We have been working the whole trip on writing/photographing for our group book articles and designing the book. Our book is now up for sale for $54.49. Use the button below to purchase the new book. 
Preview the first 15 pages of the book below!
 
We went to Lukuba Island for 3 nights to work on finishing up our final book article projects right on the water in a tented camp. Then we went to Arusha to shop at the Maasai market and finish up some of our other classwork. For our last 3 days, we went to Pemba Abwe and stayed in huts on the Indian Ocean. We finished up our trip with walks on the beach and a day of snorkeling filled with tropical fish and gorgeous coral. We are now in the Amsterdam airport and we look forward to seeing you all later this evening. Stay tuned for information on how to purchase our trip book. 
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Sunrise on the Indian Ocean at Pemba Abwe beach. Photo by: Lindsay Yeager
 
To everyone back home, the past few days have been filled with incredible experiences, including mechanical escapades and feats of human strength.  We left our camp at Ngorongoro Crater and headed for the Serengeti, (endless plains in Maasai). On our way we had the chance to not only see the Great Migration, but to actually drive through it and have lunch underneath a tree with wildebeest surrounding us on all sides. There were wildebeests stretching from horizon to horizon, and in the distance we could see them follow the curve of the Earth in this vast landscape. During our drive we ran into some sticky situations, as all four of our land rovers got stuck at least once. But even with our land rovers stuck in thick mud, we were able to band together and push them free to continue our adventure.   As we neared the Serengeti, we got an up-close view of a cheetah with its fresh kill and watched as it ate before we continued on our way.   In a race against time we fought against the mud, flat tires, disconnected axels, and even a pack of curious hyenas that flanked our trucks.  After a long and exciting day we reached our destination and sat around the fire before our last night in the tents.  It was without a doubt a day worthy of remembrance!

Our next day was a much easier ride.  We experienced the Serengeti, and during lunch we saw a pool of hippos, with a crocodile and even witnessed a fight between two males hippos.  We found five cheetahs relaxing in the shade, and we consider this lucky because many safari groups never even get a glimpse at one.  At the end of the day we reached the beautiful Lake Victoria and took the chance to relax and enjoy our stay at the Speke’s Bay Lodge.  We hope everyone at home is safe and enjoys following our adventure!              

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We awoke to a beautiful sunrise at our campsite in the Ngorongoro Conservation area. Photo by: Marina Riese
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This Cheetah feeds only 15 feet from our land rovers in the Serengeti. Photo by: Emily DiMaio
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We drove through the Wildebeest Migration and noticed a rainstorm forming in the distance. Photo by: Annabelle Halpern
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On our way to the Serengeti, our land rovers got stuck in the mud multiple times. UD students worked together to push the trucks out of the mud. Photo by: Colleen Donnelly
 
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Lindsay Yeager blogging via satellite from Ngorongoro Crater using the BGAN launchpad software.
 
On January 17th we traveled from our beautiful camp site in the Yaeda Valley with the Hadza to the Bougain Valley Lodge in Karatu for the next three nights. After some unwinding by the poolside, students continued working on their final group book article projects. Each group consists of 2 wildlife students and 2 photography students who will write an article about a topic of their choice, accompanied by 10-20 captioned photographs. The final book will consist of all the group articles. There are groups covering the Baobab tree, the Hadza tribe, and water holes, just to name a few. On that Sunday, we went into the city of Karatu and shopped for souvenirs and presents for our friends and families.

After working hard on projects and resting up from our long stretch of camping, we headed out to the Ngorongoro Crater on the 20th to see the “honey pot of wildlife photography and viewing”. Ngorongoro is a World Heritage Site and the largest caldera in tact. The crater is three percent of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and about 10 miles wide. Even though it is a small section of the conservation area, the crater is an absolute oasis. Every direction that we looked, it was teeming with wildlife. It was amazing to see the animals so close and also to be able to observe their behavior in such a beautiful environment. We were able to see buffalo, elephants, black rhinos, and lions - 4 of the big 5! Our trucks were less than 10 feet away from two lions asleep in the grass next to each other. One of our guides, Maggie has told us that no matter how many times you see an animal it is always beautiful to see nature; this felt especially true today. At the end of our safari, we camped on the rim of the crater. When we arrived, there was a large bull elephant grazing less than 20 feet from the edge of our camp and in the morning we are heading to the Serengeti. 

