Bohemian Rhapsody (Tanzania)

Dar Es Salaam is pretty much the commercial, industrial and, judging by the number of Government buildings, administrative capital of Tanzania (despite the official Capital being Dodoma a few hundred kms south).  But that doesn’t make “Dar” any more attractive or interesting – it’s really just a transit point for the ferries to Zanzibar (Island).

We took the mid-morning “fast” ferry, guaranteed to be there in one and three quarter hours.  After two and a half hours we swung around the main Island attraction – historic Stone Town (another UNESCO World Heritage Site) and slid into dock.  Zanzibar’s history is a bit notorious as a slave-for-spice trading centre.

Originally an Omani sultanate, it was just in 1964 when a treaty was signed that created Tanzania (by joining the island with the mainland then known as Tanganyika).  That said, the island still has its own supplementary immigration process complete with entry card, passport stamp and Yellow Fever health checks.  It is also incidentally, the birthplace of Freddie Mercury – lead singer of the rock band Queen.

This was going to be the long rest mid-trip (no animals, no antiquities, no museums)   - just ‘chillin'.  We checked into our quiet and quaint Beach Villa apartment, complete with traditional Zanzibar wood carved furniture (that helps spread the mosquito netting evenly), stone-tile flooring, a fridge, AC, a sea view porch, swimming pool, restaurant and even WiFi, all about two kilometers from the bustling town (luxury for us  - at $80/night B&B).

We had easily fallen prey to the “bohemian /veg” life.  But by day two – we decided it would probably be appropriate to check out “Town”, maybe a few shops, get some provisions (for the fridge) and hit a local restaurant.  Stone Town proved to be quite tourist oriented, which given our mood suited us quite fine.  There are options to go to forest areas for animal viewing, diving and snorkeling, or to pristine beach coves on the Island or on adjacent islets. 

We chose to do none of that, save for a few hours touring some spice plantations (after all it is called the “Spice Island”).   It was quite interesting to find out the natural source for many of these exotic flavour enhancers, and we did some time on one of those secluded beach coves en route back (after learning some of the slave history as well).

The rest of our time was spent checking out the alleyways and side streets of Stone Town (because of the Arab influence it had many features of the traditional Medina we had encountered in North Africa).   But to our surprise (and a pleasant one at that) the food is mostly influenced from the East, with curries, Biryani and other Indian favourites and a few stews.  We also noticed quite few Italian restaurants, which thought might be some throwback to an earlier colonization, but is more likely due to the fact that there are direct flights to the Island from Rome.

Forodhani Gardens  along the sea wall comes alive every night with food stalls hawking the days catch in kebab format (Tandoori Lobster skewers)for dinner and sweet pancakes (with nutella, banana, chocolate and honey) that they call pizzas.  Not a bad meal for $8.

The area also has entertainment with a local flavour as the fishermen take turns performing acrobatic dives and flips into the sea from the adjacent rock ledges.  With an average daytime high while we were there approaching 40C, the evening cool dip seems to be an appropriate diversion. 

Being sufficiently chilled ourselves after five days on Zanzibar, we grabbed the “real” fast ferry back to Dar for an overnight before heading East across the “Southern Africa” countries, beginning with Zambia.

For the first time in two months through East Africa, we would be moving beyond the reach most prominent and influential geological and geographical influence in the regions – “Great Rift Valley” – which has run through or adjacent to each of the seven countries we have visited since Egypt.

Now we are headed to another rift – the gaping Victoria Falls. 

For more Tanzania photos - check out flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegoobers_pics/sets/72157626176861754/

Born Free (Tanzania)

Immediately upon landing at Kilimanjaro airport and grabbing the airport shuttle to Arusha, we realized this was going to be a bit more civilized.  Our hotel was on the outskirts of town in a lush garden and forested area with a fine selection of East Indian cuisine, a few resident monkeys and a balcony for drying our urgently needed hand washed clothes. 

 

We had booked another four day, three night safari through the Northern Circuit, including Lake Manyara and Serengeti National parks as well as the Ngorogoro Crater Preservation area, but despite the slightly higher price tag, this time it was all going to be tent camping.  While we were suppose to have be joined by an Aussie couple, they had some baggage delay issues so we ended up with a private safari (our own driver/guide and cook).

The first day within Lake Manyara Park we saw many of the animals we had encountered in the Masai Mara (in Kenya), with a few notable additions:

• Birds – European Rola, Southern Ground Horn Bill, Hammerkop.

• Monkeys – Olive Baboon, Blue Monkey, Vervet Monkey (which we think should also be named Blue – see photo)

Blue Monkey

Vervet Monkey (you be the judge)

That night we experienced some trade-offs for the quite basic camping accommodation when our cook (now our private chef) brought out a sumptuous meal of pepper steak stew, all cooked on the campsite open fire cooking facilities.   The next mornings’ breakfast of quiche and fresh fruit really solidified it.

