Zanzibar

After leaving Arusha we spent 2 days driving to Dar Es Salam which was our launch point to Zanzibar. The overnight camp along the way again put us in close company with some Zebra's, probably to be expected as it was called Zebra Camp. The second days driving should have been quite short but we were warned that the traffic in 'Dar' would add an extra hour or 2 to the trip.

Saying that triffic is a little congested is an understatement. The streets are lined with stalls selling just about anything and everything you could imagine and there are people that run to your windows and try and sell water, ice-creams or anything else they might be carrying. We were sheltered from this because we were elevated in the truck. Even with traffic lights and police presence, it seemed that at times the drivers just have to take a deep breath and hope to make it across the intersection safely.

The camp at Dar was just outside of town at Kipepeo Beach and was a beautiful spot. We were right on the beach and enjoyed listening to the waves all night. For the boys it was one of the first times we had a TV and there was a few hours of catching up on the Cricket at the beachside bar. We also met 2 of the new people that were joining us in Zanzibar.

Leaving the beach we drove into the 'town' and caught a ferry back to Dar. Much simpler as it only took 5min. On the drive we saw heaps of people riding bikes with amazing loads precarilously balanced. Our 10/10 prizes go to the guy with bananas and to the person with a sack of potatoes that received a gentle nudge from a car and still stayed upright.

Once in Dar we had about an hour to spare before the next ferry. We had been warned by another Acacia group at Snake Park that the crossing was extremely rough and motion sickness pills were suggested. A number of us chipped in and bought a packet from the rather bemused pharmacist.

Even though Zanzibar is part of Tanzania you get stamped in and out as if you were going to a different country. As we had only limited spare pages left in our passports we thought this was a little unnecessary. When we tried to board the ferry we were told that Steve's daypack was too big and that it had to be 'checked in'. This pretty much involved throwing it up over the front of the boat to be put in a pile with all the other big bags. We decided to sit inside and dozed for most of the 2 hour trip. The others that sat out of deck said they saw Dolphins. When we docked in Stone Town, the crew realised that half of the wharf had just been painted and all our bags had to passed down the length of the ferry via a human chain to the dry section. When we saw that Steve's tripod had opened up during the trip we were a little concerned that it was going to fall out of its strap. Thankfully it and all the bags made it to dry land safely.

We were met by a local tour operator who walked us to our hotel and then gave us a description of the day trip tour options. All of the group decided to do the Spice Tour that afternoon, mainly because it included lunch. This tour included a few of the local sights including St Monica's Cathedral which was the location of the slave market and has a small memorial to it. The cathedral itself is pretty rundown, but only a very small percentage of the population of Christian. The locals are predominantly Muslim.

Just follow me, the hotel is down the street....

We had quick photo stops at Beit El Ajaib (House of Wonders), Livingstone House and Maruhubi Palace before arriving at the actual Spice Farm. This scaled down version has Vanilla, Turmeric, Lemongrass, Nutmeg, and Pepper as well as a number of tropical fruit. The tasting session that followed was great with some of the best pineapple we have ever had. Back in Stone Town we had a 'last dinner' as 7 of the group were finishing their tour here. We also wandered through the excellent night market and tried some of the seafood kebabs. The food here was fantastic and we could have happily picked out way through the stalls for dinner finishing with the chocolate and banana pizza.

'Ali D in the bus' our guide for the spice tour, complete with cockney accent!

Using a machete to take the skin off a pineapple.

Night markets, the spicy lobster kebab is highly recommended!

One of the tour options presented to us was the 'Prison Island Tour' for $20US. We thought this was quite expensive and did some investigating of our own. In the end 8 of us hired a boat and snorkelling gear directly through a local fisherman for under $10 each. Bargain. We got up early the next day and headed over to the island where we were the first boat of the day and had the place to ourselves. One of the island's attractions were the Giant Tortoise's. The handlers gave us some food and let us loose in the enclosure. There were over 100 of them and they are huge! When they move the shells creak and make a small thud when the settled down again. Our captain then gave us a tour of the island which is now partly a ritzy private hotel. Even though it is called Prison Island it was never used as a prison but rather as a Hospital. After the tour we sailed a little futher round the island and went snorkelling. We were amazed at the vast number and different colours of fish and coral that we could see. One of our group did get a little close to a jellyfish, but a quick stop back on the island for some vinegar soothed the sting.

This starfish was on the and where the boat landed.

