Blog Holiday

Dudes, I'm taking a holiday from blogging...

I'm back in the 9-5 daily grind. Life's gonna be boring for a while...

I hope you enjoyed it!

Paul out (for now)

Life in the Windy City

It is now Easter weekend and we’ve been in Wellington for about 3 weeks. It is the windiest city in New Zealand, thanks to its rather precarious location on a bay at the very southernmost tip of the North Island. It makes up for its reputation for bad weather with great nightlife, good public transport, beautiful views and proximity to many other interesting places.



Wellington from Brooklyn Hill

For the first two weeks, we were able to house-sit for two friends who are currently on holiday in North America. Their house perched high up on the eastern side of Mt Victoria with a magical view of Port Nicholson, Wellington’s harbour. It would be possible to spend your entire day gazing out the window of their lounge, just watching ships come and go, planes landing and taking off from the nearby airport, the clouds scudding across the sky, and the sunlight playing on the water in the harbour.



House-sitting at Ben and Tash's place

While I’ve been settling in at work, Christina has been out looking at flats. Given that we were staying in a place with a million-dollar view, it was always going to be hard to find a place that we were happy with. Fortunately, Christina found a fantastic place in Oriental Bay, not far from where we’ve been house-sitting. We moved in last weekend and, thanks to my buddy Eric who’s currently working in the UK, we’ve been able to furnish our new flat with his furniture. We have a spare room and are looking forward to visitors from near and far!



The view of Oriental Bay from our living room



A ferry in the harbour, as seen from our bedroom

Working life is going reasonably well. I work in Seaview, on the other side of the harbour. To get there, I usually walk down to Courtenay Place and take a direct bus around the harbour. The journey time is usually about 35 minutes each way, plus 10 minutes of walking. We’re still waiting for Christina’s work permit to arrive. Once we have that, and Christina has a job, all the pieces of the puzzle will finally be in place.

Drought in the Waikato

Back in Christchurch, we had to face up to the fact the trip was coming to an end and that I’d soon be back at work after a break of about 10 months. I think it may have been a result of these negative vibes that we ended up missing our flight from Christchurch back to Auckland! With the wallet 150 dollars lighter and feeling pretty stupid, we were able to take another flight just 2 hours later. Later in the day we were back home in Hamilton and shocked to see that the normally emerald-green Waikato was still in the grip of the worst dry spell for over 10 years.

After a few days of rest, we set about packing for the big move down to Wellington and the start of my new job on March 3.

Cloud Piercer

Well supplied with apricots and nectarines bought from a roadside stall, we headed over the Lewis Pass and into the Mackenzie Country. The Mackenzie Country is a flat, dry basin surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges. The Southern Alps to the west catch most of the rain, ensuring that the Mackenzie basin on the eastern side of the divide stays relatively dry. There are many beautiful lakes but little forest. Tussock grass covers the landscape.



Mackenzie Country at Dusk

Directly west of the Mackenzie Country is Mt Cook. Aoraki, which translates as 'Cloud Piercer', is its Maori name. At 3754m high, it is New Zealand’s highest mountain. The 27km long Hooker Glacier at its base feeds the turquoise-blue Lake Pukaki. We drove 50 km along the shore of Lake Pukaki to Mt Cook Village and did some short walks to get a good view of the mountain and the glacier. It is a raw alpine environment with very few established hiking tracks, so there’s not that much to do unless you’re a well-equipped mountaineer. Not like Switzerland, where you just choose a track and off you go! Happy to have seen the highest point in New Zealand, as well as the most southern tip of the South Island earlier in the trip, we turned around and set off for Christchurch.



