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Jambo!!
We are now in Arusha and have had the best few days ever so this may be a long blog so make sure you have a cup of tea and are sitting comfortably!!
On our last day in Zanzibar we got up and went to the internet café and had a look round some shops before we met the rest of our group to get the ferry back to Dar Es Salaam. We got back and got the little boat over the sea and onto the truck again and back to camp to set up our tent. We had dinner and went to bed.
The next day we had to get up early as we had quite a long distance to go to Arusha over the next couple of days, we stopped for lunch and then arrived at Pengani camp. This was very basic and was having a power cut on this particular day so there was not a lot to do so I sat and had a chat with some of the girls on our tour and Craig went a hike with some people on the tour in the surrounding hills, it was far too hot for me though. Going to the toilet in the pitch black with a torch and two cats fighting scaring the living daylights out of me was probably the most notable thing of this day lol!!
The next day we were up again at about 4am and let me tell you putting a tent down in the pitch black is not easy. We drove along towards Arusha and we passed Mt Kilimanjaro on the way which was spectacular and covered in snow but not flat like it looks in pictures we must have been at a different angle or something. When we arrived in Arusha we were told to be very careful as the hawkers are worse here than anywhere else in Africa supposedly. I manage to ignore them but Craig feels rude but then they end up walking along with us a bit longer, I must get that from my Dad, saying no and scowling until someone gets the hint. A guy walked with us to the internet and we thought he might ask for money for touring us or something but he didn't. Internet was crap as usual and then we moved onto the next bit of town for a bit to eat and a bit of a stock up for our trip into the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. We bought loads of juice, water, sweets, snacks and more toiletries and then got to Meserani Snake Park where we are camping just outside Arusha. It was finally stopped raining and the heat is really high here which is nice. We set up camp and then I did my washing in a basin in the bathroom of the campsite and let me tell you the water was disgusting. Its so dusty here that your clothes just get covered and we all just walk about manky as we are all in the same boat lol! Showers are freezing here too but at least its not long drop toilets which is a novelty!
The next day we had a bit of a lie in, breakfast was at 8am, I never thought I would see the day when I thought that constituted a lie in lol! Anyway after breakfast we headed of on our Masi village walk. The Masi's are a tribe who live mostly in Tanzania and Kenya, you may have seen them on TV with the huge holes in their ears. A Masi took us to the cultural museum that is on camp and led up through all these displays on their culture which mostly revolves around circumcision. The men get circumcised when they are ready and if they so much as flinch they are chucked from the tribe and will never marry and will live as an outlaw, you only get one chance as well, seems a bit harsh!! You even dress as a man or woman in different dress if you are circumcised (yes woman get it too if they want-eugh) and married etc so that everyone knows your status. Men can also have up to about 8 wives and have a bed all to themselves while woman and children all share one except for special occasions when husband and wife are allowed to sleep together. It was really interesting. After we walked to a nearby traditional Masi village. When we got there all these kids came running out of nowhere screaming at us and grabbing your hands and wanting to be lifted up. They were awfully dirty, dirtier than most kids on the side of roads all through Africa, none had underwear or anything, their clothes did not suit the weather, it was really sad. Although on the other hand they were constantly trying to steal our bangles, water, even earrings from people's ears, I thought they don't know any better but the Masi tour guide did so maybe they should have been getting taught better. It was a bit uncomfortable, we picked up a few and played with them but they are so spoilt with tourism they think white people will give them stuff so It always makes me feel I cant enjoy myself as it will cost something when on this occasion it didn't, maybe they just know we have brought money in the past or something. There was one little boy with a winter jacket on that didn't join in with the other kids and just went over to his brother and climbed in his lap with his eyes closed and he was covered in flies, I think he was ill, it was so sad, I keep thinking about his face all covered in those flies, it was awful. After we had a walk to their computer lab and then to the snake bite clinic which is funded by the guy who owns the snake park campsite. They had to open it as that many people were being bitten and dying in this area - scary!! After lunch we went to the Snake Park itself within the camp which was totally horrific. We all went for feeding time and they just chucked live mice in the cages with snakes, I watched like one or two and then felt horrible and sick and sat on a picnic table the rest of the time. It was so inhumane, the mice were getting bit with venom and dying slowly or they were in their mouths still trying to struggle away or getting suffocated by the constrictors, in some they even had baby chicks it was horrific. After we had a look round a local craft market and bought a few wee bits an bobs to bring home. At night we played Frisbee then cricket with some people in our group and had tea and went to bed.
