Overview
The Hadzabe cultural and hunting experience: The Hadza (or Hadzabe) are an indigenous tribe of Northern Tanzania. They live around Lake Eyasi in the Central Rift valley and in the neighboring Serengeti Plateau. Genetically, these people are not closely related to any other people. Additionally, they have their own unique ‘click’ language. This is actually one of the oldest languages that is still in use today. Also, the Hadzabe are descendants of Tanzania‘s original hunter-gatherer population and are likely to have occupied their territory for thousands of years with relatively little change to their way of life.
The way of life of the Hadzabe Tribe
The Hadza are very experienced hunters and foragers who have always passed down their skills and techniques. They hunt with homemade bows and arrows and are experts at capturing their prey. These people live on a varied diet of roots, berries, honey and a variety of different animals including porcupines, hyrax and many types of birds. They do not store their food and only hunt for what they need on a daily basis.
More to that, the Hadzabe are nomadic and live in temporary huts. When they decide to continue with their movement, they usually take only what they can carry. Also, they move according to the seasons and where the hunting is best.
The Hadzabe Tribe still hunt with bows and arrows for wild animals and gather insects, fruits and honey from the bush. These people are one of the last remaining hunter-gatherers in Africa and entirely depend on the land for their survival. Just as in the Stone Age, like our ancestors did for thousands of years.
The Hadzabe cultural and hunting experience: An exceptional safari highlight
If you decide to visit the Hadzabe community, you will be able to get first hand experience of their culture, habitat and way of life. Expect to go with the Bushman on a hunting trip early in the morning. Learn how they make fire and prepare their food. In the afternoon you will visit a market where the Hadze trade their honey, fruits and other things for knives, arrows and spears that the Datoga silver-smiths make. This cultural activity is absolutely a memorable experience and worth the time (between 3 to 4 hours).
A 3 Days Hadzabe Cultural and hunting safari itinerary with Pamoja Tours and Travel
Day 1
You can follow this itinerary even after another safari experience in Tanzania or drive straight from Arusha. The Hadzabe cultural experience will begin by leaving the main road at Karatu, which is a town on the outskirts of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. You will then continue on a dirt road towards Lake Eyasi, passing through a few villages with thatched mud huts, not forgetting the coffee farms along the way. At the border of the Conservation Area, you will find settlements of the Hadzabe Tribe.
On arrival, you will find your light weight camp ready. It would have been set up by a camp crew that would have gone ahead of you. The camp will be somewhere near the Hadza Camp. After settling in, you may go to the Hadzabe camp to interact with them and maybe join in any activity that will be taking place in that time. Lastly, you will return to your camp for the night.
Day 2
For those who might be interested, this day will begin really early because they will have to join the Hadza as they head out for their hunting expedition. Depending on the hunters’ luck and the abundance of game out in the wild, the hunting may take up to 4 hours. You will move with one of our professional tour guides during the adventure, so in the event that you are worn out by the hunting, you can easily return to the camp.
After a successful hunt, the Hadza will prepare a meal out of their catch and share it with you. You will spend the rest of the day with the tribe as you take part in their various day to day activities. Some of them may include collecting tubers and edible berries and learning about the medicinal uses of various plants. It will be thrilling to find out about the plants which they use to make the poison that can kill bigger wild animals.
Additionally, you may go on an expedition following the honey guide bird to collect honey from a wild hive or make more arrows or even visit the special tree where the bow wood is sourced. Having made arrows you could try your hand at archery.
Later in the evening, you will get an opportunity to watch the Hadza dances and you can join in if you like. You will then return to your camp for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3
This is will be your last day with the Hadzabe people. You will say farewell to them. Then, you will drive on across the lowlands at the head of the vast soda lake to reach the foot of the rift escarpment. Here a very steep road leads up the escarpment up to the edge of the Serengeti plains. You will continue to the Ngorongoro Highlands where you will check into your lodge for dinner and overnight rest.
Conclusion
The Hadzabe cultural and hunting experience is exceptional and worth every moment. Book your safari with Pamoja Tours and Travel and get a chance to experience the true Hadzabe magic. We offer safari packages in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Let us transform your safari dreams into a reality!
