Tanzania

After we climbed the road up a mountain and stayed at the lodge on the edge of the cliff, we headed down the next morning to start our journey to Tanzania. We were on a bus for 14 hours but we had to drive through a park so ingot to see more elephants, giraffes, zebras and some antelope so that was cool. We finished in Dar Es Salaam which is a city of close to 4 million people. This is the first city we would be staying in other than Cape Town because all others we would just jump on a bus and leave. We got a cab because it was night time. We got some food and slept. When we woke we walked around the city all day and explored. It was nice to have a change of pace from the villages. We stayed one more night and then took a ferry to Zanzibar. We docked in Stone Town and Steven decided to splurge and get a nice hotel for the night. It then became my graduation gift haha, it was amazing!! 

The next day we got a taxi to a nice part of the beach. It was sunny with clouds when we arrived so we ran right to the beach. That night as I was getting changed for bed, I heard a noise and then saw some droppings on the bed Steven was going to sleep in. My stomach dropped and as I moved the pillow, the face of a rat was starring at me!! I yelped and then ran down the stairs! Steven was sitting with a couple girls we met an I was like OMG Steven there's a rat in the bed!! His response was "oh ... Ok". Not the response I was waiting for. So I talked to the owner who handled it very poorly but we then got the honeymoon suite which was basically the same room we had but a bigger bed and slightly bigger room. Lets just say I wasn't impressed by how they handled the situation. 

Then yesterday it poured rain until 2pm and it was still cloudy but we all went to play in the waves. Today we are thinking on moving to a different part of the island just for a change of scenery cause the weather still sucks. 

In a couple days we will then start our travels towards Arusha, Tanzania to do safari !! The shitty part is daytime high is only 22 and goes down to like 5 degrees at night so I best bundle up! 

Until another day,

Nicole

Vwaza Marsh

We left the beautiful Nkhata Bay on Thursday morning. We took a minivan to Mzuzu which took about 2 hours and caught another minibus to Rumphi. Once we arrived in Rumphi, we stocked up on water, snacks and peanut butter and bread which would be our meals for the next 2 days. We then finished our journey riding on a matola (possibly spelt wrong). This is a truck jam packed with people in the back. And by jam packed I mean there is absolutely no space for another foot. I had the "pleasure" of standing which meant standing behind the cab and holding on for dear life. There were two rows of 5 behind the driver standing and I somehow got wedged to the second row so I was holding on by my finger tips while we were shaken around by the terrible roads. I was almost in tears because I obviously don't have very good upper body strength and the man in front of my kept pushing back in my direction and I couldn't go any further back because my feet were stuck in between his legs.... So imagine me, holding on for dear life at a 45 degree angle! Had I slipped and lost my hold, I'd come down on several ladies and children like Godzilla on a small building... It would not go over well. Finally the man got out about an hour into the drive and I was able to get right behind the cab and adjust my feet so then it was quite enjoyable. I got talkin to a man beside me who explained the different crop they grew and how poor Malawi really is. Your probably wondering... Where was Steven?! They sat him in the back with the women and children. Apparently I look quite butch to these people hahaha. As we would go through various villages on the drive, kids and adults were yelling "mzungu" which means white person. The kids would wave so I would wave back and then they would bust a gut laughing and wave again. Adults would just smile at the scene of two white people taking the traditional ride between towns. We finally arrived 2 hours later after only driving 30km, so you can imagine just how slow we were going!! As we got out of the matola, I laughed so hard at how filthy Steven was! I found out on the way back how he managed to become so dirty!

When we arrived I was a bit nervous because of Stevens previous experience at Vwaza Marsh which led him to almost becoming a victim to the foot of an elephant and being left there alone. Our hut was really nice! Two dbl beds with mosquito nets and a porch! The side facing the lake was open except for a screen which doesn't help when the hut is made of bamboo and there are multiple gaps but still very nice place! We arrived at around 4:30 and were told that it was just us and that noone stays in the park with us but that they were just down the road if we needed them. We had a PB sandwich and sat on the patio in hopes to see some wildlife.
The lake was full of hippos so I was already scared/excited. We then saw a group of small antelope down by the lake. Off in a distance we could see a lot of dust in the air- from the elephants! This was excitement enough for me.. Hippos, antelope and now dust haha. I stepped inside while Steven ventured a little closer to the water with my zoom lens to try to get a better photo of the hippos. I come running outside when I hear him yell "THEIR COMING!!!!" I thought he was about to be chomped by a hippo for getting to close to their water but no! He meant the elephants!! He has been looking through the zoom lens so they looked really close and so he panicked a little lol. About 20 elephants came walking by the water right in front of our hut! It was the most amazing moment... Of the day! There was no power so we were in bed reading by 7 and listening to the insane noises of the hippos.

