We left Nungwi mat around 8am to begin the long journey toward Malawi, with a night at a beach camp in Dar Es Salaam on the way.

The ferry (aka commuter barge) is used mainly by locals and runs a couple of times a day shipping people between the port of Dar Es Salaam (mainland Tanzania) and Stone Town in Zanzibar. 

It’s quite an experience as you have to turn up to check in an hour and a half before the boat is due to leave, and pass through immigration, and security where they scan your bags and despite countless bleeps, fail to check a single one. The ferry terminal is sweaty, and packed full of people; at one point a coffin was carried through the terminal and we are still none the wiser as to whether it contained a body or not.  If anyone reading this contemplates doing this journey, book in advance as the ferries apparently gets booked up at least a week or longer in advance as its an extremely popular route.

Despite a couple of hangovers, and bouts of sea sickness within the group, we all safely made it to the other side where our bus was waiting to take us to Pipepeo Beach camp on the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam.  The roads are horrendous here with copious amounts of potholes and generally erratic driving.  The route out of Dar Es Salaam was blocked with oil tankers, therefore Jose our driver, just decided the best course of action was to drive down the wrong side of the road which in fairness to him, was particularly effective.  The vibe is a bit different here.  We’re told to stay in groups, and not go near the beach at night as its apparently very unsafe.  We had the option of upgrading our tented camp to a beach hut and in light of the tiredness from a long journey, we decided to pay the & USD each and do it.  Anything that prevents us having to dismantle a tent in the dark was always going to be a winner. 

For dinner, our chef, Denford, cooked us a spectacular dinner of meatballs and spaghetti in the campsite.  How on earth he managed to whip up such a tasty dish with limited facilities, I will never know.  Needless to say, he’s agreed to share his secret recipe with me which I’ll most definitely be trying out when I get home. 

Its probably a good time to talk a bit about the truck we are overloading through Africa on.  Its a lorry style truck, converted into a passenger vehicle with seats, USB ports, a fridge and plenty of room for storage (think rucksacks, camping equipment, food etc.).  Its one of the newer ones in the Dragoman fleet and is randomly named Florence, so from this point onwards, I’ll refer to our transport by name.  Our overland leader is Tomasz – a Dutch guy who started working with Dragoman at the end of 2018.  We also get a co-leader who does most of the driving and is mostly responsible for the truck and ensuring it remains in full working order at all times.  Enter Jose. Jose is Spanish but has spent virtually all his life in the Netherlands.  He’s a totally unique character, with the sweetest tooth I have ever known.  He also looks remarkably like buddy the elf, and acts just like him too!  We also have Denford, the camp chef who is from Zimbabwe and has ben cheffing for Dragoman for 20 years.  To say he’s excellent is an understatement.  Poor Denford actually contracted Malaria on the trip prior to mine, and was hospitalised for a few days, but now he is back in action and cooking up a storm for us all!  Lastly, but certainly not least is Helen.  Helen is training to be a Dragoman leader so has joined us on this trip to learn the ropes before she leads her own trip starting in Cairo in a couple of months time. 

We’re a 12 strong group now, and joining us are Lewis (UK), Lucy (UK), Norbert (Germany), Travis & Elisha (USA) and Luti (Dutch but living in the UK). I’ll cover them more as the blog progresses.

Dragoman trips are hugely off the beaten track, so everyone is assigned a job on the truck whether it be sweeping, carrying water, disposing of rubbish, unloading luggage, cleaning the fridges or collecting tip money.  We also get put into cooking groups, who take it turns to help Denford prepare the meals for the group. Dragoman are great with responsible travel and sustainability which is evidenced in how things are done.  It’s really worth checking them out if you’re prepared to get your hands dirty, and go without a decent shower for a few days at a time!

Our departure from Dar Es Salaam was an early one, leaving camp at 4am.  It didn’t help that we got to camp inear Iringa in darkness after 16 hours on the road.  I couldn’t face pitching the tents in the dark so Lewis and I decided to bite the bullet and pay 20 USD for a room upgrade.  It was a long day so anything to avoid an early alarm and packing the tents up in another morning of darkness the following day was very much worthwhile.  Although the drive was long, it was great fun with so many games played, and lots of wildlife to see on the way.  The drive took us through the Mikumi National Park where we saw lots of monkeys, zebras, impalas, elephants, giraffes and a herd of buffalo.  Mikumi is situated at the foot of the Uluguru mountains and is the third largest national park in Tanzania.  We aren’t allowed to stop in the park, but Jose did a great job of slowing the truck down so we could snap some photos along the way.

The campsite was exceptionally remote, but when we arrived we were taken aback to find a beautiful table laid, with candles waiting for us.  We were given carrot and cardamom soup to start, followed by roasted beef with new potatoes and veg.  You would never in a million years have expected a meal like that in such a campsite, but to say we were all pleasantly surprised was an understatement!  It was a relatively early night, ready for yet another early start.

