Tanzania
Tanzania, a breathtaking two weeks through the country rich in food, wildlife & culture. It’s been impossible to put my time here into enough words to do it justice, an information overload of history from our guides & from readings, not enough time on my hands to sit down and write but I hope this small insight gives you some idea about life in ‘Tanzanica’.
Mikumi National Park
The change of landscape as we crossed the border into Tanzania from Malawi was in your face incredible. From lake and village views we were now surrounded with lush green mountain ranges, homes now had windows and doors, clothing beautifully colourful, the stereotypical ‘African’ wardrobe now filling shop shelves and roadsides. Arriving at our first campsite in the country in the town of Lumuli after a long drive day was tiresome and usually cold, I rugged up before indulging once again in a delicious Simon dinner. God I’m going to miss these.
Our journey from here took us to Makumi National park, where our game drive was all lion. The funny things were literally in our way as they sunbathed on bridges, taking up the whole road and even posing for pics on top of a roadside, that iconically had the words “buffalo cubs” written on it. She was looking for her pride which she’d lost, trying to gain some height to find them before sniffing them out. She was more than 2km’s away from them yet would use this incredible sense of smell to find them instantaneously. The young boys and girls sprawled on the road were snoozing after a tough day in the office, they’re literally just big cats lounging about in the sunshine, flinching during dreams and rubbing their tired eyes with their fuck off huge paws. Some funny moments when one lounging next to our other truck was sick of Steve who was talking SO loudly moved off to lay next to ours, and another sleeping upside down like a puppy, Steve also nearly fell in the hippo pool… oops!. A night chatting shit poolside was needed, tomorrow we would head to dar es salaam and onwards to Zanzibar where we would spend a few days ocean frolicking & cocktail drinking, to read about it head to: https://www.darceymae.com/blog
The Usumbara Mountains
Revived from beach days in the sun & with a new group now, only some of us continuing onto Nairobi, we headed to the mountains. This was something I was eager for, our itinerary here jam packed. The Usumbara mountains were where the Germans established as abundant in crops, the morning dew maintaining its greenery year round, meaning crops could also grow year round without water, although up in the mountains you weee guaranteed some rain. The drive up to our lodge was an hour of uphill bends and turns, the 2000m drop was stomach turning, but impossible to look at. The scenery as we scaled up beautiful, air cooling as we got closer to the summit, houses perched on the mountainside, locals walking up and down the huge hills to grab groceries or return from work.
The local tribe here, the Shambaa tribe spend their days harvesting the many crops that grow in the water climate. Our hotel, the Lawns Hotel was nestled amongst the mountain nearby to the summit and pride rock, which we would climb the following day, claimed by the locals as the pride rock featured in lion king the journey up isn’t as difficult as the mentality it takes to leap across platforms onto the cliff edge, one slip sending you plummeting down to the bottom. The views were incredible, looking out over the plains of the below lands 2000m underneath, I imagine this spot would be magical come sunrise. Back at our hotel, Immo’s dream of seeing a chameleon was realised with the cute creatures being spotted everywhere in these mountains, only growing half the usual size due to the planted forest created for shade and wood foraging here. These fascinating animals change their colours depending on their background, not what they are sat on, still, they are unbelievably camouflaged and very hard to spot, me thinking once again every leaf and stick is one.
The village walking tour took us through the schools, homes and markets, most courteous of international government contributions and donations. Locals used to not enjoy tourists due to the disruption and negative connotations associated with visits, however now, thanks to Intrepid’s incentives and input back into the communities we are greeted with hundreds of ‘JUMBO’S and KARIBU’s’ wherever we go, high fives from kids and much fascination from passer-buyers. Our ‘Christmas’ lunch courteous of mama was an array of pilau rice, spinach, a local sweet potato, white in colour, curried vegetables and beans, avocados and of course chapati, everything home grown from the village, if you don’t have it in your home, your neighbour will. One mammoth downside to not eating gluten is not indulging in this local delicacy, because its relationship with roti already makes it instantly delicious, but I eat with my eyes instead. Our visit here for lunch supports this local family, and each visit from an intrepid truck means a different family will get a chance to cook and entertain us, rotating around the village. Despite this, whatever mamas family gains from this visit they share with the entire community. Everyone’s family here, and after we visit they know they will eat well for a week, have a delicacy they may not usually have, hence why everyone is now so welcoming and kind when we come by.
Our Christmas dinner was just as delicious as we shared our traditions with each other, and as travellers do, make Christmas away from family seem not so bad. This wasn’t my first Christmas away from home, and it won’t be the last, but wherever I am the joy is clear and the day just like any other, fun filled with love and laughter, what more could you want. Plus a cheeky FaceTime home always brightens the day, mum drinking wine in Batemans bay with family whilst the kids were catching waves at the beach, my call more disruptive to their fun than they cared to admit!
Waking up nestled amongst the Tanzanian mountains on Christmas morning was a special feeling and as the sun rose I felt all kinds of grateful and privileged. My Christmas this year was definitely one to remember.
Mombasa
Glory, my first female guide here in africa took us on a tour of the coffee plantation here in Mombasa. Most of the plantations here are owned by the Germans, still, after they established coffee here in 1988.
The journey from seed to bean is impressive, the 7 year process before it’s even planted into the ground is long, and the 3 afterwards tedious. A local house operating a particular plantation was just a house no bigger than yours or mine back home. After harvesting, of which the women do 7kg’s per day (throughout 10 or so hours, sometimes with babies strapped to their backs) the beans are pounded to remove the dust, thrown in the air to be sifted, hand roasted and grounded, before being deliciously consumed by many of us around the world, these plantations selling beans to many companies you and I know very well.
Ngorogoro Crater
Flamingo safari lodge and campsite began our journey into the serengeti, a chilled afternoon of wifi and pool time was welcomed, day bags packed for a few nights away in the African Savannah, we would leave John the driver and the truck but thankfully take chef simon with us, we shan’t be going hungry on safari!
Our first day of 3 safari - filled days began at the Ngoroogoro crater, the largest undisturbed perfect crater in the world. Once a volcano is now a huge hole in the ground, visible from space and home to thousands upon thousands of animals. From the view point at the top to scaling the rim down to the bottom I was surprised to see just how many animals were in this crater. There were thousands of zebra from the minute we drive down the banks of the rim onto the crater floor, there were baboons playing hairdressers and buffalo grazing. It was incredible just how many different species and in abundance. Stoke levels grew as we continued across the crater, one thing I enjoyed about this safari experience was the lack of paths meaning we couldn’t follow animals onto the bush if they wanted to retreat. The one way, one road through the crater meant you saw whatever was close by, a luck of the draw as are all game drives, but this one more so. So we were stoked when a family of 5 lions were chilling roadside, snoozing in all their comfortable positions, flies and birds enjoying the bugs making homes in their fur.
Having seen 4/5 of the big 5, everything except for leopard, we made our way out, continuing the path into the serengeti. Many years ago the serengeti was home to the masai, the masai land since being taken over by government and residents led out of the park and onto the outsiiirts of the crater. The many masai villages amongst the giraffe’s and zebras, along the mountains and rolling hills was an incredible sight, Shepards moving their goats and cows from one village to the next. Unfortunately the government is once again forcing the masai out of their land, the human animal conflict that results when animals leave the crater in search of food in the villages is becoming a big issue, and the feedback from tourists. None of which I agree with, I never believe anyone should be led out of their homes due to things out of their control and I hope a more constructive solution is found before it comes to displacing thousands of families who depend on the vast lands for survival.
The Serengeti National park
Once in the serengeti, the landscape changed once again, more trees, taller grasses and more space, meaning, less animals. The Serengeti takes up a space of 30,000 square kilometres, and the small area of that we covered doesn’t even begin to touch the surface. Still on the hunt for a leopard, and a cheetah as well as lion cubs we heard were around meant our eyes were peeled for small orange ears poking out the top of the tall grasses. We eventually did come across a mum and her cubs, but were too deep in the grasses to make out properly so our search continued. Simon, our chef and our 4wd full of tents, mattresses and cooking supplies had found 2 hungry cheetahs on the hunt for a feed, by the time we had got there they were deep into an unsuspecting antelope. The mum and cub, big but smaller, probably around a year old had pulled out the organs and were ripping apart butt and stomach. Blood stained fur and stopping every now and then for breaks, wanting to eat it quickly before they were found by hyenas, we unfortunately couldn’t spend too long watching as everyone has to be off the roads by 6pm, it was now 5:45. This rule is maintained here to help prevent the negative impacts of humans. Animals are most active at night, and this is when in particular the cats enjoy a hunt. If we are there with spotlights and loud car engines you can guess the impact this may have on the animals, as well as reducing the chance for poachers to come in, as in the dark is also when they are around moreso. Our short but si si sweet interaction was topped off with the biggest pride of lions we had come across, the 20 of them lazing about only 100 metres from the cheetahs. My back was on fire after 12 hours in the car as we raced back to the campsite.
