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It Began in Africa 2011It Began in Africa 2011
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It Began in Africa 2011

March - April 2011
A 36-day adventure by Joel Read more
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  • TravelerIt Began in Africa 2011
    Day 11

    Day 10: Lake Manyara NP

    March 15, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    We checked out early and met our safari guide for the next 3 days, a young guy named Edwin with decent English. Our steed for the journey was a beaten-up old Toyota Landcruiser. It wasn't much to look at, but seemed mechanically sound enough.

    We left Springlands around 9:30am and headed west through Moshi, past Kilimanjaro airport, and then into the larger city of Arusha where we stopped at a big Western-style supermarket called Shop-Rite. We stocked up on water, soft drinks and a few snacks for a total of 5850 shillings (about $4.50).

    We then headed into the north-west of Tanzania, stopping briefly for lunch at a tourist tat shop slash picnic area. By mid-afternoon we reached our destination, the Lake Manyara National Park.

    The lake itself is entirely rain-based, swelling massively during the wet season and gradually shrinking during the dry. Right now at the end of the dry season it's pretty small. We had a read through the info rooms while Edwin finalised our papers, then set off into the park.

    Lots of animals were around - big groups of monkeys and baboons near the entrance. Further into the park we came across some scattered giraffes, a small herd of zebra and a briefly-glimpsed elephant in the trees. Moving closer to the edge of the lake we saw some submerged hippos, but they were too far away for good photos. Also nearby were impala, water bucks, dik diks and warthogs. Lots of the animals were close to the car and seemingly unafraid. As dusk approached we left Manyara towards the Highview Hotel, our inn for the night. It was on a hill (surprisingly!), and near the mountain town of Karatu. After leaving Manyara the road had curved steadily upwards onto the Great Rift Valley escarpment. I had no idea, but the Valley runs all the way along eastern Africa, from Jordan in the Middle East down to Mozambique.

    The hotel was very modern, though only about 10% full due to the low season. We had a nice buffet dinner in the twilight, entertained by some traditional Maasai dancers, singers and drummers. Off to bed early before a long day tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerIt Began in Africa 2011
    1
    Day 12

    Day 11: Serengeti Day 1

    March 16, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Today we were to drive north over the volcanic highlands, to the Serengeti plains beyond. We bumped into Kevin & Keith at breakfast, they had been doing the 6-day Machame route on Kili and so they'd been in our group for the first few days of the trek. We had a nice breakfast with them and Keith's family, chatting about the sumit push, the aftermath, and the earthquake in Japan. Traded contact details and parted, they were almost finished with their 3-day safari so we likely wouldn't meet them again.

    After breakfast came our first setback. Edwin noticed that our front-right wheel was missing 4 of 6 wheelnuts, and he understandably didn't want to cross the Serengeti without them. It could be easily fixed, but would require a 30-minute stop in Karatu. OK, no worries. Hakuna matata.

    So we drove into town, pulled up at Edwin's friend's shop and waited. A kid on a bike looked at it and disappeared, reappearing later with a young-ish guy in a red cap who appeared to be the actual mechanic. He removed the wheel, then the entire wheel assembly. Edwin ran off down the road, returning via motorbike about 20 minutes later. People came and went, chatted, locals went about their business, chatted, and finally our car was ready to go. It only took 1 hour 45 minutes! A good insight into African business styles.

    Finally we're off to the Serengeti. To get there we drove past the Ngorongoro Crater, through the conservation area. Once through the gate, the tarmac rapidly gave way to dirt tracks, some of which were very rough. We drove through the forest on the crater rim, before heading into the highlands that border the Serengeti. Going down a particularly rough section, Edwin notices a flat tyre. Lucky we have two spares! He and I jump out and change the tyre, though he mentions in passing that the other spare is already flat. Shit.

    We drive through the highlands without further incident, past loads of little mud hut villages inhabited by Maasai herdsmen. They're mostly nomadic and are permitted to live in the area provided they don't farm. They stick mostly to traditional ways, as their fierce warrior culture kept most of them off the slave ships. But it's not uncommon to see them using mobile phones; we even saw a Coke truck unloading supplies at one village!

    Eventually we descended from the highlands and stopped for lunch at Olduvai Gorge. This place is famous for being the source of two humanoid precursor species - Australopithecus and homo erectus. The Laetoli footprints fossil was also found nearby. The talk and museum were interesting but paleoanthropology doesn't make a great spectator sport, so we pressed on.

