Thursday 12th May.
Alex was up at 8am to go and watch our dinner get slaughtered with a few of the other guys. Her name was Vicki. It is a tradition for overlanders at Kande Beach to have a pig feast for dinner and Vicki was our pig. It sounded pretty horrific first meeting her alive and happy and then watching as she got stabbed in the heart by a local guy while she squealed away painfully. When she was dead the local removed her innings and gave Tony the liver and kidney for his lunch, he kept the trotters for himself and then he opened her up so that she could be tied to the rotisserie. It worked out that this was happening on Alex's cook group night by chance and he helped shave her, tie her to the metal pole, start the fire, put the apple in her mouth and baste her in cider. Vicki the Pig.
She was put over the fire at about 10am and was turned every 45 minutes or so by who ever was around camp. While all this was happening I was in the reception building waiting for the internet cable so I could try and upload some photos, but after more than 2 hours of waiting in line I gave up and left.
We went for a swim in the lake before lunch. The water was the most perfect temperature and it felt so bizarre to me to be swimming and bodyboarding in the waves in a fresh water lake. Im usually not very comfortable around waves and I hate getting dunked in the ocean, but it was brilliant in the lake. No stinging eyes, no bad taste in my nose and mouth. I loved it and could have spent all day in there. When we got hungry we made our way to the restaurant and had a beef wrap for lunch.
Alex had organised to meet a local on the beach at 2pm so he could take us out to the island in his canoe. The canoe was carved out from a log just like the mokoro's in Botswana although this one had a really narrow opening. I only just fit in it and poor Alex had to twist his upper body sideways to get in. It looked so uncomfortable and so funny! Getting through the waves was interesting and I thought we were going to tip for sure, which scared me because we were both jammed in really tightly and I think we would have been stuck if the canoe had tipped. We made it past the break wthout incident though and cruised over to the island. When we got there we found Emma, Robin, Benne, Jimmy and Jerome chilling out in the water. They left on thier paddle boat a shor while later and we had the island to ourselves. We stayed in the water for ages and then Alex got out to have a walk around the island and give fishing a go. I stayed in the water for another hour or so and then got out to lay on the giant boulders and read my book and dry in the afternoon sun. When it came time to leave we squeezed back into the canoe and headed back for the mainland. Approaching the waves they looked much bigger from that angle and I started freaking out, thinking 'how the hell is this floating log going to get through those waves', but it was surprisingly smooth. The canoe just sailed through them and I think it was easier than getting out.
By the time we got back Alex had to go and start on dinner, cutting the pig into edible peices, prepare a vegitarian alternative and cook a side of potatos and vegies. I went back to reception to try and get on the internet again and this time the cable was free so I was able to use our laptop. I managed to upload weeks 1 and 2 of my blog but the internet was so, so, so slow that I wasn't able to upload any photos. Just after 7pm I headed back to camp and Alex, Andrea and Benne were still breaking down the pig, no easy feat but they did a great job. Vicki was delicious! I don't usually like pork but this was so tender and juicy and tasty. Me, Marcus and Felix were on clean up group and we really copped it because almost everything on the truck was dirty, so a few extra people jumped in and helped. After it was all sorted we headed down to the beach to watch the fireworks display compliments of Benne and Jimmy and thier $5 fireworks from a supermarket. A tiny fizzle and pop later and it was all over. There was a fire on the beach and we sat around it playing Malawi Bao for a while before heading to bed.
Friday 13th May.
Shop-a-holic.
We left Kande Beach at 9am and drove for 45 minutes until we reached a big wood carving market on the side of the road. We bought two mini mokoro canoe boats that came with little spoons, perfect for salt and pepper, for 500 Kwacha and a red pen (about US$3.50). We also splurged and bought a wooden table, beautifully hand carved with the Big 5 on one side and the Malawi Bao game on the other. It cost us US$40 and a jacket of Alex's, but it is worth every cent. You can see the amount of work that went into making it. We set it up on the truck when we started driving again and played a Bao tournament with a few other people.
We drove a little further and stopped in a town called Mzuzu. We had a really yummy beef stew and chips for the extortianate price of 350 Kwacha (just over US$2) and bought two nice paintings on canvas from a guy on the street. We had agreed on 1,300 Kwacha, but when I went to pay him I discovered I didnt actually have that much on me. We ended up getting them for the cash I had on me which was 1,060 kwacha, an old fishing magazine, a packet of biscuits, and a cigarette.Shopping for souvaniers is easy here because the local see this giant green truck enter the town and rush towards it with all that they have, the shops come to you!
