What can I say, my old friend
"Miracle": "Journey through East Africa + vacation in Zanzibar" 6.9. 14 - 21.9. fourteen.
"WHAT TO SAY, MY OLD FRIEND,
we are only to blame for one thing, that... ”, believing rampant advertising, we expect too much from visiting nature reserves. Advertising is rampant because it is irresponsible. Let's say someone promises to get the moon from the sky, jumps up - he didn't get it. He will spread his hands: it didn’t work out, maybe you’ll be lucky next time.
Of course, it is not Miracle that makes up the advertisement, it is common to all tour operators. And try someone to be honest, that is, to call a spade a spade. It will immediately fly out into the pipe, if all the business neighbors unanimously promise mountains of gold, milk rivers and jelly banks.
Now specifically. Famous Murchison National Park. Indeed, during the safari we saw almost all the herbivores of Africa, even two old lions who fell asleep under a bush and did not pay any attention to us. (Obviously, for this they were kicked out of the pride. Or in order not to feed the freeloaders).
No less famous is Lake Nakuru National Park. The ad promises: "Hundreds of thousands of flamingos paint the banks of Nakuru pink. " In fact, a hundred, maybe one and a half poorly visible individuals in the distance, and even against the sun. "Another attraction in the park is the endangered black rhinoceros, " the ad reads. But ask a local guide to show you around and you will be laughed at.
"Ambosali is one of the most beautiful parks due to its view of Kilimanjaro. " (From advertising). But, firstly, this main peak of Africa, according to the guide, is a hundred kilometers in a straight line. Secondly, almost always in the clouds, as in our case. Here, in addition to those animals that have already been seen in Murchison, cheetahs, leopards, and lions are promised (albeit under the vague phrase “can be seen”). We saw only cheetahs thanks to a happy accident, which is discussed below.
The Masai village, with its hopeless poverty and the endless pestering of "mani" (after all, the Masai are the gypsies of Africa) made such a depressing impression that after it everyone refused to visit two more villages of other nationalities.
In Manyara Park, advertising promises the main attraction - tree-climbing lions. However, local guides refused to show them even for an extra couple of hundred bucks. Secret weapon or company secret? Most likely, the aborigines themselves know these tree climbers only by hearsay. If they exist at all, at least in this park.
And, finally, according to advertising, the pearl of Africa is a huge bowl, a caldera of 250 square kilometers, a prehistoric volcano, by the way, included in the list of "Natural Heritage of the World" by UNESCO. Already here, advertising avidly guarantees, you will see absolutely all the animals of Africa in unprecedented quantities, because they have nowhere to run from this natural bowl and it is impossible. The day before, they argued for a long time, until they were hoarse, whether to stay here for four or six hours. After two hours of shaking under the scorching rays in jeeps through a dusty, almost scorched desert, everyone silently agreed to return to the hotel. Alas, in addition to the already seen herbivores, they looked from afar, from the road (it is forbidden to drive closer, as in Murchison), only several lions and hyenas lounging in a sleepy slumber.
Rest on Zanzibar is a special article. It could be chosen only by thoughtlessness. Which, as the Germans say, is not good. Dirty water, because the ocean wave washes away the clay shore all the time, especially during high and low tides. Near the water - not a single sunbed and umbrella, they are only in the yard near the pool. Despite the tropics, sparse vegetation (a dozen small potted palm trees, again near the pool). And there is almost nothing to see on the whole island. Is it possible to go to a spice factory for forty bucks, which are several times more expensive than in Moscow. (Perhaps, the same Zanzibar ones, but supplied in bulk, without the ability to skin gullible tourists). Yes, many times more attractive than Zanzibar any Turkish or Egyptian similar resorts, where, at least, there is something to see. Even the conditions of just doing nothing differ as heaven and earth are not in favor of the Zanzibar. A very significant point. A special aviation detour was made to Zanzibar, essentially an additional tourist route with all the ensuing material and time losses. In addition, in Dar - es - Salam, ten hours hung out before the plane. Some were sitting at the Istanbul airport for six, and some for all 12 hours. And if immediately after the reserves they turned in the direction of Moscow directly, then they could have a cheaper and better rest in the same Turkey, not for three and a half days, as in Zanzibar, but for at least a week. We repeat: both cheaper and with better quality.
No - no, do not think that the author of these lines is against this route in the bud. Not at all. Even just to visit the very center of East Africa is a great happiness. But when, in all seriousness, they promise you one thing in a document, and in return you get ten times less, you must admit that this disavows, without any exaggeration, poisons even the beautiful that you saw. It is well known that only a fly in the ointment can ruin a barrel of honey. And what is most interesting, a lot of what was promised could be realized with the appropriate organization of the case.
Almost all travel agencies build this unique route according to a once-established pattern. Exactly the same as, say, in cities or historical monuments, monasteries and other ruins. But if the ruins are not going anywhere and they can be visited at any time of the day or night, then the animals - sorry. They, unlike humans, have a cruel regime. All organized life - hunting or even a game imitating hunting - only in the morning or in the evening. The famous African heat in the middle of the day is the strictest siesta, when all life in Africa freezes. Even herbivores prefer to nap in a bed, if possible in the shade, and even better - in the water. Carnivores. . . You won't find these in the heat in the full sense of the word during the day with fire. Even under fear of hunger, you can’t force them to take a steam bath, to get food under the scorching sun. Why, if the same is much easier to do in the morning or in the evening in the cold. We saw the same cheetahs in Ambosali quite by accident, when before breakfast (I emphasize, not specifically for this early in the morning, not at dawn, but just before breakfast at nine o’clock) we left in an attempt to see at least the contours of Kilimanjaro being covered in clouds. As a result, the mountain was missed, but they saw the Geperds.
But tourists, we repeat again and again, according to an established tradition, stubbornly and stupidly continue to be taken out on a safari just in the middle of the day, in the very heat. (There were more jeeps with us in the Ngoro-Ngoro caldera than the animals themselves). So what do you want to see at this time of day, even if, as the bureaucrats say, it is available? Unfortunately, our travel campaigns and operators are the real, notorious bureaucrats here. Anyone who finally decides to break this bad tradition will find himself in the most advantageous position - ahead of the rest. Of course, this is not so easy to do. Breaking traditions is always difficult. And you still have to be able to prove that you are exactly who you say you are. One advertisement, this time real, not fake, will cost a pretty penny. But maybe the game is worth the candle?
And finally, on a positive note, I would like to end this review with the next episode. In our group, along with her husband, was a full-time employee of Miracle, cameraman Ekaterina Tarasova. Despite the fact that she did not hold any posts (I bought a ticket with my own money and traveled with everyone like an ordinary tourist), I always helped local guides organizationally. And when two places in a reserved hotel were not enough in Zanzibar, on her own initiative, together with her husband, she went to another on much worse conditions. So there is still gunpowder in the powder flask of "Miracle" and his Cossack strength has not dried up. Vladimir Antonov