Our tents already set up for us (luxury!) and dinner prepared our campsite is one of the few public campsites accessible for visitors. By campsite I mean a patch of cleared land with a toilet block and undercover picnic area. Surprised with overhead showers and flushing toilets, the impact to the environment here is minimal with everything taken out through underground pipes, the entire campsite unfenced… in the middle of the Fricking Serengeti. Knowing we had just seen a huge pride of lions and that they could come into camp whenever they pleased meant I went to bed with an unsettled feeling, listening to the hippos grunt and hyenas laugh as I eventually fell asleep praying I didn’t have to pee during the night.
Hot air Balloon Ride
I don’t mind a 5am wake up, especially when it means I’m jumping in a hot air balloon. When I had first booked this trip 4 years ago, I was proud to be able to pay for this trip by myself, including the added gorilla trek and hot air balloon ride. Funny enough, like everything, since covid the price of everything had gone up considerably, as has my imagination, so whilst my trip is longer than it was going to be it also became incredibly more expensive and the VERY expensive hot air balloon (the cost of TWO return flights to Bali) was something I could no longer afford. Thankfully 2023 also came with a 21st birthday and my favourite present of all, the hot air balloon ride … thanks mum!
The sunrise was a magical pink and purple, giddy with experiment despite the early hour and already having had seen a servile cat and hyenas we jumped in the balloon keen to explore the Serengeti from above. The morning fog hung around much longer than usual, creating a magical scene of misty white blankets as the sun rise over the horizon, the other balloons floating in the distance, spotting lions, giraffes, elephants and even gliding through a herd of over 100 buffalo. Incredible. Trekking paths and taking the view, I had tears in my eyes as we good effortlessly over the Savannah, grateful as heck for mum back home who works incredibly hard to not only give herself the life she deserves but the values and attitude she has given me to chase my dreams also. Thanks mumma, I thought about you for the entire balloon ride, (okay, most of it). I don’t imagine I’ll ever be able to justify paying money to jump in a hot air balloon again, my priorities sit elsewhere, so this once in a lifetime experience was even more special and worth every hard earn cent (of mums not my, money). The luxurious champagne breakfast afterwards was an added bonus, definitely getting my moneys worth with the many glasses i inhaled, maybe not the best decision before a bumpy game drive. We re-joined Immo for the rest of the morning game drive, missing the cheetahs they were able to spot whilst we were high above the clouds.
The radio noise is muffled and in Swahili, but you know when there’s something good. Lots of chatter followed by fast and furious driving speeds mean you’re about to see either a leopard or an animal doing something cool. Fortunately for us it was a leopard, finishing off the big 5 for the guys that just joined us. Having come down here tree this majestic queen wandered a mere 15 metres past us before soaking up the sun on a rock. I couldn’t believe how much movement we saw, how close we got, my last leopard being seen in the darkness of the night made this a whole new experience and one not everyone gets, so we were stoked. She was beautiful.
Knowing after a game drive you’re going to be treated with a home cooked meal when you return makes the experience that much easier, lunch and then a nap in the sunshine before another 4 hours of game driving. This day was insane, and I couldn’t believe when the day was over that 12 hours earlier I was floating on a Fricking hot air balloon.