Aoraki/Mt Cook



Lake Tekapo with the Southern Alps in the background



Church of the Good Shepherd beside Lake Tekapo

Blazing Saddles

The following day we drove to the Cardrona Valley. I wanted to take Christina horse trekking, as a thank you for hiking the Kepler Track with me and for not complaining (except maybe once or twice!). In winter it is one of New Zealand’s premier ski areas, but in summer the expansive valley is ideal for horse trekking. I ended up on a black steed called Geoff, and Christina a somewhat smaller Appaloosa. We both had a good time and were able to go for a bit of a gallop and enjoy the beautiful views. According to the owner of the operation, it was once possible to do much longer multi-day treks over private land, but much of the land is now in foreign ownership (most famously Shania Twain) and the opportunities are now greatly restricted. I think this is a sad thing for New Zealand. It would be great if the public had more access to ‘private’ property, as they do in Switzerland and Scandinavia (Allemansrecht), for example .



Horseriding in the Cardrona Valley (Cool CHIPS helmet, huh?)

Milford Sound to Cromwell

The shadows were stretching across Lake Te Anau as we headed north to Milford Sound. It is hard to imagine a more spectacular road: first following the lakeshore, then passing through rainforest, climbing up into the mountains before squeezing its way through the Homer Tunnel and bursting out through a rock face high up above the sound. The road then descends rapidly by a series of switchbacks to sea level. The village of Milford Sound is nothing but a few hotels, a couple of houses, an airfield, a campsite and massive views. It is a very special place.

We slept the night in our tent and woke up early the next morning for a cruise on the sound. Mitre Peak, rising straight from sea level to over 1600m, had a few clouds around the summit, but otherwise the weather was perfect. So early in the morning, the water was near mirror-like. As we reached the open sea, some bottle-nosed dolphins joined the boat and entertained us with their jumps and dives. Despite the spectacular scenery, the dolphins were the real highlight.



Not a bad view from the boat



A dolphin in Milford Sound



In front of Mitre Peak

We left Milford Sound feeling a bit smug, as all the tourist busses were arriving and the cloud was closing in a bit. We knew we’d seen the best of it and it was time to move on. From Te Anau, we headed north towards the famous lakeside ski-resort of Queenstown, crossing latitude 45 degrees South in the process. We were entering a region of New Zealand called Central Otago, famous for massive high-country sheep stations, stark dry mountains and an abundance of cherries and apricots in the summer.

The drive from Kingston up the side of Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown was the highlight of this leg of the journey. All accommodation in Queenstown was booked out, so we drove through the Clutha Gorge to Cromwell. Cromwell is an old goldmining town and a good base to see the region.

Hard Labour on the Kepler Track

Te Anau is beautifully set beside a lake and surrounded by mountains and forest. It is just a few hundred meters above sea level, so mountains of just 2000m or so seem very impressive. It’s also a tourist hub and the start of the Kepler Track, one of several hiking tracks in the area that give you a taste of the wilderness to be found in Fiordland National Park. The Kepler Track takes 3 – 4 days and you must carry all your food and cooking equipment, and a tent as well if the huts are booked out. The huts were indeed booked out, so we prepared ourselves for a tough hike.

We spent the first night at Brod Bay, a nice camping site under the trees beside Lake Te Anau. It would have been idyllic but for the pesky sandflies! The second day was the hardest. The track took us all the way up to the top of 1750m Mt Luxmore, followed by a long traverse, before a final descent to Iris Burn. We were rewarded with stunning views of snow-capped mountains the lake 1500m below us. It reminded me very much of the view from the Al Legn hut beside Laggo Maggiore in Switzerland, but with the knowledge that only wilderness lay beyond the mountains, and after that, the sea.



Sunset over Lake Te Anau



Camping at Brod Bay on the Kepler Track



Hiking on the Kepler Track

Late on the third and final day, we made it to the end of the 62-kilometer hike. We were weary but the feeling of accomplishment was very satisfying. We still had enough energy to make the 150 km drive to Milford Sound, the jewel in the crown of New Zealand’s scenic spots. The weather was still fine and we knew it would be a highlight of the trip.