We reached our campsite at about 4.30 and myself, Emma and Andrea and Fiona went straight out to the market set up on the other side of the gates. I was after a little wooden chair to match our Bao table and after looking in every stall I found the one I wanted. I didnt count on the 12 year old sales boy being such a hard sell though. He kept on giving me the puppy dig eyes, which I'm a sucker for, and was not budging on the price. After what seemed like a long time we agreed on US$17 and a t-shirt of mine. Hapy with my purchase I went to head back to camp and found Alex and Andrea at the gates of the campsite surrounded by locals. Alex was having a good old laugh with them, they absolutley loved him. We got 3 necklaces with a wooden pendant in the shape of Africa for 500 Kwacha and the two t-shirts I had left to trade. Bargain.
We went back in and I dropped our goods in the truck and made my way to the bar for a hard earned drink. There was wifi internet at the bar which was faster than we have seen in ages, but still not fast enough to upload photos. We also upgraded to a sweet little tent/bungalow/treehouse thing for US$12. We have been nicknamed "upgrade" and are getting quite a reputation, but we figure while its cheap and available- why not!?
Farron warned us that the next two days will be long drive days because we are going to fang it through southern Tanzania so we can get to Zanzibar on Monday.
We left Kande Beach at 9am and drove for 45 minutes until we reached a big wood carving market on the side of the road. We bought two mini mokoro canoe boats that came with little spoons, perfect for salt and pepper, for 500 Kwacha and a red pen (about US$3.50). We also splurged and bought a wooden table, beautifully hand carved with the Big 5 on one side and the Malawi Bao game on the other. It cost us US$40 and a jacket of Alex's, but it is worth every cent. You can see the amount of work that went into making it. We set it up on the truck when we started driving again and played a Bao tournament with a few other people.
We drove a little further and stopped in a town called Mzuzu. We had a really yummy beef stew and chips for the extortianate price of 350 Kwacha (just over US$2) and bought two nice paintings on canvas from a guy on the street. We had agreed on 1,300 Kwacha, but when I went to pay him I discovered I didnt actually have that much on me. We ended up getting them for the cash I had on me which was 1,060 kwacha, an old fishing magazine, a packet of biscuits, and a cigarette.Shopping for souvaniers is easy here because the local see this giant green truck enter the town and rush towards it with all that they have, the shops come to you!
We reached our campsite at about 4.30 and myself, Emma and Andrea and Fiona went straight out to the market set up on the other side of the gates. I was after a little wooden chair to match our Bao table and after looking in every stall I found the one I wanted. I didnt count on the 12 year old sales boy being such a hard sell though. He kept on giving me the puppy dig eyes, which I'm a sucker for, and was not budging on the price. After what seemed like a long time we agreed on US$17 and a t-shirt of mine. Hapy with my purchase I went to head back to camp and found Alex and Andrea at the gates of the campsite surrounded by locals. Alex was having a good old laugh with them, they absolutley loved him. We got 3 necklaces with a wooden pendant in the shape of Africa for 500 Kwacha and the two t-shirts I had left to trade. Bargain.
We went back in and I dropped our goods in the truck and made my way to the bar for a hard earned drink. There was wifi internet at the bar which was faster than we have seen in ages, but still not fast enough to upload photos. We also upgraded to a sweet little tent/bungalow/treehouse thing for US$12. We have been nicknamed "upgrade" and are getting quite a reputation, but we figure while its cheap and available- why not!?
Farron warned us that the next two days will be long drive days because we are going to fang it through southern Tanzania so we can get to Zanzibar on Monday.
Saturday 14th May.
Tanzania, where the mountains meet the sky.
We had brekky at 5.30am and were on the road by 6.30am. We reached the Tanzania border a short 2 hours later. Got stamped out of Malawi quick and easy. Farron found a little chameleon sitting in the middle of the road at the busy border crossing so he brought it up to us to adopt until we find a suitable home for him. We crossed no mans land to the entrance to Tanzania and Farron and Felix collected everyone's passports and US$50 each (except for Americans who had to pay US$100). Apparently Tanzania doesnt care much for big crowds and are quite happy to let people into thier country without seeing them, so we waited in the truck while Farron and Felix took all the passports to get visas and entry stamps.
