Quinnthefinn

Tuesday 15th February Harriet had asked us before whether we wanted to go to the mnada earlier in the day and cut our Akie visit short, but we had declined as we were not particularly interested in seeing the animal slaughter which was taking place in the morning. We would miss some of the commerce and most of the cattle and goat selling, but the Akie visit more than made up for that. There would still be lots going on at the market in the afternoon and Harriet especially wanted us to eat some goat meat which could be bought and to meet a friend of hers called Mr Moita, who, although he is not old in years, is a Maasai elder and would show us around the market. Mr Moita spotted us immediately when we ... read more

Monday 14th February After a feverish night I swallowed some paracetamol and got up early. The morning sun was shining through the flimsy curtain, and there were African morning sounds coming from outside; chickens, dogs barking in the distance, askaris talking softly to each other. Harriet had left breakfast for us as she had gone briefly to her office, which is just walking distance from her house. We ate breakfast outside on the veranda, bacon, eggs and toast. Harriet’s houseboy Charles was in the kitchen cooking food for Dessie and the cats. We liked Charles immediately, he was a gentle person with a lovely smile. He absolutely adores the animals, and would miss Dessie I think more than anyone else when the family leave. The kittens had an eye infection and he would painstakingly put ointment ... read more

Saturday 12th February Even though it must have been a late night for Harriet and Jon-Erik, they were up bright and early - how do they do it? ‘Knock, knock’ came the wake-up call on our door and we had to leave those soft beds. Today was Jon-Erik’s birthday, so we had a present prepared for him to open at the breakfast table. We all trouped downstairs and sang Happy Birthday for him, and luckily our teen-agers did not have to cringe with embarrassment as we were the only ones in the restaurant. He had quite a few presents and we gave him a pedometer to measure how far he walks and how many steps he takes. After a shower we were ready for our beach day. I had always gone north of the Msasani Peninsula ... read more

Wednesday 9th February We got up again fairly early; there just wasn’t time for any lie-ins on this holiday. I had decided that I had to get back to Emslies Travel as I was sure Shafiq was working there and I really wanted to meet him. I realized that we both had been at ISM at the same time in 1977-78, but I couldn’t remember him. I wanted yet again to thank him for starting our ISM alumni group web site which has given us so much pleasure this last year. The plan for this day was to go and see a snake park which was situated along the Arusha road, not too far from the Mount Meru Game Sanctuary where I had spent a lot of time in my youth. Harriet wanted to pop in ... read more

Monday 7th February Sleeping in these semi permanent tents is great. You get the feeling of being under canvas but it still feels safe and secure as there is a proper roof and a raised floor. The tents at Kisima Ngeda had very comfortable beds, unlike the ones we used to have in Mikumi National Park, when we stayed at that camp in the 70s. We adored this camp and there was always lots of wildlife right around the tents. But the beds were terrible and there was perhaps a little too much wildlife inside as well. I don't mind the bats and I can handle mice running over my sheets, but beetles, cockroaches and centipedes sharing your bed are more difficult to accept! We had breakfast at 8 am as usual. Another glorious morning with ... read more