We met by the truck just after 5am the following day to have breakfast and get on the road early to allow plenty of time to get through the border at Songwe, Malawi.  The immigration desk upon exiting Tanzania managed to make a right mess of poor Denfords passport by flicking ink all over it.  Upon entering Malawi, the immigration officer gave him a really hard time, despite it not at all being his fault!  We also played a horrible trick on Dani, trying to convince him he should have had an ‘Ebola vaccine’ before entering Malawi, which he totally bought until we had the heart to tell him it was a wind up.  Dani hasn’t had the greatest luck health wise on this trip so he was an easy target for us… I’m sure he’ll get his revenge at some point!

Crossing the border to Malawi was an interesting experience.  Firstly, we had to move at speed from Florence to the immigration office as for some reason they were about to close the border.   I was one of the only members of the group who got my visa in advance (as recommended by the foreign office) and all I can say is its good advice.  The immigration officer made it clear he wasn’t a fan of the British, and made a comment about Theresa May but despite that, he stamped my passport and I was done in all of 5 minutes.  The rest of the group however, had to wait around 40 mins while their passports were whisked off and returned after much scrutiny.  Malawi only accepts USD on the border and its worth mentioning most of the African countries refuse to accept USD if they are dated pre 2009.

The good news is that we all made it, and are now entering Malawi at Songwe!

Will write more when the Malawi portion of the adventure begins!

Luce x

The trusty alarm went off at 6 this morning which was rather unwelcome after just under 5 hours sleep.  Totally self inflicted of course…

Today we leave Stone Town and head North to Nungwi which is a beach at the Northern tip of the island.

En route was a visit to the African Slave Trade Exhibition in Stone Town.

You can read more about the slave trade here as the Guardian have articulated it perfectly (and far better than me).

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/26/slave-markets-zanzibar

Here, we went underground and saw the chambers where the slaves were held before auction; many not surviving due to the lack of ventilation and disease.  Although slaves were largely sold here individually, those who were less able, or suffering ill health were either sold in large numbers for a discount, or even worse, left on the beach upon arrival to die so their captors didn’t have to foot the 1 USD a head fee for bringing the slaves into the country.  There are even stories where slaves who worked for higher class citizens had enough money to subsequently buy slaves themselves. 

Although Britain was instrumental in the abolition of the slave trade, it was also largely responsible for its existence and its not until you visit an exhibition like this, you realise how much damage some of first world countries like ours have done.  British slave traders generated immense spoils by transporting 5.5 million African slaves to its Caribbean colonies, forcing them to work in terrible conditions on plantations in Jamaica, Barbados and beyond

Next up was a trip to a local spice farm.  I’ve been to one of these before in Sri Lanka and being honest, they are exceptionally similar, but its still interesting to see where the things we buy in the shiny packets in the supermarkets back home come from.  They nickname the local spice growers the ‘spice boys’ which made me chuckle in light of having seen the spice girls back home myself couple of weeks ago. They grow all kinds of spices here, including  cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, galangal, cocoa, pepper and turmeric. There was also an abundance of beautifully fresh fruit; jack fruit, coconut, banana, mango, sour-sup (a white fleshy fruit with big black seeds), sour starfruit and the famous (for all the wrong reasons) Durian.  Durian looks a bit like Jack Fruit (large with a spiny exterior) and I’ve eaten it in other south East Asian countries before.  I’s liken the smell to that of vomit, and it’s actually banned on public transport in Thailand because the smell is genuinely that offensive.  Needless to say I passed on consuming it on this occasion.  We also got to mess around with a very odd prickly plant, where you crush the seeds inside and use the natural dye as lipstick.  Goes without saying some of the boys used it as an opportunity to smear it on their faces as they naturally couldn’t bear to be left out of the cosmetic entertainment.

After the spice farm, Mike, Amber and I took a detour with a local guide to try and see the Colobus Monkeys in a local nature reserve.  The monkeys are native to Zanzibar and as we didn’t have time to go to the Jozani Forest, this was the next best thing.  Thankfully we found a small troop of them and got our obligatory photos before heading back to our guide Daniels house, to enjoy a local (and absolutely delicious) lunch on the floor of Daniel’s family home.  Beef tenderised in ginger, with rice and a local sauce, followed by fresh watermelon, pineapple and thee ripest mango I’ve ever had was just what we needed to set us up for the final drive to Nungwi.

Upon arrival in Nungwi, we grabbed a few sacred hours on the beach catching the last of the days sun, with a couple more Kilimanjaros (notice a theme emerging here?) followed by a lovely group dinner on the beach. 

Nungwi is a beautiful little beach town and although we had a couple of days here, we could easily have done a few more.  There are lots of lovely restaurants right along the coast, which look stunning when illuminated in the evening.  You can also dive, snorkel, swim with dolphins and take several boat trips if you wish.  

The first morning started well when a glass shelf in the beach hut bathroom came crashing down whilst I was brushing my teeth.  Thankfully no injuries, but a stark reminder that much of the handywork in some of these places cannot simply be relied upon!  Thankfully, our water supply that cut the night before had been reinstated too – never would I have thought that being able to actually flush your toilet would feel like a luxury. 

I got up super early as I wanted to maximise my beach time, and give this blog some much needed attention. Turns out it was a good shout as a rather large monkey decided to pay the breakfast bar a visit, early enquiring as to whether the fresh fruit was for him.  Eventually he cleared off, and breakfast resumed after a rather entertaining start to the day.  

