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Published: June 13th 2008
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We bought Tanzanian visas at the border, bad luck for Americans we paid $100 but it was multiple entry, would have been good if I plan to come back.. the rest gets single entry for $50. Drove past tea plantations through lush hills, lots of veggies planted, the soil here seems to be very fertile, it is quite cold as well, it is the Tanzanian highlands, bush camped for the night, same scenery the next day, stopped at Iringa for lunch at the gas station then moved on crossed quickly through Mikumi National park then just outside on the other end we bush camped, we saw lots of animals while driving through as usual. I began packing for our trip to Zanzi to make it easier for me. We drove to Dar es Salaam the next day, crowded city, we stopped near the harbor, as Di took care of our ferry tickets we try to find Barclays to draw money and success! then headed to a mall for lunch, had some pizza and Jack and I tried the grilled corn sold in the streets. Long drive to get to the campsite they used to take the ferry to the other side
of town but the ferries are not safe for trucks anymore so we have to go around took a good hour at least. arrived at Mikadi campsite finally, tired and ready for bed, i showered, had meal and we planned on how to hide our money while in Zanzi as we emptied the safe to make sure we dont get robbed while away. Very early start, packed up our tent the next morning then waited for the taxis, took forever and then we have to walk anyway because it was bad traffic, we crossed to the other side again by ferry then another taxi to the port for the Zanzi ferry, quite hectic but made it just in time! 7:15 i think was check in time we just made it. The trip was 2 hours, smooth sailing, bit rainy we sat outside on the top deck. Arriving in Stonetown have to get through immigration again then Ali our "guide" lead us to our hotel in town it was a maze, i wonder how i get out of this narrow streets. Went to town for lunch and just chill, no electricity in the whole island it broke a week before we
arrived and will take apparently as the locals told us months to fix so they power establishments with generators, our room is quite big four bed but just me and Craig a ceiling fan, en suite toilet for $20 per person a day is steep for us but we have no choice, it was booked for us by Di.
Next day we did the spice tour, this i enjoyed immensely despite being ripped off by Ali he charged us $18 but in town you can get a tour for at least $10 i think a person. Anyway drove we did to this plantation and were shown fruits trees and spices in the island most of which we have in the Philippines, quite entertaining, one guy climb up the coconut tree singing and performing for us then we had coconut juice to drink, and the meat was good as well. My favorite spice is cardamum and now i know how the plant looks like. When it was over we were hounded by kids wanting money and we were in a way forced to give tips to the guides who showed us the plants. Drove back to town for lunch, the
kingfish fried with pilao rice is delicious. We gathered our things and we drove to Nungwi beach where we stay for 3 nights. Oh we also tried the seafood night market, but it was small, as the Park it usually is held is being renovated. octopus, crab claws, delish but quite expensive!
I had this impression of Zanzi as a tropical paradise long stretch of wide beaches all but the beachfront now is covered with newly built hotels, very congested so close to the water, the beaches are in pockets between private hotels and you can only walk through it at low tide otherwise go around past the hotels, quite annoying. Since power is scarce not all that is in the menu in restaurants are available, no fridge means they cant store food, the beach was nice though, powdery white sand, emerald green water, fantastic only if they did not overdevelop it. Snorkelled one day in a dhow boat,we booked it with the hote l we are staying, called Amaan lodge because it is $5 cheaper than Ali's!! he's a thief in my opinion!! Snorkelling was good but took us 2 hours almost to get to this private island
which we are not allowed to step on, just snorkel around it among the corals, the water is quite deep so it was very difficult to be close to the fish so i dived down a lot and we saw an octopus and stone fish among other things, there are shallow parts of course but not as much fish as in the deeper water, i dont know why, Then off to lunch at a beach we wer served fish but not enough for me. The return trip we used the sail a few of us got sea sick and I was wobbly when I stepped on the beach again, had a swim and felt better. Buffet seafood dinner we had that night was not all you can eat, they ran out quickly so for $10 not worth it except the grilled tuna fish was really good the only consolation, everyone got grossed out at me picking on the tuna head, eating the eyes and cheeks, but I didnt care that was the best part if only they know. Our room was very nice but power is cut of at 11pm so we full blast the aircon before we head out
to dinner and bar hopping. A few of us got stomach flu i think from all the food we ate there in restaurants, they have no refrigeration so some might have served us bad food we did not notice, i ordered prawns the day we are to leave and it was massive! finished them all as Chris and Andy looke in horror while I picked through the prawn heads!! The ride back to Dar was not fun big waves and Jack and Brian got drenched from where they were sitting, I took 2 tablets of dramamine and gave some to Craig and Mark as well. I was fine but when we arrived while at the port i felt queasy, made it back to Mikadi campsite feeling ill I had a quick chicken barbecue dinner then off to bed.
Next day 6am left to get to Arusha a long 14 hour drive!!
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