Monday, October 19, 2009
Amani Afrika
Temba, the guide who took us on safari, has now set up his own company called Amani Afrika. See his website for details: www.amaniafrika.com
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Last Tanzania blog
Well, that's it ... for now at least! I'm back in Oxford, and it all feels very strange - a very different world! The journey from Heathrow on Friday night through crazy M4 traffic was horrible, and I even started wishing that I was in a daladala on the Arusha-Moshi highway instead! Seeing all the swanky cars on the motorway, and most of them with only 1 person on board, it made for a very stark contrast to the life I'd seen in Tanzania, and made me feel quite uncomfortable! Not a great welcome back, but I'm sure I'll reacclimatise soon, whether I like it or not ... I'm really looking forward to catching up with family and friends though, and of course to showing you ALL my photos!
I've just added some photos to my previous blog entries, so take another look - it's slightly more interesting reading now! And it's been nice to review my photos and to remember highlights - the Moivaro Nursery children, new Tanzanian and CCS friends, the safari, Zanzibar ...
So to sign off, here's a selection of a few more photos of what I liked about my time in Tanzania:
I've just added some photos to my previous blog entries, so take another look - it's slightly more interesting reading now! And it's been nice to review my photos and to remember highlights - the Moivaro Nursery children, new Tanzanian and CCS friends, the safari, Zanzibar ...
So to sign off, here's a selection of a few more photos of what I liked about my time in Tanzania:
Thursday, June 28, 2007
African travels
I'm still having trouble accessing my e-mails. I can see that I have some but I can't open them! Tanzania and Orange are just not very compatible! So thanks to all of you who have been trying to get in touch and sorry for the lack of replies - I would love to e-mail you, just can't get things to work properly here! Hope this makes up for it a little bit, and I'll catch up with you when I'm back in Oxford!
And as in Peru, they were all a bit young to really understand that I was actually leaving and not coming back. And what made it more strange on my last day, was that the teacher didn't show up as she'd been involved in an accident with a car crashing into a daladala (minibus) she was on the previous day - she'd been to hospital and was ok, but at home off sick, so I only managed to say goodbye to her on the phone. And I was left with all the kids on my own for the whole morning, with only the help of the pastor who was around at times, who spoke hardly any English! I survived, but it was an odd last day ...
And saying goobye to the CCS staff and some of the locals who have become friends was really tough! People are so genuinely friendly here, and I hope we'll manage to keep in touch. I'd like to come back sometime - maybe to climb Kili - anyone interested?! I've met a good guide who'll take us!
So last Saturday I left Tengeru with another volunteer, Sarah, and we caught a flight from Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar. If I'd had more time, I'd have liked to catch the bus to Dar and then take the ferry, but that would have taken nearly 2 days, so not possible this time. So within hours we were thrown into a different world - finding ourselves on a very exotic, hot and humid island, along with a huge number of other tourists! The hotel (Malindi Guest House) we'd booked was fine - great inside but very near the rough port area, with a sign on the door saying don't turn left after 7pm - good job I was here with Sarah!
View of fish market from hotel room
On the Saturday afternoon we just strolled around Stone Town, along the coast and through some of the backstreets - it's a good place for wandering, if you can keep away from the tourist traps. And that evening we had dinner at Mercury's (did you know that Freddie Mercury was born on Zanzibar?) - and we sat outside with a beer and enjoyed the sea views ...
On the Sunday we booked ourselves onto a Spice Tour, and for 10$, we were taken to a spice farm to see, smell, and taste various spices and fruit - cloves, cinnamon, pepper, cardamon, star fruit, jack fruit, lemon grass, nutmeg, and others that I should have noted before as now I can't remember the names! We then had lunch in a local village - very simple, but delicious food - spiced rice, spinach, and vegetable curry. And after a quick trip to a cave that used to be used for hiding slaves when the slave trade hade been made illegal some 100 years ago, we headed for a lovely little beach, with white sand and gorgeous blue sea - perfect!
That evening we met up with some volunteers, Hayley and Suzy, who had bravely taken the bus from Arusha to Dar and then the ferry, and we ate in a great restaurant where we sat on the floor on cushions and enjoyed some more delicious spicy food.
We had planned to head for the northern coast on the Monday morning as that's where all the nice beaches are, but at 6.30 when the alarm went off, it was pouring with rain! Not quite the plan, so we decided that we'd stay in Stone Town instead, and spent most of the day wandering round the backstreets again, exploring the central market, sitting in cafes relaxing, and hoping that the clouds would clear, but they didn't!
