Day 42 Down and out and Driving

Monday January 25th. Today was a long, boring day while we drove and I tried to recover. I kept dozing on and off most of the day, but it's really hard to sleep with all the bumpy roads and people talking. There are hundreds of speed bumps on all of the roads in Africa. It's there way of slowing you down for schools, bends in the road, towns or any reason they feel like. On our truck you really feel the bumps. We stopped for an hour in some town, but I just stayed on the bus and slept. John went and got a hair cut.

After a long drive we arrived at camp. Niaberi Overlanders Campgound is quite a nice place, like a safari lodge you might picture. Apparently Bill Gates stayed here for a night in 2009, probably as part of his malaria project.

I'm just laying low and intend to head to bed very early. I had a wonderfully hot shower and shaved my head again. While I was showering I noticed the water running out of the stall and thought “I wonder where that is going?” I open the door and all my clothes were sitting in a big puddle! Had to laugh. So I put them on and got back in the shower and washed them too!

Day 41 Lake Nakuru NP

Up early to meet our new guides. There are three of them again, all from Kenya, Joseph, the guide, Joel the driver and the cook, Dickson. They drove the three of us to the Boulevard Hotel for breakfast and to meet the other new people. Eight people are joining us and eleven more in a couple of days in Uganda. The new people seem nice and older, but I couldn't talk to them, frustrating. We had a brief meeting and then we headed off. We stopped for a bit of shopping and stuff, but the main destination today was Lake Nakuru National Park.

We had lunch just inside the gates with a herd of impala looking on. Then we went on a four hour game drive. We saw flamingos, pink pelicans, impala, zebra, giraffe, Cape buffalo, water buck, baboons, vervet monkeys, maribou storks, a couple of lionesses, and the main attraction, about ten white rhinoceros.

By the end I was feeling crumby. I haven't slept well the last three nights, I still have my cold and laryngitis. When we got to Rembu Campgrounds I went to bed and skipped dinner. I was awake for quite a while with an upset stomach. Finally I was up twice at three and four to throw up. Amazing I haven't been sick earlier. There have been a number of people sick in the last couple of weeks.

The Big Five

On our 40 day overland trip through south and east Africa we were successful in seeing, and photographing all of the “big five” - lion, elephant, leopard, rhinoceros, and Cape buffalo. Some people wonder why giraffe and hippopotamus, for example, are not included, but the big five refers to what the big game hunters like to hunt. They are considered the most difficult and dangerous to kill, and if you only wound them, they will come after you! Whereas giraffe are not dangerous and hippos are easy to shoot if they are in the water.

So there you go, now you know.

Day 39 Ngorongoro Crater

Elephant in camp! We were up before the sun and getting organized. I went to the toilet shed and met John there. He was leaving and a couple of minutes later called to me “Joe do you have our camera?” I went to see what he was talking about, and there just outside the toilet room was a male elephant! He was in the camp. We looked and then went out another door to get breakfast. The elephant hung around for an hour or so.

We loaded up into the jeeps again and headed out for the Ngorongoro Crater (which not a crater but actually a caldera). The road down into it was rough and steep. There is only one road in and another road out. The caldera is ten miles in diameter and contains a brine lake, a forest, lots of grassland, a river, a swamp and a couple of hippo pools.

We rode around for five hours and saw a wide variety of animals. We saw elephant, hippo, zebra, topi, Grant's gazelle, Cape buffalo, lion, hyaena, warthogs, rhino, eland and probably a few others. Lots of birds too: secretary birds, maribou storks, white storks, grey crested cranes and lots of others. However, overall yesterday was more exciting, with cheetahs, leopards and lions. However, another great day.

Then we rode up out of the crater to the same craft shop we visited on the way in, and had a box lunch and a short visit to the shop. I bought two heads like Megan's zebra head. I bought a zebra and a giraffe. Now I have to figure out how to get them home!

After that we drove back to the Snake Park campground about 3:30. I slept most of the way, as I was very tired from lack of sleep last night. John, Ed and I pitched our tents and headed to the bar. We had a couple of beer with Richard, Philip, Scott and others while charging cameras and batteries. I am backing up photos for Scott and John. My cold has developed into laryngitis and I've pretty much lost my voice. Everyone feels sorry for me, as they know I love to talk (or so they say!).

We had dinner at the restaurant in the camp. Vernon explained the events for tomorrow, the last for everyone except John, Katherine and I. Then they had a short party in the bar, before an early night and another early rise.

Day 40 It Had to Happen

Saturday January 22^nd. Sooner or later, in fact surprised it didn't happen sooner.....

We had to say goodbye to the three young Norwegian girls first thing because they were taking a cab to Nairobi to catch a flight that we couldn't possibly make – their travel agent's mistake.

