Thursday, July 18: In transit, and Mercury rising...
Initial update of the blog occurring whilst sitting in Dubai Airport at 1:45 am, waiting for our flight to Zanzibar that departs 2:30 am.
Yesterday started with the final pack of our bags before leaving our Cambridge apartment around 9:30 am and walk down to the Cambridge main railway station (a short walk). Grabbed a direct train to Stansted airport which was super easy and got us to the airport 11:15 am.
Stansted airport was absolute chaos!! School holidays are just starting and with a lot of the cheap airlines based out of Stansted the crowds were huge. Luckily the Emirates check-in desk seemed to be relatively calm so our process was smooth. From there we joined an enormous security queue, but it was very efficient and didn't take overly long to get through to the departure area. They must employ a huge number of people!!
Initially had to pass through shops, snaking our way past the duty free and a whole lot of other shops, then a food hall... so many people!! It was really difficult to find a seat although we noticed it did start to clear slightly, must have been a lot of flights departing at a similar time. We were left a bit dazed however, and wondering if we can continue to be part of mass tourism... it is horrendous to experience the crowds, whilst admitting we are part of the issue ourselves (well, when we aren't on our bikes :) ).
Our flight to Dubai was good, Caro had a spare seat beside her as a family of 3 had done a swap around with a single person... perfect... even though the flight didn't have many spare seats. A 7 hour flight, so for movies "The Reverend and Mrs Simpson", "Unbroken" and "Zatopek" whilst Noel concentrated on some music doco's.
Arriving in Dubai we had a one hour transfer time, ironically chatting to a chap whilst walking who picked up on our accent and advised he had married a girl from Invercargill, always a small world! Had to pass through a security check again which was a pain as we had to tip our water bottles out, and there was no refill station beyond security (which is unusual). To get to our next departure gate was a long walk, an escalator, a lift, a train, a lift and once finally in our departure lounge it was then loaded onto a bus for a long ride to the actual plane... which was a code share flight so not such a great level of service, OK though as it was sleep time! Both of us feeling the effects however after the 5 hour 30 min flight.
Thursday ... part II....
Admitted via Tanzania customs at Zanzibar after filling out one form, Noel had already organised Visas online prior. A reasonably quiet airport, we walked past the waiting taxis who were trying hard to get our business. Quoted 36,000 Tanzanian Shillings (about $US 15), but once we got out of the airport boundary we picked up a "Dala Dala" (local bus) for a negotiated price of 5000 Shillings... although the driver tried it on by asking for 50,000 initially for "express service!"
The non express service was quite fun... the bus was absolutely full at one point with a range of people and their cargo. We were dropped at a road corner by 9am. Then walked through the narrow lanes of Stone Town to our hotel, dodging multiple offers of taxi or scooter rides. The sight of us walking through the streets carrying our bags must be a reasonably rare occurrence by the looks we were getting... well, perhaps for an "old couple" it must be.
We were able to leave our bags at the hotel but by the time we transferred some of our backpack contents to our main bags the kind hotel staff advised our room was ready so we were welcome to check in early... bonus!
A buffet style late breakfast at the hotel restaurant, paying this morning but it will be included tomorrow with the tariff. After breakfast and an appreciated shower we headed out to explore the town.
Zig-zagged our way through the narrow streets to the Slave Market/Anglican Cathedral of Christ Church. This was after passing by the Freddie Mercury house, located pretty much beside our hotel, which is now a museum/memorial and is said (although there is some doubt apparently) to be his birthplace/family home of his early years. We didn't go in, reviews suggest it is pretty much just a collection of photos, although we felt "Under Pressure" it was just easier if "Another one bites the dust".
The streets/lanes are now a lot busier than earlier this morning with shops open and traders trying to encourage you in. They are persistent, but friendly and polite about it. Also a few local school groups going through the streets, little 5-6-7 year old boys in uniform with ties on.
The Slave Market Museum is a sad place. It is not known exactly when it started, maybe in the 8th century but by the late 1500's it was trading strongly. Captives from East Africa were processed here and sent to South America (Brazil) and to the Middle East. Gold and Ivory were the other main trade products.
The people were captured, sometimes whole villages, then walked overland before being boated over to Zanzibar where they were placed for several days crammed into dungeons with little food or water.... a test to see how strong they were before being auctioned off. The slaves ended up being used for growing and picking in the spice trade and in clove and coconut plantations or sold to the Middle East where they became house servants, concubines, craftsmen etc etc.
The main area the slaves that passed through Zanzibar ended up in tended to be the Middle East but then eventually trade occurred to everywhere in Europe. France was a big player in the trade. Also anyone within Zanzibar with money owned or traded slaves... it is thought that in the 1850's 2/3rd's of Zanzibar population were slaves.
Britain began to put steps in place to abolish the slave trade, resulting in treaties being in place by 1897. However there was still an Arabic trade until 1909. Huge suffering... not just the actual trading but the high deaths from disease and harsh conditions.
It is unthinkable really that one race of people were persecuted like that, during a time when it was an accepted practice worldwide.
Our guide, Robertson, showed us around the whole complex... church, memorial, dungeons and then left us to read through the information set up in a few rooms, which were very hot and stuffy. Fascinating, but so sad.
We zigged our way back through the narrow streets of Stone Town, passing the old Arabic fort which dates from 1699 and is the oldest building on the sea frontage. Over time it has been used as barracks, a prison, and a ladies club before an amphitheatre developed in the 1990's. It is all set up for tourists now with market stalls. There are lots of hawkers on the sea front all trying, repeatedly, to sell you boat trips to nearby Prison Island... which we declined.
Back to the hotel for an afternoon rest, the overnight extended travelling is catching up with us. Headed downstairs in the evening for dinner and watched the sun go down. Lovely Zanzibar dishes... very yummy.
There are a lot of cats throughout the town and a few hanging around the restaurant tables in the hope of food scraps... maybe that is why Freddie Mercury had a love of cats?
The people are lovely, and the hawkers although constant are polite and not too persistent. Noel headed for an ATM and withdrew 400,000 shillings... sounds a lot but just over $US 100.
