Dusty safari continued... crater and a few tse-tse flies

MEMORABLOG: 25-26.11.1998

Ngorongoro crater NP
Finally we came to Simba Camp on the crater rim. Ngorongoro is a huge crater, 20km in diameter... From rim you have great views on the crater and mountains beyond. We were quite high, as I believe altitude was around 2700m above sea level. Besides, we had the best hotel, a thousand stars one...  I thought on the rim will be quieter than in Serengeti... how I was wrong... again  Strange voices, sounds, roars, throughout the night... again... Night was very chilly, no wonder as were quite high up. Infrastructure in camp was almost non-existent. Yes, there were some shacks called toilets and something that resembled a shower.

After another tasty breakfast we headed down the crater. Road was narrow, twisty and steep... For fans of adrenaline... As soon as we came to the bottom, first animals emerged... I was astonished... The only animals that are apparently are missing are giraffes (the reason was that they can't climb down into the crater) and female elephants (???!! We saw plenty of elephants, i just wasn't particularly looking which sex they are .Incredible, this crater is just unbelievable, and concentration of animals is huge. You can see all different animals, we even saw some rhinos (from a DISTANCE). But we saw them. Only leopard was still hiding, that means no Big 5  Hyenas, lions, cheetahs... nothing was uncommon. We drove around the crater, and one could observe that there is really a lot of food for carnivores... Its like going to supermarket ;-) There is a lake in the middle of crater, so plenty of water is available (and therefore the shores are abundant with birds, also flamingos, and that was a friendly addition to mainly green and brown colors of the plains).

[b]Tarangire NP[/b]
After not so short drive from Ngorongoro we came close to Tarangire NP. This will be our last night out, and we were pleasantly surprised by accommodation. This time no tents, but a proper rooms with a proper showers. And everything clean. Wow, like we came back to the civilization... I had a first cold on my trip, and I was immensely annoying, so it was good to have a room to retreat from others... Here we found out that idea changing a safari company (and losing 100US$) was not so bad... There were some guys with our old company, and they were sleeping outside in tents... And that was not the end... The skies opened during the night, and they woke up half way in water... And they were not so happy with organization... but, but, they saw Lake Manyara NP (i believe with lions climbing on trees), where we just drove past...

Tarangire NP is renowned by two things - elephants and tse-tse flies (yep, those sleeping disease carrying ones). There were really plenty of elephants - in all shapes, sizes and ages... Incredible. At one point one bull even wanted to charge our car, and a few moments were really scary... (we approached too close a small family with some young ones). Lazy lions were all over, and even snakes were not uncommon... so, all in all a pleasant day, with many interesting moments... but frankly said, after a few days, all of us were a bit fed up with all the animals... so, i guess that it was just a right time to start going back to Arusha...

Žalost / Sadness

Tudi ti si prisla
mrzlih lic
do ognjisca
v dan neskoncnih sanj,
moja kri v tebi vre
a gres, zbezis
- rad te imam -
toda jutro vabi
v dan neskoncnih sanj
nazaj!

A first time on safari...

MEMORABLOG: 22-24.11.1998

Lets go to safari. The car came for us in time. Driver was only like 10 minutes late and that was excellent in »african« time... Jeep was quite big, made for 4 tourists including the driver, cook and a guide... Well... there were 6 of us, so, we had to squeeze a bit. Other 4 tourists consisted a couple from UK (he did some voluntary work for a few months in a village near Moshi) and two girls from Denmark (quite annoying, but they had an interesting gadget, a digital camera!!!).

Some kilometers from Arusha roads suddenly became gravel, and soon it was time to turn towards the national parks (if we continued on that road we would come to the western part of Tanzania, quite many hours later). On »safari« highway we passed many small villages, Lake Manyara, and some of the most unbelievable »moon« scenery...

Serengeti...
Sometime in early afternoon we finally came to the big plains of Serengeti... On a way towards our camp we saw many zebras, giraffes, and plenty of other animals that i really don't know name of... We even saw a few lions and a cheetah family resting in a shade... Nice...

»Serengeti highway« was incredible... in bad condition, but still, some really speed through it... And our jeep was flying and madly bouncing, and we were just holding for our life inside... Almost all cars are 4WD vehicles, with empasis on jeeps... so, seeing a Mercedes limousine was a surprise... What was not surprising was the fact that it broke down 

Safari trips include several »game drives«. The point is, that you see big 5.

That means, you sit in the car and try to see as many animals as possible, with a special emphasis. A lot depends on your guide, cause those guys have an incredible vision!!! Usually the best drives, and the game is the most active, early in the morning and late in the afternoon... During the heat of the day, all animals try to hide in the shade, and there is little possibility to see any hunting... Actually, did I mention heat before? It was really hot, though different, more dry, heat from Dar.