  I slept so good and woke around 6. The worker said he would bring us tea at 6:30 and then we would go for a walking safari. It was very very cold in the morning so I put on as many clothes as I could and held the tea for a long time. On our walking safari we learned lots about trees but saw no animals. Had we of waited an hour later we would have been in for a shock! We got back from the walk and some hippos came out of the water to eat, right in the area we had just walked. Them a family of warthogs came to have some water. Then two different types of antelope were spotted and then THE ELEPHANTS AGAIN!! This time they were further away and only went to the lake to drink and bathe and then head back where they had come from. Later that afternoon we watched a lone male elephant bathing himself in the same spot. We sat and watched for animals all day. When it was almost dark and I was tucking myself into bed, I heard something and it was the elephants AGAIN!! All I could see was their silhouette. A few minutes later another herd of elephants came through. These guys were competing with the hippos to see who could be the loudest. It was the most amazing sound to go to bed to. 

I slept so well that night. I had to wear pants and then shorts over those and 2 shirts, a sweater and double my comforter to stay warm but it was such a great sleep! 

We woke early for tea and then walked to the road to board another matola. This time I wa sitting facing the opposite way that we were driving. I then realized how Steven got so dirty. The dust was flying back at us as we drove. I have never been so dirty in all my life... Even after rolling in the sandbox ! This dust stuck to your body and your clothing!! 

Once we got back to Rumphi, we hopped into a minivan on route to our next destination of Chitimba, Malawi. 

NKHATA BAY, MALAWI

For those of you who saw the pictures I posted on Facebook Tuesday, that is where I am right now. We got here on Saturday and will be leaving tomorrow morning. We haven't really done very much here except relax and read. I went into town a few times and walked to a place called Aqua Africa which is run by a young European girl. She is super friendly so it's a nice place to sit and have a drink and chat. 

I tried snorkeling because the lake has the most species of fish in the world, but I kept taking in water into my nose and thought I might drown haha. I got to see some very bright fish which was neat. 

Yesterday we went on a boat ride but it was kind of ruined by a group of Americans that are in the Peace Core who are on holidays but they weren't only loud and drunk, they were very inappropriate. The views were still nice, they were just irritating. 

This morning Steven ventured into Mzuzu because our cards wouldn't work in the ATM here so we hope they work there so we can pay our bill here at Mayoka Village. 

Tomorrow we will venture to Vwasa Marsh and then onto Livingsonia. Livingsonia may have Internet so if so I'll send an update. 

Hope all is well back home! I miss everyone xo

Finally some Internet! What an adventure it was getting from Zambia to Malawi.

We left on Thursday morning at 7:30 and loaded onto a bus which was like a Trius bus just with no washroom. I had to only drink water when my mouth was dry because otherwise I would not have made it because we only stopped a couple times on the 7 hour bus drive. The first one went quite quickly. When we were approaching Lusaka (capital of Zambia) where we had to get another bus, Steven warned me that they were aggressive and to make sure to hold onto my bag tight because they would grab it and put it on their bus or in their taxi without you saying that's where you are going. So as I'm approaching the stairs to get out, they spot the white girl "AHHHHHH lady, lady, lady, sista, sista, sista!!!" I just kept my head down and went to get my bag. We got our bags and Steven told me to sit with the bags on a bench and he would go find out the next bus. He returned and we got up and started walkin towards the bus. As we go to give our bags to the bus a man whispers/yells in my ear "don't go with them! It will take you 18 hours!! YOU WILL CRY!!" Right there I wanted to haha but we got on the bus anyways. 

This bus was less comfortable but it was still ok. The lady in front of me insisted on having her seat back all the way which was very claustrophobic. We stop to have a bathroom break and so a guy came up to me and led me to the "toilets". A lady followed me in and I was looking around at the closet sized hut we were in with two half stalls and two holes in the ground. I turned to her and said "do I go in there?" And she looked at me like I was the biggest idiot ever and returned "what???" So I asked again and she was like "yeah" as if that was the most stupid question she ever heard. So here I am squatting beside this lady peeing into a hole between my feet! I must say, much more efficient then pee spraying up on my feet haha!! 