On Monday we were up early for our trip to the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. After breakfast there was a convoy like arrival of three safari vehicles came to camp to pick us up as oour truck is too big. We made sure we got the smaller truck and shared with Mark, Jarrod and Pete which was cool as all the other vehicles had more people in them. We drove and picked up some food in towns on the way and everyone tried to sell stuff through the window, one guy wanted $50 for a scarf thing with Obama on it!! Next we stopped at a souvinir shop where a t-shirt was $40, I think the drivers must get something fr taking you there, all I did was use the loo lol! After stopped at another loo and shop where I bought a Masi shawl and got ripped as everyone said I just wanted to buy tartan lol. After we stopped at a great view of the Ngorongoro Crater which was amazing, its just this huge crater with a lake and loads of animals in the bottom. We had a group photo taken and someone went right in front of Craig at which point the moved to the side in a huff, I think it was just another thing in the long list of things annoying about this tour lol!! We stopped for a packed lunch and a bird swooped down and ate Jarrod's bread out his hand and then swooped again and he threw his while lunch in the air, it was hilarious. After I went to the loo and the door fell off then I went to the next one and squatted to pee and a wasp flew out of the hole in the floor so then I panicked and stood up and got pee everywhere , let the wasp out and was eventually able to pee, it was not quite so hilarious. We dropped some stuff at a camp and then drove to the Serengeti NP. We stopped outste and I got POPCORN yes!!! Then we took a walk up a view point path and when we got to the top, I fell over my ankle and landed right on my hip which was pretty sore and I now have a nice bruise! When we eventually got into the park and started our game drive it was amazing!! Amazing is the word of our safari and you have to say it in a posh drawn out voice like AMAAAZZIINGG, it started off to slag toff Mark but kind of grew on our whole group! This park was a million time better than Kruger NP, we saw so much more, and much better, nearer quality sightings. It felt more authentic as well as the roads were just mud, not paved like Kruger. When we first got in we saw a cheetah and her cubs up on a hill then just round a bit were a lion and a lioness lying on their backs in the shrub, we couldn't see their faces though which was a shame. We saw giraffe, zebra, elephant, hippos, wildebeest and lots of impala, I wont mention these ones all the time as it practically becomes like seeing sheep at home lol! The best though was a leopard in a tree we saw that climbed down and walked right towards us through the grass and over the road right beside the safari vehicles, pausing to have a rub against a wheel and then proceeded through spraying each tree as it went, we drove round a bit and then she crossed the road in front of us again and went and sat on a fallen down tree. It was amazing to get such a close up, quality sighting. On the way back to camp we saw another lioness but she too was lying on her back although a lot closer but still no face view. The camp we stayed at this night was an open camp that had fresh big cat footprints in it and was a very scary night, although not s bad as I thought it would be. At one point one of the girls went wandering and the camp guys told us to get her back as it was extremely dangerous. We had soup and spag bol for tea which was good although I didn't eat much in the dread that I may need to go to the loo. When we needed the loo a group of about 6 of us went with me and Leah holding arms with our torches to the loo in the pitch black which was petrifying as Pete thought he had seen eyes in the trees. The guys said that after it got later not to go to the loo and just to go to the side of your tent to pee. After tea all the boys went to move our tents as some of us were further out than others and at one point they all came running back shouting because they had seen eyes, people said they look like pray if they run as if we didn't know, I would like to see what other people would do if they saw eyes in the pitch black bushes! We went to bed quite early as I just wanted to get it over with lol. Right before bed I went for a pee near the tent as instructed with Craig and as soon as I sat down about twenty torches were on me as people thought it was an animal so Craig shined it right back, not very dignified lol! Don't actually come to Africa if you want to keep your dignity lol. John in our group was sick in the night outside his tent and when he woke up it was gone - scary!!
The next day I woke up alive and hadn't heard anything although I still waited till I heard people up before I got up in the dark!! We had breakfast and went out on another game drive. It was great not having to do any of our own cooking and cleaning here as we were always excited to get on our next drive! Today was another excellent day, even better than the day before. We saw a huge elephant herd with babies and two of them were fighting, it was so good to see and the noises were amazing, the trunks going and the tusks clattering, we were so close. Later in the day we saw some also having a mud bath and then they walked right in front of the jeeps and down to the water hole and started having a drink, it was awesome. We also saw some lionesses and their cubs under a tree, it was a bit far away but we could see they had some dead prey there and all the jackals and vultures were waiting. The guide told us it was a buffalo they had killed three days ago and that was why they were just lounging about not really eating it. We really wanted to see a male and the guide said he would have already been and eaten what the lioness caught as they do all the hunting. We saw another leopard in a tree in the distance. On the way out Mark thought he saw a lioness so we stopped and reversed and then a lioness just walked right out a bush about 10 metres from us and along to a little hill and lay down it was great, the best view we had had of a lion. We were still wanting to see a male though and on our way out we could see the shape of one on a big rock in the distance, it looked totally like the king of the jungle. The scenery here is amazing Serengeti comes from an African word that means "the land that moves on forever" and they are not kidding, the vastness of