What We Learned in East Africa

Jambo Africa

In the summer of 2012, Mathew and I traveled with gAdventures on a spectacular ten-day East African journey through Tanzania and Kenya. Our overland camping adventure began in Zanzibar, Africa’s spice island, safaried through the Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater and ended in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. With two weeks, few showers, heaps of wildlife seen and a whole lot of squat toilets…here’s what we learned.

Our transport through the Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater

Advance Planning

• Get your visas in advance (& keep a copy if you can on email)
• Check with your travel doctor regarding vaccinations and test out anti-malarials before you go
• Carry your Yellow Fever card with you at all times
• Check flight times and connections when trying to get from Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar
• There’s little to do at Dar Es Salaam airport so be sure to pack snacks/books/cards/journal if you have a long layover
• Precision Air flies from Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar a few times a day and comes highly recommended
  

  Wildebeasts in Ngorongoro Crater

• Be prepared to be outside of your comfort zone-it’s the best!
• Bring baby wipes & anti-bacterial lotion to each squat toilet outing
• Always have your accommodation’s address written out and if possible have it in English and the native language
• It’s Africa-enjoy and embrace it! Bring a positive attitude and BE FLEXIBLE!
• Lock your passports/valuables in safe on the bus/truck if possible-carry a copy of the front page of your passport with you at all times
• Invest in and wear clothing of light and khaki coloring so as not to attract Tse-Tse flies
• Carry: Benadryl (for allergic reactions), Immodium/Cipro (traveler’s diarrhea), and Gravol (for nausea)
  

  Giraffe in the Crater

Language

• Karibu=welcome
• Asante/Asante San=thank you/thank you very much
• Rafiki=friend
• Simba=lion
• Jambo=hello
• Pole pole=slow, slow
• Upon asante=no thank you
• Pole=sorry
  

  Tanzania

Local Culture

• In Zanzibar, be prepared to see the varying disparity of wealth
• The Indian Ocean is gorgeous
  

  Zanzibar’s Indian Ocean

• In Stonetown – a traditional Islamic area of Zanzibar- women should be sure to wear conservative attire & always keep shoulders covered
• Sunsets: visit The Africa House in Stonetown for a fabulous sunset, cocktails and one of the most photographed palm trees in the world
  

  Sunset at The Africa House-Stonetown, Zanzibar

• If you can, visit with a Masai tribal community who will show you their traditional way of life
  

  Mathew at the Masai school house

• Masai tribal houses are made out of 2 rooms: one for mother and children and other for the father; houses are made out of cow dung, acacia trees & elephant grass
  

  Masai home

Food & Drink

• Beers: Kilimanjaro, Tusker
• Do not drink the tap water, but you can eat the vegetables
• Best bottled water: Kilimanjaro
• Take recommendations and give street food in Zanzibar a try; your senses will be assaulted from all sides
• Try the chapatti (delicious unleavened flatbread)
  

  Zebras in Ngorongoro Crater

Wildlife and Beyond

• Honey Badgers are elusive and fierce creatures;  even in their small size they can take down a buffalo on their own
• Serengeti is known as ‘the endless plain’
• An elephant’s penis weighs 60 kg
• The male ostrich is black and white while the female is brown and their necks turn pink during mating season
• When looking for a leopard-all trees are suspect
• Elephants are vegetarians and live a very long life
• Ngorongoro Crater is named because of the sound of the bells around the necks of the Masai cows
• Animal’s share responsibility:
  • Birds sit on the buffalo to eat parasites out of their eyes
  • Elephants can send a signal to other animals through a step/thud of their feet
  • Stripes on zebras look all blurry when they run as a herd so lions can’t see them
  • Blue & black flags around the Serengeti catch the attention of the Tse-Tse flies so they are less likely to bite people
    

    Elephants in the Serengeti

• Find the Ugly Five: Hyena, Maribu Stork, Vulture, Wildebeest & Wardhog
• Seek the Small Five: Buffalo Weaver, Ant Lion, Rhino Beetle, Leopard Tortoise, & Elephant Shrew
• Search for the Big Five: Elephant, Buffalo, Rhino, Lion, & Leopard
  

  On the prowl in the Serengeti

Tips

• Bug spray, bug spray, bug spray (Clothing containing insect repellent is quite helpful)
• Carry a pashmina, buff or scarf with you-the red dirt is gorgeous but gets everywhere
• Always check in, under/around your tent for snakes & scorpions (especially when setting down & folding up)
• While camping in the wild if you open your tent and see eyes staring at you-GET BACK INSIDE!
• Contact lens solution and tampons are quite difficult to find outside of the main cities
• Try a spice farm tour (it’s amazing what natural remedies can do)
  

  Growing vanilla bean on the Spice Plantation

• Enjoy sarong/pareo shopping on Zanzibar’s beaches
• Tanzanite is only mined in Tanzania and is more rare than diamonds. It is mined in only four mines just north of Arusha and will soon be extinct.
  

  Tanzania’s Tanzanite

• If nauseous: try a tea made from ginger, cinnamon & cardomum
• Always wear shoes while in a squat toilet
• Depending on the time of year-hats, gloves & hand warmers are helpful in the Crater
• Taste red bananas
• If the weather accommodates, the views of Kilimanjaro are priceless
  

  Sunrise at Kilimanjaro (we enjoyed s’mores off the truck)

Africa holds wonders all its own. A trip to the continent will get into your soul and the memories will forever stay there. The tug of Africa has seen us journey there a few times and each time we leave we can’t wait for the chance to revisit. The Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater have a magic all their own. Once bitten it will be hard not to want to return.

Hakuna Matata-It Means No Worries