Our bed is surrounded by mosquito net, and the housekeeping staff came into the room and sprayed repellent... so obviously they are real!! We started our course of Malaria tablets now we are in Tanzania... these daily tablets will continue until we have been home for a month!
Friday, 19 July... a beaching we will go....
Both of us had a very good sleep... surprise, surprise! After breakfast we packed up, checked out and waited in the lobby for our pre-arranged taxi/car. Noel had organised it last night, and it arrived around 10:45 am. A not very talkative driver but got us to our destination alright.
On the drive we passed a couple of outdoor markets (food) that were very busy. Lots of school kids are walking the roads so they obviously start early and then finish school at lunchtime. All the girls are wearing head veils/white-cream hijab along with cream shirts and mid calf length skirts.
As we crossed from the west coast to the east coast of Zanzibar there was some farmland: Brahman type cattle grazing the roadsides, possibly rice fields although it doesn't look that wet. The area is also known for its spices and produces clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut and black pepper. Lots of goats wandering about as well.
We arrived at our destination of Matemwe, dropped off at our bungalow. The lady that owns/manages it was absent but we were met by a young chap who let us in through a locked metal door... due to a very large resident dog called Tiger. Huge size and large bark but super friendly once he knows you are a guest. The complex has 5 bungalows but it appears we are the only guests... comes with a garden view but a very basic garden! The room is very basic also, but totally clean and adequate for our short stay... more similar to what we would have stayed in when travelling 35 years ago! Caro is a bit shocked at it's rustic nature!!
Although not "on" the beach, it is less than a 100 m walk to emerge onto what seems like an endless white sand beach! Our initial walk wasn't very far as we hadn't planned well, we hadn't thought of hats and sunglasses! The sea (Indian Ocean) looks and feels quite inviting.
Our second walk was more successful, we wandered along to a restaurant in one of the more resort type complexes for lunch before just chilling in our bungalow as the tide was coming fully in leaving hardly any space to walk on the beach anyway.
Dinner this evening was at another resort further along the beach. The resorts, which are all along the beach, are reasonably low key.. certainly not neon and high rise in this area... yet? They are lovely however with pools and thatched open air bars/restaurants.
Today it is on the news that an IT blip is causing banks and airlines to become inoperable... not too big a concern for us in the short term, there are worse places we could be trapped we suppose if it comes to that!! Also likely the reason that our 2nd attempt in Stone Town to withdraw cash failed?
Saturday, 20 July... sea and sand...
Woken early (3:50 am!!) by the Muslim dawn call to prayer (Fajr) so were initially a bit startled... but drifted back to sleep before getting up about 7 am. Had breakfast at our complex with the staff (1 chap) having prepared a fruit plate followed by scrambled eggs.
We headed along the beach and found a local market to buy some water. The tide was a long way out with lots of local people in the sea between the water mark and the now exposed reef catching and collecting things... fish with set nets, catching or spearing possibly small octopus as well as a fair bit of shellfish and sea urchin collection. A lot of women out in the sea, working still with being covered head to toe in customary dress... quite an extraordinary sight. There is a large tide variation as at low tide like this the water is only just above the knee... a long way out! There was also a couple of chaps on motorbikes cruising the beach, obviously middle men, collecting/buying the produce as it was brought into shore.
Negotiated for a bottle of water, much cheaper than the resorts are selling it for! Foreigners are advised not to drink tap-water.
We seemed to cause a bit of a screaming uproar as we walked across the street and 4 busloads, jammed full, of school kids saw us as they arrived at a local school. Must have been a sports day or something as they were very excited and seeing a couple of tourists to shout greetings to was the icing on the cake for them!!
After dropping our water back at our lodgings we walked the beach in the other direction. Quite a few resorts in that direction also. Constantly being hassled by people wanting to sell us a snorkelling trip, a diving trip, a tee shirt or sell us a massage! The day has clouded up somewhat and the tide is coming back in so everyone is now coming in with it after their mornings work.
By the time we had walked the beach the tide was nearly fully back in and lapping at the resort sun loungers! We walked to a far end resort, which our landlady Roxanne recommended. A lovely, if somewhat pricey, menu. As we were not that hungry we shared a main which was delicious. Back walking through the high tide for an afternoon siesta. We are quite pleased we will be leaving tomorrow as we are actually not that great at being "beach folk" and there is not a lot to do here. Any potential snorkelling seems to entail a boat trip.
Dinner at a closer resort. The resorts are reasonably quiet with not that many people about, the majority of tourists are probably European... who seem quite content to bake in the sun (yes, probably a bit of a broad statement but it does appear that way).
We have had to pay cash for our accommodation, tomorrow's taxi will also be cash so we have got ourselves a bit skint! One ATM withdrawal failed in Stone Town and we underestimated how much to have as Noel hadn't read the fine print for the lodging. We have managed to use cards for meals here though so should, just, have enough and fingers crossed for an ATM at the airport that works (ie due to the worldwide IT hiccup).
Ironically for staying at a hot beach area we have struggled to get our washing dry. Today wasn't very sunny and our unit is afternoon shaded without much air movement so along with the sea air it seems to stay damp.
Sunday, July 21: A travelling day...
Much better sleep last night... but yes, we can confirm the dawn call to prayer is 3:50am!!!
Got ourselves packed up and had breakfast and out of our room by 9:30am. Our "private hire" turned up at 10am to take us to the airport. The roads etc were very busy but plenty of time to get there. Driver was a bit indignant at what we paid but it had all been arranged prior... obviously the driver hadn't been told but accepted it graciously!
A huge downpour just as we got there but very brief. Noel sussed out the ATM machine and got out more cash... $800,000 TNZ shillings, wahoooo :)
We went through the security checkpoint, very early but best place to wait and the Tanzania Airlines check-in happened quickly so our luggage taken care of. A lot of tourists at the airport, and numbers continued to build once we were in the departure lounge... we did wonder but it was actually 2 different flights people were waiting on.
Bussed from the lounge to a ATR propeller plane for a nice flight to Arusha, more snacks etc compared to the previous flight to Zanzibar.