Caving

On the way to Te Anau, we stopped off at some caves near Tuatapere, about 40 km from Invercargill. In one of those spontaneous decisions that often end in a brush with disaster, we grabbed our only two light sources (the light on my mobile phone and a Petzl headlamp) and headed into the cave. At only 350m long, it can’t be too dangerous, even if we’re on our own, we thought. The cave headed downwards into the bowels of the earth. At first it was pitch black and our light sources barely made an impact, but our eyes slowly adjusted. Christina was having major second thoughts, but somehow I convinced her to go on. Soon we were so far in that turning back was not an option any more. The wet and slippery walls of limestone eventually opened out into caverns and when we turned out the lights, glow-worms created hundreds of specks of light above us, just like a starry sky. It was beautiful. After what seemed like eternity, we finally reached a serious obstacle to our exit from the cave: the Swimming Pool. Recent rain meant that it was pretty deep – how deep we’ll never know, since we were not about to jump in and go swimming! Instead, we stripped down to our underwear and gripping tightly to an overhanging ledge, inched our way around the side of the pool. Even here it was up to our waists and freezing cold. One slip and we would have been in a very unpleasant situation. Fortunately, we made it, and with our adrenalin pumping, we exited the cave into daylight 10 minutes later. We’d been underground for over an hour. Relieved to be out, we were in no rush to head into another cave for quite a while.

South of the South

Finally we reached Slope Point, the southernmost point of New Zealand. Wild, wet and windswept, it is a place to see once and then never come back.



Slope Point

A short drive along the southern coast brings you to Invercargill. It’s a city, but a fairly bleak one with little to recommend it except its proximity to cool places such as Stewart Island and Fiordland National Park. The nearby town of Bluff, better known as the ‘Arsehole of New Zealand’, is New Zealand’s southernmost town. We stopped in for a drink in the local pub, expecting to meet some Bluff locals. We ended up talking to the barkeeper, who was Australian, and a farmer from the UK. A sign of how multi-cultural New Zealand has become.

We didn’t linger in the far south, but instead pointed the car northwards and set off on the scenic route to Te Anau, 150km away. It is the gateway to Fiordland, the largest and most spectacular wilderness area in New Zealand.

The Catlins

Reluctantly, we left Dunedin behind and continued south. The backroads from Dunedin to Invercargill pass through a region known as the Catlins, home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. It is famous for its remote little fishing villages, rainforest coming right down to the coast, deserted beaches and abundance of wildlife – seals, penguins, dolphins, sea lions and sea birds.

Two of the highlights were the evocatively named Nugget Point and Cannibal Bay.



Coastal rainforest in the Catlins





The lighthouse and the 'nuggets' at Nugget Point



A sea-lion at Cannibal Bay

Dunedin and Port Chalmers

Dunedin is the largest city in the province of Otago. Known as the Edinburgh of the South, it has a beautiful setting at the head of Port Chalmers, a long inlet flanked on either side by rolling green hills. In perfect weather, we drove a winding, narrow, coast-hugging road out to Akaroa. Akaroa will be forever famous in New Zealand as the site of worst mass-murder in New Zealand’s history. After some searching, we finally found the poignant memorial to the innocent people who lost their lives to a crazy man named David Gray back in 1994.



Sheep near Port Chalmers

Dunedin is also the origin of the Kiwi half of my family, descended from Scottish and English settlers. My grandparents grew up in the Leith Valley, where the camping ground we were staying at happened to be. Nearby is Baldwin St, the world’s steepest street and on my granddad’s old paper delivery route. We paid a visit to one of my relatives, Russell, who is my mother’s cousin and a retired cinema projectionist. He took us on a short walking tour and was able to pass on a wealth of information about Dunedin’s fascinating history. On Russell’s advice, we drove out to St Claire for a walk on the beach and then to the beautiful fishing village of Portobello, where we camped for the night.



