The 2 Days Lake Eyasi Guided Cultural Tour offers an opportunity to visit Lake Eyasi and interact with the Hadzabe people. Learn about their cultural heritage and enjoy the spectacular scenery of the volcanic landscape.
Day 1: Lake Manyara/ Ngorongoro Crater to Lake Eyasi
This tour can begin either from Ngorongoro Crater or Lake Manyara national park depending on your itinerary. Transfer to Lake Eyasi for a 2-3 hour drive transitioning across varied landscapes from the rolling Ngorongoro Highlands or the groundwater forests of Lake Manyara into the semi-arid Eyasi basin. Arrive and check in your accommodation for dinner and overnight. The Hadzabe have survived in this region for thousands of years. Lake Eyasi spans 80 km long and 14.5 km wide with both alkaline and fresh water terrestrial ecosystems. Sibiti river serves as the only inlet feeding into the lake that remains shallow with an average depth of 3 feet due to a low amount of rainfall received 600 mm per annum. During the dry season, much of the lake dries up due to high evaporation rate exposing the salt pans which reflect light to create a shimmering phenomenon making for a must-visit gem for a keen birder and photographer. The northwest shore of the lake is bound by an 800 meter escarpment and this has helped to protect the lake’s habitats including wetlands containing common reed and cattail (Typha) and unique tree species such as Tamarindus indica which serve nesting sites for a variety of birds. Lake Eyasi is a Key Biodiversity Area famous for harboring huge flocks of Lesser and Greater flamingos among other unique species including Karamoja Apalis, African spoonbill, common snipe, Temminck’s stint, Ashy starling (Lamprotornis unicolor), Fischer’s lovebird among others.
Day 2: Hadzabe cultural experience
Today, you will meet and interact with the Hadzabe people including hunters and women. After breakfast before sunrise, head to the camp to see how the hunters start their day. At that time, men gather around an ember smoking traditional pipes. Bowstrings are checked and the desert rose (Adenium obesum) poison is applied by boiling the sap to make poison. The beauty of Hadzane click language being entirely unique is interesting to listen to how they articulately communicate.
As the sun rises, the Hadzabe fire making activity starts. Witness the pre-historic art of creating fire by natural friction of spinning a hardwood stick into a softwood base. The hunters proceed to prepare their hunting tools, by putting feathers on their arrowheads and explaining the different arrowheads used for hunting birds and antelopes such as Kudu.
The main activity of the day begins, the awe-inspiring Hadzabe hunting expedition. Visitors are accompanied by hunters into the bush tracking wildlife. The Hadzabe originally live in harmony with nature. They select which kind of bird or animal to kill, of which a bird, baboon, or a velvet monkey is preferred. Once it is killed, they make a fire and smoke the heart or liver of the animal as a sacred ritual practice of co-existence and respecting the animal’s life.
By mid-morning, after the hunt, the Hadzabe women and children will show you the act of gathering and foraging. Learn how to dig root tubers and harvest and crack the hard shell of the baobab fruit and grind the seeds into a protein powder. A suitable shade to rest for lunch break at noon is found. Women go on to show how intricate jewelry is made from seeds, bones, and glass beads. Men also demonstrate traditional archery inviting guests to try to shoot for themselves. In the early afternoon, head back to the camp concluding the day with a celebration involving Epeme dance performance. Depart from Lake Eyasi and transfer to Arusha airport or to your preferred destination.