We went on a budget safari and that meant camping... setting your own tent, while all food and drinks is included in the package (ok, you have to bring your own water, and there was no possibility to buy either beer, water or anything else - the last possible place to buy water was at the Serengeti National Park entry gate). We were taken to a camp somewhere in the middle of Serengeti, I have completely no idea where we were... far away from civilization for sure, as the night was really full of shiny stars (and there was no light pollution anywhere close). The camp itself didn't have any fence, so, this was not the most reassuring thing. But, it should have guards awake (and i stress AWAKE) during the night... Tent was funny... well... a bit on a small side, for two tall guys... but ok, we at least won't be cold during the night... The night? Well... interesting one... actually, excitement started only then... First of all, all the tents were around a small campfire, where cooks were preparing the food (there were in total some 10-12 tents around). And then we went to sleep... a few minutes later our »guards« went asleep as well... Then the fun started... First came baboons, then hyenas... And they were all trying to get remains of our dinner, which were thrown on the fire (!!!??!). So, the animals started fighting, and were making the most impossible sounds... When they were not fighting you could hear bones crushing sounds... And hyenas... they are just like huge dogs... and as there was no fence, they were passing a few centimeters away from our tents... all that meant an unforgettable show that kept us scared and awake whole night... I shouldn't forget our guards, guides, drivers, cooks... they were all sweetly sleeping, probably that was like a lullaby for them...

Dar Arusha Video Coach Fast Express

MEMORABLOG: 21.11.1998

We woke up early. Yep, mosque effect... Actually, we started taking it out easy... we decided not to catch the first bus, but the one at 8:30 am. Why should we go so early, as everybody says its only 7-8 hours to Arusha... Oki, at least we can have a proper breakfast.

Of course... bus didn't leave at 9am. It left when full, at 9:30am... We got the best seats, thats infront, either because we overpayed them, either because nobody wanted to seat infort and look at the road :) More probably both. It took us long time to travel out of Dar. Not only that we were constantly picking up the passengers, we had several stops to buy food and supplies. It looked like we were going on a trip for several days. And the bus driver knew where to stop for fresh bananas, pine apples (heh, he bought LOADS of pine apples). And finally we we on the road... speeding, being the kings of the road!!!

Road out of Dar was BAD, full of potholes, but later on, on the plains it was just good. To good, as the driver though he is Ayrton Senna (but thats a common belief everywhere in third world). At first, I was quite uneasy sitting in the bus, as everybody looked at us. Not looked, stared... But when the TV programme started, two mzungus were just not interesting anymore. How to describe the TV programme? Well... it started off with some music videos (funny people dancing even more funny dances, everything filmed on an amateur camera by an amateur) and then with a couple of bloody and violent movies. Don't recall the movies, but I remember to see a title of Missed in Action, number unknown... :) But it was, good... after 30 minutes nobody cared a bit of us...

After a few hours of driving... tire bust... heh, probably we were just too fast. But it was a good chance for "discovering the bushes" and emptying our bladders. In meantime all the male passengers tried to help changing the wheel... Except us... :) Funny...

When coming nearer and nearer to Moshi, sun slowly went down... Then we figuered out, that either we are terribly late or just they forgot to add a few hours on the "travel time" that they mentioned to us... Anyway, but coming late to Arusha was not the worst thing. What worried me was... well... our headlights were not working... OK, from time to time, they started working, but most of the time we were just driving in the dark... damn, now i know why they let us sit infront...

In Arusha we followed an advice of our friend from the airport, and we hopped off at Golden Rose hotel and not the bus station (just to avoid the hassle of touts). We went to nearby Mashele guesthouse, which was not a bad one... Funnily, the guys from Paradies safaris found us an hour later... they wanted the rest of the money for the safari, and we wanted to meet the lady... Well, the lady didn't arrive, as she had some other business to do, a safari will be delayed for one day... so... we decided to... let our 100US$ go and get lost and find a new safari company... There were some disagreement by those lads at Paradies safaries, but eventually they resigned with quite a nice bonus... And only a few days later we found out, that this was not a bad idea...

So, it was time to get a new safari company. And that wasn't difficult, as touts were like ants. The only problem was, that we wanted to go as soon as possible on a 4 or 5 day safari... even tommorow...We got someone that would take us the next day, and the price was right (it was actually lower than the one in Dar) and he got some recommendation from our language. We also agreed to pay ANY money, when the jeep comes to pick us up and when we are happy with the jeep. That was cool, but without knowing we screwed some other people, who were promised to go in "four" and then they got some extra passengers... At least beer was tasty and cheap... :)))

Well, later, much later I was browsing to get some information about our safari company - Stonechat... actually, it was on a black list and has probably disappeared and reappeared under new name... While paradies safaris is still alive... Nevertheless, we enjoyed next few days...

Coming to Africa

MEMORABLOG: 20.11.1998

Africa... first stop... Entebbe... where the hell did I hear that name from? Ups... some decades ago an abducted plane landed there, and some people never left Uganda... Again, since the beginning of 80th, this should be a relatively safe country. One thing struck me... the african heat when stepping out of the plane during our one hour stop. Soon, we were in the clouds again, passing Victoria lake and Kilimanjaro...

Final stop... Dar es Salaam.. To be honest, i didn't know much about Tanzania before. Fortunately i bought myself a Lonely planet just a few days before. And let me say, its my first trip outside Europe. And let me add, we both are completely unprepared and without any previous travel experiences. But, why complicate things, lets enjoy... And we did... when getting visas we were pleasantly surprised, as the citizens of Slovenia we had to pay only 20US$, while all the dutch and those EU citizens had to pay 50US$...

So, whaaaat next... ufff... luggage delivery is chaotic. Everybody can walk in. So, if you are not fast enough, your bag can disappear... even if it is worth nothing. But we were fortunate. Everything was waiting us. So, what next. I guess we have to get a taxi or something. And at least 50 people was trying to catch our look, and they were shouting taxi, taxi, cheap, ... Crazy... Frantically i open LP for the first time (yep, that was a first lesson - get basic information about your destination in time) and start searching for transport. Prices are outdated, so it doesn't help us really much. And the guys are yelling their prices from 10-12.000 Tanzanian schillings...

Jambo, jambo, jambo... Officially, "jambo" means "hello" in Swahili. But to tourist in Tanzania, it means "look at me, I want to sell you something.". And that doesn't stop with taxi drivers...

And then we see something familiar. A lone traveller, from our country... We started talking, and actually we waited for his plane to depart. That guy, lets call him David (and there is no chance that i remember his name, sorry) has been in Tanzania several times, and as usual business he buys in region of Arusha souvenirs and etc. and then sells them on stalls around Slovenia. So, he has an unofficial business going, not sure whether everything was completely legal. Who cares. He gave us lots of insights. We got a first impression of the country that was very helpful (and that we couldn't get from any guidebook), how and where to change the money and so on... Even, for the first time he bargained a taxi for us to take us to our hotel - Jambo Inn... Starting price was at the beginning 12000 TSch, and eventually dropped to 5000, which was very fair price... at least for us...

Jambo Inn was... well... khm... interesting place... one of those low-budget hotels near main Dar bus stop. It was clean, with quite short beds and keylock was in a strange state (like somebody already broke in a few days before). The only downpoint was, that its quite near the mosque and its very loud speakers...

----

Buying a bus ticket was funny. At the end we didn't buy it, we just decided to buy it in the morning, or the day we decide to leave Dar. But before, we got shown at least ten different busses, from Kilimanjaro express to Kilimanjaro express video coach... They were pulling us apart, to see even more busses... They let us »hear« the sound of the bus... And the ticket office was... well, just a shack, made of old bus tires...

----

Later in the evening, after a tasty meal downstairs, somebody knocked on the door, actually a doorman.

He cried »There is a woman outside«.

And?

»She wants you.«

Damn. We haven't even settled in and prostitutes are coming for us. I was never a magnet for women, so i'm not really accustomed to that. Where the hell are we? But OK. The last thing i want to have in Tanzania is sex, so...

»She wants to speak. She mzungu«

Ok, i dressed (and was already figuring out a blonde swedish in trouble and nowhere to sleep), and went downstairs. She looked like... well, probably a woman, with dreadlocks, at least when hearing a pitch voice I believed she was a female... Came back up to the room a minute later and said to Adi... She wants to speak with us regarding the safari. She is a white german woman, a bit on a ugly side, should we go down or hide?

We were feeling adventourus so we went down to see what she has to offer. And basically, this was the first tourist trap lesson (yep, lets do it the hard way). She explained, that she is organising a safari, that she is a guide, originally from Germany and she now lives here... We were quite happy to speak with someone in german or english, so after a few beers and a presentation of »Paradies safaries« we'll make a deal. We'll go with her on safari from Arusha, just we have to catch a bus next morning... We cashed out 100US$, got some kind of contract and someone brought us also a bus tickets for the morning bus... Well... only then i opened the LP. It said there... »beware of touts«, »don't give money infront«, »check the blacklist«, ... Paradies safari wasn't on the black list, but paradise safari was... so... what the hell... oh, well... tommorow is a new day... lets enjoy our first night in Tanzania and worry tommorow...

London calling...

