Index this page (includes places to see and experiences to relish):
- Serengeti
- Masai Village
- Ngorongoro Crater
- Olduvai Gorge
- Tarangiri National Park – elephants galore prior to migration start
- Mt. Kilimanjaro
- Options for those not climbing
- The Orphans of Tanzania and Heshie’s Passions
- Trip Extension Option
- Leadership Development Program
Serengeti
“Serengeti is easily Tanzania’s most famous national park and also the largest. 
Its far-reaching plains of endless grass, tinged with the twisted shadows of acacia trees, have made it the quintessential image of a wild and untarnished Africa. The sheer magnitude and scale of life that the plains support is staggering. Large prides of lions laze easily in the long grasses, plentiful families of elephants feed on acacia bark and trump to each other across the plains, and giraffes, gazelles, monkeys, eland, and the whole range of African wildlife is in awe-inspiring numbers.
The Serengeti is the place where wildlife migration occurs each year as the animals follow the rains and the available grazing. The migration is the most breathtaking event in the animal kingdom, bar none. As the dry season encroaches, the herds drift westward, then toward Lake Victoria in the north and the waters of the Mara River and its tributaries in the north east.”
The annual wildebeest and Zebra migration through the Serengeti attracts visitors from around the world. They flock to the open plains to witness the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet. More than a million animals make the seasonal journey to fresh pasture following the biannual rains. The sound of their thundering hooves, raising massive clouds of thick red dust, has become one of the legends of the Serengeti plains.
Masai Village
The Masai are an indigenous people who live in northern Tanzania and Kenya. Arriving in the village we will learn about their semi-nomadic lifestyle, their love for cattle and how they protect them against wild predators, their skill at colourful beading and their ability to construct their homes (Rondavels) from sticks, grasses, dung and mud from the land.
Ngorongoro Crater
“The Ngorongoro Crater, actually a collapsed volcano called a caldera, is often called ‘Africa’s Eden’ and the ‘8th Natural Wonder of the World,’ and a definite world-class attraction. Within the crater rim, large herds of zebra and wildebeest graze while sleeping lions laze in the sun. A beautiful descent down the crater rim passes through lush rain forest and thick vegetation before bottoming onto the grassy plains that form the crater floor. The game viewing is truly incredible, and the topography and views of the surrounding Crater Highland is out of this world. At dawn, the endangered black rhino returns to the thick cover of the crater forests after grazing on dew-laden grass in the morning mist. Just outside the crater rim a tall Maasai herds his cattle and goats that are grazing on the highland slopes; existing alongside the wildlife as they have for centuries. The crater measures about 12 miles (19 KM) across and is about 2,000 feet (650 m) deep. It hosts between 20 and 30,000 animals on the grasslands of the crater floor. We have lunch and afternoon game drive in the crater.”
“The Ngorongoro Crater and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, including the Olduvai Gorge are without a doubt some of the most beautiful parts of Tanzania, steeped in history and teeming with wildlife”.
Olduvai Gorge
A short distance north of the crater is the famous Olduvai Gorge surrounded by a huge expanse of highland plains, scrub bush, alkaline soda lakes and a series of peaks and volcanoes that create a unique and beautiful landscape. The Olduvai Gorge is where the Leakey’s discovered the hominoid remains of a 1.8 million year old skeleton of Australopithecus Boisei, one of the distinct links of the human evolutionary chain. The gorge also displays a cast of a complete series of very clear, hominoid footprints (adult and child) estimated to be over 3.7 million years old.
Mt. Kilimanjaro
“Climbing Kilimanjaro is the highlight of most visitors’ experiences in Tanzania. Few mountains can claim the grandeur and breathtaking views. Hiking on the ‘rooftop of Africa’ — the highest point on the continent at 19,341 ft (5896 metres) — is the adventure of a lifetime, especially since, if paced well, everyone from seasoned trekkers to first-time enthusiasts can scale this magnificent peak.”
