The second Day in Mikumi
A morning of shooting before the trek
home.
We began our last day in Mikumi still looking for
the Lions. We tried to follow a guide but quickly lost them and ended up a
little turned around in the middle of the park. Once you get off the main roads,
it becomes a bewildering array of trails punctuated by the occasional Giraffe
and
Zebra.
The Day begins at the Hippo Pond...
Todd... the Happy Camper...
We found a cluster of Baobab trees and shot most of what we needed for the DVD. The biggest find was the migration to a watering hole. There were hundreds of Zebra, Wart Hogs, and Wilder Beasts waiting to water but frightened to try...Lions often wait for thristy victims. One Wilderbeast slowly creeped to the watering hole looking like he was traversing a mine field. With his success, the rest joined him for water. At every moment, though, all of them were looking and waiting for the Lions to appear ... but they were off hunting somewhere else.
Baobabs always remind me of how small and short lived we are.
Todd and Chantal capturing the Watering Hole
We then made our way back to Dar listening to Mwanga’s stories of the local and historical culture. Coming back near rush hour is an experience. You end up slowly crawling through small towns and around construction sites.
Cashews and Fruit...
Bus Stop Market
The team refecting on the Day...
On the way home, I reflected on the process. It’s much clearer why we mostly see animals from Africa rather than people. It’s a cleaner process. The context is simple. The Animals have problems that we simply call “nature’s course” and we can stay separated. People, though far more interesting, pose numerous challenges. Along the road, they expect to be paid for photographs (which is, in my opinion, understandable). They also are not particulary “authentic”. We are passers through and people to sell to...not their friends. While they are generally friendly, you get the feeling that you are mark or a Zungu...white outsider. I can’t yet speak Swahili much all...as I can at least greet Zimbabweans in Shona...so I really feel separated. My next project is to become conversational in Swahili by November and Fluent over the next year.
In the evening, we visited Iddi, Hanif’s friend and co-founder of “Datel”, the largest internet service provider in the country. They supply about 80% of the bandwidth in Tanzania though wholesale distribution to ISPs. We wanted to upload some larger files and test iChat A/V on the fast lines. We had a few online errors but it was a lot of fun. Iddi and the rest of the staff is very web savvy, obviously, and very interested in helping us. They are both proud of their achievements and planning for further expansion. The growth in this market is really happening at a breakneck speed and they are at the epicenter.
Iddi helping up work out the bandwidth issues.
Tomorrow, we make our way to the “Lazy Lagoon” for more shooting and editing.
The Day begins at the Hippo Pond...
Todd... the Happy Camper...
We found a cluster of Baobab trees and shot most of what we needed for the DVD. The biggest find was the migration to a watering hole. There were hundreds of Zebra, Wart Hogs, and Wilder Beasts waiting to water but frightened to try...Lions often wait for thristy victims. One Wilderbeast slowly creeped to the watering hole looking like he was traversing a mine field. With his success, the rest joined him for water. At every moment, though, all of them were looking and waiting for the Lions to appear ... but they were off hunting somewhere else.
Baobabs always remind me of how small and short lived we are.
Todd and Chantal capturing the Watering Hole
We then made our way back to Dar listening to Mwanga’s stories of the local and historical culture. Coming back near rush hour is an experience. You end up slowly crawling through small towns and around construction sites.
Cashews and Fruit...
Bus Stop Market
The team refecting on the Day...
On the way home, I reflected on the process. It’s much clearer why we mostly see animals from Africa rather than people. It’s a cleaner process. The context is simple. The Animals have problems that we simply call “nature’s course” and we can stay separated. People, though far more interesting, pose numerous challenges. Along the road, they expect to be paid for photographs (which is, in my opinion, understandable). They also are not particulary “authentic”. We are passers through and people to sell to...not their friends. While they are generally friendly, you get the feeling that you are mark or a Zungu...white outsider. I can’t yet speak Swahili much all...as I can at least greet Zimbabweans in Shona...so I really feel separated. My next project is to become conversational in Swahili by November and Fluent over the next year.
In the evening, we visited Iddi, Hanif’s friend and co-founder of “Datel”, the largest internet service provider in the country. They supply about 80% of the bandwidth in Tanzania though wholesale distribution to ISPs. We wanted to upload some larger files and test iChat A/V on the fast lines. We had a few online errors but it was a lot of fun. Iddi and the rest of the staff is very web savvy, obviously, and very interested in helping us. They are both proud of their achievements and planning for further expansion. The growth in this market is really happening at a breakneck speed and they are at the epicenter.
Iddi helping up work out the bandwidth issues.
Tomorrow, we make our way to the “Lazy Lagoon” for more shooting and editing.
Posted: Wed - July 16, 2003 at 10:13 AM Africa, Summer (Winter) 2003 Email Comments
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Total entries in this blog: 31
Total entries in this category: 31
Published On: Aug 05, 2003 10:45 AM
Total entries in this category: 31
Published On: Aug 05, 2003 10:45 AM