Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out

-This is Africa, baby.

-It's said a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

- Steppin' out Welcome to "Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out."

Today, we're steppin' out in Tanzania for explorations among East Africa's fascinating creatures and extraordinary people.

[ Singing in native language ] -"Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out" is made possible by... -Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel in the United States and in more than 100 countries.

From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy, we've introduced adults to places, ideas, and friends.

We are Road Scholar.

We make the world our classroom.

-There's a reason people call Myrtle Beach "The Beach."

There are 60 miles of wide sandy beaches along South Carolina's Grand Strand coast.

This vacation destination has golf courses, attractions, food, wine, and Southern sun.

-More than twice the size of California, Tanzania boasts 22 national parks overflowing with some of our planet's most fascinating creatures.

Yet, before I celebrate its natural world, I head to Arusha's Central Market to get to know its people.

Wow.

This is lively.

-This is real life, huh?

-So, this goes on every day?

-Yes, every single day.

-Wow.

-And then all these crops are coming from all over the country.

This is a pepper.

-Are these hot?

-Look at this, huh?

So, if you want to eat this, you have to be from India.

Is that hot?

-That's pretty hot.

-Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

-That's very hot.

-[ Both laugh ] -Hello.

-Hello.

[ Conversing in native language ] -What's your name?

-Joseph.

-Joseph.

-Joseph.

-Welcome to Tanzania.

-Oh!

-My name is Neema.

-Neema means "grace."

-Grace.

-Grace.

That's a very nice name.

-Very nice.

Welcome to Tanzania.

-Okay.

Asante.

Yes?

This is a gift of -- Now, did you grow these carrots?

-No.

-No.

-I buy there.

-Oh, you buy over there?

-Yeah.

-He grows it.

-Yeah.

-You sell it.

-I sell it.

-Are you a good salesman?

-Yes.

-Thank you for the carrot.

-Thank you.

Welcome.

-Asante.

-Asante sana.

Yeah.

My friend Joseph.

Welcome.

-Okay.

Thank you.

-This is Africa, baby.

-Now, there's so many different kinds of products here.

And you're telling me all the products come right from Tanzania.

-Everything.

You see this one here?

-She's making salad?

-But look at that knife.

How she can use the knife.

-That's amazing.

-So, the people come and buy that which has already been done, you know?

-Yeah.

You take it home.

You have your own salad.

One of the things I always love is the authenticity of coming through here.

You just see people.

Nobody's putting on any airs.

Everybody is just living their life.

-That's what's special about Tanzania.

-I'm getting the feeling that Tanzanians really have considered the value of their life and the value of their work.

-Yeah, that's right.

-Well, it has honor to it.

Those of us who are privileged have a lot to learn from people who work real hard and are still content.

-That's a very good compliment.

You know, that's one of the things I love my country about.

People are so proud here.

-You're very clear on what makes this a great country.

-Yes.

-And the people are, of course, what it's all about.

And there always has to be a sense of that "It's alright."

What's the famous expression here?

-Hakuna matata.

-Hakuna matata.

-Right.

No problem, no problem.

Yeah, yeah.

-And, also, the other one is, "It's Africa, baby."

-This is Africa, baby.

-This is Africa.

[ Horn honks ] -From Arusha to here is one hour.

-If you have no chance to go anywhere else, this is a good place to come for the terrific cultural and wildlife experience at Tanzania.

-Absolutely.

-Arusha National Park is mostly known for Meru, the second-highest mountain in Tanzania, and the fifth-, I understand, highest mountain in all of Africa.

-That's correct.

We're coming up on an opening here.

This is where most of the animals kind of hang out.

We call that area Little Serengeti, because it's open and the short-grass plain.

Those are Cape buffalo, African Cape buffalo.

-It looks like a warthog -- -And there's a warthog.

That's correct.

-Now, both the females and the males have tusks, right?

-They do.

The younger ones, they have more beards in comparison to the older ones.

So, that is to mimic the tusks on the older ones -- -Try to fool a predator?

-Exactly.

So that the predator thinks that they also have -- -Tusks.

-Exactly.

-When they set up this national park, was this just where the animals were?

-Yes.

They established the parks around the areas where they find the animals.

-As opposed to other places in Africa where there are parks, they bring the animals in.

It's nice because they keep the animals alive, but it's like a gigantic zoo.

-That's right.

-This is not like that here in Tanzania.

It's a more natural environment.

-It is.

-That's fabulous.

It's amazing.

Just came in the gate, and there we have two young giraffes necking, it's called, pretend fighting, because they're practicing for when they become adult giraffes and will have to fight for their mate.

That's amazing.

Here, look at this.

So, this is where the trail starts?

-Yeah.

The only national park will provide walking safari around our area.

