Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam hotel rooms

Ian and i boarded our flight to Dar es Salaam very excited and apprehensive... i didn't really know what to expect! The flight was pretty uneventful and everything was going far to smoothly until it came time to collect my luggage... thank you SAA, i didn't need my bag anyway! My eyes were opened to the ways of Africa almost immediately as we navigated our way through Dar es Salaam city centre... not a good idea at 4 in the afternoon. As we waited patiently at a robot behind a fuel truck we watch in amusement as a guy walked up to the tanker very casually with a spanner and packet. He opened the outlet valve, filled up his packed with fuel and walked off... all as casual as ever, something tells me he's done that before!! He tried a repeat at the next robot but the driver was waiting for him with a panger...

We were up at the crack of dawn the following morning to board our flight to Zanzibar... thankfully my bag had arrived during the night so we picked it up on our way. It was a very smooth and short flight to Zanzibar on a 16 seater... just flying over the island was amazing. Next stop Stonetown... the town is made up of a maze of very narrow alleys, 4 and 5 storey buildings with huge wooden doors and small markets. We walked through the meat and fish markets... not a good idea if you have a weak stomach, it made me think twice before ordering a meal for the rest of the trip. A tour of the Slave market is also a must... defiantly an eye opener (there is now a hostel at the Slave market site).

The wiring system in Stonetown

Barry and I walking through the narrow alleys of Stonetown

Ian, Barry and myself in the Slave chambers... excuse my wardrobe, thank you SAA again!

We stayed in Nungwi, on the Northern part of the island at Smiles Beach Cottages. The locals are very friendly and tourism orientated, their favourite phase is "Hakuna Matata" (Swahli for "no worries"), which is very much the attitude in Zanzibar! The typical response from the locals when we answered the question of where are you from was, "Bafana Bafana"... which i found very amusing! Sunsets in Zanzibar are breathtaking and i made sure i didn't miss any of the 3 we were there for.

Our activities on Zanzibar included walks on the amazing beaches, chilling in the sun, a boat ride and snorkelling trip to Mnemba Island (the colours underwater were absolutely amazing... so many different species of fish) and the boys also went scuba diving (which by the sounds of things was also amazing). A large amount of time was spent at one of the many bars along the beach... i can't think of a better way to spend an evening than sipping on a cocktail, under the stars with your toes in the sand!

Mnemba Island is a private island and at $1000 per day we didn't step foot on it!

Unfortunately our 3 days on Zanzibar had to come to an end and it was back on the 16 seater for our return flight to Dar. On our return to the Seacliff Hotel, Ian discovered he has LOST his passport, $1000 and 2 cameras... ouch! One word of advice, not a good idea to loose a passport in a foreign country, especially when we are planning on driving through another 5 countries!!! We had to delay our trip for the next 3 days and camp out at our hotel in Dar for a couple of reasons, the main one being waiting on an emergency passport, but the Land Rover had to have it's power steering fixed (the first of many problems to follow) and John had fallen victim to blood poisioning and needed medical attention. I somehow fell victim to the famous Africa guts and spent the next 3 days in bed watching TV... fun fun fun!

Barry lending a hand in fixing the Landie

At noon on Friday the fantastic news came that we had the passport and we were out of that hotel and on the road to Tanga quicker than we could say Hakuna Matata...

Leaving on a jetplane

I can't believe the time has finally arrived... 1 more sleep til i board my flight to Dar es Salaam!! Not sure how much sleep i'm gonna get tonight mind you! :)
I'm not taking my laptop and my phone probably won't work outside of South Africa but i'll try update the blog whenever i get the opportunity!
hope everyone has a great 4 weeks... i know i will! ;)

Tanzania Dash Itinerary

Here is the rough... ok not so rough but very well planned and thought through itinerary for my trip that we are gonna try and stick too! I only join the group on Day 14 (15 June) , so i'll start from there:

1-13. Mozambique

14. Dar es Salaam (Tz)

15. Dar es Salaam (Tz)

16. Zanzibar (Tz)

17. Zanzibar (Tz)

18. Tanga (Ken)

19. Tiwi (Ken)

20. Nairobi (Ken)

21. Samburu (Ken)

22. Lake Bogoria (Ken)

23. Lake Bogoria (Ken)

24. Masai Mara Gate (Ken)

25. Masai Mara (Ken)

26. Musoma (Tz)

27. Nansio (Tz)

28. Serengeti Gate (Tz)

29. Serengeti (Tz)

30. Ol Doinyo Lengai (Tz)
31. Ol Doinyo Lengai (Tz)

32. Dodoma (Tz)

33. Uyole (Tz)

34. Karonga (Mal)

35. Nkhata Bay (Mal)

36. Senga (Mal)

37. Senga (Mal)
38. Tete (Moz)

39. Cahora Basa/Chicao (Moz)

40. Chicao (Moz)

41. Bandula (Moz)

42. Bubi River (Zim)

43. JHB

44. Ballito

Meeting Kingsley Holgate

As preparation continues for my African adventure, myself and the other 4 happy travellers had the amazing opportunity to meet the great explorer himself... Kingsley Holgate! He is as down to earth as he looks with that beard and hair and has given us some invaluable advice and tips! :) His next trip is called Cape to Cape, where him and his team are planning to travel the entire coast of Africa, and should take about a year... amazing! We've been invited to join the Mozambique part of the trip in Feb/Mar next year... decisions, decisions! :)

At the back is Ian, Me, John and Richard and sitting is Barry and Kingsley!

Just as a side note, i've been asked by the editor of southafricalogue.com to write an article a week about what's going on in the beautiful city of Durbs... so i expect everyone to read, it'll be checking up on you! :)

Tanzania Dash

It is creeping up to 9 months now since i've been home and i've survived the heat that is a Durban summer! :) A trip back to the US of A was in the pipeline but that has fallen through because of a number of factors but i'm very excited to report that i have another trip planned!

On 15 June 2007 i board a plane to Dar es Salaam... i never thought i'd ever say that! Once i land there i'll be meeting up with a few fellow travellers and we'll be carrying on our 4x4 adventure! So far in our itinerary we plan to spend a few days in Zanzibar, we then carry on up north into Kenya and the Masai Mara to see the migration, then it's back down south and back into Tanzania, through the Serengeti, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe and after 4 weeks of this incredible journey we'll end up back in South Africa! :)

I'll keep you updated as i know more... as it stands now i have booked my one way ticket to Dar es Salaam and the visa process will be starting soon!

Well this is going on i'm trying to keep focused on studying and working... easier said that done! :)

Summertime

It looks like i've slipped into my bad habits again... taking so long to post an entry in my blog! I do apologise for this, i don't really have an excuse... i suppose it's a combination of not really getting up to much and working loads!

Work is going well... keeping me busy and out of trou... oh who am i kidding, it's seems to be getting me into more trouble than keeping me out but that's what you get for working in a famous bar like Billy's... hehe! :)

For those who don't know, the A1 Grand Prix is hitting the streets of Durban this weekend, which is really exciting for Durban! I've managed to land a job for the main race day on Sunday... should be good fun, hopefully i'll have time to take a few photos!

Otherwise Durbs is it's same old extremely hot self... although February has been kind to us so far. At least i've had the time to work on my tan, looking human again after 4 years of being pale!

Still not 100% sure of what's gonna happen with me in the next couple of months, there are a few options each with their own pros and cons... i'm trying my best to work it out! Right now i'm trying to take one day at a time!

It was my godson, Jack's first bithday on 12th February... i can't believe he's a year old already... my how time flies! Talking of time flying, i've been home for almost 8 months now and it has flown!

And also on the subject on flying... it's Steve first flight today as a commercial pilot! :) i'm very proud of him and i know he'll make a success of this new job!

very merry merry

Just a quick post to wish all my 'loyal' readers a very merry xmas... i hope you all have a wonderful day with family and friends! This is my first xmas home in 5 years and it's gonna be good spending it with family and friends again... although i'm not to sure about the heat, i'd rather trade it in for a white xmas!

Oh also to let you know... i passed my exams, so i'm now fully embedded into my second year of my BCom... i will finish it one day! :)

Have a great one!
Luv Me

Adventures of an American in SA continued

So where was i... oh yes, on our way to Cape Town! We were up at sparrow's fart to get catch out 7am flight to CT... we flew the ever entertaining kulula.com! Upon arrival we picked up our hired car... a Ford KA, the cutest little car you'd hope to find! :)

So now to put my plan in action... get from the airport to the Cape Peninsula, drive along there to Stellenbosch where we would be spending a couple of nights. Once we found our way to the Peninsula it was plain sailing... and let me say, one of the most beautiful drives you will ever take! Our first of many stops was Camps Bay for brunch... wow, the beaches and buildings are amazing! We arrived there on Sept 1 (first day of spring), our waiter informed us that it was the first time in 7 years it wasn't raining on the first day of spring... of course Steve claimed to have something to do with that! After eating and a walk along the beach it was back into the KA, making our way towards Cape Point... stopping at regular intervals to take photos of the amazing scenery!