That evening we had the best meal yet - and the cheapest by far! We decided to brave the outside market in Forodhani Gardens, and it was well worth the risk - we had succulent fish kebabs - spicy lobster and tuna, and grilled king fish, with chapatis, spicy potatoes, and coconut bread - quite a feast and all for 6,000 tsh each - about 3 pounds!
Tuesday was our last day on the island, and as we hadn't made it to the beaches in the north, we took a boat out to Changuu (or Prison) Island to see the giant tortoises and to spend some time on a beach - it was wonderfully quiet and exotic, and a great end to our short stay here! And no sting-rays ...
We flew back to Kilimanjaro on the Tuesday evening and for the first time I was on my own in Africa! Sarah headed to a village outside Moshi where she has contacts and is going to help them build a school there. And I headed for Moshi - it was actually quite exciting, and really not at all scary, though I'd probably have felt quite different if this was the beginning of my trip. Elly, a friend from Tengeru, had a booked a hotel for me, and before I got there he'd been checking that everything was ok! The hotel is fine, and really very good value for 15$ a night, and would have fantastic views from the roof bar, if only Kili would come out from behind the clouds!!
Yesterday I wandered round Moshi and covered most of it in a few hours - there's not a lot to visit here, and I've pretty much finished with shopping for souvenirs! Elly put me in touch with a friend who works in a hotel here - a nice Kenyan woman called Hanifa, who has an Italian boyfriend, Francesco. So last night I had a rather bizarre evening at the hotel they work in - chatting with an Italian chef, eating pretty authentic Italian pizza, and watching U2 videos in the attic bar!! Not very African, but fun, and maybe it'll help me reacclimatise to Europe ...
And so today is my last whole day in Africa - I'm hoping to catch up with Sarah at some point, if she comes into Moshi, and I might meet up with Hanifa and Francesco this afternoon and go out into the countryside. In the meantime, I'm catching up with the blog and taking it fairly easy. Would be nice if Kili decided to show, will have to wait and see ...
I'll be back in Oxford this Friday night, hopefully, so let me know when you'd like to catch up!
Well, I've nearly come to the end of my African adventure and it's gone way too quickly! I left CCS and Tengeru last Saturday - all a bit sad as I'd got to know some of the volunteers quite well and as most of them live in the US, we're not likely to meet up for a while, if ever. Though having just bumped into Brian from the US, who I'd met in Peru, maybe there's more chance of meeting up again than I thought!
Last Konyagi with Kelly in Club Said, the bar next door to CCS
And even though I'd only been at the nursery school for 2 weeks, it was sad to say goodbye nonetheless - those kids are so full of energy an enthusiasm to learn, and I wish I could have helped them more.
Moivaro Nursery, with teacher Joyce and mama Nay
And as in Peru, they were all a bit young to really understand that I was actually leaving and not coming back. And what made it more strange on my last day, was that the teacher didn't show up as she'd been involved in an accident with a car crashing into a daladala (minibus) she was on the previous day - she'd been to hospital and was ok, but at home off sick, so I only managed to say goodbye to her on the phone. And I was left with all the kids on my own for the whole morning, with only the help of the pastor who was around at times, who spoke hardly any English! I survived, but it was an odd last day ...
And saying goobye to the CCS staff and some of the locals who have become friends was really tough! People are so genuinely friendly here, and I hope we'll manage to keep in touch. I'd like to come back sometime - maybe to climb Kili - anyone interested?! I've met a good guide who'll take us!
So last Saturday I left Tengeru with another volunteer, Sarah, and we caught a flight from Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar. If I'd had more time, I'd have liked to catch the bus to Dar and then take the ferry, but that would have taken nearly 2 days, so not possible this time. So within hours we were thrown into a different world - finding ourselves on a very exotic, hot and humid island, along with a huge number of other tourists! The hotel (Malindi Guest House) we'd booked was fine - great inside but very near the rough port area, with a sign on the door saying don't turn left after 7pm - good job I was here with Sarah!
View of fish market from hotel room
On the Saturday afternoon we just strolled around Stone Town, along the coast and through some of the backstreets - it's a good place for wandering, if you can keep away from the tourist traps. And that evening we had dinner at Mercury's (did you know that Freddie Mercury was born on Zanzibar?) - and we sat outside with a beer and enjoyed the sea views ...
