Arusha to Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro

Driving through Arusha on our way to Lake Manyara I am struck by the colours of Africa. In the stunning reds of the Maasai blankets, the bright colours and patterns of the Kanga. Against the backdrop of grey ramshackle township the colours are striking. For me the perfect way to describe the beauty of Tanzania which is more than just wildlife. "It is the people".

On a more disturbing note though, the bright Coke Cola and Pepsi signs you see  everywhere are an example of where multinationals attempt to ingraine their products into the daily existence of people who in many cases can't afford the basics for their kids. Coke and Pepsi have done this under the guise of providing shop name signage. But this normalisation of brand and product has long term detrimental effects, I say this because I cannot see the relevance of "Betty Nail shop" to the sale of a soft drink.

As we drive through the rural grazing plains we see the Maasi herdsmen an pad their flocks of goats or herds of cattle. Every so often we see some young boys dressed in black robes. These are the Maasi boys who are undertaking their initiation period. This requires them to live apart from the village and live off the land. Once they have undergone their circumcision ceremony they have their faces painted white. 

Lake Manyara was peaceful and filled wth plenty of bird life. At one stage there was a troop of over 70 Olive Baboons walking along the shores of the lake. It was an amazing sight to see. Talking of the Olive Baboon, while waiting at the gate to Ngorongoro National park there is a resident troup who live off the gratuity of unsuspecting visitors, and will take any advantage to enter a vehicle in search of food. Well today while our guide was inside arranging our entry fees, we were the centre of attention for some of the troop who climbed over our vehicle, sat on the bonnet and attempted to snatch some Pringles chips through a slightly open window. While this attempt was unfruitful, the screams from Kabebe were enough to scare the poor beast to death. Having seen first hand how vicious they can turn if threatened we had decided to stay in our vehicle, but other tourist were oblivious to this and pushed the space boundary too far for our comfort in their attempts for the right photo. Luckily no one was injured. Our girls survived the up close and personal viewing of male baboon genitalia as they preened themselves on the bonnet so I think they will live to scream another day.