Jambo Habari! We have had another full on 3 weeks overlanding through Tanzania and Kenya with favourite destinations including Zanzibar, Usambara Mountains in Lushoto, camping at the base of Mt Kilimanjaro, safaris in Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Nakuru National Park.
AHHHHHHHHH..... ZANZIBAR: Ever thought that the Interislander Ferry in the middle of a southerly was bad? The ferry between Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar would definitely give it a run for its money. We both felt a little dodgy and only just got to the other side without feeding the fish. After exploring ancient Stonetown and its surrounding plantations, we headed north to Zanzibar’s famous beaches. Outside of lazing on the beach, the occasional cocktail and beach football with the locals, we dived for the first time since gaining our PADI dive certification in Thailand. The two dives off Maemea Island were not quite as tropical as Thailand but were a good test of our beginner dive skills. We returned to the beach at the end of the day to find that two Aussie lads from our truck had discovered that for a just a few Tanzanian Shillings, you could purchase a wheelbarrow full of beers (30) covered in ice. What a great way to transport your icy cool beverage up and down the beach.
AMANI CHILDRENS HOME: Our visit to the Amani Children’s Home in Arusha was very special. The home emphasises providing social and actual orphans with a safe place to stay and an education and we were both really impressed with its operation. Consequently at the end of our time in Africa, we have decided to volunteer at Amani for 10 days so that we can give something back to a continent that has given us so much. Watch this space.
THE BIG FIVE: No visit to Africa is complete without spotting the big five (buffalos, elephants, lions, leopards and rhinos) as well as hippos, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras and many various antelopes and birds. Unsurprisingly, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Nakuru National Parks are perfect for this. Our best animal spotting moments included watching: A leopard 15 metres up a tree eating a antelope it had dragged up there (particularly as we had just spent 45 minutes staring at grass while trying to spot a cheetah) ; A female lion stalking zebras whilst 2 male lions slept and pruned themselves. After giving up on her prey, the female marched over to the males and slapped them; A cheetah walking along the side of the road as we were leaving Serengeti National Park. Not only were we not expecting to see anymore animals at that stage but we were able to watch the cheetah wander around and drink at a watering hole without anybody else around; An excited male elephant running around, making all the males on our trip feel inadequate as it dragged its “member” across the ground; and Engaging in staring matches with countless giraffes who were just as curious about us as we were about them.
SAFARI ETIQUETTE: Not all people seem to be able to follow the guidelines advised when watching wild animals (especially the one about making as little noise as possible). Various faux pas included a family chanting “lion lion lion” loudly to try and arouse a couple of lazy male lions from their sleep; A jeep driver honking his horn over and over because his clients didn’t want to watch a leopard, preferring instead to get to a nearby campsite for dinner; and A tour leader using a very loud megaphone to make sure that his clients could hear what he was saying about the animals we were trying to quietly watch.
FOODBANK ON WHEELS: While on the truck, our lunch stops are often unavoidably on the side of the road or other public areas. As you can imagine, this unfortunately draws attention from hungry locals curious as to what the Mzungu(Swahili for foreigner) are doing and whether there will be leftovers. This normally ends favourably for all, with us giving the locals food (particularly the children) and playing a game or two of football.
As we write this, we are starting the final leg of our overlanding trip, heading into Uganda and Rwanda to spot chimpanzees and gorillas plus tame the Nile River.
Till next time, take care,
Love Rodney and Kirsty.
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