DAY FIVE – October 21

After breakfast at Tarangire Lodge we overlooked a massive herd of mostly female, Cape buffalo wind their way past the lodge to the river.  It was like watching a thick trail of ants migrate along, working together moving almost at one huge entity.

Our first stop was a secondary school that turned out to be one of the AWF (African Wildlife Foundation) sponsored schools.  child-in-class classroomWe toured some of the classes and got an insight to schooling there.  The kids were incredibly well behaved, as so many are here in Tanzania with such emphasis on respecting elders.

Then to see Daniel…an incredible elder with a near photographic memory.  We learned the history of Tanzania, his Iraqw tribe dating back some 2000 years, life as it was, life as a Tanzanian, marriage and the importance of family. He built a traditional house as he grew up in for 20 years. It was made into a hill of sticks and mud.  The room of about 30×30 would be divided into a kitchen area, an area for guests and other men to sleep, a place for the wife and kids and a place for the man of the house and any male relatives… FACT: Oh, and a place for their 12 or so cows and some chickens and goats, since that was their wealth and as important to protect as a bar of gold would be to us.

hut-where-they-live     hut-inside-2     hut-stove

daniel-and-lawrence-with-spears

Daniel’s lesson in stick fighting with Lawrence

daniel-and-peggy-with-spear

Daniel instructing Peggy in spear throwing

He recited facts about the USA that even we didn’t remember from our schooling, then shifted to the UK.  He can recite every US president and every state’s size in square miles.  Wow.  He showed us his methane accumulator for energy utilizing dung from his cows, urine and water, and demonstrated spear tossing and other useful things to fend off his property if needed…AND he was a complete delight.  We spent a few hours with him before heading off to Ngorongoro high up in the local hills.

Here I am with Peggy, Daniel and his wife in a wedding skirt where [FACT] every bead tells a story and takes 4 months to make by the mother of the bride.carol-wedding-skirt

After about 10-12 hours on the road, we FINALLY reach our destination! ngorongoro

 

Ngorongoro campsite

Ngorongoro campsite