Hitting the beach was such a treat after a few hectic, but fantastic days in Stone Town.  There were a fair few of the Maasai tribe from Kenya on the beach – I recognised them immediately as remembered the black and red checked cloth they wore when on a trip to Kenya several years ago.  From talking to them, we found out they were there looking for business opportunities on the island.  We hired sun loungers for 10,000 Tanzanian Shillings each (literally a few quid) and for the first time in a few days, relaxation kicked in.  That was however, short lived as Dani somehow manage to stand on a sea urchin resulting in a foot full of spines. Thankfully, the locals came into their own and after a session with tweezers, paraffin, papaya and vinegar, he was on the mend.  He did however, retire to his room for a good chunk of the day to lick his wounds (not literally) and more sensibly, stop his foot from getting infected. 

So as not to be completely lazy, we collectively decided to go on a sunset cruise, departing at 4pm.  A mere 20 USD resulted in all drinks being included, with a 2 and a half hour journey around the coastline during sunset which was magnificent. 

Our vessel was quite a traditional old wooden boat with a small top sun deck accessible via a ladder.  Initially, we thought the boat was well stocked with beer, local gin and rum.  It quickly transpired the this was not to last the journey with whole bottles of spirits being passed around, and poured from the top deck, directly into the mouths of those below.  An African band were stationed at the front, playing traditional music throughout.  How they put up with us all, I will never know.  We spent most of the time throwing ourselves from the top deck into the water which after a few drinks, was probably far more treacherous than it should have been.  I stupidly tried to copy a fronts somersault that Lewis performed seamlessly and managed to bruise both the soles of my feet due to landing badly.  What an idiot, but I’m sure my friends won’t be at all surprised.

Upon leaving the boat, just to round off a highly entertaining day, Mike managed to drop his phone in the sea and despite it spending several hours in a bag of rice it became clear very quickly it wasn’t going to make it.  I’m not entirely sure that his attempt of subsequently washing it with more water to clean it helped, as I think the water as opposed to the sea salt was clearly the issue…..lesson learned. 

The evening closed with us taking over the music system in our beach bar and dancing the night away with several more Kilimanjaros.

Time for some rest as an early day awaits as we start a long few days over-landing to Malawi…

Luce x

Firstly, sorry for the horrid delay with the blog posts! Turns out African Wifi isn’t particularly reliable, or even available when you’re overlanding! As a result, I’ve a backlog of blogs to post so will catch up day by day!

Todays the day I get to meet the rest of the group joining me on our overland expedition.  They’re all on different itineraries but the most recent stint sees them heading from Nairobi, Kenya, through Tanzania to meet us in Stone Town. 

I definitely feel like I’ve got lucky with the group so far with a great mix of interesting people!

First up is Mike from Brighton; a 77 year old ex London cabbie/ex lingerie salesman.  I can tell immediately that Mike and I are going to be great friends as he’s got this wonderful and inspirational zest for life and only live once mentality, which I adore. 

Next is Amber, a 21 year old student from Southampton.  She’s already exceptionally well travelled and has recently spent a years in Budapest whilst studying.  She also has the job of inevitably making me feel old, which in fairness is to be expected!

We then have Jodi, a super cool Aussie from the northern beaches of Sydney (think Manly for those familiars with that area, and if you haven’t been, go as you won’t be disappointed).  She’s a teacher who works with challenging children so as you can imagine, has a strong, yet practical head on her shoulders. She is also exceptionally well travelled having already done a couple of Dragoman tours, one most recently through Ethiopia which sounded utterly incredible.

Last but certainly not least are Jona and Dani. They are German, and Spanish respectively, both currently living in Stuttgart. Both are around my age (31) and I can already tell they are two people I’ve definitely keep in touch with when this trip comes to a close. Jona also conveniently works fort STA travel (who I booked my trip with) so has already shared some great insider info and tips. 

As I type, the remainder of the group are boarding the passenger barge at Dar Es Salaam to come and join us. 

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They’ve arrived!

The rest of the group arrived early afternoon into Stone Town and I mentioned earlier, have been doing a 14 day Nairobi to Zanzibar tour, via the Serengeti at the foot of Kilimanjaro to enjoy some safari time.  There are 17 of them and only a handful of us and although they’ve already bonded (which is to be expected), they’re super welcoming.  Some are on some amazing extended trips (think 6-12 months travelling) and others are simply taking time off work and doing this as a 2 week holiday. We’ve Brits, Aussies, Germans, an Austrian, one from the Netherlands and a couple of Americans. A great mix of nationalities which is exactly how it should be. 

This afternoon, I decided to join them on another snorkelling trip!  The snorkelling at Nakupemba sand bank earlier in the week was good, but todays trip was far better as the rickety old boats dropped us in the middle of the ocean near a reef and there was definitely far more to see in the deeper water.  There were all kinds of colourful fish, giant clams and a rather large intimidating looking jellyfish which just about edges the huge prawn I saw the day prior.   Unfortunately, the masks weren’t the greatest quality, and my flippers a little on the large side, meaning treading water and trying to rid my mask of salty water was a nigh on impossible task.  What didn’t help, was the fact they decided to moor the boats a good 100 metres away so it was quite a swim in deep water to get out of the water.  I also manage to swim, and haul myself out onto the wrong boas, resulting in my needing to dive back in and swim to the right one!

