Vuma Hills Mikumi National Park

... br> The ride was great today. Customs etc was great into Tanzania. When i brought insurance (more toilet paper) there was screaming and shouting outside the office, about 100 people had this one guy who was trying to rip someone of , the police showed up and took him away.<br>The road climbed up to 2300 meters and was 15 degrees, then down to 1100 meters ans was 37 degrees. Then to 1900 meters where it is ...

... turning to rolling hills edging their way down to the endless lake. <br><br>Arrive at border around 10:45. Quick exit with minimal no mans land. Enter Tanzania okay, having to pay US$50 each for VISA. Passports disappear then come back half an hour later all stamped. Tried to change money but the guy had run out.... slightly annoying. Him looking at you going I need this much and you looking at him going well I have this much and need that much ...

... trip to the immigration office and found out it is going to cost us double what we were told to extend our visa, or else we have to leave the country... so we're going to have to work that out, soon hopefully. We'll see, I'll try to keep you posted though! Friday night we went out to the Oasis Hotel restaurant and had the hugest feast of Indian food, all paid for by YCI! The size of my belly after that meal definitely ...

... hotel where we were camped. "70 people, they eat a lot" I told the manager, "we need an all you can eat buffet, is it possible?". He assured me it was, and I enjoyed my new found leisure time exploring the market and stocking up. I returned to the hotel and enjoyed a couple bevies. 1 hour before dinner time I decided to check on the chef to see how dinner was coming. It went downhill from there ...

... who provide aid to Tanzania seem as though they are there for alternative reasons, but every Canadian he has met has been sincere and genuinely interested in making whatever difference they can. Sometimes we can get frustrated with the way things work over here and think that we could be providing more assistance if things could run on time or if we were more familiar with the cultural norms, so hearing that our genuine want to help is being seen brings ...

... first glance the clinic would have made me wary of trusting it, but in my current state all I could think was "these people are going to make me feel better" so I gave myself over to them. First was the blood test... good thing I provided Jess with a last miniute about me fainting/not liking needles because I was instantaneously sick in the sink after and turned a lovely shade of pale green. Next the stool and urine tests... I am obviously not going to get into details but will ...

... week (so far I'm the only one who hasn't been sick here... knock on wood!) The class I taught on my own was on typing in preparation for our session at the internet café next week and it went over really well. Great boost for the self-confidence :)! Oh my, it was laundry time again on Wednesday... another 3 hour session of scrubbing my clothes half clean. I put them all on the line and 5 minutes after I came inside it started to sprinkle... just my luck! I quickly configured ...

... all morning and our wipers seemed to have stopped working for some reason, so off we went to Iringa town to hit an ATM, an internet café, post office and now added to our list, a car workshop. In the end, it was the electrics that were malfunctioning. The wipers are fixed and we happily went on our merry way. After a stunning drive down the valley alongside the Ruaha River, we arrived at our destination about an hour and a half later. We pulled into ...

... Motel 8 on the side of the road next to the national park. The dirve was long, bumpy and wet as the rains started up as we were trying to navigate our way out of the city..the truck did not have a/c but the rain was so hard we had to roll up the windows, so true to form I was sweating and panicked because we were dodging cars and potholes and if Elana and Darcy are reading this you know how I am in the passenger seat ha ha ..yet Fikiri, our rasta driver looked cool and ...

Now Africa is starting to have a laugh, things are often late, but this is getting ridiculous. I got to the train station at 7:30am for my 8am train. I obviously never learn. It wasn't there, and in fact didn't arrive till about 10:30 am. Everyone got off the train, and no-one got on, it's often a good idea to just 'do as the locals do'. I got talking to an English guy and we chatted while waiting to board. Then at about midday ...