CURRENT CONDITIONS

Basically, it is better to stay at home! It is better to be where you know your way around. Where you know what the current Corona rules are, what you are allowed to do and what not. Yes, and you’ve kind of gotten used to the fact that the environment has become smaller.

I told myself that for far too long. But then it was enough. I had to get out, I wanted to get out, and in the end, it was totally easy, especially if you are fully vaccinated. The regulations to travel to Europe are much more manageable than I thought.

Upon arrival in Tanzania would be checked before entering the airport building only whether you can show a negative PCR- test and whether the document was filled out, passport control, and then I was again in the middle of Africa – in the land of my desires. Going back is even easier if you are fully vaccinated. Then you don’t need a test at all, you just have to fill out the health registration form and then show the vaccination certificate when you enter the country.

The finest Service

There is no need to say anything about the wildlife, Kilimanjaro or the beaches. But what really fascinates me again and again are the Tanzanians themselves. Everybody gives you a hand when you need help. Or if they think you need help. Tanzanians are not just nice and friendly. As soon as you are met by the driver at the airport, you immediately feel comfortable and arrived in the vacation country. And really appreciated as a guest. The luggage is carried, there is a refreshing welcome drink, and if you want to go to the room earlier or check out later, they always try to make it possible without charging a high surcharge. And on safari the driver is always interested in catching a lion, an elephant or a leopard in front of the camera. Even if the mills grind slower in Africa, as a guest you can expect a very helpful and friendly service.

The month of blossoms

If you have chosen December for a trip to Tanzania, you will be rewarded with a very special blaze of color. Yellow, red and purple are the fashionable colors of the last month of the year. And was not on the meadows, which were supplied by the November rain, but in the crowns of trees.

Weeping Wattle Tree (Peltophorum africanum) is interesting for two reasons. First, it produces a brilliant yellow when in bloom. While people love the sight of its flowers, bees find the nectar desirable. Therefore, it is a good beekeeping tree. However, it is also considered a weeping tree. And that’s because salivary beetles feast on the tree’s sap in the spring and then excrete water that drips from the trees. This tree grows south of the equator in Africa, so it is also a native tree in Tanzania and is called Yellow Flame Tree.

Although, of course, there is only one true flame tree (Flamboyant, Delonix Regia). It comes originally from Madagascar. Moshi has some wonderful specimens of these brilliant red flowering trees, which are also called Christmas trees in Tanzania, because red is associated with Christmas, and which bloom from November to January. The fruits of the tree are flat, often curved and lignify quickly, they are very appreciated as decoration.

The third in the group of colorful trees is the Rosewood Tree (Jacaranda Tree, Jacaranda mimosifolia). It has come a long way from western and southern South America, where it is used as an ornamental plant all over the world. South Africa in particular is known for vast quantities of these trees (now even considered a threat to biodiversity). Arusha has a multitude of these magnificent purple flowering trees, but also elsewhere they line the streets again and again and literally suck the view.

Ostrich mothers know their eggs!

Generally, the ostrich is considered, well, let’s say, not particularly intelligent. Who does not know the story with the head in the sand. Apart from the fact that this is complete nonsense, ostriches are very inventive and clever in both defense and child rearing. And that starts with egg-laying.

The ostrich rooster first mates with the main hen, then with the secondary hens. The main hen lays an average of eight eggs, rarely up to twelve. The secondary hens also lay their eggs in the nest. The main hen makes sure that her eggs are in the middle and the eggs of the secondary hens are at the edge. If this gets mixed up, the eggs are reorganized again. The main hen finds her own eggs with somnambulistic certainty and brings them back to the center.

Egg predators are more likely to be concerned with the outer eggs of the secondary hens, which further protects the eggs of the main hen. And because of the shared clutches, there are naturally more defenders, plus the female ostriches save themselves energy-sapping battles among themselves for the best nesting place. Amazing, isn’t it? There one says nothing more about stupid ratites.