Just before we eventually arrived at the Cape Peninsula National Park we stopped the Cape Point Ostrich Farm and an impulsive decision was made to have a look! We were given a tour of the farm... very interesting stuff, baby ostriches are very cute. Then it was time to reach the South-western most tip of Africa... and what a view and feeling standing there looking out to the horizon! The trek up to the look out point was not that much fun tho! We arrived at the park with only 2 hours left til closing time... much to the disappointment of Steve.

Once we had taken in all we could and the sun started to disappear we jumped back into KA and made our way towards Stellenbosch... eventually arriving in the dark... i think i should take up a job as a navigator! :) We checked into our hostel... The Stumble Inn and hit the student town of Stellenbosch for a great dinner and some live music.

Next morning... Wine Tour! :) We joined a group of about 10 people and were driven around the beautiful wine regions, visiting 5 wineries (Simonsig, Fairview and Boschendal are 3 i remember) and sampling large amounts of delicious wines! Steve... who loves his wines fell in love with Simonsig's Tiara... very yummy (not sure that is the correct way to describe an award-winning wine)! It was an amazing day... i honestly couldn't believe how stunning that part of South Africa was... just breathe-taking, something i'll definitely do again! We were dropped off back in Stellenbosch are 5pm... a long day of drinking, so nap time before a night out! We went back to the restaurant we'd eaten at the previous night for another delicious dinner... not before being insulted by a drunken man insisting that he was our bodyguard!!

Sunday morning dawned... time for a yummy breakfast and back in KA to make our way back along the Cape Peninsula to Simon's Town and Boulders Bay! We were treated to a frolicking display by Humpback whales in Kalk Bay on route to Simon's Town! A tour of the South African Navy Museum in Simon's Town was a must since Steve was in the US Navy... i even found it interesting! Next up... a visit to the penguins of Boulders Bay. There are thousands of them going about their daily lives, not really worried about the thousands of people gawking over them... very cool!

On our way back in Cape Town we came across a troop of baboons taking over the road, there were cars everywhere trying to get the perfect photo! Once back in CT we damped our stuff at The Big Blue hostel and made our way down to the V&A Waterfront to meet up with my aunt and cousin for coffee! Once they left Steve and i enjoyed a very romantic dinner and walked around the waterfront to see what we could see. Back at the hostel bar we drank and chatted with fellow travellers... always fun! :)

The final morning of our whirlwind adventure arrived and thankfully it was a perfect day to make our way up Table Mountain! Another breathe-taking experience... 360 degree views of CT and beyond. We decided to do what we thought would be a little trek to one of the highest points of the mountain... turned out to be a 3 hour hike, nothing like getting the blood pumping! We managed to get back to the cable car in one piece and in time to get back to the airport!! I'm not gonna go any further with the details because leaving Steve and returning to Durban is something i never want to repeat!

I had an absolutely amazing 2 weeks and still remember every detail like it was yesterday! I know Steve loved his time here as well and will definitely return one day! :)

Thanks again to Steve for the use of his fotos... see you in 3 months! :)

The show must go on...

On Friday morning my gran, mom and myself set off for Cape Town to attend my cousin, Cindy's wedding to Ryno! We landed in Cape Town and true to form were almost blown back to Durban... well my gran was anyway! The weather forecast for the next day wasn't looking pretty, which was concerning since the wedding was set to be outside at the Ashanti winery.

My aunt took us off to the V&A Waterfront to meet up with my uncle (mom's brother) and his family... i finally got to meet my youngest cousin who is now 5 and my 2 other cousins i haven't seen in many many years! My aunt then got a text informing her that Ryno (Cindy's husband to be) might have appendicitis... things weren't looking good at all between that and the weather!

Almost the whole of my mom's side of the family... family reunion!

Anyway... saturday morning dawned with blue skies and the news that Ryno would be able to hold out for a few days... the wedding will go ahead! :)

It was an absolutely amazing wedding... everything was beautiful, my cousin looked amazing and the groom looked pretty dapper himself! Many beautiful and thought provoking things were said... it was just an amazing day! A very simple and down to earth kind of day... perfect in my eyes!

Btw... the orginal title was There will be a wedding... this gave a few readers the wrong idea so i changed it! :)

Summer is officially here :)

Well this is my first Durban summer in 5 years and man is it hot... i'd forgotten about the humidity in this place! I am also officially sun burnt for the first time in 5 years... i look like a tomato lobster... ouch! :) well at least i have some colour in me!!!

