Growing old is inevitable...Growing up is optional!

Sunday 30 December 2007

Zanzibar

So the safari was over, we flew back to Nairobi and then on to Zanzibar, now I have to admit I love flying and I'm not a nervous passenger (unlike Cath) but even I was a scared landing in Zanzibar, I kept thinking any minute now the pilot is going to slow down, but he didn't, we hit the runway full pelt, the plane swerved all over the runway, then I kept thinking again..... any minute now he's going to put on the brakes......but no we seemed to be going full speed for ages and I seemed to remember that the island of Zanzibar wasn't THAT big so the runway couldn't be very long. However we did eventually come to a stop, when I left the aircraft I was tempted to kiss the ground like the Pope but did stop myself. We left the airport, found a taxi and went to our Hotel in Stonetown, the greeting was wonderful, another hot towel, another cocktail, and as we had been delayed for four hours in Nairobi an apology that all the places to eat were closed. Still we were tired and it was almost 11pm so we went to our room, grabbed a quick shower and went to bed. The next morning we got up and went down to breakfast, the hotel was beautiful, very Moroccan in style, the breakfast room overlooked a lovely white, icing sugar, sandy beach, and we were given champagne and a wonderful breakfast, while we were eating we watched the boats as they went past.


It was extremely humid in Zanzibar and I suppose doing a walking tour at midday was a stupid idea but unfortunately we were only in Stonetown for one day, I have never sweated so much in my life ( I know women are supposed to "slightly glow" but trust me I was sweating like a glassblower!) the architecture was beautiful if a little run down, the people amazingly friendly, we walked through the town, went into a small museum, and then got to the Anglican Church which was on the sight of the slave market.

We were showed the room where the slaves were kept, and told stories of how badly they were treated, so many were put into the rooms that many of them suffocated, we went into the church and saw the location of the whipping post, there the slaves were whipped and if they cried out their price would drop as they were classed as weak, if they didn't cry the price would go up as they would be strong slaves. It made me sad, and I was glad to get outside, we were then shown the monument to the slaves.


We left the slave market, and then our guide said he would be taking us to the local food market, now being a "foodie" I as quite excited by this, however we were over half a mile away from the market when you first caught the smell, mostly very bad fish, we got to the market, I told Cath to breath through her mouth, we saw fish being gutted, the blood running down onto the floor we were walking on, there were flies everywhere on the fish, I was hoping our hotel didn't use that market as it's preferred supplier! After the fish, we moved onto the meat, exactly the same hanging meat covered in flies, blood everywhere, it was like a scene from the Texas chainsaw massacre, I was VERY glad when we moved onto the spice, fruit and vegetable section. The spices were wonderful and extremely cheap, cinnamon, saffron, nutmeg, mace everything you could think of.
The tour was over, we returned to our hotel had a very welcome drink and then got our guide, who was also our taxi driver to take us on to the Breezes Resort for 5 days of sun, sand, sea and relaxation.


There isn't much to write about Breezes because that's all we did, spent the mornings on the beach, walked out over the reef to watch the fish, had lunch, spent the afternoons by the pool, listened to Ipods, had dinner and relaxed. We met some lovely people, had some lovely food, some great entertainment, far too much wine, and an awful lot of sleep. It was the perfect end to a perfect holiday.









Friday 28 December 2007

Out of Africa...part four

The following morning, after breakfast we met Kavishe, he asked if we enjoyed our dinner – he had known all about it the tour Company had arranged it for us as a surprise, apparently as we had booked through Trailfinders and they give Ranger Safari’s a lot of business they like to do something a bit special for their guests.

So we left Serengeti for the three (which of course meant at least five) hour drive to Lake Manyara, as we drove out of the Serengeti the number of zebra and gazelle seemed to have multiplied overnight, a giraffe popped his head out from behind a tree as if to say goodbye, we saw another blue monkey darting up a tree, and a beautiful flame headed lizard then we left the park.



On the way to the lake we stopped at a Masai village, the whole village came out and performed a welcome dance for us, their leader explained that the men and women actually sing different songs but at the same time, the men sing about becoming strong and the jump amazingly high, the women sing about how important the cow is to the Masai people, it really was a wonderful sight.