The scenery in Tanzania was instantly different to that of Malawi, and it is the most striking and beautiful so far. For the first few hours we ascended a great mountain range that reached a height of 2,300 meters above sea level, thats higher than the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. There were banana and tea plantations as far as the eye could see and it was all so lush and green and fresh. I was thinking to myself that these two long drive days will be great if we keep getting scenery like this!
We stopped for lunch and cook group shopping at a town along the way and finally got to do our shopping in a local food market rather than a supermarket. It was so much fun. Felix, Marcus and I got some fresh, locally grown tomatos, eggplants, capsicums, parsley, onions and garlic for a pasta sauce. And Alex and I grabbed some fried meat and chips for lunch.
On the road again we continued on for a while until Farron stopped so we could have a pee break. This spot was also deemed a suitable new home for our little chameon friend. We finally reached the campsite at 7.30pm and Marcus, Felix and I set about cooking dinner while Alex set up our tent.
We had brekky at 5.30am and were on the road by 6.30am. We reached the Tanzania border a short 2 hours later. Got stamped out of Malawi quick and easy. Farron found a little chameleon sitting in the middle of the road at the busy border crossing so he brought it up to us to adopt until we find a suitable home for him. We crossed no mans land to the entrance to Tanzania and Farron and Felix collected everyone's passports and US$50 each (except for Americans who had to pay US$100). Apparently Tanzania doesnt care much for big crowds and are quite happy to let people into thier country without seeing them, so we waited in the truck while Farron and Felix took all the passports to get visas and entry stamps.
The scenery in Tanzania was instantly different to that of Malawi, and it is the most striking and beautiful so far. For the first few hours we ascended a great mountain range that reached a height of 2,300 meters above sea level, thats higher than the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. There were banana and tea plantations as far as the eye could see and it was all so lush and green and fresh. I was thinking to myself that these two long drive days will be great if we keep getting scenery like this!
We stopped for lunch and cook group shopping at a town along the way and finally got to do our shopping in a local food market rather than a supermarket. It was so much fun. Felix, Marcus and I got some fresh, locally grown tomatos, eggplants, capsicums, parsley, onions and garlic for a pasta sauce. And Alex and I grabbed some fried meat and chips for lunch.
On the road again we continued on for a while until Farron stopped so we could have a pee break. This spot was also deemed a suitable new home for our little chameon friend. We finally reached the campsite at 7.30pm and Marcus, Felix and I set about cooking dinner while Alex set up our tent.
Sunday 15th May.
Chaotic Dar Es Salaam.
I was up at 5am to get breakfast prepared. We layed out the cereal and spreads, mixed the powdered milk and mashed some bananas for toast. I haven't eaten bananas since I was a kid because the sound of other people eating them made me feel sick, but I decided it was time to get over it and start eating them again, especially now they are so fresh and in such abundance. So I did- mission accomplished!
We were on the road by 6.30am and most of us fell back to sleep as soon as the truck started moving. We drove all day to reach our camp site Mikardi Beach in Dar Es Salaam. Tanzania has the most stunning landscape. There are green rolling hills, gigantic ancient mountains that meet the sky, plantations of banana, pineapple, tea, casava, rice and so much more. We drove through what is known as Baobab Valley where- you guessed it- there were thousands of the grand trees. This may sound silly, but they have the same presence about them as elephants do- great, grand, ancient, and wise.
We stopped for lunch in a national park that Leigh used to live and work at, she had contacted them and organised us entry and lunch for 10,000 tanzanian shillings each (US$6.60). We sat there eating our toastie and chips while watching elephants and buffalo graze, it was a really nice spot to stop.
At about 4.30pm we stopped at a town for a pee break and to grab a cold drink if we wanted and it was estimated that the campsite was about 2 hours away. That probably would have been acurate if it wasn't for the scene of chaos that was Dar Es Salaam. We didnt end up getting to the campsite until after 9.30pm, it was just crazy. Every street we turned down we were met with a traffic jam, hundreds of thousands of people walking around, selling stuff from stalls, cooking on the side of the road. The smells of Dar alternated between fried meat, burning rubbish, grilled banana, raw sewerage. At one stage, while the truck was driving slowly, a guy jumped on and somehow managed to rip off the battery cover and run away with it! Another guy tried to grab the air filter. Chaos! We had a few of the guys walking alongside the truck to deter anymore theiving, the rest of us were hanging out the windows and Janet was holding the broom stick as a deterant. Farron did an amazing job getting the truck (and us), almost fully in tact, through that craziness.