The Arusha airport, is a big building sitting empty and still under construction. It was an interesting arrival procedure... all arriving passengers ushered across the tarmac past the waiting departure passengers, that were waiting outside the building under sun shades and around to the other end of the building. Then we stood in the open car park whilst the baggage was unloaded manually onto a wooden table. From here we found a taxi to take us to our hotel about 25 minutes away.
We are staying at a very nice hotel after travelling via roughly paved streets... lots of people, more motorbikes, obvious that there is less of a Muslim population, lots of newish buildings including shopping malls, higher office blocks etc.
Had our Intrepid tour meet and greet at 6pm, there is only 6 of us so a small group plus Tony our tour leader. There is only 5 initially as one client delayed by flight issues. 1x German... Hartmut, 1 x UK (although ex South African)... Meyer, and 1 x Aussie.... Abbey!, who we had travelled with on last years Vietnam tour, such a lovely surprise and what a hoot to have her on same tour again. The missing chap is Anael who is French descent but living in the UK.
The outline of the trip itself sounds great, should be fun!
Monday, July 22: Coffee anyone?... then on ya bike... wow...
The tour begins!! Because we have a small group we have 2x 8 seater Landcruiser safari vehicles instead of an expedition truck which is the usual mode if there is up to the maximum 12 client tour. We have one with Godfrey, our driver, plus Haroun driving the other that has bikes/luggage etc.
Left Arusha 7:15am'ish to drive through the outskirts before turning off onto bouncing dirt (red clay) roads... met up with a coffee farmer, Clement, a generational farmer with a piece of land that yields about 2 tonne of coffee beans a year. Clement guided us both across his land and also other villagers land... very productive area with huge Avocado trees and fruit, coffee plantations, banana plantations which are under-sown with potatoes, corn, zucchini, carrots. Potatoes seem to be grown in any available spot... they are flowering (it's mid winter) and due to be harvested in a months time. The coffee is still a month or 2 away from harvesting, and is harvested over a 2-3 month period. The corn was finished already... we had noticed lots of street stalls roasting and selling corn on the roadside in Arusha.
Clement then gave us a demo of the procedure of roasting coffee beans. Firstly pummelling the beans to break the outside husks... blowing and throwing to remove the husks... roasting, which is a slow (20 minute plus) process over a charcoal burner. Finally pummelling again to grind the coffee and then adding water to make a delicious brew... which our group dubbed "Cycle Roast".
Clements family then served lunch even though it was only around 11am.
Back in the trucks and drove to Arusha National Park, famous for being home of Tanzania's 2nd highest peak Mt Meru, and also the Ngurdotu Crater. It also has Tanzania's largest population of giraffes and indeed one of the largest in the world. . The park is located 25 km from Arusha so didn't take very long to get to the entrance. Tony asked us to take a guess at what animal we would see first as we ventured into the park in the Landcruiser's. First spotted was Buffalo which were grazing alongside Zebra and some Warthogs amongst them... amazing!!! A quite surreal experience! The animals are not at all concerned by the vehicles, they just continued munching away in a very grassy field.
As we continued on we spotted a couple of Baboon bums disappearing into the bush, also glimpsed a small deer like animal in the trees.
We arrived at what must have been the highest road point of the park and stopped... where the team assembled the bikes for us and we were ready for the first ride of the tour. As we are still within the National Park we had an escort of an armed park ranger in one of the following trucks, just for a short time until we reached the park boundary after a downhill ride.
It was steep and the road was very rough... so if there were any animals we were actually too busy concentrating to see them!
Once out of the park the road continued downhill for a bit and then flattened out. We spotted a giraffe in the distance and as we stopped to look another 3 appeared. As we continued on 3 or 4 actually crossed the road right in front of us then stopped... a perfect photo stop as Mt Kilimanjaro very visible as the backdrop, very exciting!!
Riding through villages on the gravel road, people out herding their goats, cows and maybe some sheep. We guess taking them for safe keeping overnight? The local little kids are very excited when we bike by.
Continuing on there was a few hills, but not huge, before arriving at our eco lodge for the night. Glamping type tents with basic bathroom facilities shared between 2 tents. Run by Maasai people as a supplement to their farm income. Hot water was heated and transferred into a overhead bucket for our showers... spoilt! but needed as we are quite dusty after our riding.
A meal of rice and stewed beef, it was only our group and 3 other individual travellers staying in the complex.
A fabulous day!
Tuesday, July 23: Life is a highway...
6:30am start, neither of us sleeping that well last night... too much "first day" excitement? On the road by 7:30am following breakfast. Followed the same gravel road for 15km or so, up and down, up and down...
Then onto tarmac... a main highway connecting Kenya and Tanzania, although surprisingly little traffic but a fantastic surface. The trucks passing us were amazingly polite and safe passing us. Fast downhill sections and not too bad uphill's, 45 km to cover and given the surface it was quite a fast pace (averaging 20km/hr so fast for us at least!!). I (Caro) have got the rearmost position again and can't quite keep up with the "peloton", I also got a puncture which the crew quickly repaired for me.
Continued on with a couple of snack stops, not a great deal to see... goats, donkeys, cows and people, some very young children minding the stock on very dry, scrubby landscape. The further we rode the hotter (very) it got so we were very pleased to get to our lodgings before 1pm. Spent the afternoon relaxing and re-hydrating with water, along with some blog catchup as there is wi-fi available (not a usual thing in Tanzania).
Dinner and an early night for everyone... our missing party member, Anael, arrived tired but pleased to be here after a very convoluted 2 day flight delays/cancelations saga getting from London to Tanzania.
Wednesday, July 24: Lets dance...
Once we departed 7:30am it was soon onto a gravel/dirt road where we bumped our way along for 50km... the road is extremely corrugated so some very rough riding in places. Luckily the sun stayed behind the cloud for most of the way. Not too much traffic and the majority slows right down as they pass/meet us.
On this ride we saw a Greater Kudu , only the 2nd one our guide Tony has ever seen, giraffes, a weasel type animal crossed the road along with a couple of spring doe/onex type animals. There was also a lot of Maasai people, some as young as 6-10 year olds in charge of the goat/sheep/cattle herds.