The route we will use is the Machame. This choice was based on the fact that it is amongst the most scenic and one of the two easier summit climbs (still not a “walk in the park”). No technical skills or prior climbing experience is required to succeed on this route…willpower and a reasonable level of fitness rule the day!
Option For Those Not Climbing
If you wish to be in Africa on Safari and do not wish to climb (and do want to stay on while your partner climbs) you have the following options:
1) Be with Heshie Segal supporting an 1029 orphan community and its hospital (details below)
2) Holiday on Zanzibar Island, Dar es Salam, and/or visit Bagamoya
3) Visit one or more African countries (e.g. South Africa)
Trip Extension Option
After the climb Werner will join Heshie to spend some time working with the orphaned children (due to Aids) of the region. Contact us for more information.
The Orphans of Tanzania
….by Heshie Segal
My Passion: Helping Children Everywhere
For as long as I can remember I have wanted my legacy to ‘read,’ “She planted the seed, nourished and empowered children to create a new world in which they could live and flourish, and thereby become the catalysts to world peace.”
For children to even have the ability to entertain bold ideas they have to have their basic needs met: food, clothing, shelter and, in my opinion, education!
Late in 2005, when I had joined my former Network Marketing company, I was asked if I had a special dream. It has always been about children: I wanted them to be safe and to flourish in a life THEY would love to live.
Every week since, I have put money aside to buy new clothing for underprivileged children, preferably orphans. When Werner Berger started talking about leading adventure travel trips, treks and/or climbs, including Africa and Mt. Kilimanjaro, I knew immediately I wanted to find a group of orphans in Africa and help them with some of their basics. It did not take long to find two groups totaling 850 in Tanzania.
Heshie and a living room piled high
In late December, 2010 and early January 2011, the first part of my passionate dream became a reality. I brought over 800 brand new clothing items I had purchased, 6 months of school supplies, and with the additional contribution from fellow adventurers, over 100 containers of children and teen, quality supplements and a bunch of medical supplies. Meeting the children and seeing their dire circumstances first hand deepened my commitment to do more. Then, seeing and feeling their joy as they received even something as “small”as a new pencil (the first of the gifts) was enough to
Even A Pencil Brings Joy
make anyone’s heart start racing. I asked the children’s caretakers if there were three wishes that could be granted, what they would be? It took only moments (once they knew I was serious) for the answers. Their top priority was a generator for the hospital. Every time their old clunker stops functioning, patients could die. Next was a new sterilizer and, to no surprise, water wells to replace the cisterns gathering water from the roof.
Mistakenly I thought I could live out my legacy on my own. Of course, the only things I can really do alone are minuscule in the face of the deprivation, however, I can plant seeds and put positive forces into motion. No child, anywhere should needlessly suffer. I no longer want it to be my legacy. It must become the joint legacy for all who care about giving the next generation a chance to succeed in a world so filled with strife at every level.
I was delighted to again live out my passion with our next adventure travel trip to Africa, June/July, 2012. The Serengeti Safari was followed by the Kilimanjaro climb for some, and, for others working directly with me, we worked at making even a small difference in the lives of the needy orphans and the hospital. After the climb, Werner and some of his group spent a few more days supporting the children.
We will repeat the same pattern with the upcoming trip.
Parading their new clothing – with “Mama Heshie”
For those who decide they are not ready for this trip and wish to help, we can use you with planning, organizing and more. There is something for everyone who wants to participate.
If you have dreamed of going to Africa, to be on a Safari to witness the migration of thousands upon thousands of animals in their natural unspoiled element; climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro; or helping the orphans of Tanzania, then this is the trip for you. Your challenge is to stretch, to go out on a limb or out of your comfort zone, to ‘live out loud,’ to imagine yourself already there and then to simply say “YES, I want to be a part of this!” There is a lot to experience, to see and to do!
Children (our future) and Heshie
Leadership Development Program
For details see the tab “Leadership Dev.”
The only question:
Are YOU up for the challenge, the learning, the fun and this extra-ordinary life changing experience?
For more information:
Werner: werner@Quest736.com – (215) 642-0083
Experience Africa! 