Once at the campsite we set up our tents and cook group began preparing dinner, a soya mince chilli con carne type thing. We had been pre-warned about how dangerous Dar could be, and that if we left the campsite with anything more that the clothes on our backs we were begging to be mugged. All around the campsite were signs that read "Inside camp=safe, Outside camp=NOT SAFE. This is not a joke".
The reason we were so safe inside the camp, that had its own little beach, was due to the fact that there were Masaai Warriers protecting it. Apparently they are the best you can get when it comes to protection and security because no one messes with a Masaai! Dar seems like a totally manic city with as much character as crime.
After dinner we began packing for our days away on Zanzibar. We were meant to be catching the early ferry, but seeing as we got in later than expected Farron changed it so that we were leaving at 10am and getting the midday ferry. In the morning we also have to empty out our truck and put eveything into a replacement truck, because ours is going in to the workshop for a service and a little TLC.
It was Robin and Carol's last night with us so when everything was organised we went to the bar for a few drinks. We were super tired though, so didnt stay for long before we retired for the night.
I was up at 5am to get breakfast prepared. We layed out the cereal and spreads, mixed the powdered milk and mashed some bananas for toast. I haven't eaten bananas since I was a kid because the sound of other people eating them made me feel sick, but I decided it was time to get over it and start eating them again, especially now they are so fresh and in such abundance. So I did- mission accomplished!
We were on the road by 6.30am and most of us fell back to sleep as soon as the truck started moving. We drove all day to reach our camp site Mikardi Beach in Dar Es Salaam. Tanzania has the most stunning landscape. There are green rolling hills, gigantic ancient mountains that meet the sky, plantations of banana, pineapple, tea, casava, rice and so much more. We drove through what is known as Baobab Valley where- you guessed it- there were thousands of the grand trees. This may sound silly, but they have the same presence about them as elephants do- great, grand, ancient, and wise.
We stopped for lunch in a national park that Leigh used to live and work at, she had contacted them and organised us entry and lunch for 10,000 tanzanian shillings each (US$6.60). We sat there eating our toastie and chips while watching elephants and buffalo graze, it was a really nice spot to stop.
At about 4.30pm we stopped at a town for a pee break and to grab a cold drink if we wanted and it was estimated that the campsite was about 2 hours away. That probably would have been acurate if it wasn't for the scene of chaos that was Dar Es Salaam. We didnt end up getting to the campsite until after 9.30pm, it was just crazy. Every street we turned down we were met with a traffic jam, hundreds of thousands of people walking around, selling stuff from stalls, cooking on the side of the road. The smells of Dar alternated between fried meat, burning rubbish, grilled banana, raw sewerage. At one stage, while the truck was driving slowly, a guy jumped on and somehow managed to rip off the battery cover and run away with it! Another guy tried to grab the air filter. Chaos! We had a few of the guys walking alongside the truck to deter anymore theiving, the rest of us were hanging out the windows and Janet was holding the broom stick as a deterant. Farron did an amazing job getting the truck (and us), almost fully in tact, through that craziness.
Once at the campsite we set up our tents and cook group began preparing dinner, a soya mince chilli con carne type thing. We had been pre-warned about how dangerous Dar could be, and that if we left the campsite with anything more that the clothes on our backs we were begging to be mugged. All around the campsite were signs that read "Inside camp=safe, Outside camp=NOT SAFE. This is not a joke".
The reason we were so safe inside the camp, that had its own little beach, was due to the fact that there were Masaai Warriers protecting it. Apparently they are the best you can get when it comes to protection and security because no one messes with a Masaai! Dar seems like a totally manic city with as much character as crime.
After dinner we began packing for our days away on Zanzibar. We were meant to be catching the early ferry, but seeing as we got in later than expected Farron changed it so that we were leaving at 10am and getting the midday ferry. In the morning we also have to empty out our truck and put eveything into a replacement truck, because ours is going in to the workshop for a service and a little TLC.
It was Robin and Carol's last night with us so when everything was organised we went to the bar for a few drinks. We were super tired though, so didnt stay for long before we retired for the night.
Monday 16th May.
Hello Stonetown.
We were up at 8am to move all of our earthly belongings into our replacement home before the taxis arrived at 10am. Everyone was coming to Zanzibar except for Carol and Robin who's journey had ended, and Tony, Farron and Leigh who have all been to Zanzibar before and decided to stay on the mainland.