MEMORABLOG: 18.11.1998

Its was a cold November morning. My alarm started ringing at 4:30 am with the song »L'ombelico del mondo« - the belly of the world - loudly. Anyway, it was a short night, as packing was done into long night hours. So, i picked up Adi some 30 minutes later, just as he was just getting his hair cut (at 5am in the morning hehe)... actually, he didn't even go to sleep, funny (straight from work, but hey, he was seriously tired afterwards in the day)... My dad then drove us to the airport, and i got seriously annoyed by his slow driving... But OK, better safe than sorry, as our trip was just starting ;)

So, our first stop was London, an overnight stop and British Airways arranged us a nice, but overpriced hotel (arguably, it was payed by BA, so i didn't care - but the breakfast was really miserable - so, i really would recommend Russel Square hotel). Actually, we were quite surprised, how London is expensive... i had some 30 pounds, and Adi had some pounds less... so we had to survive 3 full days (2 going there, and 1 back) in London with that... impossible... We were actually typical tourists, just without any aid. No maps, no money, nothing. But we managed to get a right in a double decker, we saw Trafalgar Square, Buckingham palace, Big Ben and eventually we got lost in Soho... Food was miserable... all that we could afford was fast-food... When traveling from the airport Adi had a misfortune and his backpack got torn THE FIRST DAY of our trip, so... But I liked London. I liked the buzz around London, and surely i will come back some other day...

Some adrenaline rush was made by our visit to Victoria Coach Station, as we almost missed the bus... Well, not almost missed, but we were some 15 minutes early... and the bus was just leaving... damn, isn't that a bit early? Not really, that bus is 1,5 hours late, so the next bus, due to go in 15 minutes, will be canceled... that would also mean missing the plane... but OK... it was the cheapest and apparently also the slowest transport to Gatwick...

Start of memorablog - Tanzania (and Zanzibar)

So, memorablog. Last time I found some notes from my first trip on African contintent - Tanzania. I decided to write a memorablog of my maiden trip and of course add some photos... So, for next few posts i will transfer back to November 1998...

How everything started... nothing too dramatic...

At the end of September 1998 i was finishing my graduation thesis. And in Ljubljana I met with my best friend Adi for a drink . While drinking beer and watching people going by, he explained his idea to go traveling to Zanzibar... Zanzibar I asked??? Thats somewhere faaaaar away? Yep, Africa he replied...

Well, i was interested to go with. But, I didn't want to go only to the beaches, i wanted to see the world. I wanted to see wild animals... yes, lets go then backpacking to Tanzania.

A few days later we reserved ourselves flight tickets towards Dar Es Salaam. We got some medications and antimalarial drugs, and that was it... No particular planing. No experience. We just knew, that we will end our trip on Zanzibar, enjoying white sand beaches drinking cocktails and beautiful women... And in meantime we'll see Kilimanjaro and some elephants...

Lets go ;)

The world's most dangerous tunnel... (and breathtaking road)

I received today another "friendly" mail with photos of the most dangerous road on the world (i actually received same "powerpoint" presentation last year) - called Stremnaya, located in Bolivia... There is just one "mistake"... its not located in Bolivia, but in China...

The road really looks stunning... carved into the rock, with plenty of tunnels... and of course, i started to look where actually this road is... and it is located in China in Taihang mountains and it is called Guoliang Tunnel road...

Guoliang Village was almost cut off from its surrounding towns and villages before the construction of the tunnel. A ladder on a precipitous cliff, also known as the Heavenly Ladder, was the only route in and out of the village.

History behind the road is incredible, as the villagers cut alone the tunnels... "Before 1972, the path chiseled into the rock used to be the only access linking the village with the outside world. Then the villagers decided to dig a tunnel through the rocky cliff. Led by Shen Mingxin, head of the village, they sold goats and herbs to buy hammers and steel tools. Thirteen strong villagers began the project. It took them five years to finish the 1200-metre-long tunnel which is about 5 meters high and 4 meters wide. Some of the villagers even gave their lives to it. On May 1, 1977, the tunnel was opened to traffic." source

Guoliang Village was almost cut off from its surrounding towns and villages before the construction of the tunnel. A ladder on a precipitous cliff, also known as the Heavenly Ladder, was the only route in and out of the village.

If you are interested where it is located, just click here.

So, what about the most dangerous road in Bolivia? Is there one? Yes, sure there is... its called "El camino de la muerte" or by more pleasant name "Yungas road". It runs from La Paz to Coroico to Bolivia. In some 70km it plunges down 3600 meters... Its twisty and dangerous, as there is a cliff on one side, and a huge drop of 800m on the other side... In 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank named the La Paz-to-Coroico route "the world's most dangerous road." as there are more than 100 deaths per year... Marko has taken excellent photos on this road...

So, until next time... both roads are high on my itinerary... so, maybe my next trip will be to Bolivia or China...