Feeding the always hungry giant tortoise.

Our boat and captains

The cove where we landed

A spot of snorkelling

This storm started to approach as we headed back to Stone Town

Once we returned to Stone Town we headed to Kendwa Beach in the north of the island. This was our stop for the next 2 nights. This beach is lined with hotels and their restaurants and bars. One thing with this part of the Acacia Tour is that there is no accommodation pre-booked for you. This means that you can organise your own before you go or your tour leader will book something while you are on safari. We went for the latter option and we were all disappointed with the standard of accommodation for this leg. A few people decided to upgrade their rooms at one of the neighbouring hotels. Our advice for anyone doing this trip is to ask the company what their plans are and if Kendwa Beach is the destination, it wouldn't matter which hotel you are in as they are all next to each other. We still met up for drinks, dinner and games of beach volleyball or cards over the 2 days we were there. It was nice to have the couple of days to relax after the high excitement and early starts of the 2 safaris. The only downside was Steve had a 24hr tummy bug so was confined to the room and missed another fabulous sunset.

Our return ferry on the last day was for the afternoon, so we decided to get an early transfer to Stone Town and wander through the streets. Steve ended up having the first phone interview for a job back in Brisbane, in a waterside park as it was the only place that didn't have people everywhere. The only issue was as soon as we sat down, a group of school girls came up and wanted to practice their English with Claire. Not really what Steve needed at that time. Interview over, and both our prepaid UK sim cards left with no balance, we hit the streets for souveniours. While negotiating the price of some artwork we noticed a group of police outside the shop. We nervously took our purchase and made our way back into the shopping precint. When we walked past again about 30min later, there were no paintings on display and the shop was boarded up! Oh well, at least we liked the paintings.

Before the shop was 'closed'

On the ferry for the return trip we again decided to sit below deck. The return crossing was definitely much rougher than the way over. Claire decided to stand outside for the trip and the crew were seen handing out quite a few black bags! As far as we know everyone on our truck was okay, but quite relieved to see Dar and Kipepeo again. Since we have said goodbye to 7 people in Zanzibar and had 3 join us, we have been given new work groups, although not much to do tonight as we didn't need to prepare the food. We ordered a fabulous BBQ from the campsite next door instead.

A hard working porter from the ferry.

Leaving Kipepeo the next morning we started our drive towards Malawi. We drove along the highway through Mikumi National Park. We did see some Elephant and Giraffe but were unable to stop as we hadn't paid the park fees (and it was a highway). The other noticeable thing about this area is the number of Baobab trees. Our campsite for that night was aptly named as there is a massive tree right in the middle of it.

Our next drive was really short and we arrived at lunch time. It was only a matter of minutes before the clothesline was out and the handwashing begun. We spent the afternoon, trying to find the lake that is somewhere on the property, playing cards and the tradional Bao Bao game. It was also our first wedding anniversary at this campsite!
Sunset at 'The Farmhouse' with the washing line.

Ngorongoro Crater

The morning game drive for the Serengeti had us all excited for the afternoon drive back out to the Crater. The heat of the day seemed to have affected the animals, as we didn't see much. A Lion carrying a baby gazelle and a cheetah were the highlights. Some of our 4WD had gone on the sunrise balloon ride and most of us managed to squeeze in a short nap.
Just a small snack
It looks menacing but is just a yawn. A bit how we were feeling by this stage!

After a short detour we made a stop at Oldupai Gorge which is also known as 'The Cradle of Mankind'. It is here that the oldest humanoid fossils have been found. The museum is very interesting showing the different forms of archaeology explorations that have occured over the years. As we were about to leave, we encountered the faulty alternator again. This time with the help of around 10 Masai the 4WD was push started on its way

Note the girls are still in the 4WD

We got to Simba camp on the edge of the crater and kept an eye out for the bull elephants that we had seen the day before. Sadly (or fortunately), no repeat performance, but then we didn't leave our mattresses outside! The temperature here drops quickly and it wasn't long before we were all huddled around the fire. Our guide, Blessed, warned us that there were often Wild Pigs in the area looking for food and that we shouldn't leave anything edible in our tents - this included toothpaste. There was a rush for the 4WD's as all our supplies of chips, lollies and biscuits were safely locked away.

