5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - Bungeeeeeeeeee!

Today saw me cap a great few days in Livingstone, Zambia with my first ever bungee jump! I'd spent the last few days avoiding it by doing plenty of other exciting activities here in Livingstone (more of which to follow), but today i finally did it. Not only that but I also did a gorge swing and a zip line too!



After my delayed departure from Dar es Salaam last week, I made it to Zambia on Sunday when I flew in to the capital Lusaka, after a short 15 minute stop over in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (another country ticked off the list!). Following a night in Lusaka, I caught the bus and arrived in Livingstone on Monday afternoon.

Livingstone benefits from being the closest Zambian town to Victoria Falls (one of the seven wonders of the world they say, although I'm sure I've been to at least 15 places that claim this honour!). The falls form part of the mighty Zambezi River, and also mark the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. I checked in to the wonderful Jollyboys hostel in town and looked forward to an exciting few days.

After a relaxing few days on Zanzibar and my extended stay in Dar es Salaam I was more than ready for an adrenaline rush, which fortunately Livingstone is one of the best places in the world to come to for! So I got straight to it and booked a white water rafting trip for the following day....

An early start the next morning saw me join a group of five Danish guys who were also staying at my hostel and we headed off to the river with our guides for the day. A safety talk explained all the various ways we could fall in to the water and how we'd be rescued depending just how far from the boat we'd managed to fall - a lot to remember at 8am in the morning! We then jumped in to our large inflatable raft and headed off to the first of the 25 rapids that we would be tackling.

The rapids! (the bridge over the Zambezi River is where I was later to bungee jump from)

A video of the rafting is now up on Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f2YmM-8ExU which gives a good idea of my experience of charging through the rapids. Each had a different category between 1 and 5 so some were more extreme than others, but this stretch of the Zambezi is supposed to have some of the best rafting in the world so we had an incredible ride down the river.

At one point the boat flipped over in one of the rapids throwing us in to the river and the boat upside down, while we also spent what felt like an eternity surfing one of the rapids! The video shows you both the flip and the surfing.

That evening we then went on a sunset cruise down the Zambezi river where we just about managed to tear ourselves away from the free bar to spot crocodiles, hippos and an elephant along the river - a great end to a fantastic day.

On the sunset cruise

An elephant comes to say hello

African sunset

After a quiet Wednesday (partly to recover from the after effects of the free bar), I spent yesterday getting a closer look of the falls themselves, heading to some viewpoints in the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park and taking a guided walk over to Livingstone Island. The highlight of this walk was without doubt the swim in Devil's Pool, a natural swimming pool at the very top of the falls. The photos below show just how close to the edge it is!

Jumping in to Devils Pool

Sitting on the edge of Devil's Pool

The culmination of this involved the guide holding you by the ankles and allowing to lean out over the falls and look down the 75m drop of the falls. This was nothing short of terrifying and I didn't lean particularly far over the edge, but an incredible experience all the same.

Living on the edge

And so to today and my bridge jumping exploits! I signed up for a 'Big Air' package which combined a bungee jump with a gorge swing and a zip wire ride across the gorge. Rather than build up to it gently by starting with the more sedate zip wire we were straight in to the bungee jump - for me at least the scariest of the three.

Again, the photos probably show you the experience better than I could really describe, but it was a nervy period of getting set up and edging my way to the platform edge, followed by an incredible adrenaline rush as I plummeted off the bridge!

This was then followed by the almost as terrifying gorge swing, which involved jumping feet first off the bridge which was much less disorientating and allowed me to take in the incredible natural surroundings of the gorge that the bridge crosses.

And so that's my adrenaline packed few days in Zambia in a nutshell - an amazing few days in beautiful surroundings. I'm glad I'm able to tell the tale!

Fingers crossed!

Don't look down - doh, too late!

Taking a deep breath

Aaaaaaaagh!

Daniel dangles

Getting nervous before the gorge swing

Down again - this time on the gorge swing

Now I head off to Zimbabwe to start a three week overland trip with a tour company through Botswana and Namibia, which takes me all the way down to Cape Town in South Africa. It's likely to involve lots of driving, but also plenty more opportunities for adventure!

Train in vain (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)

If my last post made you a little jealous, this one should hopefully rebalance things a little and make you glad to be in the western world where public transport is (mostly) reliable and (usually) on time.

For the next part of my journey, I'd booked myself on what promised to be a very long but very interesting train journey from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia. The journey is scheduled to take 48 hours, but often takes longer as delays due to strikes, wild animals on the tracks, broken down trains etc etc mean it can take nearer to three to four days. However, it sounded like an amazing journey all the same and the kind of trip one can only do when you have seven months away rather than just a two week holiday. 

The train line was built by the Chinese in 1970s to transport copper from Zambia's Copperbelt region to Dar es Salaam so that it could be shipped to China, hence the rather unusual travel option in a continent with few remaining train lines. For a pretty reasonable price I could get a first class berth (sharing a compartment with three others) which would include a bed, while the train had a restaurant car and first class lounge. Having enjoyed a slightly shorter long distance train journey with Rachel in Vietnam last year (from Hanoi to Danang) this seemed the perfect option, and one that would be safer and more comfortable than getting a bus all that way.

