Photos TZ

Finally! Morogoro, Dar Es Salam and Zanzibar photos are up on the web.

http://picasaweb.google.com/cdpersson/TanzaniaTravelPhotosContinued#

Check it out and feel free to ask questions or make comments.

NEEMA Crafts
One of the first places I was shown in Iringa was a wonderful little place next to the Anglican Church. They mostly manufacture small handycrafts that they later sell to tourists or abroad via the internet. Their stories are the most amazing part of this organization. Most of the people have some type of limiting disability that made it extremely difficult for them to find profitable trades.
Go to the link to find out more about who they are and what they do. I bought a solar panel and some other fine gift items to bring home.

http://www.neemacrafts.com/about/index.php

Ruaha National Park

We managed to see almost every animal in this amazing park. The lions were the only ones that were elusive as the abundant impalas were keeping them well fed and lazy somewhere out of view.

The rest of the Ruaha photos have been added.
http://picasaweb.google.com/cdpersson/RuahaNationalParkTanzania#
We woke up before the sun rose and were driving shortly after. There were so many sounds in the night it was hard to tell what it was we were hearing. Msago asked if we had heard the lion. I did hear what I thought was a lion just before I got out of bed. That was exciting and we were all ready to search for all the wild animals Ruaha has to offer. So we drove...
Morning in the river valley is really an amazing time. Thunderheads rising in the extreme distance gave perspective to the great size of the park land. Continuing along the road and the river we started to see many different animals. First the impala were visible near the headquarters. They seem to like to spend time there as the larger predators don't like human interface.

Despite being in a foreign land and only knowing how to count to ten didn't stop me from making new friends. There was a distance of about a half mile to the Obongo bus station so I decided to sport for the five dollar taxi ride. After only minimal confusion during the purchase of the ticket I was happily waiting for one of the nicer Greyhound type bus liners to arrive. This was not the kind of bus you're imagining with hundreds of people hanging off of the sides and chickens and goats scrambling all over the place. It was comfy!
Our route did take me through Mikumi National Park where I saw my first wild African animals: Impala, giraffe, and elephants. This was an all day ride through beautiful grasslands, shrub forests and mountain valleys.
Iringa was home for the night. I met with Danielle and her coworker Msago and we drove to the Wildlife Conservation Society, Ruaha Program guest house which is their apartment.
Ruaha Hilltop Lodge was where we stopped for bite to eat and watched a great thunderstorm. Just before six we were in the park minutes before the gates closed for the night. After handing over both U.S. dollars and TZ schillings as payment for the park entrance fee we were in.
We were driving one of the legends of African bush travel. Our truck was a Toyota Hilux that was slightly lifted, had a diesel engine and looked like it seen a few trips around the continent(the Cal truck in the photos that I was able to drive).
We started seeing animals immediately after entering the park. First were the ever present swala impala and then we saw a giraffe or two. Then we drove near some odd animals that I found are not common to see: The hyena and a house cat size feline.
After a short drive we made it to the housing for park staff. There we found a place to sit, relax and watch some horrible Tanzanian rap videos before hitting the sack.

Here is the link to my picasa web album for all to view. This is the Ruaha National Park in the Southwest highlands.

http://picasaweb.google.com/cdpersson/RuahaNationalParkTanzania#

More photos will arrive as I sift through the 1000+.

Starting off in the port city of Dar es Salaam was a really positive place to settle into Africa. Located on the Eastern seaboard on the Indian Ocean it really is the bustling business center for the country. After only a couple spotty hours of sleep on the jets(30 hours of travel time), I found a quiet place to rest near the bus station(Obongo).