Good Vibes Only

The drive from Arusha to Nairobi is bittersweet. The last day in Sweni. The last day our dysfunctional African family is whole. The traffic was horrendous. Some of us have only known each other for three weeks and it’s hard enough to accept the end. For the ten (twelve) of us who have been together for 40 days, it’s heart-wrenching. I can’t imagine what it will be like not to wake up in the morning to these faces, to Vernon’s loud morning greetings and hugs, to savannah sunrises. These six weeks, they have been life-changing and a lifetime in itself. I will always remember. T.I.A.

Today we drove down into the Ngorogoro Crater. Again, indescribable. Words, even photos, can’t capture this place. Back to Arusha in the afternoon, we had dinner at the camp restaurant. All the proceeds from the bar and restaurant go to the snake bite clinic just outside the camp where anyone can go for free medical care, particularly treatment for snake bites. This is our last night as a full group. Paul made a speach to Vernon and C on behalf of the group, tears were shed, hugs were given and drinks were consumed. No one was ready to say goodbye tonight.

Game driving today. Amazing animals, amazing views. Indescribable. Camping on the edge of the Ngorogoro Crater, little bit rainy in the evening, quite a bit cold, huge amount of toasty in my sleeping bag.

Today we headed into the Serengeti. I don’t even have words to explain how amazing this place is. On the way to our campsite we saw the last of the big five, our original group had seen the African elephant, Cape buffalo, lion, and rhino by this stage and today, the leopard. Tonight we camp out in the wild, no fence to keep the animals away.

Last night, during a nature pee (the cleaner option, considering the state of the facilities) I ended up with a cheek full of mosquito bites. That was pleasant on the bumpy truck journey today. Thankfully, today’s journey was short, we arrived at the Snake Park early in the afternoon with time to check out the reptiles. Today was feeding day. Chicks and baby guinea pigs were on the menu.

We left Stone Town early this morning to catch the ferry back to Dar Es Salaam. The air conditioning was nice on the way to Zanzibar, but this early in the morning it was very cold. I tried my best not to complain to myself because I knew how hot and humid it would be as soon as I walked out the door. Back in Dar Es Salaam we were picked up by C and headed out of the city. We arrived at Zebra campsite around 5 in the afternoon. This is not the campsite we were meant to stay at according to the itinerary, it is one the tour used to stop at before it was changed. The view was beautiful, the campsite left something to be desired. The toilets were squats and didn’t flush properly and there were tons of mosquitos. As the weather in general has been cooling off somewhat since we left Botswana (with the exception of Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar) I didn’t feel sweaty enough to shower and risk the mozzie bites.

Got to sleep in nicely this morning. We dropped off bags at reception to go back to Stone Town early with C as he had to go back to Dar Es Salaam today in order to pick us all up at the ferry tomorrow morning. We rode in the air conditioned bus back to Stone Town. A group of us went for lunch to a restaurant that makes excellent East African food. I had prawn fajitas with mango salsa and chapati. So so good. After lunch we got split up. Sabrina, Nic, Rianne and I searched for the site of the former slave market which took us way longer than it should have. Zanzibar used to be a huge hub for the slave trade before it was abolished. People all over Africa were taken from their homes, forced to walk across countries to the slave market where, if they had survived, they would be sold and sent out in ships to other countries. A Christian church (Zanzibar is primarily muslim) was built on the site where the slave market once was. The pulpit stands where the whipping post once did. The slav