Ok, this is somewhat belated, but due to internet problems, it’s the first chance I’ve had to tell my loyal readers what I did in my Easter holidays (4 weeks ago).
As you may or may not know from facebook, I went on a 3 day safari to Tarangire and Manyara national parks. I went by myself, which was kind of weird, but my driver kept me well-entertained. The safari was great fun, I got to see a lot of beautiful Tanzanian scenery, traditional Massai villages, marvel at the greenness of the national parks and sample some interesting food cooked by my ‘chef’, such as a watery gruel-like substance he called ‘porridge’ and grated-carrot sandwiches –yummy!
I saw plenty of giraffe, monkeys, elephants, zebra, hippos and impala whilst there. Sadly I didn’t see any of the big cats and was especially disappointed to not see any of Manyara’s famous tree-climbing lions (the only place in Tanzania where lions sit in trees – apparently it’s because cats don’t like water and the ground at Manyara is very wet so they have to climb trees to stay dry!)
After my safari, I returned to Arusha, before jetting off to Zanzibar for 5 days! I travelled alone again, but made many new friends whilst in Zanzibar, most of which were young men that seemed to want me to be their wife. I went to Stone Town first, where I kept getting lost on the Arabic-style narrow, twisty streets and stumbled across a fun sunset BBQ on the sea-front (where you can eat ‘Zanzibar pizza’ and banana and chocolate pancakes). I then went over to Bwejuu on the East coast of the island to a beautiful, yet very sea-weedy beach.
Zanzibar really is amazing, with it’s ‘picture-perfect’ beaches, dolphins, red monkeys, mangrove trees and streets that take you round in endless circles. It’s so different to anywhere else I’ve ever been (and probably hotter than anywhere else I’ve ever been too…!) I returned to Arusha to find it had rained in my absence and the parched, brown land I’d left behind had turned lush and green. Africa really is amazing like that, where else do you see a little rain causing such a dramatic transformation?!