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Before entering into the Ngorongoro Crater, UD students stopped at a viewpoint to get an idea of how large and beautiful the crater really is. Photo by: Colleen Donnelly
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UD students sited and photographed two young sleeping brother lions right next to the road in the Ngorongoro Crater. Photo by: Megan Fortman
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A cape buffalo, covered in dirt from a nearby waterhole, grazed on grass in the Ngorongoro crater. Photo by: Colleen Donnelly
 
Mutana! (Hello! In Hadzabe).  We have spent the last few days (13th-16th) camping with the Hadzabe. The Hadzabe are traditionally hunter-gatherers and we gained firsthand experience of this lifestyle. We went out hunting with the men early in the morning looking for several different types of game species including dik-dik, zebra, and rock hyrax. We also watched the Hadza men obtain a staple of their diet, honey with larvae and pollen to bring back to the bush camp. Honey is not only food, the Hadzabe can use it as currency. They use smoke to sedate the bees while they stick their bare hands into the hive.  The following day we took a hike up to a Hadzabe bush camp and got the chance to get our hands dirty, helping the women dig for tubers and roast them on the fire. We spent our afternoons learning how to make Hadzabe jewelry with the women and arrows with the men. The Hadzabe people use all parts of the animals they hunt. They use the tendons of animals to make their detailed jewelry, tie feathers to their hunting arrows, and to make the string on their bows. Our campsites included amazing rock formations that we climbed for daily discussions. We practiced reflection photos in the puddles atop these rocks.  We spent our nights learning and engaging ourselves in traditional Hadzabe song and dance, as well as teaching them how to do the cotton-eye-joe and the electric slide. 

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Natalie Fioretti (left), Hadza male (middle), and Miranda Reinson (right) observe the land from a rock during a hunt to spot game from afar in the Yaeda Valley. Photo by: Bailey Flanagan.
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UD students watch as the Hadza make a fire in preparation to collect honey from a beehive. Photo by: Emelia Ruyle.
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The Hadza retrieved honey with larve and pollen from a stingless beehive in a Comifera tree. UD students then tasted the treat. Photo by: Bailey Flanagan.
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Hadza women dig tubers for food in the Yaeda Valley and then cook them over a fire for UD students to taste. Photo by: Emelia Ruyle.
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Hadza male hunter helps UD student Rebecca Guzzo shoot at a target from a handmade Hadzabe hunting bow and arrow. Photo by: Emelia Ruyle.
 
We have spent the past couple of days in the Nou Highland Forest. Unlike the previous environments where we’ve camped, this campsite is located in a cloud forest, making the vegetation denser and cooler at night.

In the morning, some students woke up early to photograph the sunrise. We also set up camera traps that morning to see what wildlife inhabits in the Nou Forest. Camera traps are motion and heat censored, taking a series of five pictures when activated. The first night’s photos revealed a leopard. In addition to these photographs, we found several tracks and scat from elephants. We hiked through the jungle to a hidden waterfall led by Iraqw village members. We swam in the refreshing pools surrounded by the beautiful plant life and butterflies. The Iraqw forest guard, Karoli, introduced us to his family and showed us his home. It consisted of two levels made of sticks and mud with many storage spaces for objects ranging from cooking supplies to a shelter for their livestock. We interacted with the children by playing ring-around-the-rosy, giving piggyback rides, jumping rope, and sharing cookies. We played a pick-up soccer game that evening against the village team. After a competitive and fun match, we were defeated 3-1. Our one goal was scored by the amazing Miranda Reinson and assisted by Christina Connell. We laughed more than we scored, but we will always remember the times we got to spend with the Iraqw people.
             
