Aug 2006

Had another night in Dar before heading across Tanzania on several long drive days to get to Malawi. Malawi is like the warm heart of Africa, really friendly people and the scenery really varied – kind of like a combination of everything to date. It is a lot poorer but ironically the roads are some of the best so far.

Our first stop was at Chitimba beach and it really was a beach with sand (pitched our tents on the sand!) and right on the lakefront. The lake is so enormous that you can’t see the other side and really it looks just like the sea with gentle waves lapping at the shore. The water was cool and refreshing and definitely worth the risk of bilharzias!! Relaxed the next day on the beach and went for a walk and shopped at the markets outside the main gate. Some of the more keen in the group walked up the hill – only a mere 25km jaunt to see the Livingstonia mission. Was glad I stayed behind!! Speaking of walking, I also got my Nordic walking poles returned for the second time in Chitimba – they had been off having their own adventure again for about 10 days when Arti (from Kenya) had borrowed them to climb Mt Kilimanjaro.. they only made it to a bus and got nowhere near the mountain but were recovered by another of the overland trucks!!

Malawi is really well known for its wood carvings and so much to choose from and so many amazing intricate carvings made from either ebony or teak. Cracks me right up that they use Kiwi Black shoe polish to polish up the ebony wood!! Must admit I caved in and bought quite a few giraffes, including one that it is dubious as to whether it will fit into my pack… the shopping frenzy was to compensate for the fact that I only succumbed to buying giraffe earrings in Tanzania.

Second beach we went to was Kande Beach (prounounced Candy) and it was even better than the first with really clear turquoise waters. We had a bit of a dress up party on the first night there as an early celebration for Phil’s birthday. The dress up part of it meant a stop at the Mzuzu markets along the way which sell the most amazing array of clothing. Sooo funny, you could buy the most outrageous outfits alongside the more sensible items. We had picked names out of a hat and had to shop for them which had some interesting results. I got to shop for two people while Suzanne went off to get a malaria test - and yep, bad news she has malaria – everyone is now paranoid about putting on insect spray! Anyway, the dress up party was hysterical and we looked awful – awfully funny that is. My dress was relatively tame except it was rather.. erm…lowcut! Rafa and Maria (from Spain) had made their killer sangria again and we were all very nicely by about 6.30pm and had a great night. Again the other Oasis truck looked on disapprovingly and had vetoed to do a dress up… their loss!!

Next day spent the day on the beach chilling out and the only adventure I had was when I took in my washing and got dragged off by three guys named Julius Ceaser, Black William and Brown Sugar to see their shops, get a t-shirt painted, buy a Bao board game, look at the Malawi chairs and be convinced to have my hair dredded… all from going to do my washing. Nothing is simple in Africa!! Anyway, so now I am the queen of Africa with manky looking dreds but they assure me that they will come out easily enough in a few weeks time!! Actually quite like it except for the amount of sand that is still in my hair, so may come out early.

Went diving in the lake, which counts as an altitude dive at 474m above sea level and the viz wasn’t great but still really interesting diving in fresh water around Kande Island and going through the rocks, looking at the moonscape holes left by fish and going past the wreck – a jeep that is sunk out there. Not very many big fish about so it was more like swimming in a giant aquarium. Also went out sailing on a catamaran with Nerine who thankfully knew more about sailing than me, so we whizzed along the lakefront in style. The rest of the time we swam, lazed and drank. Tried some of Malawi’s “special” cake which made for a very funny evening for those of us that partook – the naughty school kid crowd of us that skipped dinner and the village walk. Ended up on the beach, with my tentmate playing the bongo drums on the beach with the locals!!

After all our adventures, everyone was really hanging out to get to the beach and give our internal organs time to rearrange themselves in the proper order and just relax.. had a few drive days to get to Dar es Saleem and was great to be by the sea and swim. The place we stayed at called Mikadi Beach was great and everyone had a great night fuelled by the infamous vodka slushies. When the tide went out discovered these little glow-in-the-dark plankton that lit up when you stood on them – was really amazing so we sloshed and stomped or way out for several hundred metres making them all glow. Somehow by the end of the night most people ended up in a reasonably drunken state and being thrown in the pool – typically was wearing my only clean, dry clothing. There is another Oasis truck heading down to Cape Town that has been pretty much shadowing us from Nairobi and despite a much younger age group on board they seem to be very quiet in comparison and were horrified that we were all in the pool fully clothed!!

