Wildlife Safari to Tanzania

Guide: Former Zoo Director, Ken Redman
Event: Trip of a Lifetime!
Date: November 5 – 14, 2009

I have recently returned from my fourteenth safari to Africa. Some may ask,” why do you keep going back? Surely, you must have seen all there is to offer and there are many other interesting places in the world to visit”.

Well, we did see the “normal” array of wildlife: elephants with young, over a hundred lions with seventeen in just one pride, three black rhinoceros, two leopards relaxing in trees, and we were immersed within thousands upon thousands of wildebeest and zebra during their migration.

Those scenes are what you hope to encounter on safari and we were not disappointed. But other sightings should never be discounted or overlooked; accumulated they provide a total and memorable experience. Among them were:

·         A long-crested eagle in profile – the plumes on his head accentuating his magnificence

·         A pearl-spotted owlet with “eyespots” on the back of his head – we had the impression that he was still looking at us when his head was turned 180 degrees.

·         Lilac-breasted rollers flying in the sunlight, the iridescence of their wings providing an astounding brilliant neon

·         A red-spotted beetle busily crawling across our path, doing what the species has done for centuries

·         Standing on the rim of Oldupai Gorge – trying to envision our distant relatives walking across the land some three million years ago – the environment remains largely the same but the span of time is beyond our comprehension

·         “cocktailed” ants scurrying out of a golf-ball sized bolus when leaves are plucked from an acacia whistling thorn bush – the ants attack any intruder that is eating the leaves – thus they  defend the plant that is their home

·         A sunrise unlike any other – golden rays that defy description, giving a mirrored reflection on a small lake while the sounds of Africa awakening permeate our senses

·         Following a young male lion that has just left his pride and struck out on his own – how will he fare in a world where he will starve unless he can successfully hunt?

·         Stepping outside our tent at night to experience the awesome sight of an uncountable number of stars illuminating the sky – augmented by the Southern Cross which indicates we are below the equator.

·         The call of the mourning dove at sunrise, admonishing you to “work harder”, “work harder”, “work harder”….

Yes, Tanzania delivers on the sights and sounds that you read about; the elephants, lions, cheetah, and giraffe are all there. But it provides so much more when you utilize all your senses to absorb all the “little” things which add to the experience. Each safari is unique; each adds treasures that are filed in your book of memories.

We have another safari to Tanzania scheduled for November 5 – 14, 2009. We’ll experience all the interconnected elements of nature that make our world so fascinating.  Please consider joining us for something that rates as unanimous approval as being “the trip of a lifetime”.  For more information, call the Zoo Society at 971-3191 or email me at eveken@hawaiiantel.com.

Address:
Honolulu Zoological Society
151 Kapahulu Ave
Honolulu HI 96815