All involved very long bus journeys, except for Zanzibar to Arusha, where I splashed out for the flights back to save us a day and a halves travelling. At £75, well worth it for the spectacular views of the Indian Ocean coral reefs alone. My environmental conscience somewhat eased by my almost complete non-use of cars, washing machines, dryers, ovens, microwaves, foodstuffs from outside the country etc. in the last few months. There were 7 of us on the flight, including the pilots – there were no crew. We also travelled at 10,000 ft and seeing as that is lower than the top of Kili, I was quite glad that our pilots were alert that day.
As I have started at the end of the trip, I shall continue going in that direction. Zanzibar is just as you would expect really, gorgeous beaches, beautiful warm turquoise waters and not much to do other than relax. We filled our time with snorkelling, sailing, walking, visiting the turtle sanctuary, swimming, teaching how to swim, reading, lying in the sun, drinking milk shakes and overpriced beer, eating food that we can't get in Arusha (tuna steaks, seafood pasta, octopus legs, Zanzibar Pizza) and then a bit more actively exploring the amazing, historical town of Stone Town with it's reminders of the slave trade and Arab rule in abundance. From Stone Town we also did a spice tour of a farm and got to see and sample vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, tumeric, lemongrass, star fruit, coconut milk, jack fruit, bitter oranges (eurgh!) etc. etc. etc. as well as wear attractive coconut leaf jewellery as made by the local boys.
We also shared a meal with one of my friends from PwC and his girlfriend – small world.
DSM was quite different to how I expected. Firstly, and for me most significantly, it was not as hot as I had imagined it would be, to the extent that the day that we spent on a local beach I found too cold to swim for long. We stayed on the Kigamboni Peninsuli, 3 mins ferry ride from the city centre in a much calmer area where you would be forgiven for thinking that you were back on Ukerewe Island, not in the capital city. Dirt roads, very little activity, no noise, very nice, in fact. We choose there as Godfrey's brother lives there running a house where university students stay. I couldn't really tell there were brothers, as where GF looks like his mum, Major takes after his dad. They also have equally different characteristics.
We explored the city, walking along the waterfront in the Uzunguni (white people) area with it's wide, tree lined streets and large hotels and international businesses, to Mchafukoge (Indian) filled with small shops and restaurants and finally from there to Karikoo (the African area) with narrow streets, and it's centre being a huge market selling anything and everything. The day was rounded off with a visit to the national museum, which, despite comments in the visitors book, I found quite comprehensive, covering German then British rule, Arab rule along the coast, the slave trade, Independence, the humanoid findings at Olduvai, (weirdly) a biology section and a lot on the traditional way of life for different tribes. I think you should try and take one thing away with you from each museum you visit, and anything beyond that is a bonus. For me, my one thing was the tree trunks they had that had turned to stone. Crazy. I will also probably remember being attacked by a mosquito in the 'African way of life' hall, though that is not quite so educational.
I was struck by the lack of western shops and restaurants. Although I didn't want to see it, I did think that McDonalds would have a outlet there, but none to be seen. Tanzania is blissfully free from international chains. I got my western fix, though, by watching the sunset from the rooftop of the best hotel in town. I had a cocktail, though I did have to taste GF's beer, to see if it tasted 4 times better to concur with the price ratio to those down on street level. Not really, but given the view, the free nibbles, and the fact that it cost less than in London anyway, I was happy.
Unfortunately, due to a mishap with the camera on Zanzibar, there are no photos to show you of DSM, though, to be honest, you're not missing much.
Enjoy the below from Zanzibar, though:
The idea to go to Usambara sprang from leafing through the guide book on the plane home from Zanzibar. Saranna had dog-eared the page at my leaving party at Prince of Wales Road, and reading further, it sounded like something I really shouldn't leave without seeing, especially as it was based roughly in the same part of the country as Arusha, and also involved exercise, which I am missing.
I was happy to go alone, though whilst telling my boss that I may be away again on the next Monday, I got the new volunteer, Shannon from Oz, interested.
