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| Safari walk with Maasai guide |
Ruaha Safari Walk, Fly from Ruaha (Msembe) to Arusha
Outbound to Iringa, May 29, 2024
By: Terri F
The day started with an amazing sunrise of orange hues reflecting over the Ruaha River viewed from our veranda and the dining room of the Ruaha River Lodge where our breakfast awaited with the delicious cinnamon roll and coffee aromas!
After breakfast, we broke into 2 groups, and had a safari walk around the lodge grounds led by 2 Maasai, Leyeyo and Lasayo. They were so knowledgeable of the landscape and environment. Our group felt honored that they shared their knowledge and culture with us.
Some of the highlights included the excitement of many discoveries:
1. The ant lion holes which the Maasai dug out to show us the larvae which can live in the ground 5 years!
2. Acacia trees: we learned Tanzania has 25 different varieties but one on this adventure was an umbrella Acacia with small fruit the animals like. One "ah, ha" moment was discovering that the younger trees have more spikes than the older ones. Roots of these trees can be mixed with water which filters out the harmful elements making the water drinkable. The safari made me feel like I was living back in the early days of the Maasai who are so resourceful.
3. We also saw hippo and baboon footprints which made me think of how close and grateful I was to be able to stay near the Tanzanian wildlife.
4. We learned the name of the black and orange butterflies that have been gracing their presence, called "annoto".
5. The Maasai pointed out the wild basil plant which leaves are used for tea and to deter mosquitoes because they don't like the basil aroma. We smelled the basil and some tasted it!
6. I think the most astonishing highlight was learning all about the "fire tree". The sticks of this tree can be used to start a fire for cooking or warming up. The Maasai demonstrated how to use the sticks and started a full blown fire with smoke and red flames. Then they ignited elephant dung on fire!! We could all smell the smoke and some actually touched the dung! We were in awe of the Maasai's perseverance. It was the first time some of us had ever seen a fire started without a match. We reminisced about how it brought back boy and girl scout memories of trying to earn our fire badges! The Maasai put out the dung fire with their shoes made from tires!
7. Another highlight was learning all about the baobab tree which can live 3000 years! Elephants eat inside the bark because it has moisture, provides medicinal purposes and is a good source of calcium. The tree flowers in October and bears fruit for animals. Some tree bark is whiter than others because some get more sunlight. Elephants can shelter in the trees and some people use them for making houses.
We also saw several baboons crossing ahead of us on the path! All of our senses were stimulated on this informative walk. We heard a variety of birds and owls; saw a variety of trees, shrubs, flowers, birds, and animal footprints. We smelled smoke, dung, and basil. Some touched dung and all of us touched leaves, sticks and flowers. Our group was very grateful to the Maasai guides for sharing their knowledge and culture.
We left the beautiful lodge, loaded the land cruisers and headed to Ruaha's Msembe airstrip for our flight to Arusha. Along the way we saw giraffes, elephants, and impalas. Our 12-passenger plane was there waiting for us and we had a delicious box lunch before boarding. Our pilot had to chase a warthog off the runway by gliding the plane to scare the animal off so we could take off. After the warthog scampered into the bushes the pilot was able to turn around and take off! It seemed as though the animals we saw along the journey to our plane were saying goodbye and giving us a send off to remember!! I was reminiscing on the plane as I could see the many roads in Ruaha and wondered if they were the ones we had traveled to see the first of the Tanzanian wildlife!
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| Takeoff from Msembe airstrip; our last view of the Ruaha River |
After landing at Arusha Airport, we were enthusiastically greeted by our guides, Noel and Denis!! It was a good feeling to see familiar faces knowing we had made friendships with them that are sure to be memorable.
We arrived at the Masailand Safari and Lodge and settled into our rooms. Some of us took advantage of the nice pool and bar! We had a briefing from our guides about the next several days' adventures that were in store for us! All are excited to hopefully see more of the big 5! It was relaxing to enjoy a drink and almonds courtesy of George and Lynn. Everyone enjoyed a typical Tanzanian buffet dinner and then retreated to our rooms to dream about our upcoming safari adventures!
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| Masailand Safari Lodge, Arusha |
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