East Africa trip Jan-Feb 2004

Firstly, I'm posting my email accounts (and pics) of our trip to Africa in Jan-Feb 2004. I had started a website which included details about this trip, but it was one of those free websites and it revamped itself and my site and posts were all deleted. I never got around to recreating a new site, so just thought I'd post our travel adventures and any other interesting (or not) stuff and photos in a blog instead.

So here we go, stepping back to Jan 17, 2004 when I wrote this email from Africa.

Hi all, sorry for the delay in getting this update to you - we've been on the road a lot and e-mail eluded us. Anyway, we kicked off our African adventure with a fantastic 5 day safari in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara.


We were lucky to see the Big 5 (leopard, lion, Rhino, elephant and buffalo). Our guide had over 25 yrs exp and was just great. I used the warm desert air to get over my bad cold (which turned into bronchitis) from London, and we enjoyed fantastic sunsets/sunrises and spectacular thunderstorms. We spent several hours in a traditional Masai village and joined the men and young boys in their jumping dance. A young adolescent had recently been circumcised and was enjoying his week of festivities as he was welcomed into manhood. He wore white face paint - see the pic. What amazing people!












Kilimanjaro

After that we left for our 6 day hike to the top ofMt. Kilimanjaro (5895 mtr/almost 20,000 feet) and yes we made it all the way to the top - what a challenge -it was certainly the hardest physical thing either of us have done before. Surprisingly we handled the altitude very well, and the only problem is my 2 black toes from the 10 hours of coming down, but I think missing a a toenail or 2 is a small price to pay for such an unforgettable experience. The food on the hike was great - you can't believe what they can cook halfway up a mountain, soups, omlettes, chips, chicken, fish and spaghetti. Plus the porters have to carry all our camping equipment up there (on their heads) along with all the food, cooking equipment and supplies!!

Zanzibar

Then after resting our tired legs back at our hotel in Arusha, we caught a bus (10hrs) to Dar Es Salaam where we spent 1 night and then took a 6 hour ferry to Zanzibar. We spent 3 nights out on the east coast beaches - very pretty, but very quiet - there's a big slump in tourism at the moment. We swam (or rather chased) the dophins at Kizimkazi, and then today we came to Stonetown, the ecclectic city where Christians and Muslims intermingle, beautiful carved doors and old, windy streets, along with a bustling port area. This is the old spice trade center and also slave center, where up to 600,000 slaves once passed thru this town, back in the mid 1800's. There are a few more tourists around here, which is good, and our simple, but clean accommodation costs$14 per night, incl breakfast. We plan on doing some diving here and to see all the historic sites of town by just wandering around and getting lost. Our next leg of our travels takes us by plane from Zanzibar to Entebbe in Uganda (via Dar Es Salaam).

We will be sure to update you from there. Until next time, we wish you all a happy New Year and trust all is well with everyone. Please pass this onto anyone that is interested, and we'll catch you again soon,

Hakuna Matata,

Louise & Sean Runkle