Superior tour returns from 18 day trip to Tanzania, Africa

During late May and the beginning of this month 11 people from the Superior area traveled to Africa. The travelers included Nelsen Petersen, Julie Theis, Morgan Theis, Tanner Theis, Luke Jameson, Jacob Meyer, Ella Gardner, Laci Kirchhoff, Atlee Kobza, Neah McMeen and Haley Blackstone. The trip lasted 18 days, four of those days traveling and the other 14 in Africa. The group traveled to Chicago, Dare Es Salaam, Lushoto, Moshi, Arusha and Zanzibar Tanzania. During the trip they traveled by train, plane, bus and ferry. However busses were the main form of travel throughout the trip.

The trip started with a 12 hour long bus ride from Hastings to Chicago Illinois. From there they hopped on an airplane to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that took roughly 17 hours. The travelers used one backpack each for their luggage. When asked about her travel experience, Laci Kirchhoff explained that she didn't know when they arrived in Africa because, "most of my days started to blur together." Buses were the only source of transportation there for people to get from town to town, meaning the bus would stop in every town. "Local vendors came onto the buses in each town trying to sell goods. This made the bus rides take much longer," Haley Blackstone said. Nelsen Petersen had quite the description on the buses, "To get from place to place in Tanzania, buses are the most efficient way to go. They range from "reasonably comfortable" to "an adventure" packed, not exactly "fresh as a daisy," and loud. They loved playing African music very loud. It was a very chaotic experience and you either love it or not-so-much."

Some of the stops along the way included Irente Lookout, a couple waterfalls, a school in Lushoto, an African market, a coffee shop which sold coffee straight from Kilimanjaro, a safari and a snorkeling trip. The group visited a tribe who took them to a waterfall and demonstrated how they make their coffee step by step. Many stops were at markets, where most of the group's souvenirs were purchased.

The trip to Lushoto took eight hour via bus. While there, they walked to Irente Cliffs Overlook and were able to see nearby towns and the valley below. They then hiked several miles with a guide to a waterfall. Along the way, they went past people doing laundry in the river, children carrying home supplies, usually balanced on their heads, and farmers working in their fields with picks and hoes. There were frequent goats eating grass on the side of the road.

The travelers were able to visit the local public school and see how their school system operates. They held classes in open-air concrete buildings where the children wore uniforms. Students shoes had to be left outside because they were muddy. The older children were separated into different classrooms by gender.

The next destination was Moshi, where they traveled by bus and then met up with their safari guide. The guide took the group to the Chagga Tribe coffee facility. There they took another hike to a waterfall and ate a traditional meal of fruit, meat and rice. Afterwards they learned about local coffee production and history.

The safari was spread over two days, meaning they saw twice as many animals. The safari covered the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park. Lots of animals came up close to the car. A couple rare sightings included a black rhino, a critically endangered animal, and a cheetah hunt and catch its prey. Other animals seen included elephants, giraffes, flamingos, ostriches, baboons, monkeys, warthogs, impalas, zebras, a hippopotamus, lions and wildebeests.

Tanzania is one of poorest nations in the world. As expected, it was a culture shock. One traveler explained that it broke their heart to see the conditions the African people were living in and was amazed by how happy they were. When walking around towns, the citizens would say hi and always have a huge smile on their face. Julie Theis described how "everywhere we went the children would come running to see and wave at us and yell either "gumbo" which is hello in Swahili or practice their English."

Something that came as odd, was there were never any hand towels to dry off with after washing your hands.

Upon arrival to their hotels they were offered a glass of juice, an African tradition. Julie Theis said, "Most often we were offered hibiscus juice, which wasn't my favorite, but one time we got mango and passion fruit juice which was delicious."

The food differs in that there are far less preservatives and processing.

One of Nelsen Petersen's favorite things to do was to get up early and walk to the nearest bus stop. There he found groups of men sit around drinking coffee and chatting, similar to here.

Another shock was watching small children, as young as six or seven, herding cattle by themselves.

Living conditions were also different than in the States. Here warm showers are common, wi-fi is everywhere and we don't have to worry about bugs. While in Africa, the showers were often cold, wi-fi was only available in the lobbies of some places and in other places the travelers had to sleep in mosquito nets.

The areas visited were mostly Muslim and followed Muslim traditions. "The locals liked to say pole, pole translates to slowly. The life-style in Tanzania is slower paced and less scheduled than we are used to in the United States," said Julie Theis.