climb. We also received a certificate of
Zara Tours, the organizer of the climb.
The opinions in our group about this
organization were not very positive. For
example, in our opinion especially the
porters were sometimes poorly prepared
for the changing weather on the slopes
and summit of the mountain. While they
had to carry heavy loads. The quality of
shoes, insulation and rain gear was not
always enough.
Moreover, not all porters seems to be "well fed". Many members of our group found that
nevertheless that is the responsibility of Zara (and indirectly Djoser), given the low wages
that porters receive for their services. Also the quality of the guides showed badly. The cooks
on the contrarily, had performed in a good way, given the circumstances. Only to my idea
somewhat few proteins on the menu (meat, fish), surely needed as fuel for my body to make
such a climb possible …
The last stage, with a shuttle bus from Moshi to Nairobi, was a bit boring. During the bus ride
discussion between some members of our group and the driver was born. The shuttle was
21
already quite packed with our group and our luggage. Nevertheless, the driver picked up a
number of other passengers and they where crammed within the group. The driver did have
a point. In our travel documents there was indeed no mentioning about a private shuttle ...
On the border with Kenya the shuttle was substituted. The border formalities went smoothly,
again no delay.
Back in Nairobi the atmosphere in the city was however changed. During our safari a major
terrorist attack on the Westgate shopping center did happened on September 21, 2013, a
week after our departure from Nairobi, resulting in more than 60 deaths. The city was in a
heightened state of vigilance. Many police and military were clearly visible. We went for a
beer in a pub. Before we were allowed inside we were searched and we had to go through a
metal detector. As a tourist you got a false sense of security by these measures.
All in all it was a fantastic, but intense journey. Three weeks hanging out with a group where
everyone is interdependent and, especially with climbing, must care for one another is not
always easy. But you have merged with each other. Therefore, for me the farewell at the
airport was a bit of a disappointment. Suddenly everyone went his way, and began to normal
life again as if nothing had happened. It took me several weeks before I no longer woke up in
the night, with a first thought: "Where is the group?".
Me, I was so fascinated by the beautiful landscapes in East Africa, that in November, I was
already back in Tanzania to do a private safari. More on this topic in another report.
Through this report, a greeting to the whole group and thanks for everybody’s
contribution to the success of this unforgettable journey.
Fred
22
ANNEXES
Geology of East Africa
Travelling in Kenya and Tanzania, a number of features in the landscape draw the attention.
- Vast savannahs
- Absence of large forests, except on slopes and deep gorges
- Lack of large-scale agricultural areas
- Concentration of volcanoes, as dotted lines from north to south
- Many geological features such as geysers, sulfur springs and soda swamps
- Many (elongated) lakes, often arranged in cords
- "Kopjes" and large boulders in the plains
- Eroded lava beds
- Large groups of migrating herbivores (and their predators)
To be able to “read” this landscape we need to go back in time
billions of years to the youth of the earth. Map makers in the
Golden Age (from around 1600) already wondered about the shape
of the coastline such as South America and Africa. It seemed that
these opposing continents after shifting matched together like
pieces of a puzzle. A hundred years ago it was the first time in
human history that a concept was developed about the shift of the
earth's crust, called plate tectonics. Alfred Wegener (1880-1930)
Figure 5 Alfred Wegener (from
Wikipedia)
was the founder of this theory. Because he could not explain the
mechanism behind this phenomenon, he was not taken seriously in
his time.
Figure 6 Main symptoms of plate tectonics (from Wikipedia)
23
Only after the Second World War it became clear that everywhere on earth the ocean floor
shows subterranean mountain ridges. On both sides of these so-called "mid-ocean ridges"
symmetric strips of oceanic floor silhouetted with counter (frozen) magnetism due to the
periodic polarity reversal of the earth's magnetic field. Further investigation revealed that new
ocean floor at these ridges is formed by "ocean floor spreading", where linear welling
magma solidifies and the oceanic plates are pushed apart on both sides. Elsewhere, in some
continental margins such as in North and South America, Japan and Indonesia (the so-called
"Ring of Fire"), by a process called subduction, the oceanic crust due to differences in
specific mass is forced to slide under the continental crust and solve within the plastic layer
called asthenosphere, which is positioned below the crust (lithosphere). In this process of
formation, and solving hundreds of millions years later, the moving of the ocean crust comes
with much geological violence released in the form of earthquakes and volcanism.