-What's the advantage of taking the walk with you?

-This walk is special here in Arusha National Park because we can give the opportunity to go much closer with the animals.

-So, this is a forest park.

-Yes.

-As opposed to a lot of the other ones are big plains, like the Serengeti grasslands.

-Yes.

-That's what makes this such a beautiful park.

-Yes.

-So, tell me about these very interesting creatures here.

-Now you are in paradise, yeah?

-I think you're right.

This is paradise, because you're sitting here with the animals.

Peaceful.

This beautiful setting.

-Yeah.

The Cape buffalo is among of the Big Five animal.

And the second is among of the animals who decorate our area.

It's a beautiful animal to see them.

-Look at them all looking at us.

-Yeah.

-They are looking.

They know that we are not their enemy.

That's why they are here.

You see plenty of them there.

-Yeah.

Look at them.

How many are there?

There are 20, 40.

-We counted 96 of them around this area.

-Here, we are surrounded by giraffes in the wild.

Not a zoo, not put here.

This is where they comfortably live.

And they're as curious as I am, so they're sticking around.

Oh, they're so wonderful.

Absolutely beautiful.

Africa is like nothing else you'll ever experience.

And Tanzania is beyond belief.

As far as African wildlife experience already, this completely outstrips anything I've ever experienced in my African journeys.

Perhaps the mightiest and certainly the largest of Africa's beasts populates the 1,100-square-mile Tarangire National Park.

Massive elephant herds, among the greatest in Africa, roam the Tarangire River Valley and swamplands, using a landscape of baobab trees as a respite from the insistent sun.

-Welcome to Tarangire National Park.

We have over 2,500 individual elephants in this park.

So, there are some few zebras there, as well.

Zebras are quite, very amazing.

Those stripes are unique.

It's like a fingerprint.

-Yeah.

We have two wildebeests right there.

Oh, look at that.

And the bird on top.

What's the name of that bird that's on top of the zebra?

-Oh, that's oxpecker.

They go for the ticks, you know There's a very interesting symbiotic relationship between them and the zebra.

These zebras or even the wildebeests, wherever they walk into the long grasses, they pick ticks.

-Right.

-So, who clean them?

Those birdies.

-Wow, look at that.

African elephants just walked right by us.

Three of them, family.

-Yeah.

So, that's a mama and the oldest son and the younger one.

So that's a little -- You know, the older generation and then the new one.

-How beautiful to watch this family taking a little stroll.

Lucas has brought us to the perfect location, because within about 100 yards or less, much less, 12 elephants.

And one of them, Lucas says, is the youngest baby he's ever seen.

It must be just days old.

It's so wonderful here in Africa, and it happens often when you're doing this kind of an adventure where things just pop up.

You have to expect the unexpected.

You have to be prepared for it.

And it's kind of a blessing when it happens out of the blue.

You're just rolling along, and something like this takes place and it's, like, perfect timing.

The accessibility to the animals in this park are amazing.

You don't have to wait very long.

You have these incredible wildlife viewing experiences.

Baboons walking down the road and birds, of course, everywhere up in the trees.

There's just an eagle not far away from here.

And guinea hens.

The amount of wildlife and the ease of seeing them is incredible.

We're at the Ngorongoro crater.

Actually, it's a caldera -- a collapsed volcano.

12 miles across.

Amazing natural phenomena.

Way down below, there are just tons and tons of wildlife.

And this is one of the highlights of a trip here in Tanzania, Africa.

Can't wait to get down there and see all the beautiful animals.

And a habitat for everyone.

This is like the best place for all of them at the same time.

Now, all my travels in Africa, this is always the best time for me -- early in the morning, when all the wildlife is rising with the sun.

It's extremely beautiful and very, very brief and a great metaphor for not just life in Africa, but life everywhere.

Very, very, very beautiful and very, very brief.

Lucas, how difficult is it to go wildlife viewing in Ngorongoro?

-We call it the beginner's national park.

You got everything here.

-And it's easy to see.

-Very good for the game viewing.

-Yeah.

-We are talking over 30,000 animals living down here, so I don't know if you can miss anything.

-Adventure starts here.

-Oh, yeah.

Adventure starts here, you know?

-Whoa!

[ Laughs ] -This is Africa, baby.

Hold on.

-Whoo-hoo!

Every day on a Tanzania safari is a new experience, because each environment has something different to offer.

And here we are on the edge of where there is a pod of hippos, as well as a group of people, because this is where people are allowed to come and have lunch or any kind of food.

They can't just eat in their cars.

And that's part of the conservation efforts taking place here.

You know, Lucas, wherever I go, people ask me, what is my favorite place?

And I always tell them it depends on what I'm looking for.

