Crazy Crazy Time In Tanzania

The Plan

As I said in the last blog, our plan was to reach Mahale, which is a park in the western part of Tanzania where you can track chimpanzees. The park lies on lake Tanganyka, near the small town of Kigoma, and can only be reached by a steamboat ferry that runs once a week in every direction. The only other way is by a private boat or private plane... There are no buses into Kigoma, but there is a train from Dar Es Salaam, however it runs once a week and we will be a day late. There is only one flight into Kigoma and it goes from Mwanza, which is a town on the shore of lake Victoria. So, we will take a (12 hours) bus to Mwanza and from there catch the flight. We could only get a flight the same day as the ferry, but we should still have enough time. On our way back we will simply take the train to Dar.

Getting to Kigoma

We got to the bus station in Arusha, to lay eyes on the shabbiest bus we have ever seen. It also made funny noises jumping on the poor dirt road. And indeed, after about 2 hours, boiling water started springing off the dashboard (!!) and we were stuck. After and hour or so at the side of the road, other passengers started deserting, finding other measures of transportation. A bus stopped next to us, and in a moment's decision we got on it. We squeezed our way in, to find there are no seats available... They made a guy give his seat to me, I'm a lady after all. But Amit had to sit on the floor. half pressing against my legs, half against the dozen or so other men sitting on the floor, and hitting the hard floor with every bump in the awful road. It was the worst ride imaginable.

We reached Mwanza and took a really nice hotel, with an amazing view of the lake and a really good restaurant, determined to never again put ourselves in such a situation. The next day we took the flight and got to the ferry offices in Kigoma. "Sorry" said the nice man at the counter, "the ferry does not leave today. It only runs twice a month now. Only next week will there be a ferry". We were shocked. How about the train to Dar? "The train runs as scheduled, but there is only third class on it". Third class means a hard wooden bench with enough space to sit on for 3 days. I had tears in my eyes.

We went to an expensive hotel that arranges trips to Mahale, as well as the smaller and closer park - Gombe. It turns out it will cost us about 3,000$ to get their boat to take us to Mahale, and "only" 1,000$ to get to Gombe. We were about to give up when we learned there is a group going to Gombe for two nights and one day in a couple of hours, and we can join the boat for 400$. We weighed our options - going back now - declaring this to be nothing but a loss of time, money and a some hairs on our heads - or... So we went to Gombe for one day, instead of Mahale for three days.

Gombe

We reached a small building in the forest, next to an amazingly clear watered beach. There was only one tourist there besides us (the rest of the people went to the rich camp - 475$ per person per night). The next day we went into the forest and found a family of chimps, resting and playing. They were amazingly like us - the old grandma was taking care of the 5 days baby, the two 2 year old twins were playing and making a mess. demanding attention until one of the elders pulled them down from the vines as if saying - I have told you a thousand time, stop making a mess!! They went back to playing immediately, taking no notice of the elder angry pulls. After an hour or so, they decided to move to a different place, and walked right next to us. One of the two year olds hanging from grandmas back and staring at us with wide eyes. Then one of the adolescent chimps, stopped next to me and started licking my bag (probably due to salt), pulling the string, rubbing it's finger against the net. I had to resist the temptation to reach out my hand and touch him. The guide pulled us away, and as I took my bag the chimp was taken aback, stared at me for a few seconds, then moved on. It was amazing. We finished the day with a nice long dip in the lake and the next morning got back to Kigoma, from which we took a flight (through Mwanza) to Dar.

The future

We are now in Mtwara, which is in south Tanzania on the coast near the river forming the border between Tanzania and Mozambique. We still need to figure out how to cross the border, something about a ride to the river then canoe to the other side then another ride on the other side? All this and more in the next post of... Lost In Africa  :)

Three Sunsets And Three Sunrizes In Northern Tanzania

We are now back in Arusha, in northern Tanzania. But wait! What are we doing here?!?! I thought we were only going to pass through Tanzania on our way to Mozambique! Indeed that was the plan, but then we realized that we are going to pass in perhaps the most beautiful country in Africa, with the highest mountain in Africa (Kilimanjaro), the second deepest freshwater lake in the world (Tanganyika), amazing wildlife and many many more and not see anything? As some people told us - we must be mad! So we decided we should be sane and spend a few weeks in Tanzania.

So instead of heading south, we headed north, to the capital of Safaris - Arusha. Getting out of the 12 hours bus is a shock, dozens of people approaching you 'safari? do you want a safari? where are you from? painting? jewelry? Maasai? how are you? where are you going?' and so on and on and on... After a couple of days they recognize your face and leave you alone, but the first hours walking around the city are challenging.

We decided on a 4 days safari with a well reviewed company and then we were on our way... We had with us our great guide Masawi and our wonderful cook Solomon.

First we went to Tarangire, this amazing park is known for it's large elephant population, and indeed we have seen many many elephants, including a particularly hilarious scene of a female elephant who suddenly got angry at a few zebras and started running towards them, making it's trumpet like sound and flapping it's ears angrily. We almost fell off our seats laughing as the zebras ran away hysterically. We also saw dik-diks who, at shoulder height of 30-40cm, are the smallest antelopes in Africa and the beautifully patterned maasai giraffes.

Next we went to meet the Hadzabe and Datoga people who live in the area. The Hadzabe are also called bushmen, and like the San they are hunter-gatherers. They live in temporary huts they make out of grass and refuse to leave their traditional life style. So we went hunting with them. It was an interesting and funny experience - funny because they smoke pot all day. Yes, you read correctly, about every 2 hours they did a joint break. But they were sharp when hunting - spotting a small antelope, surrounding it and sneaking up on it - though eventually it managed to get away.

Last, but definitely not least, we went to Ngorongoro Crater. It is an old volcano who collapsed in, leaving a crater with extremely fertile land. Many animals live there and cannot go out of the crater. We have seen many lions and hippos, buffaloes and wildebeest. And then an amazing and horrifying thing happened in front of our eyes - from a far we saw a wildebeest running chased by a smaller animal who turned out to be a spotted hyena. We were thinking the hyena must be mad - the wildebeest is more than 3 times it's size and indeed it seemed as if the wildebeest is getting away. But then, as they crossed the road in front of us, the hyena caught up on the wildebeest and grabbed it's lower belly. The wildebeest tried to shake it off, dragging it along and attacking it with his horns in a crazy dance. The hyena persisted, until the wildebeest fell to the ground. Then, in front of our horrified eyes, the hyena started eating the wildebeest alive. Unlike the big cats, the hyena cannot kill such a large animal with a single act. So it simply starts eating it, as the wildebeest cries in agony, until the wildebeest fell completely quiet. It was a crazy scene and it still hangs in our minds two days after.

Now, before going to Mozambique, we are heading towards Mahale National Park, where we hope to track some chimpanzees...

Crossing a continent with a wonderful stop in the middle

I'm now writing from Dar Es Salaam, on the Indian ocean, far far away from where we were a week ago...

First we took a bus from Windhoek, Namibia to Livingstone, Zambia. The bus left Windhoek 30 minutes late and as we were leaving the city we were informed that we will be two and a half hours late. It still puzzles us how can we be more than two hours behind if we just left... Eventually we were three and a half hours late, so instead of 19 hours we were on the bus from more than 22 hour... Through most of the ride, there were missionary songs, movies and sermons in the TV and loudspeakers. One show recommended the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, saying it was a very christian movie about self redemption...

Tired and feeling a little brainwashed we reached Livingstone. We got to our hostel - Jollyboys Backpackers, a really awesome place with an awesome shake called Funky Monkey, I will leave it to your imagination to guess what's in it... The next day we took a shuttle to Victoria Falls. WOW!!! It was an amazing sight to see! Obviously, standing on the cliff opposite the falls and 50 meters away, we got soaking wet! There is a small bridge you cross, in front of the falls to a smaller "island", everyone runs through it 'cause you have no shelter from the heavy "rainfall". Crossing that bridge, I have noticed one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen in my whole life. The sunlight was broken by the immense spatter of water to create a rainbow, strongly shining on the trees and rocks just beneath me. But, maybe because I was standing on a bridge, I could see the rainbow completing a magnificent full circle of color, at times so vivid - a second , fader circle showed on the outskirts of the first. I have never seen anything quite like it!

The next day we took the 6 hours bus to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, where we spent the night. Then a two and a half hours bus to Kapiri Mposhe, which is the station from which we finally took the almost 48 hours train to Dar Es Salaam.

Let me start by saying, we got got to Dar almost 10 hours late, partly due to the part where the train breaks apparently stopped working and we had to wait for a new locomotive. Regardless, this train ride was one of the best things we did here in Africa and I would strongly recommend anyone taking it. The train had a bar and a restaurant. The view from the train is spectacular, and at every station we stopped, people with different goods were passing outside and we bought all sorts of things through the window - 4 different types of bananas, passion fruits, mangos, baked goods, sugar canes - you get the picture. Most of the time we spent in our cabin, reading or simply looking out the window, enjoying the view. It was so much fun, we felt we could go on and on.