This was a logical explanation for the mechanism of plate tectonics, but the driving force
behind this mechanism is thus not yet been explained. Only through the discovery that the
mantle of the earth is heated up from the bottom by radioactive decay in the core of the
earth, whereby much heat is released and therefore causing convection currents in the
mantle to occur, it could be explained why the earth, after more than 4.6 billion years, has not
yet been completely solidified. Such geological processes are still fully going on and on a
large scale, providing for life on earth. Only in the 60s of the last century, so just 50 years
ago, the birth of geology as an real science became a fact.
Geologists have discovered that the
process of shifting the 6 major and
around 10 smaller continental plates on
earth by that geological processes, has
led to the periodically breaking up and
coming together again of the plates in
the form of super-continents, the socalled "Wilson Cycle". Remarkable is
that the continental crust is much older
than the oceanic crust, which dissolves
after all over and over again. It has now
been proved that there was a number
of times in the geological life span of
the earth, that there was a
supercontinent. The most recent
supercontinent was Pangea, which
broke up over 200 million years ago
and formed the present continents
Figure 7 Cratons in South-America and Africa (from Wikipedia)
including Africa, South America,
Australia, Antarctica and India. It was
also discovered that within the present continents there are parts called cratons. They are
much older, originated in the youth of the earth. As if they were the first mini continents,
separated from each other like islands.
Through the process of plate tectonics driven by convection, that started about 3 billion years
ago, these much older cratons were dragged along when the continents set in motion, again,
24
driven by the formation of new ocean floor at mid-ocean ridges due to warming up and a
convection flow through radioactive decay. Then the cratons clustered. For example, Africa
consists of five fused cratons that for
billions of years stayed together. The
evidence of this process have been
found in inclusions from African
diamonds. Diamonds, which consist of
very strong compressed carbon
(graphite), can only be formed within
special geological conditions of
temperature and pressure. It has been
found that the only known locations that
qualify, are the bottom sides of the (with
1100 °C relatively cool) old cratons on a
depth of about 150 km below the earth's
surface. These diamonds can be found
Figure 8 Diamonds (from Wikipedia)
at the earth's surface at specific
locations, meaning that the bottom of those cratons slowly melts due to the surrounding
hotter rock and that the melted parts of the craton, with possibly the contained not melted
diamonds, by geological processes will in time move to the earth's surface. From the
chemical composition of the inclusions within the diamonds, combined with age
determination of the carbon in the diamond itself, one can establish that the process of
subduction began around three billion years ago. Inclusions in diamonds, younger than 3
billion years, include "bits of ocean bottom" because of subduction beneath the craton. Older
diamonds do not exhibit these inclusions. This is the remarkable result of recent physicalchemical analysis, made possible by the development of modern analytical equipment.
Africa has been a stable
continent for billions of years,
sometimes as an island,
sometimes clustered with other
parts of the world into a
supercontinent. But this stable
phase is nearing its end! In
East Africa, geological forces
occur that will lead to the
breakup of the continent,
where the eastern part will end
up as an island, just like
Madagascar already is. The
Figure 9 Kilimanjaro volcano (from Wikipedia)
Great Rift Valley, running from
Lebanon trough the Red Sea to Mozambique, is proof of this process. Research has shown,
that underneath East Africa there is positioned a so-called "hot spot". Its mantle plume
reaches to the surface of the earth, so that the entire landscape has been pushed up over a
kilometer in the course of time. The mantle plume makes sure that at both sides of the linear
depression, in the even further pushed up "rift shoulders", enormous cracks in the bottom of
the African continent occur, with a lot of volcanic activity. By pushing up the earth's crust it
25
will grow thinner, and on both sides of the uplifted crust parts slide away. As a result, local
weak spots in the crust develop, through which magma flows over the surface and lava beds,
or even volcanoes are formed, like the volcano mount Kilimanjaro. Due to the enormous
forces of the mantle plume, not only the bottom of the cratons itself melts, making diamonds
come to the surface, but East Africa as a whole is slowly torn apart for at least 25 million
years now. In North Africa, the cracking is already in an advanced stage. By breaking up the
earth's crust, a depression named Danakil has been formed in Ethiopia, which sunk more
than 100 meters below the current sea level.