The following morning we would game drive out of the Serengeti, stopping for whatever was nearby or on the road we were travelling down. I maintained hope that we would see simba (lion) cubs but with only 15 minutes left the chances were getting slimmer. Just like in makumi, they were just in our way, on the side of the road, 3 lions, 5 lionesses and 3 cute cubs. The 3 month olds were huge, growing 1/4 of their body height in the first few months of life means they need to eat lots of meat. The sleepy heads were slightly active and their furry heads meant we couldn’t tell if they were boys or girls, the Serengeti one of the only places where you’ll see multiple lions in a pride, typically they would kill each other and each others male kids (yes, just like the lion king) so this was pretty cool to see everyone getting along (for now!). We were one of only a few cars around so the moment was able to be soaked up without rushing or sharing.
Mto Wa Mbu
Try say that name 5 times fast. Still on a high from our time in the Serengeti we drove the short distance out to Mto Wa Mbu, where we would have our last dinner together, this one particularly bittersweet as I would say goodbye to my crew I’ve shared the last 7 weeks with. 2 hours to unpack our bags, soak up wifi and dip in the finally cold pool we headed for a village walk through the town. The wet environment here is perfect for rice and many other crops, with walk through (literally though) the rice paddies only came with 2 or 3 stacks into said rice paddy (sorry Ari!!) before continuing into the massive banana plantations, here growing 3 types of bananas; plantains, green banana and red bananas, as we would later find out my taste buds did not prove their worth in the blind taste testing competition.
The local gallery showcasing local artists and wood work shop was cool, unfortunately not able to bring anything back to Australia but enjoying the learning experience nonetheless, the craftsmanship is incredible, the wood carvings of intricate details incredible.
Our final dinner together was courteous of mama africa, another local woman graciously inviting us into her kitchen and home to help her cook the meal we would eat of beef stew, plantains, chickpea curry, chapati and veggies. I’m going to miss African cuisine and have already asked Simon to send me his recipes for when I get home. I was glad Simon could enjoy his meal cooked for him to celebrate what’s been a massive trip up and down the continent, his family at home very much looking forward to his return, a break I hope he can enjoy, cooking as much as he likes before returning in a few weeks time.
I had a bittersweet time saying bye to these 3 guys, their hospitality, kindness and patience over the past 7 weeks has been commendable, I for one struggle to put up with me for that long let alone strangers!! They’re definitely not getting paid enough to put up with me, and they’ve made the trip something it wouldn’t have been without them.
Simon, his dream to own a restaurant one I hope he achieves, his craftsmanship in the kitchen is insane, he works magic with any ingredient and what he can pull together at the click of a finger, in the middle of the desert or African Savannah is better than what anyone of us could pull together in a fully resourced kitchen. I ate healthy, home cooked gluten free meals with fresh salads the entire 7 weeks when I thought I’d be living off sandwiches, so Simon, Asante sana, you’re a Fricking legend, in and out of the kitchen.
John, driver John, strong John was driver extraordinaire. The spicy vulchur (the name I gave the truck - spice is Simon’s middle name and vulchur is John’s), is a beast and he navigates the often terrible African roads like the professional he is. If I was driving we would probably still be in Namibia! Since my accident nearly 2 years ago, I struggle being a passenger and was worried how I’d go on this trip. It began with car sickness I’d never before experienced, usually being able to read, text and do anything in a car, likely coming from some post traumatic stress reaction, the windy roads, rocking truck carriage and public buses overtaking us on fast bends with no idea of what’s ahead, but eventually my stomach and I eased into truck life. John manages to drive 14 hour days and still come out happy and smiling afterwards, being su chef to Simon whenever he needs a hand. John, man of few words, Asnate Sana. Karibu in Australia anytime, please enjoy your time off with your family, I hope you get driven around like the king you are. “Strong John”, miss ya alreadyyyyyy.
And Nash, trip leader and boss man. Your ‘blah blah’ was a lot but needed, reassuring me when I was worried I would get eaten by hippos, or when I thought my back might break on the game drive, legend. You deal with shitty clients (not me - I’m perfect) all the time, and your patience and kindness to all of them is unmatched, I simply don’t know how you do it. You’ve taught me that despite how people treat you, there is always room for kindness back, and sometimes it even rubs off on them. I hope one day soon you get to stop doing long haul trips, 100 days at a time on the road is no easy feat, the time away from home, family, having to have a happy face every day, it’s not for the faint hearted. Legend.
A final goodbye to some friends, only Immo stays on with me until the end. Our new crew met, we continue into Kenya and begin the gorilla section, my final leg of this insane African adventure.
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