This month has been pretty crazy, finished exams finally (still waiting for the results) and have been working so much i can't remember the last time i had dinner at home (it reaps rewards tho, got the highest turnover for Nov... bonus)! My shifts for Dec are also insane... think of the money Robyn, every bit counts towards getting me back to the states!!!

I am now off for 4 days tho... jetting off to Cape Town tomorrow... yay! :) Going for my cousin, Cindy's wedding... it's gonna be an awesome weekend, i'm really looking forward to seeing all my family again! :)

Look out for fotos next week and i haven't forgotten about the to be continued story! :)

PS some exciting tourism news... 'Tourism growth in SA double that of the world'

Adventures of an American in SA

Aug 26th... Steve walks through the doors at Durban International, after a very long 6 weeks of anticipation and excitement! All i will say about his arrival is that my heart skipped a number of beats! :)

We spent the first 2 days in Durbs. Landed up at Warwick's (my flatmate) parent's house in Ballito the first night and a fantastic evening was had by all, esp Steve, who was introduced to the great hospitality of a true South African family and a braai... i kicked ass at pool as well! The second day's activities were dominated by a Cessna flight down the south coast to Margate and back piloted by the cousin, Shannon! It was a beautifully clear day and we could see for miles... amazing stuff! :)

Greatest house bar in the world!

On the Monday we picked up our rented car, Super Tazz and made our way up the north coast on the N2 towards Hluhluwe. We stayed at Isinkwe Backpackers Bushcamp... a beautiful setting and location right in the bush! That afternoon was spent at the Emdoneni Cheetah Project up the road from the hostel to watch and participate in the feeding of Cheetahs and a few other wild cats... it was wild!

5am wake up call the next morning... safariing we shall go! After a very cold 30km ride on the back of an open safari truck we arrived at the entrance of Hluhluwe Game Reserve for a full day of wildlife watching! Within the first hour of the safari we saw Rhino, Zebra, a variety of buck, Wildebeest, Buffalo, Giraffe, Baboons and i'm sure there were many more! Steve was loving all the photographic opportunities as he is a very keen photographer and very good at it i might add! The rest of the day was a bit of a disappointment, all the wildlife seemed to go into hiding and our tour guide (nicknamed potato head by Steve and i) seemed to go to sleep! As the afternoon rolled on, the clouds rolled in and so did the rain! Another cold 30km ride back to the lodge lay ahead of us but this time with a few rain drops. It was a great and tiring day, great photos were taken and every animal except Lion, Leopard and Elephant were seen! We spent the evening enjoying a few drinks, a good meal and a game of darts (which i won... again!)


Wednesday morning dawned, we packed up the Super Tazz again and made our way to St Lucia! I was really looking forward to this part of the trip because i'd never been to St Lucia! We arrived and checked in at Bibs with gale force winds blowing us to all parts (later heard that the Durban Harbour had been closed because of the wind and swells). Because of the winds all 'normal' St Lucia activities had been cancelled so after enjoying a cup of Illy coffee, much to Steve's delight, we took a drive up to Cape Vidal! What a beautiful beach, even with the wind blowing like it was it was amazing! The drive up to Cape Vidal is made through a game reserve, we saw a few buck and a lonely Rhino. On the way back Steve decided to take the now famous 'loop road' which just seemed to be this endless road of nothingness... you had to be there!

Me outside Bibs in St Lucia

Cape Vidal... ain't it beautiful

Our night in St Lucia was spent with the fellow travellers staying at Bibs, we spent the evening drinking beer and whisky, watching the local church group sing a few traditional songs and then made our way in the pouring rain to the local pub, i think it was called the Cheeky Monkey... an awesome evening was had by all, hanging out with fellow travellers rocks! Next morning we awoke to pouring rain and headaches! After another cup of Illy coffee and a delicious breakfast we took a drive down to the estuary and watched a large group of hippos and a couple crocs frolic in the waters... very entertaining! :)


We arrived back in Durbs later that afternoon and Warwick took us out for a good ol Durban curry! It was another early morning the next morning as we made our way to Cape Town! To be continued... :)

Just to end off, I have to apologise for the over use of the word 'and' and thank Steve for all the great photos!

Down to the Hibiscus Coast

I was invited to join Sandy (my god mother), Graham (Sandy's husband), Hayley (my best friend), Jack (my god son and Hayley's son) and a friend of Hayley's down the south coast this weekend in a holiday town called Margate where they have a holiday house! I arrived there on Saturday morning to rain and grey skies! Anyway, not to waste an opportunity to relax we took a drive into the hills to scout out Hayley's wedding venue and then spent the rest of the afternoon around the braai (BBQ for the foreigners) drinking wine and tequila :) I feel asleep pretty early after working a 15 hour shift the day before!

