An Unexpected Game Drive Through Mikumi National Park En Route to Our Camp

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Distance Travelled Today: 393 km (ferry and truck)
Elapsed Travel Time: 11 hours 11 min (ferry and truck)
Lodging for the Night: Tan-Swiss Campground

Today we had another early start. We left the hotel for breakfast at 5:30 so we could catch the 7:00 am ferry from Zanzibar back to Dar on the mainland. The ferry was about 2 hours on a high speed catamaran that traveled at 28 knots. We were late getting to the ferry, so we had to queue with the general public, and we were only able to get seats on the top deck. It was a nice morning, so that was not a problem at all. There wasn't enough space for us all to sit in the chairs on the deck, so Elysia sat on the ground in the front with other locals. It was actually pretty comfy down there! Masivu also sat on the ground with her, and he had trouble opening the clips of his bag, so he invested in Mike's help. Mike was able to open the bag, but Masivu left for a bit because he was feeling a bit sea sick, so Mike and Matt decided to play a trick on him and jam up both buckles again so that he would be confused when he tried to open his bag again! We thought it was funny anyways... and Masivu has a sense of humour so it wasn't a big deal.

Once we reached Dar es Salaam we met up with the overland truck (didn't have to take the second ferry thankfully) and drove about 7 hours to Ruaha River where we stayed at the Tan-Swiss campsite.

On the way to the campsite, the road took us through Mikumi National Park. Stopping to view game while driving through the park is prohibited and punishable by a fine because the government wants everyone that views game in the park to pay the entrance fees for the park. Since we were passing through the park, we did not need to pay the entrance fee (which is why we could not stop). If motorists hit any wild animals while driving along the highway they must also pay a fine. The fine for hitting and killing a baboon is $500 US. For a buffalo it is $10,000 and for an elephant the fine is $15,000. These punishments are far less than for poaching but poaching is still a problem. In Kenya, for example, a person caught with a weapon in a National Park will be shot on sight. In the park we saw zebras, giraffes, buffalo, elephants, wildebeest, monkeys and baboons. And that was just from the highway while driving along!

The campsite was nice and the facilities were great. It was Mike's day to help cook so Elysia set up our camp while he cooked. Dinner was a delicious chicken curry. We headed to bed early because we have to leave early again tomorrow.

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Photos

Elephants in the park
We didn't stop, but we did take pictures as we drove!

View from the restaurant in Stone Town
After the sun came up

This is the ferry we took in the morning on the day we went to Zanzibar.
Pretty crowded, and almost looks seaworthy!