TravelStream™ news feed for member rjharper78 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/rjharper78 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:36:08 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1223216520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1223216520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1223216520/tpod.html Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:36:08 -0400 Africa

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Inhambane, Mozambique

The airport tour from joburg to Inhambane went without a hitch, the plane was one of the really tiny ones with propellers and about 18 people, one of which I met at the check in desk. Thomas is a Swiss German with an Aussie accent when speaking English and he was heading to Tofo to do his Dive Master. The airport in Inhambane was actually smaller than Waterford unbelieveably. The plane parked up in what was a tiny plane park outside a small building - the bags were taken out of the undercarriage and left on the ground for staff to carry one by one into a tiny room where we were all queued to get through "immigration". There was a guy sat at an old desk with a rubber stamp. I think the same room was used for arrivals as you had to walk through a metal detector gate on the way out, although it wasn't turned on.

Adriana picked us up from the airport. She's the marine biologist looking after the project in Tofo. Thomas hitched a lift with us. I met the rest of the team - an all girl team as it happened - Alex, Christine and Claire. Once we got back to Tofo we met Sarah as well who'd already done a month and was staying for the next month. Adriana is Colombian and has only been in Tofo a few months before us. The house that we're in is pretty self sufficient although we have to go outside to turn the water heater on and off and can only leave it on for a short while in case it explodes :) We also have to fill our water tank on a daily basis and there are regular water and power shortages. We overlook the bay which is a pretty nice way to wake up every morning. We are also two doors down from Tofo Dive which is where we go for our research. That day we got all our paperwork sorted and had booked onto our first ocean safari for the next day, Tuesday, however the weather our first week was pretty rubbish and we didn't get much diving or snorkelling done.

We did go to Inhambane though. The bus journey in was absolutely crazy, I've never seen so many people in one vehicle before, they were practically sat on our laps. We went to the markets and I loved it - locals with no English trying to sell us fruit and veg and all touristy bits and pieces. I loved the banter and am looking forward to getting back there sometime. We got to taste a really weird fruit that looked a bit like weetabix or something inside and tasted a bit like sweet woodchips, not something that we bought.

The following day I started the training for my advanced diving. I was pretty nervous about diving again but it was a bit of an adventure. We had to push the boat 180 degrees to face the see and then drag it into the sea. Depending on where the tide is and how many people there are this can be pretty hard work, particularly when you're fully kitted out in a wetsuit which is not made for aerobic activity. It quite baywatch as we all sit into the boat and fly over the waves. I had a new technique for getting into the water to learn - you roll backwards off the boat into the water and instead of checking everyone is ok at the surface you just head straight down to the sea bed - I like it and was the first one down on my first attempt! It was a spectacular dive, there's so much going on around here - I spotted a ray, a moray eel, a crab and we also saw a massive moray eel, lion fish and octopus - a first for me.

The weather turned again towards the end of the week and on Friday, my birthday it poured rain most of the day and we had a power cut, so we had no hot water or light. It was so miserable outside that we were sat in with torches at 11am trying to read our books! We managed to get out for dinner that night though and we went to a restaurant where they had clay ovens for pizzas - at least the electricity wouldn't be a problem there! The girls surprised me with a load of little bits and pieces and some beautiful jewlerry. After dinner we had a bit of a wander round the local backpackers in Tofo - there's not a huge amount of choice but we had a good evening.

My dive the next afternoon didn't go so well - I was supposed to be proving my buoyancy skills - meaning I could float mid water but had difficulty getting down to begin with, not great. We had the rest of the weekend off and didn't get up to much really. We did an ocean safari on the Monday and it was our first encounter with whale sharks. The visibility wasn't great and to see these massive sharks (7 metres) coming out of the gloom towards you is a little scary! It was pretty cool once you get used to it though.

On Tuesday I did a double tank dive (we don't come back to land between the two dives) and succeeded in ticking off my photography and deep dive - only two more till I get my advanced qualification! Again, the amount of fish and things to see down there was spectacular and I hope I've got some good pics to take home to prove it now.

In between whale watching (sitting on a hill for two hours with binoculars counting humpback whales as they come past on their migration), ocean safaris and diving the second week went pretty fast. I've snorkelled while a manta ray swam just under me, I've taken pictures of whale sharks from a couple of metres away while frantically snorkelling to try and keep up, we've seen hammerhead sharks, a mother and baby humpback playing only 20 metres away, a leatherback turtle, loads of rays, octopus, the only thing I've missed so far are the dolphins. In the house there's not an awful lot to do so I've read a couple of books already.