On the Sunday we booked ourselves onto a Spice Tour, and for 10$, we were taken to a spice farm to see, smell, and taste various spices and fruit - cloves, cinnamon, pepper, cardamon, star fruit, jack fruit, lemon grass, nutmeg, and others that I should have noted before as now I can't remember the names! We then had lunch in a local village - very simple, but delicious food - spiced rice, spinach, and vegetable curry. And after a quick trip to a cave that used to be used for hiding slaves when the slave trade hade been made illegal some 100 years ago, we headed for a lovely little beach, with white sand and gorgeous blue sea - perfect!
Clove trees - once Zanzibar's main business, now it's tourism
Local lunch
Relaxing beach, and not a sting-ray in sight ...
That evening we met up with some volunteers, Hayley and Suzy, who had bravely taken the bus from Arusha to Dar and then the ferry, and we ate in a great restaurant where we sat on the floor on cushions and enjoyed some more delicious spicy food.
We had planned to head for the northern coast on the Monday morning as that's where all the nice beaches are, but at 6.30 when the alarm went off, it was pouring with rain! Not quite the plan, so we decided that we'd stay in Stone Town instead, and spent most of the day wandering round the backstreets again, exploring the central market, sitting in cafes relaxing, and hoping that the clouds would clear, but they didn't!
That evening we had the best meal yet - and the cheapest by far! We decided to brave the outside market in Forodhani Gardens, and it was well worth the risk - we had succulent fish kebabs - spicy lobster and tuna, and grilled king fish, with chapatis, spicy potatoes, and coconut bread - quite a feast and all for 6,000 tsh each - about 3 pounds!
Tuesday was our last day on the island, and as we hadn't made it to the beaches in the north, we took a boat out to Changuu (or Prison) Island to see the giant tortoises and to spend some time on a beach - it was wonderfully quiet and exotic, and a great end to our short stay here! And no sting-rays ...
Feeding the 150-year-old tortoise!
We flew back to Kilimanjaro on the Tuesday evening and for the first time I was on my own in Africa! Sarah headed to a village outside Moshi where she has contacts and is going to help them build a school there. And I headed for Moshi - it was actually quite exciting, and really not at all scary, though I'd probably have felt quite different if this was the beginning of my trip. Elly, a friend from Tengeru, had a booked a hotel for me, and before I got there he'd been checking that everything was ok! The hotel is fine, and really very good value for 15$ a night, and would have fantastic views from the roof bar, if only Kili would come out from behind the clouds!!
Yesterday I wandered round Moshi and covered most of it in a few hours - there's not a lot to visit here, and I've pretty much finished with shopping for souvenirs! Elly put me in touch with a friend who works in a hotel here - a nice Kenyan woman called Hanifa, who has an Italian boyfriend, Francesco. So last night I had a rather bizarre evening at the hotel they work in - chatting with an Italian chef, eating pretty authentic Italian pizza, and watching U2 videos in the attic bar!! Not very African, but fun, and maybe it'll help me reacclimatise to Europe ...
And so today is my last whole day in Africa - I'm hoping to catch up with Sarah at some point, if she comes into Moshi, and I might meet up with Hanifa and Francesco this afternoon and go out into the countryside. In the meantime, I'm catching up with the blog and taking it fairly easy. Would be nice if Kili decided to show, will have to wait and see ...
I'll be back in Oxford this Friday night, hopefully, so let me know when you'd like to catch up!
Small world!
I'm now in Moshi, right next to Kilimanjaro, though I haven't seen the mountain since I've been here as it's very cloudy ... and I've just popped into the hotel's internet cafe. And who should I bump into in the cafe but Brian, an American student, who had volunteered in Ayacucho Peru with me last December! Neither of us had any idea that we were in Tanzania, so quite a coincidence. And he'd only popped into the internet cafe for an hour, and is now on his way to go and work with the Maasai ... small world indeed!!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
SOS Children
In my last week volunteering I managed to organise an afternoon trip to the north of Arusha to visit an orphanage run by SOS Children, and Sarah and Kelly came with me. I had found out about this charity before leaving the UK, and had offered to help out with some editing on a voluntary basis when I get back in July. They suggested that I try to visit their village in Arusha - I'm glad I went; it was a very moving experience ...
SOS Children was founded in Sweden in the 1940s and they now have over 100 villages all over the world - 2 in Tanzania - 1 in Zanzibar and 1 relatively new house, started in 2000 in Arusha, and they are hoping to build another in Dar es Salaam too. All the villages are based on the same principles, and it was great to see one in action!