We had snack/drink breaks every 10km or so. At the final snack break the crew disassembled our bikes and packed them up on the 2nd Landcruiser. From there we had 100km of vehicle travel over very rough roads to get to our accommodation. Around halfway we stopped and had a packed lunch under a tree, from where we could watch giraffes and also some vultures circling (not looking for our lunch/us we hoped!).
As we continued on over the rough and dusty road we saw zebra grazing in a few places and also baboons in trees. Arriving at our accommodation near Lake Natron (for 2 nights) we got a full Maasai welcome which included some inclusive dancing.... ummm, not flash at that! We were shown to our quarters, just for the 2 of us separated from the main complex... we get a stone hut, with en-suite, overlooking the huge plains, and Mt Lengai. A stunning view ,very spoilt!!!
After dinner we retreated (due to a noisy group of Italians taking over the common area) to where the rest of our group are staying, also very nice rooms, and played a couple of rounds of Uno. A nice way to finish the day.
Thursday, July 25: Put your best foot forward...
8am start and our local guide for the day is Matius. All in the Landcruiser and a drive to Lake Natron, saw 3 ostriches on the way. On the shore of the lake there was a big group of Pelican, also a few Flamingo out in the lake but they were a bit hard to see properly without using binoculars. There were some young grey ones (they are 1 year old before they turn pink.. who knew!) closer to the shore. Also some Ibis and other birds as well in the area along with a group of Wildebeest in the distance.
A walk from there over a slight hill to drop down and view the oldest Homosapien footprints found. 120 million years old they are quite clear and amazing they were even found and recognised. They had been preserved in a combined mud/ash layer after a volcanic eruption when the people had walked over as the ground was solidifying. Mind boggling to see, Abbey who is an archeologist by profession was very, very excited!
After getting away from 3 ladies who seemingly appeared from nowhere in an attempt to sell us trinkets/wares we got back into the Landcruiser to visit the local market. On route we saw 2 female ostrich, a couple of gazelles (one with a young one) and giraffe... a whole herd (a Tower of Giraffe!!.).. (Editor note.... they are right, although I had to google it)) of giraffe that were very chilled about us getting out of the truck and taking photo's as we walked near them.
Matius led us through the local market, which is held once a week. Didn't feel super awkward as it can sometimes as a stranger in a strange land, perhaps helped by the fact we were the only foreigners there (at that time anyway). We got a description of the Maasai fabrics for sale and what they all were.. each man and possibly women have 3 separate pieces of material arranged somehow so that it stays on!
A description of the fruit and vege for sale, enjoyed a donut type bread courtesy of Abbey and then a chilled drink once again courtesy of Abbey! Led down to the livestock section of the market were goats are selling for $US120 and cattle for $US350... the stock by and large in good condition. Nearby is a butcher where they kill and "process" the cow on the spot... nothing is wasted.
The Maasai traditional diet is milk, blood and meat although now fruit and vege are more available. Maize seemed very expensive... barter system 2 goats for 1 bucket of maize grain. It is used to make Ugali (polenta).
Back to the camp for a nice lunch of fish and chips and salad... not sure where the fish came from? !!
A bit of relaxation time then at 3pm Matius led us by foot to the nearby waterfall up the river. The river supplies water to the camp/s and village. Getting there required a few river crossings/wading with the water being tepid and the air temperature hot... so not a hardship!!
There was several tour groups coming/going to the waterfall. The noisy Italians were there before us but were preparing to leave as we arrived so had the area to ourselves briefly before the next group arrived. A fun swim/soaking up to and under the first waterfall to follow the stream a short distance to the next major waterfall... all very refreshing in a scenic spot. Although shows us that it is not surprising we are not drinking the tap water... in saying that we have been advised not to drink the water or even clean teeth with it anywhere in Tanzania including Zanzibar. The official line is the minerals in the water will upset foreigners stomachs....??... anyway we are not going to argue on that one!
Nicely cooled off by the swim (it was extremely hot everywhere today) we headed back to camp. Once again had to run the gauntlet of women trying to sell their wares... they were desperate as it was near the end of the day. Jewellery and neck decorations, bead work, cute animal trinkets, place mats etc. Managed to not buy anything but they are persistent. We are too limited for space to buy fragile items even though some of it is very cute.
Following dinner there was a bonfire and a traditional dance display... the men jumping and the women chanting in very high pitched voices. 3 of the boys in the group, including Noel, joined in (Editors note: .... :) :) !!)
It has been no trouble getting washing dry here as a very hot day, with a warm breeze :) No electricity in our hut tonight....
Friday, July 26: Breaking records...
I (Caro) was up at 1am as thought there was something on our roof... but a glance outside and it was some donkeys, but not on the roof!!!, so had to quickly rescue our shoes which we had left outside to dry in the heat... I'm sure they would have been perfect donkey food!
Woken properly at 5:52am as the electricity came back on lighting up our abode... an ideal alarm as breakfast was 6:30am. We had already packed our requirements for 3 nights from 2 bags into one, leaving our other travelling items (tent, sleeping bags, long distance biking stuff) in the other. This is as we are spending the next 3 nights without the second vehicle, 2 in the Serengeti, and are not biking so the 2nd Landcruiser with bikes and surplus gear will re-join with us after.
Started biking from the camp, down a very sandy track, over a ford and through the town (where we had visited the market yesterday). Accompanied at times by kids, on their way to school, running beside us... amazingly quick and natural runners!
Hartmut had a mechanical issue on his bike and was stuck with limited gears, after a stop it was decided they didn't have the part to repair it. After another stop for some simple repairs on Noel's bike our guide Tony decided he should ride Hartmut's defective bike which entailed changing pedals over (Tony uses clip-on shoes) that resulted in a happy Hartmut.
Undulating up and down, not too steep, very dusty with the wind at our back and a haze covering the sun to remove the high heat a little. Once we hit some steeper hills Tony really struggled with the defective bike and ended up admitting defeat and riding in the Landcruiser with Godfrey.