More in my next addition!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222870860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222870860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222870860/tpod.html Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:10:07 -0400 Africa

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Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

So joburg wasn't as bad in the end as I had imagined it. The day we arrived myself, Jules and Elle were booked into the Backpackers Ritz. It was an alright backpackers and looked even better after being in a tent for the past 30 odd days. It felt very strange having a shower and not getting dirty again straight afterwards. We got an indian takeaway delivered to celebrate and the girls went to bed early, their flight was pretty early the next day. That night however I bumped into Rosie and Nigel who'd joined our tour in Zanzibar. I thought the other tour bus had all gone home before I arrived but they were there and I was delighted to see some friendly faces. They said that Sarah and Simon were around as well.

The next day we said goodbye to Simon who had a manic 48 hour travel session ahead of him to get home and myself and the others went up to a local shopping centre. (Shockingly) I wasn't much in the mood for a mad shopping spree but myself and Sarah stayed out till lunch time and the most exotic thing I think I bought were bagels...

The guys were all heading off after that and I spent the next day catching up on some much needed laundry, trying to force myself to have a lie in (didn't really work, but I did get a lot of reading done by 10am) and I managed to ring home for the first time since my trip started! That evening I met a guy called Barnaby who I'd overheard talking about Tofo. Turned out he was going there for three weeks to do his Dive master and we quickly realised we'd probably see a fair bit of each other over the coming weeks. While chatting we met a fellow traveller from America and a couple from England. Myself, Barnaby and Matt arranged to do a tour of the apartheid museum the next day and a tour of Soweto straight after it.

The apartheid museum was absolutely amazing and despite spending two and a half hours there I was neither bored nor finished - given the opportunity I'd definitely go back. My knowledge previously would have been sparse but the museum was absolutely fascinating and to be able to follow that up with a tour of Soweto where the end of apartheid started was a really good plan, although we hadn't really thought it through that way the night before. We travelled around, visiting Nelson Mandelas first house, Winnie Mandelas and Desmond Tutus current houses. The local kids were enthusiastic as even when faced with an opportunity to have their photo taken. I felt quite comfortable travelling around an area that had been in the news so much historically and I think it would be quite interesting to go back and actually stay in the backpackers in the middle of Soweto another time.

Another quiet day the next day, the English couple and Barnaby went to collect a hire car to drive to Tofo and I cleared out my back and got ready to go to the airport first thing in the morning for my next adventure!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222698060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222698060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222698060/tpod.html Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:21:39 -0400 Africa

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Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

You guessed it, another early morning the next day!!! We had a pretty long drive to get to Khama Rhino sanctuary by mid afternoon, in order to get a safari drive in before sunset. It was worth it though, the first fifteen minutes or so we saw nothing and were beginning to panic but after that there was groups of rhino all over the place. We saw a female with a horn at least a metre long and we got to the water hole just before sunset and just in time to watch a mother and her baby come for a drink and a bit of a wallow. It's the last of the big five that I saw up close so I was really pleased that I'd been able to tick that off. They are huge creatures and pretty scary looking but the baby was gorgeous.

That night JD cooked up a storm and after dinner we decided that it being our last night we'd have to sleep under the stars. Despite having put our tents up earlier, we pulled out our mattresses and sleeping bags and all slept around the camp fire. This is despite the fact that there are no gates or fences between us and the rhino. It was actually the best I slept the whole trip I think.

The next day was the last long drive to Joburg where there would be no more dirt and dust, concrete and shops every two minutes... it was so strange! As we drove into the city I was quite impressed, I didn't think it looked that scary. Hale has big houses with big walls around them too, perhaps without the razorwire on top yes but still, it looked clean and safe. That was until I saw either a domestic or a mugging in the middle of a busy street in broad daylight. Some guy just walloped this girl and knocked her out cold as we drove past. Noone stopped to help and my heart was suddenly in my mouth. I decided I wasn't leaving the hostel for the next five days.