We piled into the taxis and began our journey to Zanzibar. We had to drive onto a ferry that would take us across the bay to where the ferry for Zanzibar leaves from. Getting back out into Dar it was just as chaotic as it was last night. There are people everywhere and they are all selling something. The majority of people here are muslim and it is interesting to see women walking around in birkas with everything but thier eyes covered, and others with a cloth covering thier hair. We have also heard the call for prayer a few times. It has such a different atmosphere to Malawi and anywhere else we have been so far, kind of stuck between Africa and the Middle East.
Once at the ferry terminal for Zanzibar we had an hour to wait, so Alex used the time getting a hellova lot of local shillings out so that we can change it into US$ on Zanzibar. We need a lot of US$ because the Serengetti and Ngorogoro Crater is next and that has to be paid in US cash.
We got on the ferry and settled in for our 2.5 hour journey. Approaching Zanzibar the sky clouded over and the rain began to fall, and fall, and fall. Once at Zanzibar we had to go through the quasi border crossing and get our passport stamped. Although Zanzibar is a state of Tanzania, they seem to think they are thier own little country. They are governed by two presidents, the president of Tanzania and the president of Zanzibar, and two different parliaments. There are over 1 million people living on Zanzibar and 98% of them are muslim.
We were met at the 'border crossing' by farron's fixer Danny who walked us to our hotel, Safari Lodge. Getting there was interesting, we were following in single file down the labrynth of tiny alleyways that had turned into raging rivers because of the torrential rain. We were all saturated by the time we got to the hotel. After we all got our room keys Danny said to meet in the lobby in 15 minutes and he would take us on a quick tour of the town so that we could get our bearings. The rooms were really nice, each with a tv, ensuite and airconditioner. Farron had described them as basic, but I think he overestimates our standards.
Most of us met Danny in the lobby after drying off a little bit and we started walking the streets of Stonetown. I instantly fell in love with it. Danny pointed out building, places and trees that we could use as landmarks should we get lost in the alleyways. He also said that Stonetown is a safe town, although at nightime it would still be better to walk around in groups of at least 4 or more people. We split up and organised to meet at Africa House at 6pm. We spent the time changing our shillings into US$ and then made our way to Africa House, a nice hotel and restaurant overlooking the water. It is apparently the best place to watch the sunset from, but because of the heavy cloud cover we didnt get to see it. It was still lovely though.
After a few drink and some fresh calamari at Africa House we made our way to the night market to find dinner. Thankfully it had stopped raining so the nightmarket could happen. We walked around and looked at every stall, sipping on freshly squeezed suger cane juice. We got a huge plate of mixed seafood for dinner that had lobster, crab claw, kingfish, prawns, and bread fruit (yuk) on it. We also got a famouse Zanzibar pizza which was kind of like a calzone- but better! We had such a nice time eating the fresh seafood and mixing with the locals, and when we couldnt fit any more food in we made our way back to Africa House with a few people for drinks and strawberry flavoured shisha pipe.
We were up at 8am to move all of our earthly belongings into our replacement home before the taxis arrived at 10am. Everyone was coming to Zanzibar except for Carol and Robin who's journey had ended, and Tony, Farron and Leigh who have all been to Zanzibar before and decided to stay on the mainland.
We piled into the taxis and began our journey to Zanzibar. We had to drive onto a ferry that would take us across the bay to where the ferry for Zanzibar leaves from. Getting back out into Dar it was just as chaotic as it was last night. There are people everywhere and they are all selling something. The majority of people here are muslim and it is interesting to see women walking around in birkas with everything but thier eyes covered, and others with a cloth covering thier hair. We have also heard the call for prayer a few times. It has such a different atmosphere to Malawi and anywhere else we have been so far, kind of stuck between Africa and the Middle East.
Once at the ferry terminal for Zanzibar we had an hour to wait, so Alex used the time getting a hellova lot of local shillings out so that we can change it into US$ on Zanzibar. We need a lot of US$ because the Serengetti and Ngorogoro Crater is next and that has to be paid in US cash.
We got on the ferry and settled in for our 2.5 hour journey. Approaching Zanzibar the sky clouded over and the rain began to fall, and fall, and fall. Once at Zanzibar we had to go through the quasi border crossing and get our passport stamped. Although Zanzibar is a state of Tanzania, they seem to think they are thier own little country. They are governed by two presidents, the president of Tanzania and the president of Zanzibar, and two different parliaments. There are over 1 million people living on Zanzibar and 98% of them are muslim.
