Tanzania Uncovered: Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar & Wildlife Adventure

Tanzania, land of wild animals, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. Javed, the photographer, will take us to discover his island, Zanzibar. In this Tanzanian archipelago that combines the colors of Africa and the Orient, music and the heady fragrance of spices blend into the sea. Tanzania is also a great jungle book. Pascal, the guide, will take us on a trip through a wild world that is like something from the dawn of humanity. Kilimanjaro, the highest summit in Africa, in the middle of the land of the Ouachaga people. Simon, the marathon runner, holds the record for the ascent and descent of Kilimanjaro. This mountain is his whole life. Today we benefit greatly of this mountain. This is not only the Ouachaga people, this is a treasure for my country. We approach the eastern coast of Africa by the Indian Ocean. Zanzibar, a mythical name, an archipelago of nearly 75 islands that was united to nearby Tanzania in the 1960s. Only some 15 of the islands are inhabited. Zanzibar is an important port of call on sea routes. The main island is called Unguja. For a long time it had a reputation as an important and flourishing trading post, a port from which the famous Daoists set sail for far-off destinations. Javed is a photographer. We could even say he is the photographer of Zanzibar. His family came from India and settled here more than a century ago. For the last 15 years or so, Javed has been photographing life on the archipelago. He now has a collection of more than 50,000 photos. To show his work, Javed started his own publishing house and bookshop in Stone Town, the main town on the island. He publishes on the average three books of photos a year. These books, dealing with the history and culture of his country, have been translated into many languages. This may sound like a success story, but it was necessity, not choice, that led Javed down this path. After repeated refusals of his work, he decided to take his future into his own hands. When I did my photography in the UK, I had approached almost all the publishers in Europe and said, look, I've just finished and I'm going to Zanzibar and I want to do a book on Zanzibar. Everyone said, sorry, there's no market for Zanzibar. There is no commercial market. Zanzibar is too small. I mean, we do books where we would sell millions or at least 5,000, 10,000. I'd approached every big publisher. I'm talking about 93, 92, 94. Everyone said Zanzibar is not our market. So I said, well, if no one else wants to do it, I'm going to do it. Javed also launched a regular magazine on life in Zanzibar. He gets to see local life from a privileged point of view, so he invited us to come along with him as he works. It's a rather eclectic program, but fascinating to watch. This one morning, Javed started out by looking up into the air. He wanted to photograph the first colors of what to us look like simple buds. This is the king crop of Zanzibar. Zanzibar has always depended on cloves. During the 60s and 70s, Zanzibar was used to export earnings on this. However, now tourism is taking more, bringing more revenue in terms of cloves. Clove trees, when it's in season, you can smell cloves. Everywhere you go, you smell cloves, you see cloves. All the village people, everyone, they are working on the cloves. In the evening, they come and take all the cloves out from the tree. Next day, they put it on the floor and they dry it. So it takes three days, four days, five days. This is Zanzibar nutmeg and mace. And in Zanzibar, they make the powder of this. And for the wedding night, they always give it to the bride. So she gets a bit of a high. And this is the secret of Zanzibar wedding. If there's no nutmeg and mace, there's no wedding in Zanzibar. The smell of Zanzibar. The smell of Zanzibar wedding. The name Zanzibar is, of course, closely associated with the spice trade. Cardamom, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, all these spices contributed to the wealth and reputation of this island. Many merchants settled here, bringing with them their cultures and their traditions. Zanzibar, a blend of colors, of smells, but also of ethnic groups and civilizations. But the history of Zanzibar also has its somber side. For a long time, the archipelago's fortune was also built on the slave trade. Up to 50,000 human beings passed through the docks of Stone Town every year. They were sold here before being transported to other countries. Even after slavery was abolished, the traffic continued in clandestine places here, and the slave trade went on until after the end of the First World War. This woman is undoubtedly one of the last survivors of that tragic era. Bikidude is 98 today, or 105. She doesn't really know herself. But Bikidude is not just the memory of a bygone age. She is above all a voice, a respected, even admired voice in Zanzibar. Javed has just finished a book about her, and like any artist, she signs her name to it, written in Arabic. It's the only word she knows how to write, the only word she knows how to read. Nobody ever taught me how to sing. I started when I was 10 and have been singing ever since. That's right, I learned how to sing in the Arab dows. Do I still sing? Of course I do. How would I eat if I didn't sing? I'd live on thin air? You're kidding. Then Javed takes us to see, and more importantly to hear, an all-female orchestra. Women who take up music and play under a man's direction, this may sound normal. But here, it's a great step forward. In this country with its double Arabic-African influence, women's freedom is not always encouraged. The