The picture perfect Tanzania

Hello again,

Writing about Tanzania really requires some editing since there’s so much to talk about! Let me try and get some of the main points and juicy tips and then just ask me if you feel like I have missed something.

We used the Impala Shuttle services to cross the border to Tanzania via land. It would have been possible to fly to Arusha, but the land option came recommended and seemed super hassle-free. I must say that in this, the reviews (for once in East Africa) were correct. The ride to Arusha went smoothly, we had no issues at the border and it was probably faster than flying. The tickets cost 36USD each from Nairobi to Moshi. Moshi is a smaller town near Arusha and is the source of the hikes up Kilimanjaro. Our shuttle first drove us to Arusha where most of the people got out and we had to change cars. The second part of the journey is completed by a partner company whose service was awful and the car too small for all the passengers. The driver refused to let us out of the car and then got very angry (our hotel was on the way to their offices).

Luckily, we eventually found our hotel well. The Secret Garden Hotel also came highly recommended and was complimented for its location, but our stay was very shy of a disaster and I was extremely disappointed. Fortunately, Moshi is a lovely place and one must still enjoy oneself so let’s not get into the details about the Hotel, but if you see it, do not stay there.

We had prebooked our day trips around Moshi beforehand due to our limited (three-day) stay. Our first trip was to Lake Chala which is on the border of Kenya and Tanzania on the east side of the Kilimanjaro national park. The drive isn’t too long and on a clear day, you can see Kili to the road. The lake is absolutely stunning, bright turquoise and completely quiet. We arrived at a hotel which was empty and proceeded with our hike down to the lakeside. The hike was quite steep so good shoes are a must and maybe a rather good fitness.

I must say about tours in especially Tanzania; they don’t give you any itinerary, any guidance, any content or information of the plan. We booked this tour due to an online description to see the lake, chance to swim maybe kayak and to see the views from the top. Turned out that the lake is 90 meters deep, there is a swimming ban and the kayaks were for one person and 50 years old. Neither the security guide nor our driver/ guide could swim. Apparently, the kayaking was the only activity possible but due to the circumstances, my mother didn’t feel comfortable joining me.  I kayaked all the way to the Kenyan side while my mom was enjoying the views. We were the only people at the lake which was formed by volcanic eruptions.

We also chose to hike to the other side of the lake to a viewpoint of the whole scenery. It was absolutely stunning. Afterwards, we ate lunch at the hotel’s viewing deck and enjoyed the peace and quiet. You would never expect such a hidden gem there.

The next day we had another activity day where we visited the Kilimanjaro base camp, got to know the hiking routes and hiked to a waterfall on the hills on the mountain. I really must say that the peace and beauty of the area were breathtaking.

We also visited the Chagga villages were we received a tour around the battle caves used in the tribal wars between the Chagga and the Masai. The history lesson was fascinating and the caves huge! The entire Chagga tribe lives in the 63 underground rooms for three years while the Masai were searching for them.

There was also a coffee farm in the village where you could brew your own cup with the traditional method. While actually making coffee takes months, we got to try all the stages of the process and sing along to the rhythm songs. The cup was super tasty and we bought some of the beans along.

After thoroughly exploring the Kilimanjaro area, it was our time to fly to Zanzibar and conquer another of my mom’s major bucket list tasks. We are both huge fans of the Queen and sun so Zanzibar was a dream come true.

We also split this journey to two; the island is larger than you would expect and transport is limited and very expensive so we decided to stay by the beach on the east side in a resort first and then inside the famous stone town for the second half. This arrangement worked very well for us and we managed to join other people’s rides at our hotel, but next time I will rent a car myself.

The resort was fabulous and gave us the much-needed downtime. However, there were some persistent vendors just outside the resort which followed us around as soon as we reached the beach. Having received an entire lecture about the violence between the tribes and the tradition that a Masai isn’t a proper Masai unless armed, the aggressiveness of the vendors made us feel rather uncomfortable. We did manage to find some gorgeous shells!

What you must know about Zanzibar is that the transport is extremely expensive as the locations are far from each other and most of the resorts have large cars where the cost of the lift is split between everyone and for two people the price is quite high. I had always wanted to visit the Rock restaurant which seemed to be rather nearby but turned out that the lifts to there and back would have cost us over 100USD. The resort suggested their tour package which included a trip to the Jozani rainforest followed by the Rock with a lovely finish at the Sunset beach.