We got to the hostel, which had double electric gates at the front and I was actually quite impressed. It's a beautiful big building with spacious grounds and a little rabbit warren type thing going on underneath - loads of little rooms off down corridors - ones a games room, another a bar and a swimming pool out the back. I booked myself in for the next five nights.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222179540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222179540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222179540/tpod.html Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:13:32 -0400 Africa

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Okavango Delta, Botswana

When we arrived at Maun I booked myself onto a flight over the delta on recommendation. Jules decided to join me too. We had an early one that night and the next morning we were up early to meet out truck to go to the Delta. We were joined by Jodie and Danny who were working in Cape Town. Danny had the best job - he's an editor with Sky Sports News for the rugby. Guess who's going on the Lions tour next year. We headed out on the truck across dirt roads to meet our mokoros and the polers who were going to look after us for the next couple of days. The mokoros were great, me and Michael shared one and about half an hour in I was asleep. they're long flat bottomed canoes that just sit above the water line when fully loaded. A bit nerve wrecking to start with but the complete silence and the rocking motion had me asleep in no time. We got to our campsite and it was nothing like I expected. We were seperate from any other groups, there was nothing there except a clearing. We set up camp and dug our toilet and that evening went for a nature walk. We didn't really see that much, an elephant in the distance along with some antelope but the idea of walking through wild savannah was quite exciting. I kept repeating the golden rules in my head - lions: make eye contact, leopards: don't make eye contact, rhinos: run away, elephants: don't run... it's complicated!

I didn't sleep especially well that night, after dinner the wind really picked up and my tent collapsed on my head a couple of times. I woke up startled thinking that an elephant was trying to get in. We were up early the next morning, we'd decided the night before that we'd do two and half hours game walk before breakfast at nine. It was a pretty long morning in the end, we didn't really see that much again, but we worked up a fair appetite, which was a good thing, considering that Michael had scrambled 30 eggs and enough bacon to feed an army. We spent the rest of the afternoon snoozing and swimming in the water hole where we bumped into some of the guys on my old truck. The water was a bit weird, it's apparently filtered through the sand to the point that it's just about drinkable but it looks very peaty - it's so brown that you can't see the bottom six feet down. I tried a bit of poling that afternoon as well but could only manage a 50 point turn in the mokoro and gave up. I was asleep on my mattress outside of my tent shortly after my exhurtions when Michael woke me up to tell me that there were elephants in our camp. He wasn't joking either. There was a big bull elephant standing at our toilet with about five others behind him. It was pretty exciting, there was even a baby. Eventually the polers scared them off. That night we had a sunset cruise in the mokoros up to the hippo pool and watched them playing about in the water followed by dinner. Then came the moment we'd been dreading. We'd be warned the polers would entertain us with songs after dinner and they would expect us to recipricate. We'd been debating our song choice all day on and off and finally decided on Molly Malone and Waltzing Matilda, as the non-Irish & Australians amonst us could probably join in on those two. We didn't get a great response, we can't have been that good. It was (you guessed it) an early morning the next day, tents down and packed onto the Mokoros to head back to Maun.

Seeing as we hadn't had a shower in two days it was one of the first things we did. We attempted a volleyball game for a few minutes, but the sand was so hot it was impossible to stand on, which made it kind of hard. Myself and Jules headed off to the airport shortly afterwards anyhow. The flight was pretty amazing and we got to see some more wildlife but it was the scenery which really blew us away. We were in a little cesna and we pulled up (this is still mid air) beside another tourist plane and sat for a couple of minutes waving at the people in the other plane. We then did a bit of a nose dive, just to see if everyone was able to keep their lunch down. It was a pretty nippy little thing. After dinner that night I had my final goodbye with my old truck and everyone on it. It was a good night, everyone was in great form and I didn't have too much further to go without them so it wasn't too teary.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222093080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222093080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1222093080/tpod.html Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:58:17 -0400 Africa

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Kasane, Botswana

I had a late morning for once while my new bus mates went to Vic Falls, not that I got a lie in, I had to give my tent back to my old truck. First to meet me was Michael, a young South African who was training to be a guide. Once they got back, I met JD - the driver for the tour and his parents, Frick and Anze (it was his last trip and they came along to see what it was like) and Jules and Elle, two Aussie sisters from near Melbourne. It was a lot different from the Shire, my previous truck and it was strange having to get to know new people. But we headed off to the Botswana border and on to our first night in the country at Chobe National Park, renowned for its elephants. We arrived and set up camp. Everyone else wanted to go on the game drive where I thought the game cruise on the river might be nice for a change, but I didn't think I wanted to do it on my own. Low and behold Carly, Petra and others were sat outside the bar waiting for the cruise pick up so I tagged along in the end anyway. It was nice to see them again, even if we'd only been apart one day. As it happened both the other trucks were there that night. I was in such a rush to get on the cruise I didn't manage to get any water and had to keep nicking some - it was sooooo hot. JD later said he thought it hit 39 degrees. We saw hippos, crocs and monkeys but the best bit was getting really close to elephants. They were grazing on the banks a few metres away and on the way back they had actually gotten into the river for a play. They kept jumping on each other and dunking each other. I loved seeing them walking through the river with their mouths underwater and the tip of their trunk showing a few feet ahead of them a bit like a periscope on a submarine.

