We arrived at Kilimanjaro in the evening, too dark to see that great mountain. Africa. We were in Africa!

Travel to Africa was life-changing. We came back with a deepened respect for the continent and its people, with concern for the challenges faced by its people. Nature demands respect in Africa. Breathtaking beauty is found between each sunrise and sunset. Reminders of the cycle of life are everywhere.

We planned our Tanzania safari in December 2006 through Overseas Adventure Travel, which guaranteed us “a different type of travel experience,” with stays in smaller, less touristy lodges and tent cabins.

From Kilimanjaro, we drove an hour to Arusha in our Land Cruiser, to stay at a lovely lodge that materialized at the end of a long, muddy, dirt road. We learned quickly that most roads off the main highway were either dirt roads or new trails made by safari wagon tires. We also learned that often at the end of these muddy roads are a wealth of surprises and delights. Mama Wilson’s Lodge was one of them.

The cheese-makers

While we seldom had rain during the day, it rained almost every night. The countryside was lush green, the air fresh. In the morning we headed to a village where “Mama Anna” and nine other African women run a cheese-making business. Some years ago, these women were given a cow through the Heifer Project. They combined forces and began taking milk to the market twice a week. The long trek carrying vats of milk proved too onerous. Making cheese became more profitable and practical.

Going on to the Tarangire National Park, we were greeted by a hostess named “Happiness” who led us to our quarters — comfortable tent cabins on stilts above tall grasses.

The park covers about 1,300 square miles of open grassland, flood plains, woodland and rocky hills. Baobab trees dominate the rolling countryside. Elephants in particular like the baobab trees and gnaw on the bark, sometimes through to the other side, leaving a gaping hole in the trunk.

Our three guides were experts in East African lore — and they had the uncanny ability to spot wildlife long distances away. They provided information about the history and politics of Tanzania as well.

Animals as small as the Kirk’s Dikdik and as large as the majestic elephant wander throughout the Tarangire. We watched as a family of elephants crossed the river while baboons swung from tree to tree branch carrying their babies on their backs. At a breakfast picnic, a Vervet monkey swooped out of a tree and grabbed a banana from the plate of a fellow traveler and sat haughtily on a rock waiting for the next opportunity to snatch a snack.

A village, a crater and shifting sands

On our way to the Ngorongora Crater, we took a detour to a Maasai village. We saw two 3-year-old boys guarding small goats and livestock in a pen made of sticks and tree branches located in the center of the village. A chief took us into his hut, dark and windowless. An alcove built into the wall held a pair of Air Jordans.

The following morning we headed to the crater — one of the largest unflooded calderas in the world — whose rim is 7,500 feet above sea level Because the crater has an abundance of water, animals have no need to migrate; their population remains constant year round. We saw hundreds of zebra, wildebeest, impala, eland and giraffe — a microcosm of African game, peaceful, orderly, remarkable and undisturbed. Our guide remarked, “Everything in nature has purpose.”

One of the most amazing sights of the trip was Lake Magadi, bustling with thousands of flamingos. The pink of the birds, along with the palette of greens, grays and violets of the mountain took our breath away.

Another highlight was photographing the Shifting Sands, an isolated black barchan dune north of the Olduvai Gorge. The wind on the plains continually blows the grains of sand up its windward slope, causing the dune to move an average of nine feet a year. Markers along the road indicate the movement of the sands in five- to 10-year increments. We were told it has long been a place where Maasai women go to pray to the god of fertility. We also made a visit to the Olduvai Gorge, the site of much of the Leakeys’ anthropological research — to see the gorge and “feel” the presence of ancient man.

Lions at breakfast

Our next destination was the Serengeti National Park, the famous African game preserves, known for its massive herds of wildebeest and zebra that migrate twice a year to and from Lake Victoria. The first lions we spotted were walking along in the rain in single file parallel to the road.

In the park, the high grass shelters and hides many animals. Dotted across the plains are kopjes, groupings of large rocks, vegetation, trees and bushes. There, lions and cheetahs can loll above the plain and watch for their next meal or just take a safe nap away from less agile animals unable to climb the steep rocks.

The last nights of this safari were spent in tents, a portable camp in the Serengeti. Of minor alarm was the fact that the bedside table held a sheathed machete and next to that, a whistle. We were advised that if we left our shoes outside our tents at night, they likely would be devoured by hyenas. Once zipped inside our tents, we were told not go to outside. A guard patrolled the area around our tents all night. We could hear many animal noises and, more than once, felt something bump into the tent.

Early on the final morning, we were awakened by a guides whispering, “Come out!” Not 20 feet away lay a large male lion. Other campers retreated into tents, and we heard the sound of zippers closing. We, however, still in nightgowns, grabbed our cameras. Our guide drove a Land Cruiser up to our “door” and the three of us jumped in and drove to the other side of camp. We were captivated by the lion’s smoldering yellowish eyes, but the large male was not alone — female lions were resting nearby in the tall grass. We photographed the lions with our tent in the background. Ignoring us, the lions continued their morning routine.

Africans, we learned, treasure their parks and take the utmost care that they not are disturbed and that the land remains as it has been. After we departed the Serengeti campsite, it would once again be a remote, uncluttered part of the bush with no sign that it had been inhabited by visitors. The very fact that you can rotate yourself 360 degrees and see nothing but grassland and horizon emphasizes that fact.