St Claire Beach

Christchurch to Dunedin

We were happy to leave Hamilton behind. It was hot and incredibly dry, with no rain since Christmas, and the water level in mum’s tank was getting pretty low. In Christchurch it was a bit cooler and a bit greener, but not much. We didn’t linger. After picking up the rental car, a gutless Nissan with automatic transmission, we headed south following the eastern coast of the South Island. It began to rain.

Our first night was spent in a backpackers in Timaru. Our only company was a dear old lady with a black eye and a bit of mental problem, who insisted on washing our dishes and worrying about whether we were warm enough. She was very sweet and when we left the next morning, her parting gift to us was a bunch of lavender and some cherry tomatoes.

We made a fleeting stop in architecturally-blessed Oamaru, one of the few towns in New Zealand where a sizeable number of turn-of-the-century buildings have been preserved. Further down the coast we came to Moeraki, where large near-perfect spherical boulders litter the windswept beach, many with a diameter of 2 or 3 meters. Set against a wild sea, they are a spectacular sight. Their origin is debated, but it seems they were eroded out of nearby cliffs.



Boulders at Moeraki

Near the town of Moeraki, there’s a nice peninsular where you can see seals and yellow-eyed penguins. We were lucky and saw many of both.





A seagull, a yellow-eyed penguin and a seal

Southbound

With a bit over two weeks until my job begins on 1 March 2008, we’ve decided to fly down to the South Island for a last hurrah. We’ll take the tent and rent a car. Our planned route is shown in the map. Starting in Christchurch, we’ll drive down the eastern coastline to Dunedin, then further south through a beautiful region known as the Catlins to Invercargill. From there we’ll head north again, via Te Anau, Milford Sound and Mt Cook. We have a flight from Christchurch back to Auckland booked for 25 February.



Map of our route

Success!

I've been offered the job in Lower Hutt, near Wellington! Start date will be March 1, 2008. I have one month to face up to the realities of re-entering the workforce...

A Visit to the Capital

Wellington, the capital, is about 520km south of Hamilton, so we decided to set off early and do the journey in stages. Our first stop was at Napier in the Hawkes Bay. We did a nice coastal walk to the gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers. Gannets are interesting birds because they nest only in certain spots in Australia and New Zealand and they make a very difficult migration across the Tasman Sea and back when they are just a few months old. Only around a quarter of the birds survive the 5400km round trip. They are excellent at fishing and can plunge into the water to catch fish at depths up to 5m.





Gannets nesting. Nice to look at but actually very stinky

Near Waipukerau, we spent a couple of relaxing nights with some friends on their massive 600ha farm. We then headed on to Wellington. Again we were lucky enough to be able to stay with friends, this time with a spectacular view of Wellington's harbour. Wellington's weather was excellent for once - if only it was always like this!



Panorama of Wellington from Mt Victoria

Getting Busy

Suddenly lots of things are happening. I've got a job interview lined up at a firm in Lower Hutt, near Wellington on January 28. I'm quietly confident about my chances. Christina and I will drive down to Wellington for the interview. We're leaving this Monday, which will give us plenty of time to see some sights during our drive south. We plan to first head to Hawkes Bay on the East Coast and follow the coastline down from there.

We also re-read the immigration requirements and feel that Christina has an excellent chance to get a Work Permit for New Zealand on the basis of my citizenship. We'd been advised against doing this by the NZ Consulate in Geneva, but we're confident and will give it a shot. We are in the process of filling out the application form. Once we submit it, together with a medical report and police certificate, we should know the answer within 30 days.

Jewel of the Hauraki Gulf

Christina and I were up in Auckland for the birthday of a friend, so we took the chance to visit Waiheke Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. We got to the island by ferry. The weather was hot and sunny so we did a nice coastal walk, took a couple of swims and headed back to Auckland in the evening. What a top place!



View across Fossil Bay on Waiheke Island



A late-afternoon view of Auckland on the way back from Waiheke Island

Job Hunting

Reality is slowly starting to kick in: It’s now 2008 and Christina and I need jobs. Unfortunately, now is not the best time to get one: the job market is always quiet over the Christmas/New Year period so there is not much we can do except wait. My goal is a job by the end of January, and Christina's goal is to get a work permit, then a job.

