Keith's travelogue

Livingstone to Arusha
Dear All,

Well, the past couple of weeks have been interesting.

I had an ongoing saga with my hearing aid which was finally resolved in Livingstone. Unfortunately I was unable to partake of many of the adventure activities available there, but not to worry. I sense I will return.

Then on from Livingstone after watching Aust lose to Sth Africa in the rugby at Perth, life is sweet. The next few days were a mixture of full-on driving and breaks in some exotic and relaxing places. From Livingstone and Victoria Falls(Zambia) to Kende Beach on Lake Malawi. This Kende Beach place was a glorius white sand beach in a dry red dusty landscape, so to see it coming into view was like arriving from the desert to an oasis. After touring a local village and seeing how the teachers struggle 1500 students and eight teachers, we visited the local hospital where the assistant doctor and nurse could see up to 300 patients per day on busy days and not have enough basic supples. How lucky we all are. We left what little we had and then drove on, and on, and on until we got to Dar Es Salaam.

Here we tranferred to the fabled spice island of Zanzibar. Ever since I was a young lad collecting stamps, I have wanted to go there. This feeling also grew after my travels in Indai and Indonesia that both formed part of the spice trading routes from Asia to Europe, and around which many of the colonmial wars were fought. All over pepper and nutmeg and other spices.

And what a tropical island Zanzibar is. A mixture of beach paradise and business, and the grim history of the slave trade by the Arabs. I went on the obligatory spice tour to see what all the fuss was about for the spices. It was interesting but a bit light on the history. Then I went on a "dolphin" cruise to see some coral and do some snorkelling, and if lucky, get to see some dolphins.

Well the trip didn't start out too good, as the van broike down after 30 minutes, and it was 45 minutes before the replacement arrived. Still we got to the beach, which was straight from a postcard, got our gear and headed out to see . . . six other boats chasing the dolphins away!.

So we went out a little bit further and the other boats went back as there time was up. Lo and behold, two pods of dolphins appeared, with about 15-10 individuals, from babies to adults. So in we hopped and swam with them for 15 minutes or so before they headed off to where ever dolphins go when they're not swimnming with humans. It was great, just as good as when I went to Monkey Mia in West Oz and got to touch two of them there.

Then the next two days were spent luxuriating on the wonderful white sand beaches in the north of Zanzibar, and eating fresh seafood at a place called Ngungwi. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, so it was back to Dar Es Salaam, and on to Arusha, which is the gateweay to the Serengetti national park and home to the Ngorongoro crater and Olduvai Gorge (home top the oldest humanoid fossils found so far).

The last part of the drive was interesting, as we passed by Mt Kilimanjaro, which peeked out its head just as we arrived at Moshi, so we were fortunate to see it as it is usually shrouded in cloud. Some of the group will be climbing it, but I'll leave it for another trip. Methinks five to six weeks of relative inactivity means it is not a good idea to attempt to hike to 5895m.

Then we drove on to Arusha, and wouldn't you know it we got to see Mt Meru as well! A just reward for a long day that started at 5.30am, and ended just on sunset. The game viewing here at the Serengetti is reputedly very good, but the sad part about this is it means the end of the trip is fast approaching. No choice but to enjoy it while I can.

So today we visit a snake park, and a Masai Village, before we head into the Serengeti park for two days of 4x4 safari-ing. Postcards are on the way, but I think I'll be back in Oz before they will arrive.

And go the All Blacks!

Keith