Advertisement
Published: June 29th 2008
Edit Blog Post
From 26th May we drove for three days (one more than we expected) to Dar es Salaam on the coast of Tanzania. The scenery when we first entered Tanzania was out of this world. It was all uphill (hence why it took 3 days) through tropical rainforest, although there wasn't much of that left as most of the land had been cultivated with tropical fruit trees and crops. As we drove higher and higher, over 2000m, it very cold and we were sat on the truck with our jumpers and fleece blankets wrapped around us! At the higher altitudes tea was being grown and we saw all the ladies in the fields picking the leaves with their babies strapped to their backs. We bush camped lower down that night so it wasn't so cold. On the second day we drove through Baobab Valley (Baobab is an odd looking African tree - see photos) which was scattered, funny enough, with Baobab trees. Again, the terrain was hilly and the scenery gorgeous, which past the time quickly. Late afternoon we had to pass through Mikumi NP where we saw elephants, zebras and giraffes roaming around. We bushcamped just outside the gates of the
park that night and two of the park wardens came and sat with us in the evening and shared dinner. We woke up to find that they'd stayed there all night to 'protect us'! On the third day we made it into Dar es Salaam by lunch time, a day later than expected, and had lunch there and organized our ferry tickets to Zanzibar for the following day.
Our campsite for the night was outside the city and you used to be able to take the truck across the mouth of the river on a 5 min ferry but that has now stopped as the ferry is nearly falling apart! So instead we had to drive a 25km round trip which took 2 hours in rush hour!
Zanzibar: a spice island off the mainland of Tanzania with beautiful white sandy beaches and pristine coral reefs = rest and relaxation.
We spent five days on the island of Zanzibar. Two days of that were spent in the old town part of the island known as Stone Town. Lots of little alleyways and interesting old buildings (mixture of Arabic and Indian influences) to explore and lots of little shops
for gifts and souvenirs to be bought! On the second day we went on a spice and town tour which took in the historical sites of an old slave market, an Anglican Cathedral built in 1870s, an old Sultans Palace and the Old Fort, we then drove to a spice plantation for a taster of the spices and to see how they are grown - an ancient business in Zanzibar. The last three days were spent up in the north of the island in Nungwi. A lovely little fishing village with white sandy beaches and turquoise waters. Dee, our tour leader said it has undergone a lot of development since she was last here 4 years ago - no wonder I didn't think it was as unspoilt as I expected. It was still very relaxing though and some of us went on a snorkelling trip to Mnemba Atoll in a traditional sailing boat known as a dhow. The coral reefs were amazing and the fish were of so many different colours. Some people went diving (I couldn't afford it this time) and saw dolphins and turtles! In the evenings we went out of meals and drinks on the beaches.
The ferry crossing back to Dar on 2nd June was not as calm as the inbound journey, we all stocked up on sea sickness tablets, fortunately none of us were ill. That evening we stayed at the same campsite as before as that was where we'd left the truck whilst on Zanzibar. That night I started feeling very ill, I had a very high fever and aching limbs - I didn't sleep a wink.
The 3rd June was our longest driving day yet (15 hours) and I spent most of it asleep on the beach of the truck (the flat viewing platform at the front), apparently it was a beautiful drive through karst landscapes. I was feeling so rough with fever and stomach cramps, it was possible I had malaria as Zanzibar has a bad reputation for high counts of malaria cases. So the following day when we arrived in Arusha, a town in the north of Tanzania, I went for a blood test at the hospital (an interesting experience in itself!), it came back negative for malaria (what a relief) and typhoid. The doctor thought it might be salmonella or a severe stomach bug, so he gave me
lots of medication for that. Whilst I was at the hospital the others went to a Maasai Village and a snake park, a shame I missed the Maasai's as they were in their traditional dress and did some dancing.
A couple of hours drive from Arusha to our next destination, Karatu, for visiting the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti NP. The following day on 5th June we were suppose to visit the Ngorongoro Crater, one of the largest calderas in the world (20km wide) with a high concentration of wildlife and Maasai grazing rights, but our local fixer had booked the game drive vehicals and permits for the next day so instead and just as well, as I was still feeling crook we had a chill out day at the camp and some went into the local town. Finally on 6th June we entered the Ngorongoro Conservation Area early and spent the morning driving around spotting wildlife. The crater scenery was stunning and there were loads of animals especially zebras, wilderbeast and flamingoes! We saw a cheetah and a pair of lions too! We had lunch by the side of a lake where hippos were resting and grunting whilst they
squirted water everywhere. Soon after lunch we were told it was time to leave the crater and head back to camp but we all knew this was not suppose to be the case, we had another 3 hours to drive around. When we got back to the camp early our tour leader Dee went mental for the guides bringing us back early. We subsequently found out that they didn't usually work for the company who had organised our game drives, and they obviously just wanted to get home early! So the tour company who we had booked with offered a complimentary cultural visit to a local village and a buffet lunch the next day. Sounded alright to me and signed up immediately, especially as I was on the mend. Kirsten and I were the only two who fancied the village tour, we had a fantastic time hearing about the history of the area and the different tribes who have lived there and also about choosing the right person to marry, the wedding dress symbolisation, and various houses that have been built over the years - really fascinating. We all met up for the buffet lunch at a restaurant in the
town of Karatu, again very good, although all the roast potatoes had been eaten by the time I went to get some!
We spent the next two and a half days pretty much driving into Rwanda to Kigali, the capital.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.07s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 30; dbt: 0.0362s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb