Cairo to Cape Blog
17 - 31 January 2009
Zanzibar was truly a fantastic place to relax for a while and take a break from traveling. It was great to spend a few days in a nice hotel only a few feet away from the warm ocean, munch on fabulous seafood and drink bright colored cocktails.
Living Up To Expectations
From the north beaches we headed toward Stone Town but not without taking a few hours to explore the spice plantations. Babu, our local guide and budding young chef, took the group on a magical tour through the plantations; a chance to pick and taste fresh tamarind, munch on the seeds from the cinnamon tree, grind some cardamom and if that was not enough climb a coconut tree and feast on a traditional Zanzibar meal in an open eating area.
We arrived in Stone Town in the afternoon and while Hans and Ingrid went to rest for a while (not feeling the best in the heat), I took Fred, Sue, Russ and Jenny on a little tour of Stone Town while Peter and Linda downloaded photos (were really taking advantage of air con and cable television in the hotel room!).
Place Of No Return
Stone Town is a great little town nestled between plantations and the ocean. It is hard to imagine this was the "place of no return" for slaves taken from the East African coast. Slaves would be taken to Zanzibar for the slave auctions, once sold they were loaded onto large ships and taken to Europe, America, South America, Middle East basically anywhere in the World their labor was required. The haunting history of Stone Town is enough to make you shiver, the old slave castle and market are reminders of what the Island was most famous for.
Most people are not aware of another piece of useless information...Freddy Mercury from the band Queen was born on Zanzibar! There is a restaurant/bar in his honor on the waterfront; the décor is a dedication to the great performer and if you request nicely they will play Queen's greatest hits for you. We had a meal at Mercury's in honor of the great performer...
 Spice Tour, Zanzibar |
 Peter and Russ Suited Up |
Back to the mainland
We spent the morning on a walking tour of Stone Town before boarding the ferry back to the mainland to rejoin Thiemo and Francis. The ferry ride was remarkably smooth and quick; by 4pm we were back at Mikadi Beach soaking in the swimming pool.
Where The Malawi Are We
With the best of the best seen and done in Tanzania it was now time to continue our journey West to the poor and mostly unknown Malawi.
We took 3 days to drive across Tanzania. On the way we game drove through Mikumi National Park, although it was the middle of the day, game was everywhere, including a family of 4 elephants grazing by the road side. We spent 1 night in Baobab valley on the banks of Ruaha River and 1 night up in the highlands at a working Tanzanian farm before dropping back down the shores of Lake Malawi.
The border crossing was extraordinary quick and painless. The local money changing boys showed just how persistent one could be running after the vehicles and hanging onto the side mirrors while negotiating a rate.
Sue and Russ were the first to leave the border after the formalities. The first police check point stopped Russ for driving over the white line, this is (apparently) a very serious offence in Malawi, Russ apologized only to be told apologizing was an offence also! 20 minutes of talking his way through and finally the Police realized a bribe was not forthcoming and let them pass. Thanks Russ, you made it easy for the rest of us following.
Slice Of Paradise
Along the shores of Lake Malawi are several little gems of places to stay. The one we love to go to is near the town of Chitimba about 2 hour drive from the border. A tiny eco-lodge built on a cliff with its own private sandy beach; the views spectacular, rooms very comfortable and hospitality unbeatable. We arrived at about the same time the rain clouds did creating a mad panic to get our cooking shelter up; the rain beat us in the race and Thiemo and I were rather soaked - at least the air was warm and to be honest the free shower was welcomed. Luckily our charcoal BBQ fire survived long enough for me to BBQ our pork chops for dinner; the rain did not let up and several hours later was still bucketing down. The first real rain we have experienced in 3 months of traveling...
Livingstonia
Up high in the highlands of Malawi is a little settlement called Livingstonia. The name itself indicates a tribute to the great explorer himself; David Livingstone. David Livingstone spent very little time in Malawi itself although he did make several trips across the land preaching anti-slavery and messages from the Bible. A missionary man as well as an early explorer the Malawians and fellow missionaries praised his work across southern Africa. Hence the settlement Livingstonia named in his honor; Livingstone never visited the settlement but a group of missionaries relocated a monastery from Blantyre to Livingstonia. The monastery still stands today and represents the work and dedication Livingstone had to the African people. Sue, Russ, Peter and Linda braved the rain for a look around and a spot of lunch. The settlement overlooks the shores of Lake Malawi, perched high in the mountains the views definitely are worth the effort.
In the meantime Hans, Jenny, Ingrid and Fred hired a catamaran for a spot of sailing on Lake Malawi.
Kande Beach
We continued further along the lake to Kande Beach for a couple of days chilling out. Most of the group opted for a spot of fishing using traditional lines with a few local boys while the others snorkeled around the Island. Snorkeling in fresh water and spotting bright fish feels like you are in a huge aquarium! A visit to the local school, clinic and dinner at the chief's house topped off our stay at Kande nicely.
With the heavens still opening most days it is time to head further south and get through the wet band...South Luangwa National Park in Zambia is our next stop.
Impossible Roads
South Luangwa National Park is Zambia's number 2 tourist attraction; second only to the mighty Victoria Falls however the road to access the park is the worst road we travel on through Southern Africa. Large holes, heavy corrugations, narrow boggy strips, sharp rocks and deep ravines cut through heavy tropical rain for approximately 40kms. We had been told in Lilongwe the road was impassable before meeting a Dutch couple who had just come from the park telling us it is bad but they managed to get through. So the next morning we left Lilongwe at 7am ready to cross into Zambia and tackle the road; the plan was simple - see how we go...
The first 50kms we pretty good; the Chinese had built a new dirt road and although a little corrugated in all terms was a good road. We reached the turn-off to South Luangwa and the road slowly deteriorated, although it had been visibly very wet and boggy in parts; the road had dried enough to get through without too many hiccups. We were 5kms from South Luangwa when the fun really started; 800m of deep bog holes and no way around. Peter and Linda went first, weaving their away around the holes until they had no choice but to go through - water seeping up over the bonnet with the left hand side falling into deeper holes we slowly made our way through without incident - good old Land Rovers!
 Thiemo Hooking Russ and Sue Up |
 Pulling Sue and Russ Out Of The Hole |
Hippo Steaks
We enjoyed sunny days, hippos wandering through the campsite in the middle of the day; elephants playing a few hundred metres away, impala grazed in the field next door, baboons raided the camp and the vervet monkeys stole Sue and Russ's anti-malaria tablets (he gave them back once discovered they did not taste so great!). Early morning and late afternoon game drives through the Park spotting large herds of elephant, hippo, crocs, genet, lions and lots of antelope.
As we were leaving I asked Sean, the manager, if they had any hippo steaks...yes they did. So I grabbed their last 10 steaks and threw them into the fridge; a bit of a treat for the group tonight.
We had to leave via the same road we entered; it had only rained a small amount the afternoon before leaving so we knew the road would be passable. Thiemo went first to test the water level and to be the first across to get the rest of us crossing on video camera. Although deep, he managed to cruise on through; Russ and Sue were next...oh dear...stuck. Great footage for the video camera!! After a bit of pulling they were through; the rest of us decided to walk the bog hole to find the best way through... Ok we chickened out but got through without incident.
We drove close to 400kms that day to a few hundred kilometres from Lusaka. That night I cooked up the Hippo steaks; after a bit of a pounding and flash frying. Surprisingly, they were pretty tasty; a bit like veal... Certainly a first for Thiemo and I; although some of the group did not believe it was hippo - I can guarantee you we ate Hippo steaks for dinner!
The Smoke That Thunders
Mosi-oa-Tunya (smoke that thunders) is the local name for what the rest of the world knows as Victoria Falls. In 1855 David Livingstone sat awestruck by this amazing find and in his journal wrote "on sights as beautiful as this, angels in their flight must have gazed"; a perfect way to describe one of the seven natural wonders of the World.
So here I am sitting in the car park only metres from the Victoria Falls while the rest of the group are enjoying a fresh spray shower straight from the Zambezi river! With museums to visit, rhino to trek, sunset cruise and micro-lighting on the menu over the coming couple of days we are in for a full on time in the historic town of Livingstone, Zambia.
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