Zanzibar, South Africa

It feels like it's been a really long time since I've updated the blog. We have been really busy and haven't had much time to sit down and think about the past when everyday is so new and exciting. But here is a little about Zanzibar......

We arrived in Stone town, which is the main town on the island of Zanzibar. I love islands and I ocean and the heat, so it was great to be there.

We had a hotel booked on the north end of the island in an area called Nungwi. The north end is the most popular end of Zanzibar and thus it is also the most expensive. We chose to stay in this area because Colton and Miranda were finishing up their PADI scuba diving certification. 

We spent most days scuba diving and trying to stay cool. It was typically around 35 degrees every day and very calm. That's great when you are near water and can go cool off. Our nights were not great. The little hotel that were stayed at was a bit of a dive. It was the most reasonably priced hotel in Nungwi and it showed. The great part of the hotel was the amazing breakfast every morning. We each got a big plate of fresh fruit. Watermelon, pineapple, banana, mango and papaya. Then we also got fresh mango/avacado juice and fried eggs and bread. The bad part of the hotel was that it did not have AC and the room stayed at 31 degrees all night long. We spent most nights trying to sleep and waiting for morning. One morning Dan and I got up at 6 and went down to cool off in the ocean. We should have done that every morning.

Colton and Miranda completed their scuba certification with an amazing 2 tank dive at Mnemba Island. It is a beautiful island owned by Bill Gates. It is surrounded by a protected coral reef that is filled with so many big and small fish of every kind and really healthy hard and soft coral. 

Our last day, we went to Stone town so we would be closer to the airport for our early departure. We heard many great things about Stone Town. But unfortunately we didn't have a great experience there. It felt dirty and not the safest and we really are not all that interested in being in cities. So Dean and I walked around old town in the afternoon to see some of the historical sites,and  we picked up takeout for Colton and Miranda, who chose to stay in the air conditioned room and veg. for the day and evening. It had been a go go last 2 weeks, so it was nice to have a slow day for a change.

I will add pictures of Zanzibar when we have better internet in S Africa

Ireland movie

https://youtu.be/U-Ua6e0yd3M

Tanzania Safari

Yesterday we started on our 6 day safari. We stared with  the first National park for the day. When we entered the park we immediately saw a herd of zebra and a couple of wildabeast! We were pretty excited! 

The park has a curvy dirt road that meanders through the lush savanna. It reminds me a little of western Alberta's foothills. The trees are smaller then in Canada other than the baobab trees. They are thick trunked massive trees. Baobab means upside down tree. 

The next animals we saw were Impala and warthogs and a herd of giraffes. I was waiting to see a giraffe, so that was very special. Next as we drove through the scrub bush we came upon a big heard of elephants. There were male, female and many babies. They were eating the lush rainy season grass. 

Just as we thought we had seen so much, our guide heard on the land rovers radio, that a lion had been spotted. So we took off in that direction in hopes of getting a glimps of the lion. We were so lucky, we drove up and a female lion was sunning herself on a termite hill. As we watched, she decided she had had enough of us watching and got up, stretched herself and went into the tall grass. I was amazed that as soon as she immersed herself in the grass, she almost disappeared. We were very patient and were rewarded with another look at her when she crossed the dirt path. 

It was a long but very impressive day. We started out it 7am and are now, 12 hours later at Twiga campground relaxing while our dinner is being made. This  morning we left again at 7am for another full day game safari. 

We were rewarded with so many animals to see. We even saw 4 more lions and some hippos! 

We have lucked out with intermittent Internet, so we are trying to send a few great pictures. 

Safari in Tanzania

There are about 600 safari companies in Arusha, Tanzania. Some of those companies have 400 land cruisers. That's a lot of companies to choose from and a lot of tourists going out every year. We had a hard time choosing which company to pick. We knew it would have to be a budget trip because there is no way we could fit anything but budget into our life. Thankfully we met a family from Altona that just went last summer and they shared the company they used and since they travel in a similar way that we do (cheaply), we thought we'd give this company a try. We had a great experience also. The trip was a budget camping safari. Which means that they take you out into the national parks with a guide and a cook, tents and supplies. You basically do the same tour and go to the same places that the fancy shmancy tour companies offer, but instead of staying in lodges or hard walled tents, you sleep in tents and have sleeping bags and sometimes cold showers and eat with plastic cups and plates instead of wine glasses and China. No problem for us, we are pros at budgeted really, it was fine. It was more than fine, it was great. Many of the people paying 4x more than us, ate at the same picnic areas that we did. I did glacé at their bottle of white wine on the last night with longing for a second, but I got over it and drank my warm water and laughed together with Dean, Colton and Miranda about the rain that we had the night before that drowned out the sounds of the hyenas in the campground. 

