Tanzania

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Tanzania

After crossing the Kenya - Tanzania border we headed to Arusha on the worst road in Africa. That night was spent camping on the outskirts of the town. We had picked up some new blood for this part of the journey, and as a result of this I was one of two guys accompanied by 20 women.

Our first stop was a community project in northern Tanzania at a town called Mto Wa Mbu (translation: River of Mosquitoes!). The project has been running for a number of years and helps local people farm their land sustainably, build houses and workshops, and manage tourism, so that the benefits of foreign investment are felt throughout the community.

The following day we packed our stuff in 4x4s and headed towards the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. The crater is actually the world’s largest intact caldera. The centre of the crater is savannah grassland, whereas the edge is cloud forest and areas where the Massi graze their cattle. The crater is also known as a bit of a zoo, given the high concentrations of wildlife found there. As such we were not disappointed to see hyena, lions, cheetahs, hippos, elephants, buffalos, topi, hartebeest, wildebeest, and numerous gazelles. Particular highlights included seeing a Male Bull Elephant with large tusks, seeing the cheetah stalking a Thompson’s gazelle and getting within 2m of an adolescent male lion.

That afternoon we drove to our campsite in the Serengeti National Park. We drove out of the crater and past Massi villages until we reached the edge of the Serengeti. We drove across this vast plain for what seemed like hours, with nothing but grassland for miles. Eventually we reached the NP gate and later the centre of the park, where we were camping. We spent two nights in the NP and had a great time. The most amazing thing was the sheer scale of the place and the abundance of wildlife and particularly big game. We saw whole prides of lions, a cheetah with cubs, hyenas, numerous other animals and top of my list; the elusive leopard up in a tree. Again, as we were bush camping, at night we had a variety of animals come close to the camp, including lions, hyenas and an elephant!

The 4x4s dropped us off and we got back on the truck and headed west to Mount Kilimanjaro where we visited the Amani street children's orphanage. Everyone took a few presents along; and we spent most of the afternoon hanging out with the children and speaking to the African and volunteer staff. The children’s home is one of the few in Africa that was set up and is still run by Africans outside Government control. It was a great experience to visit the home, but unfortunately our schedule meant that we only had half a day there, which was not really long enough to contribute in any meaningful way.

So on we went, heading east, visiting village projects (some better than others) and spending some time in the Usambara Mountains. We stayed near the village of Irente, and spent half a day hiking though the surrounding countryside and up to a cliff top viewpoint which gave fantastic views across the Massi Steppe.

Next up was the long drive south to Dar es Salaam and then the ferry to Zanzibar. The drive was estimated to take 10 hours on a sealed road, however we hadn’t planned for a plane crashing into the road and another overland truck tipping over on to its side trying to avoid it. What resulted was a huge traffic jam and the only good road between Dar and the north of the country being closed. So we backtracked and detoured along a dirt coastal road adding an additional 4 hours to our journey - TIA.

We woke early and caught the ferry to Zanzibar, arriving by 11am. Our first night was spent in the old part of Zanzibar Town called Stone Town. A walking tour had been planned for the group, however Tracy and I decided that we needed a bit of space, so we ventured out alone and explored the town. The town, and indeed the whole island, did not feel like Africa at all. The islands long history under various occupiers, especially the Omani Arabs, has left the island with a real Moroccan feel, which to Tracy’s delight also meant lots of street markets, souvenir shops and curio stalls. There is a real chance that our flat in Sydney is going to look like a safari lodge!

The following day we went for a tour of the local spice farms before heading to a beach hostel in the north of the island for two days of rest, fun, drinking, beach volleyball and sun bathing. We then returned to Dar, said goodbye to some of our travelling companions, and got ready for stage three of the trip!

Hope all are well

Love

Will and Tracy xxxx

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