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Published: July 24th 2010
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Island defences
We snuck in through the "back port".. Zanzibar
We left the campsite by the beach at the crack of dawn (nothing new here...anything after 5am was now considered a sleep in!) in order to catch the ferry. It was a fairly calm crossing which took just under 2 hours to get to
Stonetown where we would spend our first night. Just after our arrival a group of us went on a Spice Tour - something the island is famous for, as well as being a vital part of the slave trade in Africa. The tour took us around to some of the main attractions of the town, including seeing the tiny dark cells the slaves were kept in before being shipped off in boats. We then had tea and some unusual local fruit before trying a series of different spices straight from the trees they grew on! We were then all presented with hats and necklaces/ties for women/men made out of flax before sitting down for lunch. We then went back to watch New Zealand play Slovakia in the World Cup in the local bar.
That night
disaster struck. Cath woke up first and started vomiting in the bathroom (thank god we had an ensuite!) then
Slave trade
Not much fun Brent was up 20 minutes later with the same. With Cath going at both ends all night and Brent at one - I'll spare you the details but the ensuite was WELL used - we were both a wreck by the morning. No one else had been sick and Brent and I had eaten differently that evening so it couldn't be food poisoning, more like a 24 hour virus. Unfortunately we had to get on a 2 hour bus at 10am to get up to our next destination for the next two nights at the beach.
Unfortunately we were too sick the first day to make it out of our room although we did have a lovely little beach chalet with ensuite and four poster bed - guess there are worse places to be ill! The next morning we were feeling much better and able to enjoy the beach - which was about a 2 minute walk away down some stairs. We spent the day swimming in the ocean, lazing about with our books and had a lovely group meal in a restaurant at night. Also time to get some much needed laundry done - hurrah!
It was
Making camp
Sleeping conditions had worsened since the Serengeti a lovely little break for some battery recharging and some time off sitting on a bus - sorry truck. The next morning it was back to Stonetown for a bit more shopping time then back on the ferry. The afternoon crossing was horrendus - as you were going against the tide it made the boat really really choppy. It was an ominous sign when multiple numbers of sick bags were handed out to each passenger. Cath managed for quite a while before giving in after hearing loads of people around her throwing up which set her off. Even Brent who doesn't normally get seasick, wasn't a happy camper, but proved he was a man and did not spew!
We arrived back to our campsite in
Dar Es Salaam to a drama unfolding. Patrick, our driver, had come down with a type of conjunctivitis while we were away (apparently there was loads of it about in the town) and could not drive. Later that night our other driver Albert was diagnosed with
Malaria (!!). None of the tour guides take anti-malarials as they were always in malaria zones and you can't take the medicatio for long periods of time. Marietjie
Island Paradise
Can we stay please? had contracted malaria not long ago and she had been told by the doctor in Zanzibar that it was a kidney infection. When Albert went to the doctor in Zanzibar and was told the same thing she immediately tested him again when we got back to the truck. The truck carries a testing kit and anti-malarial drugs, so instead of hospital, Albert carried on the truck with us. However, it was down to Marietjie to do the driving! We had a quick check around the group if anyone could drive a truck just incase anything were to happen to her! Thankfully all went smoothly and the next day after a 12 hour drive we arrived in our campsite in
Mikimi National Park.
Lake Malawi
The next day was another early start (up at 4.30am) and another long day driving. After the thrills of the game parks, we now had A LOT of ground to cover to get over to Victoria Falls. Unfortunately this meant getting up at 4.30am, driving for about 10 hours, setting up camp, having dinner and showers and hopping into bed! We managed to amuse ourselves okay on the long days on the bus -
Malawi
View from our beach chalet there's music going non-stop thanks to the truck DJ for the day. We also got through a lot of books and packets of chips (crisps to those readers from the UK). The only stops are when someone needs to the bush toilet and we all jump out - men on one side of the road, women on the other, and then have a quick stretch before jumping back on. By now Cath was well proficient in the art of squatting in the bush!
We stayed the night at
Iringa near the border with Malawi and the next day made the border crossing and drove to
Chitimba. The next day was a few hours of driving to our campsite for the next three nights at Kande Beach. It was quite unusual staying in the shores of Lake Malawi because it looked just like the ocean. The Lake is so vast and there are waves breaking onshore just like a beach, the only difference being its fresh water and not salt water, so you are not as buoyant in the water.
During the drive to
Kande Beach we had stopped at a clothing market to pick out an outfit for
Cath & Greg
Playing a few games by the bar another person in the group to wear to a dress up party we were having that night. Marietjie must have phoned ahead because the men had bags and bags of the WORST looking clothes filled with tight leopard print all set to go. I think I was quite lucky with my outfit - I was kitted out as a "Spacegirl" with a shirt sparkly miniskirt and matching armbands and a spacecadet type top. Brent on the other hand was not so lucky in his short skimpy pink shorts and matching tight pink top. Although he was far far from the worst...! Let's think purple netted mankini and leave it at that!! We had a good BBQ dinner on campfire coals and toasted marshmellows before heading to the bar for a party.
Orphanage
The next day the group visited the local orphanage to spend some time with the kids. Unfortunately Malawi has been badly affected by the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Africa, which has had a devastating effect on the middle generation. So many children are now being brought up by their grandparents. It's sad to see so many orphanages all over Malawi as you drive through. Part of
Tana
We spent a fair few hours in here the work this orphanage does is to give a place for the smaller kids to go in the morning, get some food and schooling before returning home in the afternoon. The kids are aged 3 to 5 years old. They have tea in the early morning and a bowl of porridge mid morning. They also learn the basic skills of sitting still, taking direction, and some english. We first joined them in a room and watched them sing a few songs which they use to learn English such as the days of the week, months, and the introduction song where they state their name, gender, where they are from and their age. We then went outside to play some games with them and then had free time - which was mostly spent playing soccer or one by one picking up a kid in turn - my big hips were put to good use, especially on the heavier 5 year olds!
On return to the campsite Brent & I decided to check out the beach chalets availble at the site and for US$14 a night decided to get out of our tent for a couple of nights as a treat.
Home sweet home
Clean your feet before entering.. The chalet had a simple double bed and table and mosquito net but you could hear the sound of the waves crashing on the shore all night. After another day of relaxation it was on the road again, this time heading for our end destination of
Victoria Falls.
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