Safari. More than just a Journey.

**We're back from safari! Gabe, Sam, and Chris share their experiences in today's blog post.**

​**Be sure to read to the end to view some of Chris's amazing photos!**

"The journey was jaw dropping (literally) but as we were on those land cruisers we saw just how small we really are and how animals are a big part of our world as well. I THINK ALL OF US WISH WE COULD GO AGAIN. With their new airstrip they are planning to build they hope to increase the visitor number and allow access to more of Africa to their safari." ~Gabe Clark

"The first word I can think of for this experience is ridiculous. Not because of the animals, bandas, or even the hospitality. But because we had the bumpiest bus ride of our lives making me need a chiropractor after this trip. Everything that we saw was other-worldly and will surely be cherished memories for all of us for the rest of our lives. The hospitality was incredible with the staff always offering to help (including pulling out your chair for you) and always wanting to be of use for someone. Even the candle-lit dinners at night were organized to perfection with the food being cooked over real coals and having a staff teach us about the different stars in the sky. My favorite animals we approached were the lion couple on the second safari. They weren’t the least bit concerned about us being less than 20 yards away and gave us many great photos (some weirder than others) that really showed the beauty of the animals that we encountered. Overall, I’d recommend everyone to go and do this yourself even for just a single day, but I’d wait until next year when the new airfield is finished so you can fly in from Zanzibar instead of taking the back-breaking bus ride that we had to endure. This trip has been a dream come true and this just made it all that much better." ~Sam Kroschel

"They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  If that is the case, you will need a lifetime to read the anthologies we have written in the past 48 hours in the Mwagusi safari camp of the Ruaha National Park. How do you describe color to a blind person?  That is what it feels like to summarize the safari experience.  For the first timers in our group, it felt like we were living in a Disney movie.  For the veterans it was affirmation that their memories are real—that they, too, had experienced this indescribable adventure once before. For all of us, we left this place in wonderment and deep appreciation for God’s creation and for the hard work of the people who took care of us, so that we could see it with our own eyes! 

The adventure began Wednesday morning with a 7:30 departure from the Lutheran Centre in Iringa. The 3.5-hour drive in the cruiser bus provided many “deep massages” (i.e. bone-jarring).  Surely, after dropping us off at the park, the bus was headed to the nearest auto shop to have every bolt re-tightened. Thankfully, we arrived to the park safely and in good health around 11:15.  We had another hour’s drive through the park to the place where the safari camp Land Cruisers transported us the rest of the way to the Mwagusi safari camp, the first of now a dozen or so businesses in the park.  

We arrived right before lunch, in time to stretch out and relax in the viewing area of their dining hut.  As we received our orientation, we could see a herd of impala walk into the Mwagusi riverbed, oblivious to our presence.  After the delicious lunch we were escorted to our personal “bandas”, an open-air hut with, in the front, a low stone wall, polished cement floor, and lounge furniture; in the back, a private bathroom and shower; and in the middle the sleeping quarters—a spacious, carpeted canvas tent, left open during the day and zipped up at night. The entire space is covered by a timber A-frame and thatched roof.

After a couple hours’ respite the moment we had all been waiting for arrived—the first of three multi-hour safari drives. Spread out across three custom-built Land Cruisers—trucks with three rows of raised cushioned seats, shaded with a metal bimini, each with a driver and guide—we departed around 4:30 into “the bush.”  These rugged beasts would carry us around the park, through ruts and across brush without fail.  All the vehicles traversed the same path, but each vehicle still had its own experiences. The guides were breathing encyclopedias of the flora and fauna, able to identify practically every bird and tree we passed by—not only telling the name but also unique characteristics, habits, and how it impacts the ecosystem. If a notable creature was sighted the guides coordinated with their cell phones and all vehicles rendezvoused.  