We were met at the 'border crossing' by farron's fixer Danny who walked us to our hotel, Safari Lodge. Getting there was interesting, we were following in single file down the labrynth of tiny alleyways that had turned into raging rivers because of the torrential rain. We were all saturated by the time we got to the hotel. After we all got our room keys Danny said to meet in the lobby in 15 minutes and he would take us on a quick tour of the town so that we could get our bearings. The rooms were really nice, each with a tv, ensuite and airconditioner. Farron had described them as basic, but I think he overestimates our standards.
Most of us met Danny in the lobby after drying off a little bit and we started walking the streets of Stonetown. I instantly fell in love with it. Danny pointed out building, places and trees that we could use as landmarks should we get lost in the alleyways. He also said that Stonetown is a safe town, although at nightime it would still be better to walk around in groups of at least 4 or more people. We split up and organised to meet at Africa House at 6pm. We spent the time changing our shillings into US$ and then made our way to Africa House, a nice hotel and restaurant overlooking the water. It is apparently the best place to watch the sunset from, but because of the heavy cloud cover we didnt get to see it. It was still lovely though.
After a few drink and some fresh calamari at Africa House we made our way to the night market to find dinner. Thankfully it had stopped raining so the nightmarket could happen. We walked around and looked at every stall, sipping on freshly squeezed suger cane juice. We got a huge plate of mixed seafood for dinner that had lobster, crab claw, kingfish, prawns, and bread fruit (yuk) on it. We also got a famouse Zanzibar pizza which was kind of like a calzone- but better! We had such a nice time eating the fresh seafood and mixing with the locals, and when we couldnt fit any more food in we made our way back to Africa House with a few people for drinks and strawberry flavoured shisha pipe.
Tuesday 17th May.
City and spice tour.
We met Danny in the lobby at 8am for our city and spice tour. Jerome, Emma and Aileen volunteered to stay behind and do all the running around that had to be done in order to organise our Egyption visas, which had to be done in Stonetown. We started at the hub of the slave trade market. We saw two of the dungeons where people used to be chained and kept until being sold or killed, there used to be 15 dungeons but only two remained. It felt cramped and claustrophobic being in there with only 15 or so of us, they used to keep close to 100 people in these little holes in the ground, starving to death in thier own waste. We were also taken to a building known as the House of Wonders and the old fort.
From there we were driven out to the spice fields for our spice tour, about 45 minutes outside of Stonetown. We got to see heaps of spices and fruit, got to see how they grow, and taste them in thier raw form. It was more interesting than I had expected it to be. We saw tumeric, anato seed, star fruit, cinamon (the bark of the tree is shaved and you have cinamon sticks, the root makes eucalyptus oil), nutmeg, breadfruit, banana (there are 22 varieties on the island), coffee bean, cassava, ylang ylang, green and black peppercorn, passionfruit, clove, jackfruit, ginger, lemongrass, durian, cocao, cardamom, vanilla pods, bay leaf, grapefruit, custard apple. Towards the end a guy climed up a huge coconut tree, barefoot, and got us some coconut which we drank and ate the flesh. When the tour was over we were given lots of different types of tea to try and had the oppertunity to buy small packets of spices. All of the satchets, with the exception of some mixed spices and saffron, were 1,000 Tanzanian shillings, which equals about US60cents (1,500 shillings= US$1). So naturally we bought heaps! Alex got lots of different types of spices and I got some banana tea (should be interesting) and vanilla tea, and banana coffee (I think I might be taking this "I eat bananas again" thing too far).
We went from there to the home of the spice tour guide, who's wife had prepared a cooked lunch for us. We walked in to thier home and the room at the front of the small house had a floor covering and was set up with plates, cutlery and glasses. We all sat on the floor and not long after lunch was brought out. We had pilau rice, coconut curry and fresh fruit. It was delicious, and so generous of them to welcome all of us strange muzungu's (white person/foreigner) into thier home. As we left we all left a small amount of money in the tip jar that was strategically placed by the front door, said asante sana (thankyou very much) and piled back into the van. By this stage, Jerome, Emma and Aileen had been picked up and brought to where we were as from here we were being taken straight to the beach we would be spending the next few nights. Not a bad day so far, especially considering thr city tour, spice tour, transport and lunch only cost us US$25 each!
It was a two hour drive to Nungwi Beach on the north of the island. We settled into our 'basic' (read: awsome) rooms with ensuite and then made our way to the beach, a whole 30 seconds away. We were blown away by how beautiful it was, everything I had imagined. The water was the most beautiful aqua colour and the white sand was so soft it felt like walking on talcom powder. It took Alex no more than 5 minutes to find someone willing to take him out fishing, so while he did that I made myself comfy at one of the bars and started drinking with some of the others. While Alex was gone, Felix asked if I wanted to go swimming with dolphins with him and Sheri the next day as he needed 3 or 4 people or the guy couldnt take him. Of course I said yes!
