Once again Pat did a lot of research into travelling to various countries in Africa, whereby we could see first hand a variety of African cultures, traditions, foods and people.
We spent some time with Mum at Southport, as she settled into her new digs and became familiar with her new surroundings. She told us to enjoy our trip in Africa but to make sure we come back home as soon as we can. She was pretty happy to know this would only be a short trip of 9 weeks – much better to her than our other trips of many months’ durations.
We met up with Brenda and Darrell at Brisbane Airport and headed out on Singapore Airlines via Singapore and Johannesburg and onto Cape Town, where we spent the next three days.
We arrived at the Portswood Hotel on the VA Waterfront, checked into our rooms and proceeded to have some rest after our long journey. In the afternoon we received a message to say the rest of our group was in the lobby, so we headed downstairs to meet up with: Debbie & Mike from Chiang Mai, Mick & Marilin from Mackay and Dianne & Murray from Sydney. We, as a group, are about to embark on a 56 day overland trip visiting 9 different countries in Africa.
On our last visit to Cape Town we were unable to visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for many years, so were looking forward to that – lo and behold, unfortunately, our boat trip was cancelled due to rough seas. Mandela served 27 years in prison – firstly on Robben Island and later in Pollsmoor and Victor Verster Prisons. Our other anticipated highlight was to go to the top of Table Mountain – lo and behold it was closed due to a maintenance programme - so it looks like we’ll have to revisit Cape Town if we want to see these two sights.
We dined at a wonderful Restaurant in Cape Town - Arnolds Wild Game Restaurant where we tried various game meats including warthog, crocodile and gemsbok to mention but a few.
The following morning we headed out to the Nomad office to sign in for our trip, meet our guide and driver, load up the truck and prepare for departure. Our purpose-built truck is affectionately named Pavarotti. All 60 of Nomad’s trucks are named after famous singers.
Our tour is an Accommodated Tour, whereby we will eat most of our meals, prepared by our guide/cook at our truck but at night we will be staying in Hotels/Inns/Lodges or camps. We are happy to enjoy/partake in the challenges of travelling overland during the day, but can then look forward to our hot showers and cosy beds at night.
This initial leg of our trip has been booked as a Small Group Tour, so we will have the luxury of travelling with fewer people, in our case 10, thus enabling us all to have two seats and a window and be able to spread out. We worked out a good daily rotation of seating, allowing us all to have a different viewpoint as we travel along.
Day 1 Wednesday 14th August: South Africa – Cederberg Mountain Region (230 km)
Along the way to the Cederberg Mountain region we paid a visit to the San people at Ikhwa ttu and were given an insight into their lifestyle and history. The San are the original people of Africa.
We visited a Piketberg local wine farm, where we had a tour of the facility and sampled the delicious organic wines. As a gesture we were all given a complimentary bottle of wine to take along on the journey and needless to day, we did buy a few more for the trip.
The Cederberg Wilderness Area has been proclaimed one of eight World Heritage sites within the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. It is famously known for it’s San rock art and the discovery of important fossils of which the primitive fish date back 450 million years.
Our truck, Pavarotti, has quite a few maintenance problems – so Pat and our other astute maintenance men on-board are checking out the issues and no doubt they’ll provide Nomad with a maintenance list along the way.
Our first night’s accommodation at Citrusdal is very spacious and comfortable, so if this is an indication of what we can expect along the way, we’ll be more than happy. The weather has been very cold, so heaters and air conditioners are in use. Our air conditioner was not working, but in no time the Manager brought us a good little room heater, which we put to good use.
Day 2 15th August: Namibia – Gariep (Orange) River (570 km)
Today we travelled through the Northern Cape and Namaqualand, stopping at Springbok before crossing the border into Namibia. The Gariep River is the longest river in South Africa at 1,800 km. It rises in the Drakensberg Mountains in Lesotho, where it is known as Senqu, and flows westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean at Alexander Bay. The river forms part of the international border between South Africa and Namibia and between South Africa and Lesotho. The river plays an important role in the South African economy by providing water for irrigation and hydroelectric power. The Orange River is also responsible for the diamond deposits along the Namibian coast. Over millions of years it transported diamonds from the volcanic pipes in Kimberley in South Africa to the sea. From there, the currents took them northward and the surf deposited them into the dune fields of the Namib.
