Part 3 - Zambia

Once in Lusaka we made our way to the hostel which was only a short walk away. Again the bus station was hectic with taxi men surrounding us wanting to take us to the hostel. Some people saying they are the official representatives for the hostel.

The hostel was nice, small pool, bar and nice lodges. We stayed there for two days just as we where eager to get to Livingstone. We walked around Lusaka getting a feel for another capital city in Africa. It was quite different to Dar as it seemed much more organised and the women wore more westernised clothing. There are also a lot of fast food restaurants along the main Cairo Road. We visited one local cultural village where people were selling home made arts and crafts. It would have been nice to buy everything but money and kilo limits restricted us. Daladalas (mini buses) in Lusaka are not filled to the top with people as they are in Tanzania. They only take in those who have a sitting place. As a result the majority are in good condition.

It was soon time to move on to Livingstone. We took a morning bus at 6.30 and arrived at around 11.00. Feeling tired we relaxed around the hostel for the day and choose a few activities which we would do during our time there. We decided to do the sunset cruise, which was amazing. Initially we thought due to cloud cover we weren’t going to have a good sunset but just at the right time the clouds clear and the colours produced where amazing.

The next day we went to Victoria Falls. The amount of spray produced by the falls was just unbelievable. I didn’t think it could be so much as it was. So much water falling constantly producing a thunderous noise. We took the walk individually over the bridge, although a bit hairy due to the spray in my eyes the whole time and the slippery bridge. It was like being in a shower the whole time while walking there for 20 minutes the spray was just relentless. An amazing site when the spray stopped for seconds was the water gushing over the side of the falls and full circle rainbows could be seen everywhere.

We continued to walk around the rest of the falls seeing them from different vantage points. The next day we intended to leave but due to flights being full we stayed another day in Livingstone. That night we visited a local restaurant which was just great. Staff members where dressed in local clothing, paint on their face and the whole place decorated with Africa objects. Local food was ready on buffet, the Zambian version of Ugali was available although we didn’t take this. After some time some traditional dancing was done which was much more impressive than at the Village museum in Dar. To get the crowd involved all the girls present where invited/dragged to the stage to learn a new dance. It was great fun looking at them, thankfully the guys didn’t have to go up!

The next day we walked across the bridge where the bungee jumps takes place and into the Zimbabwe side for a few minutes. We planned an adventure day for Annukka – abseiling, High wire and Gorge swinging. Each of which would be done twice. I would have done the first two but the gorge swing I don’t think so. A free fall of over 50 metres and then the rope takes hold and you swing from side to side in the gorge. It looked pretty scary and don’t know how Annukka done it. During the day we met up with a couple from Australia who where also going to Cape Town as us, so we stuck together most of the time during the next week.

We enjoyed Zambia a lot although hardly seeing the real side of Zambia we only see what the majority of tourist see. The falls where amazing and would be nice to return in October/November time when the falls are dry and apparently one can walk across them. Still it was amazing how close we could get to the falls actually jumping in if we wanted to!

Safari - Part 2

The train journey:
The next part of our mini safari would see us travel to Zambia by train. The tazara train left on Tuesday from DAR and would take two days if everything was going to plan. Having purchased our tickets in advance we made sure we had a place in first class which was 55,000 Tsh (students discounts are no longer accepted on the Tanzania side). The waiting lounge was packed, most of them going to Mbeya.

It’s a strange feeling waking up and sleeping on the train for two days. The berth we had was basic. Four beds, small table and window. We would be sharing with two men from Zambia. The ticket conductor came round to check tickets and returned some time later as there seemed to be some problem. Apparently men and women have to sleep in different cabins although the lady selling us the tickets at the station never mentioned this. Obviously we didn’t want to be separated but would have to accept it if they found a good alternative place for Annukka. They mentioned that there was one free cabin if we both wanted to go there. We told him that this is a good idea and we would take it. Of course it meant that we would have to pay something for it as there were two other beds in the cabin free, so we would have to pay for those in order to buy out the cabin. I said to the conductor that if the cabin is free then why can’t you just give us the room. But he made an excuse that maybe someone might come on the train later. Although I am sure they already knew how many people were going to be in first class. We didn’t of course take that option and the conductor said he would be back later on… but he never returned and Annukka got to stay where she was.