And if I was to talk to them about Tanzania, I would say this is a high candidate to be one of my favorite places because it has everything.

It has the culture, which is very important to me, and then it has this wonderful natural environment.

Not to mention that you have all this spectacular wildlife in abundance.

What's your favorite place to be when you go and have a vacation?

-Wherever I'm in Ngorongoro crater, I'm in Serengeti National Park.

To me, it's heaven.

I love it.

-And you have a place in Serengeti.

So it is heaven.

-That's right.

-You've created heaven.

-Oh, come on, you know?

-That's wonderful.

-Yes.

-That's what we each have to do.

We have to create our own heaven, because nobody else is going to do it for us.

-You never know where you're going after that.

-Absolutely.

-This is my heaven.

[ Singing in native language ] [ Cheers and applause ] -I love this -- everybody gathering around, tying together the guests, whether they know each other or not.

-Yeah, that's right.

And that's always been done every evening.

-I heard you say that the things you're doing here at the property is to touch people.

What do you mean by that?

-People, when they travel, they get a service.

But you need to be different.

You have to make people to remember you.

We make people feel like their home away from home.

The staffs here -- they don't just work for money.

It's their passion.

So once you're here, you feel like you're home.

-Well, you want people to have an emotional reaction, emotional realization about being here with the animals and in this environment, and not just have to be something you check off.

-That's right.

-And that's very good, because that's what I'm trying to do with "Steppin' Out" is, I want people to travel and have an emotional reaction to something.

I think that's how you create memories, that's how you create feelings to go with what you did, your activities.

-Excellent.

-It makes it important.

-Boom!

-Well, thank you for what you're doing here.

[ Thunder rumbles ] This is an amazing spot.

It's where the Seronera and the Grumeti rivers come together.

This spot is called Retina, which means "hippo spot" in Swahili.

And, boy, is this a hippo spot.

There are more than 100 hippos here.

And I'm sitting down because that's the way to observe their behavior is just sit down, calm down, and just watch them be.

And it's so fascinating to watch them jockeying for position, reclaiming their territory after being on land during the night, greeting each other, babies.

Everything is taking place here, and we're just 15 minutes away from the resort.

It's fabulous.

There's an underlying tension here, but once they find their perfect spot, it's like the definition of contentment.

The overwhelming thing here in Africa is the peace.

For a country that's gone through so many trials and tribulations and has had so much struggle, so much war, really, when you're actually in nature, next to these magnificent and powerful and somewhat-dangerous animals -- these creatures weigh tons, floating down the river.

Even these animals want peace.

They have to do what they have to do to survive, but, ultimately, all they're after is peace.

Wow.

After all these years, here I am in the Serengeti.

I've heard so much about this all my life.

The migration, the people.

I can't wait to see what we're going to see.

-And you know the meaning of the word Serengeti?

-No.

-"The endless plains."

-It certainly is that, isn't it?

-This time of the year, most of the migratory animals, the wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, they're all into the plains.

You know, we are talking over 4 million animals, you know, migrating in the Serengeti ecosystem.

-I'm ready.

-Yeah.

Your job today is to count how many wildebeests.

-Are you ready for that?

-I'm ready.

-Alright.

Okay.

-I'm ready!

Yeah!

-Okay.

The lions, as well, and on the plains, that's where you see the lions.

And the Serengeti have a more concentration of lions compared to any park.

Over 3,000 lions.

-Wonderful thing of coming to Africa is lions.

Very, very close.

It's always exciting to see lions in the wild.

Some nobility about them.

They're the number-one predator in this environment, and they just feel like they own it.

And you can see it just in the way they lay in the grass and say, "This is my home.

I'm here.

Nobody's going to bother me."

And in this environment, in the national park, nobody is going to bother them, but that wasn't always the case here in Africa.

That's one of the things that have changed over the time is that the conservation has become better and people have become wiser about their relationship with these magnificent creatures.

Wow.

Family of giraffes in this beautiful green setting.

And you'd expect to have some kind of crashing, dramatic music, and instead, there's the silence and also just the twinkling sounds of birds.

So peaceful and otherworldly.

Exactly what we all need.

The wonderful thing about Tanzania is the access to the animals.

I could practically shake her hand.

And her baby's hand, too.

-Mm-hmm.

Look at that.

That's extraordinary.

Fossils found at the Olduvai Gorge by Louis and Mary Leakey prove that humans have inhabited the Serengeti for 2 million years.

The famous and colorful Maasai are relative newcomers, having migrated from the Nile Valley in the 17th century.

-[ Singing in native language ] -Now, we're going to see people colorfully dressed today.

Is that they're just doing that for us?

-No, no, no, no.

That's how they live.

-That's the way they live on a daily basis.