We entered the gates of the village and were told all about the life of the Masai – for the boys from the ages 0 to 5 they do nothing but play and occasionally sing songs to “make rain” , from 5 to 12 they must take care of the animals from the village, they take the animals into the bush to find food and water, between 12 and 15 they are circumcised, presented with the traditional spear, shield and red cloak, then they must go into the bush to prove themselves as worthy warriors. It used to be that they had to hunt and kill a lion, using only the spear and shield, and had to return to the village with the lions tail, however all forms of hunting wild animals thankfully is now illegal, and so it is now birds. From 17 to 30 they must protect the village, and then at 30 they become Elders of the village and make the laws. After 60 they do nothing, they are looked after by the rest of the village.

The women on the other hand are kept busy looking after the children and the Elders, helping to build huts, getting water (often from many miles away), milking the cows, making the food, and also to supplement their income they make jewellery to sell to the tourists. Although traditionally the Masai only consumed cattle blood and milk, we were told they are now getting grains and other supplies from the towns. I watched the children playing and one beautiful little girl captured my heart, I asked if I could take her picture, when you see her you will know why.


The Leader took us inside a traditional Masai hut, they are still made the same way, from sticks, and then straw and cow dung on the roof, there was a living area with a small fire in the middle and then two “bedrooms” which were small areas raised off the floor, one for the adults and one for the children, it was dark and smoky and surprisingly warm inside. They allowed us to take pictures, as long as you asked, the Masai believe if you take their photo without asking permission you take away their sole. For a moment I felt bad for the children, sleeping in huts, no electricity or running water, no toys, but then you saw them running around the camp hitting an old bicycle tyre with a stick like a hoop, laughing and happy and you realise they have never known anything else. Kavishe told us that the Masai do now send their children to school and that they are naturally bright children and are always at the top of the class. We did buy a couple of bracelets from the women that were beautifully made from porcupine spines, said goodbye, then got into the jeep for our onward trek to Lake Manyara.

Somehow despite the ridiculously bumpy (and by bumpy I mean three times I actually twonked my head on the roof of the jeep!) roads, Cathryn managed to sleep all the way to the Lake. As we drove there were zebra, giraffe and wildebeest sometimes mixed in with a herd of Masai cows, it totally amazed me. We arrived at the Serena Lodge in Manyara and a reasonably early time, which meant for the first time we could actually go for a swim in the pool, it was an infinity pool that was built into the side of the mountain, it was the most beautiful pool I have ever been in.

We jumped out of the pool, got a couple of beers in and watched the most amazing display of African acrobats around the pool, then went back to our hobbit hut to get ready for dinner, and an early night, ready for yet another game drive, but this time around Lake Manyara.

Lake Manyara was very different, it was lush and cool, an inscription on the way into the park caught my eye, it said "Remove nothing from the park except nourishment for the soul, consolation for the heart and inspiration for the mind" The park was apparently the home to thousands of baboons, we soon found a few, it reminded of trips to the local safari park when I was a child, the baboons climbed onto the jeep, one little one started licking the window, it was so cute.

Then we saw the baboons cleaning the babies, they stayed with us for ages before getting a bit bored of having their pictures taken and toddled off into the forest.

We saw so many giraffe, gazelle and elephant, some lovely pelicans that were tinged with pink, flamingos in the distance, it was another wonderful day. In thee afternoon we stopped at some tourist stalls that were on the side of the road they were filled with beautiful paintings and jewellery and the most wonderful ebony and mahogany carvings.

We left after a bit of haggling and a few souvenirs and went on to the local village which was called something like Mosquito creek....oh great I thought, but apparently all the mosquito's had gone! I wasn't convinced. We were given a lovely outdoor lunch with beer in a beautiful garden with lemon trees all around. After lunch we were taken on a tour of the local hospital where the doctor there (who was a Masai that had been lucky enough to go to school) told us of the work they were doing to try and combat AIDS, he showed us the wards, and then the kitchen where they patients have to cook their own food. They were building a maternity ward also and were also doing sterling work with immunisation. It was an eye opener and I will NEVER complain about the National Health Service here. After that we were taken to see a banana plantation, but were very surprised by a fierce hailstorm....who would have thought it? The hailstones were like golf balls, we took shelter under little hut where a family were carving the animals that go to the tourist shops, they explained that their father had come from Ethiopia (he had walked!) and he was a carver and he had taught all the boys to carve also, they were lovely, generous people and even offered to take us inside the house to shelter. The hailstorm passed and we carried on through the plantation, but the hailstones had caused devastation to all the banana plants it was a sad sight. My doubt about the mosquito's was confirmed as the dampness had brought them out in force! As we walked on we saw the local school the children ran to the fence to ask us for pens, I only had one left so popped it through the fence. I loved the fact all the children had little plastic cups and were collecting the hailstones and eating them, they had also removed their shoes and were splashing about in the water.