When we got back JD and Michael had got dinner all sorted for us - it feels so weird not having to cook and clean up our own food! We went down to the bar after where I said goodbye to the guys heading to joburg on the other truck. They got in a day earlier than me and I didn't expect to see them again - so sad.

Another long drive the next day to Maun, the village beside the Okavango, we got a few supplies and headed to the campsite. JD had recommended getting umbrellas to shade against the sun on the boats into the delta. Everyone else found cheap kiddies ones - just plain multi-coloured umbrellas. Mine on the other hand was bright yellow, had a bumble bee painted on it and had extensions on either side like wings. At least it'll keep hippos away from the mokoros....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1221574620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1221574620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1221574620/tpod.html Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:57:48 -0400 Africa

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Lusaka, Zambia

We were due for a couple of days of rest after the last two days of travelling by the time we got to Livingstone. We'd had two days of leaving at 6.30 each day and getting in just before sundown. The heat is starting to crank up as well the further south we get. On the way we stopped at the wheelhouse bar still on Lake Malawi. The bar was a bit crazy - it was set up over water on big pillars but had started to collapse so walking into it made you feel lightheaded. Crossing the border the next day I heard the words I was hoping to hear - Irish go free! That kind of makes up for Tanzania. Our first night in we met two Italian guys - they were in their early 20's but were motor biking with one of their dads and a support vehicle from Italy to Cape town - pretty impressive stuff. I'm afraid I can't tell you their names though because I spent the whole evening just calling them Ewan and Charlie (see Long Way Down for reference). We also met some South Africans in the bar who were quite keen on shooting buffalo and lions etc and we had a very interesting conversation about the rights and wrongs of it. I've concluded that in their case it's shooting pests to farm owners - a bit like foxes in Ireland but on a much larger scale obviously.

Livingstone was a welcome sight when we got there - two pools and the restaurant looking out over the Zambezi. We had a four day break there before having to travel again and we were going to make sure we made the most of it. We were also splitting onto different trucks after Livingstone, so it was our last few days together as a group - sad times. You could tell we were close the the Zimbabwe border - one of the many touristy things that you could buy was a 100 billion zimbabwian dollar note - a couple of people bought them for a us dollar. Once we'd set up camp for the night we headed out to Rhapsody's restaurant for our last meal together. It took a while to get served but it was a good night. The journey back in the taxi van was a little less relaxing - they squeezed 16 of us into an eight seater. We began to run out of air by the end of the ten minute trip, but it's all part and parcel of Africa. The next morning we were up and out at 8 to see Vic Falls. To be honest it was a bit disappointing - we were there at the lowest water level during the year and there was no water on the Zambian side of the falls. Like literally, there are bigger waterfalls in Ireland. But still the view over the gorge was pretty cool. We all ventured out into no mans land between Zambia and Zimbabwe to get to the Vic Falls Bridge where some of the guys were booked in to do some scary stuff. There was a zip line across the gorge for starters and then the brave (Stacey, Sian, Petra, Carly, Rosie, Nigel and Ali) all did bungee jumps off the bridge. My stomach turned the first five times I watched but it got to the point where I almost got enough guts to do it. I got my purse out to see how much I had money wise when Stacey and Sian started to tell me how they nearly vomited at the bottom. Right then, maybe not this time. I quite liked my breakfast but I don't want to see it again. Worse again was the bridge swing. The very very brave did this. It basically is like a bungee except you're in a harness rather than having your legs strapped. Somehow it just seems worse because you actually have to force yourself to walk off the bridge into mid air. It was very scary and I'll never be able to do it I'm pretty sure on that. Sian really did vomit at the bottom of that.

The next day we decided to take it easy - it's hard work watching all your friends jumping off a bridge, so we spent the day by the pool where Carly managed to persuade me that it's not so bad actually jumping straight into the pool instead of inching in over half an hour. That night there was a band in the bar - the first entertainment we'd seen the whole trip long so we had a bit of a dance after dinner. Ian and I had a dance off but he won hands down, I was too embarrassed to get up after he'd finished because everyone was staring in our direction. It was a good strategy!