Our three hour drive to, and another three hours within, the Serengeti was punctuated by our first Africa Leopard spotting (but from about 100 metres away – beyond picture proof range).  The area is more typical savannah-like and so finding the animals in the higher grass was a bit more of a challenge.  But the next days’ morning drive provided the missing link to our Big Five spotting as we followed the squelch of the CB to a cluster of trees where an adult Leopard slept precariously on a branch about 8 metres up – and well within zoom range.  Over on the adjacent tree were two youths mostly visible as blurs through the branches chasing each other around as part of morning playtime, before they settled down for the long afternoon nap – my kind of day.

Driving back through the park en route to Ngorogoro we spotted Eland (largest antelope), Grant’s Gazelle, Golden Jackal, Spotted Hyena  and a few new birds – the Kory Bustard (heaviest flying bird) and migrating Egyptian Geese (happy to be away from home for the moment).

The Ngorogoro Crater is about 20 km in diameter, with side heights reaching 600 metres, serving as a giant pen containing the animals within, and in greater numbers than we have seen before (over 25,000). 

These are the plain scenes that are so prevalent on specialty TV animal / nature channels, with hundreds of co-mingling “zeal” of Zebra and (wait for it) “implausibility” of Wildebeest. 

The matriarch of a pride of lions was leading her five young cubs to a fresh kill breakfast, while nearby buffalo seemed surprisingly unconcerned (it was after all one of their own being served up).

Our campsite was quite crowded as it is the only one situated at the crater’s edge. 

That afternoon when we returned for the drive back to Arusha, we encountered an elephant in camp apparently having learned  the easy route to some drinking by pilfering from the large water tank supply – which as it happens is equally accessible either by the tap at the bottom (for humans) or via trunk on the open top.  

After now having seen the “Big Five”, even if it took travel to two countries, we decided that this checklist was unfair and too confining a set of categories, so we made up a couple of additional groupings:

• The Big Ten = Big Five + Giraffe, Hippo, Zebra, Wildebeest, Cheetah
• The Undersized Eight =  Warthog, Hyena, Bat-Eared Fox, Thomson Gazelle, Jackal, Dik Dik, Hyrax, Mongoose

And now for a try with Tanzanian buses – allegedly air conditioned and only 10 hours from Arusha to Dar Es Salaam.

Bungle in the Jungle (Uganda)

Not quite done yet!  Our midnight bus was standing room only (seating not as guaranteed as promised).  After a ticket refund and a night at a flea bag hotel (even for me), we hired a car for what turned out to be a lovely five and a half hour drive, through a National Park, along rolling hills and all paved (albeit for 10 times the price of the bus – a tough decision especially for me).

The next two days were spent at a lovely “real” eco-resort on Lake Bunyonyi, nestled in the volcanic mountains that form the border between Uganda and Rwanda.  This is also nearby to the series of National Parks in both countries that are home to the Mountain Gorillas (the animals have dual citizenship).

Crowned Crane - National Bird of Uganda

Our plan was to overland to the Rwanda side and so we hired a car to the border (only about 20 minutes), exchanged some cash, went through the Uganda immigration exit formalities, walked across the “no man’s land” bridge, and then were promptly refused entry.  Apparently, less than two months ago, Rwanda changed the rules for Canadians (used to be free and no Visa).  A Visa was now required and was strictly not available at crossings (but rather has to be secured via the web two days in advance).  We returned to the Uganda authorities and begged them to rescind our exit, they complied (with a very official x-out on the exit stamp) and we exchanged our money back, got in a cab and returned to Kabale.  The Rwanda web site made no mention of the change in requirement, so in a huff, we turfed Rwanda from the itinerary.  They don’t want us – we don’t want them!

Snapping into action, we found a travel company and booked ourselves for Ugandan Gorilla tracking the very next day at the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest – sounds ominous.

After a brutal 3 hour drive to the overnight mountain resort and eight hours of Dave’s orifices emptying (haven’t been sick much – but this was bad timing), we decided to proceed - nauseated, dehydrated and with some remnant diarrhea despite ingesting all the drugs I had (I would have lost the $500 entry fee – so not much decision there). 

Finding the Gorillas normally takes anywhere between one and three hours, I was hoping for more on the former side.  No such luck.  The apes were spotted in a clearing, requiring us to traverse up and down three steep 400 metre embankments lined with thorn bushes and biting red ants.  It ultimately took us four hours, the last 45 minutes via new trails through dense forest blazed by our guide and his machete.  But we did it – we penetrated the impenetrable.

There they were - a family unit of about eight, a full grown Silverback male and even some youngins’.  I was just happy to have stopped walking, and dreading the four-hour return trip.  After our hour with the Gorillas (strictly enforced), we began the journey back (some rehydration, little nausea and woohoo – no more diarrhea). 

The guides admitted that after the first few hours they didn’t think I’d make it and were surprised they didn’t have to call for the porters with a stretcher. 

We received our certificates and slept through the three hour bump fest back to Kabale.  Two days of recuperation later, we braved the bus back to Kampala (slated for 8 hours, took ten), spent the night, and got a flight out to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania the very next day.

I guess we should have paid more attention to those foreshadowing grey clouds at the Kenyan-Uganda border crossing.  Here’s to clear skies for our flight tomorrow. 

For more Uganda photos - see flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegoobers_pics/sets/72157626006114150/