    Eventually the huge gate of Serengeti NP loomed out of the afternoon sun. We'd made it! Our game drive commenced.

    One of the first animals we encountered was a rare cheetah! He was sunning on a rock just off the road, so we naughtily turned off and drove toward him. He noticed us and slunk away into the grass, but we got some good photos.

    Game driving is simultaneously exciting and boring. You're always alert for animal sightings, but they can be few and far between. The afternoon was spent driving around the immense national park. Highlights included - a mother leopard and her cub in a distant tree, a pride of lions sleeping under a tree, elephants, lots of giraffes, uncountable numbers of zebra and wildebeest, warthogs, buffalo, and a stream full of hippos. Late in the evening we headed off, but a mile from the exit gate we heard the unmistakable sound of a flat tyre. Shit, no spares.

    Luckily for us, Zara Tours had one other car in the park. Edwin called them, and the driver promised he'd be there in 15 minutes with a replacement tyre. 45 minutes later and in near darkness, he arrived. The tyre was promptly changed and we drove the 20 minutes to our hotel, the Ikoma Wild Camp.

    It's a little collection of huts and permanent tents about 10km from the nearest village. We were staying in a tent the size of a normal hotel room, but located in a permanent hut building. Very rustic, but nice. On check-in, we noticed that us and the other Zara Tours car were the only guests! In the other car was a nice middle-aged couple from Redondo Beach, California - Jim and his wife Amanda. We shared dinner and a drink with them before heading to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerIt Began in Africa 2011
    11
    Day 13

    Day 12: Serengeti Day 2

    March 17, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Mildly restless night of sleep at the camp hotel - I felt a little vulnerable due to the isolation, but not too bad. Definitely would've helped if we could lock the tent!

    After breakfast we set off again into the endless grass plains of the Serengeti. Incidentally, the word Serengeti is a Maasai word meaning "endless", and from the centre it certainly feels that way! First stop in the park was the hippo pools, with scores of hippos lazing in the water and a couple of Nile crocodiles lazing on the riverbank. The characteristic hippo "yawn" is actually a sign of aggression; they're baring their giant teeth at you.

    Further in we found a pair of lions - male and female, but they weren't doing anything. Then a couple of kilometres up the road came the excitement - two female lions resting on a riverbank, but then deciding to go for a wander as we approached! They strolled lazily along the riverbank before venturing down the road, right amongst the herd of jeeps following them. They even brushed up against our jeep! Got some fantastic photos at such close range, my camera's small zoom didn't matter!

    After a while the lions reached another resting spot so we left them to it, in search of other animals. We stumbled across another leopard cub in a tree, no sign of the mother. Spotted a couple of jaguars running across the plains, but they were too far away to see properly. At this point we were driving nonchalantly past herds of warthog, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, impala, gazelle etc, in search of rarer or more interesting animals. And then, just as we were about to head for lunch, a herd of elephants appeared on the horizon.

    Edwin gunned it over to the herd quick smart. Three large males were leading, striding confidently down the road. Following behind was a group of probably 20 more elephants - male and female, from old right through to a pair of tiny calves. We stayed with them for nearly half an hour before heading to the visitor's centre for lunch.

    Ate our picnic lunch in the annoying company of very tame hungry mongoose and hyrax. Looked around the visitor's centre, some interesting stuff about the plains, the migrations and the ongoing conservation efforts.

    After lunch the rains arrived in a torrential downpour that lasted over an hour. We drove around in a fairly unenthusiastic fashion - most of the animals had gone into hiding to escape the rain. The only things of note were a pair of soggy-looking lions, and waiting for 10 minutes on the road while a giant herd of zebra and wildebeest stampeded across. This happened twice.

    Had dinner with Jim and Amanda back at Ikoma Wild Camp before heading to bed around 9pm. Our jeep had survived the day with no breakdowns!    Read more

  • TravelerIt Began in Africa 2011
    1
    Day 14

    Day 13: Ngorongoro Crater

    March 18, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Our jeep didn't survive the night. After an early breakfast we arrived in the carpark to see our jeep up on a jack, one flat tyre in the air. Edwin had obtained a spare tyre, but didn't want to do the remaining day's trip back across the Serengeti, around Ngorongoro Crater and onward to Highview Hotel in Kerala with no spare tyres. Understandable!

