Safari weekend

We are here now in Arusha for our Safari break.  Time seems to have flown by since our time on Peponi beach.  The weeks at school have been fun and we have also had two other visitors to Yamba, Roses' brother Thomas and his friend Swink from Germany.  They did a talk on Ireland at the school, as that is where Thomas is from, which went down very well.  I have been asked to do a talk on Scotland later on so I better get thinking about all the weird and wonderful things about my homeland!

This week I had a shot of pounding maize which is a lot harder than it looks.  The house girls, Teresia and Stella really put their whole body weight into it and that is not an easy task for the amateur!  I did nearly tip the whole thing over which would have been dire as we ran out of food and all we had left was the maize and a few beans!

being Mzungu is not fun and the desire to just blend in

Coming here to Arusha has meant that we can sample different food again!!!  The protein deprivation is somewhat getting to us as I did eat rabbit the other day.  Forgive me!  I did remember fondly our pet bunny, Buzby, but sadly, no matter how cute, I just keep seeing a plate beneath the little furry friends.

In Arusha we are staying with a friend of Thomas, Chris, who is posted here because of work.  He has lived in Arusha for 4 years so he has been a brilliant guide.  His house almost led us to believe we were in Europe not Africa as it has electricity and even a microwave oven! Also, it has a pool table! And so after a super meal out we had a couple of games of pool( which I am particularly bad at).

Tomorrow we go on Safari for two days, first to the Ngorongoro Crater and then  to Lake Manyara.   This I am looking forward to as I cannot imaging the wildlife being right there.   You see so many programmes and photos but to be there  will surely be amazing!

Arusha is a busy city and very touristy.  You can't go anywhere without being hassled to buy souvenirs or safari trips or people asking where you are going and then trying to send you in the wrong direction.   It is in these sort of places that you realize being Mzungu is not fun and the desire to just blend in would be quite welcome.

Lake Manyara was our first stop.  Monkeys greeted us as we entered the National Park.  There was an eerie sound going through the park, a bit like it were night and all you can hear are the sound of the engine and crickets.  We spotted many Gazelle and a host of Baboons which flooded the road, not bothered in the least by the car...used to them I guess.  The elephants were quite majestic though.  We found several including young grazing and were able to watch them for a while.  I kept having to remind myself that they are wild!

Wilson, our guide and driver said that it had not been a particularly good day for us at Lake Manyara but promised a better day tomorrow.....

We drove up to the top of the Ngorongoro Crater where we pitched the tents for our night of 'camping in the wild'.  It got very cold at night and so we all slept in our jumpers, as you do.  We were woken in the night by a terrible noise which turned out to be a bush pig tearing into the metal sheeting surrounding the kitchen area.  The pig succeeded and managed to consume a lot of the food supplies!

Next day we got up before dawn.  Looking down into the crater it was full of clouds lying peacefully over the floor.  We had breakfast and then headed down into the crater for 7am.  Then for the next few hours we came across some of the most wonderful animals, and they are wonderful when you see them up close and personal and they are free!  We saw many Gazelle, wildebeest, zebra, lions, buffalo, elephants, Giraffe and the not so attractive Vultures and Hyena.

The animals must be very used to all the vehicles driving around as the were quite at ease and happy to stroll near the car.  Even the lions were happy to sit in the shade of one of the cars.  Then it started its engine and they got a fright...so did we!

We came across a host of vultures feasting on the carcass of a dead buffalo.  The smell was overpowering and there was little left of the animal but the vultures fought amongst themselves to get the meat.  That smell of death lingers in your nose and mouth.  I had not smelt it before I came to Africa.