We arrived in Zanzibar after a short flight from Kigali and a couple of nights in Dar es Salaam. We didn't explore much of Dar, mainly because it was exceedingly hot and the white sands and crystal waters of Zanzibar were calling to us. Our first few days on the Spice Isle were spent in Stone Town the old part of the capital Zanzibar Town. We got ourselves lost in the winding cobbled streets, being harangued by touts and hawkers and checking out a few local sites and museums, including the supposed childhood home of Freddie Mercury and the old slave market, the site of one of the last legal slave markets in the world. One of our highlights was tucking into some delicious shark, lobster and shrimp kebabs washed down with sugarcane and ginger juice ... read more

Lake Bunyonyi was as beautiful as promised! We spent a day exploring the area using a dugout canoe for transport. We stumbled on and into an extremely vibrant and lively village church service and enjoyed the enthusiastic singing, clapping and dancing. There was definitely a lot of spirit and joy in the room. We also visited a traditional healer who showed us a selection of plants and herbs used for various "medicinal" purposes, including treating colds, stomach upsets and malaria. However, not sure Celina will be prescribing any of his treatments to her patients when she's back home..! The last stop of the day was to learn some basket making skills from a family of craftmakers. We chose the simplest option of making bracelets, which was a lot tougher than it looked. Although we won't be ... read more

We spent a relaxing weekend in Kitale eating lots of delicious home cooked food including a Goan feast with potato chops and chicken xacuti. It was great being back there 17 years later, and although Kitale town seems to have expanded and the hustle and bustle increased, Uncle Effie and Aunty Celia's house was just as I remembered it and I was as astonished by the tropical fruit growing in their garden (avocados, mangos, matoke, guava, lemons etc) as I was aged 11! It was lovely to see Margaret again (their maid) and also to see how excited she was to see us. After a couple of days of home comforts we hit the road again and headed for the Kenyan/Ugandan border. The guide book said it should be around a 3 hour journey from the ... read more

What an amazing first week... ...After a lot of last minute stress and a long flight into Nairobi, we arrived safe and sound (not being mugged en route) at Effie and Celia's apartment. They swiftly took us to experience some close encounters with a selection of African wildlife, treating us with a trip to Langata Giraffe Centre and the Mamba (crocodile in Swahili) Village. After a day in Nairobi sorting ourselves out with money and getting our bearings, we were off on our way to the Masai Mara. It was a 5-6 hour journey on what felt like some of Africa's bumpiest roads. After a few pit stops we arrived at our campsite for a late lunch, and then a late afternoon/early evening game drive. Over the next two days we met loads of the characters ... read more