Fully rested I headed off with Petra, Adam, Simon, Sarah, Ian, Jemma, Ian and Lizzie at 8 am for a full day whitewater rafting. I thought this might be a less nerve wrecking adventure when compared to bungee. I was wrong. Our raft instructor kept shouting at us for doing it wrong, not paddling in time and all sorts and we were really nervous going through rapids all morning. We survived a grade 5 and got a bit of confidence up, which actually didn't work in our favour, because we flipped at the next rapid. It's the scariest thing in the world. The problem is you're never sure as you're going down when the next wave will hit and therefore it's very difficult to catch your breath at the right time. So you just need to take a breath in when the whole raft flips upside down and starts off down the rest of the rapid upside down, leaving you in foaming water wondering if you'll ever taste fresh air again. Luckily I didn't get caught under the raft but a couple of others did and it really shook them up. I think I'd have gotten out then and there if it'd been me. As it was I somehow managed in my struggle to survive to catch not only the rope on the raft but also found I was desperately clinging to my paddle. As if that would help me float... Anyhow as we came out the other side I spotted Petra holding on too but we were on the wrong side of the raft and heading towards rocks so I managed to edge around but Petra had to let go. I stretched out and shouted at her to grab my legs. Can you imagine seeing an upside down raft with me hanging off the back and Petra hanging onto my legs. It must have looked hilarious but I told Petra I saved her life... We are firm rafting buddies now and talking about going in Wales sometime. By lunchtime we'd had enough of Simba, our guide, shouting at us, especially seeing as everyone else seemed to be having so much fun with it so we asked to switch. After lunch we had a new team and a new guide and the atmosphere changed immediately. Our guide was Enoch and he put us at ease straight away. We started doing much better paddling wise and we actually started enjoying the rapids. We jumped out of the raft in calmer waters and went around dunking people and floating through some smaller rapids. The heat was unreal so it was really nice to be able jump in. Enoch decided we should take one of the other rafts, so we paddled alongside, jumped in and threw everyone out. We then took out the other Acacia raft. I am covered in bruises and was aching for days afterwards. We paddled 31k's and you use every muscle to try and stay in the raft. We were so exhausted that evening but my feet were actually clean! I discovered that the tan line from my flip flops wasn't actually a tan line after all. Gross....

The next day we were all on our way to Botswana with our new truck/bus mates...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1220883300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1220883300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1220883300/tpod.html Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:56:50 -0400 Africa

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Chitimba, Malawi

The next couple of days were driving through Tanzania across the Malawi border. We stayed in Boabab valley - the trees look like they've been turned upside down, with their roots in the air. Anyone that knows or remembers the faraway tree, that's what it reminded us of. Once we were into Malawi it was quite chilled, the scenery was greener and immediately we noticed that villages had water pumps, the first we'd seen on the trip so far. We had a fancy dress party planned for our second night by Lake Malawi so we stopped at a couple of markets to get our costumes. We had to buy for someone else and I was buying for Petra. The theme was pink and leopard print so you can imagine how hideous the costumes were, but we found it all in these markets. I went shopping with Gemma and Stacey and they seemed to be able pick out leopard print from 100 metres away - I was struggling. That night before dinner we passed out our costumes and I got a lovely pink taffeta skirt thing and a leopard print strapless top - I looked like a mix between scary and posh spice. I was definitely the classiest person there though. A couple of the guys were in dresses and one was in a womens swimming costume... We had a second wedding ceremony for Mair and Adam who got married a month previous but with all the travelling had nearly forgotten the actual wedding. Adam was wearing an all in one baby gro thing - I think it was meant as lingerie. It was a good giggle.

The next day was pretty manic for me - I went scuba diving first. It was so weird - the fresh water made buoyancy really hard, everytime you breathed you moved up and down a lot faster than in salt water. There was no reefs just a sand bed where these cichlid fish make craters on the floor for their nests - it felt like i was diving on the moon. I went straight from there to the horseriding. Unfortunately I didn't have time to change, so ended up wearing my trainers, knee high chaps, mens shorts (I had to borrow them from the stable owner) and my bikini covered with a summer dress. We went on a two hour hack during which time me and Blackie, my horse bonded - he didn't seem to like the other horses much so I befriended him. He was an ex racehorse so I had great fun when we cantered. We finally ended up at the lake, walked along the sand then jumped up bareback to go into the lake. It was an early night after all that exercise and we were off to Zambia the next day!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1219932360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1219932360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1219932360/tpod.html Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:12:52 -0400 Africa

