Traveling for me is eye-opening. There is nothing quite like being among a country’s local people, learning about their customs, and seeing with my own eyes, who they are. I leave with a greater appreciation that we are very much alike in so many ways yet shaped differently by our ancestry and environment.
We as Americans are fortunate in more ways than we can count – our quality of life (homes, schools, healthcare, income), infrastructure that we take for granted (clean water, electricity, roads), safety, and values of our country. The Tanzanians are beautiful people, kind and respectful, but life is in many ways a constant struggle in ways we cannot even begin to imagine.
Our driver reminds us that Tanzania is its own country, when the media reports on other countries of Africa, it is not them. They do not have ebola, they do not have strife, etc. They are a safe and wonderful place to visit. Africa, to me, was a far away place that I had little understanding of. I feel a bit more knowledgeable and a feeling of closeness to the people we have met.
Eco-tourism, is both a blessing and a curse. To the local economy, it provides a huge lift. To conservation, it brings much needed awareness of the fragility of wildlife. However, I am left with a feeling that I have in my quest to be here, contributed poorly to environmental protection. I have used more plastic bottles of water than I can count, and it horrifies me to know the totality of bottles both tourists and residents use in a day. As guests, we have consumed great quantities if good food, but we as Americans also waste large quantities of it- much is left uneaten on plates. Safari vehicles, mostly Land Cruisers, with 2-4 passengers drive around for 8 hours searching for wildlife; how much gas did we use and how much in emissions did we leave in this pristine environment? Our presence is surely felt by the animals; we are not always respectful of this place, their home, driving through their lines and forcing them to run off the dirt roads, interrupting their stalk and prey process, or causing them to leave their kill too scared to come out. The increasing numbers of lodges break up the scenery and migration paths, cars driving too fast hit crossing wildlife, birds and rodents are often seen eating plastic wrap of sandwiches, and animals come to drink chlorinated pool water. This article says it well. https://www.bookallsafaris.com/news/impact-ecotourism-african-wildlife
As humans, we leace an imprint and it is not always for the best. I think it is inportant for us to be vigilant, demand more attention to best conservation and green practices, and limit growth and impact. If not, the Serengeti we see today will not be the Serengeti our grandchildren see.
It pleases me to learn that Americans contribute talents, time and financial resources to uplift the lives of people here.
I am also encouraged to read that the government of Tanzania, along with environmental activists have prevented the building of a paved highway running east to west across the north Serengeti. This highway would result in road kill as well as interrupt the great migration, causing wildebeest to get stuck in Tanzania and die.
This trip leaves me with much to ponder and a quest to learn more. I hope reading my blog has taken you on a virtual adventure and given you a better understanding of this part of the world. I welcome your thoughts.