So as I'm getting back on the bus, I see that the bus driver is stocking his cooler up with beer and my thought it... I'm not arriving at my destination today, today is the day I die. So as I sit there pondering I drift off and am awaken my a bug crawling on my face. I obviously have a freak attack. I try to tell myself it's ok, it was only one bug.... Until I go to set my hand on my leg and set my hand on another one. So now, sleep will not happen. We finally arrive in Chipata at 2:30am and a guy asks where we are going. We say we need a place to stay. We can't see anything and have no idea where a guest house is so we have to trust this guy regardless of how sketchy it was. So we loaded our stuff into his personal car (not a taxi) and he takes us 10 feet and makes us pay him for the ride where we could of just walked. We went to this hole in the wall motel which by the way, our room literally had a hole in the wall and per protection over the mattress. 

We slept for 3 hours and headed back to the bus station. We got a taxi to the border and walked through the border. Then a guy who lived near the border but went to school in the next town we needed to get to let us ride with him which was a bit more expensive but it wasn't a bus! That took 2 hours and then we had to get onto another bus which would be 6-7 hours. It would have been ok but we sat in the bus in the parking lot for 4 hours before we left because we needed to wait for the bus to fill up. This was the least comfortable bus. We got into Mzuzu, Malawi around 8 so had to find somewhere to sleep before we could get a minivan to Nkhata Bay. We got up the next morning and loaded 17 people into a 12 passenger van. The drive was really scenic and only an hour and a half so it was tolerable. 

Then we arrived at the beautiful Nkhata Bay! 

ZAMBIA

we left Cape Town on Saturday morning which was the best idea to change our flights because it was down pouring when we left. To catch our connecting flight in Johannasburg we had to run through the massive airport.... But we made it! We had previously booked accommodations at Jolly boys backpackers. It's so nice here, there's a pool and always new people coming and going. I met a group (2 guys and a girl) from Toronto so I hung out with them some. When we arrived on Saturday we set our stuff I. Our room and then went to sit and read by the pool. We met a couple girls and decided to go out for authentic African food. I did okay but couldn't finish my plate, the portion was huge. I didn't realize how popular curry was here so we have been eating that almost everyday. 

We must have been exhausted on Saturday because we went to bed at 9 and didn't wake up until 9:30 the next morning. We decided to just relax for the day, run to the ATM and grocery store. At 3pm I went to an orphanage with the other Canadians, a French fella and another guy. We played soccer, cards and swung on the swings with the kids. They were all so sweet! 

Monday we decided to head to Victoria Falls! What an amazing piece of nature. I thought that Niagara Falls was impressive, these falls are ten times longer and higher. I had to wear my raincoat and we got SOAKED!! The spray back from the falls was very intense. I got some really incredible pictures but I still don't think that they will capture the beauty.  We spent a few hours there hiking around and then taxied back to the town of Livingstone Where our hostel is. That evening Steven made dinner and we sat and chatted with a few girls. One Finnish girl blew us away with funny stories that I will have to tell at another time. 

Tuesday I signed up to go on the Elephant back safari. It was a great experience but I don't think I would do it again or recommend it. It was quite expensive for only an hour with the elephants and we didn't even get a chance to get a picture of us on them and you guys know how much I like my pictures!! Once I got back I lazed by the pool until it was time for the sunset booze cruise. We saw crocodiles and hippos! Although it was all you can drink I only managed to get 4-5 beer into me as it was only a 2 hr cruise. We met some great people and te girls we met on our first day came as well. Some continued to party back at the hostel but after being up at 6 for the elephants I was ready for bed around 10:30.... Shocking I know haha!! Steven definately did not stop partying there that's for sure.

Today is our last day in Zambia and I am not feeling well. Stomach is acting up and I have the chills and feeling very homesick. We will take an early bus tomorrow morning to the capital of Zambia- Lusaka. It will be about a 7 hour bus and then another 7-10 hours to get to Malawi. Unfortunately in Malawi it isn't very developed so I may not be able to update for 2 weeks. I will try my best tho! 

I miss everyone very much especially Nick but I am also loving every minute of this diverse continent. Also, one of the Canadians I met is from Egypt and explained everything I need to know when I go to Egypt and gave me his friends number incase I need anything at all. 

Until next time, 

Nicole xoxo