The next day we entered the Serengeti National Park at about 10 am. As soon as we got into the park we saw massive herds of Wildebeest covering the whole of the ground you could see. It was the annual migration. (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/tanzania/attractions.htm#serengeti). We drove to a picnic site and on the way saw a couple of lions inside a bush very close. Lots of Zebras also. After our picnic lunch we saw Elephants, a couple of bull Giraffes fighting - banging their heads against each others necks! Wildebeest are a very strange shaped animal with short back legs an [View Full Entry]

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We got up the next day early so we could drive to the Ngorogoro crater. The crater is quite famous as an amazing place to see all the big game of East Africa. (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/tanzania/attractions.htm#ngorongoro) On the way the roads were quite bumpy and after about an hour the Land Rover lost all power going up a hill. We diagnosed the problem that rear wheels were sapping all the power from the differential and I thought there might be a problem with the drive shaft. We found that by locking the differential the front wheels were able to pull the jeep along [View Full Entry]

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We left the next morning on Safari! our guide didn't seem to speak as good English as we were promised (David), but he did seem to be a sweet guy who would be a good guide. This turned out to be true, but there were also some problems ahead. The first day of our Safari was at Lake Manyara. We got there late morning and as soon as we entered the park we saw 3 Elephants - two adults and a baby - crossing a small river just on a hill above the jeep. It was a beautiful sight with the [View Full Entry]

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We left Dar on an early bus to Arusha where we planned to go on Safari. It was a full day on the bus with a short stop for lunch. When we got there I planned to walk around and check out a few places for accommodation. We had heard that things were a bit of a scramble in Arusha until after you purchased a safari since all the touts would be after you big time for the big dollars. We did have a little scuffle at the station, but Rasta Carlos was on hand to lead us to a nice [View Full Entry]

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The train journey was fun. We shared a first class cabin with the Dutch couple and sat eating our dinner together in the dining car at sunset. The next morning we got up and watched some giraffes and baboons as the train went through a national park. It was a pleasant journey except for the obligatory stop at 1am for all the locals on the train and at a station to shout loudly and move around lots. Dar es Salaam has quite a lot of mosques and muslims as well as places to eat out and has been great so far. [View Full Entry]

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We headed out of Malawi which was a very relaxed place to stay by the beautiful lake and into Tanzania. We didn't make the border in one day from Ngata bay so ended up stopping for a night at the border with a couple of Americans on the same combi as us. After finding and guesthouse in the dark they lent us some lanterns and we got some great rice, beans and beer form a local restaurant. We changed some money with the guesthouse owners friends and got an early night - a little earlier than the two american girls who [View Full Entry]

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At Ngata bay we bumped into Damian and Lucy again which was great. Ngata bay was a nice little town on the lake so we stopped there for 3 nights where we got a hut right next to the water which was great for reading and playing rummy. Kristen thought she had me stitched up like a kipper untill I worked out she was in the lucky seat and got some points back after a switcheroo. [View Full Entry]

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After Lilongwe we travelled up to Kande beach which was on the shores of Lake Malawi. We caught the first combi from the local market and I got my pocket picked for the first time in my life. I felt my cheap - ready for stealing - sunglasses leave my pocket but I was paying the taxi driver and holding my packs so there wasn't much I could do. I didn't see anyone when I looked around. After about 5 hours on the combi we were supposed to change for another in Dwangwa but the guys on the bus offered us [View Full Entry]

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On the bus to Chipata we chatted to a lovely Zambian called Foster who was surprize visiting her sister. She had travelled quite a bit with the Zambian bowls team and it was a very enjoyable chat. At the Malawi border - a short taxi ride from Chipata we scored and got a ride all the way to our backpackers in Lilongwe - the capital - from an overlanders bus. The backpackers - Kiboko - was great and we stayed there for 3 days playing the local game - bau and other games with the prople we met there. We met [View Full Entry]

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After Livingstone we took a coach to Lusaka the capital. We checked into Chachacha backpackers in Lusaka after a day on the bus and they cooked us a great dinner. The next morning we walked into the town center to change some travellers checks and had many many problems since we didn't have the sales receipt on us - something that you never need in Asia, and we hadn't needed before. So we walked around very hungry for too long and then changed the small amount of US $ we had in our pockets so we could get breakfast, photos for [View Full Entry]

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