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Nairobi, Kenya

We left Nairobi at about 9 in the morning on Sunday, with a five hour drive through the country to the Masai Mara. We travelled through the slums in Nairobi which was a bit of an eye opener. The roads in parts were just dust - I'm covered in the stuff. Our driver Abdul was obviously very experienced, but it's still scary over here. We drove to the peak of the Rift Valley which was a pretty spectacular view. Driving down the escarpment was kind of crazy, any side of the road will do and the artic lorries seemed to have problems on the steep hillside. We saw one at the very bottom overturned in a gorge. There were about a dozen men passing up boxes out of it. Once at the bottom of the Rift Valley the road turned to gravel and mud. It reminded me so much of the Long Way Down and I was quite excited. We started seeing our first wildlife there too. We got to the campsite at about 3.30 and got lunch. There were no fences between us and the wild west but the facilities were good - we had an ensuite shower and toilet to a tent of 3 girls, albeit they were stood on wooden pallets! We went on an afternoon safari when we got there. We drove past a couple of Masai villages on the way to the National Park and they were exactly how you picture them, something straight out of National Geographic. I don't know what I was expecting but we were up close to some of the animals - I can't wait to show you all the photos. I was six feet away from a pride of 5 lions resting along with the usual wildebeest and zebra.

I thought there was no way of topping that day but we went for a full day safari on Monday. We saw a rake of jeeps and vultures circling so went to investigate - there was a cheetah right at the side of the road with his fresh kill. We watched him eat his kill and then wander off for a rest. Then the vultures came in.... It was amazing. The carcass disappeared in minutes. We've seen so much - we saw giraffe, water buffallo, hippos, crocs, secretary birds, eagles, Caribou storks, elephants, hyenas and warthogs....... and much closer than I imagined. We actually got very close to some elephants after lunch, so close that the mother of a baby put her ears out and starting moving towards us, warning us off. We took her seriously and left. We headed cross country in our little matatu's across the grassland so that we got right in the middle of the migration - it was crazy seeing all the wildebeest all heading off across acres of land in little streams all in the same direction. There literally was thousands of them. After lunch we also found a couple of young lions in some bush - they were probably about two years old and another pride further along. The male was amazing up close. I can see why they say they are majestic animals, he had such a serene look in his eyes, kind of like he was looking down on us for disturbing his siesta.

The next day we went for a sunrise safari (yes, I managed to get up on time) and we came on lions eating their breakfast - another wildebeest. They fought amongst themselves and chased away a jackal and went for a drink. The lioness was three feet from me when she was drinking, it was something else. She walked right behind our Matatu and I was in the back seat. By opening the back window and looking out I was the closest person to her. And that's our first safari!

On the way back we stopped at a Masai Village. It was a very strange experience because they obviously opened up their way of life to us but it was difficult to see some of it. The central area inside the village was where the cattle are kept overnight and because of the recent rains it was basically like walking through a slurry pit. The children were all walking around barefoot and the men were laughing at us picking our way carefully through it in flip flops, they kept telling us it was good luck to get manure on our feet. They showed us the traditional dancing that they do - the noises that they make when singing were incredible. We say how they make fire and we were even invited into their houses to see how they live. They had stall as big as their house for a calf and lived in cramped, smokey, dark conditions. But the most incredible thing about the trip was the children. They were all snotty and dirty and in old clothes but they all had the biggest smiles and loved waving at us and interacting with us whenever possible. The whole way through Africa we are waved at by children at the sides of the roads, it's like a tradition over here, they are always so excited to see Muzungu - originally travellers, but now used for white people. It was a pretty amazing experience and really made me think.

We headed back to the outskirts of Nairobi for our first night in our own tents and our driver actually brought us through the slums so we could really get a feel for it. It was like nothing I've seen before. Noone really owns anything there so they don't take any pride in the area - there's rubbish spilling down the river banks and the sides of the street. There was a cow on the side of the road that looked like she was asleep but was actually dead and noone had moved her. I felt like an imposter going into the area and staring at everything as we passed.

We're off tomorrow to Tanzania - camping proper tonight, so putting down the tents and everything in the morning, making our own breakfasts etc and crossing the border. The next three days we're on cold showers with the camping sites so I'm guessing we're probably not going to have internet access either. We're off for another two day tour after that - the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro crater. I'm hoping to see the last two of the big five - Leopard and Rhino.... fingers crossed.

I'm sorry that this is an abridged version - it's really expensive in Africa - I'll update properly at some stage!!!