-This is a real, authentic Maasai village.

-Oh.

[ Speaks native language ] -Hey.

-How many people would live in a village like this?

-Here, there are five women, but there are 48 children.

Men are polygamists.

-Right.

-You have two villages.

Here, where he got his youngest wives, which have five of them, and they got another senior, or we can call old wives, I mean, to the other village.

So, some of the younger children from that -- they are here close because the school is nearby.

And in the Maasai culture, they live like in the military, rank-wise.

-Yeah.

Very hierarchical.

-Right.

So the more older you are, the more respected you are and the less work you do.

-That sounds good to me.

-Okay.

[ Both laugh ] -Are they going to be milking the cows soon?

-Oh, yeah, right now.

If she dress you like them, if the cow smell, you'll be smelling like them, and the cow might allow you -- -They might allow me to -- -So are you willing to -- -Sure.

I'm up for that.

[ Cow moos ] Asante.

-[ Laughs ] -Okay.

She doesn't like me doing it.

Here we go, here we go, guys.

Ah, look!

I'm succeeding.

I'm succeeding.

Okay.

-[ Laughs ] -It's hard work.

But look at that.

Look how she does.

What do you like doing the most?

-I like to speak English.

-Oh, you like speaking English?

Okay, well, good.

I'm glad that we're giving you a little pleasure here.

That was hard work.

Okay, well, thank you so much.

[ Children singing in native language ] To my surprise, I learned that my companion, Lucas Mhina's, Maasai connection goes further than just as a guide.

Profits from his work and his lodge have funded the nearby primary school.

-That's totally full blessings.

-How long has this school been here?

-Only this year.

[ Singing continues ] Asante!

Asante!

-Asante!

-I heard your name in there several times.

-Yeah, they say, "Lucas Mhina's school is the best school."

So it's a school song.

-Well, you have a lot to be proud of.

This is a great thing to do.

-So, we have from kindergarten all the way to K-6.

You know, one of the biggest challenges is when they come here, they have to be taught Swahili, then English, because they speak the Maasai language.

So that's one of the very difficult job for the teachers, to make sure -- -They have to be taught Swahili and then English.

-And then English, which is different to the town's kids.

-Well, that's going to be wonderful, though, because then they'll know the Maasai language and the Swahili and the English.

-And all those, yeah.

-They can go on from there.

-Thank you!

-Thank you!

Thank you for steppin' out with me in Tanzania, Africa.

It's a thrill to return to Africa and discover Tanzania, an extraordinary piece of the continent.

It's a place where the glory of Africa can be seen in the dawn's distinct glow that suddenly bursts forth into a fiery day.

It's a place where you learn to expect the unexpected and that patience is a highly prized trait to possess.

Tanzania is the songs of a thousand species of birds and the deep grumbles of the lion.

It's the runway elegance of the giraffe, the community of elephants, and the frantic, darting, dodging antics of the gazelle and the impala.

Yet, Tanzania is more than its animals.

It's the ready smile and the easy laugh of its 128 tribes of people and their earnest sharing of their country and themselves.

Where "Hamna shida bowana" -- "No problem, man" -- is a favorite expression.

Much has changed in Tanzania since the days of the "Great White Hunter," for Tanzanians have devised not only how to co-exist with their magnificent creatures, but how, through sustainable and responsible tourism, to protect them, to preserve their habitat, and to benefit from their well-being.

They have given us and those who come after us a gift of their majestic land and inhabitants to enjoy.

I am grateful, and for all of us, I say, asante sana -- thank you very much.

Till we meet again, remember the words of Mark Twain.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.

May your next adventure always be your best.

-"Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out" is made possible by... -Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel in the United States and in more than 100 countries.

From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy, we've introduced adults to places, ideas, and friends.

We are Road Scholar.

We make the world our classroom.

-There's a reason people call Myrtle Beach "The Beach."

There are 60 miles of wide sandy beaches along South Carolina's Grand Strand coast.

This vacation destination has golf courses, attractions, food, wine, and Southern sun.

-For a DVD of any of my "Steppin' Out" adventures or my companion memoir and travel book, "Musings: The Short Happy Pursuit of Pleasure and Other Journeys," call 888-876-3399. order online at josephrosendo.com, or e-mail me at [email protected].

- Mm, mm, mm - Steppin' out -Now that we've stepped out in Tanzania together, learn more at josephrosendo.com, where you can follow my worldwide adventures through my magazine, blog, podcast, and social media.

Stay in touch -- 888-876-3399, or e-mail me at [email protected].

- Steppin' out - Steppin' out Hey!

- Steppin' out -And one for you.

- Steppin' out [ Laughter ] -Yeah!

[ Laughter ] - Steppin' out Steppin' out