Nungwi Inn Zanzibar Archipelago

... Zanzibar is known as being the "spice island" because basically every type of spice in the world is grown here. The spices have been brought here over time from other parts of the world, and they have begun to harvest them – the constant warmth and humidity apparently create a good environment for growing the spices. The once spice that is actually native to the island is cloves – everything else has been introduced from abroad. Zanzibar also has an ...

... whom would have suffocated before being sold. Before heading up to the beach in the north of the island we went on a spice tour which was fascinating, as I'd never given any thought before to where spices come from beyond aisle 5 in Morrisons.

Chilling on the beach was great and although still very much enjoying the Dragoman trip, it was a welcome break from the bus (sorry, truck!) During the day we went scuba diving of the East coast which was amazing. We saw loads of ...

... his trunk up with as much water as possible, and then dumping it all in his belly.
It sounded like a hollow container being filled with huge amounts of water. We got it all on tape, it was so great to see! A wild elephant just trotting along our camp site, and when he was done, he walked through all of the tents, careful not to trample any. it was closer to dark then light when he was leaving, and a girl came out of her tent and proceeded to walk right past him ...

... 1 guy in our group! We had a total of 31 Guides and porters and they were awesome! The final ascent began at midnight, we all had to wear 4 layers of clothes , very cold, and then we started slowly to climb straight up the mountain, it took 7 hours!!! We watched the sunrise at the top of the world. It took every bit of inner strength and ...

... luxury of our tents being put up for us and dinner prepared for us. The second night we slept in a bush camp in the middle of the Serengeti. It was slightly unnerving knowing a lion or elephant could wander through the camp at any time but there were armed rangers around us just in case. The Serengeti was as amazing as we thought it would be and we were treated to some awesome sights. Highlights though have to be the ...

... before the guides woke us up to prepare for the summit. I was so tired, even before we started. Wll packed in full ski gear, we started walking at about 1 am (a bit late). Luckily, there was full moon, so it was quite light. Also, there was no wind, so I didn't feel cold. My strategy was to go "pole pole sana", very, very slowly. I didn't want to risk getting altitude sickness, or an asthma attack. Two of the girls in our group already had problems with the altutude. Plus ...

... which was good fun. It began to get dark so we went to shower and then had dinner. We also met a new girl - Jess - who was joining the truck. As we had had such a long day travelling we had quite an early night - driving is knackering.

We got up after a "lie in" and packed up before getting into taxis. The taxi's took us to the ferry which we walked onto which was quite an experince - so so squashed in around cars, trucks and ...

... choos (toilets) along the bus route supply toilet paper. Luckily, I slept well on the bus, because I was now entering the Harris zone, where activities outnumber elapsed time by a 2:1 ratio. Paul H. picked me up at the bus station and whisked me home to a dinner party at our apartment for four other ex-pat teachers at Tumaini, and by midnight, 36 hours after I left Paris, I was tucked into bed at the Harris' home. During a relatively quiet two days in ...

... had been happening for a long time. It turns out she had gastrointeritis (? or something like that), basically as a result of an overdose of one of the malaria drugs. Not so good at all. But after a week in Dar getting proper treatment, she is all okay. Jo has malaria again which is also not good, but she's a strong chicky. Prior to Anitha leaving again, and me staying with Claire, we had been so busy in village. Walking at least 3 hours a day, back and forth from the ...

... went to Buguruni and I introduced them to the kids and the teachers. The school weren't quite ready for lunch so we all walked to the convent - the same walk that I had done every day for 4 months! Lots of the children came with us and my Mum couldn't believe it because they wouldn't let my parents carry anything! The nuns met my parents and were very happy to see them. I showed them my room and then we had drinks and cakes with the nuns. We then walked back to ...