We stayed at the same bar all night, Alex returned sans fish, and we drank cocktails, ate seafood, and loved every second of it.
We met Danny in the lobby at 8am for our city and spice tour. Jerome, Emma and Aileen volunteered to stay behind and do all the running around that had to be done in order to organise our Egyption visas, which had to be done in Stonetown. We started at the hub of the slave trade market. We saw two of the dungeons where people used to be chained and kept until being sold or killed, there used to be 15 dungeons but only two remained. It felt cramped and claustrophobic being in there with only 15 or so of us, they used to keep close to 100 people in these little holes in the ground, starving to death in thier own waste. We were also taken to a building known as the House of Wonders and the old fort.
From there we were driven out to the spice fields for our spice tour, about 45 minutes outside of Stonetown. We got to see heaps of spices and fruit, got to see how they grow, and taste them in thier raw form. It was more interesting than I had expected it to be. We saw tumeric, anato seed, star fruit, cinamon (the bark of the tree is shaved and you have cinamon sticks, the root makes eucalyptus oil), nutmeg, breadfruit, banana (there are 22 varieties on the island), coffee bean, cassava, ylang ylang, green and black peppercorn, passionfruit, clove, jackfruit, ginger, lemongrass, durian, cocao, cardamom, vanilla pods, bay leaf, grapefruit, custard apple. Towards the end a guy climed up a huge coconut tree, barefoot, and got us some coconut which we drank and ate the flesh. When the tour was over we were given lots of different types of tea to try and had the oppertunity to buy small packets of spices. All of the satchets, with the exception of some mixed spices and saffron, were 1,000 Tanzanian shillings, which equals about US60cents (1,500 shillings= US$1). So naturally we bought heaps! Alex got lots of different types of spices and I got some banana tea (should be interesting) and vanilla tea, and banana coffee (I think I might be taking this "I eat bananas again" thing too far).
We went from there to the home of the spice tour guide, who's wife had prepared a cooked lunch for us. We walked in to thier home and the room at the front of the small house had a floor covering and was set up with plates, cutlery and glasses. We all sat on the floor and not long after lunch was brought out. We had pilau rice, coconut curry and fresh fruit. It was delicious, and so generous of them to welcome all of us strange muzungu's (white person/foreigner) into thier home. As we left we all left a small amount of money in the tip jar that was strategically placed by the front door, said asante sana (thankyou very much) and piled back into the van. By this stage, Jerome, Emma and Aileen had been picked up and brought to where we were as from here we were being taken straight to the beach we would be spending the next few nights. Not a bad day so far, especially considering thr city tour, spice tour, transport and lunch only cost us US$25 each!
It was a two hour drive to Nungwi Beach on the north of the island. We settled into our 'basic' (read: awsome) rooms with ensuite and then made our way to the beach, a whole 30 seconds away. We were blown away by how beautiful it was, everything I had imagined. The water was the most beautiful aqua colour and the white sand was so soft it felt like walking on talcom powder. It took Alex no more than 5 minutes to find someone willing to take him out fishing, so while he did that I made myself comfy at one of the bars and started drinking with some of the others. While Alex was gone, Felix asked if I wanted to go swimming with dolphins with him and Sheri the next day as he needed 3 or 4 people or the guy couldnt take him. Of course I said yes!
We stayed at the same bar all night, Alex returned sans fish, and we drank cocktails, ate seafood, and loved every second of it.
Wednesday 18th May.
Seafood bonanza!
Alex was gone at 6am to go fishing on a boat with Wil, Lars and BJ. I met Felix and Sheri at 8.30am to begin the 2.5 hour drive to the southern most point of Zanzibar. We jumped on a motor boat with two local guys and went in search of dolphins. It wasn't too long before we spotted some. The driver raced over to where the dolphins were swimming and we all got into our flippers and snorkles, ready to jump in. When we got close enough to the dolphins we all jumped off the side of the tinny boat and started swimming in the direction of the dolphins. Once the dolphins had moved away the boat came to get us, put a small ladder over the side and helped us up. This continued for the next two hours or so. The water was a lovely temperature, not cold at all, even out in the deep water we were swimming in. Felix saw dolphins from under the water on two seperate occasions, Sheri and I didn't see them from under the water at all, but it was still nice getting to be so close to them.
