The Little Things In Life
Trip Start
Apr 01, 2008
1
14
20
Trip End
Jul 24, 2009
Zanzibar,
Tanzania
Sunday, June 1, 2008
The drive to the Farmhouse Campsite near Iringam, Tanzania, mneant a 4.30 am start (of which we had3 in a row - my body clock is warped). The most exciting news was getting cellphone reception in which I could finally assure Paddy and home that I was alive and not taken up with a local He He warrior. The Farmhouse campsite was run by British owners, and no power, no flush toilets (typical from here on), but hot showers and a great traditional African meal.
Our drive from Iringa to Dar Es Salaam was ridiculously painful. We drove through Mikumi National Park, where I was one of the minority to miss spotting the elephants and the giraffes, only sighting impala.
Farmhouse Campsite
Dar is essentially the capital city of Tanzania in all but name (capital is Dodoma), and is meant to be the hub of the country. It also has an appalling traffic system compounded by potholed dirt highways and drivers taking road rules into their own hands. The Muslim influence became more apparent in dress, language, and ethnicities (African, Arabic, Indian). Swahili is the common language and you are often greeted with "Jumbo Jumbo" (hello hello), "Karibu" (you are welcome) or "Mumbo Mumbo", a hipper verson of hello. A quick stop in town and then off to our campsite which took us a ludicrously long time (2 1/2 hrs in standstill traffic) and our latest campsite arrival yet. In fact, a 10.30pm bedtime could also have been my latest camping bedtime too! Because it was dark, couldn't form too much of an impression, other than the huge number of crabs scurrying along our campsite as well as the security guards guarding our cabins complete with rifles... reassuring? not quite!Finally to Zanzibar! I had pretty high hopes for the place which were unfortunately quickly dissapointed! Through no fault of its own though, but because the island had been without power for 10 days to date and no sign of imminent repair! This meant power could only be supplied at sporadic times throughout the day by a generator, so no frozen goods, cold drinks, computer/phone availabilitiy and general day-to-day things we take for granted. I'm not sure the exact ins and outs but the Zanzibarian people seem relatively complacent about something that would spark national outrage at home! Hakuna Matata as they constantly say.
Christianity and Islam coexisting
Also, what can they do? They are literally powerless.Anyway, did a town and spice tour of old Stone Town. This showed us the House of Wonders, the Old Fort, the Anglican Cathedral and Slave Market, Livingstone House, and the ruins of the Maruhubi palace which was destroyed by fire in 1889, but prior to that housed Sultan Barghash's 14 mistresses. By the way, Zanzibari Muslim men can have up to 4 wives. The Spice Tour introduced us to what the island is also famous for (other than slavery and beaches): spices, obviously.
The next day's Dolphin Tour was an experience to say the least. Rough seas, a dingy wooden boat that was constantly being bailed out... my mother would have been mortified if she'd know! We saw and swam briefly with a pod of bottlenose dolphins, then a bit of snorkelling - although by this stage I was rather nauseous from seasickness! Drove through Jozani Forest and even spotted the rare red colobus monkey.
Up to Nongwi, the 'resort' part of the island. Admittedly, a bit of a let down, but largely because of high hopes and substandard accommodation with no running water when the generator was off. Which was 95% of the time because the generator was faulty. Not a happy girl. However our 2nd day in Nongwi was a vast improvement as the result of massages, a long overdue pedicure, decent meals, finding a pretty beach, swimming in the sun and rain, and changing accomodation to a place with (more) consistent generated electricity, warm showers (luxury), and clean linen. Talk about appreciating the simple things in life! Again, can't help but feel there is a lack of entrepreneurship, initiative and infrastructure as restaurants are running out of food, but even fresh fruit and veges are scarce, service is poor, and the environment neglected.
So back to the cobbled streets and narrow alleyways (perilous in the dark with no electricity and my imaginings of street rats!) of Stonetown. Which is also the birthplace of Freddie Mercury (piece of useless info). Bit of shopping, although to be honest I'm a terrible bargainer and it can be quite stressful, before heading to the mainland. It will be a tough week of driving and early starts as we head about 700kms to Arusha on Monday before we embark on our Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Masai Mara safaris. Give me strength and patience! But it's all been worth it!