We did get some animal visitors after dark. The first were a group of Zebra grazing between the groups of tents. This camp site is very big and when news of the Zebra spread there was a large group of head-torches bobbing towards us. Later in the night when there were only 6 of us left round the fire the rumoured wild pigs arrived and headed straight for the scrap bucket in the kitchen area. It was very funny to watch the cooks chase them away, only to have them return a few minutes later.

For us the scariest moment was in the early hours of the morning when an animal (we think it was a pig or warthog) skidded into the side of the tent, giving Claire's head a light tap on the way. For the next couple of hours all we could hear was the snuffling of them as they continued to feed. We had the flysheet on so couldn't see out the window to see exactly what they were, and we weren't going to stick our heads out the door!

When we woke up we were surrounded in mist and it was freezing cold. All of us were concerned about the lack of visibility but the drivers assured us that in the crater itself the mist would have already lifted. We were very glad we used the fly sheet because it was soaked and our tent was nice and dry and warm. Back in the 4WD and rugged up in everything warm we owned we headed down into the crater.

Even though there are no fences, the steepness of the sides are enough of a deterrent for most of the animals to leave. There is still a migration pattern with the Wildebeest but just to different areas of the crater. Today was supposed to be the best chance for seeing a Rhino (our last remaining animal of the Big 5) and we spent a few hours looking. In the end we had to surrender and accept that it was a bit too cold for them as well. It got to the point where any dark animal in the distance could be a rhino and there is still dispute about whether there was actually one there. It was too far away for a good clear photo but our driver decided it was a buffalo.

The other end of the camp disappears into the mist as we rug up ready for the game drive

Even without the Rhino, we saw a Cheetah on the move, the never ending Zebra and Wildebeest migration, some Hippo's returning to their waterhole for the day, Flamingos in the distance on the edge of Lake Natron and a pride of 10 Lions including some cubs. The landscape here is quite changeable with an almost tropical area of trees and bushes and then large plains of grass like the Serengeti. At one of the waterholes (without Hippos) we took the opportunity to have a group photo of our 4WD as this was nearly the end of the trip for half of our group. On the way out of the crater we saw a few bull elephants. One of which had a broken tusk and our driver estimated his age at 60.

Cheetah on the prowl

A halt in migration for feeding

Was good to see these guys moving around. Wasn't long before they were all submerged again!

In dry season this is as close to the lake edge as you can get. In wet season you would be at water's edge.

Group nap for this pride of Lions

This elephant has led a tough life!

Back at Snake Park camp site in Arusha where we had our first experience of crowded camping. There were 4 other overland trucks there for the night which meant that there was no hot water and a very busy bar. This camp also has a truck garage and while we were on safari our truck, 'Limpopo', was serviced and repainted. This took a little longer then anticipated and there was still another coat of paint needed when we returned. It made accessing clean clothes interesting as first you had to find out who had the door handle for the truck and reattach it in order to get to the lockers.

Last group at Arusha as all the other companies had just left for the Serengeti.

While in the bar we heard that the Mozambique Spitting Cobra had just been fed some live mice. Since we had only seen a few stalkings and no kills on safari, most of the truck crowded in front of the enclosure and waited, and waited and waited....... The Cobra did make a few half hearted attempts but we think it was just tormenting them. Hunger got the better of us though, and someone was dispatched at regular intervals during the evening to check the progress. When we left the following day, there were still mice, although our guess is they were getting pretty tired of the narrow escapes.

The next morning while waiting for the last of the paint to dry we were taken on a tour of the local Masai Village. This village is directed more at tourists with an optional camel ride from the camp site. The village itself is more permanent with bigger huts and the general surrounds were much cleaner than we had seen in the Masai Mara. There is also a small hospital and school attached to the village. It was a holiday period while we were there so the kids were quite keen to hold our hands and try on our hats and sunglasses and generally interact with us.

Masai hut

This little girl made Claire jump and hop all the way back to camp

Lastly, since our washing had all landed in the dirt last time we were at this camp we had put our white clothes in to be washed. We aren't sure what the locals did but they were returned spotless with lots of tiny indents from being dried on the thorn bushes.

Serengeti

After a good night in the bar courtesy of Ma & BJ, we split into groups again and headed off to the Serengeti in 4WD's. Our group remained pretty much the same, although the 'newly engaged couple' swapped with the 'about to be married couple'. Our driver this time was named Livingstone and was much more informative and talkative then our driver in the Masai. As we drove through some villages he would give us a bit of information on them as well as the other game parks or national parks we passed. There were many souvenir shops lining the road and Claire was looking forward to being able to do a spot of shopping. At one stop we were encouraged to buy Masai blankets as the temperatures in the crater get to zero. We had sleeping bags that we thought would handle it, so we held off.

