Week 6 - Zanzibar, Tanzania, Malawi

Saturday, December 29, 2018

A few days of 'vacation' from the trip were scheduled. We were very much looking forward to it. Once again, a real bed with pillows. At 7:00 a.m., our truck took us a few kilometers further towards the city, where we took the ferry to get to the other side of the city. Although it was still early in the morning, the air was already stuffy and hot. Hundreds of people rushed onto the ferry. After about five minutes of crossing, we got off on the other side of the bay. All 30 of us had to get on a bus that took us another five minutes to get to the actual ferry port. Just before New Year, everyone wanted to go to Zanzibar. After checking in our luggage, going through security checks, and waiting some more, we finally made it onto the ship. Luckily, we were there early enough to secure ourselves a seat. Many had to sit on the floor. The nearly two-hour journey had more waves this time, but it was still pleasant. A tip: If you ever take the Azam ferry from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar and have an economy ticket, make sure you get a seat on the upper deck in the middle, as it is shady and has the best air circulation.

Shortly after noon, we finally got through passport control (even though Zanzibar belongs to Tanzania, our passports were still stamped), and we were led through the narrow alleys of Stonetown to our guesthouse, Safari Lodge. Upon arrival, we only had time to quickly store our luggage in the room before we had to continue.

After satisfying our hungry stomachs, we walked through a spice plantation. The tour was very exciting and we got to try many things. Fresh ginger, lemongrass, coffee beans, pepper, cloves, and much more. Fresh cloves are actually very spicy. As a closure, we had various teas before heading back to the city. For those of you who like to drink green tea, add a few drops of vanilla essence. Very tasty.

We were all actually already tired, but our guide still took us on a tour of Stonetown.

After the long-awaited shower, we took a stroll through the night market, had dinner at a local restaurant, and walked back to our guesthouse through the pitch-black, narrow, winding alleys.

Sunday, December 30, 2018

After breakfast on the rooftop terrace of the guesthouse, we strolled through the alleys of Stonetown for a while, took refuge in a café when it started to rain heavily, before we were picked up at 11:30 a.m. to drive to the north. The next destination was Kendwa Beach, a hotel complex with a beautiful beach. Even there, we didn't have much time after arrival. We quickly brought our luggage to the large, ice-cold room, had lunch, and then had a snorkeling tour. Unfortunately, we didn't see much and the jellyfish didn't make snorkeling enjoyable. We quickly returned to shore where we admired the sunset in the crystal-clear water. We had delicious fish for dinner.

Monday, December 31, 2018

The last day of the year was a day off. We had no activities planned. The only important thing that had to be done was laundry. As soon as we entered the room and saw the first sight of the bathroom, the first reaction was 'Oh, two sinks! Perfect for doing laundry'. And as it turned out, we were not the only ones who gave this comment. Well, we campers are easy to please. Two sinks in a hotel room make our hearts beat faster. :-)

We spent the rest of the day swimming and reading. Some of our group got tattoos at the nearby tattoo studio. No, we were not part of that group.

The last sunset of the year was particularly beautiful and perfect for a walk on the long sandy beach.

We had dinner with a large part of our group at the hotel and spent the rest of the night at the beach bar of our hotel until after midnight.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Departure towards Stonetown was at 9:00 a.m. The ferry didn't leave until 12:30 p.m., but we wanted to be early to make sure we had a seat. The plan worked. Everything went smoothly. Just like on the way there, we had to change several times on the way back. We arrived at our campground late in the afternoon. After the tiresome seven-hour journey, it felt like the days in Zanzibar had already ended for days. The freshly charged energy was almost depleted, and we would have needed it for the next two days. After setting up the tents, we had dinner. After the shower, we went to bed. It was already 8:30 p.m...and yet the alarm clock showed that we had less than seven hours until we had to get up again.

A few more words about Zanzibar. We were already in Zanzibar a few weeks ago and we liked it very much back then, just like we do now. The three beaches we visited were very different. Kizimkazi and Kendwa are near Jambiani. The very clear and clean water of Kendwa Beach is perfect for swimming. Plus, this is the only beach in Zanzibar that always has enough water for swimming, regardless of low or high tide.

