The Jungle Book [part 2]

The next morning I woke up very early. In Africa the sun does not only rises very early but also a great variety of animals and birds greet the new day with noisy twittering. For breakfast we had the leftovers of our meal in the evening. But because we did not have any kitchen counters or even a table the ants were happy to find a great meal in our rice. So all the ants had to be eliminated from our food before we could eat. As the guys and I wanted to do the washing up we found that somehow a lot of things were left behind. We did not have and knives and forks, no soups, no mosquito spray, no soap and no sponges. So we had to use a piece from the old mattresses and the washing powder to clean our dishes. After that we were supposed to meet the rangers. Shaffi told us which questions to ask but because the rangers did not speak English Shaffi still had to tanslate our questions and their answers. There were no plans fort he rest of the day so we played cards or did other activities. As I strolled around I found an old piece of metall laying in the dirt. As I picked it up I found that it was a real machete! The boys were a little bit jealous as my machete was nicely curved and firm rather than the machetes they bought on the market. The rain season began during the afternoon. I have no idea why the rain season has to start as soon as we decide to entert he bush life. We spent the rest oft he days in our little rooms but because there were no windows as such everything was damp and my cushion stuck to my face in the evening.

Because the weather looked nice the next morning we decided to go for a walkt o the river. We changed into our outdoor clothes and the rangers picked us up. About five fat Hippos swam in the green water. But as soon as we were walking on the river bank it began to rain. Within seconds we were completely soaked so we quickly found shelter in a nearby hut. Because we were already wet and the rain did not stop we decided to retun to our hut anyway. After we dried ourselves we did not know what to do. The only chairs we had were wet and our rooms only small so we lay down for a kip. We woke up in the afternoon and luckily it had stopped raining. We went tot he kitchen for some food and all of a sudden there was a table. Finally, we got a table! We spent the rest of the day sitting in the kitchen, drinking tea and playing cards.

The fourth day we slept in late. Because there is not a lot to do in Wami Mbiki it is easier to sleep longer because then the days are shorter. After weh ad breakfast which included tomatoe salad and sweet potatoes we went for a walk again. We were now well prepared for the rain to come put it there was only a little drizzle. On our two hours hiking tour we rarely saw any animals except for the backsides of some gazelles which were runnign away from us. We returned to our hut and the showering water which was supposed to be there a few days ago arrived. But a closer look confirmed our fears that the tank contained old water from the river. Instead, we decided to refresh ourselves directly in the river. We found a shallow spot where no hippos or crocodiles could be seen and took a shower. After that we tried to light the campfire but of course the wood and the fireplace were wet. The rangers helped us though and they even brought a big fish from the river. It was still jerking as it was sliced into pieces and afterwards grilled in the camp fire. Although I am a bit fussy about what kind of fish I eat I have to admit that this fish was really nice. I do not think that I have ever tasted a fish as fresh as this one.

The day of the showdown… the last couple of days we kept aksing Shaffi what kind of activities we were to do in our project. He answered that we would be looking at the corridors for animal migration (on our walks) and that we would have lessons on animal behaviour. Also, we were supposed to go tot he next village to talk to the people about poaching. The hiking tours were a waste of time. We were only following the rangers and found out afterwards that weh ad been looking at a corridor. The lessons on animal behaviour were held by Shaffi´s female colleague. Within a few minutes she gave us the main characteristics of a certain animal and that was it. Even the car which was meant to take us tot he next village was not only the only car oft he whole park but also stuck in the mud. Nothing we could do about that.

That was enough! We were so fed up with this whole thing. This project was supposed to be fun and not an ordeal for all of us. We were promised an accomodation in a tourist lodge in a national park and not a research project with no real activities in these little huts. One might get used to the accomodation but the project was definitely not what we had imagined it to be. We talked to Shaffi and he promised that the food and water supply were going tob e restocked but weh ad enough of this all. So we asked him to organise a car to pick us up. After he talked to his boss he told us that we could not quitt he programm but that we had to continue for the whole 14 days. But we wanted to have a good time and we also paid money for this! We searched for a network connection and contacted our organisation in Germany. We told them what was happening here and they promised to sort things out. Funnily enough after that call Shaffi told us that a car would come the next day.

Even if the project was purely boring the drive back was definitely an adventure. The Jeep was filled with people (Shaffi, his female colleague, us four, the driver and a ranger) and all the other luggage and food which to that point had not been eaten were strapped back on the roof and off we went. Because we had a bus to catch we were driving at breakneck speed. It did not take us long before not only the luggage began to tumble down the roof but also the back window was flapping in the wind. The window was hanging on ist hinges but we were now truly some heros from the bush. So we took some strips of tree bark and tied the window back on ist place and because we did not have a lot of time we continued to race trough the african bushland. Then there was a tree on our way but nothing could stop us. The tree rammed our vehicle at the side and the front mud guard flew into the bushes but there was no need to stop because the car was still driving. Until we arrived at the maingate. Sweaty, shaken and with hair standing in all directions we came to a halt when we heard the loud whistling of our back tire. But the bus does not wait so we all jumped back into the rusty jeep. Of course the roads got bette ras soon as we reached the tarmaced road and we were able to cruise along to Morogoro. We got there in time and caught the last bus to Dar es Salaam. As we arrived the comparatively comfortable student house and there was dinner on the table we shoved the food in our mouth as if we were a gang of estrays. Finally we were back in town, weh ad a toilet (with a toilet seat), electricity and water! Nevertheless, I reduced my project from six month to six days….