Quite a long ride uphill, mostly the gradients were OK but a couple of times it was walking/pushing, one was 17 degree incline.
At one of our snack stops a 7 or 8 year old(?) Maasai boy with his herd of goats appeared from nowhere. People seem to be grazing stock anywhere, seems very remote in places but usually within a couple of hours walk of a Maasai family enclosure. We did give him an appreciated biscuit, although Intrepid do strongly discourage doing so as it tends to encourage begging which is not a good look for the country. This young chap was very curious about the bikes, so Abby loaded him onto her bike and pushed him around a little, much to his extreme delight.
We arrived at the 30km mark with the sun fully out and the heat really coming on... however as a group, the decision was made to crack the 32km and hence we would hold the Intrepid Travel record for the longest distance on that day of the tour itinerary. We were all pretty pleased to finish up though, the full heat of the day coming and the reasonably brutal uphill sections on the rough road had made it a tough ride.
Here the bikes were disassembled and loaded on Haroun's Landcruiser and we bid farewell, for a couple of days, to him. We then travelled for about 100km in the vehicle, a long grind up a tar-sealed highway and over more hills. There was maize crops and even a couple of tractors in fields. However it was a bit of a struggle to stay awake in the vehicle.
We arrived at the town of Wasso about 3pm, a huge Maasai market underway today. Looks a fairly dusty, rustic town... our accommodation is a hotel/lodge and they are trying but are up against it somewhat with the Tanzania electrical infrastructure and supply being very poor/erratic. Disappointingly no hot water, or electricity after a big day, but that is all part of travelling in Tanzania.
The group met with Tony and Godfrey at 4:30 and walked up to an ATM for people to stock up on cash... Noel couldn't get either of his cards to work but should be good for a day or 2 yet. From there we walked to the Maasai market which is a weekly market and luckily on the day of our stay. Walked through it with Tony and Godfrey explaining various aspects, a real market rather than a tourist one... lots of shoes, clothes (largely second hand brought in from other wealthier countries), household goods, vegetables, transistors and simple electronics, solar panels.
A livestock market also, but very near the end of the day so most of the livestock trading had already occurred, what remained was probably not selling. One side was a busy alley with BBQ meat being cooked (very fresh we think from the stock market), bars etc. The whole area seemed quite safe to be walking through although as foreigners we were obviously viewed as a curiosity. Tony advised the Maasai people have their own justice system... so culprits such as petty thieves could end up being tied to a tree and lashed!!
We adjourned to a local bar, an experience in itself, for a beer... it is a fun trip as all the local guides join us for drinks (a little different to the Vietnam tour last year for example were the guide and support staff tended to stick to themselves in the evening). Dinner was at the hotel, interesting meal being under battery power light at times and cooking by gas due to the fluctuating electricity supply... it must be a nightmare but the locals all seemed well adapted/used to it.
Tomorrow we head into Serengeti National Park, sounds like the most scariest thing we have to be afraid of is "Tizzy Flies"!
Saturday, July 27: On safari...
We both had a very good nights sleep last night, and then away from our hotel by 7:30am and a quick stop to restock with water supplies. On our way just out of the town we spotted gazelle and also after passing grazing goat and cattle herds there were impala and wildebeest with guinea fowl nearby.
Into Serengeti NP around 9:15am at a seemingly very quiet entrance station. Not too many tourists here, just one lady doing here Instagram model poses with her tolerant boyfriend behind the lens.... as she was dressed in a crop top and showing lots of flesh we think the Tizzy Flies have greater attractions than us at this point!!
There was some lizards, very colourful red/blue, and a few small monkeys at the entrance.
We are on safari!... driving along and lots of animals visible already. Close to the road are Impalas, Zebra, Warthog, some bigger Impala, Elands or Topi and a couple of Water Buffalo. Branched onto a different road, the roads are all dirt/dust/moderately rough, and saw Thomson's Gazelle and then a huge bull Elephant by himself.
There has been construction occurring on some road, culvert fixing etc. We reached an area that was very muddy where safari trucks were just trying new routes to get through.... not all the times successful as one was well stuck! A bit tricky and not sure how they were going to get out... Godfrey was asked for assistance but he declined and explained we would all end up stuck. We met a park staff truck heading in which was probably the rescue brigade.
We turned around at that point and retraced our steps, spotting Baboon's, the same elephant and an abundance of zebra, impala and gazelle.
The further into the park we went the number of safari trucks increased. Drove through Giraffe, one just standing on the road so had to drive around it, 2-3 ostriches, secretary birds, vultures and a cluster of hippo's at a river crossing. Certainly can't say we are not seeing anything!! Pretty surreal!
The rest of the group have chosen to do the optional balloon ride in the morning so we stopped at a central area in the park where they arranged the logistics. We have declined, it is quite expensive and neither of us are that keen on the idea anyway. From there it was onto our accommodation... on the way stopping to watch a buffalo, a jackal then 2 elephants. We turned off the more major (read still dirt/rough) road onto a very small track that meandered seemingly to nowhere through the trees and spotted 2 Dik-dik which are very small cute deer like animals, that mate for life.
Emerged to our camp, a glamping tent complex of 6-8 tents.... all the tents have en-suites which is luxury but mainly for the reason that the area is unfenced and they don't want people wandering around at night because of animal threat! A very nice place to be... generator or battery power, and most of us had hot water! Managed to do some washing, although sparingly as the water is all trucked into these campsites.
Abby and Anuel watched an elephant walk past as they sat on the deck having a beer. We are the only group staying and the staff are all very friendly and attentive... possibly helped by the fact this is the first time Intrepid Travel have utilised this accommodation so they will be trying to impress and get more return business we imagine. A 2 night stay here so will be fun. Evening polished off with a lovely meal which is quite amazing given the facilities available. Sat by the bonfire and watched sunset with aperitif ... lovely.
Sunday, July 28: Getting a Lion's share... but why so many tourists!
As today is a full safari day this will basically be a list of what we saw...
4 of the group went ballooning with a 4:30am pickup whilst the 2 of us had a leisurely 6:30am breakfast and away in the truck by 7am. Our own personal safari tour with Godfrey and Tony until we pick the others up around 10.