We got up at 4:30 and left by 5:00 and broke down about 5:30!The truck died and we coasted to a stop just outside Arusha. They worked on it for about an hour, got it going again and we set off again. Ten minutes later same thing. This time they couldn't fix it themselves, so they called an electrical mechanic because the truck was shorting out somewhere.

Meantime, Vernon had to call a cab for Arvo and Nina, and Ichiko, who had to get to Nairobi to catch a flight in the evening.

We finally were underway again about 9:00. The rest of the day was tiring, boring, and bumpy as hell. The road from Arusha to Nairobi is under construction, or maybe destruction. Parts are paved and other parts are incredibly bumpy and dusty cement beds.

As I said, I'm surprised (and pleased) it didn't happen earlier what with all the 9000 kms we've done and the road conditions we've had.

We arrived at last in Nairobi and the Boulevard Hotel (where I will stay after Uganda and after Kilimanjaro) to drop off all the remaining tour members. Only John, Katerine and I are heading on. There are plans for all of us to meet tonight at a restaurant for a goodbye dinner, but everyone might not make it. So we had a very said short goodbyes to everyone, especially Richard, Filip and Ed. The really rotten part, was that I still have larynigitis and can't talk. So it made saying goodbye really difficult and frustrating. I wanted to say lots to the guys, but unfortunately hugs had to do for now.

Then the rest of us, plus Georgina and Jane who are staying overnight in rooms before they fly tomorrow, and the truck drove through Nairobi's congested streets to get to Indaba Campground. Set up our tent for the last time and got ready for tonight and tomorrow.

Vernon, John, Georgina, Katerine, Ichiko and I took a couple of cabs to The Carnivore Restaurant to meet the rest for our last dinner together. The restaurant is famous and very popular with travelers and expats. They have a security check point in front to protect us from any nerdowells.

The have a big bbq with lots of spits of meat cooking. They bring the spits to the table and cut off a piece for you. They brought, beef, chicken, turkey, pork, ostrich, and crocodile. It was all good and we ate our fill. It was good to share one last meal. I had a good talk with Ed and told him that I was going to miss him. He said that he wished he was starting school again! What a nice thing to say. He said he thought it would be lots of fun to be in my class!

When we went back to our camp we had a shot of brandy, curtesy of Richard who left it on the trunk and talked to another GAP guide/mechanic from South Africa named Vimpy. Great guy and very funny. Then Ichiko phoned Vernon and told him that she had missed her flight! Vernon told her to come back to the camp.

Day 38 Serengeti Game Drive

People heard lions and hyeanas last night.

Quick snacky breakfast before dawn and then head out as the sun came up. We found a leopard up in a tree at a bit of a distance. While we watched he dragged a gazelle out of the tree to feed on the ground out of site in the bushes.

The first animals were saw were a troop of golden baboons walking down the road. We watched their antics and their babies for a bit. Shortly afterwards we saw a mother cheetah with three almost full grown cubs trying to hunt a gazelle. She stalked it but never got close enough to run after it. The gazelle came back a few times, almost like it was tempting the cheetah or fate. We watched for about 45 minutes but never saw a chase. There were lots of jeeps watching, as there are a lot of safaris going on like GAP, Intrepid and others. They are connected by walkie talkie and tell each other when they find something of interest. So at times it gets busy and other times it's just us.

After that we drove through the park and saw gazelles, giraffes, and warthogs. At the end of the drive we went past the same waterhole as yesterday and saw a herd of elephants and a number of hippos. We also saw a number of birds today.

When we returned to camp, brunch was ready. They served us crepes, fried fish, stir fried veggies and a salad. Very delicious.

Shortly afterwards we set out again. Our guide drove us to the local visitor information centre. Here they have an interpretive walk with lots of good information about the Serengeti and the animals that live there. It is located at a kpojes (pronounced copies). This is a large old bedrock formation that stands on the plain. It usually supports different species of animals and plants and is often it's own little world. Lions sometimes use them for lookout spots.

Later we saw lots of animals, elephants, hippos, gazelles and the like. We saw two large male elephants settling dominance. We also saw lots of different types of birds.

The Serengeti plain is beautiful and vast. It is amazing to be on it and listen to the sounds of the birds and animals, smell the scents that are in the air and see the vast variety of animals that call it home.

The afternoon drive was heading east again to the same entrance that we came in. From there we drove through the Ngorongoro Reserve. We saw several large herds of wildebeest, zebra and giraffe.

As I was taking a photo I felt a bite on my arm. I slapped it and showed it to Vernon. Turns out I got bit by a tse tse fly! It's about the same size and bites about as hard as a deer fly.

As we left the park, there was a loud clunk outside our truck and we could hear we were dragging something. Turns out the left side running board had fallen off at the rear connection and was dragging along. Vernon and the four guides spent a half hour with the quick fix tying it up.