Next day we headed over to Zanzibar on the ferry which took several hours and disturbingly several coffins were loaded on board first. Then another few hours to our beach stop at Nungwi, one of the northern beaches. At first impression our accommodation H&H Bungalows was seriously uninspiring but it had beds (first in 4 weeks – yeah!!!) and a bathroom so was positive luxury. The beach was amazing with the turquoise waters of the Indian ocean, the dhows anchored in the harbour and restaurants and bars right on the beach front. Basically ate loads of yummy seafood, had real coffee, real chocolate cake, lazed on the beach, had a fabulous massage right on the beachfront… bliss. The next day a group of us went out diving, the rest snorkeling at Mnemba Island a few hour boat ride away. Hadn’t dived for awhile so a few of us did a quick refresher, then explored the reef with all the amazing fish (think Finding Nemo) and on the second dive even saw a turtle!! Was really great diving and great day out, followed by more chocolate cake and coffee… didn’t ever want to leave. The only dampner on the whole experience was the damp washing episode – while it had been fine all day out at the island, it had rained all day at the beach so all our washing was wet, not hugely clean and worse we had to go and track it all down so several people lost stuff in the melee.

Next day took the early taxi back to Stone Town to go on a spice tour at a local spice plantation. Was really interesting seeing how everything grows (and in the most haphazard manner), most of the plants I wouldn’t have recognized even by smell as many are quite different fresh. Saw, tasted and smelt a big range of spices – nutmeg, citronella, cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, tumeric, pepper and also tasted a mangosteen fruit (yum) which is a delicacy here and super expensive. The guides had woven cocunut palm leaf necklaces, handbags and rings for the girls, and hats, glasses and neckties for the guys so we looked very stylish on our return to town. Had a quick tour around the market, the church and the old slave market, then the fortress, though have to say it was really hot and switched off listening to much of the information as brain was in meltdown stage.

Phil arrived on the late taxi and woke me up from a sound sleep on the nicest bed (four poster each!!) in the Safari Lodge hotel. We delighted in the novelty of having a TV and lazed about for a few hours watching it as had already slept through the sunset, so missed out on the traditional sundowners!! Ended up venturing out in search of food, past the seafood markets which looked really tempting but had been warned that was not the safest around so resisted. Glad we did as found a really nice Italian place by the water and had the most delicious meal, including my first ever taste of tiramisu. What was also nice was that it was just Phil and I rather than a big group of us - probably a good thing as made embarrassing noises of enjoyment over such gastric-orgasmic food. Also it was appropriate as it worked out to be a celebration - one month to the day that we had been tent buddies.

My most serene moment in Africa to date and the most scary all happened within a couple of hours of each other in the Serengeti…

We bush camped in the Serengeti and another very early start in the dark for me as had decided to fulfill childhood dream of ballooning in the Serengeti. Hilarious beginning to the flight with all 16 passengers having to climb into the balloon sideways to take off, so was very much like a fairground ride. We gently floated over the plains, watching the sunrise light the trees and animals come to life below. To start with we were so close to the ground we could just about tickle the giraffe's ears then we rose up to several hundred feet for a full vista across the park. We saw antelope, foxes, giraffes, hyenas, loads of hippos, a baby vulture in the top of an acacia tree and heaps of antelope and impala bobbing around. It was so peaceful and worth every cent of the small fortune it cost (for those in the know, it cost the same as the insured value of my car!!!). Afterwards we had champagne (as you do), followed with a full English breakfast. It was a completely surreal experience to be sipping on champagne in the middle of the Serengeti and feeling quite nicely by 10am!! Got a certificate of survival and then hooked up with the rest of the gang on our Fun Safari (name of company) adventure.