It is absolutely worth it. It was really a dream come true to go out to see African wildlife. I loved every moment! Here are some of the pictures of our last 3 days.

Our cook Yusa somehow made these remarkable meals for us every day. This campground was rustic. It had running water (not drinking water though) and no electricity. But he poked up a storm and even made a homemade birthday cake for me on my birthday! 

Shish k bobs one night

Happy birthday to me! 

Spaghetti and meat sauce, salad, fresh fruit and birthday cake! Yum! 

Shish k bobs, potatoes, quiche, avacado and cucumber salad

Most mornings we were awake at 5:30 and either at breakfast by 6 or on the road at 6. Sometimes when we got the chance to have a little nap in between, we took it! 

But most of the time we were looking out the window ready to spot a new type of animal

Miranda is keeping a journal of all the things we are seeing

We are having so much fun

Packing up the landrover to go to the next campsite 

This is the rustic campsite we stayed at 2 nights. It rained both nights.

Just the seringetti and a tent 

6 day Safari in Tanzania. Day 1-3

We just finished our 6 day safari. It was a crazy week. We were picked up on the first day by our safari guide Jolis and our cook Yusa. We had our own land rover which we pack a few changes of clothing into and everything we figured we'd need for 6 days tenting. We couldn't take much as we also needed all the tenting equipment and food along to. 

We drove for about 4 hours to our first stop Tarangire national park. We spent the day in the protected park in search of the large herds of elephants and Africa's Baobab trees. It didn't take long till we spotted our first herd of elephants. There were babies and many adults elephants. Watching a herd of elephants does not get old.

We also loved seeing all the rest of the animals. 

Our driver was amazing, he took care of everything we needed the whole 6 days helped spot the wildlife in between. 

That evening, we headed back to the campsite where we would spend the next 2 nights. The Twiga campsite had hot water and electricity. Little did we know that we would not have that luxury in the following days. 

Packing up the jeep

The next day we started at 6:30 am with a hot breakfast cooked by Yusa. He made amazing meals with very little supplies. We ate crepes, toast, eggs, sausage, fruit, tea and coffee most mornings. 

We ate very well.

The second day we left for Manyara national park. This park is know for its tree climbing lions. We were so excited to see the first lion. It was really far off in the trees and we zoomed in our cameras and thought that this might be the only lion we might see all week. Little did we know, but we ended up seeing 50 lions in 6 days! 

I was really looking forward to seeing giraffes. We saw so many! It was amazing! 

Who we are

I am lying across 3 seats on an empty plane. I'm traveling from Ireland to Tanzania via Ethiopia. Yes, Tanzania! It feels surreal. I can't believe we are doing this yet again. But it feels normal too. I feel like we are in our family zone. We are best when we are in this place. We take care of each other. We all have our jobs.

When we are in this travel mode, we all know our place, we can see what the other needs and skillfully try to help. 

It's not something that is planned. But in order to be happy together, it is what naturally happens. If someone is having a hard time, someone else in our group steps up to help the other out. Whether it's emotional or physical, one of us is there to pull the other up by the boot straps. It needs to happen to stay healthy while on long term travel. I see it happen, but I don't say a thing, it might wreck it. 

As I am lying here trying to rest on this overnight flight. I was finding myself breathing in and saying "thank you God! " over and over again. I have so much to be thankful for. My cup is overflowing. Tears come. How can I, a small town girl from Altona, be on a trip around the world with my husband and teenage kids.  I have an awesome, amazing, terrific husband and equally unbelievably awesome kids. All I can say is thank you God.

This is truly a gift and I do not for one minute not appreciate one minute of it. 

This is what living a dream feels like to me. The type of dream that as you live it, tears flow and the only words that come to mind is Thank you God! 

The Wild Atlantic way, Ireland

Today we went on another afternoon drive from Westport along the coast on a highway called The Wild Atlantic coast road. It was finally sunny when we woke up! We saw some mountain tops covered in snow that we hadn't seen yet because of the clouds and rain. It looked like we were in a new town. 

This drive was a little different than the drive the last 2 days. This drive took us around mountains and along the coast. There were sheep on the road as we drove and some places where the grass grew up along the centre of the road. It was a little less curvy and the stone walls were fewer. 

                                 We stopped a checked out a castle.

We drove along another road call the upper sky road. It was even narrower and much less traffic. 

It gave us great views of the fiord.