Our guide then took us to the local pub, which unfortunately was completely flooded, not deterred the "landlord" brought some benches over to a dry patch for us to sit on, and then told us how they made the banana beer, by boiling bananas for hours and then adding millet and waiting for it ferment, he then brought over a cup of the beer, which still has all the millet floating in it, and passed it around for us to taste. Now this beer looked like the muddy water we were surrounded by, but not to offend I took the cup and put it to my mouth, however I did chicken out and only smelled it, I like my beer with no lumps in! The landlord said it was traditional for a group to buy one beer and pass it around, then once empty the next person in the group of friends buy one, he said if you bough a beer just for yourself you were showing off how much money you have.

We left the pub and went back to our hotel for our final night, it had been an amazing (sorry) safari and while the safari was now at an end the holiday wasn't we had five days in Zanzibar to look forward to. Five days of relaxing, swimming and sunbathing.........no dust, no bumpy jeep rides, no more animals......I wondered how long it would take for me to get bored.

Sunday 2 December 2007

Out of Africa ....part three

We arrived at the Serengeti after a long, dusty, bumpy ride, it was completely different to the other parks, vast planes studded with remnants of volcanic rock, as soon as we entered I was blown away by the sheer number of animals, there were hundreds of gazelle, hartbeast, zebra, buffalo. Within ten minutes we had struck gold, right by the side of the road a family of lions, male sleeping fast on his back with his legs in the air, one female and two cubs, we were so close it was brilliant, we watched the cubs for ages getting some great photo's.


Not long after we came across a tree that was covered in storks, there were over 20 of them, what amazed me was the fact that the tree branches held their weight, we had arrived late at Serengeti and before long the sun began to set so we proceeded through the reserve to our lodge, but not before we saw the most beautiful giraffe, he was an adolescent male with the most gorgeous markings.

We arrived at our Serena lodge, as with the other lodges this one was wonderful, another amazing view and little hobbit huts to sleep in, again we were greeted with a white damp towel, again after I had wiped my face I was ashamed to hand it back due to the fact it was covered in red dust. We went to our room, watched the sun set set from our balcony, showered and went to dinner. We met a lovely Australian couple who were on their honeymoon, so after dinner we chatted and had a couple of drinks, but we didn't stay up too late as the next morning we were going on the hot air balloon flight over the Serengeti and we had to be up at 4am.

The one thing about the Serengeti lodge was after 7.30pm you were not allowed to walk outside alone in case of an animal attack, so you had to call reception to be escorted by a nice person with a large torch and a gun. We set the alarm for 4am, got ready, called for our escort and got taken to the breakfast room for coffee and cookies to get us going. We got into the jeep and began our trip, the drive itself was fabulous, because it was so dark (as we were in the middle of nowhere and of course there was no artificial light) the stars were unbelievable, there were so many and they were so bright. We saw eyes catching the headlights, one was the most beautiful leopard who walked right past the jeep, so at last we had made it to the famous big five, next a mother and baby hippo the first time we had seen one out of the water it was too dark for photo's but that sight is etched in my memory. All of a sudden the stars started to fade and a pink tinge hit the sky, only the very brightest stars and the moon remained we arrived at the "take off" site just as the sun began to rise.

There were two huge balloons, green and white stripes, half inflated each with a huge basket underneath lying on the side, each basket held 16 people plus the pilot so you can imagine just how big they were. We watched while the balloons were inflated, and while they were we had a briefing from the pilot, telling us how to get in and out of the basket, and which section we should get into, there were 8 little cubby holes each held 2 people, so you had to climb in feet first while the basket was on the side hold onto the ropes and then they would pull the basket upright by using a jeep, we all managed to do this apart from Esther who managed to climb in head first, so had they pulled the basket up she would have been standing on her head. Although the balloon was inflated it had only been filled with cold air from fans, so once we were all in it was time to light the burners, as the pilot hit the burner it felt like a winter night in front of a log fire, your face got that warm rosy glow, and then with a small bump we were up, as we took off a hundred or so gazelles ran underneath us, but as far as the animals go that was all we saw, they must of been hiding that day.