Our stay tonight is in the beautiful Norotshama River Resort – amongst the fields of grape vines. We thought last night’s accommodation was pretty good, but tonight’s is quite spectacular and all so beautiful and clean.
Day 3 – 16th August: Gariep (Orange) River – Fish River Canyon (210 km)
We enjoyed a walk along the rim of the Fish River Canyon today, before heading to the Ai-Ais Hot springs Spa.
Ai-Ais (eye-ice) means, “burning water” in the local Nama language, referring to the sulphurous thermal hot water springs found at the base of the mountains at the southern end of the Fish River Canyon. The thermal water is rich in sulphur, chloride and fluoride and has an average temperature of about 60 degrees C. The swim in the thermal pools was very welcoming and very relaxing.
Day 4/5 – 17/18th August: Namib-Naukluft Park (490 km)
This National Park is one of Namibia’s geographic gems and at 50,000 km2, is one of the largest parks in Africa, as well as being the largest game park in Africa. There are massive sand dunes in the Sossusviel desert area, which we are looking forward to visiting. Due to the dryness of the Namib Desert, most of the plant and animal life here is sustained by sea mists from the Atlantic and also sporadic rainfall. The winds that bring in the fog are responsible for creating the park’s towering sand dunes whose burnt orange colour is a sign of their age. The colour develops over time as iron in the sand is oxidized, so the older the dune the brighter the colour. These dunes are the tallest in the world; the most famous of which is Dune 45, which reaches more than 170 metres. The name Namibia means “land of open spaces” in the Nama language.
We headed off to visit the amazing Dune 45 and set off to climb this massive orange coloured sand dune. The climb up was quite strenuous, but it was a wonderful run back down the side of the dune.
The Sesriem Canyon is another highlight of the Namib Desert. The name Sesriem is Afrikkans and means “six belts”, since the early travellers and settlers had to attach six belts together in order to reach buckets down into the canyon to scoop up water.
Day 6/7 – 19/20th August: Swakopmund (430 km)
Today we visited a very dry area where we were taken on a trip through the land with a local, barefooted guide. He was very knowledgeable and gave us a great insight into the land. We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, so know that we are now on the same latitude as Rockhampton.
Our stay in Swakopmund was at a lovely guesthouse called Stay@Swakop, owned and run by a fantastic lady – she will do very well – she treats all her guests like VIP’s and genuinely loves her business. Nothing was too much trouble, so we really did experience home away from home.
On our last visit to Africa, when we cruised up the west coast, we also visited Swakopmund where Pat bought himself a beautiful pair of desert boots made from kudu leather. We went searching around the town once again and happily were able to buy pairs of the same desert boots for our 4 grandchildren.
Swakopmund is a beautiful little town and was founded in 1892 by German settlers. There is a strong German architectural influence in the town, with its Bavarian-style buildings and especially the Altes Gefangnis prison and the Wormannhaus, built in 1906 with a prominent tower, now a public library. Surrounded by the Namib Desert on three sides and the cold Atlantic waters to the west, Swakopmund enjoys a temperate climate. Rainfall is rare but the cold Benguela current supplies moisture to the area in the form of fog that can reach as deep as 140 km inland.
Day 8 – 21st August: Swakopmund - Khorixas (350 km)
We left the coast at Swakopmund and headed inland to Khorixas, stopping enroute at the Brandberg Mountains, which is a spiritual site of great significance to the San (Bushmen). We set off on a long, hot hike to see the very famous White Lady rock painting, done by the San many years ago, but now protected.