It's a hard life

Whangamata Wedding

I’ve spent more New Year’s Eves at the Mahoney’s place in Whangamata on the Coromandel Peninsular than I can remember. With its beautiful hilltop setting overlooking the harbour and the town, it is the perfect place to be to celebrate the start of the New Year. But this time it was extra-special: Thomas Mahoney, an old friend from high school days and his fiancée Nikki chose this New Year’s Eve to get married.

The wedding took place in the garden of Tom’s parents’ house up on the hill. The weather was perfect and ceremony was relaxed and intimate. In his own inimitable style, Eric, the Best Man, mixed up the rings for bride and groom - but made up for it with a great speech afterwards. A barbeque, party and fireworks at midnight rounded out a brilliant evening. Congratulations to Tom and Nikki.



High school reunion - Tim, Tom, Eric and Paul

Christmas 2007

Christmas was a low-key affair at my mother’s house by the Waikato River in Hamilton. I almost didn’t make this one, so to say I was happy to be a part of the celebrations would be an understatement. My grandmother and grandfather were there, together with my mum and Christina. We ate a delicious salmon and various salads for lunch, and spent the afternoon relaxing.



Christmas lunch with my family and Christina

Tapotupotu Bay

When we arrived at Tapotupotu Bay, Christina and I chose a shady spot a bit away from the other people on the beach and headed down to the water for a swim. At first it was fun to play in the waves. The water was rough but only knee-high when still and we felt in no danger. Suddenly, before we knew it, we were caught in quite a strong rip and the water was over our heads. As soon as I realised that we were in danger, we started swimming back to the beach. Christina made it to a sandbar where she could stand, but try as I might, I could not get more than a toe to the sandbar. I got sucked out again and again. In desperation, I yelled to Christina to go for help. I felt unable to make it back to shore on my own so decided to float on my back and wait to be rescued. It seemed to take an eternity, but was probably about 30 minutes. I remember looking up several times and wondering what on earth is taking them so long? The problem was the waves were too large for a swimmer to come out and get me. Two rescue attempts tried and failed. In the meantime, I had drifted even further from the shore. I didn’t know it, but the only chance I had was for someone with a boat to come to my aid. Fortunately, that is exactly what happened.

By sheer chance, a man with a boat arrived at the beach and was able to bring his boat out through the waves and pluck me from the water. I was getting very weak by that stage. I’d swallowed a lot of seawater and hypothermia had set in. I was delirious and my head was going under but I remember hearing the boat arrive, some shouts and attempting to scramble in myself. That effort must have drained my last reserves of energy, as after that I have no recollection of what happened next until I woke up shivering uncontrollably in a car being driven south to Houhora. Christina was with me and she had to keep me from falling asleep again. At that point I realised everything would probably be OK.

I was in worse condition than I thought, however, and the paramedics who examined me in Houhora had no hesitation in calling the air ambulance. I was short of breath and very little of the air I was inhaling was making its way into my blood. A short time later I was in a helicopter and on the way to Whangarei Hospital. Christina arrived later in the evening after collecting the car and driving down. She did a great job of cheering me up and supporting me. It took a while for me to recover, thanks to the seawater I’d swallowed, but after two nights in hospital I was back to normal and free to go.

Only later, after talking to and thanking the man who rescued me in his boat, did it sink in just how close I had come to drowning. Many New Zealand beaches are known for being treacherous and over 100 people drown in New Zealand each year. I am extremely lucky to be alive.



Tapotupotu Bay

Northbound to Northland

After a couple of days lazing around at my mother’s place in the countryside just out of Hamilton, Christina and I decided to use the remaining week before Christmas to explore some more of New Zealand. We chose to visit Northland, the prosaically-named long finger of land that stretches north of Auckland. I hadn’t been up there since I was a kid, and never further north than the Bay of Islands. We decided to go all the way to Cape Reinga, the almost-northernmost point of New Zealand and, according to Maori folklore, the jumping-off point for spirits on their way to the Underworld. It’s also the best place to see watch two great bodies of water merge: the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean.



