WHERE 1 - Zanzibar, Tanzania

Hi Everyone

Just a couple of months ago I was employed as a bank manager and now I am ... an unemployed un-bank manager and loving it...

I have been having agreat time and have done loadsa stuff. I am currently in an aircon internet cafe in Zanzibar (just off the Tanzanian coast) and it is roasting hot here and there is a severe water shortage - so maybe those of you in UK should feel lucky that you have plenty of ice around at the moment cos we will soon be having to drink chemically trested meddy water (again). It has not been all sun, sun, sun since we left - once in the high ground around Lake Victoria there was a lot of rain and also in Ngorongoro Crater it rained for 24 hours which is not good news as we are camping!

We left Nairobi (Kenya) about 2 weeks ago - we being me plus 21 other people I didn't know - on a truck. Of the group most are Brits and Aussies with a few Kiwis, 2 Danes and a Canadian. We have all got on well so far with a couple of exceptions. 14 are doing the full 9 weeks to Cape Town and 6 are stopping after 5 weeks when we get to Victoria Falls (those with jobs!!!) and 4 new people joing for the last month. The truck is fairly big and comfy although we are at capacity so there is not a lot of room - and we have done some long driving days...

We started in Nairobe on 15/11 and we travelled up to Lake Nakuru, crossing into Tanzania on 19/11 and going to Musoma on Lake Victoria, through the Serengeti to Ngorongoro crater, onto Arusha and then to Mount Kilimanjaro followed by a long drive to Dar (Es Salaam) and by ferry to Zanzibar. En route we went to several national parks in Kenya and Tanzania and we have seen huge nos and variety of game inc.giraffe, elephant, lion, leopard, water buffalo, rhino (black and white), hyena, hippo, zebra, various gazelle and antelope, vultures, eagles etc etc - the only major animal we haven't seen is cheetah.

Highlights so far include:
- Watching (from less than 10 metres away) a herd of 100+ water buffalo as they approached a pride of 8 lions who were resting under a tree. Over about 30 mins the buffalo got closer and closer until they were about 10-15 metres away - the tension was unbelieveable - neither side wanting to yield but the buffalo were certainly forcing the issue. Eventually the male lion ran off with a couple of lionesses and cubs, leaving 2 lionesses to guard their rear for 30 seconds or so before the buffalos charged and won the day - no injuries to report (human or animal).

- millions of flamingos (and a few pelicans) on Lake Nakuru - the whole lake was simply pink.

- thousand and thousands of blue wilderbeast (gnu) sweeping majesticaly across the plains of the Serengeti (not as seen from a Torquay hotel bedroom window in Faulty Towers).

- the great rift valley 6,500kms long - but we didnt see all of it.

- watching sunset and sunrise from (opposite sides of) the same tiny outcrop on Lake Victoria.

- the view across Ngorongoro crater (an extinct volcane crater 25km wide and full of wild game)

- climbing up to base camp of Mount Kilimanjaro

- swimming in the sea at Dar - warmer than any shower we have had

- the slushies in the beach-bar at Dar (I have no idea what was in them butthey were very cold and so we drunk loads and went to bed at 3am.

Downsides include
- having to get up at 6am to make breakfast after having drunk slushies in the bar at Dar... and thinking... why did we do that.

- 24-hours in the rain at Ngorongoro crater, everything was wet through.

- Arusha market - buying 15kg of fruit and veg in an atmosphere only slightly less threatening than a war-zone - one of our guides had here pocket slahed with a knife (and also her leg which was cunningly hidden behind her pocket. I was just glad to get out intact.

- the truck getting stuck in the Serengeti - tehn the rescue truck got stuck - we were knee deep in muddy water trying hopelessly to push a 13 tonne truck out of very soft mud whilst being surrounded by wild animals. No we didnt manage it but we didnt get eaten either and eventually got pulled out by a JCB. Actually it was fun.

- the lack of hot water at most places we visited and the lack of any water at some - I guess we all smell the same amount.

We have 4 days on Zanzibar for snorkelling and sunbathing - then back to Dar and onto Malawi. Looking forward to it...

Bye for now

Lots of Luv
Pete