First spotting was a Hartebeest, a large antelope/impala type animal. Then a pair of "Honeymooning" Lions... that we caught in the mating act, twice!! .....
A Giraffe, then Noel spotted a Lion right beside the road in the long vegetation under a bush... the male of the pair then moved and just sat watching us. We were joined by a couple of other safari trucks. Another giraffe appeared on the road as we were parked up.
A few Buffalo on a burnt area (there is large areas of burnt grassland, controlled burns by park staff to ensure fresh grazing on a planned basis). A lot of various birds along with some groups of hippo's in river spots.
We met up with the others at the balloon base/information centre they were very excited as they nearly landed on a pride of lions!!!We got a guided presentation, initially looking at various animal skulls. The elephant skull is not solid for the simple reason it's head would be too heavy for it to lift! A good explanation of the Serengeti migration, some info on German man Bernhard Grzimek who along with theTanzanian Prime Minister of the time advocated to establish the Serengeti as a National Park so hence the animals are protected. It was open slather full on game hunting before that.
On the road again and first spotting was a spread out tower (group) of Giraffe.
2 male Lions just chilling lying beside the road, but attracting quite a few safari trucks. The drivers all are on radio reporting sightings so tends to cause a few "clusters"!
A herd of elephants. A lone, very menacing looking, hyena. Warthog's and then 2 Lions lounging under/by a large rock outcrop... where we decided to stop and eat our packaged lunch in the truck of course..(a daily occurrence on this trip is packed lunch's supplied by our previous nights accommodation). The Lions just kept sleeping away, like giant cats (as they are), upside down with paws in the air! totally oblivious to the vehicles parked within a couple of metres of them... or the scent of fried chicken!!!
Another couple of lions by the road.
A large herd of elephants that crossed the road moving around the truck to get past.
Then the absolute craziness began!... word went out over the radio that a Leopard had been spotted in a tree. With them being reasonably rare (only 1000 in the park apparently), and being about 5pm by that stage, a huge swarm of safari trucks all converged from different directions to try and spot it. Caused a huge traffic jam, probably well over 50 safari vehicles all trying to get along a narrow dusty road. We couldn't get anywhere near the supposed spot, but if binoculars were used and a bit of imagination it did appear like some legs hanging off a tree branch... or was that just broken branches!
Abandoning the idea but a huge amount of jostling to get turned around we tried to get out of that area but there was more traffic jams due to an owl, then some baboons, hippos, elephants all causing multiple jams. The first time the park has appeared over touristed, and brings out the worst in mass tourism (fully admitting we are part of the problem by travelling ourselves!).
Once extricated from the "mess" we made our way back to the campsite, seeing another Hyena although he was obviously full as was just wanting to sleep and not be disturbed.
Back to lodgings around 6pm and a hot shower was appreciated, although the toilet flushing seems to be non-existent... likely the limited water supplies not helping. A zebra cruising around at the end of the path leading into the tents, there was elephants passing very close during the night last night.
Another lovely meal then a song and dance by the 9 or 10 complex staff, a little bit of sparkly wine to go around... a lovely way to celebrate a fabulous day.
Monday, July 29: A crater like no other...
On the track around 7am, on a mission today as quite a lot of travelling to be done so it was safari roof down and a good pace being set. Saw the hot air balloons up and passing close to where they land.
A group of Lions walking beside the road, including 2 older cubs playing. May have been the same group that yesterday's balloons had accidently landed in the middle of yesterday... much to the consternation of the passengers, then amusement once they worked out the Lions had ran off rather than towards them!
We stopped to watch a male lion making a slow attempt at stalking impala... it definitely wasn't a chase and no kill!
We are in main stream safari traffic, bypassed another lion that a lot of vehicles were stopped observing... then came to a small traffic jam, what was everyone looking at??... it was a Cheetah mum and 2 big cubs drinking water from the side of the road, not at all worried about the vehicle chaos they were amongst. A magnificent sight and we were lucky we were in the right spot to see them.
10 minutes later we were at the main entrance/departure gate of Serengeti, a brief break there and then on the road again. Constant Landcruiser safari vehicle traffic in both directions, a very bumpy dusty road!
We got a puncture, hit a particularly large rock... Tony and Godfrey however very practiced at changing wheels as we just stood and watched, all the bags had to be unloaded to reach the jack. A couple of passing vehicles stopped to see if they could help... most just passed without even slowing!!
Shortly thereafter, and after piling our luggage and ourselves back into the vehicle, we stopped at the Olduvai Gorge museum and monument. This commemorates the first Homo Erectus and first fragments of Homo Habilis found in the area around 1960. Once again Abby was pretty excited, and it is very interesting to try and imagine early humans and how we have evolved.
From there it was a drive to the entrance to Ngorongoro National Park, with our first glimpses of the huge Ngorongoro Crater. This park was created in conjunction with Serengeti in 1951, but then separated in 1959 along with the Ngorongoro conservation area formed on the land between the two, largely still farmed by the Maasai people which the whole area had been prior to the formation of the park/s. In the Serengeti it was made a hunting reserve in 1930 with sport hunting allowed until 1937 before Protected Area status was conferred in 1940, then on to the National Park formation in 1951.
The park entrance area was very congested with safari vehicles filling out the necessary paper work and tourists milling around looking at the, at this point, very hazy view... which Godfrey clarified is because of the sheer number of tour vehicles generating dust in the crater floor!!
The crater access is one way in, one way out on different roads. It does mean the vehicles are concentrated in a smallish area and roughly following the same roads... one designated area for people to lunch at.... so it is another example of mass tourism again which luckily we have seemed to miss for most of our safari-ing, apart from the Leopard episode.
A few different stops to observe: Water Buffolo, Flamingo's on Lake Magadi.. a better view of them than we had got at Lake Natron.