Is this the future for Kenya and Tanzania?
Probably, but it will take a while. Preliminary
results of these geological processes are
beautiful landscapes in this region.
The Great Rift Valley is a linear depression of
approximately 6000 km long. Sometimes
more than a kilometer deep in relation to the
volcanic mountain ridges on either side of the
rift, and in some places hundreds of
kilometers wide. Sometimes the Great Rift
Valley is called the "Grand Canyon" of Africa.
But in geological terms that is not entirely
correct. The Grand Canyon in the US is
known to be caused by erosion due to fast
flowing rivers. The rift valley on the other hand
is caused by sagging as a result of the action
of a mantle plume, wherein the process of
rifting the land at most has had an
acceleration due to erosion. Research showed
that in the (deeper) floor of the Rift Valley the
same strata are found as in the surrounding
highlands. However, the lower parts of the rift bottom may be filled with sediment as a result
of erosion.
By increasing rift formation the African Great Rift will eventually transform into a new MidOceanic Ridge. The former lake area will become a new ocean, continuously broadening.
Figure 10 Stadia of the rifting process (from Wikipedia)
26
More to the south
enormous basalt slabs
have been discovered.
Herein, the Zambezi
River carved a gorge, in
which the Victoria Falls
have emerged on the
border of Zambia and
Zimbabwe, discovered
in 1855 by David
Livingstone. These for
thousands of kilometers
extending basaltic lava
fields, up to a kilometer
thick, are created by
heavy magma eruptions
on the surface coming
from the bowels of the
earth. They point out
that the geological
Figure 11 Zambezi River basin (from Google)
history of East Africa has known very violent times.
Due to the emission of volcanic lava and ash products, tremendously fertile areas now exist,
where the largest herds of grazers in the world are found, such as wildebeest, zebra and
antelope. They find food here all year round. After rain has fallen, grass is growing very
exuberant through the calcium and phosphorus-rich soil. Especially around the volcano Ol
Donyo Lengai, north of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. This volcano is very active, the
last eruption was in 2007. The soil around Ol Donyo is particularly rich in sodium and
potassium carbonates. The grass is so rich in nutrients that the wildebeest precisely in this
area of their massive migration calve in early spring. The uniqueness of this volcano is that
the very fertile lava flows from very great depths, and is carried by the mantle plume beneath
the craton.
Sometimes large boulders are found in the
landscape, or small rock-like mountain tops.
Further research has shown that these
landscape elements, called "kopjes" are the
latter still visible remains of mountains. The
softer parts have been eroded away, and the
intervening valleys have been filled with lava,
volcanic ash and erosion products.
Because of the many hot springs, geysers and
volcanic sulfur pipes there are many chemicals
brought up from the deeper bottom of the
Figure 12 "Kopje" in the Serengeti (from Wikipedia)
Great Rift Valley. These substances usually
dissolve in water that collects in lakes and
marshes, where they remain on the surface as the water evaporates. If lakes have a natural
27
outlet through a river to the sea, the chemicals are drained away again into the ocean. Many
lakes in the Great Rift Valley, lack such an outlet because they are enclosed by mountain
ranges or because they are crater lakes. As a result, these toxins accumulate in so-called
soda lakes. In these waters a specific type of algae grows in large quantities; favorite food for
flamingos. These birds follow the algal blooms and migrate from lake to lake. They are one of
the few animals that are resistant to the aggressive action of this toxic water on the skin.