Miss you all loads but found five other single girls (everyone else is couples) so we're getting on great and I'm thinking this will fly past - they keep us very busy!!! Take care, I am xxx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1220623800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1220623800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1220623800/tpod.html Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:08:16 -0400 Africa

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Zanzibar, Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania

We had a two and a half hour ferry journey and another two hours in a little van on the now notorious African roads to get to the Northern beaches in Zanzibar but it was so worth it. The sky was blue, the sea was blue and the sand was white and we had just about two full days to enjoy it at our leisure. We were all pretty happy. We stayed at the Sunset bungalows, literally on the beach. We spent the first day and a half on the beach pretty much swimming and sunbathing. I also went scuba diving. It wasn't the most colourful of reefs to be honest but I did see a moray eel out for a wander and one of the biggest highlights - I saw a turtle! First time ever. I pretty much OD'd on fresh fish - when by the sea what else can you do?! I tried lobster because it was very cheap but I didn't like it much. I think I'm more of a fish and chips girl myself. There was a telly in the bar/restaurant area so while the guys refused to move from there with the football on, us girls took a dhow ( a traditional wooden boat) to another inlet and had a girly night out. It was really nice to have that time where it was not split between couples and singles and we all got on great. Our tour driver, Richard, also tagged along because he wasn't particularly interested in English football, being from Namibia and so he was christened Rachel for the night. I don't think he was too impressed when the name stuck through to the next morning. We were pretty giddy and went for a midnight swim when we got back to our resort. It was very refreshing!!! I'm impressed that some of the girls had completely forgotten their fear of sharks in the water...

We headed down to stone town on our third day. It's mainly muslim so we had to cover up which is quite difficult in this weather... It was quite a bizarre place. the buildings were very worn down and dirty, the streets were tiny and like a maze. That night we headed to a posh hotel looking over the sea for an aperative and then to a local curry house for a not very traditional meal. We then walked through the fish markets that night, rows upon rows of freshly caught fish, mainly on skewers ready to be cooked on the grill when you buy it. I didn't try any myself but I was told it was very good. The next morning we wandered around the markets, found our way to the local food markets and watched as people haggled for rice and meat and fish. Being the spice island some of the girls decided to do some haggling of their own for some of the spices on offer.

We had the dodgiest ferry ride back that afternoon. The waves were absolutely huge. They passed around sick bags after the first half hour. I didn't even take any sea sickness tablets but had acupressure pads on my wrists which seemed to really do the trick. I was glad I hadn't tried to eat lunch before leaving though! One by one our group dwindled as people went out for fresh air. We were very glad to get back to Dar and back to our lovely campsite by the sea there, although it was after dark again by the time we arrived.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1220105280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1220105280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rjharper78/2/1220105280/tpod.html Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:48:59 -0400 Africa

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Arusha, Tanzania

It cost me $100 to get into Tanzania!!! Our tour guide reliably informed me the Irish got in free while the English had to pay $50 only to come out of immigration and request $100 off me.... Serves me right for being smug and laughing at the others I guess....

The scenery changed pretty much as soon as we crossed. It was so dry but then as we travelled into the country it got really lush undergrowth on the mountain sides. We got into the campsite after dark because our truck had broken down on the side of the road just short of the Tanzanian border. I don't know how people cope over here. We were sat there for two hours and only got going again because another Acacia truck happened along and had a part that we needed. We all made the most of it though and I updated my diary while some of the others played cricket. We must have been such a spectacle for some of the locals as they passed by. The other thing you should know, just so that you are aware of what dedication I'm putting into this trip is that there is no such thing as a service station on these roads. Or very few anyhow. We have a rule for the bush toilets - men go one side of the truck and women the other. It is quite hard at times to find sufficient cover on the side of the road. We were also a little bit worried about snakes and spiders to start with but that soon is forgotten. Anyhow, we arrived after dark and pretty much ate and went to bed. The next morning we were up at dawn - a regular occurance on this trip. My tent mate is an early riser and woke at 5.30 for no reason. Sarah will tell you I don't appreciate my beauty sleep being disturbed but I'm just having to bite my lip for the time being! Being up that bit earlier meant we could have a leisurely breakfast tho. We headed off to the Serengeti and got there in time for an afternoon drive. We'd stopped on the way down for lunch and were attacked by kites ( a bit like eagles). The actually sat up in the trees above us and swooped down and grabbed bits of sandwich out of peoples hands if they weren't watching. We saw what is now considered the usual for us as we drive through the countryside - ostriches, warthogs, Topu (a kind of antelope) and also a new creature - a hyrax - its basically a guinea pig sized rat like thing. Kinda cute though. That night there was no fences (again) around our campsite and my tent faced out onto a meadow like area. We sat around the bonfire that night (there's not much else to do after dark over here) and when I turned to face the tent I found that a water buffalo was inspecting it in between mouthfuls, about ten feet away. I've heard scary stories about buffalo so I waited till he was gone before going to bed.

