Part 2: Tanzania!!!

I am quite happy that Tanzania gets its very own post.  Thankfully I can say after 12 days seeing the sights I'm still in love with this country!  This is what "Part 2" looked like:

Right now I am in Zanzibar, relaxing at a beachside cafe on the northern tip of the main island.  This morning was spent laying in bed in our super nice bungalow, followed by snorkeling and a yummy lunch.  I thought the last leg of the trip was great, but this is even better!  It has been much more relaxing, without as many long bus days and early starts. We have an entirely new crew and mostly new people too.  I feel a small disaster will happen on each leg of this trip - last time it was gastro and this time it was losing my glasses somewhere in the Indian Ocean.....oops.  I really didn't see that wave coming!  Thankfully I have a spare pair.  Anyway, here are some of the highlights from this beautiful country I get to call home:

Ngorongoro Crater
Right from the start I was looking forward to this.  There is something fascinating about a huge number of rare wildlife living on the floor of an extinct volcano - the largest intact volcano crater in the world.  It is by far my favourite game drive so far.  Not only did we get to see some beautiful creatures, but the colours and backdrops made for some really beautiful photo opportunities.

A short stop at a Masai Market

With new tentmate Gemma.  Our tent is affectionately
referred to as "Schnookums"

Masai Village

On our way down into the crater

A zebra crossing....yep :)

Flamingos and wildebeest 

Hyena having a swim

Zebra and buffalo

Hanging with my new friend :)

Beautiful lion.....

.....who then decided to sit in the shade under my window!

Serengeti National Park
Serengeti means open plains, and it really is just that....lots and lots of open grassland that the guides manage to navigate like they know every square metre!  This experience was made amazing by having the best guide ever, and the fact that we camped in the park without even a fence between us and the hopefully not very hungry lions!  We spent two days with our guide Freddie driving one of those safari jeeps with the pop-up top.  My challenge was to get shots that looked different from the last three game drives, so I went with close-ups this time.

Lookout above the Serengeti

Sunset over the Serengeti

Our jeep group with Freddie

Usambara Mountains
This was a highlight mostly because we got two nights in the one place, and the showers were hot with doors that locked and a place to put your clothes!  I have come to judge the quality of accommodation by how many nails are on the back of the shower doors...tis the small things.  We also went on a 12 km walk up to a view point and got to have a lunch prepared by some local ladies.  We have been doing that quite a bit this trip.  It's a great way to empower locals, put funds directly into the communities and help them see that tourists value and respect their culture.

Local food at Mto Wa Mbu

Tasty!

Driving through the Usambara Mountains

Ruby met a Chameleon friend on our walk

At Irente viewpoint

After a beautiful meal, the local ladies danced....
and made us all dance too.  So fun :)

They had the most amusing way of picking up tip money!

Zanzibar
Zanzibar is amazing!  Even though it is a part of Tanzania it still feels like a different country.  Tanzania = TANganyika (former mainland), ZANzibar (series of small islands) Independent Association.  It has been united since 1964 but is still very different both in religion (95% Muslim) and architecture (lots of Arabic influence).  It is 2 hours by ferry from the mainland but it's illegal to take pictures of the ferry...or the port....or government buildings.....or any bridges so no photos of that bit!  We spent one night in the capital Stone Town then two nights at the northern beaches before heading back to the mainland.

Stone Town - the capital of Zanzibar

Alleys of Stone Town

Stone Town sunset

Stone Town sunset

On a spice tour with Ali

Wearing lipstick from the lipstick tree and a Cassava necklace

Beautiful local meal

Our wow accommodation at the Northern Beaches....just a bit of a change from our tent!

Northern Beaches sunset

Before snorkeling pic....visibility wasn't great but still fun!

A 2 hr ferry ride from Stone Town back to the mainland

Next stop: Malawi....followed by Zambia and Zimbabwe :) God bless!

