Day 21 - THUR - 4/10/12 - Nairobi, Kenya : Arusha, Tanzania
300km was covered today but on very poor road so it was a long driving day on the truck, leaving camp by 6am.
The first border crossing for this trip between Kenya and Tanzania - the Namanga border which we were glad we only got a transit visa for Kenya for US$35 - saving us US$15 each.
A little bit of history for Tanzania - Tanzania was called Tangagnika and joined Zanzibar for independence in 1963, creating Tanzania which is now a republic. In 1965 they went to a one party system which is like most of the rest of Africa, which in turn leads to a period of suffering for the people under the power hungry and unchallengeable party.
After the death of the president, in 1992 Tanzania became a multi-party state before other African nations, also therefore putting it ahead in terms of economy, development and growth.
1996 the capital changed locations to reflect change to a multi-party as did the constitution.
To this day however, Zanzibar still has its own separate parliament and has its own entity with border control and all policies the same except for foreign policy.
Like much of Africa their main industry is agriculture with 80% coming from it and 20% coming from tourism.
As Tanzania shares a border with Uganda it has one of the largest refugee camps in Africa, which created struggles with the area for resources.
However tourist highlights include Mt Kilimanjaro, Lake Victoria (largest and deepest in Africa) and the Serengeti Plains including Ngorongoro Crater.
On the way to Arusha we stopped at the cultural centre and saw Tanzinite (rarer than diamonds and likely to be mined out within 40 years) and local art.
We were staying at the Snake Park campsite in Arusha (score 1 for the backpack through the campsite sand) - not so good, when you don't like snakes! Off to the Serengeti tomorrow!!! Bring on the Big 5 tomorrow!!