Up onto a high point after following the lake edge, where there were some Hippo cruising around, Warthogs and young non-coloured Flamingo. Once on the high vantage point we were instructed to pull out the binoculars as there were reports of a Rhino... and yes, a long way past the Hippo, past the Elephant, there appeared to be a large rock that was moving! Seriously, when you did study it, it became clear it was a Rhino trotting across the plains. So, ticked off the last of the "Big 5" that every tourist, and their dog, seem to get hung up on and being able to say they have seen as a badge of honour although our Leopard sighting is open to debate :)
On a light note Tony our guide has also been highlighting the Tiny 5, and the Ugly 5 for example.
We travelled through the crater also viewing lots more Impala, Gazelle, Zebra, Widebeest and Hyena. Where we stopped for lunch it was a designated area, only spot with toilets in the park, and is located beside a Hippo infested lake so an interesting viewpoint whilst munching on sustenance.
The climb up out of the crater was on a narrow steep one-way road with quite sharp switchback turns, and passed groups of Baboons and monkeys on the side, or in the middle, of the road. After a stop at the top to admire the view in the direction out of the park it was a drive along the rim to the park exit/entrance point and to be re-united with our bikes!
A bike ride of some 15km into the town of Karatu where we are to stay for the night. Some fast downhill on the tar sealed road along with a few up and downs. Arrived around 5pm and settled in for the night, the hotel has a swimming pool but too cold for our liking.
Thursday, July 30: A final park...
An easier day lined up so a later start with breakfast 7:30am and then departing 8am once again on the tar sealed main road which is nice. A 3km ride to a stop at a huge souvenir shopping area... canvas prints and lots of carved wood stuff, actually an overwhelming amount of product on display so no-one in the group actually purchased anything.
From there it was a steady 2km ascent, slow and steady , before a quick descent to another large, but fancier, shopping complex. Including displays and sales of Tanzanite gem stones, a rare blue/violet stone only found in a few locations in Tanzania. We'd already heard of it as it was the stone Mitchell proposed with....and Jen said yes! A few purchases made here by some of the group although no gorgeous metal garden ornaments for us due to our space constraints!
Then a mostly steep downhill descent into Mto-wa-Mbu, at one point zipping between a large family of Baboons that were spread across the road... very cool!
Got to our accommodation by noon, which is a lodge/camping complex and is very nice with a pool and relaxed bar/restaurant area. Got a lot of (hand) washing done and out on the provided lines to dry... although our second lot had to wait a while for the water to return due to another power cut, the joys of Tanzania!! Early afternoon off until meeting for our safari at 3:45pm. The town is very touristy, we are well and truly back on the tourist trail!
The safari was at Lake Manyara National Park some 10 minutes drive from our accommodation. The trip was scheduled for Thursday morning but Tony had rearranged the schedule, we think possibly because the 2 of us will be leaving the tour earlier than the itinerary suggests... so very nice of him!
At the park entrance gate there was a lot of baboons both big and little (very cute) whilst a little further on there was Blue Monkeys. The park vegetation is very different from the others we have seen with it being very green with lots of bush and trees, streams running through... although still dusty on the roads. Makes it a little harder for trying to spot wildlife with all the tree's!
We saw 4 different single elephants, one passing the truck so close we could have touched it... very impressive sight at that proximity. Also Giraffe, Thompson Gazelle and lots of birds including Southern Ground Hornbill and Buzzard Vultures. It is an area known for it's tree lions... but we didn't spot any.
We left the park with a rattling truck, a broken shock absorber which Godfrey will get repaired tomorrow. Stopped at an ATM coming back through town as everyone is calculating their tips for departure from the tour. Dinner at the hotel and a fairly quiet night as everyone is pretty tired. We are having 2 nights here, getting the washing done a real bonus near the end of our tour.
This area is quite lush with vegetation.
Wednesday, July 31: Banana wine anyone...
We are winding down a bit, an 8:30am start for a walking tour of Mto-wa-Mbu... which the name translates to something like "home of the mosquito", although reputably only in the evening!! Our local guide for the day is Daniel.
Started with a walk to the rice fields just behind the main road: there is an upper and lower rice field area. The upper being fed partially with underground springs whilst the lower by water coming off the Rift Valley Escarpment via a stream. It is rice planting season now, and there is 2 harvests each year, June and December.
From there we walked through part of the town that was flooded 3 months prior, a lot of homes still uninhabited, to reach the market. Fruit, vege, household goods. Sampled various fruits: Custard fruit, a prickly fruit and something like a dried raspberry which is used for food colouring.
Then to an artists studio, where the studio is helping/nurturing youth artists. A lot of stunning artwork on display and we received a presentation on the different types of art produced; Tinke Tinke (brush), Knife using a flat spatula and a fine art as in the big detailed prints. Some lovely work.
On from there to the Banana wine maker... just a little back alley where we presumed that hygiene wasn't a high priority!! :). An amusing stop as the man who was working away moving banana's inside to ripen them with avocado's was obviously drunk... falling over drunk! We sampled the wine and beer. Banana's are fermented with ground millet for the beer production... which is a valuable commodity in trading circles plus obviously some personal use too. Daniel explained that in the ... tribe... a daughter is sold off for marriage and the price includes 120 litres of banana beer, along with a goat, a sheep, a cow etc.
We walked a short length to a banana plantation, a small family plot. A banana plant produces 1 bunch of banana's in 9 months of growth. The tree is then cut down and is replaced with the saplings that grow off the root system, 4 or 5. We also saw the red banana, which is much slower growing taking 15 months to maturity but has less sugar. We tried both types at lunch, the red one has less flavour.
On to the Mozambique wood carving studio/shop. In 1972 civil unrest forced quite a few Mozambique people to relocate to Tanzania and wood carving was a skill they brought with them. Using wood from Ebony and Rosewood but as they are protected trees only windfall is used as well as old trees from Mahogany and Teak. Masks, animals, bowls... again very lovely work.
A tuk-tuk picked us up to take us to lunch at a local sort of spot... by booking only and very much catering to tourist groups. 2 other tour groups arrived after us. The huge amount of food was prepared and cooked by 2 ladies.... at the bush place, with very limited facilities.
Tuk-tuked back to our hotel, final lots of laundry done so will be super clean for the next instalment (well almost!).