The train journey went as smooth as one could hope with no incidents to report. Apparently it was the first time the train has been on time for a long time, our Zambian passengers told us. The food provided was quite good although I initially thought the food was included in the price but it wasn’t so much extra to pay for it. If we wanted food could be delivered to the cabin but we usually ate at the restaurant carriage. The scenery was amazing all the way there and the mountains were fantastic to look at. Unfortunately we went through Selous Game Park at night so we didn’t see any animals. At night time it was cold so blankets where needed we reached heights of over 1,400 metres. Our Zambian passengers told us to be careful at night as usually at stops it’s when thieves come on to the train and rob goods from passengers. So they kindly asked us not to go out of the cabin when we were at a stop. There was also a small latch on the inside of the door which when put down it stopped the door from opening. The reason for this is because some thieves have replica copies for the door locks so they can be easily opened. We didn’t have any problems and we never heard of any one else that had any while on the train.

Child ran along the train at stops asking for empty bottles and bars of soap. At Mbeya a lot of people were selling goods for very cheap. Just before the border crossing men came on exchanging Zambian Kwachas for Tanzania Shillings although the rate wasn’t great it was the only way we could get the local money for the eventual bus ride to Lusaka. I found one money exchange at the train station prior to departure; this was the only place to buy Zambian Kwachas in town.

Once over the border immigration came to issue us with visas. Once again Irish people don’t have to pay for a visa to Zambian but Finnish do. I was a bit confused as the immigration officer asked me how long I wanted my visa to be valid for. Normally they just stamp it and the time is set, not negotiable. In the end I took it for one month although only really needed it for a few days.

At 10 am Thursday morning we reached our final destination and made our way to catch a bus to Lusaka which was still another two hours away. The journey continues….

17- 19th.03.07 - Small safari - part 1

Annukka and myself were invited to the Irish national day in Dar es Salaam on the 17th March 2007 – Saint Patrick’s Day! I was very surprised to see so many Irish people that are in Tanzania. As there are none at all in Mtwara it was nice to once again meet some people from my home country.

The party itself was quite similar to the Independence Day party of Finland we attended in December. After we had finished up at the ambassador’s place everyone made there way to the newly opened Irish bar in the Masaki district. It provides a beautiful view of the ocean and a view of slipways to the right.

We spent a few more days in Dar staying in the centre at a hostel called – Safari Inn. It’s a usually backpackers place. Nothing special. Cheap rooms are available for those with a residents permit. The room we stayed in hadn’t any mosquito nights which although was a bit worrying was nice to sleep without one for a few days. Thankfully our room hadn’t any cockroaches as we heard from quite many other backpackers they had some unwanted creepy crawlies in their room.

It was nice to get a good feeling for Dar by staying in the centre. This time DAR didn’t feel as hectic as it did when we first arrived. We visited the Indian quarters where Annukka found quite many fabric shops. A lot of shopping might be done here before we leave for Finland in June.

It was also good to visit a super market again and eat some cheese. I didn’t think I would miss diary products as much as I have done and even better because in the shops they have Irish cheese! Annukka bought yoghurts although she would have to wait for some time to have Finnish milk again.

It felt safer to walk around Dar this time perhaps as we know a bit more Swahili than before so we don’t stand out as fresh tourist just in the country. It seemed to help that we where saying “mambo” to people.

We visited one hotel wondering whether could get a view of the city from a higher vantage point. After the bell boy had shown us the city view, from the top floor, he told us he would talk to this manage and see if there are any rooms empty so that we could see the harbour. A misunderstanding perhaps with the bell boy and the manager perhaps as when the manager came to greet us he outlined a play to give us a tour of the different rooms available in the hotel. The point was to go there and take pictures from the high point but felt a bit silly to take pictures when the manager thought of us as potential clients (although we didn’t look like ones especially for this hotel).