Our day of driving started at about 8am and finished after sunset. In order to reach the Serengeti we travelled around the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater. There were a couple of good vantage points where we could glimpse the lake in the centre. As it was dry season it was only a fraction of the size it can be.

On the edge of the crater. That small patch of white over Steve's shoulder is the lake

One of the highlights of the day occurred at Simba Camp on the edge of the crater. We had dropped in to use the toilets (apparently they are the best in the area, well the only ones in the area) and found 2 bull elephants at the camp. This camp is huge and the toilet block is at the opposite end to where the elephants were so no one was concerned. After 15min or so we noticed that the elephants were heading our way, so we got back into the 4WD's. A group of French travellers chose to abandon their nice picnic lunch and head into the toilet block for safety. The elephants took particular interest in the mattresses that had also been left out. We thought the tents might have been in danger but Livingstone explained that elephants have poor eyesight and see a tent as a big rock, so won't go near them. After playing with the mattresses for a while the elephants had a bit of a tussle and then headed for the food. Our 4WD blocked them off and eventually both elephants wandered off into the bushes. It was at this point that Livingstone told us we would be camping right here the next night!!


After that excitement we continued towards the Serengeti, finding one of the other 4WD's stopped on the side of the road after the brakes had over-heated on the way down from the top of the Crater. Our driver seemed to be in charge so he got out and had a bit of a tinker, pronounced the other 4WD OK and off we went again.

Some kids came over to investigate

The next stop was at the gate to the Serengeti where the drivers paid for our admission to the national park. The staff at the park definitely used African time, as it took over an hour. Apparently they only took credit cards, and they had lost their phone connection, so we were at a standstill. It was then that we discovered that the other 4WD had a faulty alternator and did the first of the many battery changes to get underway.

We were all expecting to see animals straight away, as we had done in the Mara but it was a good hour of very boring driving over a flat and brown landscape before we saw anything other then Gazelle (of which there were 100's). Eventually a few trees started to appear and in the hour before sunset we saw Cheetah, Hippo, Lions and Giraffe. When the sun started to set we were all mesmerised at the colours. Unfortunately we couldn't stop for long as we were hadn't got to camp and it was nearly dark.

Hyena

Feeding time.

Jackal

Cheetah

Hippo's

Our campsite at the Serengeti was our first experience in an unfenced camp with no guards to protect us from any animals. When we arrived there was about 5min of light left and our tents went up in record time. Quite a few of the group were a little nervous and made sure their tents were surrounded by others. Being the brave ones, we ended up on the outside of the group between the water tank and the toilet block and the Serengeti behind us. The only part of this camp that is fenced is the kitchen.

We slept quite peacefully but discovered the next day that there had been Buffalo grazing only a few meters from our tent. Claire also found one grazing next to the toilet block at 5am. Lucky it was still dark or she wouldn't have made it. It was on the way back that the head torch picked up the eyes. The drivers also told us that there had been a couple of Lions prowling around.

The only issue we encountered when the campsite ran out of water. Thus no showers, and no flushing toilets.

The main game drive here started at sunrise which was almost as good as the sunset the previous night. There were definitely more animals out and about. Apart from the 100's of Gazelle that we noticed yesterday, there seemed to be quite a few Lions about. The main highlights were:
1. A female Lion eating a kill, 2 females grooming each other, a male Lion coming within a couple of metres of our car and then attempting a Gazelle kill.

2. The speck in the tree that turned out to be a Leopard. Eventually it climbed down and followed a Gazelle before giving up and going back up a tree. Steve's lens was only just capable of seeing it.

3. A herd of 10 elephants that walked in front of our car to a small waterhole where they started to spray themselves with water and mud. The babies were so tiny that they were almost completely submerged at times.

We also saw Zebra, Warthogs, Buffalo and of course the Gazelle. Another interesting feature was the blue and black squares of cloth that were hanging in the trees. We founds out these are impregnated with some sort of poison for the Tsetsi fly. Back in the camp site for lunch, we saw that most of our tents had been dragged to one side so that the water truck could deliver to the toilet block. We quickly packed up and jumped back in the 4WD ready for the trip to Ngorongoro Crater.

Serengeti Camp.