After arriving back on dry land, we had drinks that evening at another rooftop bar and another fabulous dinner at the night-market (yet another chicken Shawarma and sweet Zanzibar pizza for me!). 

The group were in high spirits, especially those finishing the prior trip as they’ve been solely camping for the past two weeks and were desperate for hot showers and a proper bed. We headed to a bar on the seafront called Mercurys (aptly named dude to the Freddie Mercury connection here) where a healthy number of Kilimanjaros were consumed.  Talking of beer, there are some good local brews here.  So far, I’ve sampled Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and Safari which despite being lagers, are surprisingly tasty, unless its the holiday vibes kicking in resulting in my drinking absolutely anything as long as its cold and wet….

The night took a rather interesting turn…. Jona and Dani had read somewhere that there was an African nightclub nearby which played traditional African music.  Daniel (our guide), had told them earlier in the day that it wouldn’t get busy until midnight so around 12 of us headed over to check it out.

The place looked suspect before we’d even got in and the fact it cost us 2000 Tanzanian Shillings each to get in should have been the warning sign we needed (less than £1!). The place was entirely outdoors, and it clearly had seen better days. Whether or not it even deserved the title of nightclub was questionable. It was a concrete jungle, with an empty space where I can only assume a swimming pool once existed which as now cordoned off.  A few drinks too many could easily see someone run and take a dive, potentially doing some seriously damage upon hitting the bottom.  The gin tasted of paints tripper (a couple of quid for the whole bottle) and the bar had a cage around it, presumably to prevent people helping themselves to either the booze or cash from the till. 

As for the music, the less said about that the better but after being asked for photos and propositioned, we decided it was time to go.  

Thats it for now but due to wifi, I’ve a few days behind on the blog front so more to come!

Luce x

Or Hakuna Shida?  I think pretty much everyone has heard of Hakuna Matata, largely brought into the English vocabulary via the Lion King but I bet fewer have heard of Hakuda Shida.  Its a new word I learned in Kiswahili and essentially means the same as Hakuna Matata = “no problem” or “no worries”.  It also makes you sound slightly more down with the locals, so I’ve been pulling it out of the bag a few times just to sound knowledgeable, and culturally astute! They speak Kiswahili here which is a derivative of Swahili, spoken in Kenya.

Its been a very busy few days, so I’ve finally time to sit down and write this blog!  Day one was epic, exploring Stone Town on my tod, but the continuous offers of help and tour guiding got a bit exhausting, so I felt I needed to shake things up on day 2. I also got horribly lost late in the evening on the first night, resulting in my needing to bite the bullet and turn on my GPS/roaming services to find my way via the alleys, back to my hotel. Cute a rather unwanted O2 bill when I return…

There is so much you can do from Stone Town – Zanzibar really has a mix of everything, from nature to culture to beaches so I’m really spoiled for choice. It used to belong to the Sultanate of Oman, and as such, the Arab influences are still prevalent, a real cultural mix. 

Day 2 saw me set an early alarm, and join a trip out to the nearby Change Island (Prison Island).  The island was formerly owned by an Arab and used for the confinement of refractory slaves but no prisoners were ever housed here instead the island became a quarantine station for yellow fever epidemics.  Its a beautiful boat ride from Stone Town (if a little turbulent!) and has a Turtle Sanctuary with a large number of Aldabra giant Tortoises who sadly, are currently considered vulnerable and therefore feature on the IUCN Red List. The turtle sanctuary on the island is a dedicated foundation which looks after the tortoises’ welfare.  One of the tortoises is 194 years old, so it was incredible so pay him a visit.  They are super tame, meaning that you can touch them, feed them and generally get some cracking photos with them without being overly intrusive. I’m always skeptical about these things as across the world there are so many ‘fake’ animal sanctuaries, but on this occasion, the desire to preserve the species for years to come seems legitimate. 

After a tour around Prison Island, we then took the boat over to Nakupemba Beach. Nakupenda means “I love you” in Swahili.  It’s a beautiful stretch of sand which you can only access in low tide, as when the tide is high, its completely covered. There was only a handful of people on it when we arrived, so we went straight out snorkelling, whilst the fabulous boat crew lit the BBQ and cooked up a fresh seafood lunch (meat for me of course).  Lunch consisted of jumbo prawns, squid and octopus which for seafood lovers, I can only imagine was paradise!  Especially accompanied by the chilled white wine they were also serving generously! 

Upon heading back to the mainland, I took a detour to see where Freddie Mercury was born for a few obligatory photos, then headed back to find my new hotel in preparation for joining the rest of the group on the overland expedition. There was only a few of us this evening, as the rest of the group are joining us tomorrow as they’ve been doing the Nairobi to Stone Town prior leg of the tour.  The beauty of Dragoman is you can literally pick up the itinerary in different places, so in each major changeover location, people leave and new people join meaning you get an injection of fresh blood (and sometimes naivety) in equal measure!  