creation of this musical ensemble is a first that Javed didn't want to miss. You know, there are some people who do not allow their children or their daughters or their wives to perform with men, men and women groups. But they allow them to participate in women groups. So I think it's going to be very interesting to bring back these women groups. Because they are women who are very talented. Well, these women started to play the music almost two and a half months, not years. Nobody can believe about this. It will be a new thing. Usually one starts, others start to complain and say, why women? But then later, all of them support. This is how life is. The sound of the Tarab music with its multiple influences is still ringing in our ears and already Javed is sweeping us off to another destination, Uzi Island. On this rather forgotten island, the inhabitants are somewhat wary of our approach and tend to avoid us, at first. The reason that Javed has come here is simple. He wants to photograph the mangrove forest, which after a period of regression has once again started to grow. These young shoots he is photographing are a true symbol of regeneration. Very nice. This mangrove is lost. I think a new life has just grown over here. Very interesting. I like it. Coming around a bend in the mangrove, we're greeted by one of the locals. In the beginning, Fazeen was self-appointed guardian of the mangrove. But now the authorities have made his position official. He looks after the proper development of this fragile environment that is indispensable to the balance between so many species. In Zanzibar, only now two villages have big mangroves like this. Here, Uzi, and we call it Chwaka. Chwaka, okay. Yes. So here, we just say we prepared or we protect. Any person don't come to cut it. When they cut the mangroves, what do they use the mangroves for? They use it for charcoals. Ah, okay. For charcoals only. Only charcoals. And charcoals, and if you want to go to build a house, you can just put a tin on the house. Ah, Boriti, Boriti. Boriti, yes. Okay, so that's how we, in Uzi Island, you do not allow them to cut? Yes. If you cut this, we go now at the police station, and police come and, mangroves, we call it mangroves, to protect the bath. The fish is small, big fish come inside, and bath here. So all the big fish, they come here, and they give birth to babies. Yes. And they live here. Yes. Before they go out. Yes. When the high tide, they move. Okay, so if we cut the mangroves, we have no fish. Yes, no fish. If there's no fish, no fishermen. No, no fish. And that means we're all in trouble. Yes. Which is the same species? This same type. This, this and this. So there are six species you said? Five. Five types of mangroves are found on Uzi Island. This is the seed of this type. Okay. So when you want to, they remove, they go like this. And this become how to grow. It grow itself. Don't come person to grow. It grow with itself. Yes. But preserving the mangrove forest without maintaining the activities of the population is pointless. So for all parties to live in harmony, they have to try to develop alternative small-scale activities. So this project of honey bee. How to prepare the bee, the honey. So we call this project special for ladies of the village to prepare the, to take honey. And honey, then they sold. How many do you have this now? How many types? More than 20, those inside. So this called very nice honey for flowers of mangroves. Normally they settle three months or four months, they come to take off. Back on the main island of Unguja, Javed, always on the move, takes us to Nungwi, the boat builder's village. This is where the famous boats are built, the daos, that made the seafaring reputation of Zanzibar. Today Javed has come to see the boat he is having built. He plans to sail through the whole archipelago, exploring the lesser-known nooks and crannies of the different islands and capturing the light and the landscapes he feels so strongly about. The people of Nungwi have been building the daos for almost years, centuries. And this is the very famous place. All the master dao men are from Nungwi. And Nungwi is renowned for making daos. And the traditions are passed from father to son, father to son. This is how people have learned. So basically Nungwi is the dao capital of the world, I would say, outside the dao capital of Zanzibar. And I think that's the way it is. It takes about three months to make a boat. And it involves a lot of people. So you're looking at about seven, eight people working on it for three months by the time the boat is finished. So it's a long, tedious work. And everything is done by hand. It's a labor of love. Without blueprints, using only the eye's precision and a great deal of skill, these men build vessels that can face the whims and tantrums of the Indian Ocean and link the islands of the archipelago. Even if times have changed and Zanzibar has lost its prestige and its fame, Javed still looks upon these islands with the eyes of his passion and continues to capture with his cameras all the natural and human beauty of this land that he loves. Pascal is a retired professor of natural history. Animals, animals, animals everywhere. This nature lover knows how to read and interpret the local wildlife like an open book. At present, he volunteers his time to do observation missions for Tanzania's national parks. Discovering with him the Tarangire National Park, one of the country's lesser-known parks, is quite a treat, spiced up by his enthusiasm for this incredible wildlife refuge, one of the planet's privileged sanctuaries. Pascal got a special permission to leave the main trails to get a