Granola Tossing Tourists

If you have the opportunity to go on a safari by all means please do not walk, run and go. This past fall my husband and I had such an opportunity. Our first series of safaris took place in Tanzania. What a beautiful country. There really is no true way to describe the people, animals, culture, and beauty of Tanzania. The open four-runner traversing the game reserve, no windows, no doors and just you, nature, animals and the breathtaking views and experience. What is not to love?

Our close up encounters with lions, lioness, and cubs; elephants, antelopes of many different makes, models and sizes, a dazzle of zebra, leopards, waterbucks, wildebeests African buffalos, rhinoceros, giraffes, and cheetahs. To be in the presence of these majestic creatures is an experience of a lifetime.

After safari we would return to our camp site. A tented lodge with all the fixings of a home away from home, only in the middle of a game reserve. We took part in nightly camp sundowners where we enjoyed cocktails or mocktails and snacks while seated around a fire enjoying the company of others.

It was at this particular juncture that I met the Minnesotans tourists. The camp is pretty small, consisting of only 6 couples, 12 people in total. The Minnesotans had traveled from another camp in Tanzania after visiting Kenya. How shall I describe them? Heavy Minnesotan accents, he was loud and boisterous, she could not stop talking once she started drinking. The two of them were slurring their speech by night’s end. During the course of our sundowner and dinner my husband and I got to know the Minnesotans. Vikings fans, 3 blonde-haired and blue-eyed grandchildren, boat owners, and big fishing people. In fact, they could not wait to get back home to go to the lake and go fishing. At one point during dinner the wife turned to me and whispered that she was not much of a fan of Tanzania. In her alcohol laden breath, she said “I don’t really like it here, I can’t wait to leave.”  I found this shocking. I thought how could anyone not love being on this extraordinary continent and in Tanzania, on this game reserve with these incredibly kind and hospitable people surrounded by the beauty of nature. As if this statement was not enough of a The Devil Wears Prada – Miranda Priestly “Did you fall down and smack your little head on the pavement” moment, the wife later relayed another tasty tidbit.

During the safari she had been eating a granola bar and having finished as much of the granola bar as she planned to eat she threw the remaining piece outside the four-runner onto the ground in the middle of Ngorongoro, the conservation area. She told me how shocked she was to see the safari guide get out of the vehicle to pick up the granola bar. She did not think it was a big deal to discard the granola bar noting “back in Minnesota we throw those sorts of things outside all the time and some bird will come and get it.”

Well Minnesota granola bar Karen, we are not in Minnesota anymore. We are in Tanzania, a good 9,000 miles from your home and in an area that is sacred in its own way and where the cycle of life plays out on a daily basis. These animals do not eat Kind granola bars. They live off the land.

I could not get over the sheer stupidity. I was appalled, shocked and saddened. I could only think “this is why certain people simply should not travel.”

The Minnesotans did not dampen the light that shined brightly on this trip. Africa is a magical place and Tanzania will always hold a special place in my heart.

But if you plan to travel to this beautiful country, do me a favor, don’t be like the Granola tossing Minnesotan tourists.

Sweet Dreams,

Ava

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