Blog

Name: Karianne Rivera
School: Fordham University
Major: Philosophy
Program: Wildlife Management Studies, East Africa

We arrived to Tanzania nearly two weeks ago after a very emotional departure from Kenya. A lot of us started crying as we said goodbye to our Kenyan staff members, but we soon  realized that Tanzania would be just as amazing as Kenya was. Our campsite is very different from Kilimanjaro Bush Camp, and while we can no longer see Mount Kilimanjaro every morning, we do have bathrooms and showers in our rooms, with actual hot water! And we are only a five minute walk away from Rhotia, a town where we can go to get clothes made, buy T-shirts, or get a soda. So we definitely love our new campsite at Moyo Hill as well.

 In the past two weeks, we’ve been to Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro crater, Karatu, and Mtu Wa Mbu. In Lake Manyara, we did a field exercise observing behavior activities and feeding habits in olive baboons. Ngorongoro was absolutely incredible, and I think that it was one of the best things we’ve done in Africa. We saw so many  lions and hyenas, and even a serval cat! One car saw a lion stalking its prey, and we drove right next to a group of hyenas sleeping in the mud. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen any cheetahs yet, but hopefully in the Serengeti our luck will change! We also went to Mto Wa Mbu and Karatu, two towns that are by Moyo Hill, and did some serious shopping. Everyone bought tons of fabric, jewelry, paintings, sculptures and food in each town. We even went to a pizza parlor, and another restaurant called Happy Days where we had burgers and fries! Overall, Tanzania has been wonderful so far, and we’re just getting started here. We still have Directed Research, a homestay, and an expedition to the Serengeti. So I’m sure we’ll have many more great experiences in the weeks to come!