Then we drove up to the rim of the crater to our new campsite. Again the GAP people had set up our tents and prepared our spaghetti dinner. There are lots of jeeps here at the campsite. The cooking building was really hopping and there was a large eating building as well. It's pretty basic camping but very efficiently run.

Tonight is the full moon. As we were sitting around our campfire the moon shown down and lit up the whole area. I took a couple of photos of that.

John met a couple of guys who had just climbed Kilimanjaro and told me to come and talk to them. So I went over there and introduced myself. I tried to talk and or listen to them for about five minutes and then gave up. There English was so poor and my Chinese nonexistent, that it was pointless. From a distance I could see John giggling to himself, turns out he couldn't understand them either.

Again we are camped in an unfenced area and have been warned not to venture out at night except in pairs. Last time Vernon was here there was an elephant in the camp at night. We'll see what happens. It's much cooler here. That's it, tomorrow inside the crater!

Day 37 A Masai Village and on to the Serengeti

Wednesday January 19^th. Today was a great day. We were back on safari! Four GAP jeeps came to pick us up at 9:00 this morning. The each seat 6 or 7 people and the roof can be raised for viewing and photography. We started out shortly thereafter and drove towards the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.

We drove through a variety of vegetation and changing topography. We stopped at a couple of places to buy ice and kerosene.

Then we got to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We saw a number of giraffes and zebra on the way to the Crater rim and a magnificent view of the inside.

We stopped for lunch at a lookout picnic area. Lunch was a rather uninspired box lunch. We were warned about the black kites that would try to steal our food. We sat on a large tree trunk and watched the birds. Suddenly one swooped down from behind me an grabbed a muffin right out of my hand which was very close to my body. It knocked it out of my hand and immediately another one picked it up off the ground! The picture is of one of the attackers.

We stopped at a Masai village on the way to the Serengeti. The villagers sang to us and danced for us. Then the males showed off there jumping skills. John tried his had at it too. There was a school there and we were allowed to visit it. It was a kindergarten class of about 30 kids. The kids were singing the alphabet and counting numbers in English. There didn't seem to be any supplies but the kids were engaged and well behaved.

Our guide led us to his house and invited us in. The house is about three metres in diameter and divided into three rooms, two bedrooms, one for adults and one for children and a living/cooking area. His wife was inside suckling the youngest of three children under her cloak. There were lots of flies inside too. The rooms were dark and the ceiling quite low.

Then we were led to the shops to purchase something to support the family. John and I bought two necklaces, a bracelet and a talking stick. They started at 90000 shillings and John haggled them down to 50000.

Then we drove across the plains towards the entrance for the Serengeti. We saw herds of wildebeest, zebra, Thompson's gazelle, and Grant's gazelle. Just before we arrived at camp we saw a waterhole with a group of hippos in it and a little further along a family of elephants and then a single female lion at a distance.

When we got to camp, just at dusk, the tents were already set up and dinner followed shortly. We had a delicious beef stew prepared by the GAP guides.

We are camped in an unfenced area that is easily accessible by animals. We saw both elephants and lions within a kilometre of the camp as we came in. So, we'll see. Early to bed....

Day 36 Arusha, Snake Park Campground

Tuesday January 18^th. Left camp about 7:15 and drove northeast. En route we had our first view of Kilimanjaro, albeit from a long way away. Great to see me future destination. We meant to be in camp by about 1:00 but traffic was heavier than anticipated and we arrived about 2:30. We past through Moshi, where I will return for my Kilimanjaro journey.

Set up camp and had a quick lunch. Then some of them went back on the truck to Arusha to pick up supplies for our excursion into the Serengeti.

The rest of us stayed and explored the camp. There are a number of things to do here. John and I went to the snake zoo and saw a number of varieties of cobras and both the black and green mambas. They are both very quick, aggressive, highly venomous snakes. The green mamba has the largest fangs of any snake at four centimetres.

Then we went into the Masai cultural museum with a Masai guide. He told us all about how they lived in the past and some still do today. They are herdsmen and the eat mostly meat. The women build the homes out of sticks lashed together with bark and covered with a mixture of ash, cow dung and earth to form a mud. He also explained at length about a boy becoming a man and being circumsized at 14 or 15. He cannot cry or blink during the process and if he does he is banished and cannot marry. They used to circumsize women too, to control them, but now that is illegal. He also explained how they withdraw the blood from their cattle that they drink with milk to stop it from clotting.

The exit of the museum led directly into a market village. We went into a couple of huts and then excused ourselves to go to the bathroom.

Then we visited a small walk in clinic that is based here too. They treat various illnesses and accidents including snake bites. We found out that their is basically anti venom for two types of venom and the symptoms of the bite are quite different and easy to tell apart. One affects the nervous system and the other is more local and causes tissue damage. So you don't necessarily need to know which snake bit you.