closer look at the wildlife. For Pascal, just being in the presence of the animals and observing them is an endless source of wonder. I love nature, I love animals, I love the natural environment. I grew up as a young boy in the village and we used to do a bit of hunting, and so I got used to wild animals, to birds, to plants and vegetation and natural environment. And then later on as I grew up, I was trained as a naturalist and a wildlife manager. The Tarangire Park contains the highest population density of elephants in the world. They are attracted to a marshy zone here and to the Tarangire River, a permanent source of water that gave its name to the park. This zone, the swamp as it is called here, attracts more than elephants. A multitude of species share this space and large colonies of migratory birds come to winter here every year. Among all the species that live here, Pascal has a particular fondness for the elephants. He can spend hours observing their behavior and their movements. You know, they walk in a kind of an extended line. If you look at it, you'll see that you have the mothers leading the way and then they have the babies in between and then you have some behind. Just make sure that the babies are well protected and they're coming to graze now in the swamp and to drink too. Here the animals live together and share their territory where each one has its own niche. The animals roam free and the humans stay in their four-wheel drive vehicles. There is real danger. This is not a zoo. The natural behavior of the animals must not be disturbed. The trunk has so many functions. For breathing, for drinking. It sucks water, pumps it in the mouth. For smelling, for fighting, for lovemaking, caressing. It uses the same trunk. When they are born, they weigh about 100 to 120 kilograms. They grow very quickly when they are young and then when they start getting to the age of five, six, they grow now slowly. After their migration to different watering holes, the elephants regroup into smaller family units. The young, in training, are learning to use their trunks like a baby, its thumb. Elephants are very protective animals. You're best off listening to Pascal's advice and not get too close to them. End of the first day of our special elephant safari. But on the way back, nature treats us to yet another wonderful sight. Like at the beginning of time, animals still live here with their own rules in total harmony. The next day, Pascal tracks down a herd of buffalo. All of a sudden, we are the ones being observed. Buffalo are one of the big five. That is, the five most dangerous species of African wildlife. These are social animals that live in a big head. They are fairly dangerous. They have killed a lot of hunters. Hunters who thought they are just like cows, but in fact they are not. They are very cruel and they should come very close to their babies. These animals, there are times when they lose their temper. You know, for example, if they have been wounded by a bullet and they are solitary, they are hiding somewhere, don't get very close to them. You know, when they are having their afternoon siesta, or just a nap, they are resting and they are solitary. Don't disturb them. If you do, they can be very wild. These are animals that can change their moods, like sometimes women can change moods too. The proximity of water in the Tarangire attracts a large number of animals. And sometimes a big cat perched in a tree watches its prey with a lazy, unconcerned eye. Without Pascal's trained eye, we certainly wouldn't have spotted this leopard hidden up in the branches. He appears almost shy, but all his senses are alert. Then suddenly he feels that his territory is being invaded. I enjoy just being in the wild. It is interesting to visit, you know, to see these animals in their natural environment. They have different behaviors, different activities that they do, and it gives me a lot of spiritual satisfaction and recreation to some extent. So I really enjoy it. I don't mind being out in the bush for two months. I'm just very happy. Somewhat apart from other species in the Tarangire Park, large groups of lions enjoy this vast hunting ground, abounding in easy-to-catch prey. Lions are very common here in Tarangire, and as you can see in this river, they have just killed a fresh zebra, and they love the zebra meat. The females are quick and fast, and they normally hunt as a team. So here, six of them have managed to hunt this zebra, and they are now feeding on it. Yeah, look. Look over there. A hunt begins before our very eyes. But this time, the zebra is too fast. Usually these animals, although they are social, but when it comes to table manners, I think they have the poorest of it, because even if there's plenty of food here, they still scramble for food. And sometimes, even if there are cubs here, they will eat first, and the cubs will eat later. During the lions' lunch hour, some unexpected visitors burst in on the scene. A strange vehicle with a rake antenna, an odd tool to bring to the felines' feast. Quick introductions are made, and we learn that these people are scientists who are tracking and counting the different prides of lions. Yeah, we have about six radio callers that help us to follow the population trend, and also we collect range use patterns. We're estimating that the ecosystem has about 400 to 500 lions, the entire ecosystem, Tarangire and the surrounding areas. They're decreasing, actually, because of the human-lion conflict, the retaliatory killing from the pastoralists surrounding Tarangire National Park, and also the hunting activities. Others are also waiting for their share of the food. The