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Part 3: To Kifaru Plantation
With a Stop at a Maasai Village And a Visit to the Hadzapi People
Click on Most Photos for Enlargement
"Days 8 and 9: We bid goodbye to the Serengeti on a last game drive eastward toward the town of Karatu and Kifaru Lodge in northern Tanzania. Kifaru is a coffee, flower, and cattle plantation recently opened as a small guest lodge. . .
The next day we will drive to visit the Hadzapi people, a tribe dating back to the Stone Age. They speak with a click language, similar to that used by the Bushmen of southern Africa but not closely resembling any other known language. The Hadzapi have a simple lifestyle that is well integrated with their environment. They gather roots, tubers, wild fruits, and honey, and they hunt with bows and arrows, wandering over a dry and rugged area. Their way of life was probably typical for much of human evolution."
Much wind during the nite and early morning. Staff came around to check tent stakes. Full moon, so beautiful. Making it light enough to see without flashlight when getting up in the nite. Up at 6 a.m., breakfast and packing and in the vans by 7:30, just when we were all getting used to our "Classic Camp". Far distance to go today, so tops closed on vans and a fast, bumpy drive. Spotted many vultures and a couple of storks cleaning up last of a kill from yesterday. A group of at least eight lions with one lying in the middle of the road. Some were lucky enough to see a honey badger, not seen before. Most exciting was three cheetahs running in a line--very beautiful. A bathroom stop and a brief lecture on the Maasai people before we visited one of their villages. At the village the Chief came out to greet us and we were escorted into a center compound where men, women and children danced for us. We were allowed to take pictures. We were taken into one of their homes in small groups. There was one area where crafts and beadwork made by the women was displayed.
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| Above Left: Maasai chief, by Lloryn Swan; Above Right: Maasai women teach (from left) Betty, Sandy, and Sherry to dance, by Lloryn Swan. | |
Quite uncomfortable, I felt, as there was much pressure for you to buy and they have learned to get as much as they can. Over all I did not find the experience entirely comfortable. A beautiful people, but the tourist influence has caused begging from the children.
On to Gibbs’ Coffee Plantation for lunch. This area very lush with much agriculture, green valleys and small mountains. Gibbs is a working plantation, but also has cottages where you can stay, beautiful grounds with lots of flowers. The lunch was wonderful as we have found all the food here, beautifully presented.
On to Kifaru Lodge where we will stay for two nites. This is also a working coffee plantation. Nice to have a hot shower after a very dusty drive. Then we took a hike to see the vegetable gardens, the coffee plants and wheat fields. When we returned we were once again dirty and sweaty--oh, well, this is part of our over-all experience. Again a very lovely dinner--all people we meet are so very gracious and helpful. Generator off when we returned to our room, so am writing this by candlelight.
Betty Shelley
Woke up at ungodly hour, had a really good breakfast: bacon, eggs, and cereal. We then got into the jeeps and we are off to visit the Hadzapi people.
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| Above Left: Hadzapi women sit in their enclosure, Jim Swan | Above Right: Three young Hadzapi men, Terry Hansen. |
The road is horrible, you could never take a regular car down it! We get to a town and we are looking for a man that knows where the Hadzapi people are. They are nomadic (they move around), so our drivers aren’t exactly sure where they are. So far it has taken . . .1,000 hours. (Jenna felt left out so she wrote that. It’s really only 3 hours.) We got there and the guide said we should walk there. On the way there were little pellets, they were actually dik-dik droppings. We got to there and it was amazing to see the way these people live. They hunt for their food with bow and arrow, they make the bow and arrow by hand, they have their own set of medicine, they have a mating season, and the list goes on and on. We had a photo op, and they asked us questions and we asked them questions. We then traded and bought arrows, jewelry and stuff.
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| Above Left: Jenna's archery lesson by the Hadzapi chief, Jim Swan. | Above Right: The Hadzapi men admire Lauren and her long hair, Jim Swan. |
| Below Left: Lynn and "The Guys", Lloryn Swan | Below Right: Hadzapi men show a pipe used to smoke hashish, Terry Hansen. |
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We then left and went to a grassy area to eat lunch. We had a box lunch in the shade. Everyone, yet again, piled into the jeeps and went to Lake Eyasi. We stayed there for about 5 minutes and then piled back into the trucks. We were almost out of there when we looked back. Kennedy’s jeep got stuck. We all turned around and tried to push the car out. They finally got the car out, after an hour.
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| Above: Stuck in the mud at Lake Eyasi, by Ed Shelley |
There were many different tactics tried. Most of the time the women watched the men work; sometimes we went and collected rocks. The whole time it was windy, sandy, and hot! After about a half an hour I got tired so I sat down, but I sat in a thorn bush! Boy, did that hurt! We finally got out and we drove home. The roads seemed less windy. Perhaps it was because we were getting used to it. The dust seemed much worse on the way home! Oh, while the jeep was stuck, a few of us had to go to the bathroom. There were no rocks to hide behind, so we used the trucks. Also, the wind was strong, so people (not me, thank God) got their leg [wet]. When we got home I think everyone was happy. We had tea, talked, took showers, and relaxed. We then got all our clothes back [from the laundry]. They are kind of damp, but they are clean and that’s all that counts. We ate dinner at 7:30.
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Sherry overcame her little tiffy today about
using the bush for a "powder room." (I was fairly nice to Lynn today!
It’s a start.)
Lauren Schirmer
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