This first adventure was filled with baboons, impalas, cape buffalo, kudu, dik-dik, black-backed jackal, a young elephant by the road, numerous giraffes, a hyena, and a pride of young male lions lounging by a river. Exotic birds also surrounded us the entire way: ground birds like the guinea fowl and spurfowl; fliers like lovebirds, starlings, bee-eaters, rollers, social weavers, oxpeckers, hammerkop, and LOTS of hornbills; and birds of prey like the bateleur, black-shouldered kite, tawny eagle, and the majestic African fish eagle. Even the trees were captivating.  The enormous Baobab tree skeletons were spread across the land, showing their massive trunks (most were devoid of leaves because it is the dry season). Sausage trees, flat-topped acacias, palm trees, and the very unusual candelabra trees reminded us of the diversity of this place.  The drive back at dusk also treated us to a red-orange sunset reminiscent of home.  We returned from our trek around 7:00.  At 7:30 we were escorted down to the dry riverbed for a campfire and social hour under a cloudless, starry sky before dinner nearby at 8:30. A staff member gave an introductory, southern hemisphere-themed astronomy lesson. Using a green laser, he pointed out the milky way, several constellations, planets, and the southern cross. After dinner, staff escorted us all back to our bandas for safety.  What animals would venture around our tents that night we did not know, but we all slept in eager anticipation of what amazing experiences we would have the next day.

The morning came very early. The safari departed at 6:30am, so most of us were up before 6:00.  The waning moon overhead provided enough illumination to outline the banda walls, riverbed, and trees, but the sky was still dark enough to make out stars. The view south presented a sight us “northerners” haven’t seen since the winter—Orion lay just above the horizon.  The temperature was cool, even by our standards--probably mid-40s—so many wore pants, sweatshirts, caps, etc. By our return six hours later we would all be stripped-down to the minimum because the savannah was now a sultry 80 with a “winter” sun as intense as our summer one.

This cruise had several of the same creatures—herds of cape buffalo, impala (lots!), a few elephants, zebra, and giraffe—but also some new ones.  We drove down to the Ruaha river and spotted hippos, a few crocodiles, some herons, egrets, and a few other birds. Some special finds were an African Civet, waterbuck, black-faced vervet monkey, African Fish Eagles perched and in-flight, a giraffe bending over for a drink, a lilac-breasted roller dazzling us with its plumage in-flight.

Our final safari set out in the evening in hopes of finding new animals and new experiences. Two leopards—one hiding in the brush and the other walking in the open—a mother elephant with her calf, a resting hyrax in a tree (looking like a leopard), several banded mongoose, slender mongoose, an orib (small antelope), herds of gazelle, some ostrich, a mating lion couple, and a herd of over twenty elephants moving together finished off our final memorable adventure. Our return drive in the twilight was a blend of cool breezes and a warm-colored sunset.  

Once again, we enjoyed a pleasant social evening and dinner on the riverbed, right outside our bandas. The cooks prepared their delicious dishes over coals right on the rocks under the starry sky.  Stories were swapped about the day’s sites and experiences. Unfortunately, time marched on and before we were ready the evening was over and we all returned to our beds for a restful night’s sleep.
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After sleeping-in the group met for breakfast in the dining area. Every meal we enjoyed the presence of the camp’s founder and owner, Chris Fox. He humbly shared stories of his youth, history of his camp, answered questions, and shared his thoughts on the future of the park with the planned construction of a 2.5km runway under construction and possibly finishing before the end of the year. After packing up and enjoying some final views of the scenery it was time to board the land cruisers for a quick ride back to the cruiser bus and our departure out of the camp by 11:00. As we left the camp, a few of us took some final family pictures at the entrance signs—final proof that we really had visited this amazing place and been in the presence of the other-worldly creatures.
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“Safari” means journey in Swahili. Our stay at Mwagusi has been another memorable chapter in our larger journey here in Tanzania. We returned to the Lutheran Centre in Iringa early Friday afternoon.  Our forty-eight hours into this strange paradise reminded us of the wonderful world God made for us, and our responsibility for stewardship of His creation." ~Chris Clark