vultures are the park's garbage disposal crew. Pascal is curious about everything. He knows this territory like the back of his hand, and he wanted to show us another animal, an animal one encounters sometimes here, a strange, even improbable creation of nature. There are a lot of catfish in this swamp. Yeah, the lizard is there. It was trying to climb a tree, I think, to go and check if it can get some eggs of some birds, because it also feeds on eggs. Those are what you call massage giraffes, and there are quite many in Tarangire. There are quite many, you know, moving around and feeding on the acacia leaves. You know, they're kind of prehistoric animals that still exist on Earth today. They don't have many predators because they've got very powerful eyesight, and they're fairly big. Because of their big size, the lions are the only predator that can kill the giraffe. And they wait until when they're drinking and they're bending their neck, then it is easy for them to ambush. For Pascal, contemplating this sanctuary of nature means more than simply observing the animals. It evokes a particular train of thought. I'm never bored with seeing these animals. I love coming to see these animals because they are quite interesting, they are very refreshing, they are beautiful to see. And every time I come here, it keeps my mind fairly cool, so I have what you call peace of mind when I'm out. That makes life really good. White Mountain. Mountain of splendor. House of God. For the peoples of the Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain has different names, different faces. Mount Kibo, almost 6,000 meters high, is the highest of the three peaks that make up Kilimanjaro. It is the true symbol of the whole mountain. Simon Mtui is a child of the Washaga tribe, and this mountain has given him everything. He was 16 years old when he first climbed to the summit of Kilimanjaro, his mountain. This is a beautiful mountain. It has been my livelihood for 20-plus years of climbing this mountain and making my progress of life. It remains symbolic for Washaga. It's a hidden place. It's a mountain of God. When you get the punishment there from the cold, you have to believe it's a mountain that nothing exists there. For the Washaga, this place is home to the spirits and their god Rua, who can bring the rains and ward off bad weather. In funeral ceremonies, the dead are buried facing Mount Kibo. And yet, according to their beliefs, this is not the original cradle of the Washaga people. On the other side of the mountain, more to the southeast, there's a small mountain called Kifunika. This Kifunika is a mountain where the Chaga people believe that's where the origins of Washaga. We go there for worship. This mountain has so many places where Washaga people do their sacrifices. But now a persistent question dogs the mind of Simon and the other Washaga. What is the future of Mount Kibo and its glacier? Scientists believe that the glacier will have completely disappeared sometime between 2020 and 2025. When I was a child, at the age of 16, when I summited the mountain the first time, basically the glacier was way, way down halfway the mountain. And this glacier now, they are no longer existing. You can just see a little splash of the glaciers there, but it's almost gone. We need more scientific approval to understanding what is really going on on this mountain. I feel sad. I feel like this is something that I would like my son or my children to come and see, to see these amazing glaciers. And when I visualize what I've seen, when I see what I saw in the past, I feel imbalanced. I feel like something is missing. Simon, a native son of this land, is an enthusiastic runner. Or more precisely, he's a professional marathon man. In 2006, he did the ascent and descent of Kilimanjaro in the amazing time of 9 hours and 21 minutes. Every year, Simon takes part in a number of international events, especially in different states in North America, where he is ranked among the best in endurance runs and ultramarathons. Simon trains almost every day here in the hills around Kilimanjaro, right where he was born. This tiny woman with the heavy load on her head is Simon's mother. She's 68. Like all the Washagashi works every day on the family farm, where they raise livestock, she's somewhat less enthusiastic about her son's activity. Here in the family hut is where Simon was born, along with his nine brothers and sisters. His family is always very surprised each time they see him returning home from the United States, but for Simon, the pull of his mountain is stronger than anything else. I'm very happy here to live my life in the village. And I go every year for running, and I come back here. And my mother, she was very happy when I said to her, I go to America, and I come back. And I go, I come back. So even with my first time attempting to get a visa, it was very difficult. Because, for example, in American embassy, they have to ask you this question, what will make you to come back home? I say to them, my family. They say, what are you saying? I say, it's my family. So I come back for this. There's good things in this country. Everything is possible here. It's much easier than in the U.S. You walk and you pay the bills. You walk, you pay the bills. Of course you do the same here, but it's a different mentality. Simon's father, a giant almost two meters tall, he's 85 and in fine health. He too still continues looking after his farm. But his real passion is raising short-legged chickens, as he calls them. They lay the best eggs in the village. Or so he claims. See, this is the mother. All the chickens with the short legs. It's a freedom I feel. I