Some of the houses the children live in
We were shown around by a very helpful Mr Molel ... The Arusha village houses 100 orphans who have come from destitute backgrounds - there are 10 houses in the village and each is lived in and run by a 'mother' who looks after up to 10 boys and girls of different ages, who live there together as a family. Siblings always stay together, and the children grow up in the same house - the house we visited had children and a mother who had been living there together for 7 years. The mother is provided with a budget and she is responsible for buying and cooking the food for the children - children help her to shop and cook and so learn about normal family routines. There are bedrooms, each for up to 4 children, and another for the mother - any babies sleep in cots on the same room as the mother - no dormitories here.
In the village there were a lot of green areas to play in, and also a playground and a communal village hall - all very pleasant. SOS Children also runs 3 schools on site - a kindergarten, a primary school, and a secondary school - for the orphans, but also for children in the community who pay subsidised private school fees. We visited the kindergarten which was lovely - another world from the nursery I've been working in! Part of me wished that some of this could be spread around more thinly to more, but then it wouldn't be the same, so maybe better to have a really good model for others to follow?
We also learnt that the orphans keep in touch with any extended family and sometimes go to stay with them in the holidays. Also, when the children are 18 they move into a youth section, and live semi-independenly with a youth leader supervising them. And even when they leave to go to work or university, they keep in touch with SOS Children and are able to contact them for help and advice.
At the end of our tour we spent a while just playing with some of the younger children and they seemed really well adjusted and happy. They are clearly very well cared for and loved here, and despite really sad backgrounds, it's encouraging to see that they are being given a good chance of a happy life. Apparently other orphanages are now trying to follow this model. Tanzania has a long way to go to care for all their orphans, but this gave me hope!
If you want to find out more about this charity, go to: http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/. I've also added the link to the right-hand column.
SOS Children was founded in Sweden in the 1940s and they now have over 100 villages all over the world - 2 in Tanzania - 1 in Zanzibar and 1 relatively new house, started in 2000 in Arusha, and they are hoping to build another in Dar es Salaam too. All the villages are based on the same principles, and it was great to see one in action!
Some of the houses the children live in
We were shown around by a very helpful Mr Molel ... The Arusha village houses 100 orphans who have come from destitute backgrounds - there are 10 houses in the village and each is lived in and run by a 'mother' who looks after up to 10 boys and girls of different ages, who live there together as a family. Siblings always stay together, and the children grow up in the same house - the house we visited had children and a mother who had been living there together for 7 years. The mother is provided with a budget and she is responsible for buying and cooking the food for the children - children help her to shop and cook and so learn about normal family routines. There are bedrooms, each for up to 4 children, and another for the mother - any babies sleep in cots on the same room as the mother - no dormitories here.
In the village there were a lot of green areas to play in, and also a playground and a communal village hall - all very pleasant. SOS Children also runs 3 schools on site - a kindergarten, a primary school, and a secondary school - for the orphans, but also for children in the community who pay subsidised private school fees. We visited the kindergarten which was lovely - another world from the nursery I've been working in! Part of me wished that some of this could be spread around more thinly to more, but then it wouldn't be the same, so maybe better to have a really good model for others to follow?
The kindergarten - a world apart from where I'm working!
We also learnt that the orphans keep in touch with any extended family and sometimes go to stay with them in the holidays. Also, when the children are 18 they move into a youth section, and live semi-independenly with a youth leader supervising them. And even when they leave to go to work or university, they keep in touch with SOS Children and are able to contact them for help and advice.
At the end of our tour we spent a while just playing with some of the younger children and they seemed really well adjusted and happy. They are clearly very well cared for and loved here, and despite really sad backgrounds, it's encouraging to see that they are being given a good chance of a happy life. Apparently other orphanages are now trying to follow this model. Tanzania has a long way to go to care for all their orphans, but this gave me hope!
If you want to find out more about this charity, go to: http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/. I've also added the link to the right-hand column.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Hakuna Matata safari
Aimee, me, Sarah, Temba, Liz B, Liz R, and our Landrover
The weekend safari was brilliant - we had a lot of fun, saw some amazing scenery and a wonderful array of animals! 9 of us went with a local company called Hakuna Matata ('no worries') and the name proved to be a good omen - Elly and Temba, who run the company, plus another guide and a cook (nicknamed Mr Delicious), did a great job, and it all went really smoothly. Elly and Temba don't have much experience as yet, and it's hard to get started in this business as it's so competitive, but they certainly have a lot of enthusiasm and hopefully that'll get them a long way. They certainly deserve to do well, and we were very pleased to be able to support them.
We drove off from Tengeru in 2 Landrovers on the Friday afternoon and after Arusha headed west towards Manyara National Park, stopping off at a snake park with camel riding along the way. This was fun, but certainly not the highlight of the trip. Can't say I took too well to camel riding ... can take that off the list of career options!
