Tanzania

Tanzania

One of the noticeable changes as we travel north is the growing presence of Islam. Riding through the countryside, practically every village, regardless of size, is host to a mosque. During the 18th century, Arab slave traders were particularly active in Tanzania, to the extent that the Omani Sultan made Zanzibar his capital. Even Swahili, the language most commonly spoken in this part of Africa, derives originally from Arabic. People here speak an impressive number of languages. Most speak Swahili and English as well as ten or more tribal dialects.

Zanzibar

In Zanzibar we were due to meet up with some friends from the UK. We have met and travelled with some great people over the last few months but were looking forward to seeing some familiar faces. With the bike safely tucked away in Dar-es-Saleem, we took the ferry to Unguja (Zanzibar) and met Rob, Kim, Paul and Jo who were coming to meet us for a couple of week's holiday. We spent a week on Zanzibar relaxing on the beach in Nungwi and diving in the Indian Ocean - which comes complete with an impressive array of marine life. As Kim said it was a bit like swimming in a tropical fish tank! We even attracted the attention of a small school of dolphin who swam playfully around the boat.

The Serengeti

The following week we said good-bye to Paul and Jo and moved back to Dar-es-Saleem with Rob and Kim. On the bike and with a hire car we drove up to Moshi in the north. Now Moshi doesn't threaten to excite anyone, with the exception of its location at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest mountain. It also put us in a fine position for a 3-day safari. If you don't mind a bit of rain, March is an ideal time to visit Tanzania, particularly if game viewing is your aim. Not only did we strike a fine deal with the very capable Mamo Trek Safaris, we also had a distinctly uncrowded exploration of both the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. Because of the unpredictable weather, we opted for a lodge-based safari and spent our second night in rooms perched on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater. We wanted to see the Big Five and with the exception of leopards, we weren't disappointed. Quite the opposite in fact - lions, rhino, buffalo and elephants came close enough to our Landrover to photograph without zoom lenses.

Just to finish off a memorable trip, Mt Kilimanjaro, which had been clouded over all week, decided to show its peak. Rob and Kim finished their holiday on the roof of our hotel in Moshi watching the sunset on the volcano.

The following morning we went our separate ways - Rob and Kim drove back to Dar-es-Saleem to catch a flight home and we got back on the bike and headed up to Kenya.

Photographs

Click Here