Tanzania - Zanzibar

This morning we ventured across to Prison Island in a Dhow (local wooden boat). Prison Island is an island about half an hour from Stone Town by boat and was originally built as a prison for badly behaved slaves but was never used for this purpose. Instead it was used as a quarantine isolation point for any boat travelling to Zanzibar. The main building was utilised as a hospital and the diseased bodies were cremated on the island instead of being buried for fear of spreading disease to Zanzibar.

Also on Prison Island are a large number of tortoises some of which are over 150yrs old and weigh up to 300kg. We were able to feed them and one of the younger ones (age 30) really enjoyed a scratch on his head.

After exploring the Island we were taken out a short distance for some snorkelling. The visibility was very good, and there was quite a number of tropical fish to see.... including a lot of “Nemo’s”. Unfortunately Brii felt like she was being bitten or stung by something repeatedly in the water so she got out quite early, but we still both enjoyed ourselves.

On returning to Stone Town we boarded a mini bus bound for the north of the island, to an area called Nungwi. The trip was just over 1h and quite a pleasant drive through many small villages and tropical landscape.

We settled in to our bungalows which were to be our home for the next 3 nights and were thankfully slightly better than our previous nights accommodation. Our first dinner was on the sand overlooking the stunning blue water and spectacular sunset. Aaah, a holiday within a holiday!! 

Tanzania - Zanzibar

We had to travel back on the ferry across to Dar Es Salaam and then get onto another ferry to Zanzibar all by 10.30.

The ferry to Zanzibar was over 2h, crowded, hot, and stuffy, not very pleasant :-). But the arrival on Zanzibar was worth it! Zanzibar is known as the “Spice Island” of Africa and sits at approximately the same latitude as the Solomon Islands. The water is crystal clear and blue. The weather is tropical and warm. It really is worth the visit.

We spent our afternoon doing the “Spice Tour” which involved a delicious traditional lunch flavoured by the local spices and consisting of fried King Fish, curried Green Banana, steamed Cassava leaves, spiced rice, and a sauce for the rice which resembled Dhal but we aren’t sure. After lunch we went to a spice farm and walked through the crops seeing all of the spices in their natural state. It was very interesting. 

We left the farm and visited the remains of the Sultans palace where he housed his 14 secondary wives. You could still see the bed chambers, the toilets, and the bath houses. 

The final part of the tour was a visit to the historical site of the Slave Market. This site now holds the Anglican Church but the holding cells which held the slaves before being brought up for sale are still intact and housed under a neighbouring building. In the church, near the altar, is an area which is still remnant of the days of the slaves. It is the ground where the “Whipping Pole” stood. As the slaves were brought from the holding cells to be sold they were lashed to a tree known as the whipping pole and then repeatedly whipped. If a slave cried out during his whipping he was perceived to be weak and his price went down, if he made no noise he was strong and his price rose. Seeing these cells and hearing these stories was disturbing and very moving.

After dinner we explored the night market which is a food market on the water’s edge in the centre of Stone Town. It was surprisingly clean and hygienic looking and it was unfortunate that we had all filled up at the restaurant.

Tanzania - Dar Es Salaam

Another long day in the truck today bound for Dar Es Salaam. Dar Es Salaam is the former capital of Tanzania but is still a large bustling coastal city and is our gateway to Zanzibar.

Along the way to Dar Es Salaam we drove through the Baobab Valley. This is a valley of Baobab trees some of which are over 1000yrs old. They were spectacular!

Tanzania - Iringa Farm House

Awake before sunrise this morning prepared for a long day in the truck. We left Malawi and crossed the border into Tanzania. We spent 10h travelling today heading for Iringa Farm House, which was our next campsite.

Malawi - Lake Malawi

A group of us rose early this morning to make the walk up the nearby mountain to Livingstonia for a bit of exercise and to check out the museum about the history of the missionaries in the area. The walk was about 25-30km round trip which we completed in about 7h. It was quite challenging on the way up the mountain and we were all glad that we left as early as we did as it was extremely hot by the time we got back to camp at 1pm.

After lunch we cooled off in the lake playing with some local kids which was really fun. The kids were very talkative and not shy at all.

The rest of the afternoon we played cards, and Brii tried her hand at hairdressing by cutting our resident hairdresser’s hair with his guidance of course :-).

Malawi - Lake Malawi

We left Kande Beach this morning with a slightly sour taste in our mouths as 4 of us had arranged for Malawi tables to be carved and delivered but they failed to appear. Thankfully we had only paid 500 Kwacha each so far (approx 3USD) and with the help of our tour guide we got this back from other village locals who said they would sort it out... mmmm... local justice.

Along the way we stopped at some markets which are famous for Malawian Chairs and Tables, as well as a range of other carvings. The chairs and tables were gorgeous. The entire group had a ball and bought quite a lot. 

We arrived at our next campsite at Chitimba Beach, still on Lake Malawi, in the late afternoon.

Malawi - Kande Beach

This morning we went for a village walk through Mbamba Village which neighbours the campsite. During our visit we learnt about the local crops, Cassava and Corn mainly, the methods to make bricks to build their houses, and a little about village life and the way the village functions day to day. We visited the primary school which has an attached orphanage. The school puts the orphans through school when they can afford to as the government gives them no assistance. The school is funded for 3 teachers by the government but has over 1000 students. This means that sometimes the teachers are standing in front of a class of over 200 students.... an absolutely unfathomable challenge.

We also visited the local clinic, another phenomenal feat for the staff! They have a catchment area of 39000 people and see around 180 patients per day. They do not have a doctor, only one nurse/midiwife and a medical assistant. And yes, they do deliveries here, unfortunately we couldn’t see inside the birthing unit as there was a patient. They have only one road ambulance for the district and their nearest referral hospital is over 100km away. This hospital has a catchment of over 500, 000 people but still only has one doctor! This information just blew us away!

During the tour we met lots of the local children as it is school holidays here at the moment and we also were accompanied by some of the local boys/ young men who explained a lot about different things as we walked. It was a great way to spend the morning!