When it was close to lunch time we headed back towards shore. The driver stopped closer to shore so that we could jump out and have a bit of a snorkle around, we also spotted one more dolphin which was a nice surprise.
We got back to shore and had some lunch of rice, kingfish, coconut curry and fresh fruit and then started the long drive back to our beach on the north of the island. Again, not a bad day for US$40! We almost made it back but I had to stop for an emergency toilet stop. Aparently the curry was too rich for me. The driver was nice enough to rush me over to a school across the road, but the toilets were locked, so he ran up and asked some guy if we could use thier toilet! By this stage all of the school girls had gathered to see what was going on and why the strange white girl was running around thier school. After thanking the guy for kindly letting me use his house, we went back to the car and contiued on home. 99% of all of the toilets past Malawi are squat toilets and I have become quite and expert, apart from the smell I think I might actually prefer them (but dont hold me to that).
We got back to Nungwi Beach just in time to catch Alex, who had caught nothing on his fishing trip, as he was about to leave for the turtle aquarium. It was a short walk through the town and along the beach and when we got there Mark, Aileen, Andrea, and Jerome were swimming with the giant turtles and Alex jumped in too. While there we organised to go on a half day snorkelling trip with the guys from the turtle sanctuary for the next day.
We got back in time to head out for dinner with Jimmy, Benne, Jan, Felix, Mark, BJ, and Sheri. Some of the boys had eaten at this little place on the beach the night before and were heading back there again so it had to be good. We both got a whole, fresh lobster for 20,000 shillings (about US$13!!!), we also got some prawns and some tuna. All freshly caught and cooked. Im getting hungry again now just thinking about it. The lobster was so, so, so good and a highlight of our time on Zanzibar for me. We had a few more drinks and then headed back to bed.
Alex was gone at 6am to go fishing on a boat with Wil, Lars and BJ. I met Felix and Sheri at 8.30am to begin the 2.5 hour drive to the southern most point of Zanzibar. We jumped on a motor boat with two local guys and went in search of dolphins. It wasn't too long before we spotted some. The driver raced over to where the dolphins were swimming and we all got into our flippers and snorkles, ready to jump in. When we got close enough to the dolphins we all jumped off the side of the tinny boat and started swimming in the direction of the dolphins. Once the dolphins had moved away the boat came to get us, put a small ladder over the side and helped us up. This continued for the next two hours or so. The water was a lovely temperature, not cold at all, even out in the deep water we were swimming in. Felix saw dolphins from under the water on two seperate occasions, Sheri and I didn't see them from under the water at all, but it was still nice getting to be so close to them.
When it was close to lunch time we headed back towards shore. The driver stopped closer to shore so that we could jump out and have a bit of a snorkle around, we also spotted one more dolphin which was a nice surprise.
We got back to shore and had some lunch of rice, kingfish, coconut curry and fresh fruit and then started the long drive back to our beach on the north of the island. Again, not a bad day for US$40! We almost made it back but I had to stop for an emergency toilet stop. Aparently the curry was too rich for me. The driver was nice enough to rush me over to a school across the road, but the toilets were locked, so he ran up and asked some guy if we could use thier toilet! By this stage all of the school girls had gathered to see what was going on and why the strange white girl was running around thier school. After thanking the guy for kindly letting me use his house, we went back to the car and contiued on home. 99% of all of the toilets past Malawi are squat toilets and I have become quite and expert, apart from the smell I think I might actually prefer them (but dont hold me to that).
We got back to Nungwi Beach just in time to catch Alex, who had caught nothing on his fishing trip, as he was about to leave for the turtle aquarium. It was a short walk through the town and along the beach and when we got there Mark, Aileen, Andrea, and Jerome were swimming with the giant turtles and Alex jumped in too. While there we organised to go on a half day snorkelling trip with the guys from the turtle sanctuary for the next day.
We got back in time to head out for dinner with Jimmy, Benne, Jan, Felix, Mark, BJ, and Sheri. Some of the boys had eaten at this little place on the beach the night before and were heading back there again so it had to be good. We both got a whole, fresh lobster for 20,000 shillings (about US$13!!!), we also got some prawns and some tuna. All freshly caught and cooked. Im getting hungry again now just thinking about it. The lobster was so, so, so good and a highlight of our time on Zanzibar for me. We had a few more drinks and then headed back to bed.
Vicki the Pig.
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