Alice’s journey up Mt. Kilimanjaro took place in the beginning of March 2018. She joined a group of other women to reach the summit on International Women’s Day. Led by local tour company Eco-Africa climbing they traveled up the Machame route on a 7 day journey to the roof of Africa. For a detailed account of her climb you can read the blog- Journey to the Roof of Africa.
Africa is such a diverse and interesting continent, and one that is packed full of wonderful countries to explore. So many, in fact, it can be hard to pick just one. When it comes to African adventures, however, it’s kind of difficult to go wrong with Tanzania. Statistics compiled by Tanzania Invest tell us that 81% of the visitors to the country are those visiting for leisure and tourism purposes. If you’re sitting on the fence about exploring all that Tanzania has to offer, here are 5 reasons why you need to add this country to your bucket list.
Mt. Kilimanjaro
Tanzania is home to one of the most iconic and well-known mountains in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro. Indeed, Africa’s highest peak has long been a challenge for people all across the world to pit their strength against. I have spent a lot of time hiking mountain ranges and exploring peaks, and I just knew I had to add Kilimanjaro to that list! After summiting in March of 2018 I can say for certain that this is an experience I would recommend to anyone who has a passion for adventure. It is an experience that will leave a lasting impression of the wonderful people, places and culture of Tanzania.
Another wonderful reason to go to Tanzania is to indulge in the safari experience. Home to several National Parks, Tanzania is home to millions of animals like lions, elephants, giraffe, cheetah and hyena. Tanzania is also the place where your safari adventure is capped by the Great Migration, something which is often cited as one of the greatest experiences in all of the natural world. There are a lot of different places you can visit to have a full Tanzanian safari experience, but the Serengeti is certainly a cut above.
I have to admit, there are a lot of things people love about Tanzania, and the food is one of the best. Everything comes straight from the fields and farms to your plate, with fresh potatoes, bananas, avocados as big as melons and fresh-caught fish, game and meats. The great thing about the cuisine in Tanzania is the fact that it combines traditional African food with an Indian and Arabic influence. This gives a diverse and beguiling food scene that definitely makes the food here much more iconic than in other parts of Africa.
One of the great reasons behind this cuisine infusion that Tanzania gets to enjoy is the delightful Zanzibar. Known as the ‘Spice Islands’ this is really a game-changer for Tanzania, and one of the great reasons why you need to pay it a visit. This archipelago is the place to be for those who want to infuse their African adventure with other cultures.
National Park Adventures and World Heritage Adventures are a video series that bring you into some of the worlds most beautiful places. Alice is an outdoor enthusiast that wants to show you more of the worlds beauty and history.
Plastic can be awesome. It’s in almost everything from clothing and vehicles to office items and household furniture, and it is hard to go a day without using something made of plastic. However the use of plastic use to be much more functional and reusable. Somewhere along the line companies decided that we should use single-use containers, and never thought about how we would dispose of them. Plastic is made out of a derivative of oil and it takes hundreds of years to even start breaking down and thousands to degrade. It poisons animals, heavily pollutes our oceans, kills fish and makes our landscapes ugly with litter.
A long time ago if you went to the market you brought bags, or a basket, your own cart or maybe just a tall man with large arms. We used to have our milk delivered in refillable glass jugs and have Tupperware parties to make sure all our leftovers were kept nice and fresh. When and why did we transition into this throw-away and wasteful world?
We have become so lazy and absorbed that we can’t even be responsible enough to remember a bag for grocery shopping, let alone remember a reusable coffee mug. Because that is definitely too much to ask. So much to ask that when California tried to pass a statewide plastic bag ban earlier this year, it was overturned by the American Progressive Bag Alliance and their ability to get over half a million signatures disapproving of it. In case that didn’t sink in, yes I just said that there is a plastic bag alliance, how ridiculous. The other crazy thing is that 500,000 people have the time to sign a petition but they can’t remember to put a bag in their car and then remember to bring it to a grocery store with them.
The Europeans have been charging for bags at the grocery store for as long as I have been alive and they don’t seem to be complaining about it. I guess in this country we would rather see images like this than have to pay 10 cents for a bag or bring our own.
According to Treehugger, approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil are used to make plastic water bottles every. That’s right folks they are made of petroleum much like most of our built world.
Nearly 90% of plastic isn’t recycled and that’s why we have places around the world that look like this….
National Parks in America recently tried to ban selling plastic water bottles and installed water fountains all over the parks. But the International Bottles Water Association fought them and using nasty language had the US Govt overturn these rules. Read More.
If just 10% of us bought reusable water bottles and stopped buying bottles of water or soda we would save millions of bottles from reaching landfills or worse the oceans. For water, Klean Kanteen is a great brand that uses recycled aluminum to make its sleek-looking bottles. How about a coffee mug? BONUS- many coffee shops give a discount if you bring your own cup.
There are also great reusable soda containers if you aren’t a water drinker.
Plastic bags are terrible for the environment. Not recyclable they end up in landfills and often blow around in the wind, ending up in oceans, rivers and streams. A great way to reduce plastic waste is to convert your kitchen into a plastic-free zone. You can start with reusable shopping bags and produce bags. Ditch the Ziploc bags for reusable and dishwasher-safe silicone food bags for frozen and fresh items, and get rid of that plastic wrap and try out these great BeesWax wraps. I promise they will keep your vegetables fresher and they stop produce like avocado from turning brown. Even plastic Tupperware can be switched out with glass Tupperware. It lasts longer and can be heated, cooled and washed more often.