Obviously an early start was necessary, so Shannon, myself and Shannon's friend Angela (Toronto) boarded the 6am bus and set off back past Moshi towards Lushoto, the German summer residence for most of the leaders during the time of German colonialism. Due to this, a paved road leads all the way up to the town, which sits at 1,200m. This meant a fairly uneventful journey. The highlight being buying hard boiled eggs from a vendor, only to find out that they were still warm (all purchases of this kind are made through the windows, often with the vendor chasing after you to finalise the exchange.)
The lowlight was a case falling off the rack above us and whacking Shannon on the head. Initially she was very composed, to the point where neither Angela nor I (sitting next to her) noticed, but it did end in tears. I'm not surprised, it must have bloody hurt!
As has happened time and again, what I have read in the book doesn't quite turn out how I expect. What was described as a charming German town turned out to be a town exactly like every other, except for a European style church. It was beautifully situated though, nestled in the mountains.
If the visit had to be summed up in three words, I would have one to spare, as all that is needed is 'spectacular views'.
The first port of call was climbing up to Irente view point. A longish winding walk up to a different village giving 'SV's of the valley below and the mountains on the other side. On the way down we went via the farm shop selling cheese (very rare!), nice breads and jams. Due to having to carry our own packs the next day, the motivation to buy was low.
After descending we went for a terrible Italian meal, then quickly back to bed. Unfortunately at some point during the evening my mosquito net post fell on to me, somewhat pinning me to the bed. Angela went to get the askari, who came to survey the situation, including me in my vest top and returned with a hoe and a friend. The friend's task during the operation (very long and loud attempt to reattach a nail) seemed to be as observer.
The next day we set off with our guide to Magamba Rainforest which was a fairly challenging up and down walk, especially carrying packs, but with rewarding 'SV's from the top point of 1890 meters. We were lucky enough to see black and white colobus monkeys which I have been looking for for 5 months, and even more excitingly a chameleon. I would have had no chance at spotting it, our guide must have chameleon sight special powers. After dropping down to the road we caught a local bus which turned out to be a comedy bus ride where we eventually got to sit down, albeit on the back seats (and therefore worst seats, as they have been gradually eroded with the years and years of smacking against the chasis) and every time we hit a significant bump (regularly) we let out a loud yelp. Although involuntary, and I would say natural, the locals found it very amusing and started mimicking us. I would say that we were the topic of conversations around quite a few dinner tables that night in Mtae.
We stopped short of Mtae and visited a some women who make pottery for a living. What was described as 'seeing how your donation is used' became something more akin to a sales session, but eventually we were shown how they make the pots. Interestingly, they move around the pot to make the smooth regular shape, rather than spinning the pot, though it proved to be equally effective.
A short further up-down to Mtae lead us to a village in possibly the most spectacular situation I have ever seen, right along the top of an escarpment with other mountains and valley floors all around.
The village doesn't have electricity connection, though you wouldn't know it from the noise produced. You would notice in our prison like hostel though, where you could barely tell when you had turned the light on. Luckily we had all brought torches, and my head lamp turned out to be particularly useful for some basic functions. I think the solar panels needed a bit of a wipe.
The next day was spent walking from Mtae to 'survey the area'. Due to the clouds in the morning, we visited the church and greeted the children and then walked them home, with the clouds clearing on que as we reached the next view point, for more of the same.
We noted that due to the heat and trekking, we were not looking our best, but that the local people whom had spent the day in the fields, or on the road breaking up stones, still looked collected and stunning, some of them catwalk ready.
So two days of challenging walks and lovely scenery and a few rare creatures ended with a 4am bus ride back to Arusha. As we were the first to board, we got the seats at the front. Good as we could see the way ahead (luckily our driver seemed very competent on the mountain roads in the dark), but bad as I hadn't countered on being sitting directly above the engine, which as the day progressed and the heat rose began to feel like we were being cooked. Combine this with random people depositing their children on laps, meaning heat from both above and below.
Getting back to Arusha and a shower was very welcome.
2 weeks to go.
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