Our final stop was at an orphanage in Arusha. Many of the children were AIDS orphans; some were HIV-positive. They stood in front of their house and sang for us. One of our group brought balloons for them. Like children everywhere, they laughed and giggled as they inflated the balloons.

On the way back to the airport at Kilimanjaro, we watched the clouds swirl around the sky covering the 19,750-foot mountain, certain we would be deprived yet again of a glimpse of one of the highest mountains in the world. But for a brief moment, the clouds lifted like a curtain and there it was in all its splendor. And just as quickly, it disappeared.

Next trip: Kenya

Once you have seen a glimpse of Africa, there is a desire to return and learn more about the continent and its diverse people. In August we returned, this time traveling to Kenya .

If the sound of the first trip was rain on the roof; the theme of the second was “wind.” Traveling dusty roads we saw a different season, a different country.

We arrived in Nairobi late at night. Our tour guide, William, took us to our hotel, where a guard was posted on each floor. This trip, arranged through Kensington Travel, allowed the three of us to travel in our own vehicle with a guide. On most days, we went on two game drives. Each drive was successful and yielded surprises, including the elusive leopard and an albino baboon.

The journey to Samburu was over a long, rocky, bumpy road. From time to time, we found ourselves on the ceiling after going over a particularly deep pothole. We had to slow down for crude roadblocks manned by armed soldiers. “No photos,” our guide would say sternly. We were told the finished road would go to Ethiopia and that the next time we came it would be smooth. We understood why internal flights were recommended. While we did see some modern road construction equipment, more often we saw men, mile after mile, digging ditches by hand.

The lodge at the end of that day’s drive was a on a river where the “entertainment” during the cocktail hour was watching seven crocodiles being fed large bones, one per croc. The smaller crocodiles did not object, however, when the huge and ancient dominant male got more than his share. (On our final night in Africa at a restaurant named the Carnivore we tasted bites of crocodile and ostrich, among other meats.)

The Masai Mara National Reserve, which dominates the northwest corner of Kenya, is by far the most populated game park in Kenya. Safari vehicles crisscross the park and create traffic jams when a leopard is spotted. The open grasslands are home to a rich and varied wildlife. The wildebeests and zebras were deep in the midst of their migration, and we also saw numerous rhinos, which had eluded us on the first trip.

At the Laikipia and Sweetwaters Serena camp, located on a cattle ranch, we were welcomed by a white rhino. Game viewing was excellent. We visited the Sweetwater Chimpanzee Sanctuary, established by the Jane Goodall Institute, where rescued chimps live.

We photographed both a Samburu and a Maasai village where the residents perform dances for the tourists and offer crafts for sale. Tourism, we were told, is an important source of income. It comes, we felt, with mixed blessings.

Other highlights: The Great Rift Valley; Lake Nakuru, pink with flamingos, pelicans and other wildlife; a “Hippo Safari” by boat on Crater Lake to the site where much of the movie “Out of Africa.” was filmed. Our boat came too close to a pod of hippo, and one large male charged the boat. We watched an eagle land on the back of a hippo resting by the shore. On land we were allowed to walk among the hoofed animals. On the boat ride back, we saw men washing bicycles in the lake. 

We spent several nights in tents at a Kensington camp along a riverbank. Nature did not sleep; we could hear baboons fighting at night, the sounds of hyenas drawing near. This camp also employed Maasi to patrol around the tents at night.

At dawn Maasi herding cattle brought them to the river to drink. The sound of bells on the cattle echoed across the water.

While we felt safe in Kenya, we learned that tourism was down because of political unrest and saw more impact of tourism on the Masai Mara with vehicles going off the paths, cutting new “roads” across the plains.

Perhaps our most unexpected experience was witnessing a kill. We were watching a pride of lions, females and cubs, when they brought down a zebra in front of us. It was over in seconds.

Our second trip to Africa ended with a once-in-a-lifetime hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara. Photographing Africa from vehicles, from a boat, while on foot and finally from the air gave us many perspectives. And we realized we had only seen a tiny fraction of the continent. There are many reasons to return to Africa again; there are more photographs to take.

Jambo

Jambo means “hello” in Swahili. It’s the theme of a photography show by three Napa women reflecting two journeys they made to Africa. Kathryne Bandrowski, Betty McCormick Malmgren and Priscilla Miles traveled to Tanzania in 2006 and to Kenya in 2008.

The exhibit is at St. Supery Vineyards and Winery, Nov. 7–30. The public is invited to an opening reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7 at the winery at 8440 St. Helena Highway, Rutherford.

The three women traveled individually to Cuba as part of a Napa Valley College International Education photography class. This sparked an idea to travel together and photograph other parts of the world.

Bandrowski, a longtime Napa resident, found a second career as a photographer after working as a nonprofit agency administrator. She has taken photography classes at Napa Valley College and recently published a book of her African photography.

Betty McCormick Malmgren, a photojournalist and longtime director of community relations at Napa Valley College, also publishes Easy English Times.

Priscilla Miles became smitten with photography after she joined the local photography club and took her first class at Napa Valley College.