We did a bit more of a game drive, packed up the tents and then we were up for a 6 hour trip back through the Serengeti, then Ngorongoro and back to Arusha. However we didn’t make it too far… we all thought we were going to die as our driver completely lost control and we careened off the road and into a small ditch. Thankfully we didn’t flip but it was definitely a close call. The reason for the crash was that crazy Eric had been driving way too fast – over 100km on roads that should be done at around 50km- and the front left hand axle shaft had snapped, which meant we were really rather err… shafted and stranded in the middle of the Serengeti. Loads of vehicles passed us and we were like animals on display… it was funny at first but really Fun Safaris became a whole lot less fun after an hour or so of waiting around and hoping not to be eaten by passing animals.

We were eventually dropped back to the visitor centre by another company and told that they would fix the car and use it to take us back to Arusha which we were seriously unhappy about. While none of us are mechanics anybody could see that the landcruiser would be out of action for some time and not safe to drive. However in the day and age of mobile phones (I hate that traveling has changed so much that everyone is always connected but was deeply grateful at this point in time!!) we eventually managed to get hold of Oasis and they sorted it out with Fun Safaris that we got another vehicle… the only thing was that it was now late in the day and you have to be out of the national parks by 6pm as they lock the gates. The next driver was great but still experienced a completely surreal video game drive home as we had near misses when zebras leaped out in front us, some masai goats, a car door at the wrong time, then a few guns and arguments at the locked gates in Ngorongoro (but they let us through)… was definitely an adventure but so pleased to get back to Snake Park and crash out into the safety of bed!!

Passed through from Kenya into Tanzania and enjoyed watching the scenery change from quite lush vegetation to the vast open plains, with a few acacia trees scattered about the place (think 'Gods Must be Crazy') and the Masai people dotting the landscape in their colourful kangas, herding their livestock from one place in the middle of nowhere to another. Border crossing was crazy and we were swamped by bejewelled Masai woman selling all kinds of adornments and getting back on the truck without purchasing something was mission impossible. Passed under the shadow of Mt Kilimanjaro, but so hazy actually didn't even get a peek at the famous mountain.

Our camping stop was at Snake Park in Arusha, where as the name suggests there are a lot of snakes.. thankfully the only ones that we saw where behind glass... still enough to give you bad dreams and jump 10 feet in fright when certain members of the truck tickle the your ankle!! The park was chock full of overland trucks which meant a busy bar and cold showers. The next day we did a village walk, some of us atop camels where we saw inside one of the huts, with walls cleverly built out of cow dung, dirt, ash and water. It is the woman who build the houses and in fact do most of the work in their society, men seem to only attend livestock and rest on their laurels. The Masai people are polygamists so of course had to ask all the questions of how many wives our guide had (two but looking for a third) and how much it costs to get a wife (anywhere between 12-15 cows).. definitely glad that I am not living in that society, or if I did would definitely come back as a man!!

In the afternoon we headed over to the Ngorongoro Crater campsite ready for a few days of game driving. Upon arrival, the vehicle carrying our gear had a flat tyre, so we retired to the bar, only to discover when it did turn up that our tent bag was missing all our tent pegs. Managed to beg, borrow and steal enough to hold our tent up for the night. Pretty quiet evening due to the early start the next morning, though everyone enjoyed having food cooked instead of doing our own cook groups and eating our beloved truck food (actually food has been surprisingly good, just that cooking and shopping for such a crowd is a real effort).

Striking camp in the dark was pretty easy since our tent pretty much fell down of its own accord and then into 4X4's for the game drive into the crater. There were six per vehicle and one crazy driver - our group landed driver named Eric who was intent on training for some kind of African Formula one doing 100km plus on gravel, potholed track. After a lenghty delay at the gates sorting passports and travellers cheques (things always done the most torturous, lenghty way here) and avoiding the marauding baboons, we finally made it into the Crater. It was a bit of a traffic jam situation going on at the bottom with up to 30 odd vehicles all kicking up the dust and jostling for position around the animals, however having said that it was amazing, we saw lions, cheetahs, elephants, hippos, wilderbeast and the usual line up of antelopes, gazelle and zebras.

While passing some of the most amazing wildlife around, our group made the awful realisation that we had not got lunch as none of us noticed the lunchboxes at breakfast (to be fair it was dark and 5.30am)... so it was a mad scramble in the back seat to find the elusive Maryland cookies which took on the utmost priority when faced with the prospect of not eating for another 8 hours. Was hysterically funny and confused the heck out of our driver... hunger does strange things to people. Thankfully we did get some food at lunchtime as someone had noticed our error and brought the lunchboxes for us. Then with lunch in hand went outside to eat only to be divebombed by a hawk, so ate in the car.