One of the more rare and exciting moments was sighting a cheetah that was stalking prey, though while we were there it was not successful in catching anything. I was kind of relieved ...
The following day we went on safari closer to the lodge - in Manyara National Park, and saw a similar selection of animals, but also elephants, and incredibly close to our van! And a lot more monekys - baboons were even beginning to get boring! It was also a prettier terrain, with a large lake and a lot of green forest, which was very pleasant.
And after lunch back at the lodge and a photo shoot with us all wearing our newly acquired Hakuna Matata T-shirts (gifts from Elly and Temba) we headed 'home', wishing we could have stayed longer.
So thanks again to Elly and Temba for a great weekend! Take a look at the Hakuna Matata website at: http://www.hakunamatatatz.com/. I've also added it to the links on the right-hand column. I've offered to help edit Hakuna Matata publicity ... maybe I should add safari guide to my list of career options?
The weekend safari was brilliant - we had a lot of fun, saw some amazing scenery and a wonderful array of animals! 9 of us went with a local company called Hakuna Matata ('no worries') and the name proved to be a good omen - Elly and Temba, who run the company, plus another guide and a cook (nicknamed Mr Delicious), did a great job, and it all went really smoothly. Elly and Temba don't have much experience as yet, and it's hard to get started in this business as it's so competitive, but they certainly have a lot of enthusiasm and hopefully that'll get them a long way. They certainly deserve to do well, and we were very pleased to be able to support them.
We drove off from Tengeru in 2 Landrovers on the Friday afternoon and after Arusha headed west towards Manyara National Park, stopping off at a snake park with camel riding along the way. This was fun, but certainly not the highlight of the trip. Can't say I took too well to camel riding ... can take that off the list of career options!
Then there was a couple of hours' drive through the countryside - passing wide open spaces, mountains in the distance, herds of Maasai cattle along the roadside, and the occasional town or village. The countryside opened out, and for the first time I sensed how vast this country is. Even before we got to a national park, we stumbled across some giraffes just grazing near the roadside - it was quite a surprise and very exciting to see them in the wild! And then our luck struck again when we found a herd of elephants, just strolling along, or whatever elephants do!
We stayed at a place called Twiga Lodge, near Lake Manyara, and got there early evening - in time to wander along the main street before it got dark, though we didn't hang around as the street was full of tourist shops and we were hassled to purchase - it's much more touristy here than in Tengeru! But we did enjoy a tree absolutely full of storks, and as the sun set it was great watching their silhouettes. Maybe I could get into this bird-watching lark after all ...
The next morning we were up early and off by about 8 - headed for the Ngorongoro crater, which took about 2 hours, driving along incredibly bumpy roads (reminded me of Peru!) and for most of the journey we were driving in pretty thick morning mist, with only the odd glimpse of lush green forests, or the odd rugged hill. It was also very dusty, and as the earth is red here, a lot of the roadside and hedges were covered in a thick layer of red dust, and we left a huge trail of dust behind us too. So it was great to finally reach the crater and drop down into it to find some scenery ... and of course some wildlife!
The mist and clouds hung around the ridge of the crater in the morning, but down in the crater visibility was good. I'll add animal photos when I get home, and they'll hopefully speak for themselves (if they are any good) ... It was wonderful to be able to see relatively close-up so many animals that I've never seen in the wild before - zebras, lions, buffalo, wildebeest, flamingos, pelicans, hippos, vervet monkeys, baboons, warthogs, to name a few, and an amazing array of small birds. OK, so the photos aren't anything extraordinary, but they are mine!! I've spared you the blurry blobs ...
One of the more rare and exciting moments was sighting a cheetah that was stalking prey, though while we were there it was not successful in catching anything. I was kind of relieved ...
The following day we went on safari closer to the lodge - in Manyara National Park, and saw a similar selection of animals, but also elephants, and incredibly close to our van! And a lot more monekys - baboons were even beginning to get boring! It was also a prettier terrain, with a large lake and a lot of green forest, which was very pleasant.
And after lunch back at the lodge and a photo shoot with us all wearing our newly acquired Hakuna Matata T-shirts (gifts from Elly and Temba) we headed 'home', wishing we could have stayed longer.
So thanks again to Elly and Temba for a great weekend! Take a look at the Hakuna Matata website at: http://www.hakunamatatatz.com/. I've also added it to the links on the right-hand column. I've offered to help edit Hakuna Matata publicity ... maybe I should add safari guide to my list of career options?
Elly
Temba
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