the place is phenomenal. I have taken lots of photos for Chloe's geography project on the Sahel, so if I ever get them on and there are lots of desolate land that's what it is for lol!! We had lunch back at camp and packed up and drove to the Oldupai Gorge which is where experts think the first signs of mankind's existence were found, we saw the footprints and stuff and had a really good lecture form a guy who worked there. The way there was so much fun, it was like a 4x4 adventure drive although I have spent the majority of time wishing I had wore a sports bra lol! We then drove all the way back to the camp we dropped stuff at on the rim of the crater. When we got there we saw an elephant drinking out of the camp water tank, supposedly it had been coming for 5 years, it was about 3 metres away from us. A couple of guys also nearly had a fight because one went in front of the other or something. I had a cold shower which was more than I thought I would get and got ready for dinner, it was freezing here and drizzly again as it had been the day before, it is so cold here as well as we are so high up, not used to all this cold malarky! We were told we were not allowed any food in our tents as unlike lions etc who may go into a camp but leave you alone, wild pigs will rip open your tents, not even toothpaste was allowed. We had tea of soup and stew with rice and then sat at the camp fire. At one point a girl on the tour asked us to move round and Craig couldn't as he was flush next to the person next to him and she called him inconsiderate so I got hacked of and decided to go to bed early, I had just had enough of some of the idiots on the tour. The same girl earlier in the night said about our wedding that basically she wouldn't want to pay for "a party with friends" - Donut!! When I got to bed I felt so ill I was worried I had food poisoning but I went to the loo and was ok after than thankfully as lots of people on our tour have been ill the last few days, I think not drinking and having early night is keeping us safe though. Also at one point tonight the elephant came back and turned on a tap with its trunk and started drinking it was so cute!! I also saw one of the pigs they were talking about and it was huge about the same size as a calf!!
Today we got up and there had been a buffalo in the camp during the night that had peed on Jenny and Sharon's tent lol! We had breakfast and then headed out on our game drive in the crater. It was quite a scary ride down rocky roads on the side of the crater but the view was amazing with the sun coming up over the crater and the lakes below. It was an excellent game drive, we saw all the usual suspects, zebra, wildebeest, impala, buffalo, hippos and a huge elephant!! We also saw a lake full of flamingos. Then we saw a male lion just lying in the grass about 20-30m away, it was gorgeous, it was growling over at two other lions that were it's brothers, the sound was amazing, we were so glad to be so close. Even better than that a while later we got along to a bit and I thought a rock was a rhino but I also thought a tuft of grass was a big lion beside the road and it was a lion, it was about 2 meters away from us and was so cute just lying there, he looked right at us and then he got up and walked away. Further round we saw a lioness with 3 or 4 cubs just she was kind of beyond a ridge so we couldn't see very well. I think the animals were a bit more active here as it was a lot colder and there were also less trees for them to lie under when it got hot. When we were leaving there we saw a lion by the road drinking from a puddle so we all bolted over and we were right next to it on the road, you could hear it slurping form the puddle then it just kind of looked up at us and walked away. We saw one right by a jeep as well just crossing the road. There were 4 brothers and they just kept at the same bit. There was a lion and a lioness at the side of the road and he was trying to mate with her but she kept running away. The guide said if we stayed and waited he would be back to do it in a bit so we sat and waited. Then a huge elephant came over and believe it or not the lions were scared of it so got up and moved then the lioness lay down so they could mate but the lion walked right past her and over towards where there was one of his brothers to chase him away so when he got him away he walked back peeing at points as he went to mark his territory. Then you could see the brother coming along and stopping at all the points the other one had peed at. He went back to mate with the lioness but she must have been fed up waiting and as soon as he got on her she attacked him lol!! It was so amazing to watch, all the animals are so close. We had some binoculars and Craig could see a hyena chasing the wildebeest around too. We also saw some black rhinos, there are 13 here and they are thought to be amongst the last in the world. They were quite far away and one had a baby too, my camera decided to run out at this point but still 3 game drives the battery lasted so it did well. So we were lucky again and saw all the big five!! It was really good, much better quality than Kruger as there was just registered safari companies as well not all people in their hire cars or that either. We were so glad we went even though it cost us $820!! We were going to miss it and leave our tour early and fly to Mombasa but we decided to go as we thought we would regret it and while you are here and have spent so much money, what's a bit more lol?! After we drove back up the crater which as even more petrifying that going down especially when the driver answered his phone lol!! We made it back to camp and packed up and had lunch and rove back to Arusha, which seemed to take forever. When we got there we put up our tents for the last time!!!
Now I am sitting beside something on a spit roast that looks like a goat or something writing this!! I think we are going to have a couple of drinks as its our last night. We are quite glad we are getting a bit fed up of the camping and long drives in a truck and the lack of sanitation and having to watched everything you eat, not to mention some of the idiots in our group, we have had a great time but are glad we opted for 4 weeks instead of 6 after all. Tomorrow we head to Kenya where I will try and call home if possible.
Miss you all lots. Hope all is well at home!! Happy Birthday Kelly and Madam K!!
Lots of Love
Eva and Craig xxx
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