Tonight we did a quick walk around of Stone Town, before heading to the night market for dinner.   I actually went to the night market the previous evening when I was on my own, but I didn’t end up eating as I was being pulled in all directions by the locals and it all got a bit overwhelming.  In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t as Daniel our guide was super helpful in telling us what not to touch.  He recommended three local delicacies to try (cue my joy when realising none of it was seafood based – hurrah!).  These were Shawarma (which I think many of you will know as its widely available all over the UK), Zanzibar mix (grilled beef skewers, falafel and Irish potatoes) covered in a locally made sauce, and Zanzibar pizza, which is essentially a crepe filled with either a sweet or savoury filling of your choice.  I went for the shawarma, followed by a sweet Zanzibar pizza for dessert (think banana, cinnamon and honey) which was delicious. The food was excellent, and a great introduction to East Africa!

We ended the evening with a few drinks in a local rooftop bar which a perfect end to my first accompanied day.

Thats it for now, will write again shortly!

Luce x

Hooray! I made it!

This morning, I safely arrived in Zanzibar after a 14 hour flight from London, which in fairness really wasn’t too painful at all. At least not compared to Australia!

I’m currently perched on the rooftop of the Zanzibar Coffee House in Stone Town having a bit of down time, after a few hours exploring, and getting suitably lost as expected.

I can’t say I really knew much about Stone Town before I got here but it’s fair to say I’m glad I’ve got a few days here to explore it properly. Stone Town is the largest, living Swahili stone town in the world and unbeknownst to me until I got here, was designated a UNESCO “World Heritage Site” back in 2000. You could call it a crumbling city, but it’s still very much alive in the sense its narrow streets are bustling with all kinds of eclectic vendors – not an entirely dissimilar vibe to the back alleys of Marrakesh, although a damn sight less stressful. The Zanzibar archipelago consists of over 50 islands, the main inhabited islands being Unguja (Zanzibar), Pemba and Tumbatu (not Timon and Pumba from the Lion King if your brain heard those last two the same as mine did – I blame tiredness). It’s also only 6 degrees south of equator here so pretty tropical in climate, and it ended up being a solid 30 degrees for most of the day. Bliss. The two hour time difference also makes it a super easy destination to travel to.

Arriving and getting through the airport was a breeze – its tiny (as expected) and I was particularly impressed with the fact you aren’t allowed to bring plastic bags into Tanzania, therefore they advise you to dispose of them before entering the country or else you could be subject to a fine! Although the Foreign Office says you can obtain a visa on arrival, if you’re thinking of going, seriously do it in advance. It enables you to breeze past the hoards of tourists frantically looking for pens in which to complete their landing cards, and hot foot it to the front of the security queue (which based how long it took to check my documents, is well worthwhile). My bag was one of the first out, so I had the joyful task of running the gauntlet trying to locate my driver. I’m all for the truly local experience, but after a long flight, I find it stressful negotiating a price for a local taxi so on this occasion, booked ahead. It was a good job I did! I didn’t realise my hotel was buried in the backstreets of Stone Town, accessible only by scooter or foot, therefore Ali my driver kindly dragged me and my bag through the market (and fish market) navigating me there seamlessly. Well done Ali.

My first task was to try and find somewhere to exchange the copious amounts of USD I brought with me. Cue the wild goose chase around the backstreets of Stone Town which wasn’t remotely fruitful. The people seem lovely (including a chap in uniform with a rather intimidating weapon around his neck), and were more than happy to point me in the direction of the PBZ (People’s Republic of Zanzibar) Bureau, but what they sadly failed to mention, was that they are all closed on Sunday. Perhaps they saw my hopeful face and couldn’t bring themselves to tell me Sunday’s are a no go zone for changing money.

Solo Travel

I’ll start by saying that in the limited time I’ve been here, I haven’t felt in danger or intimidated once. What I will say (like many parts of the world), is that being a solo female traveller does attract a fair bit more attention than one would potentially like. Now I’m quite thick skinned so like to think I’ve mastered the art of being firm, and polite at the same time but I can see how others may get a little exasperated, resulting in frustration, erring on the side of bad manners.

Just even consulting a map in a public thoroughfare results in my automatically get asked if I’m lost, to which I politely reply “absolutely not”, despite knowing full well I haven’t the foggiest idea where I’m going.

The countless offers of tour guiding, and whatsapp numbers being thrust in my direction is utterly mind-blowing. In fact I’d go as far as saying I’ve never acquired so many telephone numbers so easily! There definitely seems to be a struggle to understand why a western, single solo travelling female in her 30’s wouldn’t want to be escorted around the backstreets of Stone Town with gentlemen she doesn’t know from adam….

It can be exhausting, and there is a need to dip into the odd restaurant or cafe now and again to get a bit of respite. Their intentions are good, they just aren’t that well executed. This isn’t unique to this part of the world, make no mistake, but for me its all part of the fun of it. Wouldn’t it be boring if culturally, the world was the same everywhere you went?

I’ve made a good start in sampling some of the local delicacies. I began the day with a delicious spiced coffee which contained cinnamon & cardamom (yum), then proceeded to devour a crepe filled with banana, coconut and even more cardamom! Spices are definitely not in short supply here so I’m looking forward to my visit to one of the spice farms later this week.