Day 9 – 22nd August: Kamanjab – Himba Tribe (150 km)
Prior to visiting the Himba tribe, we shopped for colouring books, pencils, games, sweets, maize and soccer balls to take as gifts. Our visit to the Himba tribe was a very different and wonderful experience. The Himba are descendants of the Herero people and still speak a dialect of the old language. There are about 20,000 to 50,000 Himba people living in this region – they are semi-nomadic pastoralists who breed cattle and goats in the dry, rugged, and mountainous area. The Himba are some of the most photographed people in the world, due to their striking style of dress and their traditional lifestyle. Their appearance is characterised by scanty goatskin clothing and they are heavily adorned with jewellery of shells, copper and iron, according to the tribal hierarchy. The distinctive red colour of their skin and hair is a mixture of butter, ash and ochre, which protects them from the harsh desert climate.
Typically the women take care of the children, do the milking and other work, whilst men take care of the political tasks. The villages are made up of family homesteads – huts built around a central fire and livestock enclosure. Both the livestock and fire are pivotal to the Himba belief in ancestor worship, the fire representing ancestral protection of the living community.
Day 10/11 – 23/24th August: Etosha National Park (290 km)
We arrived in the beautiful Etosha National Park, thus beginning a wonderful viewing of the many amazing animals Africa has to offer. The open plains allow spectacular elevated game viewing from the windows of Pavarotti whilst on game drives. Etosha means “Great White Place” and is dominated by a massive mineral pan, part of the great Kalahari basin. The Etosha pan covers about 5,000 square km and covers one quarter of the National Park. The lake dried up thousands of years ago and is now a dusty depression of salty clay which occasionally fills with rare and heavy rains. This temporary water supply stimulates the growth of an algae which attracts wading birds and flamingos by their thousands. Large concentrations of wildlife gather year round at the perennial springs on the edges of the pan.
Our beautiful bungalow style accommodation in the park, complete with mosquito nets and a four-poster bed, was a short distance away from floodlit night waterholes where we could walk a short distance to view the animals gathered around these waterholes. Zebras, Oryx, impala, kudu, elephants, giraffes and wildebeest were in their hundreds in this park. Etosha is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, 110 reptile species, 16 amphibian species and surprisingly, one species of fish.
On one of our game drives, we came upon a waterhole which had a large herd of elephants – nearby were three lionesses lying in wait for a baby elephant which seemed to be showing signs of weakness and couldn’t stand up, even after a lot of caressing and encouragement from the mother. We don’t know what eventuated at that waterhole, but suspect the lions would have eventually made a kill.
We also came upon a herd of zebras – there were literally thousands of zebras – we could see zebras as far as the eye could see. Amazing to note that no two zebras’ stripes are the same – similar to our fingerprints.
Day 12 – 25th August: Windhoek (550 km)
Today we travelled to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia and checked into our Lodge where we were all pretty thrilled at getting Internet connection for the first time in many days. Time to chill out and catch up on emails and make some Skype calls home.
Day 13 – 26th August: Botswana – Ghanzi (570 km)
We said goodbye to Namibia and crossed over the border into Botswana, travelling onto our campsite at Ghanzi. Our accommodation was in individual bungalows with outside style bathrooms. Our room came complete with mosquito nets also.
In the evening we had a lovely meal prepared by the locals and were entertained by the San Bushmen and women who gave us a taste of their traditional singing and dancing around their campfire.
Day 14/15/16 – 27/28/29th August: Maun – Okavango Delta (300 km)
Maun, the fifth largest town in Botswana is the gateway to the Okavango Delta, so it was from here we packed a small overnighter style bag, boarded our small aircraft and headed out across the Okavango Delta to our camp at Moremi Crossing.
The Okavango Delta is the world’s largest inland delta, a labyrinth of lagoons, lakes and hidden channels covering 17,000 square km. It originates in Angola – numerous tributaries join to form the Cubango River, which then flows through Namibia, becoming the Kvango River and finally enters Botswana, where it becomes the Okavango.
There are an estimated 200,000 large mammals in and the around the Delta. On the mainland and among the islands are lions, elephants, hyenas, wild dog, buffalo, hippo and crocodiles which congregate with a teeming variety of antelope and other smaller animals including, warthog, mongoose, spotted genets, monkeys, bush babies and tree squirrels. The endangered African Wild Dog is present within the Delta, exhibiting one of the richest pack densities in Africa. The Delta also includes over 400 species of birds including the African Fish Eagle.
