Tanzania - 13 May to 3 June 2007

Greetings everybody from Jinja in Uganda where we are camped above the source of the Nile as it starts it flow towards Cairo. We have just left Tanzania a few days ago, and as predicted, Tanzania did not disappoint us, although we have mixed feelings from the group ranging from 'absolutely loved it' to 'a bit overrated'.

We started off with a hard push yet again after the border formalities at Kiyela to Iringa. Our first glimpse of Tanzania was the South West region with its beautiful tea estates and banana plantations. Everywhere you look you see different hues of green and undulating countryside with everybody very proactive farming, trading and crafting. Also the Arab influence on the population is quite noticeable and Islam appears to be on equal footing with Christianity as far as religion goes.

Another thing about East Africa is all the bicycles on the road. They probably outnumber motor vehicles and are used for private transport, as taxi's and cargo carriers, transporting anything from livestock to a double bed on occasion.

On arrival in Dar,after spending a night in Mikumi NP, we were met and hosted by David and Tertia Hayes, South Africans from Port Elisabeth, now living in Tanzania for the past 3 years. They have an exquisite apartment overlooking the bay and we spent a lot of time on their balcony just soaking up the views of Dar from there. Our hosts hospitality knew no boundaries and David even secured us the use of a colleagues' flat a few floors below for our stay in Dar. Steve, whose flat we stayed in, is also South African and we are very grateful for his generosity - thanks Steve.

Tertia took us to the craft market in Menge where the crafters all sell their goods, with some working in the back rooms of their stalls. The Tanzanians have the most beautiful wood carvings especially those made from ebony and of course the ladies could not resist adding more weight to the vehicles. The Saturday we went with Tertia and met with David in Bagamoyo, the previous capital of the slave trade on the mainland in East Africa and did a tour with a very knowledgeable guide around Bagamoyo. The influence of Arab and Indian culture is quite obvious to see in the architecture and especially in the ornate doors which are also to be seen in Zanzibar, known as the 'Zanzibar doors'. The coastline in Bagamoyo is filled with dhows which still ply their trade today as they have been doing for hundreds of years.

The following day Dave and Tertia took us to an island just off Dar called Mbudya to do some snorkelling and swimming and we thoroughly enjoyed our time on this picture postcard setting. Then off to Zanzibar , the Spice Island ! Just the name alone is so exotic that we were all eager to get there. We took the slow ferry across and disembarked at Stone Town .

Zanzibar was ruled by the Sultans of Oman and at one point was the centre of slave trade in East Africa, where slaves from the mainland were routed via Bagamoyo to Zanzibar, thereafter to be dispatched all over the world. Stone Town was a bit of a disappointment for some of us as this place which is so steeped in history has been allowed to go to ruin as most of the historical sights are looking derelict as they are not being preserved even though it is a Unesco World Heritage Site. We stayed at a hotel called Shangani in the heart of Stone Town where we had breakfast each morning on the rooftop overlooking the city. By day we would wonder around the narrow streets with shops selling various crafts and at night we would go down to the coast where they had an open air food market selling anything from seafood to Zanzibar pizza (our favourite!) to fruits and sugar cane and lime juice.

Closer to the weekend we made our way to the North coast to a town called Nungwi. En route, we took in a spice tour which was quite educational and we managed to see many spice trees in quite a small area like pepper, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla and ylang-ylang to name but a few. In Nungwi, which is a typical Indian Ocean Island setting with palm trees, white sands and warm waters, we stayed at a lovely place on the beach called Smiles. David and Tertia, together with a colleague, Francois and his wife, joined us there over the weekend. François, it turns out, attended Gelvan High with Dean, Deidre and Waldo, small world yet again. We all had a great time together soaking up the sun and the sea, getting massages on the beach and some of the group went snorkelling at Mnemba Island where they encountered impossibly turquoise water, as the guide books described.

Our time there flew by and soon we were catching the fast ferry back to Dar. The ferry ride was quite choppy and quite a few passengers lost their lunches including a few Globeriders and we won't mention the twin's names! That evening we were invited, courtesy of Tertia, to one of her friend's home for supper. Bob and Lorri entertained us with delicious chilli con carne which was appreciated by all. They had apparently read our website and were very excited to meet with us as they had travelled the world and were eager to share information with us about places they had stayed in before.

After such a long break from the vehicles, everybody was quite keen to get back on the road again. We had a sad parting from our wonderful hosts and we were soon on our way. Our first night after our luxurious week saw us parked outside a petrol station in Masande which was quite a step down, but we were all in good spirits and took it in our stride. Needless to say, cup of soup was the order of the day for supper! A couple of days later saw us in Moshi, which is the closest town to Mt Kilimanjaro. We were all extremely disappointed as bad weather had set in and even though we passed within 50km of the tallest peak in Africa , we were denied a view of Kili. We pushed on through to Arusha which is a busy town in the North West as it is the departure point for most of the safaris to Kili, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. We stayed in the Masai camp in Arusha where it never stopped raining.

At 5:30am we headed out for the crater through misty conditions. As we got to the caldera, where the vehicles make their descent, it was impossible to see inside the crater because of the mist and rain. Gary , Jo-Anne, Deidre, Jade and Dane went into the crater using Eddie's vehicle as the big vans were too heavy to go down. The rest of the group stayed at the rim and occasionally would get a glimpse through the mist and rain. It was bitterly cold at the top and the Masai who were trading goods or tending their cattle were only covered with their thin red blankets. Finally when the mist evaporated we had a splendid view of the crater which is only 16km. A truly awesome sight to behold. The views from inside the crater were amazing. As we descended into the crater, the weather changed completely from being misty and raining to totally clear. A picture perfect heaven for animals to roam freely, totally protected within the crater. Within a matter of a half an hour, we saw cheetahs, lions and rhinos. The crater is like a world on it's own. It has beautiful open plains with the backdrop of the spectacular lush mountains, a salt water lake, forests, fresh water lake, and marshland. A really great experience!

Meanwhile at the top, the others decided to go to another viewpoint and with the rain and the mist the red clay got extremely slippery and at a spot where two trucks were stuck, it was a huge palaver getting the vehicles past, as the road was narrow with steep drops and both vehicles were slipping and sliding all over the place. A bit of a hair raising moment but fortunately it all ended well, for us at least. We suspect those trucks may still be stuck up there! More drama was to be had on the descent of the crater to the Serengeti. Both front shocks of Dean's vehicle gave in and he spent the next two days driving through bumpy roads in the Serengeti which earned the vehicle the nickname of 'Dancing Queen' as it was always bopping up and down.

Our first glimpse of the Serengeti was very impressive with hundreds of zebra and thousands of wildebeest grazing all over. However over the next few days, apart from a few giraffe, buck and birds, that was all we saw. Strangely enough, our unfenced campsite at Seronara, in the heart of the Serengeti, was occupied mostly by other South Africans. After the Serengeti we spent our last night in Tanzania at a campsite called One Stop where Dean also managed to repair his shocks at a nearby town.

After a quick transit through Kenya, we are now in Uganda and we will soon update our site accordingly.

Ciao for now - The Globeriders Cape2Cape