So what is next? Another bus of course (to Arusha) and then... More adventures!

From Here To There

So we are back in Windhoek, got rid of the car, sent a package back to Boston, said goodbye to Namibia and in a few hours we will be on our way to Zambia - light as a feather once more. I have tried to upload some pictures to this blog but technology is evil, especially with the (very) slow connection here, but you can find  a small sample on Facebook. If you don't have facebook... Then I guess you'll have to wait 3 more months for the full version  :)

As I mentioned before, in a few hours we will be taking the bus to Victoria falls, this time only 19 hours - no  biggy. We will probably spend a few days in Livingstone, Zambia (the small city adjacent to the falls) before we will take another bus to where we will be taking the 3 days train to Dar As Salaam, Tanzania. Does it sound like a long journey? I imagine it will be.

So how was the trip so far?It was amazing and difficult and giving and demanding and many more things all at the same time. There were difficult moments, when we were all alone in a deserted campsite, it's 6pm and already dark, very cold and still many hours to sunrise. Times when we encountered unpleasant people or felt ill. And many moments when we found ourselves missing the people close to us, yearning to share and communicate. Longing to spent a night with our families over a Friday dinner. And there were amazing moments, when we encounter something magnificent, when we met amazing people and got small but beautiful glimpses into cultures so different and so unique. And there are simply moments of happiness - for having a world of unknown surprises at our doorstep and for not having a doorstep at all.

People, Animals and Amazing Places

After the last post we drove to Tsumkwe, which is a small city in the middle of the Kalahari where many of the Ju/'Hoansi (a tribe of the San, also sometimes known as Bushmen) live today. It was a deep and very interesting experience, and it will be hard to describe it in a short text like this. We visited a traditional village, where we saw the way they used to live, we sat down with one family to learn and experience their way of doing craft, and we also joined a traditional, short hunting trip (in which we didn't encounter any animals). Communication was not easy, reflecting the significant cultural differences. The 3 days we spent there were challenging in many ways, and yet a day after we left we already felt ready to go back. It is interesting since it was not easy, but somehow those people in the desert left a significant impression on us.

After we left Tsumkwe we went to the Caprivi in the far northern tip of Namibia - we went to visit the Mafwe tribe. There is something called the living museum for some tribes in Namibia. The idea is that you can go there to see the traditional way of life of the tribe (and also the modern village if you wish) and so generate a source of income for the community that also help them preserve their traditional life style. As you can see in the website for the Mafwe, it is open all year round and you can just come. So we did. We arrived towards dark to a beautiful strange place, where there was a traditional village - completely empty - in the heart of a Baobab trees forest. We decided to go look for the people in the near by villages the next morning, and for now camped in this isolated magical spot. In the morning, after some more misunderstanding, we met an old lady that signaled us that she will go call the others...

We came to see their traditional craft, but as they arrived they immediately changed to their traditional cloths and assumed we came to see the signing and dancing, while we were failing to explain what we came for. So we did (in addition to the craft), and it was an amazing experience! They seemed to have as much fun as we did, and they saw us off singing druming and clapping at the sides of the road.

We then started to make our way towards Botswana. We slept in a place near the Okavango river - just before it turns into the Okavango delta in Botswana. During the night we could hear the hippos near by. What does a hippo sounds like? LOUD. A little like a motor boat trying to start. In the morning we drove through the Mahango national park in which we saw (among other animals) a lion and a lioness, sitting at the side of the road, and just 30 meters behind, a family of warthogs peacefully grazing. Once the lioness saw them though, she chased them away - though it seemed mostly to scare them off than to hunt them...

We passed the border to Botswana and reached Maun, from which we took a 2 days Mokoro ride in the delta - it was an interesting experience, slowly sailing through the high reeds, seeing elephants, zebras, babboons and many other animals on the small islands, though it did not match the delta's magnificent reputation. At night, near the fire a tiny frog (as long as my little finger) decided to come sit on my nee and enjoy the fire.

We will start our way back to Windhoek Namibia, where we will return the car and start making our way to Victoria falls and beyond...

Africa after all

After the last post we realized we are in a bit of a crisis. As I mentioned, I didn't really know what to say, and that is in part because the trip did not turn into a complete experience, but rather remained a scattered collection of experiences. We realized that up to that point, we mostly encountered an experience of tourism, western style and expensive. Yes, the landscapes were beautiful at times, but the drives were very long, and we realized that to really enjoy Namibia from that aspect, you need to focus more and spend more money - eating at good restaurants and sleeping in super classy lodges. Once we realized this however, we shifted our trip a little - we remembered that what we mainly came to Africa for is the cultural experience, and Amit's research seemed almost out of place. But then things started to change...