The vegetation of the Great Rift Valley consists mainly of grass. Except from the fact that the
climate is also a cause of this phenomena, it is mostly because of the volcanic ash, which
regularly descends in this area. Ash
and water together form a thick
cement like layer in the soil, about
one meter below the surface, where
tree roots cannot penetrate through
in search for water and stability. Only
acacia trees have little difficulty to
maintain in the savannas. The
leaves of this tree are gladly eaten
by small antelopes like the dik-dik,
and the larger antelopes like gerenuk
with their long necks, which stand on
their hind legs while eating. These
animals carefully circumvent the long
thorns of the acacia. The sometimes 5 meter long giraffe has less trouble with thorns by the
leathery lips and tongue. Elephants are less picky, they uproot the whole tree and then eat
the tastiest parts with their young. The many wildfires in the plains contribute to the reduction
of the woods too. Grass has no difficulty to recover after a fire, because from the roots new
shoots grow. De shoots take advantage of the nutrient-rich ashes from the fire. Even after
prolonged drought, which can sometimes persist for years, grass recovers quickly.
Figuur 13 Gerenuks (from Google)
Gradually the increase in human population requires density scale farming, also partly due to
the fertility of the soil. However, the weather and, in particular, the rain is unpredictable. The
local authorities do not always give permission because of the tourist status of many areas.
And finally, there may be conflicts with migratory large herbivores or Masai tribes with their
herds. In the future, the development, however, will be inevitably pointing to large agricultural
areas, whether or not with electric fence wire and artificial irrigation.
28
The often elongated lakes of East Africa
form a cord through the landscape. These
elements are the lowest parts of the
country. Especially when we realize how
deep the bottom of the lakes can be. So
for instance Lake Tanganyika is in some
places 1470 meters deep and is the
second deepest lake in the world. It is a
huge freshwater reservoir in Africa. When
we realize that the banks of the lake are
about 800 meters above sea level, then
the bottom of the lake, as a part of the
cracking of East Africa, is almost 600
meter below sea level! Gradually, these
lakes, which are often already
interconnected in the underground, above
ground level will inevitably form an
Figure 14 Lake Tanganyika (from Wikipedia)
unbroken chain. Eventually, over millions
of years, the Mediterranean will connect to the Indian Ocean trough the former East African
lakes. Using this ribbon of former lakes, East Africa as an island will gradually drift further
from the remaining continent, as is currently happening with Madagascar.
29
History of the Serengeti
The Serengeti is the oldest
and most famous national
park in Tanzania. On the
attached map, one can clearly
see the size of the current
park (dark green). The surface
area of the park is almost the
surface of the Netherlands.
The boundaries of the park
and the use of nature in this
area are, however, been
disputed for a long time. In the
map, the current migration
routes of the wildebeest, the
icon of the Serengeti, are
included. The Ngorongoro
Conservation Area was
originally part of the Serengeti
National Park but not
anymore. The northern part,
to the border with Kenya,
where the wildebeest graze
between July and November,
is added later.
Figure 15 Map of Serengeti (from Wikipedia)
So, how did Serengeti National Park established?
The geological history of the Serengeti, as part of the emergence of East Africa, is briefly
discussed in another appendix to this report. Human history began several million years ago,
according to the excavations in the Oldupai Gorge, by Mary Leakey. In my travelogue of
Tanzania, in December 2013, I go deeper into that subject. Some anthropologists consider
this area as the "cradle of mankind". The "out of Africa" theory assumes that the African man
has spread across the world from this area and that we all therefore descended from these
early hominids. However, there are more sites in Africa and the rest of the world, millions of
years old, where human remains have been found, who claim this honor.
We have found evidence that local tribes, probably nomads as hunter-gatherers, and later
shepherds of herds of cows, roamed the Serengeti and therefore have been inhabitants for
thousands of years. They used fire to remove forests and rugged plains, to make the area
accessible to their livestock and to destroy the Tsetse fly, which transmits sleeping sickness.
Burning, grazing by livestock and large herbivores kept the vegetation in equilibrium, so that
the open character was preserved. Large elephant herds decimated the storage of trees.
But when European settlers began to discover East Africa, at the end of the 19th century,
they found an almost deserted area. The reason was the outbreak of rinderpest around that
30
time, a viral disease that rapidly spread over Africa and that killed 95% of the cattle, but also,
for example, wild ruminants like buffalo, zebra and wildebeest. The human population
starved and died en masse. The whole ecological system had collapsed. In the following 20
years, a transformation took place, in which the area overgrown with forest and, by doing so,
took possession of the grasslands. Thus, the first settlers thought the savannah housed only
little human habitation, but that was historically inaccurate. The role of mankind in the
savannah was underestimated from the beginning.