What a treat we were in for when we arrived at Moremi Crossing. Our safari style tents, built up about one metre from the ground were and quite amazing and came complete with our own verandah and deck chairs. The tent included an ensuite which was built on the outside of the tent with it’s own privacy screens. We were advised to keep our doors closed at all times, as the roaming baboons love nothing more than to get inside and wreak havoc on whatever they can lay their hands on.
All our delicious meals were served in the main building which was a huge open style building, built from timber, log poles and thatch. We were allowed to walk freely between and tents and the main building during the day, but had to have guides to escort us to and from our tents once night fell. Mike and Debbie were going to head back to their tent on our first evening after dinner, but were told to wait a while as an elephant was standing by their front steps. Who wants to stand up to an elephant?
We took a trip through the Delta on-board a moroko, which is a dugout canoe, although today’s modern morokos are made from fibreglass. This was an enjoyable experience as we glided along through the channels and the reeds. Upstream we all left our morokos and went on a two-hour nature walk, where our guide explained the vegetation and our surroundings. On this walk we saw elephants, giraffes, antelope and kudu.
Another excursion took us off on a trip through the Delta in a motorboat. It was an amazing experience as we drifted in close to hippos and crocodiles, watching them slip away into the water. We were in a small channel, about 3 metres wide when we came upon some elephants with babies. Well the elephants began a great ritual to scare us away from their young – complete with charging, ear flapping and bellowing. I glanced at our guide who was taking in the whole scene quite calmly, so I decided my heart could stop thumping and to just sit back and take in the experience. When the elephants began to cross the stream behind us we then motored ahead into a beautiful lagoon where the guides opened the esky and handed out sundowners for us all to enjoy as the sun set across the lagoon from behind the picture perfect African trees.
Boarding our light aircraft once again, it was sad to say farewell to Moremi Crossing, which was a truly amazing experience and one which we’ll never forget. Our return trip to Maun was great as we once again flew low over the Delta, with a special treat as the Pilot handed the controls over to Mick, who has been flying for the past 40 years.
Day 17 – 30th August: Gweta (200 km)
Today’s trip to Gweta was a short trip across very dry and unforgiving landscapes of the Makgadikgadi salt pans. We checked into Planet Baobab into authentically styled, round African huts, which are built among very old, huge and oddly shaped baobab trees. Some of these baobab trees are claimed to be 2,400 years and older.
Day 18 – 31st August: Chobe National Park (400 km)
Chobe National Park, the second largest park in Botswana, covers 10,566 square km of northern Botswana. The Park forms part of the mosaic of lakes, islands and floodplains formed from the Kwando, Linyanti and Chobe River systems. The area is renowned for its vast herds of elephant and buffalo. Brittle and short ivory tusks characterize these Kalahari elephants, perhaps because of the calcium deficiency in the soil.
Our sunset river cruise in the National Park was very enjoyable as we were able to come close to the island and see water buffalos, hippos and elephants at a very close proximity.
Day 19/20/21 – 1/2/3rd September: Zimbabwe – Victoria Falls (100 km)
We had now come to the final days of the first leg of our 56 day trip, with a three night stopover in Victoria Falls. Our journey has been excellent with most plans falling into place, however the wheels started falling off once we arrived in Victoria Falls at the Kingdom Hotel. We all climbed out of our truck, unloaded all our gear and had our welcome drink when we found out our booking had been moved to their sister hotel, The Elephant Hills Resort. So once again, we loaded up our gear and headed over to our hotel.
We arrived at the Elephant Hills and were so thrilled to see a friend of ours, Felicity, waiting for us. Felicity managed the Retirement Village where Mum lives back home and she has returned to Zimbabwe for some R&R. We spent the day with Felicity and she joined our group for dinner in the evening. Felicity was Zimbabwean born and bred, so it was wonderful to hear of life in Zimbabwe from her perspective and hear some amazing stories, which we would not have otherwise known. Thanks Felicity for a great welcome and insight into your beautiful country.