Part 1: Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda

This is what Part 1 of my epic holiday looked like:

I'm now back in Nairobi, enjoying a hotel room and a double bed before starting all over again tomorrow!  Even though I booked this as one tour, it's really four tours back to back, so tomorrow will be a new leader and mostly new people too.  Seven of us are staying together for Part 2!

 I didn't anticipate this would be a relaxing adventure, and it certainly isn't.  Getting up at 4:30am, taking down the tents, followed by a 10 hour bus ride only to do it all over again!   And then there was the gastro.....oh my goodness, I am still traumatised by the memory of it!  There is never a convenient time for gastro, but being on an overland camping trip has to be one of the worst timings ever.  Aside from those few days of absolute misery, I have really enjoyed the adventure so far.  It's especially nice when we stay more than one night in the one place, and get a chance to relax or go for some optional activities.  Every group has its whingers, but on the whole it has been super fun to hang out with a great group of fellow travelers. Here are some highlights:

Masai Mara, Kenya
One of our first stops was the Masai Mara National Park.  It looked exactly how I expected....huge open grasslands and random herds of zebra and buffalo.  It was so easy to get caught up in the animal spotting, and comparing photos to see who got the perfect shot!

The animal watching begins.....

 

Afternoon light 

 We also visited a Masai village.  It was quite touristy but a great insight into their culture.

The man who jumps the highest wins the girl!

Mums with their bubs

Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
Still suffering the effects of gastro, I braved the water and went spotting animals in the Queen Elizabeth National Park.  Many of the animals were the same as we had seen in Kenya, but it was exciting to see them in a different environment.  They were pretty placid too, so we could get super close!

Roadside stop for lunch

Our poor truck got a bit bogged :(

Uganda is so green....it makes spotting elephants hard

Feeling ill but pushing through!

Fishing village on the shores of the lake

Mumma elephant didn't want us to get too close

I love this photo...they look so sweet!

Totally captured a hippo yawn...woot!

Sunset in Queen Elizabeth National Park

My little home :)

Genocide Memorial, Rwanda
It seems wrong to call this a highlight, but I feel really privileged to have been able to visit.  The stories are so heartbreaking.  One that really touched me was about a gunman going into a classroom and telling the students to split into Hutus on one side and Tutsis on the other, in order that he could kill the Tutsi students.  The students refused, saying they were all Rwandans.  Wow, what courage! An estimated 1 million Tutsis were killed during the genocide.

The city of Kigali, Rwanda's capital

Some of the many mass graves

"Never Again" - that says it all

The wall of names.  In many cases whole families were
killed, leaving no one left to even record the names of the dead.

Gorilla Trek, Rwanda
Three nights in Rwanda, and we even got to stay in a dormitory!  It was soooo nice to not have to set up the tent, and sleeping in a real bed was amazing.  Rwanda is such a clean country.  Plastic bags are illegal and they even search all vehicles and luggage at the border!  Our main reason for visiting Rwanda was to see the mountain gorillas.  They are wild in the sense that they are free to roam, but each gorilla family is monitored closely so they are always comfortable with human visitors!  It was so special to get a glimpse into their world and see the little ones playing.

Beautiful fabric at the local market

White water rafting, Uganda
Rafting was an optional activity but I'm so glad I spent the money to do it.  Jinja is known as the adventure capital of Uganda so it would be a shame to not try something.  It was so fun and I'm really keen to go rafting again sometime soon!  We got to go down grade 5 rapids (grade 6 is the hardest) and only capsized once.  In fact, the hardest part was paddling through the still water between rapids....methinks I need to build up some arm muscles! I also went on a boat cruise up the Nile to where it begins in Lake Victoria.  It's amazing to think that that water flows all the way to Egypt.

Hanging out on the equator

First rapid: We've got this!

Grade 5 rapid: I'm the one in the back screaming!

We survived!

Enjoying some peaceful water 

This one didn't end well!

Doing it like pros now......haha

So hard but so fun :)

A little island where Lake Victoria flows into the River Nile

So tomorrow another adventure begins as we travel through Tanzania.   I'm so excited to see more of the country I currently call home :)  God bless!

A pic of the team.....