So we gave up on a few touristy sites and headed north west - to the land of the Himba. They are an ancient tribe of cattle growers, and they have kept most of their traditional life style. The women cover their skin and hair in red ochre, and they have many beautiful jewelry they make and ware. We feared it will be mostly for tourists, not authentic, but we found the contrary - they live their life the way they want to, they do not speak English at all (we had a translator) and it is difficult for them since they take out the front teeth for their own language. They are warm, happy people and we had a wonderful time meeting them. We got all the way up to Opuwo, and there we finally found something else. It is a small colorful town, we came on a Friday afternoon and the streets were crowded - the markets were full of people, buying and selling on the dirt roads between the small unordered buildings. There were people dressed in a western style, red, semi-naked Himba and the Herero, which their cultural dress is this! Crazy no? It was "brought" to them by the European who were horrified by their nakedness, and is now their cultural dress...

We then went to Etosha, and saw some amazing animals including elephants (huge!), giraffes, rhinos, hyenas and many others.

Finally, last night we stopped at a village of Bushman people who used to live in Etosha. They were hunters-gatherers, but now they can no longer hunt. They are forced into settled life, and unlike the Himba, who were able to keep their ways due to the fact that cattle growers can more easily fit into modern life style, they have lost their way. There is little place in our world for nomads who have no concept of possession. We visited a village, and met some people. They are very gentle, quite people. It was sad and moving - they miss their old life style, they do not fit in the new world and their amazing culture is vanishing. Despite their gentle smiles, you see sadness and despair. It is a sad thing for us, I believe, that in our grand concept of progress, we are loosing so much - languages, cultures, diversity. We found ourselves "missing a culture we never knew" (see the motorcycle diaries).

To hear more on Amit's research you should ask him  :)

The Grande Plan, the Petit Plan and What's Going On

So, Amit pointed out that many people might not know what are our plans for the trip and such and so will not understand where we are going and why so here is comes...

The Grand Plan
Our grand plan is a circular voyage in southern Africa, starting and ending at South Africa. We started, as you know, at Cape Town where we traveled the southern coast for about a week. We then went up to Namibia, where we will be travelling for a total of 5 weeks.

Next we will be taking a bus to Victoria Falls in Zambia, from which we will take a train (that lasts a few days) to Dar Es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania (which is technically part of eastern, not southern Africa). At this point we will start our way back south, crossing into Mozambique on it's northern border with Tanzania, making our way down on the coast. So you ask,why is this not in the map I linked?? Because there is no driving route - you stop at the border in Tanzania to sign the papers, walk to the river and take a boat to the other side, then walk to the border there. But yesterday someone told us about this really cool 3 days boat ride from Zambia into Mozambique through Lake Malawi, so who knows :)

Once in Mozambique, we might be very happy laying on the beach for about a month and do nothing but read good books and eat good food, or we might still have the bug and will continue on to travel in Swaziland and Lesotho. Lesotho being the only country completely surrounded by another country, no other border - just South Africa. And from there back home!

That's it. Now you know the Grand Plan.

The Petit Plan - Namibia
 So the plan in Namibia is fairly simple - we started fro the Fish River in the south, then through Sesriem making our way north, perhaps stopping at the Himba people in the north west.Then we will start our way east through Etosha to the Kalahari to meet the San and into Botswana to the Okavango delta. Then back to Windhoek.

Other Stuff - Namibia So Far
When I set to write this post I did it because I haven't written in a while, but the truth is I don't really know how to define the passed week we have been on the roads here in Namibia. It is long long drives in sometimes breathtaking landscapes. Sometimes without seeing another car pass by for hours. It is full of unexpected surprises, like a stop we did to see a Quivertree forest, which are odd looking trees set against odd looking rock formations, but amongst them was a weird and crazy art work - peoples figures made of scraps driving cars and doing pull ups, it looked like an hallucination. Or the time we stopped at a camp and got some wood, made dinner on the open fire (yummy  shakshuka!) and the night was so cold we shivered through it, to find a thick layer of frost on our tent! Or when we went to see the champions league final at a sport pub here - I have never seen more expressive fans. They jumped, danced, hugged and cried. The owner was a Manchester fan and closed the tv everytime Barca scored as protest, it was awesome! So you see, it is just a combination of many experiences, some good some bad, like life but denser  :)