Our tour final dinner was rescheduled for tonight as we aren't going to be there tomorrow night, but neither is Godfrey or Harum going to be able to attend then. Meyer (after being nominated!) gave a speech for each of them, and presented them with their individual tips which we had pooled together prior. Dinner and last team photo... and the formalities are over before our last day of tour tomorrow.
Thursday, August 1: Final farewells....
6:30am breakfast to get us away (it's all about us today!!, the rest of the group has rescheduled to meet our personal time limits of getting to the airport on time!). Meyer had 2 punctures in his tyre which Tony fixed before breakfast.
Left by 7am to bike to the nearby Maasai village... a bit early for them so we walked to a cattle holding pen to fill in a bit of time until the Village People were ready to welcome us. A traditional Maasai greeting, a bit of inclusive dancing which is pretty hard work! Then a tour of the village including a look inside one of the huts along with an explanation on the marital arrangements of the Maasai people. Men can have multiple wives, 4, 5, 6... there is no limits but each wife is provided with a hut for herself and the man just rotates himself around the wives.
Then there was sales tables from the women... beaded bracelets, necklaces etc, painted clay plates. Tricky to buy as you could choose what you wanted then had to negotiate with the village chief. We didn't buy.
Back on the bikes and about 30-35km to go, on the main road to Arusha which wasn't super busy and had a broad shoulder. A head wind and slightly uphill however so it was tough enough. Finished up at a very nice, new, coffee shop/stop which was noticeable for it's absence of hawkers trying to sell tat!!, we think they must have deliberately kept them away. The crew dismantled our bikes and our (us only) luggage was transferred to our van and the 2 of us farewelled Harum as we won't see him again.
A slowish drive to the airport on a busy road, lots of Maasai agriculture passed by... goat/cattle herds and a few muddy water holes along with a lot of maize/corn.
Got dropped at the airport with our packed lunch about 1:45pm... heaps of time... and said our farewells to all the group.
As it turned out our plane was late landing so we didn't leave Arusha until after 5pm, flew via Zanzibar and arrived in Dar es Salaam about 7:15pm. Luckily we had arranged transport, although felt sorry for the driver who had been waiting for a couple of hours, collected our luggage and then taken through absolute traffic chaos... lots of motorbikes with 3 people on them at least!
Arrived at our apartment after travelling through bumpy, dirt streets which seemed to go directly through petrol stations, markets etc. A smart apartment, not quite such a smart area perhaps! No bottled water supplied unlike all the other Tanzania places we have stayed which is a slight issue as only have a 1/2 bottle left. Got by after rummaging through our backpacks, with biscuits and muesli bars for dinner, seems a bit dodgy to be heading out looking for anything else. However, it is clean and comfortable, has great wifi and is close to the airport.
Friday, 2 August: Reflecting on 2 weeks well spent...
A travel day ahead of us today.
No electricity this morning, so we asked the landlord to drop us to the airport early. Which worked ideally as another guest was also wanting to do the same so helped the landlords expenses! (balanced out his long wait yesterday!). Although the airport was not far the streets are just chaotic!! Motorbikes constantly weaving in and out of the other traffic, a huge traffic jam at one point because of road construction underway.
The airport terminal is new, only being opened in 2019, and overall not that busy... while were there anyway. There was a huge group of kids... scouts or a sports team we thought initially until working out they were a church group. 10-14/15 year olds or so. They all had cell phones, earplugs, sunglasses, new shoes... so very different from the Maasai kids that we are used to seeing!!
From Dar es Salaam we fly to Dubai... for a 4 hour stopover following our 10:30pm arrival there.
The Tanzania experience was absolutely fantastic!! A great group of people to travel with, both the Intrepid staff and our fellow travellers. An extremely good humoured group which led to lots and lots of laughs as well as the travel experience.
The biking was great... extremely bumpy and dusty but adding to the experience. Great to be "amongst it" rather than just looking from a window. The ability to stop and observe while cattle, donkeys, monkeys etc, cross the road... seeing birds, giraffes, impalas always a thrill. Our biking group causing lots of excitement... jambo!! (hello), waves from the kids and many of the adults as well, toots from truck drivers and polite drivers everywhere.
The various hospitality staff went above and beyond... cooking, serving dinner, breakfast, often with intermittent electricity cuts. Welcomes with fresh juice, damp towels etc. Always friendly, always a lot of staff... Not necessarily English speaking but then our Swahili was non-existent as well!!!
Our accommodation was a step up from what was advertised/expected which was to be our self erected tents and shared facilities. Most of what we had was en-suite rooms and along with 2 night stays on 3 occasion's was a real bonus. The hot water situation was definitely variable, flushing toilets somewhat challenging at times!! But we all felt very lucky not to be assembling tents each night and having our own space to chill.
Also it was a bonus being a group size that could fit in one Landcruiser with the other following with luggage and bikes as needed... likely a more enjoyable experience than that of the big safari truck we would have got if the group was bigger.
The safari experiences just amazing and we really struck it lucky... so close to elephants, lions and giraffes on several occasions. The Hyena's, Zebra's, Impala's, Buffalo, birds etc just amazing. The glimpse of the leopard was the one experience we didn't really enjoy as it just illustrated the mass tourism dilemma and was just ticking the "Big 5" box.
The country has felt safe although we have not been out and about in the big cities. People work hard here with still lots of things not automated and very poor infrastructure. Crop planting, brick making, the Maasai stock watching... following them out for grazing in the morning, staying with them and bringing them back at night to the enclosures for safety. Seemingly the Maasai women don't have much of a future... wives (one of several), children, beadwork and housework... although that is just a westerner's opinion, they may be quite happy with such a life.
Tourism is a very important part of the economy, especially around the National Park systems and they are trying hard to encourage it... possibly not completely environmentally friendly with hundreds of Safari Trucks charging around! The Toyota motor company has done very well though!! Millions of single use plastic bottles... which we are unsure of how they rectify as we are advised not to drink the local water as it is very alkaline and will upset stomachs. A lot of plastic refuse littering roadsides, however large plastic carry bags are banned from being brought into the country so that is one positive step.
The trip has been a fabulous experience, way above and beyond expectations.!!!
