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Great Africa Expedition
  • Jessica Gerschwitz

Great Africa Expedition

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Elsamere Conservation Centre

    23 czerwca 2017, Kenia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    I am being honest I haven't really heard of Joy Adamson or George Adamson before but me being me I can't resist learning about history especially when there is cake involved!

    We arrived on the banks of Elsamere Conservation Centre by boat, we went into the museum first where we looked at a lot of Joy and George Adamson's belongings. There were type writers, sewing machines, paintings, certificates, oil paints, photographs and several other little belongings.

    We then were treated to high tea, there were so many cakes and biscuits - it was delicious. We then watched a documentary about Joy Adamson's life and she is such an incredible woman. I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did but I really did and I look forward to researching more about her.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Green Crater Lake Park

    23 czerwca 2017, Kenia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    First optional extra I signed up for today was what the call a 'walking safari' where we were going to walk through the Green Crater Lake Park with the animals (including twenty-eight leopards that call the park home)

    We walked about 11km in total and we were lucky enough to see giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, baboons, black and white colobus, warthogs and numerous different birds. They were so close, most of the were within twenty metres of us it was insane.

    At the end we walked up to the top of the crater to the lookout point, the view of the park and lake was beautiful.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Wildebeest Eco Camp

    24 czerwca 2017, Kenia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We arrived at Wilderbeest Eco Camp at about 10:00am, we had to remove everything off of the bus as they were taking it to get it cleaned because tomorrow a new group starts (well we lose some and gain some) for the next part of the trip.

    Once we had set up our tents we began doing our washing, Adam set up an elaborate washing line for everyone and then we began 'day drinking' while we snacked on chips and dips!

    It has been an awesome day, as stated before this camp site is really nice and has good wifi so I even got the chance to call mum and dad.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Kenya / Tanzania Border

    25 czerwca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    It is hot and this border is taking ages to cross, first we lined up to exit Kenya then we had to walk about a kilometre to the Tanzania office and line up again to enter the country. I think we spent a total of three hours waiting at the border in 'no mans land' because there was an issue with the clearing of the truck and the cooks passport. Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Meserani Snake Park Camp

    25 czerwca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Tonight we are staying at the Meserani Snake Park Camp, as the name suggests there is a Snake Park attached to the camp site - this does not interest me in the slightest, if anything it scares me so I did not go see the snakes haha.

    I forgot to take pictures of the camp site but it was average compared to where we have been staying, there was no grass and the facilities were average.

    It was run but an elderly couple who were a good laugh, they had set up a pretty good bar with a dart board and plenty to look at on the walls and roof, as you can see from the photos - it was a typical outback bar! There were so many photographs and things to look at.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Flamingo Safari Lodge

    26 czerwca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    This afternoon we left the camp in a 4WD to make our way to begin our safari in the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti Conservation Park. This part of the trip is not with ON THE GO TOURS and was booked through GREEN BEE-EATER SAFARIS, our drivers name was the 'Jungle Master' with a name like that I have high expectations!

    We arrived at the Flamingo Safari Lodge and our tents were being set up for us as we arrived, we were told dinner would be ready by 7pm and that no help would be required - which is strange as normally we would set our tents up and help with daily chores such as cooking, cleaning and security but this company do all that for us so that we have more time on safari.

    Since there was nothing to do we went to the pool and had a couple beers along with some hot chips! The other two groups arrived about an hour later than us after doing a village tour so we joined them in the bar for a few more beers.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Ngorongoro Crater

    27 czerwca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    The Ngorongoro Crater, where do I start? This place was incredible, not only for the animals but also for the scenery. Travelling to the crater the were elephants and water buffalo on the road (that refused to move out the way and posing for several photographs) but as we drove down into the crater the first thing we saw was a lioness run past our car on the road, we could have reached out and touched her! We soon realised that she wasn't the only lioness as other came out of the bushes surrounding a group of water buffalos, we watched as they began chasing the water buffalos and eventually catching one of the young.

    This means in under one hour we have ticked off three of the 'big five' which is incredibly lucky and a great start to the day- especially for those who have only just started on the tour, this being their first game drive!

    We came across two lion couples (separately) who were on their 'honeymoon' where they move away from the pack and mate every twenty minutes for seven days! We just happen to be there for the live pornography show along with another twenty vehicles.

    We stopped for lunch by a lake which was full of hippopotamus', it was nice to just watch them as we sat on the bank while eating our lunch.

    After lunch we continued the game drive and it wasn't long before we came across two rhinoceros' which is rare as they normally travel by themselves but the jungle master told us this would be a mother and her child.

    Throughout the day we saw several other animals such as zebras, gazelles, hyenas, warthogs, wildebeest, giraffes, etc. Today the animals were so close to the vehicle compared to other game drives making it so much better, it was as if the animals felt safe with us being in their environment and were not scared of us.