Although we didn't see any more animals (other than gazelle) it didn't spoil the flight at all, as there was nothing to see we went higher and further than a usual flight so it was fabulous. Then it just got better, after a very smooth landing we were presented with a champagne glass and a story from the pilot of how the first ever balloon flight had taken place over some farm land in France, the farmers had never seen anything in the sky other than birds, so in fright they tried to shoot it down but the pilot held a bottle of champagne over the side so the farmers knew they were friendly. Now bear in mind it was still only 8am, and they kept topping up our glasses, by 8.30am I had drank three glasses of champagne! We were then loaded back into the jeep and driven a short way to a clearing where there was a long table with a crisp white cloth, silver cutlery and more champagne glasses, we were treated to a full breakfast cooked in the open, more champagne, orange juice, coffee etc. As we sat eating and drinking a beautiful giraffe walked past us, I can't describe how wonderful it was. We had done so much already and it was only 9.30am (and five glasses of champers!)

We met back up with our guide Kavishe, we saw a hyrax, a flame headed lizard, some dwarf mongoose all while we were waiting to get back into the jeep, we then set off for another drive around the Serengeti. The morning started off quite poorly on the animal spotting front, we saw the odd gazelle, waterbuck, a blue crane but finally in the distance a sitting under a tree, enjoying the shade a beautiful cheetah.




We stopped for lunch, as it happened it was the same spot we had eaten breakfast, the giraffe had long gone, but we saw lots of wild mice, and golden crested starling. We finished our packed lunch and drove on, more lions under a tree, another herd of elephants more than 10 walking across the planes. We stopped by a watering hole, and found another family of lions, this time one male, two female and two cubs, they had put themselves under a tree right by the water, in the distance a line of Zebra waiting for a drink, but not coming any closer, what a clever idea any animal that comes for a drink is dinner for the lions. We watched the lions for over half an hour before continuing our drive up towards the hippo pool. We saw more buffalo on the way with tiny birds all over them picking off the insects. Then a few more giraffe, then for a long time we saw nothing, well I say nothing, of course the scenery was wonderful. The drive was long and very bumpy and I was starting to think if these hippo didn't get out of the water I would be really miffed! Then a fabulous sight, another jeep had stopped in front of us and pointed to a tree in the distance there was the most gorgeous leopard asleep in the tree. We took a couple of pictures and drove on, not two minutes later and this time right by the side of the road another leopard asleep in the tree.




His tail was wrapped around a branch and legs hanging down, we watched as it changed position. We finally arrived at the hippo pool, they did what hippos do best, snorted, rolled over in the mud and flicked water over their backs, none of them got out but I didn't mind, the sight of the leopard had appeased me. On the way back to the hotel we saw the arrival of the migration, animals that had walked up from Kenya to escape the dry season, row upon row of zebra hundreds of them all walking in lines into the Serengeti, next hundreds of wildebeest, then giraffe 10 in a row, then elephant, like they were taking it in turns, I could hardly believe my eyes.



Another game drive over, another wonderful day, you would think that we would have been tired seen as we have been up since 4am, but we were too excited. We got back to the hotel, Larry & Esther went back to their room, but Cath and I fancied a Kilimanjaro (lager) so walked over to the pool and patio area for a beer, we found an amazing patio area built into the side of the mountain, so we sat watching the sun set over the Serengeti drinking our beer. We went back to our hobbit hut to shower and get ready for dinner. As we arrived at the restaurant the waiter said to us "oh you have a bush dinner tonight" Now I had visions of I'm a celebrity get me out of here, but it was amazing we were led out into the bush, there was a big fire, a Masai group playing drums and singing, we were greeted with yet another glass of champagne and led to seats by the fire, we enjoyed the music and champagne for a while, and were taken to a table just the four of us, across the way a chef cooking BBQ for us, the food tasted better eaten under the stars, it was a perfect end to a wonderful day. ..........more to come but you'll have to wait.