Then we went back to the hut shops and purchased a few trinkets for ourselves and people at home.

Vernon cooked us our last meal, which was a great curry that he had served us on the first part of the trip. Then he gave us a briefing about our Serengeti safari – sounds great!

Day 35 Korongwe, White Parrot Campground

Monday January 17^th. Up early as Ed was crashing about the room at 4:30. Breakfast was at 5:30 and we departed for the return 7:00 ferry ride to Dar Es Salaam at 6:00.

I would have liked to stay here another couple of days. Another day wandering around Stone Town would have been fun and another day relaxing on the beaches would also be great. Wonderful place.

We have lost another eight people and gained a new eight. Gone are originals Ben and Tess from Australia and Anneliese from Belgium. Sad to say goodbye.

Spent the whole day in the truck. Luckily I enjoy looking out the window watching scenery. Other people spent most of the time sleeping. We stopped at the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam and Vernon gave us 5000 shillings to buy our lunch at the mall. John and I went grocery shopping at the Shoprite and bought some buns, cheese, tomato, chocolate milk, fruit, yogurt and donuts and had a picnic on the truck. It was a long day of driving. We finally arrived here 4:30 and set up camp.

Before dinner Scott asked me to help him cut his hair. He had brought clippers and needed a hand with the back. I hadn't shaved my head in about ten days and needed clippers. So, we had a positive male bonding session and cut each others' hair down as short as possible. Then I shaved the rest of it.

Dinner was a buffet served at the local gas station! Food was good, but then a group of Ngoma came in to sing, play music and dance for us. They were okay for a couple of songs, but then they all sounded the same. The highlight of the evening was watching John dancing around the group and doing his sandboarding moves.

Then we had a beer with the new people and turned in for the night.

Day 34 Dolphin Tour

Sunday January 16^th. Forgot this little item: While we were ordering dinner last night, we decided to order drinks. Ed had tea, I had a beer and John and Richard opted for wine. The waiter was a young man who probably had only left his village the week before to wait tables for the tourists. So, our socialite, John, asks for white wine. Then he asks “what kind of grape is it?” The waiter just stared at him. So, John actually repeated the question! He got the same stare. So, John changed tack and asked “Is it Charonnay or Savionblanc?” Whereupon the waiter said “It's dry white wine.” So John realized he was 'pushing against a closed door' and said “That'll be fine.”

Also forgot that on the snorkeling tour Katrina was running on the boat and smashed her head on a beam from the overhead roof and gave herself a concussion. Luckily we had our doctor Richard to help and Vernon was able to get them special transport to a small fishing village and a bumpy car ride back to town. She is doing well today, with just a bump on her head.

John and I were up early for breakfast and then had the morning to relax. I went for a long walk north along the beach. It was another beautiful day and the views were spectacular. After I came back I packed and checked out and then waited in the restaurant for departure.

Sitting in the front seat on the drive back to Stone Town was interesting as you could watch the flow of traffic and the way they overtake and pass each other. Bicycles have little respect on the road and motorbikes even less. The loads that some people carry on the bikes is amazing and it's fun to watch the Muslim women sit sidesaddle on the back of the bikes.

When we arrived in Stone Town seven of us had opted for the swim with the dolphins activity. They loaded us into a minivan that seated six. So, I had to sit on a hump between the two front seats. The half hour ride, turned out to be an hour and a half. We were told that lunch was being prepared for us and would be ready when we got there, however, when we arrived we were told it wasn't ready yet and we should head out to see the dolphins first. So, without eating for eight hours, away we went.

We spent two hours, putting along in a large wooden boat with a 9.9 motor on it looking in vain. We did however, managed to run over a fishing net (which all of us saw) and wrap it around the prop. They spent twenty minutes trying to untangle that. The views of the coast and the colour of the water made the ride endurable.

So, then we headed back for lunch and the promise of another attempt afterwards. Lunch turned out to be barracuda, rice, french fries and a lovely coconut/tomato sauce to put on it. The second time we went out we met with some success. We did see several spire dolphins, but just their backs as the came up for air. Apparently they are shy and it's actually the bottleneck dolphins that will hang around a boat and swim with people. Not our lucky day. So, as this trip turned into a sunset cruise we headed back.

I sat in the boot of the minivan on the way back as there was actually more room on the floor behind the back seat than there was up front. The drivers thought that was funny, but I'm not the one who brought a van that didn't have enough seats!

Anyway, arrived back in Stone Town again, and John and I headed out to the Africa House Hotel for a beer and wi-fi. Happily the code that Filip had purchased three days ago and told us so that we all had free wi-fi, still worked! So, I checked e-mails, and then talked to Peter, Mom, Dad and Carol via Skype. Unable to reach Danny. Always great to hear voices from home. I headed back to the Garden Lodge by midnight.