Week Three: Tanzania's Special Features

Mambo everyone!

I can't believe we are already starting the last week of January -- 2014 is just racing by!

Anyways, this week I wanted to share with you all some of the really cool places Tanzania is famous for being home to!

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TANZANIA: HOME TO ALL THINGS AWESOME

1. The Source of the Nile: Lake Victoria

I took this picture in Mwanza, here's a small corner of Lake Victoria!

The famous Nile River of Egypt is actually made up of two rivers, the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The Blue Nile begins in Ethiopia, but the White Nile is sourced by Lake Victoria, which sits in the North-western part of Tanzania, and shares its shores with Kenya and Uganda.

That big blue blob at the bottom? That's Lake Victoria!

Some say that the Nile's source can be traced to the rivers that feed into Lake Victoria, which include the Kagera River, which flows through Tanzania's Kagera Region, or the two tributaries, one from Burundi and another from Rwanda, that come together at Rusumo Falls, which flows along the Rwanda-Tanzania border.

Here's a picture of Rusumo Falls!

It was early in the morning...but here I am at Rusumo Falls, on a bridge going from Tanzania (on the left) to Rwanda (on the right)!

No matter where the Nile's very first drop begins, it's more than likely that it will flow through Tanzania before continuing north...all the way to Egypt!

2. The tallest mountain in Africa - Mt. Kilimanjaro

Mt. Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Tanzania, the tallest mountain in Africa, and the largest free-standing mountain in the entire world.

Kilimanjaro, or "Kili" as some people call it, rises 19,341 feet above sea level. That's 5,895 meters!

I was lucky enough to take six days and climb Kili at the end of my time in Tanzania. Here are some photos from my climb:

The peak of Kilimanjaro from the nearby town of Moshi

After our first day of climbing, the rest of the world already seemed so far down!

By the second day, all of the big rainforest trees were replaced with these. 

Here are my friends and I (I'm on the far left) along with one of our guides...the peak is in sight, but far far away!

The end of our second day -- ahead is our campsite, and in the clouds, the peak. 

Our campsite for nights 2 and 3....look at the clouds!

My friend and I hiking on day 3....we stayed at the same altitude for most of the day as we tried to get over altitude-sickness (we were sick to our stomachs for most of the trip!). 

Most of our paths were like this....dirt and rocks!

Eeks! It was the morning of Day 4 and we saw this sign. We hired men to carry water for us for the rest of our journey up the mountain. 

On day 4, we walked across this "desert" towards the peak. Miles and miles of walking...and lots of wind! There were almost no large rocks or even plants around. 

There were some flowers though! It was funny...the flowers felt like plastic because they survive with little water. 

On our second to last night, we slept here before attempting to get to the summit. Because of altitude sickness, I didn't make it all the way to the top. However, I still was able to climb at least 2,000 more feet before giving in to my stomach pains! From here, it took us only 2 days to make it all the way back down the mountain. 

3. Where the Buffalo Roam: Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti looks exactly what you think of when you think about the Lion King...monkeys, lions, giraffes, zebras, elephants, colorful birds, gazelles, hyenas, hippos, crocodiles, wildebeest, and warthogs.

The Serengeti is one of the most famous national parks in the world, especially when you are talking about Africa. It was also named one of the "Ten Natural Wonders of the World".

 It is between Kenya's Masai Mara and the Serengeti where the "Great Migration" takes place every year...a migration of animals, including wildebeest and zebras (like in the Lion King) as animals move from one country to the other to find water and food during the change of seasons.

While I was in Tanzania, I was not able to go to the Serengeti because it was too far away. I did go to the Masai Mara, which is the Kenyan extension of the same ecosystem.

Here are some pictures of the animals I saw:

Buffalo

Cheetah mom and two kids

Elephant and her baby

Giraffe

Hungry, hungry hippos!

Can you spot the leopard?

Mama Lion and her cubs

Lions yawn too!

Ostrich on the run

Zebra stripes!

4. Where Jane Goodall Studied Chimps -- Gombe Stream National Park



In Western Tanzania, tucked far away (it's very hard to get to!) is a rainforest that is now a national park, where Jane Goodall was able to conduct all of her famous research on chimpanzees. Jane Goodall studied chimpanzees here for over 45 years -- starting in 1960 -- she is known as the world's most knowledgeable expert on chimpanzees.

Jane Goodall is now very involved in conservation around the world and has changed the lives of many people, and saved the lives of many animals! It is amazing to think that it all began in Tanzania.

 5. The Cradle of Humanity -- Olduvai/Oldupai Gorge

The Oldupai gorge is part of the Great Rift Valley that passes through much of East Africa.


This gorge, right near the Serengeti, is one of the most important archaeological dig sites in the world because it is where scientists have found the oldest remains of our human ancestors -- bones from 1.9 MILLION years ago! They named these bones homo habilus. Homo Sapiens (like us) also lived here far more recently...17,000 years ago.

The Leakeys, famous archeologists in the 1960s, and also the first mentor to Jane Goodall, examining a giant bone in Oldupai Gorge

This site has also shown scientists that homo habilus were able to use stone tools, and were hunters and scavengers.

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Well, there you have it. FIVE examples that show how Tanzania is home to some really cool places.

 Which one was your favorite? Is there something you'd like to learn more about? Head over to your library, or do some researching on Google, and see what more you can find out on your own, or with the help of an adult!

I know if I had the chance, I would really want to go to Gombe Stream National Park and see the chimpanzees. While I lived kind of "close" on a map while I was teaching, it would have taken me three days just to get there! Maybe another time.

Have a great week, see you next time!

Kwa Heri,
Marisa