Christmas In Paradise

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Four Days To Paradise

The bus journey from Mbeya to Dar was long and tiring but gave us a unique view of Tanzania all the way from the Southern Highlands right down to the coastal plains. Leaving Mbeya in thick mountain fog at 7am (the first time since arriving in Africa that "7am" has really meant 7am - the irate Scandanavian Line bus driver blasting his horn at us as we casually sat eating chapatis and sipping spiced chai in the bus depot breakfast bar) we stormed through towns, the almost constant descent helping the crazed driver hit impossible speeds as he passed lorries and other coaches on the brows of hills and blind bends - not possible to sleep on this 12 hour bus journey.


Leapfrogging the rival coach company to try and fill the final spaces just added to the excitement as we continued our descent through the mist and rain. Vast plains opened up as we headed towards Iringa and continued through landscapes which reminded me of Snowdonia. . . only with bananas growing below the boulder-strewn slopes. The recent heavy rains had left their mark as streams and rivers had obviously scoured the neighbouring fields of crops and plastic bags flapped in trees where the flood waters had dumped them.

We followed the chocolate brown rivers from the plains and down through forested gorges as baboons stared at the coach and flinched at the constant horn-sounding as our driver decided that driving on the left was too slow and, ignoring the constant stream of slow lorries straining up the mountain in the other direction, headed into blind bends on the wrong side - several times screaching to a halt and having to nudge his way back in between the trucks tip-toeing their way towards Dar Es Salaam.

With lower altitudes came higher temperatures and we got our first taste of real Indian Ocean coastal humidity as we levelled off and headed for the sea. As we raced through a national park we caught glimpses of some of the wildlife we were hoping to see in a few weeks - giraffes, elephants and impala hovered near the main road but were gone in a flash as we whistled and blasted past. Katherine saw some zebras and was happy.

A night in Dar at "Swiss Garden Hotel" and dinner at the wonderful "Addis in Dar" (lovely Ethiopian food on an open roof terrace in the north of Dar) and, finally, on the 23rd December we were sailing out into the Indian Ocean heading for Zanzibar. Despite the rain and grey skies, turquoise reefs and white sands appeared on the horizon and, as we walked through the port to pick up our taxi north, the smell of cloves hit our nostrils. After four days on the road and constantly on the move, I could sense that the east coast was close despite the dense tropical trees and banana plantations on each side of the road.

We turned off the main road going north and, as we crested a small hill which took us out onto scrubby and rocky coastal plains, the coast and its ranks of huge coconut palms and roaring off-shore reefs appeared in front of us. "Matemwe!" the driver chuckled, pointing through the windscreen and obviously enjoying the jaw-dropped expressions on both of our faces.

We ducked between coral-rag houses and into Nyota Bungalows - a small Italian run place not in the guidebooks and found by chance when we found that other places were fully booked. We dumped our bags by the bar and sprinted out onto the broad white sands. After four days on the road, we had really arrived in paradise and I couldn't resist a bent-legged cartwheel into the sand which sent the ghostly white crabs scrambling for their holes.

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Photos

Harvesting Seaweed
In the strictly conservative moslem villages of Zanzibar, veiled women cross the beach and wade out into the shallow lagoon at low tide to harvest the strings of seaweed anchored to the soft sandy bed.

The road from Mbeya
Driving through the mist from Mbeya, we passed through small towns, stopping only if we were the first of the Dar busses to get there and we had space.

Coming round the mountain
The caravan of trucks and buses easing their way down from the Southern Highlands towards Dar and the east coast of Tanzania.

Have bananas, will travel
One of the rare stops on the Scandanavian Line journey from Mbeya to Dar - this one at one of Scandanavian's private depots, tucked away at the end of a pot-holed mud track more suited to a 4WD than a 50 seater "semi-luxury" coach.

A Pause in Dar
After 3 full days on the road, a slightly exhausted Andy and Katherine headed for "Addis in Dar" for some refreshment in the form of Ethiopian cuisine on an open roof terrace. We plan to return on the way back through Dar when we are less tired

Zanzibeard
On the boat as we approached Zanzibar with the wind in our faces. The beard is starting to make me look like a salty sea-dog - and that's before we spent ten days on the coast getting very salty.

Zanzibread
The entire front deck of the boat covered with dozens of bags absolutely crammed full of soft white bread - bring on the marmite !!!(Which my sweetheart Mum sent us in a parcel for Xmas !) Have to say the temptation to throw myself onto the pile was HUGE.

Paradise Found
The perfect beach at Matemwe seen from the shallow lagoon inside the reef. The lagoon is used to farm seaweed which is collected at low tide and dried in the coastal villages.

Games on the beach
A local boy gets up speed as he chases an old bike wheel across the perfect sands at Matemwe on the North East coast of Zanzibar in Tanzania.

Comments

[Dad]

National Express
What a trip. Sounds a bit hairy on the bus but you obviously made it safely. Your experiences with Mr Banda must have been most frustrating and I hope that you are able to retrieve some of the missing material. You description of securing the solar panels sounds like very hard work and I only hope that your pupils appreciate all that you have donedespite all the problems that you have faced. No doubt the next few weeks will go all too quickly and the winter over here will be waiting for you as it is still very mild. Take care luv dad x