    On the way to our campsite in the Serengeti National Park we came across a cheetah and then shortly after fourteen lion cubs and three lioness'. The cubs were playing, pouncing on each other, chasing each other and climbing the tree while the lioness' rested on a nearby rock keeping an eye on them. I could have sat there and watched them for hours, it was just beautiful to see but the jungle master wanted to get us back to camp as he would be fined if we were still out past dark.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Serengeti National Park Gate

    27 czerwca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Marlene, Jayleen and I walked to the top of the lookout to see the plains and as we walked back down we spotted Adam and Jenna with the others at the bottom. I ran down and gave them the biggest hug, they had only just left our tour group to begin the next leg of their trip but I already missed them.

    Shortly after Ginneen walked past who had also only just left our tour, it had been less that forty-eight hours and we had already managed a 'reunion' we were only missing Chris and Carrie who had decided not to come to Serengeti.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Serengeti National Park Camp

    27 czerwca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    We arrived at the campsite just before dark, our tents had already been set up for us and dinner was almost ready. We put our stuff in our tents and went down to the dinning area to have dinner - tonight was spaghetti bog and it is ranked the worst meal of the trip so far! I had to cover it in tomato sauce so I couldn't taste it.

    After dinner we went to bed, we were told not to take food into our tents or leave them open as hyenas quite often frequent the campsite and they will destroy a tent to get to food if they can smell it. We were also reminded not to walk around without a torch here or by ourselves as we are in the middle of a national park with wild animals including lions and leopards.

    I woke up in the middle of the night, at about 1:00am needing to pee but I could hear lions calling to the rear of the campsite, they sounded close so I was too scared to leave my tent - there was no option other than to hold on, it was one hell of a challenge.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Serengeti National Park

    28 czerwca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    We started early today because there is more opportunities to see animals such as lions and leopards early in the morning because that is when they come out to hunt.

    The first animal we saw was a male lion casually walking around on the roads past the vehicles. The vehicles followed the lion where he approached a lioness, that lioness' lion came out from the bushes and we watched as the two males began fighting over the lioness. The driver told us that the two lions were brothers and that is why once they finished fighting the lion trying to cut his brothers lunch was still allowed to hang around, he began eating something and we couldn't quite tell what it was so I zoomed in on my camera. I could clearly see that it was an elephant that the lion was eating.

    We continued to drive around, we spotted a large group of elephants in the distance so we went to take photographs and somehow someone has spotted a leopard in the tree behind us! The only this that gave it away was the impala that it had killed and dragged up the tree.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Meserani Snake Park Camp

    29 czerwca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    We made it back to Meserani Snake Park Camp and we were reunited with Chris and Carrie which was nice, it just isn't the same without them.

    Unfortunately we were no longer with the other tour company which meant that we had to set up our own tent again *sigh* and help with cooking / cleaning duties.

    Once the tent was set up it was a race to the shower block as everyone hadn't had a shower for a couple days because of the lack of facilities. I managed to get first shower!     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    White Parot Camp

    29 czerwca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Another big day on the bus, we arrived at the camp just before dark with enough time to set up the tents.

    The tour manager didn't speak highly of this camp site, he told us that the showers would be cold but we were suprised when they weren't! The facilities weren't actually too bad, the showers and toilets were clean - it wasn't bad just for a night stopover to break up the drive to our next destination! Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Kipepeo Beach Resort

    30 czerwca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Finally we are at the beach, we arrived at about lunch time and everyone upgraded tonight to beach bungalows because they were $17 for a room which was shared between three. The bungalows were the cutest and they were on the beach front.

    We moved all our stuff into our rooms and then headed straight to the bar! We sat on the beach as the sun went down it was beautiful. Once it was dark I decided to have a shower and almost shat myself when I walked out the shower to find the guard standing there with a long arm firearm. I guess it is nice to know I am safe but scared me that they think they need that as hotel security.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Zanzibar Port

    1 lipca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    I have arrived in Zanzibar! I am looking forward to sipping cocktails, relaxing on the beach and eating lots of yummy food.

    I am spending one night in Stone Town and two nights at a beach up north. I was booked in to do the Stone Town walking tour and spice farms as soon as we got to the hotel. Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Slave Trade Exibition

    1 lipca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    It was hard to believe that this happened but it did, going to the exhibition really hit home and the fact that they did this to women and children as well.

    I have attached a picture of two rooms, one held fifty people and the other held over seventy people. The rooms were barely big enough for our group to sit in comfortably. They used to have to lay on top of each other and there would be urine and faeces on the floor in the room with them. How anyone can treat another human the way they did is beyond me! I have included a brief overview of what used to happen below, taken from a website that has been quoted.