In early 20th century East Africa, hunting was initiated by Theodor Roosevelt, the 26th
president of the United States. He discovered new hunting ground, after the bison in North
America was almost exterminated. Under the guise of "conservation of the landscape", there
has been unlimited hunting for big game, purely for sport. The local governments tried to
regulate the issuance of hunting licenses. The result was, unfortunately, that local tribes, who
could not afford such a license, could no longer get to their animal food in a legal way, and
where forced into illegal poaching. Only European hunting was still legal and noble. There
was a dichotomy between colonial trophy hunters and local people who hunted for food. This
created tensions and (sometimes armed) conflict. Due to the invention of the movie camera
the world witnessed these abuses by "nature documentaries" of hunting.
Gradually, around 1930, also hunters came to the conclusion, that Africa was plundered and
rapidly the call came for regulation. In 1951, the Serengeti National Park was created in an
effort to protect nature, like successfully completed in Yellowstone National Park in the
United States, where good preservation results were achieved. The Serengeti region was by
that time sandwiched between Lake Victoria in the west, and the crater highlands to the east.
The Ngorongoro area was then part of the newly formed National Park. At that time people
had no idea of the extent of migration routes. Around 1950, Dr. Grzimek with his plane, draw
for the first time ever a conceptual annual migration map.
But this newly formed park
included both animals and
humans. The local population
was tolerated to live in the
parks, as they had already done
for thousands of years. But
gradually, through population
growth, more pressure on
nature occurred. Humans more
and more became considered
as a threat to nature, and the
then prevailing view was, that
nature should be protected
against man. In 1956, a
compromise was reached. The
local tribes, especially Masai
(approximately 6,000 people with their cattle) would withdraw into the eastern Ngorongoro
area, while the western national park would be extended to the border with Kenya to the
north. The Serengeti would be cleared of human habitation, as if it were to be frozen
31
the way it was before humans would disturb the balance.
But nature cannot be controlled by invisible boundaries imposed by man. Research of
migration in 1959, showed that the great herds of wildebeest, the icon of the Serengeti, in
their annual migration grazed outside the designated limits for weeks. They would be
threatened by man, and therefore the overall government wanted an even bigger “humanfree” national park. More and more local authorities thought that the independence of
Tanzania (then called Tanganyika) from the UK would be a solution to this dispute. One
would then be able to act more autonomous again.
Julius Nyerere led Tanzania to independence, and became the first president in 1961. He
introduced the "African socialism" but his priorities were his own people. But he adopted the
Western ideas to preserve nature. In a short time a large number of national parks where
created. They cover about one third of the territory of Tanzania. Tourism became a million
dollar business for Tanzania. However, for the Serengeti, this led to a fantasy world with just
animals, without human inhabitants. Only spectators.
For tourism, this policy has been successful, but in the larger ecological picture, an
evolutionary intermediate has been
frozen. The Serengeti is not a park but
a real area, which is subject to change.
Recent research has shown, that this
area was very different not so long ago.
The climate in East Africa can change
rapidly. The vegetation has evolved
over the past few hundred thousand
years, but it moved between two
extremes: a full coverage of tropical
forest interspersed by periods of
extended grasslands. Long periods of
drought alternated with wet periods with
abundant rainfall. Undoubtedly the
wildebeest will have followed different migration routes in those times. Fortunately, the Masai
People are relevant for the authority in Tanzania, as an important part of the culture (and
also as a source of income from tourism), so they have a somewhat protected status.
Future climate change will provide new challenges in an area where humans and
animals are artificially separated and where population growth and cultivation of the
land takes great form.
32
Most beautiful (animal) pictures
This chapter contains a selection, brought together from the many photos I took on my
safaris in East Africa, from animals, plants and landscapes.
Giraffe
Baboon
Buffalo with Flamingos
33
Wildebeest
Hippo’s
Crocodile
Hyena
34
Elephant
Pumba’s
Zebra with Cranes
Acacia
35