Letter from the Field - Safari under the "Big Sky" - Tanzania - April 2007

26 April 2007 - From Juba to Amman via Tanzanaia

Well. I finished my assignment in Juba at the beginning of April. Jesse (my son) then met me in Nairobi and we went on to Arusha and from there did a 10 day safari through five national parks in Tanzania – which was fantastic. The weather was great – not too hot, only a little rain. We began in Tarangire, home to 4000 elephants, and I think we saw a good few hundred of them, and lots of and lots of impala and helmeted guinea fowl and yellow-fronted spur fowl and chameleons and black-faced vervet monkeys . Then we went to Lake Manyara, with pelicans and giraffe and warthogs, ostriches, mongoose and baboons. We even saw a spitting cobra. Lake Eyasi was flamingoes and southern ground hornbills as well as red billed and grey hornbills. And at Ngoro Ngoro Crater we saw lots of lion and some cheetah and rhino and hippo and these wonderful little lizards called the rock agama (blue and orange and red) – and in Serenegeti, thousands of zebra, wildebeest, buffalo and gazelles. The only one of the big five we didn’t get to see was the elusive leopard. We did see the leopard shelled tortoise. It was a great experience. I photographed incredible birds including the African fish eagle and the saddle-billed stork, the vibrant green lovebirds and the yellow and red bellied barbets, and, of course, the superb starling – with shimmering blue wings and white and orange-brown bellies and jet black eyes. As Jesse said when we entered Serengeti – now I know what they mean when they talk about the “big sky” – 360 degrees of blue with white clouds across a never ending plain. Then, we chilled out in Nairobi for 4 days, got kissed and slobbered on by Laura the giraffe, visited with the baby elephants at the orphanage in Nairobi’s game park and ate some excellent meals. We stayed at the very pleasant old Fairview Hotel at the recommendation of Diane. Jess and I were both quite impressed with Nairobi – which is a thriving metropolis. Its been 10 years or more since I last spent any time there. However, what really impressed me mightily in Tanzania was how clean the countryside was as we drove through it – no garbage on the road, no plastic bags hanging on the trees. What a contrast with Sudan.

Jesse then returned home to Toronto – I went briefly to Khartoum – and on to Geneva on Tuesday night. Today, Thursday p.m., I learned that my next assignment, is Amman, where I will be based for two months, working on strengthening strategic and operational responses to protect Iraqi IDPs and refugees. Another challenge! Another steep learning curve. I’m taking one week in Geneva to read background material and get some briefings. I should be flying out to Jordan next week.

So – my next letter to you all will be from Amman. Wish me luck on my next adventure.

Laurie

P.S. I attach a few photos from our safari.