A few life lessons we picked up from the animals of Tanzania’s big safari parks: Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater. Includes a slideshow of our favorite Tanzania safari photos.
When we humans observe animals and their behavior, we’re often tempted to anthropomorphize them, ascribing to them our human qualities. The zebra “wears” stripes, the cheetah “eats breakfast” and the warthog “hangs out with his buddies.”
While we were on safari in Tanzania, all those lions, elephants, cheetahs, and hippos prompted us to take this one step further and ask: What could the wild animals of Tanzania teach us about life, and possibly even business?
If all the safari animals were contracted for an motivational speaking conference, here’s who might show up and what they might say. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Africa, Tanzania, Travel by: Audrey Scott
28 Comments | 1 July 2011
Reflections on our safari in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, including a slideshow of the big cats – lions, cheetahs, and a leopard – who have made this place their own.

Expectations: dangerous stuff. It’s virtually impossible not to have them when it comes to an iconic experience like a safari in the Serengeti. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Africa, Tanzania, Travel by: Daniel Noll
18 Comments | 29 June 2011
How do I prepare for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro? What equipment will I need?
No shortage of digital ink has been spilled on this topic. Even so, every article we’ve read seemed to be missing a little something.
Based on our Kilimanjaro climb experience, here are the nuts and bolts of what an average, ordinary hiker will need for a Kilimanjaro climb. We’ll address choosing a Kilimanjaro route, costs, equipment and hiking gear, ways to avoid and manage altitude sickness and other illnesses, and whether or not you really need to train for a Kilimanjaro climb.
Don’t worry, it’s not as daunting as it sounds.

Continue Reading »
- Climbing Kilimanjaro: Life Lessons from the Top of Africa
- Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro: Day by Day
- Climb Kilimanjaro: Equipment and Preparation
Filed Under: Africa, Tanzania, Travel by: Audrey Scott
29 Comments | 26 June 2011
Poa kichizi kama ndizi.
– Swahili for “Crazy cool like a banana,” the most appropriate response to “How are you?” while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.
So we climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and shared some of the life lessons we learned along the way. But what did the climb look like? How did it feel?

Continue Reading »
- Climbing Kilimanjaro: Life Lessons from the Top of Africa
- Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro: Day by Day
- Climb Kilimanjaro: Equipment and Preparation
Filed Under: Africa, Tanzania, Travel by: Daniel Noll
30 Comments | 21 June 2011
A few ideas on how walking up a big pile of volcanic rocks in Africa can teach you something about life.

For some, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is another check box on a “to do” list. For me it turned out to be a journey — in its own way, an epic exercise in achievement.
Like any journey of significance, themes emerged. Somewhere beyond Kilimanjaro’s snow-patched Uhuru Peak, I learned and relearned some lessons that resonated beyond the mountain-climbing task at hand. Continue Reading »
- Climbing Kilimanjaro: Life Lessons from the Top of Africa
- Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro: Day by Day
- Climb Kilimanjaro: Equipment and Preparation
Filed Under: Africa, Personal Growth, Tanzania, Travel by: Daniel Noll
60 Comments | 15 June 2011
This is a story of an old legal pad, a mountain in Africa, and a distant dream of shooting an honest game of golf under 90.
Tucked deep inside a cardboard box in Prague, Czech Republic, there’s a half-torn crumpled piece of yellow legal pad paper that reads somewhere in the middle, scribbled in blue ballpoint: “Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.” Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Africa, Tanzania, Travel by: Daniel Noll
31 Comments | 26 May 2011