    Since Jim and Amanda had the same itinerary as us and no vehicle dramas, we all piled into their car, leaving our luggage and some hopeful thoughts with Edwin. So in the cramped back of the other vehicle we sat for the long journey back across the Serengeti.

    Lots of other vehicles around but we had a better destination - Ngorongoro Crater. The only real excitement while crossing the Serengeti came from a hippo completely out of the water, and a couple of jackals feasting on a carcass. Onward we drove as the plains gave way to highlands, scorching sun became rain, and animals became Maasai herdsmen. After a long few hours the crater descent road suddenly appeared.

    The crater itself is magnificent - one of the most amazing natural wonders I've ever seen. Formed by a collapsing volcano, the crater is 325 square kilometres in area and the central area is 600 metres below the rim. Slowly down the wall we descended, under a brilliant blue sky, into the lush vegetation below. Herds of zebra and wildebeest dotted the plain below which happily rose up to meet us.

    Our first animal encounter was a lone hyena, cooling himself off in a puddle beside the road. We left him to it, approaching the central lake where thousands of pink flamingos sit on the surface. Sadly a little too far away for good pictures. Up ahead a pair of ostrich had planted themselves in the road - a good time for our closest encounter with the birds so far.

    A little further on we spotted a cluster of jeeps which could only mean something interesting was there. And we were right - a trio of male lions sunning themselves in the grass. Although the lions seemed completely oblivious to all the attention, the way they posed and placed themselves right next to a road suggested they knew what was up. Got some great photos, including one that might be the highlight picture of the trip so far.

    Bidding the lions farewell, we headed to the hippo pool where it was time for lunch. Hippos can be surprisingly dangerous, so we were a little worried at the lack of fencing, but nothing bad happened so no matter!

    After lunch the heavens opened, so we took cover from the rain in the jeep and continued to cruise the park in search of its most rare citizens - black rhino. And then an hour later our patience was rewarded! Contact! It was unmistakably a rhino, albeit several hundred metres away. Took a few photos and the search continued. A little later we found two more rhino. This time a mother and her cub, though again they were pretty distant. A short time later we found a third rhino, though once again it was a few hundred metres away and lying down. Despite not being able to get close, we were still pretty happy with seeing four rhinos. Especially since there's only around 20 in the entire crater.

    We continued on past herds of wildebeest calves, a couple of sleeping lions and hundreds more zebra before the afternoon began to run out. Right near the crater ascent road we found a large herd of elephants including a pair of babies. Took some more good photos before driving up the crater rim and through the jungle back to the Highview Hotel.

    No traditional dancing or drumming tonight, just a sedate dinner in the restaurant before bed. Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most amazing places I've ever been, and I was sad to leave.    Read more

  • TravelerIt Began in Africa 2011
    Day 15

    Day 14: Tarangire National Park

    March 19, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    The final day of our safari started slowly, with another tyre-related delay to our jeep, Edwin having rejoined us late the previous evening. We weren't feeling all that confident, but Edwin assured us everything would be OK. Off we set on the long drive back southeast towards Tarangire National Park.

    The drive itself was uneventful. We arrived around 10:30am, no animals in sight and a light but insistent drizzle falling. As usual, the rain kept the animals in hiding, though we did see a distant elephant and some large birds like osprey, eagles and vultures. The highlight was an osprey plucking a small mongoose out of the grass and carrying it to a nearby tree.

    Then, just before lunch - contact! A cheetah, lying on an anthill just 30m from the road. Not quite as close as our last cheetah encounter, but much longer this time as it was happy to lie there just looking around. Took a bunch of photos and enjoyed the sight of the magnificent creature before heading to lunch.

    Funnily enough, the lunch spot was at a lookout less than a kilometre from the cheetah. I was a little worried, but Edwin assured us that cheetahs were scared of humans, and that we were in much more danger of monkeys stealing our lunch. Sure enough, we saw a monkey steal yoghurt tubs from a nearby table!

    After lunch we saw a few warthogs, gazelle and some close-up ostrich, but the rain was insisting and the animals weren't cooperating. Out of the park we drove, starting on the long drive back to Springlands via Arusha and Moshi. Only exciting events were going past a rolled car in a ditch and a massive roadkill python. I amused myself taking photos of the daladalas (local busses) decorated with Man United livery. Said goodbye to Edwin and enjoyed our last night at Springlands.    Read more

  • TravelerIt Began in Africa 2011
    Day 16

    Day 15: Stone Town

    March 20, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Another early start, bidding a fond farewell to the Springlands Hotel. Although we've only actually spent 3 nights here, it's been our base of operations for the past fortnight and we're sad to leave. So off we piled in a bus for the airport with a bunch of noisy South Africans.