We bumped into a friend from Mtwara who happened to be in Dar and staying at the same hostel as we where. As we didn’t have any plans for the day we agreed to go to the Mwenge market to look at some – Makonde carvings. There was just so many here I was really surprised. The shop owners have a really hard time keeping the carvings clean as they are constantly gathering dust so most of them where busy during our time there. Others where sitting around play bao, a traditional Tanzania board game. It was good to have a look for future reference as we will probably visit again before leaving. After spending easily two hours going from shop to shop we went to the village museum which also had a lunch time buffet meal just ready as we were arriving.

After eating we went inside the museum to have a look at the traditional houses from different parts of Tanzania. The houses where kept in good condition with information on the around the houses describing where they where from and about the tribe that lives in them. After the walk around we were just in time for traditional dancing. I was a little disappointed with the dancing as I would have hoped it was more prepared. It seemed that people where arriving late and just joining in if they had nothing else to do. The clothes they where wearing where torn and not in great condition. I also thought there would be more than just 3/4 people there. Although not so satisfied with it, it was in itself interesting to see how they do the dancing.

1 - 10th March 2007

For the third weekend in a row saw us go to another small village in Mtwara rural called Mnima. It is about a 2,5 hour drive from Mtwara. We weren’t initially sure where we were going but we soon found out. Half way on the journey we picked up two players who would join in the training session. The point of these weekends was to encourage the girls that would be travelling to Finland to continue playing in their free time and also to motivate other girls who weren’t chosen for Finland to continue playing regardless.

After a longer journey than expected - going through village after village, the road becoming smaller and smaller and going up and down really steep hills we eventually arrived at our destination although it seemed that there was nothing here only for the road to open up with a school, football pitch, goals and what seemed like the whole village waiting for us to arrive, adults and children. To my knowledge we didn’t pass many of the local houses on the way yet here where in excess of 200 people waiting for us to train them in soccer.

Luckily for me I was on the football pitch doing a training session with the girls. The coach Muya helped as we showed the girls some drills after some time we divided them into teams and played a game. One of the unfortunate things I noticed is that when one of the girls makes a mistake e.g. miss kick the ball the whole crowd laughs at the girl. I find this a bit discouraging for the girls and certainly doesn’t help their confidence it they make a mistake.

After about two hours in total it was time to leave as it was getting quite dark. It felt a little bit strange that the training session wasn’t organised for somewhere closer than Mnima as the previous weekends the places where much more accessible. A total of five hours driving for only two hours playing didn’t really make sense.

That night we were invited to a wine and cheese party at a fellow Mzungu house, Philip. This was the second one organised my Philip the first was a real success and the second one was just the same if not better. Again he had Malteesers. Little luxuries! The host had again made his own different varieties of wine most of which were good although some were a bit sweet. As for the food it was great, Philip had obviously spent a lot of time planning and preparing. Luckily electricity is more or less a guarantee now in Mtwara so that helped in the preparation compared to the last time where he spent several hours at a friends place making the food.

The next day Sunday we had organised for some time to take a road trip to Msimbati. We heard that with a letter volunteers can enter for 1,000 Tsh (60 cents) rather than 10,000, quite a bit difference for volunteers. Jennifer, our host mother, who is acting boss for the Marine Park wrote us the letter we needed. Some people were nursing sore heads from the wine and cheese party. We had a packed land rover ready for the journey and good weather. As it had been raining for some days previously the roads to Msimbati were not in great condition. Luckily enough we didn’t get stuck and arrived some two hours later at the beach.

It is such a beautiful place to relax, enjoy the sun and go snorkelling. We first went straight for the beach and after this to the beach resort where we would each lunch. Lunch and entry into the resort is 10,000 Tsh. The resort provided a great variety of food all with large portions. Before and after lunch we sat on the beach taking in the sun, going swimming in the beautiful, clear, ocean water and some walked along the beach. At around 4 p.m. we started to make our way back to Mtwara and in the distance we could hear the rumbles of thunder and the dark clouds appearing on the horizon.

We made it home without any problems and with no rain either as the storm clouds passed away to the west. Unfortunately a big truck got stuck in the mud going to Msimbati right in the middle of the road. We helped to pull them out with the land rover. It seemed as though they had been stuck there for some time and again without a house in sight so many people had gathered around.