December in Tanzania...

...means wearing sunscreen, since it is summer, after all. And hiking in big open spaces. Like these. Actually, it wasn't hiking in the traditional sense--it was more like walking around in the grass. You can't really get a sense of how steep the hill is, but it was like a big bowl (Cameron and I immediately mentally skied it) with a deep karonga (ravine) down the middle. It was absolutely spectacular! Erwin, who runs the Heifer Project in Tanzania, took us out, along with some friends (that's Lucas, Ava's friend from school). Considering the wide open spaces all over the place, hiking and camping are a bit tricky. You can't just go out and clomp around--for one thing, who'd watch your car? You have to know where to leave it or who you can get to watch it for you. Then you have to either speak Swahili very well and/or know the people who are living in the area you want to hike in. You probably will have to pay a small fee to walk around their space. For camping, you need all of the above--you may also need a guard for people or wildlife, so again you have to know the area or be able to negotiate all of that, or bring an interpreter along (it was much easier back home--drive up, pay the fee, and off you go).

But we had a fantastic time--the weather was hot, with a nice cool breeze--the kind that makes you forget to wear sunscreen and then you regret it later (but we remembered). The view was breathtaking. As we looked down we could see herds of cows and goats, and small bomas surrounded by brush fences. We were followed by the young boy in the picture with Ava and Lucas and for a short while some very young (probably 7-8) year old children who took a break from herding their goats to trail along behind. No wild animals, but lots of birds. We need to get a bird book, as there are so many interesting birds here! And let's face it, it's pretty easy to identify the mammals around here!
And despite the skiing comment--absolutely no complaints on this end about the lack of snow. Nope, not missing the cold at all! We all came back unanimously agreeing that it was a practically perfect day in Tanzania!