    The ride to the airport was enlivened somewhat by a pair of rally cars screaming past on the highway. An older 911 and a Lancer EVO III. Not far ahead, they slid off the highway and onto a marked rally course, meaning they were taking part in an official organised rally down a live public highway. Both cars overtook us on the wrong side of the road - madness!

    Precision Air lived up to their name, as for the first time ever in Africa something happened early! The flight left about 20 minutes early, and landed in Zanzibar approx 30 minutes. Amazing stuff.

    Stone Town is very different to Moshi and Dar Es Salaam. Our hotel is pretty nice - fresh paint and lovely furnishings. There are a lot more tourists about and the population is more obviously Muslim (though still 95% black).

    We spent most of the afternoon wandering and taking photos. It's not a pretty city, but attractive enough on an African scale I guess. I still felt very self-conscious but tourists are a very common sight, and aside from taxi/ferry touts nobody paid us any attention.

    Ate lunch in a nice cafe near the water and then did a tour of the local Anglican Church. The church was built in the 1880s on the site of the old slave market (Zanzibar was at the centre of the east African slave trade) and serves as a memorial to those who died. A couple of the holding cells have been preserved and they're pretty horrific.

    Back to the hotel, visiting the local market on the way. It was mostly a functional market for locals rather than a tourist market, and thus only had a few interesting items and it mostly stunk like rotting fish, body odour and garbage. We also dropped by the old Arab fort, but it was pretty decrepit and we didn't linger.

    In the evening we went out for a few drinks at a waterfront bar called Mercury's. Freddie Mercury is literally the only famous person to ever come from Zanzibar (he was born here and stayed until age 5 or so), and there's a few things named for him. They had City vs Chelsea on the TV, but we watched the sunset and the local children doing flips and playing football on the beach below us.

    Ate dinner in a large open-air market in Forohdhani Gardens. Seafood skewers and a banana choc pizza, all very nice but definitely at tourist prices. Impressed the two pizza guys with my Swahili knowledge - they pointed at a banana and asked me what the Swahili word was, and luckily it was one of the 15 Swahili words I knew! Ndizi!    Read more

  • TravelerIt Began in Africa 2011
    1
    Day 17

    Day 16: Across to Jambiani

    March 21, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Early start before our transfer to Jambiani on the eastern coast of Zanzibar. Had toast with a delicious banana jam for breakfast. Our transfer was supposed to cost $10 USD each, but this mysteriously increased to $15 when the driver arrived. He said it wasn't worth doing for $10 with only four passengers, so imagine our surprise when the bus left Stone Town with seven passengers! Felt a little conned, but it's still cheaper than a taxi. Not much money for us, but it's a lot for locals.

    Casa del Mar is simply breathtaking. It's right on the water, which is a saltwater ocean beach protected by a large coral reef a couple of kilometres offshore. Sort of like northern Queensland. At low tide, the water is several hundred metres distant, but at high tide waves pound almost at the hotel gate.

    We spent a lazy morning and afternoon doing very little. Snoozing in deckchairs, lounging in the pool, reading and writing. Annoyingly, several touts hung around on the beach selling food, boat trips, massages etc, and stepping through the gate onto the beach lead to them descending on you like locusts. Eventually "Captain Cook" broke through my resolve and sold us dinner at his restaurant.

    He collected us from the gate and walked us to his "restaurant", which was really just the yard of his house. He'd promised a few minutes walk which ended up closer to 20 minutes (apparently African time applies to distance as well), and it was hidden away in Jambiani village. We both felt a little vulnerable, but he was completely genuine and the coconut crusted blue snapper was excellent. No hidden catches beyond the long walk; he stayed with us all the way back to the hotel and we both felt richer for the experience.

    In the afternoon we'd had a brief wander around the village which was much larger than we'd expected. Bought some postcards and chatted with a local shopkeeper about the Premier League. He was a big Man United fan and saw my shirt. We discussed the win against Bolton from yesterday and Antonio Valencia's return to the first team before lamenting the injuries to our defenders. Apparently he's also a big fan of Spurs, Sunderland, Barcelona and AC Milan too! Covers all the bases I suppose.    Read more

  • TravelerIt Began in Africa 2011
    Day 18

    Day 17: Relaxing in Jambiani

    March 22, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    No early starts for us today! We had a nice, lazy and relaxed morning with a long hot breakfast before boarding a dhow to the reef for a spot of snorkelling. The dhow itself was tiny, barely wide enough for us to sit shoulder-to-shoulder. The snorkelling was good and the water was wonderfully warm. The reefs weren't quite as pretty as the Great Barrier Reef, but good enough and there were plenty of fish to look at closely.