Right, as its only day one, I’m going to leave it there, plus there is some sun still to catch. I’m booking myself on a trip to go to Prison Island and Nakupenda Beach tomorrow, so I’ll be sure to report back as soon as I can.

In the meantime, I’m off to find somewhere authentic for dinner!

Luce x

So……….4 days to go! I’m moving out of my flat Saturday, and haven’t yet started packing up my life ready for it to temporarily reside in storage whilst I’m gone.

I have this paranoia that I’m going to do something stupid, like pack some of my critical equipment in my removal boxes, resulting in me frantically rooting through the boxes Saturday morning to retrieve said possessions. As a result, I’ve stuck my head in the sand and decided to just avoid it all together. Probably not my greatest, or most intelligent strategy to date.

It dawned on me at the start of the week that I hadn’t yet posted my itinerary, therefore this post is dedicated to ensuring you nosey lot know my whereabouts. In addition, you’ll also be able to pinpoint where I’ve potentially met my maker if this blog goes quiet for a while….

The trip is aptly named ‘Zanzibar, Zambezi and the Falls’ which should immediately give you an indication of where I’m off to. I’ve extended the start to have a few extra days in Zanzibar (cue the look of a human crab stick after a few hours in the sun – red on one side, white on the other). I’ve also extended at the end to have a few extra days in Vic Falls in a fancy pants safari lodge. On the basis the trip is 80% camping, I think I owe it to myself to have a couple of nights in slightly more luxurious surroundings. To be precise, a safari lodge with a waterhole view room. Those animals best be saving themselves for me.

The itinerary should allow me some time to relax on the stunning beaches of Lake Malawi and to explore the bush in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park, home to Africa’s bush elephants and huge numbers of hippos and crocs. I also have the unique experience of exploring the backwaters of the Lower Zambezi by Canadian canoe, billed as one of Africa’s real wilderness experiences.

Stop 1: Zanzibar (Tanzania)

The hotels on this trip are basic, so I booked myself a night in the Zanzibar Coffee House hotel in Stone Town. Its a historical hotel with bags of character so hoping the African charm is alive and well here.

In Zanzibar I’ve time to explore Stone Town, visit a spice plantation, enjoy Nungwi beach (with some snorkelling thrown in for good measure) and hopefully see some Red Colobus monkeys in the Jozani Forest.

Stop 2: Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)

I’ll be taking a ferry from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam, before travelling on the local commuter barge from the city centre to the suburb of Kigamboni. Here, I’ll be camping on the beach and may do a sunset kayaking trip to explore the mangroves.

Stop 3: Iringa, Mikumi (Tanzania)

This is where grumpy Luci is bound to kick in. There are a couple of REALLY long drives ahead (11-12 hours EACH to be precise) to reach Malawi, starting with a journey out of Dar es Salaam and through the hills of the Mikumi National Park.

Stop 4: Chitimba (Malawi)

Another grumpy travel day is in store, as I’ll cross the southern highlands of Tanzania and enter Malawi (at Songwe), arriving at the beaches of Chitimba on the northwestern shores of Lake Malawi. It’s here that I’ll find out if the black biro pen adjustment I made to the incorrectly spelled name on my visa is acceptable. Wish me luck!

Stop 5: Chitimba, Kande (Malawi)

Next, I’m heading south along the coast of Lake Malawi to Kande beach. I’ll thankfully have some time to enjoy the beach, and hopefully do some watersports on the lake, some horse riding through the forests and on the beaches, and village walks to see a little bit of the life of the local Tonga people.

Stop 6: Lilongwe (Malawi)

Next up is the Malawian capital of Lilongwe. Hopefully I’ll get there by mid-afternoon so I have the chance to explore the city, its markets and its shops.

Stop 7: South Luangwa National Park (Zambia)

SAFARI TIME!!!!!!!!!!! Quite possibly the part of the trip I’m most excited about. I haven’t been on safari since a family holiday to Kenya many years ago, and I’ve been desperate to do another for a while. Here, I’ll be doing early morning and evening game drives, both in open-sided safari vehicles.

South Luangwa National Park is a hidden gem on the safari circuit; it is rarely visited due to its remote setting, but has some incredible populations of wildlife and is one of the only parks in Southern Africa that is open for night driving with spotlights when many of the big game is at its most active.  On the basis I’m camping here, I’m hoping that I’m not an attractive proposition to one of the hungry inhabitants of the park…. that said, what a way to go.

Stop 8: Luangwa River (Zambia)

Next up is the journey to the Lower Zambezi area. Here I’m doing a two-day, two-night canoeing expedition. This is apparently a “fully participatory expedition” which basically means I have to pair up, go out in 2-person canoes and paddle ourselves, following the lead boat! All my gear will be carried in a supply canoe, and wild camps are erected on islands in the river along the way.

Stop 9: Livingstone (Zambia)

From the lower Zambezi, I am then heading to the Zambian side of the world-famous Victoria Falls. I’ll be seeing the falls from both the Zambian and Zimbabwean side.

Stop 10: Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)

After crossing into Zimbabwe, I’ll get to see the Victoria Falls from the other side. They’re the largest waterfalls in Africa! There are LOADS of adventure activities here (bungee, whitewater rafting etc.) so I’ll likely try out of couple of those, whilst also visiting the main viewpoints over the Falls.