    Zanzibar was one of the largest slave ports in the vast Indian Ocean slave trade, which was dominated by Arab slave traders. The Arab slave trade originated before Islam and lasted more than a millennium. The slavers hacked their way from Bagamoyo on the Tanzania mainland coast into the African interior, as far west as the Congo. The slavers traded, bribed chiefs, pillaged and frequently kidnapped to meet the high demand for slaves. The newly acquired slaves were often forced to carry ivory and other goods back to Bagamoyo. The name Bagamoyo is derived from the Kiswahili words "bwaga moyo" which mean 'lay down your heart', because it was here that slaves would abandon any remaining hope of freedom or escape. Slaves who survived the long and perilous hike from the interior were then crammed into wooden boats called dhows bound for the slave markets in Stone Town, Zanzibar.

    It is important to understand that in the context of the Arab Slave Trade, the term Arab represents a culture as opposed to a specific race. Many of the "Arab" slave traders such as Tippu Tip and others were indistinguishable from the "Africans" whom they enslaved and sold. All of the main racial groups in Zanzibar were involved in the slave trade in some way or other. Europeans used slaves in their plantations in the Indian Ocean islands, Arabs were the main traders, and African rulers sold prisoners taken in battle.

    Although best known today as an island paradise, there are many prominent reminders of Zanzibar's dark history in the slave trade around Stone Town and across the island. The market where slaves were confined in dark, airless, underground chambers before being sold still contains the chains bolted to the concrete. A moving memorial now stands where the market once was, reminding visitors and locals alike, of the atrocities committed on that very spot centuries before. Nearby, the Anglican Church contains a wooden cross carved from the tree under which the famous explorer and abolitionist David Livingstone's heart was buried in Zambia. Along the island's coast, several old limestone holding cells where slaves were hidden from crusading British abolitionists still exist. Once slavery was banned, the use of the chambers increased. Some still contain etchings and final messages left by slaves awaiting their sale and transport to a foreign land.

    In 1822, the Omani Arabs signed the Moresby Treaty which made the sale of slaves to Christian's illegal and provided other restrictions. Unfortunately, these restrictions were essentially ignored, and the trade continued to thrive. Then, in 1873 under the threat of bombardment by the British navy, Sultan Barghash was forced to sign an edict making the sea-borne slave trade illegal, and the slave market in Zanzibar was finally closed. Although, slaving was now officially illegal, it continued on the mainland of Tanzania until the defeat of the Germans in the First World War and Britain took over as the colonial power.

    source: http://www.zanzibarpackage.com/slavery-zanzibar     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Karrabu Inn

    1 lipca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    This place was on the average side of things, the rooms were dark, out dated and simple (compared to other upgrades for the same price) but that's okay there was one positive - I have a room to myself, I haven't had a room (or tent) to myself in so long. It is going to be nice to be able to do simple things like walk around in my underwear without offending anyone. Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Sunset Bungalows

    2 lipca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    I am so happy right now, I am at the beach, the weather is amazing and I do not have a worry in the world other than 'what cocktail am I going to order next?' this place is absolutely beautiful and I am looking forward to relaxing in the sun (with sunscreen - don't worry mother) while drinking cocktails with absolutely no other plans. Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Zanzibar Port

    4 lipca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    It is time to leave Zanzibar and head back to Tanzania.
    I have had a great few days in Zanzibar but I am now rested and ready to continue with my adventure.

    We were one of the first ones through their 'customs' (which makes no sense because we aren't leaving or entering a different country) and the luggage scanner, we sat down where there was plenty of room for everyone and their bags. About an hour later they advised they would start boarding we made our way to line up and were told by security to sit down. We sat down and they began letting up each row one by one and leaving us to last, we boarded the Kilimanjaro-5 and it was completely full. There was seat numbers on our tickets but apparently that doesn't mean anything because people were in our seats, we were made to go up to the top deck where half of us sat on the floor and the other half stood.

    The ride was about two hours long and what made it worse was about thirty minutes in I began getting motion sickness. I thought I was going to vomit, I was trying everything - standing, sitting, looking forwards, looking backwards but the only relief I got was laying on my side. If it had been any longer I probably would have been vomiting.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    The Old Farm House

    5 lipca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    It seems to be the same ol' story, another long drive - this time we had a thirteen hour drive, we started at 4am and we only just got there in time to put out tents up in the last little bit of light.

    Tonight Duncan cooked us a beef stew and 'pap' which is a traditional porridge/polenta made from mielie-meal (ground maize) and a staple food of many Africans. It was pretty tasteless but was good when put with the stew, sort of tasted like mashed up rice.

    After dinner we went to the bar where we had an amarula hot chocolate and a brownie for dessert, they were both delicious.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Tanzania / Malawi Border

    6 lipca 2017, Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    I had my visa for Malawi already (thanks to my amazing travel agent) so I filled out my arrival card, went straight to the counter and they stamped my passport.