    Had lunch at the hotel before another lazy afternoon of swimming in the pool, dozing and sunbaking. Captain "Fido", another of the beach boys, spoke to us through the fence and arranged to take us on a sunset dhow cruise, for a bargain price of $20 USD.

    Again the boat was very tiny; the cruise wasn't altogether relaxing as the water was much rougher than the morning, but still very pleasant. Beautiful views back to Jambini while the sun sank under the horizon.

    For our last night in Tanzania we just had dinner in the hotel and finalised our packing, ahead of a long day travelling tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerIt Began in Africa 2011
    Day 19

    Day 18: Zanzibar to Dubai

    March 23, 2011 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Quick hotel breakfast before the 1-hour coach ride to Zanzibar airport. I amused myself by noticing all the English football paraphernalia present amongst the locals. Even our minibus had a small Robin van Persie shirt, Chelsea crest and Barca crest dangling from the mirror.

    Zanzibar airport was just sheer bedlam - three big European planes were leaving about the same time so it was very crowded and hot. Bumped into Tom and Sarka - they'd loved their safari and Zanzibar, though were having difficulties getting back to Brno. Mostly because one of their flights was brought forward 12 hours with only an email update to show for it. They were on our plane to Dar, then going to Moshi, then Ethiopia, then Europe. I think.

    Our final Precision Air flight passed incident-free; I guess they're a better airline than I realised! Dar airport was its usual hot, dirty self. Managed to kill 3 hours transfer time in the airport by visiting the cafe, reading and writing. The flight to DUbai was smooth and we arrived at our hotel around 12:30am.    Read more

  • TravelerIt Began in Africa 2011
    Day 20

    Day 19: Exploring Dubai

    March 24, 2011 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    We'd booked two days in Dubai and had no firm plans, so the world was our oyster. Over breakfast we decided to buy tickets for the Big Bus - a hop-on hop-off loop bus around the city visiting most of the key tourist areas. The only issue with the bus is that the bus stop wasn't that close to our hotel.

    It only looked like a couple of blocks on our map, but Dubai is very spread out, American style with enormous wide streets and very long blocks. 30 minutes and considerable difficulty later, we arrived at the Grand Mosque where the bus stop was. Had a quick look at the outside of the mosque but unfortunately couldn't go inside as prayers were in progress. Before long the bus arrived and we hopped on.

    We stayed on for most of the loop past lots of highlights: Burj al-Arab, Atlantis and the Palm Jumeirah, Wild Wadi Water Park, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Mall and more. Jumped off at Dubai Mall and went inside for a look around, plus a spot of lunch at the food court. It's mind-blowingly large, and leaves the Westfield places in Australia for dead!

    Switched to the connecting bus which loops around the Old Town and had a look around. Our ticket got us free entry to a boat cruise on Dubai Creek, so we did that in the afternoon. Very informative and interesting. Next stop on the bus was the Dubai Museum, where we spent an hour looking around.

    A lot of effort had gone into the museum, but Dubai has only really existed since the late 1800s, so there isn't much history to speak of. Last stop on the bus was the Gold Souk (market) across the creek, where we alighted in the early evening. Had a wander around and a gawk at all the gold jewellery on display, though most of it was far too flashy/kitsch/extravagant for my liking. Lots of guys selling genuine imitation Rolex/Seiko watches as well.

    Found a small spice souk and looked around there as well, but every shop sells much the same spices and after the first two shops they aren't that interesting to look at. Everything in the old town is clustered by what the shops are selling, so you'd have the electronics district, the meat district, the watches district, the sports supplement district etc. Unfortunately we couldn't find the restaurant district, but managed to find a few places and picked one mostly at random. Very few tourists about, but the locals paid us no heed as we enjoyed a massive shwarma (kebab plate) dinner for about 40 dirhams ($10 AUD).

    Taxi back to the hotel where we sat in the Aussie Sports Bar, choking on cigarette smoke and watching Australia lose their world cup cricket semi-final to India. Of course the place was full of Indian migrant workers, just my luck!    Read more

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