It's not the same at Jambiani and Kizimkazi. At low tide, the sea recedes very far.

What makes the Kizimkazi beach more exciting is that there are beautiful corals with many fish within swimming distance. Kendwa Beach, just like Jambiani, is very touristy. Especially around New Year's Eve, all hotel rooms were fully booked.

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

The alarm clock rang at 3:20 a.m. Breakfast at 3:45 a.m. and departure at 4:30 a.m. The beautiful time on the island of Zanzibar was over. We are back to 'everyday' life. If you can call it that. We had a long journey ahead of us. We crossed the Mikumi National Park, where you can observe animals at the roadside. To our surprise, we even saw lions. A lioness calmly crossed the road and forced us to slow down. A nice change during the long day of driving. We arrived in Iringa after sunset. We spent the night at a campground known for its hot chocolate with Amarula. Before going to bed very early again, we all treated ourselves to a delicious drink with chocolate brownie.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Another strenuous day awaited us. We left the camp at 5:00 a.m. and had to cross the border to Malawi. We had 495 kilometers ahead of us. What may not be much by Swiss standards differs in Africa. Before 9:00 a.m., we were stopped three times by cops. We were familiar with the game from the past few weeks. There are different tricks. Cops try to supplement their salary by stopping particularly overland tourist buses. The reason is supposed to be speeding. They show a photo of the truck with the alleged recorded speed. However, often a different AfricaTravel truck is shown on the photo. Recognizable by the license plate... It can also be seen that the photo was forwarded via WhatsApp. Sometimes it is a photo of our truck that was taken just before from some bushes and sent to the cop via WhatsApp. Even though our driver Steve is already aware of the trick, he often can't avoid paying a bribe. The 'cops' are playing for time and know that a settlement of the matter at the often-far police post is not a welcome solution for the travel groups. There is simply no time planned for it and no one wants to subject tourists to an afternoon at the police station, which often results in payment after longer discussions (about 90 Swiss francs).

The border crossing to Malawi went relatively smoothly for us. Only the papers for the truck took longer, so we had to wait for three hours in the end.

After a total of 11 hours of driving + 3 hours of waiting, we finally arrived at the campground in Chitimba. Before dinner, we met at the bar for our first local beer. You can get it here for about 1 Swiss franc.

Such long driving days drain our energy a bit. And when it is mentioned at the evening briefing that we are making packed lunches, our mood is completely in the gutter. Packed lunch means that we prepare our sandwiches in the morning before eating breakfast. So, we don't even stop for lunch. The only short stops are the toilet stops on the side of the road (bush toilets). In addition, we can no longer stand the sight of sandwiches. For four weeks now, we have been eating sandwiches for lunch... and since we saw the inside of the cooling box, we no longer eat cheese or cold cuts. The last few days felt like having taken a long-haul flight every day. But without food and entertainment program, but on a road with potholes. African massage ;-)

Friday, January 4, 2019

As mentioned before, we crossed the border to Malawi on Tuesday. With its 12 million inhabitants, Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Africa. A major attraction of Lake Malawi was on our program. Lake Malawi covers 20% of the total area of the country. We left our camp at 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Kande Beach on the shore of Lake Malawi in the late afternoon. We treated ourselves to an upgrade and instead of setting up our tent, we moved into a bungalow with to view the lake.

Although the opposite shore, and therefore the country of Mozambique, is 'only' 84 kilometers away, you can't see anything. It feels like being at the sea.

Saturday, January 5, 2019

There was a strong thunderstorm during the night. We woke up, but quickly fell asleep again. Luckily, our thatched roof was waterproof. The snowy white sandy beach and the beautiful lake are tempting. We rented a surfboard and paddled to the small island that is about 1 kilometer from the shore. The water is very clear and warm, and therefore also treacherous. There is a high probability that you will contract parasites while bathing in the lake, which can lead to a worm infection. Therefore, many people in our group did not set foot in the lake. However, since the worm infection can be easily treated with tablets, we decided to take a swim and then take the tablets recommended after 6 weeks to kill any potential worms. It was good to have a day without sitting in the truck.