We’re writing from the Meserani Snake Park, near Arusha, where we
are based for a couple of days while
most of the group are out visiting the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. We’ve
been from beaches to animals, back to beaches, and now back to animals. So here
it is in a bit more detail.
Lake Malawi provided some beautiful sunrises for those who made the
effort to get up early enough. It was also a wonderful place to do some
chilling on the lake, swimming, snorkelling, even diving for Di and Martin, as
well as meeting the friendly Malawians and showing them some of our newly
learnt circus tricks. Yip, we are in training on Athena, led by Mike who has
encouraged a juggling craze. This is not new this year, we’ve been at it for a
while, with Di sewing home-made juggling balls so we’ve got several sets on
board to practise with during lunch breaks and pit-stops. There are a couple of
people with head-starts like Rogan, Martin and Mike, who already knew how to
juggle. Jon is doing well, observing the tricks of a juggling guru spotted in
Dar, and Dave has been seen practising in secret. All fun and games – watch
this space for the juggling event coming up in a couple of weeks!
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| Mat demonstrating his juggling skills |
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| Football on the shores of Lake Malawi |
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| A swarm of flies over Lake Malawi |
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| Mango sellers |
Kande Beach on Lake Malawi was also a great place to see in the new
year. With the help of Julius Caesar and his brother Banjo, we did a pig on the
spit which was an all-day affair, slow roasting it from about 9 in the morning.
This was followed by the Cardboard Box Game, which really pushed most of us to
the limits. Basically, start with an empty cereal box on the ground, which
everyone has a go at bending down and picking up with their mouth. No hands or
knees allowed to touch the ground. Once everyone’s done it, tear off an inch
and try again. It didn’t take long for some to reach their limits, but the yoga
poses and attempts were quite incredible. The game continued to below ground
level – seriously, we dug a pit which Al fell in to, trying to reach the box,
just before Ana took all and stretched further than anyone else could. Surely
it because she’s closer to the ground?
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| We know it's Adam, but we don't know why... |
From Malawi, we headed into Tanzania. Off the beaten track from
Iringa, we journeyed along another bumpy road to get to Ruaha National Park.
Ellies, giraffes, lesser kudu, bat-eared foxes and – wait for it – a pride of
lions chewing on elephant hide. It was a good day :).
Dar es Salaam is far from the ‘haven of peace’ that its name
describes. More like chaotic, with hectic traffic! We celebrated Abby’s
birthday a day early here, while we were still altogether, before Dave headed
off to climb Kilimanjaro and the rest of us went to Zanzibar.
Zanzibar was time for a bit of a holiday from truck life. Time to
explore and do your own thing (which probably included getting lost in the maze
of narrow streets in Stone Town). No cooking, no tents – and some people’s
first night in a bed since we left Cape Town!
Graham, Rogan, Adam, Martin, Monique and Lee decided to get bikes to explore the island with. Monique’s turned out to have a chauffer option as opposed to self-drive, Lee quit (wisely) before he got too many more injuries, and the others worked their way through all the police checks with whatever documentation and money they had – sure Martin and Adam have a couple of stories for you... They also seemed to like posing with their bikes – riding off into the sunset in Zanzibar. Sorry guys, had to be said.
(and these were just some of the photos they took!)
Back in Dar, Denise rejoined us and for some it was like Christmas –
she’d taken orders and wish-lists to be purchased while she was back in
England, and came bearing cameras, kindles and definitely much cleaner clothes
than the rest of ours! Unfortunately, we had to say cheers to Lee here and as was
said to him on his departure, Lee and his generosity in Africa will be missed,
along with his representation in the Canadian team. Ja Ja Canada.
That, and a couple more long driving days - with a clear sighting of Kili - pretty much brings us to where we are now. We'll be in Kenya in a couple of days and from there we're headed for Uganda and Rwanda, and then back to Kenya to experience some really bad roads - among other things!