This is where (after camping for such a large portion of the trip), I’ve booked myself two nights at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge for a bit of luxury to end the trip. I plan on doing nothing aside from drinking cold beer, whilst watching the watering hole in the hope that the animals will put on a show just for me. Not too much to ask right?

So there you have it, thats my itinerary! As we all know, anything can happen with travel so I’ll be doing my best to blog as I go!

Feel free to get in touch, follow me on instagram or leave a comment – really keen to hear from you!

Much Love,

Luce x

It’s Sunday, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I don’t have work on Monday.  In fact, I don’t have work on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday for that matter, and that’s me done now until potentially October/November time. It feels truly bloody marvellous! 

I’m also now the proud over of a both a Tanzanian and Malawian visa, so progress is being made. That said, the lovely folk in the Malawi High Commission spelt my name wrong so had to take a biro to my beloved passport and will hope for the best at the border …..

Friday was the day I left my job after 9 years (which for my age, within the same organisation is quite an achievement in my view) and what a week its been.  I’m finally recovering from the festivities of Friday (and Thursday courtesy of McDonalds).  To say Friday was a messy evening would probably be an understatement.  Things could have been worse though and I take comfort in the fact I wasn’t the lady in the bar with the red polka dot dress who continuously found it amusing to flash her knickers at the security staff, climb on our table nearly taking out our Magnum of Whispering Angel, before being swiftly ejected from the venue.  This was all before 8pm…… (for anyone wondering, I can categorically confirm I genuinely was NOT the lady in the red dress). If however, you’re London based and have yet to make it to Archer Street in Soho, get yourself down there as its really a top night out. 

I finally got confirmation on Wednesday that I’d exchanged on my flat, which until now, was pretty up in the air.  On the basis I’d handed my notice in on my current tenancy, it was nice knowing I’d have somewhere to live upon my return from Africa.  Because I never seem to do things the simple way, I’ve cut my logistics fine at both ends.  The movers will literally be packing up my stuff before I whizz off to Heathrow, and then on the day I land (at 6am), I’m heading straight to collect my keys, and they’re delivering my belongings that afternoon.  God help me if my flight is delayed….or them on the basis they’re going to have to use their initiative if I’m not present…..!

I’ve had a pretty productive week so far… largely consisting of tying up loose ends as I prepare to skip off into the sunset. I’ve also been sorting out my trip equipment.  I’m going to share a few links in case anyone ever needs to buy similar gear (outdoor equipment is not my forte).

What has become abundantly clear, is that I’m excellent at spending money….. I thought I could ‘get away’ with some of the stuff from my backpacking trip 12 years ago but so much has changed since then, and shiny new products are just too hard to resist…..

When I think of camping, it reminds me of a little trip I did with a couple of friends to the Hunter Valley when I was backpacking in Australia many years ago. To say we were ill equipped was an understatement. After an exceptionally boozy day on the ‘wine rover’ which was a dirt cheap tour of the vineyards with enough free wine to send us into a coma, we had to pitch a tent. It was then we realised that aside from a tent and sleeping bags, we failed to acquire any other equipment, hence ending up using piles of clothes to sleep on. Add to this extreme weather conditions in the form of thunder, lightning and torrential rain, we woke up (after minimal sleep) pretty much floating. Needless to say we abandoned the camping equipment and decided we’d be safer (and less of a danger to others) in hostels.

As a result, I decided that on this occasion, bearing in mind that 80% of my trip to Africa is camping, I’d do well to get myself some decent equipment.

Sleeping Bags & Liners

Easy………..or so I thought.  Surely a quick trip to Ellis Brigham would result in my being in possession of a snazzy new sleeping bag, appropriate for all weather conditions (you know, like those metal bottles that keep your drinks hot when you want them hot, or cool when you want them cold right?).

Decisions had to be made between synthetic versus down fillings (down packs down much smaller, but is not as good as the synthetic bags in wet conditions).  Apparently (if you identify as female of course) its better to buy a female specific bag as it provides “more insulation in key areas’. Now I’m not sure how they’re defining ‘key areas’ but I’m very clear on which of my areas are ‘key’ and I worry somewhat we may not be aligned on this opinion (probably best to leave that there).  There are also so many different shapes and sizes, but in the end, I’ve gone for one which will essentially make me look like I belong in some kind of ancient Egyptian burial chamber, minus the gold and jewels of course. 

There are also multiple ‘seasons’ in sleeping bag lingo depending on your usage requirements.   I went for a season 3 Marmot Angel Fire Bag which should hopefully ensure I don’t die of hypothermia when in Argentina on my subsequent trip (as I’d imagine the chances of that in Africa are pretty low).  Lets hope this isn’t naivety on my part…..

As for liners, I had a cotton life venture one but now, the silk liners pack down so much smaller and with luggage restrictions on the overland truck, compact is key.  As a result, this Rab one looks like it will the trick. 