The rainforest was great, full of the protected mangrove trees and monkeys that allowed you to get right next to them.

The restaurant was cute, but the main attraction of it was outside taking photos and circling it. We were there at low tide but during high tide the staircase is underwater and the restaurant offers lifts from the beach. We were recommended against eating there and instead of it, getting better food at a better price at Upendo just across the Rock on the beach. This also gave us the perfect view of the Rock and the ocean.

The food was amazing and the hotel stunning. I would most definitely recommend this solution myself. The night ended at the Sunset beach which is the one point where you can see the sunset with no obstructions. They had a traditional live band performing and a bonfire was lit once it got dark.

The following day, we had booked the Blue Safari Tour to see the south of the island and go snorkelling. Since the lift to the Blue Safari Tour (at Fumbe village) was very expensive from the hotel, they suggested that we join other people from our hotel in the morning as they were heading to a boat tour south of the island as well. So we woke up at 4.30 am to drive to the south to go see some dolphins migrate at sunrise before catching our tour.

It turned out to be a horribly stormy morning and half of the people from our car got too scared to get into the tiny boats that we were supposed to be using. My mom and I chose to embrace the opportunity and went anyway. The plan was to drive out to the sea and after finding the dolphins, go dive with them. No lifejackets were provided and the six of us hopped into the feeble boat that the captain sailed out into the waves. The ride was very rocky and the boat kept on smashing into the waves very uncomfortably but the captain just kept saying that everything was okay.  Forty minutes later, far out at sea, we stopped for a moment to asses where the dolphins were only to discover that the boat engine had broken down from the smashing and the boat would do turn on anymore. Another boat attempted to assist us (our captain seemed to try and get them to pull us farther into the ocean), but we got stuck into these high waves. We were left abandoned as the boat filled with water to the knees. The captain kept saying again that everything was going to be fine until he suddenly told us to get off the boat as it was now going under. Only a few seconds after we managed to climb out, the boat was sinking to the bottom. The captain refused to leave his boat and started dragging it behind us as we were swimming towards a shallow part. Luckily, the boat had broken down just before we reached the completely open and deep ocean with aggressive waves and we were able to find a sea urchin filled bottom which allowed us to walk with our sunken boat. An older man who was with us seemed to be unable to swim so we started yelling for help and a lovely couple (after 30 min) picked us up into their boat and sailed us to the shore.

There were so many things that could have gone horribly wrong. When we were rescued, we discovered that most of the people who had planned to come with us didn’t know how to swim. In the end, the story finished well and is now going into my memories as an unbelievable adventure. I had my go pro with me and managed to record some of this madness which is why I even believe that it actually happened.

The Blue Safari Tour was a major success and during our last dive, we ran across a dolphin school swimming just a few meters away! It was the best part of our entire trip.

Due to friends’ recommendations, we stayed in the Stone Town for the latter part of our Zanzibar trip to explore the city and to see the islands on the west side of Zanzibar. My mom and I are also huge Queen fans so it was important to visit the Mercury restaurant (wouldn’t recommend) and Freddie Mercury’s family home. We also did a day tour of the Changuu Island which is more commonly knows as the prison island. On the island lives dozens of tortoises as old as 191 years and forty peacocks. The island and the surrounding ocean are beautiful and well worth the visit. We agreed to pay the boatman 40 000 shillings which is around 20USD.

There’s also a lovely hidden market area inside the Old Fort. We didn’t really visit the other historic buildings as they didn’t really seem inviting.

We stayed right in the middle of Stone Town market area and really enjoyed walking around, getting lost and admiring the local crafts. Due to its tourism, Tanzania and especially Zanzibar are three times as expensive as Uganda (with the exact same products on offer) so we didn’t end up buying much. Regardless, the markets are beautiful and the people friendly.

I had a lovely night with my friends from Uganda watching the sunset from their terrace. They also recommended that on our last night we should eat at one of the two Emerson Hotel rooftops with a set tasting menu. The food and the views were amazing and well worth it!

We also did the famous Tanzanian spice tour which was super interesting, fun and great to know! For example, in the photo is a lipstick tree. We also saw Chanel nr 5 and learned how to effectively climb to the top of a coconut tree.

As a final cherry on the cake, my friends guided us to the puzzle coffee shop where I had the best coffee for eight months. All and all, our trip to Tanzania was a great success and I would highly recommend the destination to anyone who is up for a little bit of an adventure!

Best wishes

Mira

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