My godson, Jack... just learning to stand on his own!

Sunday dawned and so did the grey skies! Never-the-less, we took a short walk down to the beach and trundled among the rocks and i spent a good 15 minutes watching the waves crashing on the rocks... can't think of many better sights! Later that morning the skies changed to a brighter shade of blue and we made our way to the very famous Waffle House... it's an amazing little restaurant specialising in... you guessed it... waffles, yummy!!!

After filling our tummies full of waffles, we made our way back to Durbs! It was a great weekend... just what i needed to de-stress and relax in the company of great friends. Before returning to my flat we stopped off at a family braai on the bluff which looks right over the sea, only to spend the afternoon watching whales frolicking in the sea... amazing! :)

Well that was my weekend... i have today (Monday) off as well but it's back to the grind stone tomorrow for a 6 day week!

I'm back

Well i've finally fought my way out from under the piles of notes, textbooks and study material i've been hiding under for the last 2 months or so! Wrote my last exam for the year this morning... if the results go my way, i'm now half way! :) So, let life begin again...

It seems i have quite a bit of catching up to do, i'm a bad person for leaving it this long... a few trips i've taken, a special visit and general goings on in my life at home are all to come!

Ok, to catch up on the general stuff! I've now been back in good old durbs for 4 months now... wow, time does really fly! It hasn't been the easiest 4 months of my life, lots of adjusting and sole searching has been done and a fair few tears have been shed! Anyhoo, i'm living in an awesome flat with a very good friend of mine... thanks Budg for putting up with me for this long, so from that point of view i'm pretty settled! After job hunting for about 2 months and coming up with nothing that would pay me enough or allow me enough time to get my studying done i finally gave in and got a job at Billy the B.U.M.S ... any of you that live in Durban, i expect a visit! So i'm pretty much back to my student life... study all day and work at night and somewhere in the middle i try get some sleep and see my friends! Now that exams are over i have a little more time to do stuff!

I'd forgotten how much rain we get at this time of the year... the sun has finally come out after 4 straight days of downpours and flooding all over the place. Apparently we had over 80mm of rain in 6 hours yesterday... i'm sure the ducks were delighted! :)



That's enough info for one post... more to come very soon, but just to give you a little taster, i'll leave you with this photo! :)

Oh and one more thing... i'll be adding a few new features, mostly interesting news tidbits and articles about travel and tourism... since it is my 'thing' and line of study and anything i find funny and entertaining so brace yourself! :) there are way to many 'ands' in that sentence!

Here's the first... SA attracted 2.7mil tourists between January and April this year (reflecting a 16% increase from the same period last year), not bad at all! :)

I know, I know...

... I'm crap! :)

I'm still alive, i promise... just been so busy with life and trying to get it back to a normal... if live is ever normal!

Anyway, i'm still in Durban... surprising i know! My life at the mo consists of studying (i have 2 more exams left for the year), working (i'm working as a waitress at Billy the B.U.M.S - great student job) and finding ways of getting out of here again! :)

I had an absolutely awesome 2 week trip around SA (well KZN and Cape Town) last month with Steve which i will post about once the exams are done... just wanted to say hi and assure you that life is still ticking over!

Hope everyone out there is well! :)

3 weeks on

ok, maybe a little over 3 weeks!

Well, i think i'm finally starting to adjust, as i said in my previous post i found things extremely rough at first... but everything is slowly but surely settling down. I've registered for this semester and studying is underway. I'm finally moving into my new flat this weekend, which i think is just the change i need... not that living with mom has been tough, but i need to get out on my own again. The drivers license thing is still a total cock up... i'll get back to you about that next year sometime. I sent my CV into the Suncoast Casino, they got back to me the next day and said i had all the relevent experience, etc but i had to wait for the boss to get back in August before anything could happen... so that's what i've been doing, it's a hurry up and wait situation!!!

The BIG 5 in sand

Other than that, i've been up to a few things. My cousin, Shannon, who has his PPL took me on a flight up to Richard's Bay and back... it was awesome, i'm very proud of him! Then last weekend i went to my first rugby game in about 5 years... the Sharks had to spoil my fun and loose tho! We also enjoyed an awesome day at Durban Botanic gardens, drinking wine, eating cheese and biscuits and listening to Watershed play live... most enjoyable!

So live in Africa goes on! I do have something extremely exciting to look forward to tho... i have a very special someone coming to visit at the end of this month and we are doing a whirlwind tour of Durban and Cape Town... very, very excited!

Til next time
Cheers :)