feel like there's nothing after this. My heart, my body, I feel fresh. After running. I like this every day, I do it. Simon's garden is his pride and joy. He grows his own vegetables, 100% organic. No fertilizer, no chemicals. He uses only his own compost. My father, he didn't know how to read or to write. So he teach us how to grow maize, how to grow coffee, how to work hard. And I think I take this forward, from my grandfather to my father. And today I want my son to enjoy the same thing. Like all the Washaga, who are excellent farmers, he grows taro, bananas, rhubarb, some flowers and his own coffee, 600 to 800 kilos a year. If I wish to do more commercial, I will spray a chemical, but I don't do it. It's just let the nature live itself. And that's not all he has to be proud of. Simon grows what are very exotic fruits for this region, strawberries, that he serves up to the travelers in his rural guesthouse that he has set up. The guests are mostly Americans. I think there's a reason for the clients to come to the village. There's a reason for the clients to come to enjoy the culture, to talk to the people, to see the people of Washaga. And not only to be with them on the mountain, also to learn how their livelihood, besides going on the mountain, besides going on the safari. So I make sure the clients come here, they get the richness of this country. When he started to get a reputation in the United States, thanks to the marathons and endurance runs, Simon developed a network of relations. He receives his clients, Kilimanjaro climbing enthusiasts, in his rural guesthouse. I want to make sure that everyone is aware of what you're going to go through. The climb is not a joke, it's not a walkabout, it's a mountain that you're going to climb. So you have to be very aware of what is going to go on with yourself. We know for sure, the summit is not what brought you here, it's experience. We want you to have a full experience, experience that you wish to come here for. I actually heard about Simon when I was on the top of a mountain in Colorado. Someone who knew Simon from the distance running told me about him and wrote down the website, and that's how I found it. I discovered about three years ago that I really liked climbing mountains, and I'm kind of good at it, and so I wanted to come here and climb Kilimanjaro, and see Africa as well. You need to make sure you're drinking, you're eating enough, you need to make sure you're sleeping enough, you need to make sure you're warm enough. And when you arrive to the camp today, they're going to measure the vital sign again. What they're looking for is your O2 sat, your oxygen saturation, how much oxygen you carry in your body. Secondly, they're looking at your heart rate. There are several places I wanted to see in the world, I wanted to see Patagonia in South America, and see Machu Picchu in Peru, but this has always been, I think part of that dream is Africa and Kilimanjaro, as well as all the land around it. And of course we'd like you to have that dream, to be on the top of Africa, the highest peak of Africa. We would like to be part of you to make sure, side to side, you're going to get that dream. For us here today, for me and my staff and the farm, this is our dream have come true. And we hope that by the end of the day, your dream is going to come true. Simon, constantly on the lookout for new ideas to promote the region, has developed an ecotourism activity, mountain biking around Kilimanjaro. His first two customers, Peter and Tom, are two Americans working for local NGOs. The complete tour of the mountain, in kilometers, will take about a week of sometimes difficult cycling. But Simon also wants his guests to discover the region, and appreciate local traditions and culture. Simon, the son of Oaxaca peasants, is a man with deep roots in his native land. But he's also a man of his times, and always has his cell phone in his hand, no matter where he goes. He's in daily contact with the company he created in Moshi, 40 kilometers from his farm. Several times a week, he goes to his office, which is housed in three recycled containers. With the help of a secretary and an assistant, he plans the schedules for his organization, which can, when there are expeditions on, employ up to 30 people a day, including guides and porters. It took four days for Simon and his teammates to get to the west side of Kilimanjaro. Herds of large animals migrate through this region, which is more sparsely populated and arid than the eastern part. Most often, they're fleeing the droughts on the nearby Kenyan plateaus. The mountain bike trek runs between Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, the second highest peak in Africa. With the expeditions to the top of Kilimanjaro and his new mountain bike trek, Simon's activity is progressing smoothly. With respect for the surrounding environment, and with his own convictions, Simon has succeeded in creating his niche by combining a land of traditions where he grew up and the new challenges of a world that's evolving quickly, very quickly. But perhaps what sums up Simon best of all is the attachment and the deep respect he feels for his mountain. This mountain supplies not only the climate, not only the glaciers, the water, the good weather around this mountain. And to today, we benefit greatly of this mountain. This is not only the Wachaga people, this is a treasure for my country. Since his first climb as a porter at the age of 16, Simon has been working on making his dreams come true, taking his destiny into his own hands. In his own way, he has become a sort of symbol of Africa on the move, open to the curiosity of the world.