Heading for Cape Reinga!

Not many people live in the Far North, the region of Northland north of Kaitaia. It’s a starkly beautiful place of endless rolling green hills and long, deserted beaches. We wanted to walk from Spirits Bay on the eastern coast via Cape Reinga to Ninety Mile Beach on the western coast. We were having a brilliant time until 2 pm on the second day, when we decided to go for a swim at Tapotupotu Bay.



Climbing up from Spirits Bay, on the way to Cape Reinga. We started at the far end of the beach

Welcome Home

Flying into Auckland Airport is usually a pleasure. When coming from faraway lands, the contrast of New Zealand’s emerald green - almost fluorescent green - landscape with the monotonous blue of the Tasman Sea is striking. Upon landing the welcome by immigration and customs officials is invariably friendly and with a personal touch. And this time I was extra-excited, not only because Christina and mum were waiting at the airport for me, but also because this place would be home for the foreseeable future.

So it was galling when I ran into trouble with New Zealand’s extremely strict biosecurity controls. I thought I’d declared everything that might pose a biosecurity risk, but somehow I’d forgotten about a small container of honey in my carry-on bag, absent-mindedly picked up from an airport lounge during my Dubai stopover. I was promptly marched off to an office and told to pay an on-the-spot $200 fine. Just when I thought my grand homecoming would be ruined by getting busted for bringing undeclared honey into the country, the customs officer suddenly had a change of heart and let me go. I think my story of how I was returning to the country to live after a long absence did the trick. Or else my good looks. Anyway, moral of the story: If you ever fly to New Zealand, fill out your customs declaration form CAREFULLY.

Feeling exhausted but pretty relieved to have gotten off the hook, I walked out into the arrivals hall and into the waiting arms of Christina and mum. A few minutes later we were in the car heading south to Hamilton and home. It was a good feeling.

The End of the Road

After a week of idleness on Zanzibar, it was finally time to travel north to Nairobi for my flight home. In doing so, I closed my loop around Lake Victoria and also caught a glimpse of Kilimanjaro on the way. Upon seeing the mountain for the first time, I realised why so many people want to climb her. Impressive as Mt Kenya is, Kili is in a different league. She is truly massive and beautifully formed, with a broad, flat snowy summit wearing a halo of clouds. A challenge for next time. Perhaps.



Kilimanjaro in the evening...



...and early in the morning



My route from Cairo to Nairobi

Life is Bole Bole

Within a few hours of arrival, I had established that Dar es Salaam is one of the dullest cities on the planet. At the first possible opportunity, I boarded a ferry for the island of Zanzibar just off Tanzania’s coast in the Indian Ocean. I’m not the person who can spend an entire holiday at the beach, but after 11 weeks of non-stop travel and plenty of nights in rather insalubrious accommodation, I'm ready to relax. Zanzibar is the clichéd tropical paradise, with perfect white sandy beaches shaded by coconut palms, turquoise blue water and dhows pulled up on the beach. Bole bole (slowly slowly in Swahili) is the way of life here. Not much to do but sit back, look lazily out to sea and reflect on my East African experiences….

In short, I enjoyed this trip more and more as I headed south. The Islamic countries, Egypt and northern Sudan, were interesting but not actually much FUN. It was fascinating to follow the Nile south through the desert and explore ruins and remote villages along the way, but it was also hard work. I must be getting older. Sudan was special for the friendliness and helpfulness of its people. In Ethiopia I had the most intense ‘cultural’ experience. The curious locals never hesitated to engage me in conversation. Sometimes a good friendship developed, on other occasions the guy turned out to be an idiot, or else just wanted some money. Quiet moments by myself were a rarity. It was also a tough battle to pay the same price as the locals, or at least a fair price. Looking back, these frequent and often intense interactions with the locals are what stick in my mind the most and make Ethiopia one of the most memorable countries on my route. It is certainly a very special place.