Victoria Falls at 1,700 metres wide and 108 metres high is said to be the largest falls in the world. David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer is believed to have been the first European to view the Victoria Falls and wrote: “It has never been seen before by European eyes, but scenes so wonderful must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight”. The older, indigenous name of Mosi-oa-Tunya (The Smoke that Thunders) is the official name in use in Zambia.
We enjoyed our time in Vic Falls catching up on washing, shopping and doing some well-earned relaxation. On our final afternoon, our new team of Sandili and Nikai came to our Hotel to give an introduction into the next leg of our journey, warning us that from now on the roads will be much rougher, the accommodation not as flash and everything in general will be more basic, including bush stop toilets. Oh well, it is all part of the experience. Our dream team group of 10 plus 3 crew will now become a group of 19 plus 3 crew, combining both a camping and accommodated experience. Our truck Pavarotti has been sent back to Capetown to have maintenance work done and has been replaced with a more comfortable, robust truck named Sid.
Another Victoria Falls highlight was a visit to the award winning Boma Restaurant, where we donned official garb, sat at large tables on director chairs and sampled an amazing variety of game, both barbeque and spit roasted; all perfectly complimented with salads, vegetables and desserts. One supposed outstanding taste is a barbequed Mopani worm which is collected from the Mopani tree. The adventurous minded foodies received a certificate to say they have partaken of this famous worm. I’m not into tasting exotic worms, but Pat did and “said” he enjoyed his experience.
We had to say goodbye to our team of guides and driver – Cardi, Steven and Engelhardt, who all gave us an amazing journey and a wonderful welcome to this beautiful part of Africa.
Day 22 - 4th September – Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to Lusaka, Zambia (500 km)
Today we travelled over 500 km on very rough roads, many of which were on detours off the newly constructed ones. We visited Lusaka, the capital and largest city of Zambia. At an elevation of 1,300 metres it has a population of 3,100,00 which was taken from the census taken in 2007. Lusaka has one of the fastest growing city centres in Africa, located in a productive farm area and is the administrative, financial and commercial centre of Zambia. It is believed that with proper and effective economic reforms, Lusaka as well as Zambia as a whole will develop considerably. Lusaka is home to many foreigners including aid workers, diplomats, business people and representatives of religious organisations. In 1935 due to its central location on the railway and at the crossroads of the Great North Road and Great East Road, it was chosen to replace Livingstone as the capital of the British colony of Northern Rhodesia. After the federation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia in 1953, it was a centre of the independence movement which led to the creation of the Republic of Zambia. In 1964 Zambia became the ninth African state to gain independence from the British crown and President Kaunda took power, with Lusaka as its capital.
Day 23 – 5th September – Chipata (567 km)
Another big day on the road today and more rough roads – but as we say, no pain no gain. We are enroute to Chipata, the gateway to the South Luangwa National Park where we will stay for two nights. Zambia is truly African and quite an adjustment from the more Western ways of Southern Africa. As we drive along we pass so many small villages. I am amazed at just how many people still live primitively in their huts and humpies. Chipata is the capital of the Eastern Province of Zambia and has a population of around 75,000. The city is located near the border of Malawi on the highway connecting the capitals of Lilongwe and Lusaka.
Day 24/25 – 6/7th September – South Luangwa National Park (120 km)
Today is Kelli’s birthday, but unfortunately we do not have internet so we’ll have to wait a couple of days before we will be able to be in contact.
Today’s shorter drive took us to the Wildlife Camp on the edge of South Luangwa National Park. We unpacked our backpacks from our truck Sid and headed along the edge of the Luangwa River to our tented camp – each flyscreened tent has a patio and deck chairs, bedroom and an ensuite. Our permanent tents had a 20 foot drop (thankfully) down to the waterway where can watch wandering elephants, hippos, warthogs, birds and crocodiles from the comfort of our deck chairs in the shade of the patio.
