June 24, 2016

Location: Africa, Disney's Animal Kingdom

Two weeks ago today, three of my friends and myself went on the Wild Africa Trek. It was my second time on the amazing backstage experience and I noticed a few additions since the first time I did it back in 2011. One of my favorite details that was added throughout the hiking portion was this map:

While the map does depict the many places guests travel past on Kilimanjaro Safaris, I found it quite interesting that we finally could see the names of the various locations we pass while on safari! As with everything else in Harambe, the names of locations are all typically Swahili. Let's take a closer look starting with the right side of the map:

While at first you may notice the majority of the names here are ones we are already familiar with (Research Center, Underwater Obersvation, Savannah Overlook, Gorilla Outpost), there's one that we have seen several times in the past that some people may not know the translation for: Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Pangani is Swahili for Enchanted meaning the actual name of the trail is the Enchanted Forest Exploration Trail.

Slight above and to the left of the Underwater Observation is a sign which reads Mtafiti Camps. Mtafiti is Swahili for Researcher meaning this is where the researchers for the reserve stay over night. To the left of that we se the Safi River which is mentioned quite often on Kiliminjaro Safaris. Safi stands for clean meaning clean river, while my personal favorite translation is for Kiboko Trail with Kiboko meaning Hippopotamus. The hippo, obviously, is the animal which can be seen along the trail.

The other side of the map looks like this:

On the bottom portion of this map is the Ukungu Forest which is towards the start of the Kilimanjaro Safari. Ukungu means fog making this the Fog or Foggy Forest. The Hippo Research Outpost is located at Hatari Bend. Hatari means risky. Right around the corner is where the Nile Crocodile live which, as we learned from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, is a risky animal to be above.

Heading towards Hatari Bend on foot is Mamba Trail. Mamba means crocodiles, again paying tribute to the animal guests can see from that vantage point. The bridge guests pass by vehicle is known as Serikali Bridge. Interestingly enough, Serikali means Government. The bridge is a lot more stable than a lot of the other bridges in the area, so according to the storyline, it was most likely put in by the government and the government would want the people to know that they were the ones who put it in.

The final location on the map is Jimbi Forest, the final woodsy area before making your way to the savannah. Jimbi means Fern making this the Fern Forest. While not all the names are extremely clever, they do all pay tribute to the portion of the Wild Africa Trek or Kilimanjaro Safari that guests are passing at that moment while helping bridge the connection to the land of Harambe a little better.

Below is a video from our Wild Africa Trek adventure. Until next time, Asante Sana (Thank you very much)!