I had a particularly good time in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania). Mt Kenya, the Masai Mara, rafting at Jinja, the Murchison Falls, the gorillas and Zanzibar were all highlights. The climate was pleasant, a cold beer was always close at hand and I met many good people. I never ventured far from the well-trodden tourist trail on this trip but generally felt safe everywhere I went. I am now very curious about the countries in southern Africa (in particular Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho and South Africa) and would love to explore this region by bicycle some day. All in all, it has been a successful (if slightly unspectacular) trip.



The sweet view from my bungalow

Street Fish

My last two weeks in East Africa were spent in Tanzania. First, I took the ferry MV Serengeti across Lake Victoria from Bukoba to Mwanza, and there I connected with the Central Line train to Dar es Salaam on the coast. The 40 hour journey across the Tanzanian savannah was most memorable for what I ate. Just prior to the train’s departure from Mwanza, I bought a grilled Tilapia fish from a street stall to take with me as a snack. I should have been more cautious after my earlier experience with ‘street fish’ in Uganda, but I was hungry, so I just tucked in. Sure enough, after a couple of mouthfuls, I took a closer look at what I was eating and there they were: dozens of maggots crawling inside the fish. Not again! I spat a mouthful of fish into the small sink in the corner of my compartment and decided that this time I would get some justice, since the train was still in the station. I dashed back to the street stall and demanded my money back from the lady. She muttered something (probably unkind) about Mzungus then took the fish from me, turned it over and shamelessly put it back on display! Reluctantly, she eventually handed back my money. Vowing never to eat street fish again in Africa, I ran back to the train and got on just as it was about to depart. I soon realised it had been a big mistake to spit the mouthful of rotten fish into the sink in my compartment. All attempts to clean the sink and remove the smell failed and I was stuck with the smell of rotten fish for the rest of the journey.



Boarding the ferry at Bukoba on Lake Victoria



On the Central Line train across Tanzania



A massive mango tree



Shopping made easy

Sardine Cans and Rolexes

Travel a little while by backpack through East Africa, and you’ll soon encounter a couple of specialties of the region. The sardine tins, otherwise known as matatus or daladalas, are Toyota Hiace vans. ‘Licensed to carry 14 passengers’ is always written on the driver’s door, but don’t pay too much attention to that. Twenty or more (not including children) is the usual number and when things get really full, someone will sit on the roof as well. Combined with poor maintenance, excessive speed, bad roads and reckless driving, they are deathtraps on wheels – but unavoidable if you want to get to out of the way places. After a near miss (and I had a few), the event is soon forgotten and everyone soon chatting and laughing again. Such is the mentality of the people here.

The conversations while squeezed into a matatu with 20 other passengers are often quite revealing. Some questions come up time and again:
· Does the West have a cure for HIV/AIDS? or,
· Why does the West not give Africa the cure for HIV/AIDS?
· Your government sponsors you to go travelling, don’t they?
· Are black people still slaves in your country?
· Do Rambo and Arnie really kill all the bad guys in the movies (kids kept asking me this)?
I always try to correct these misconceptions, but I doubt anyone actually believes me!



Nice angle-parking

The ubiquitous rolex is my street snack of choice in East Africa. First, the rolex guy fries up a doughy pancake (a chapati) on his little street-side hot plate. He then fries up a 2 or 3 egg omelette, lays it on top of the chapati, rolls the two up together and serves it to you on a scrap of newspaper. Fantastic: a fat-soaked, energy-rich, calorie bomb for less than US$1. For some variation, I replace the omelette with a banana, which incidentally are fantastically cheap here. On a normal day, I devour 3 or 4 rolexes and a dozen bananas. Who needs a balanced diet anyway?!



A rolex assembly line



The wrapping paper's main function is to soak up the excess grease