We were advised to keep all foodstuffs in our truck and not pack them away in our tents, as the baboons love to come in and help themselves. The ranger told us the story of a complaint from the previous week, when a baboon came into the tent of a German couple and helped himself to the man’s supply of viagara that he had left in the bathroom. I hate to imagine how the poor baboon fared!
The South Luangwa National Park is known for its high concentration of leopards and hippos, so we were looking forward to our afternoon game drive. This National Park in eastern Zambia is a world renowned wildlife haven and also supports large populations of Thorneycroft’s Giraffe. The Park, covering 9,050 square km, was founded as a game reserve in 1938 and became a National Park in 1972. Hippos thrive here due to the patches of flooded grassland habitats that are found close to the river, on which they graze at night. The hippos are integral to the ecosystem here, their dung released into the river fertilises its waters and sustains the fish population which in turn sustains the crocodiles. It is also estimated that there is one leopard for every km of river in the Luangwa Valley, so our chances of seeing this elusive nocturnal cat is very high.
In the late afternoon our group of 10 set out in our open topped Safari ute for a game drive with our personality-plus driver Billy, accompanied by a spotter named Isaac. Our trip was truly great with our leopard tally being three by the end of the night, four hours later. We also saw elephants, giraffes, a gigantic herd of water buffalo, a hyena, all types of impala and birds. We also came upon a flock of vultures feeding on a dead buffalo. After watching the beautiful sunset and partaking in a light drink we set off again, with Isaac in charge of the large spotting lamp – he moved the light from left to right and was amazing in what he could pick up in amongst the trees and grasses. A wonderful experience and a great night indeed.
We had an interesting visit to a Textile factory where we saw the artwork preparation and painting of the materials with African designs and colours. These materials are then sewn into various items such as tablecloths, cushion covers and bedspreads and prepared for sale and export. A “staged” village visit was also on the agenda this afternoon, but it wasn’t to our liking, after having previously mingled with the villagers at their local markets.
Day 26 – 8th September – Lilongwe (330 km)
Today we visited the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, Malawi’s only sanctuary for rescued, orphaned and injured wild animals.
Day 27/28 – 9/10th September – Kande Beach (380 km)
On our way to Kande Beach, our truck blew a tyre, so out came the tools for the replacement process to begin. As they say on this type of adventure trip – expect the unexpected. Sandili changed the wheel and tyre and was very happy with the help he received from his mechanically minded passengers.
We arrived at Kande Beach and checked into our A-frame chalets which look straight across the beach and 20 metres of sand to beautiful Lake Malawi. This will be a very welcomed location for the next couple of days to catch up on some rest, reading, emails and of course, our blogs.
Lake Malawi, the third largest lake in Africa and the eighth largest in the world, is situated between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. The lake teems with more fish species than any other lake on earth and has snorkelling and diving experiences on offer. The fish support the local people, who depend on the lake for survival, using dugout canoes to set out long nets. The death of David Livingstone in in Zambia in 1873 rekindled a desire in missionaries to come to Malawi and eventually they set up a mission called Livingstonia in the highlands of the eastern escarpment which is a malaria free area. It is still in operation today and visitors are able to hike to the mission.
Day 29 – 11th September – Lake Malawi – Chitimba Beach (250 km)
We headed north and inland from Kande Beach up over some beautiful mountains and through many villages, passing by very large rubber plantations. It was lovely to once again see Lake Malawi at Chitimba. A Dutch couple own Chitimba Camp where we are staying for the night. Our cabins are basic but very comfortable and well kept. The authentic bar and restaurant area has a thatched roof and a lot of work has been put into the hand made furniture and living areas.
As we travel through the villages and towns it is a good opportunity to see the locals at work, managing their street stalls and shops. Many Africans don’t want to be photographed, as they have heard stories of people taking photographs and making money from the sale of those photos – hence they tend to be a bit wary of anyone carrying a camera.
