Blogs from Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa - page 11

Our volunteering wrapped up almost a week ago now, and since then we have been doing quite a bit of traveling. Unfortunately a lot of these computers do not have USB ports (or at least none that I can see), so the pictures will have to wait until we can get them up on facebook. Last Saturday we left very early in the morning for Arusha to meet up with our Safari company. There were two other guys in our safari car; one from Texas who had just finished climbing kili, and another from Korea who could barely speak a word of English. The first day we were in Lake Manyara, and didnt see anything too crazy besides black giraffe. I've never heard of a black giraffe before, and when I saw one in the distance ... read more

May 13th The destination was Mnemba Island, very small atoll off the coast of Zanzibar. The island is and surrounding waters are part of a marine preservation and so it is ideal for scuba divers and snorkelers. We got on the boat around 9:30am and made our way up the coast to Nungwi Beach, where Nicio, Justin and our instructor Deus were to be picked up, along with our lunch for the day. It was raining cats and dogs for the pickup and the beginning of the trip, but luckily the rains don’t last long in the rainy season and by the time we made it to Mnemba it was peace and sunshine. We got our BCD’s (buoyancy control devices, the vest that holds the air tank and also inflates) ready along with our wetsuits and ... read more

May 10th We said our goodbyes to Xuxa, Rachael and Nico in the morning after tea and toast. It was a shame they were going to another part of the island, we had such a good time together and everyone got along well! Oh well, c’est la vie, right? After departing from the Safari Lodge, Justin, Nicio, Wendy, Cameron and I jumped in our taxi to head to the north side of the island and get some beach and snorkel time. The drive took about an hour and a half and it passed by fast. The scenery was great and it was cool to think about what the island was like six hundred years ago. We got dropped off at the Sunset Hotel and Bungalows, and we didn’t need to go any further, this place was ... read more

'Antsy' in Tanzania I have a confession to make. I'm losing the blog spirit somewhat. (You may have noticed... it's been long enough since my last installment). And really there isn't actually that much to tell. I mean I've driven around northern Tanzania, spent a few fabulous days on Zanzibar, meandered my way through southern Tanzania to 'the lake' and have now spent 3 weeks (!) in Malawi, but (and I think this is key really), I haven't actually been doing very much. In fact if you discount the standard trappings of the beach bum life-style, I've been doing more or less nothing at all - enjoyable certainly (don't think I'm complaining!), but not exactly the makings of a riveting web log. In any case, I'll give you a rough outline of my route and share ... read more

Finally we've reached a stretch of the tour where I have time and access to t'internet (currently in Stonetown on Zanzibar, just off the coast of Tanzania). So I'll make the most of it and give you an update on week one of the trip. So far the trip has been Nairobi (Kenya), Arusha, Dar Es Salaam & Zanzibar (all Tanzania) taking about 10 days. Over the next few days we head down towards Lake Malawi. Starting out from Kenya was hectic, learning about the truck, the requirements, the stuff we need to do, the tents, the cooking equipment and, most importantly, about the fellow travellers. There are 23 passengers, a tour guide and a driver, which means there are a few spare seats in the back, but not many! Very quickly we negotiated our first ... read more

Sorry it's been sooo long! The last two weeks of my trip flew by as I did and saw so much. This entry is on my trip to Zanzibar and then I will follow-up with my trip to Northern Tanzania and my Safari adventure. I am probably going to write one more as a reflection because I am actually already home safe, but didn't want to leave you all hanging. So Zanzibar... After a few more days of volunteering, teaching english at the nursery school and playing soccer at orphanage, I was literally melting away at Bahari Beach (where I am). I can't even describe to you how hot it is here; you are literally always wet and sticky with sweat (it's great for my skin). As the weekend approached I planned to journey over to ... read more

Most safaris start with a flight, usually a Boeing from London or Amsterdam, or perhaps and Airbus. Ours started with a Czech made Let410 and ended with a similar aircraft. And instead of taking a day or a night, it took 35 minutes, a night and 90 minutes. So somethings don't change when you are going on Safari! Living in Pemba Island makes mainland Tanzania a close destination, and yet it had been some time since we had been on a Safari. And so we climbed into a Toyota Minibus and bounced through the primeval rain forest that divides the north of Pemba, and onto the tarmac 9 miles later at Konde. Here Mohameddie (known far and wide as “Eddie”) drove us sedately past the fields and villages of Pemba to Chake Chake’s airstrip. The ... read more