We are excited to continue our adventure. Next we will be traveling to Yaeda Valley and spending the next handful of days with the Hadzabe hunter-gatherers.

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Sam Fino (left) and Emily DiMaio (right) play ring-around-the-rosy with Iraqw children in the village. Photo by: Marina Reise.
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From left to right, Kristy Chong, Sam Fino, Christina Connell, Annabelle Halpern, and Amelia Nolan play soccer against the Iraqw village team. Photo by: Kelly Byrnes.
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From left to right, Carly Costello, Colleen Donnelly, Natalie Fioretti, and Sam Walsh play in the Nou Forest waterfall. Photo by: Rebecca Guzzo.
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We set up a camera trap at our campsite and the first night's photos revealed a leopard.
 
Mambo, friends and family! On day 5, we experienced a full day of truck travel to reach the Maasai Steppe, stopping for many species of birds and animals on the way such as the wildebeests and zebras. On day 6, we woke up early and climbed Oldonyo Sambu (Striped Mountain), a challenging vertical hike lead by a Maasai Warrior. Afterwards, we watched a Maasai Goat ceremony and enjoyed the goat for dinner that evening. We then visited a Maasai Boma, where we learned more about their pastoral lifestyle and were invited into a traditional Maasai dung hut. On day 7, we traveled to our first lodge, located in Tarangire National Park! On the way there, we witnessed hundreds of elephants pass right in front of our truck. We also spotted lions and a leopard. It was very refreshing to shower and sleep in a comfortable bed. On day 8, we went on both a morning and evening safari, with an afternoon break at the lodge in the middle. We witnessed elephants bathing in a watering hole and even saw a lion try to attack one of the babies, who was then protected by the entire herd.
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Photo 2: UD students hike up Oldonyo Sambu with a Maasai Warrior and point out birds along the way. From left to right: Guide Maggie Duncan Simbeye, Guide Kisana Lonin’go, Professor Jon Cox, and Student Amelia. Photo By: Miranda Reinson
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UD students Carly Costello (on left) and Kristy Chong (on right) help the Maasai Warriors perform the Goat Ceremony. Photo By: Emilia Ruyle.
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In the Maasai Boma, Claire Lieber shows the Maasai children their photo for the first time. Photo By: Rebecca LaPlaca.
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In the Tarangire National Park, UD students observe two lionesses sitting under a baobab close to elephants as they bathe in a water hole. Photo By: Rebecca LaPlaca
 

We are still in Karatu, working on our book article projects and we are off to the Ngorongoro Crater tomorrow, a hotspot for photography and wildlife. We are all making sure our batteries are charged and our memory cards are clear for the big day. We are also missing our Hadza family in the Yaeda Valley who taught us how to make jewelry and hunting arrows. They gave us first hand experience with the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The men took us hunting and the women taught us how to dig for tubers. More posts will be coming soon once we get our satellite working. Stay tuned to hear about the Massai, Tarangire National Park, and for more on the Hadza. Thank you again for your patience with the blog.

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This is from the top of the rock at our campsite in the Yaeda Valley, overlooking the Hadzabe land. The rock filled with several small pools of water after the rain, providing the Hadzabe people with new places to bathe and drink water. Students photographed the view after the rain at sunset, keeping an eye out for birds and other wildlife. Photo by Lindsay Yeager.
 

Mambo everyone! We just traveled through the Nou Forest to learn about the Iraqw people and the wildlife in the high elevations. We then continued to Yaeda Valley to experience the Hadza hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Now we are in Karatu to work on our group book article projects. The wifi has been giving us major trouble and so has the satellite so we apologize that we have not been able to post often. Thank you for your patience!

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This Hadza male teaches UD students how to make an arrow. Hadza males use these arrows to hunt.

    UD Tanzania 2014

    Welcome to our journal of adventures in the African bush! We are a group of University of Delaware students who are studying abroad in Tanzania in January 2014. We consist of 12 Documentary Photography students and 12 Wildlife Conservation students. We look forward to sharing our awesome experiences with you!

     

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