Day 30 – 12th September – Tanzania – Iringa (642 km)
Today we said goodbye to beautiful Lake Malawi and headed for Tanzania. Today’s journey of 642 km is probably the longest driving day we will have on the whole trip, hence our early breakfast time and departure. We ascended out of the Great Rift Valley through some spectacular mountain passes, passing vast tea plantations in the highlands. The tea plantations are reminiscent of Malaysian plantations where the tea is also hand picked. The cooler temperature is very welcomed.
The school day finishes at 12:30pm so at lunchtime we pulled into a deserted school ground and set up camp to have our lunch. The school was the site of an earthquake 12 months ago and it is obvious not much has been done in relation to clean up and repair of the buildings and surrounds for the children. Broken glass remains in the windows and bricks and concrete are scattered all around. The general opinion here in Africa is that the women are the backbone of the country and the men take life at a different pace, with polygamy being an accepted part of life.
Old Kisolanza Farmhouse was our stopover for the night where we were accommodated in beautiful rooms and then served a very welcome dinner by the Maasai locals in their own mud-brick restaurant. The ambience in the candle-lit dining area was especially good with Masai fabric tablecloths and flowers on the tables. Our delicious meal began with creamed carrot and peanut butter soup followed by roast beef, gravy, baby potatoes and a medley of steamed vegetables – all produce is grown directly on the farm.
Day 31 – 13th September – Mikumi National Park (280 km)
Mikumi National Park is home to lion, zebra, wildebeest, impala, buffalo and elephant. Following yesterday’s big day it was good to have a bit of a sleep-in this morning and have a leisurely breakfast. The night was cool with heavy dew, so those on our trip who are camping have the job of packing up their wet tents. On this trip we have 11 on an accommodated tour and 8 on a camping experience – I know which group I prefer to be in!
We are travelling along the highway that connects Iringa with Dar-es-Salaam where we had a huge descent into the Baobab Valley. We have seen these bizarre looking baobabs before but never in the thousands as we are now seeing. Baobabs are also known as the “upside down tree”. The Baobab is surrounded by myth and folklore and has a multitude of uses for the local people and wildlife: the fruit is eaten; gum and fibre is made into rope, paper and cloth; and bark and oil from the baobab seeds have medicinal properties.
Day 32 – 14th September – Dar-es-Salaam (260 km)
We began our journey early this morning to head into the City of Dar-es-Salaam where the traffic is very congested. What a congestion it was! We arrived at the Ferry terminal in Dar-es-Salaam (to pick up our next day’s tickets) at 3:00 pm and then did not arrive at our accommodation for almost 3 more hours. Unfortunately we have such little time here at our beach accommodation that it is a bit difficult to enjoy the place, especially with a 5:00 am breakfast tomorrow.
Dar-es-Salaam is the largest and richest city in Tanzania and an important economic centre. The population is estimated to be 2.5 million. Although Dar es Salaam lost its official status as capital city to Dodoma in the mid 70’s, it remains the centre of the permanent central government. The city experiences generally tropical climatic conditions due to being situated so close to the equator and the warm Indian Ocean.
Day 33/34/35 – 15/16/17th September – Zanzibar (by Ferry)
An early morning breakfast today to get us on the road to the local ferry; a brisk walk to the ferry; a mini bus to the fast ferry terminal – then we boarded the fast ferry bound for Zanzibar. The beautiful ferry was built in Australia and we were very comfortably seated in the Business Class as we whizzed across the sea to Zanzibar and the Spice Islands.
Our guide, driver and bus were waiting for us on arrival and we set off through Stone Town for an interesting visit to a spice plantation. We were given a good tour and an explanation of the various spices grown here. “Mr Butterfly” climbed a large palm tree and serenaded us from the top of the tree and all the way down by singing “Akuna Matata” and showing us his amazing gymnastic abilities. We tasted the various spices straight from the plants and sampled a variety of fresh island fruits.
Next we were off to our glorious accommodation Amaan Bungalows at Ningwi Beach where we have the chance to enjoy some relaxation over the next three days and catch up on our emails and soak in all the Island of Zanzibar has to offer.