Overnight apparently there were hyenas sniffing around the tents but I was out for the count - still catching up on my beauty sleep. We had a full day safari then. Was was really good was that we were seeing animals that we'd only seen at a distance in the Masai. We got close up to hyena cubs, giraffe, lions and then another matatu spotted leopard cubs on a rocky outcrop. They were barely visible at the very top but with the help of Sarah's fantastic zoom I got some pics of them. They were pretty shy and we didn't get a great view but it was nice to tick off another one of the big five. We were heading back to the airport for two of the girls that had opted for a balloon ride instead of the morning safari when Hamadi, our driver stopped pretty suddenly and got on his CB talking excited swahili. He pointed off to our right and we all caught our breaths when we saw a fully fledged female leopard asleep in the tree not ten feet away from us. She was the most beautiful animal you have ever seen. Our driver was soooooo excited. He said he'd never seen a leopard this close before and he'd been doing the job for 7 years. He kept passing around high 5's with a big grin on his face. We stayed there for a good while and again, thanks to Sarahs camera I have got some amazing close ups of her face. She eventually got a bit annoyed at all the interest and went for a wander and we took the opportunity to go pick the girls up. Hamadi then dashed back to the same spot to make sure that they got a chance to see her too.

We later saw lionesses with baby cubs, again so cute and I've got some amazing photos.

The next day we headed for Ngorongoro crater. It literally feels like you're descending into the lost world or something - you can see all sides of the crater as you go down and it feels like it's completely removed from the outside world. You nearly wouldn't be surprised to see a dinosaur come out of the undergrowth. There was a soda lake there, although it was nearly dry, but there was still a good few pink flamingos. There were also buffalo, hippos (we finally got to see them out of the water) warthogs, wildebeest and bustards (big birds). We stopped to watch a big male lion stalking three buffalo as they came down to the river to drink. They were obviously nervous but were upwind and didn't have a clue he was there. His plans went a bit astray when a lioness sauntered along in front of them and put them on high alert, she hadn't realised the male was there until the buffalo charged her and forced her onto our side of the river. She was very highly strung and when the lion paid no attention to her advances she went for a sulk, walking all the way around our Matatu and then lying down in front of our front wheel. Our Matatu was the single girls one and there was panic at having a lioness a foot away - lots of frantic whispering about closing all the windows quick. Meanwhile, me and one of the other girls were dangling out trying to get a really good close up shot of her. On our way back to camp we spotted a rhino but it was a spec on the horizon - they are so difficult to see unfortunately. But we could technically say we had seen the big five now and went back with smiles on our faces. The smiles got bigger when we got into our new campside on the top lip of Ngorongoro to find a solitary bull elephant taking it easy where we were supposed to be camping. The constant photos must have annoyed him eventually cos he disappeared after a while.

That night we had another bonfire and it wasn't until we started looking out across the plains that we noticed dozens of eyes looking back at us when you caught them in torchlight. We were pretty much surrounded by hyenas who kept running across the campside twenty feet away just checking us out. That was probably the most unnerved I'd been the whole trip but they're pretty well fed and too scared to cause a problem really. We were at about 2,000 ft above sea level and we really felt it that night. I was so cold and didn't really sleep that well. It didn't really help that the showers were cold too. Despite this myself and Amy managed to oversleep and miss breakfast.

That was our last day proper in the African safari though and we were so happy with everything we'd seen and also so happy to hopefully be going places that we could actually stay clean for more than five minutes - I've never felt so dirty in all my life as I have that first week or so. There was just no escaping the dust.

We travelled down to Dar over a couple of days and were so excited to reach our beach front campsite there. We all rushed into the water as soon as possible. I even upgraded out of tents into one of the cabins just to be able unpack my rucksack, find clean clothes and be a bit more comfortable for a bit. The fact that we had to be up and leaving for five am to catch the ferry to Zanzibar the next morning also featured in my decision. Once we got to Zanzibar though we would have two mornings left to our own devices for the first time, so I was looking forward to a lie in!!!
We have travelled through some towns up to this point - Arusha, Dar Es Salaam etc but we've never stayed there for more than an hour or two and it's usually been a mad dash from ATM's to Bureau de change to internet, so I'm afraid I can't tell you much about that....
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