Following all the drama and craziness, we headed back up out of the crater (about 600m deep) and onwards into the Serengeti. A crazy 3 hour drive with Eric at the wheel, speaking of which we actually lost one of the spares off the back due to travelling at such crazy speeds. Had an evening game drive in the Serengeti, though didn't see anything too spectacular, the actual park itself was the most interesting part with the rolling grass going on for miles and miles around us and successfully hiding the elusive animals.

After our gorilla adventures, had a great few days in Lake Bunyoni, going for swims in the cold water of Uganda's deepest lake, chilling on the loungers, eating crayfish for lunch, catching up on washing while listening to some African music from a conference nearby... was really peaceful and could definitely have stayed for longer. Had a few long travel days back through the lush Ugandan countryside passing through the equator and watching the water go down the plug hole different ways (for your info it goes straight down on the actual equator line!). Even when the roads are rough, dusty and long, travelling on the truck is pretty good with time to read, listen to music, chat with people and hang out the sides watching the villages and countryside whisk by (not good for any type of hairdo other than windswept look though!!). The truck has an open air 'beach' at the front where you can go up and actually spread out on the cushions, sunbathe and get a really good view of passing scenery.

Made it to Kampala the capital of Uganda and looked around the town and markets. Experienced a very important cultural highlight of having a stylish pedicure in the markets for less than a cost of a beer!! Was the envy of all the girls and set a dangerous precedent for spa treatments on the road. Took my posh feet out on the town that night, as Gabi had a friend living in Kampala to show us the renowned nightlife. We started at the mzungu hangout of Bubbles O'Leary (you guessed right from the name that it is an Irish pub!), then we bopped on down to the Sheraton Hotel and onwards to a club called Rouge which had a good local flavour. Really enjoyed the night and spent all the next day doing cultural wasteland activities of nothing much at all - reading, watching movies and to catch up on diary entries.

Drove from Kampala back to Kenya and into the Nakuru national park for a night of bush camping where we were set upon by baboons. Seriously have to have everything tied down otherwise they will steal it with surprising speed and aggression. This applies even to yourself as saw baboons make off with a girls shower bag and empty half the contents!! Using a bush toilet option also comes with its own dangers when mooning the baboons is not a good idea. The park was great, really enjoyed the soda lake with the millions of flamingos on shore. Got to see rhino, buffalo, antelope, zebras, giraffes, elephants, dik dik and luckily a leopard lazing under a tree. Quite amazing to see the animals so close and mostly they are completely oblivious to passing noisy yellow truck with 24 cameras clicking frantically.

After the park, a great Indian lunch in Nakuru town in a spot we had discovered the day before. Unfortunately by taking up our recommendation several people then got food poisoning... luckily we escaped that fate! Took the opportunity to buy a few souvenirs and bargain hard, as they always start with outrageous tourist prices. Tagged along with Phil trying to get a charger for her mobile.. Shopping here is crazy as if you ask for something in a shop that they don't stock then they will often tell you to wait and go off in search of it themselves! This applies to restaurants as well - you can never be entirely sure if your food is cooked in the kitchen there, next door or somewhere down the road.

Headed back to Nairobi and having already spent a few days exploring the Kenyan capital on arrival, used the few days to relax. Most excitement was going into Karen town (suburb on the outskirts of Nairobi) for food, internet, leg wax and a bit of shopping! We lost 6 of our people in Nairobi and picked up another 7 heading out. Travelling on the truck is comparable to living in a big brother house and the changeover of fellow like minded travellers in Nairobi, was a little like big brother eviction/invasion. While we all missed the ones who had left, the newbies have all settled in well. Now down to 10 nationalities, 6 couples, 2 new couples (courtesy of night out in Kampala!) and the rest of us singletons making up the balance. In fact there has been so much tent changing for various reasons, think that my diet coke obsessed tent buddy and I are the only ones still in original pair!! Nevertheless everyone gets on surprisingly well and when the opportunity arises to do our own thing, we mostly stick together.