    Everyone else's took ages, they had to fill out an application for a visa and pay $75USD their passports were taken and I kid you not they were put in a pile while the officers sat watching a soccer game on the television. We waited for probably an hour before they even started looking at them, let's just say there was no urgency. Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Hakuna Matata Camp

    6 lipca 2017, Malawi ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Today we had another very long day, we were driving for 13 hours. It didn't help that we were stuck at the border for 3 hours waiting for people's visas and the truck to be cleared.

    When we finally got to the camp we had to set up in the dark and everyone pretty much put their tents on top of each other using the trucks headlights to set up.

    The camps facilities were really good, there was a nice bar overlooking the lake, clean and functioning toilet / shower blocks. Everything is so cheap here, the vodka and soda was about $1.50.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Kande Beach Resort

    7 lipca 2017, Malawi ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We arrived at Kande Beach Resort at about 1:00pm so that left us plenty of time to explore after we had checked in. I decided to upgrade again as the price was very reasonable for a beach front room as you can see in the photos the room is average but the view is beautiful - we are lucky enough to be staying here for two nights.

    Carrie and I had taken a liking to skirts that one of the girls on our other tour was working, we asked her where she got them and this was the place! We had been looking forward to this for a couple weeks.

    After lunch we got some directions from Hesbon our tour manager and started making our way to the village shops. Hesbon said as we were leaving 'don't worry you will find plenty of friends' we didn't quite understand this until we walked out the gate of the resort and we were met by about three men. The three men weren't trying to sell us anything, they were simply asking us our name, what we did for work, how big our family was, where we came from etc. I felt like they were taking the opportunity to talk to a 'mozuma' and find out how we lived, they were just as interested in us as we were in them.

    We continued walking with one of the males Shud who was studying as well as an artist with his own Malawian hip hop band, he invited us to the local pub that night to come watch him - we told him we would think about it. He continued to walk with us quite a while just making general conversation before stopping and leaving us to walk alone. The walk to the village shops was about 2.5km long and took about half an hour to walk, the path took us through the village, crops and a forrest.

    We were greeted by a man named James as we reached the shops, he asked us what we wanted - we explained to him that we were after material and a dress maker. He immediately showed us to a store with material, we found one each that we liked but we wanted two skirts each made so he took us to another store where we found another pattern each that we liked. What I liked was that there was no 'tourist price' or bullshit they told us the price and it was cheaper than what we had been told by our guides to pay. Once we bought the material James then took us to a dress maker who was sitting underneath a veranda of a shop on the side of the road with his singer sewing machine, James acted as a translator and explained to him what we were after.

    We then began walking back to Kande Beach Resort. Along the way many people, young and old spoke to us - everyone was so welcoming and friendly. It was great to be able to walk through the village, seeing the way that they live and speaking to the locals - a lot better than just driving past in the truck.

    That night I had an ant infestation in my bed, I went to sleep at about 12:00am and woke up at 1:30am in a sea of ants. I tried everything (even stripping the bed) to get rid of them but they just wouldn't budge so at 4:00am I am calling mum because I am in pain from the bites and emotional. The next morning they ended up moving us into a different room.

    The next day, after lunch Carrie and I went for a walk with Chris, Vig, Archana and Nicole to pick up our skirts. We wernt walking for long before Shud and James began walking with us again, they told us that they enjoyed walking with us because it gave them a chance to practice their English. The skirts had to be altered slightly so Shud and James took us for a walk about a kilometre down the road to a wood carving and painting stand on the side of the road. I ended up buying a bowl with the big five carved into the side of it, it was nice because they didn't hassle us and we were able to look.

    We walked back and the skirts weren't ready yet so we were taken to a local pub to have a beer. The pub literally had a few wooden benches, speakers, one fridge, television and a pool table.

    Our skirts were ready and they are just what we wanted! James began walking us back but at about half way he introduced us to his uncle William who walked with us the remainder of the way. Along the way we spoke to several children, one group showed us their soccer ball which was made out of a condom, plastic bag and string (very creative).

    This has been one of my favourite places to explore, majority of the places we have stayed we haven't been able to leave the resorts or camp grounds as it isn't safe for us. It was nice to be able to go out on our own, socialise with the locals, getting an understanding of the way they live and their culture.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Jessica GerschwitzGreat Africa ExpeditionJessica Gerschwitz

    Malawi / Zambia Border

    9 lipca 2017, Malawi ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    This one I would consider a stress free border to cross, exiting Malawi was simple (apart from people pushing in - no concept of a line) and all we had to do when entering Zambia was put $50USD in our passport and give it to them to enter the details.

    The locals exchanging money weren't too impressed with me, they managed to screw over one couple before I was working out the money exchange for everyone and getting them decent rate for their dollar.     Czytaj więcej

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