Our driver, Frank, agreed to take us out there. We headed out early on Saturday morning. Traffic through Dar can be awful. Thankfully we went through at a good time with few stops. On the road to Mikumi we passed through several small villages. We noticed a lot of police presence in each of the towns. Frank explained to us that they will often pull people over and issue citations. Of course, you can avoid the traffic ticket if you just pay the officer directly. Frank was pulled over once for speeding. After a discussion with the policeman, he paid 10,000Tzsh (about $7US) instead of going through the hassle of the official ticket.
The drive to Mikumi was beautiful. As we left coastal Dar we noticed that we were entering a much more mountainous region (or “biiiig hill” as Sadie kept saying). We enjoyed getting a glimpse of the small villages with their mud brick homes and obviously simple life.
We arrived at Mikumi around 2:00pm. There is a highway that runs through the park. While on this road, on the way to the park entrance, we were immediately greeted by a family of baboons crossing the road. Soon after we saw elephant and giraffes. We were all surprised to see such large animals so close to the road.
At the park entrance, we paid our entrance fee and picked up our guide, who would be with us for the remainder of the day. We all stayed in the minivan with Frank driving and our guide instructing Frank which of the dirt roads he should take through the park. We were not disappointed with what we saw. Zebras, baboons, elephants, giraffe, impala and wildebeest all roaming freely.
As we drove through the park, our guide instructed Frank to make a quick turn toward a couple of vehicles stopped on the side of the road. As he suspected, they were looking at a lion. When we first pulled up we all stared into the tall grass, not seeing much of anything at all. After a little while, you could barely pick out the flicker of an ear. There were 2 lions fast asleep in the tall grass, not caring at all that we were about 15 feet away. We all agreed that had we been on foot, we would have all been eaten as we never would have seen them until it was too late.
Our next stop was at the hippo pool. As some of you know, hippos are a big favorite of Sadie’s….”Po” as she calls them. This is the only place in the park that you can get out of your car. I must admit that it was a bit intimidating to approach the shoreline as these huge beasts would rise out of the water to get some air before sinking back down again. Our guide explained that hippos come out of the water to feed at night. Although they are herbivores, they are very territorial and therefore dangerous to humans. During the heat of the day though, they are very lazy and will stay under the water to keep themselves cool.
The hippos also live a symbiotic life with the crocodiles. Fish feed on the hippos dung and become quite large and good meals for the crocs. The crocs in turn keep other animals from drinking all of the hippo’s pool water. We did not, however, see any crocs, although our guide assured us that they were there.
On our way out of the park we swung back by the lions. Sure enough they had moved out of their hiding spot. They were still fast asleep but we were able to get better pictures of them. Our guide explained that they were “honeymooning” and would probably not eat again for another 5 days.
On our way out of the park, we were stopped by this guy crossing the road. He stood for several minutes looking down at something in the grass. He would pick up his front foot and seemingly point his trunk. Our guide told us that he probably saw something that he didn’t like (snake???) and he wouldn’t move until it was gone. We were glad to just sit and watch him. Unfortunately a large truck was not as patient as we were. As he zoomed past us, the elephant decided it was time to continue on his way.
We had hoped to stay at a lodge inside the park. However they were booked for the night so we had to find other accommodations. Instead we went into Mikumi town and stayed at the Genesis House. It was simple, but nice. And they served dinner, which was most important since we were all starving by that point.
The next morning it was time to head back home. We took the same route back through the villages. At each village people sit on the roadside selling various items. We made a couple of stops to buy some baskets. We also made a stop for fresh fruits and veggies. We were very glad to have Frank with us as he did the negotiating for us. By the end of it all we walked away with 3 pineapples, a large bunch of bananas (still on the stalk!), 2 watermelons, 4 cucumbers, a 5 gallon bucket of potatoes, a 5 gallon bucket of tomatoes and ½ a bucket of onions for about $20US.
Mikumi was an amazing experience and one not soon forgotten.
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