Well, we've recieved all our furniture, basically intact. Sue was sweating on the lounge (OK) and Jim the TV (also OK). Only one ornament got broken (a giraffe - sorry Kaylene) which was pretty ironic in the land of giraffes.
Still gradually sorting things out. Have bought a car, but still sorting the details out so hopefully by next week we will be independently mobile. And now have a computer to be able to keep more regularly in contact (and update this journal).
We went to Father John's the other day. He runs a school about 30 k's out of town - very rough road to get there. Had a great day, we looked at one of the craters out there and spoke to a lot of the Masai tribes in the area. When we went to the crater, we came across about 15 kids herding goats (human kids about 3 - 10 years old, goat kids had plenty of new borns). They allowed us to take film of it all and were fascinated to see themselves on the video camera. Sue got them in a group and they started singing for the camera.
Later when it was time to leave the hire car broke down. While we were waiting for help )about 90 minutes away) a lot of Masai women and kids surrounded us and the same thing with the video camera occurred. Luckily we had lollies to give them - one of the ladies invited us to stay at her boma (home) if we didn't get picked up and said she would cook for us. We didn't have to take up the offer, but that would have been an experience. A night in a mud hut.
Father John is starting up a pre-school so Sue will probably go out every now and then to help out and donate materials. They have built everything from the ground up and now have electricity and a water supply - have a beautiful vegetable garden and we had chicken and salad for lunch - very tasty.
As far as the house is concerned we now have 5 people working for us, Mohammed the Gardener, Habedi the night guard, Neema the house girl, and Emma, another house girl who is an amazing cook. The girls work on alternate days. We also have Daniel, a Masai, who works three weeks on and one week off. He lives out the back and trails Sue everywhere when she is walking or going to the Gym, or shopping etc. Once the car is here he will go everywhere with her and look after the car etc. He has a big knife. We also have two permanent guards on the gate, one on days and one on nights - they are supplied by the company. There are enough wild dogs howling in the night to keep most people from our street at night - the Tanzanians don't like dogs and even the Brittany posh Spaniel we have keeps them in their cars until we assure them she is OK. She has become quite a good watch dog. Having said all that it is reasonably safe, you just have to keep your wits about you as there are many street kids etc. There is no welfare in Tanzania so they have to get money any way they can.
Have finally got internet sorted so we can use during the day - it was very slow to start with but a few irate phone calls seems to have done the trick. Power is not too bad at the moment, and we have a 4 KVA generator to keep Jim's beer cold if it goes off.
The big story since I last wrote is the safari we went on to the Serengeti. I hope to have some photos of everything on this site in the next couple of days that will have you all drooling and wanting to get over here. Story below
Friday 23rd - my first big safari - Ngorogoro consevation area. We were five women, three older two younger, and on good looking Tanzanian driver (for those looking for a partner - he wants a woman). That was one of the first things he asked - who was married. Even us older ones he is that desperate.
Anyway Judith, another Aussie, freaked out when she saw what we were going in, but after a few drinks she settled down. Another Aussie from Melbourne came(ex-Doctors wife, long blond hair and looking like we were off out in Melbourne somewhere). She wore the shortest of shortest skirts which Leonard the driver loved. I just dagged along in a pair of black pants and Jim's Aussie rugby shirt.
Our first stop was Gibbs farm in Karatu - we did get lost on the way to this farm and ended up in an orphanage. We had to get a young fella from there to show us the way. The farm is a very old coffee plantation and there are roads going off in all directions. Of course they are all very rough and you just bounce everywhere. The scenery to the farm is beautiful with undulating green hills covered in maize and wheat. Had plant of rain so everything really green. We finally found our way to the old colonial house, at the top of a hill with nice gardens and views. The house was very basic, an old wood heater for hot water and genset for power. The fridge was gas. Each night we had a fire going to warm the house - good to sit in front of with red wine and junk food. Of course there is no TV.
Saturday we were up at 6 AM but being us didn't get going until 6:45 and we were supposed to be at the park gates at 7 AM. Of course we were late. Only got lost once on the way out. To get in to the park you are required to pay $30 each + $100 for the car. More park fees if you are going right into the Serengeti. As you can gather safaris are not cheap. If you are going right into the Serengetu you should allow yourself 2-3 nights so you aren't rushing. There is all sorts from your own tents to silver service tent accommodation, to very expensive lodges. These are things I can check out for those of you who are coming this way. Accommodation does need to booked well in advance - there are people coming next month that are finding it hard to get accommodation and safaris now.
Once through the gates you immediately start to climb up through some jungle like vegetation, the roads aren't overly wide with big drop offs over the edge (of course, no security rails). There were some rather large poos on the road (yep, elephant dung). Our first stop was the look out into the Ngorogoro crater - this is where you find all the hippos, rhinos, elephants etc. It's huge and some of the people who had been before said it was the greenest they had seen it. Usually a big dustbowl. We didn't go down in the crater - it's another $100 and you need over 4 hours to do it. The government has just started putting restrictions on the amount of cars going into it, hence the increase in car fees.
Looking down into the crater you feel you are on top of the world, absolutely beautiful. While we were there, the President of Tanzania came along in a cavalcade of vehicles and stopped and had a look. We left before them but they soon caught up, we had to shift off the road. When you travel down onto the plains it is just breath taking - you can see for miles. One of the things that really fascinated me was the Masai walking across the plains with umbrellas. Their blankets are so bright you can see them for miles. Other Masai were tending livestock, from 5 years and up. Anyway, once down on the plains we spotted what we were looking for - the wildebeest. In some herds 2 to 3 hundred, in others just a few. And also big herds of zebras. Now is the time when they all cross the Mara river, after they have calves. We saw a wildebeest that must have been born that day - very wobbly on its legs. And guess what, the baby zebras are more brown than black and white, with quite a few tufts of hair running down their backs. They are really cute.
The gazelles we saw, mainly two types, also just had their babies. They continually swish their tails with stopping.
Our greatest find were leopards. Our driver stopped to talk to another driver who had seen them earlier in the day, so we were able to go and see them. Glad we did, we never would have found them ourselves. We had to go across the plains to find them, they were under the shade of a tree. You couldn't see them at first as the grass was so long. There were 3 fat cats, just lazing around. They must have had a big feed because they just looked at us and seemed to day 'bugger off'. If they stood up they would only take a few steps and flop down on their backs, so consequently the photos we got weren't that good.
We saw 4 elephants, but to see the big herds you need to go right into the Serengeti. We saw plenty of giraffes, they are so bigs - their heads way up in the acacia trees. One thing you need is a good camera with a good lens. A lot of the animals stay away from the road and bolt if you get too close, so a big lens is a must.
If you need to go to the loo it's a squat in front of the car, so I held on all day until we got to a lodge (and had a beer).
The bird life is unreal, with lots of vibrabt colours. Once again you need a good camera and some time to be able to capture them. We saw plenty of vultures, perched up in the tree waiting.
There were some places that were covered in purple flowers. Hopefully they will come out in the photos as they are very pretty.
After we found the leopards, we went off elephant hunting, and then looking for the big cats but couldn't find any.
You have to be out of the park at 6PM, and because we went lion hunting we were 30 minutes late and the gates were shut. Of course, we had to pay money to get out. Our trip back to the gate was done flat out. The old Landrovers motor was running hot by the time we got there, and so was I, being in the front seat.
The following day (Sunday) we travelled back to a lodge for lunch and then stopped at a few places to haggle for souveniers. It was one great weekend that I would recommend to anyone.
