There are a million articles I could write based on our recent trip to Tanzania, where we (mostly my husband) opened a lodge (his home country) over the pandemic. From ways to sleep better on 22 hours of plane rides – to ways to adjust to time difference -to the most amazing animals to see on safari – to reasons to take your most overly-prepared-mom-type friend (who may or may not actually BE a mom) with you on a trip across the globe. There is so much that we considered and discovered.
But here are 5 things we learned and thought about as life lessons during our 10 days in Tanzania.
1. A detour or delay might be pretty lucky.
We missed a connection after departing late from LAX and ended up in Istanbul for 24 hours. We were disappointed to miss out on a whole day of our trip time in Tanzania but we got a whole day in Istanbul. We booked a walking tour through Airbnb experiences with a tour guide who took us all over the city with out of the ordinary sights and while weaving incredible historical tales about each destination.
We got a total experience, lots of steps in, and a really amazing extra couple of continents into our trip (Istanbul is both in Europe AND Asia – wild). It was a delay but it was a huge experience we may have never had otherwise! Life’s like that sometimes. So, if you feel delayed lately, consider that you may be experiencing something amazing extra instead!
2. Don’t push it too hard, too fast… and if you do, do it with someone who can carry you.
We took an amazing trip to Saanane, a nature preserve on an island in Lake Victoria in Mwanza, Tanzania. It was a gorgeous hiking tour of the island enjoying the rock formations, large reptiles, birds, antelope, zebras and more in the wild. There were also treks up and down hills and rocks to vistas and sites. This was only on our 2nd full day in the country. My son had a little travel sickness and was adjusting to the heat and humidity. He was also pretty tired out by the halfway point.
We stopped and rested for a bit and had him drink more water. But up the next hill he promptly threw it up and declared he couldn’t go further. Arguably, maybe we should have taken a slower approach getting going on our trip but we had all our sites crammed in to meet our timelines. Lucky for my kiddo, his father hoisted him onto his back, and climbed the remaining hills and valleys with an 85 lb “back-pack”. I told him that he was pretty lucky to have a dad who was willing and able to make that happen. So, in hikes, and in life… look ahead, and maybe take things a bit slower if you are still adjusting to something. Or if you can’t, make sure you are partnered with someone who can give you strength and carry you when you become weak.
3. If your basic needs are met, you might not roar in someone’s face.
At Saanane there were a couple lions on the island; these were not safari style but zoo style, in a safe enclosure. The male lion came rushing toward us, roaring, to scare us away when we went by. I have to say, despite the barrier, it was terrifying. The guide yelled at us not to run, and later we talked to our son about how those lions were there rehabbing and were probably not feeling their best and wanting to be alone.
When we went on safari, we were also lucky enough to see lions in the wild (it can be hard to find them because they like to hide and rest under shady rocks during the day in the wild). Two male lions sat under a tree and we viewed them from the land rover down the hill. When one of them got up and wandered right down toward us, my heart about stopped. There was no cage or enclosure, just an open safari jeep and I was not ready to endure the same running and roaring at us there. The guide said not to worry and sure enough the lion wandered right past us down to the river to get a drink, as did his friend a few moments later, totally unconcerned about us. Suffice it to say, if you are feeling well and have plenty of food and range to roam, you are much less likely to roar someone’s face off. So, let’s make sure to keep other’s moods and needs in mind when approaching them!
4. What you initially might interpret as poverty might just be culture.
Of course, there can be a bit of culture shock visiting any new place. And when we aren’t used to seeing other ways of life, it’s easy to judge how others compare to ours and why. We had an amazing opportunity to visit a Masai village and be welcomed with song and dance, included and introduced to the way they do things. We got to sit in their mud huts and see how they use elephant poop to start fires.
We also stopped a Masai on the road to ask for help finding the giraffes at one park and he walked us right over to them, then asked for his tip, made a call on his cell phone and hopped on his motorcycle to get to his next location. It’s important to note, just because someone doesn’t wear shoes or traditional clothing, or because they walk for miles in the savannah herding cows, it doesn’t mean they don’t have money. People you encounter may have huge amounts of land and money and yet they live with their culture, because that’s how they live, that’s how they have always lived and that’s how they want to continue living. Not everyone has to advertise their wealth in the same way.
5. You probably will need all the things.
I’m a light packer and a pretty minimalist person overall. I literally own like 2 knives for my kitchen. I can go without pretty easily, and I will survive if I don’t have most things. In this case, traveling so far, and then traveling so much with long days filled with travel (domestic flights within Tanzania, long car rides multiple places to take longer car drives for safari, long boat trips, long walks and hikes, even long waits in restaurants..), I really should have been more prepared with ALL the things in my purse.
Bandaids, rolaids, beef jerky, mosquito repellant, Claritan, vitamins, cough drops, water bottles, trail mix, chapsticks were some of the things that we needed and I’m glad that my best friend had most of those at the ready in her purse at all times. Whether it was a crossword puzzle or something random If you need Chinese herbs to cure something, she had it all. So, if you aren’t like that, you should probably take her on your next trip. I’m not sure my kid would have survived without her. I guess what I’m saying is, get a best friend who will think of all the things you didn’t. That will pretty much serve you for life.
A Once in a Lifetime Experience
Our trip to Tanzania was busy and full and amazing. We fit so much into our trip and my son was a perfect age to experience all these things.
Next time, we’ll take a more chill trip, but I’m so glad we did all that we did and he was able to see so many different areas and aspects of Tanzania, not just the lovely, tourist friendly area where we have our lodge. On our return home, we are grateful for our visit and the people we met and the way they enjoy living life. We are glad to have had a delay to experience Istanbul and grateful to have had all the things to meet our needs so we don’t roar too loudly in anyone’s faces.