Camping Mats

Another bloody conundrum as far as I’m concerned.  I had assumed that a simple roll out mat would suffice, but having spotted self inflating mats that have an in-built pillow, I couldn’t resist on the basis I’d get major camping envy if others on my trip appear to be a damn sight more comfortable than me. I can think of nothing worse than lying straight as a poker while your fellow campers are snuggled up looking so comfy they may as well be back in the womb.  As a result, I went for a Trail Outdoor mat, which self inflates and packs down really small.  Now lets just hope the flipping thing does what it says and self inflates…they’ve already sent me a lovely email with instructions so I’m feeling optimistic. 

Head Torches

I’ll be honest, the idea of feeling your way around a campsite, trying to find your way in the dark from your tent to the toilet block really doesn’t appeal to me and is probably the one thing I dislike the most about camping. That, coupled with the fact the critters in East Africa will probably be somewhat more life threatening than those you’d find in Devon suggest that being able to see where I’m going will probably be a bonus. I went for this rechargeable torch from Amazon – seems a good little gadget if you ask me but I’ll report back on that at a later date.

I’m currently trying to determine how the toilet situation when camping in East Africa, will compare to the arrangement I had to endure when doing a three day trek up Mount Rinjani in Lombok, Indonesia. For three days, each night at camp, we had to dig a hole in the ground, using only a windbreaker to help protect our privacy and hope those bastard monkeys didn’t nick your toilet roll overnight.  On one occasion, one particularly over excitable primate decided to decorate the entire campsite with the loo roll which was a sight to behold first thing in the morning, when emerging groggy, and cold from your tent.

Anyway, obviously there is a fair bit more kit I need, but I won’t bore everyone with that in this particular entry.  Next week is a busy one, thankfully with no more injections scheduled until the week after.  Malaria tablets have now also arrived and its all feeling very real, and equally exciting. 

I’ll post the itinerary and route at some point too so you can have a nose at where I’ll be going…..

Enough for now, hope you all enjoy your week at work (sorry, couldn’t resist) and catch you soon.

Luci x

Whenever I hear the word ‘Africa’, I immediately think of the famous song by Toto, which (as my friends can verify) will result in me heading like a bullet out of a gun to the nearest spot on the dance floor. A cracking tune I hope you all agree….

My first big trip of the year is to Africa, and Africa as many of you will know, requires a fair bit of prep, particularly as far as visas and vaccinations are concerned. The last few weeks have seen me acting as a human pin cushion, as I get myself inoculated for the various illnesses and diseases that exist in that part of the world. I’ll be going to Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe and as 80% of the trip is camping, it’s fair to say I need a dose of pretty much everything going! This includes Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Hep A, Hep B, Rabies and of course Malaria tablets. You also need the Tetanus, Diphtheria & Polio jabs that I think most of us had as standard as children, thus only requiring a booster. Having been to the likes of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka in recent years, I’ve already got a lot of the needed jabs however as a result of stupidly losing my yellow fever certificate, I had to be jabbed again just to acquire evidence, which is a tad frustrating (although totally my own fault).

You can get a fair few of these on the NHS, but sadly not all of them. I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to part with cash for someone to stick needles in you, in fact I’d argue someone should be paying me, but it is what it is. Hep B and Rabies are the two that are the most annoying. Both require a course of three injections to be effective, and with Rabies, even then it only buys you an extra 24 hours to seek medical care so the jab in itself isn’t preventative. At a cost of £180 for Rabies alone, it doesn’t quite strike me as value for money, but if I happen to get bitten by a rabid dog or monkey, I may start feeling that its more of a return on my investment.

Now onto visas….thankfully Zambia and Zimbabwe are pretty straight forward in the sense that you hand over your cash on arrival (as is the case with many countries) and away you go. Whilst in theory its the same for Malawi and Tanzania, guidance suggests that both are best obtaining upon arrival.

Tanzania have made strides into the 21st century by allowing you to make the application electronically, which is relatively straight forward. That said, had I not chased the Embassy for confirmation, I’m not entirely sure how long the visa would have taken to come through as within 24 hours of me chasing, it magically appeared in my inbox. Fancy that.

Malawi on the other hand is somewhat more intrusive. Bearing in mind I’m only there for 7 days, the visa required photos, a covering letter, three months bank statements and a little outing to the Malawi High Commission in Holborn, London. I’m glad I looked into this in advance, as it soon became apparent that they only accept visa applications on a Mondays from 10:30am to 1:00pm and 2:00pm to 3:30pm. You then need to return on the following Thursday to collect your visa (within the same time frames). No appointment is required, and you sit, in what feels like your grandmothers lounge, with Good Morning Britain on the TV whilst you wait for a nice chap to come, check your documents, take your money and disappear, shortly returning with a little slip to bring with you upon your return. I’ve always had an issue leaving my passport anywhere so close to the start of a trip, so I’m currently praying for its safe return this Thursday, fully endorsed with shiny Malawian visa. Watch this space….

As far as the rest of the Africa prep goes, I’ve got a ton of equipment to buy. The trip is rural and overland so camping equipment is a necessity – I’ll blog about this at a later date. In the meantime, I’ve found this rather cool water bottle which has a micro filtration system, basically meaning you can scoop water from pretty much anywhere, and it filters it to a point where its safe to drink.

On that note, I’m going to leave you with a link to the epic sound of Africa by Toto.

Enjoy and stay tuned!

Luce x