So I booked my ticket and collected it from the travel agency on Thursday and then caught a taxi to the train station on Friday morning in plenty of time to catch the train which was due to depart at 13:50...

....and then I arrived at the station to be greeted by this sign!!!

 

...so the train had been cancelled and wouldn't be running again until next Tuesday! (it only runs twice a week anyway so this was just the next scheduled departure). The booking office could only tell me that a 'technical problem' was to blame so I decided to cut my losses and get refund on the ticket then and there and figure out an alternative way of getting to Zambia.

36 hours on a hot bus on African roads did not exactly appeal at this stage, so I decided to bite the bullet and splash out on a plane ticket to take me direct to Lusaka (the Zambian capital) and pick up my planned route from there. I'm therefore flying on Sunday morning and will arrive in Zambia at around the same time I would have done anyway if I'd got the train yesterday. This has however left me with two extra days to kill in Dar es Salaam on my own, and as it's not the most exciting of cities it has allowed me to be a little more prolific in blog postings!


Dan

Together again :-) (Zanzibar, Tanzania)

After conquering Mount Meru, the next leg of my adventure saw something of a change of scenery.....

Eight weeks since she'd left London for Cape Town, Rachel flew up to meet me in Dar es Salaam before we headed off for a romantic few days on Zanzibar, an island just off the coast of Tanzania, famous for its pristine beaches, spices, and being the birth place of a certain Freddie Mercury.

I'm not normally one for lounging around on the beach, but after my extertions on Mount Meru I could think of nothing better! There's not too much to write about therefore, but I thought I'd post a few photos, if only to make you all a little jealous (sorry!). We did get out on a dhow (local boat) to do some snorkelling and had a wander round the local village though so it wasn't all spent on a sun lounger!

We stayed in a fantastic little hotel on Jambiani beach on the east coast of the island, which I can thoroughly recommend if anyone's ever planning a romantic break to Zanzibar! Fantastic fresh sea food every night for dinner, amazing rooms and a brilliant location on the beach and run by a lovely Italian couple who made our stay there really special. 

I'm now back in Dar es Salaam, waiting to travel on to Zambia (the next blog post will explain more) for the next part of my trip, while Rachel is back in Cape Town, but it's only four weeks till our paths cross again when I make it to Cape Town as I now head overland towards South Africa through Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.

Together again on the boat to Zanzibar

 

taking a stroll along the beach

looking at the seaweed farming while the tide is out

a morning out on a dhow boat to do some snorkelling

on the dhow (aka beard watch day 9)

giving the captain some words of advice from my extensive sailing knowledge gained doing the RYA Level 2 Sailing course in Thamesmead in the mid 1990s.

the view from our hotel

sea view

a picture of concentration playing Bao (African board game)

"Pole Pole" (Mount Meru, Tanzania)

As previewed in my last post, last week saw me to take on a real challenge - attempting to climb Mount Meru, a 4566m mountain in Tanzania.

Most people have probably heard of Mount Kilimanjaro, thanks to the efforts of Comic Relief, Chris Moyles and various Girls Aloud members who climbed it a few years ago for charity. Kili (as its usually shortened to) is over a 1000m higher and the highest mountain in Africa so perhaps deservedly is much better known. Meru is merely the 5th highest mountain on the continent and sits around 2 hours drive from Kilimanajaro.

As a result, many climbers chose to tackle Meru a few days before Kili to help them acclimatise to the altitude, but I planned to do it for its own merits. Admittedly I'd been slightly scared off by the whopping price tag of climbing Kili, so in one sense I took the cheaper option, but everything I'd read about Meru before coming to Africa suggested this would be a no less challenging climb and one which might offer more in the way of scenery and wildlife. This was to prove very true....

I'd pre-booked my climb from the UK with a local company so arrived in Moshi (about 90 minutes drive from Arusha) with everything planned out. I could have saved further money by booking the climb locally on arrival in Tanzania, but as I found out over the next few days, there are a number of companies which offer cheaper climbs but then cut corners on food, equipment and the quality of the guides, which is not something to take risks with when climbing a mountain of this height. The night before the climb started, we were put up in a relatively swanky hotel just outside Moshi, with its own swimming pool, shop, wi-fi access and internet cafe - quite a change to my dorm in Ujamaa, albeit with none of the friendly atmosphere and banter I'd become used to in Arusha.

The next morning I met the other two guys who had booked with my company - Wim from Belgium and Jorge from the US. They were both enthusiastic about the climb and as we talked on the way to our starting point in the Arusha National Park, I quickly realised these two had a huge amount of experience and know-how when it came to climbing mountains. Although I'd spent two weeks walking in the Alps on the Haute Route with my friends Paul and Kirsty a few years back and had scaled Snowdon and Scafell Pike on numerous occassions, I'd never properly been above 3000m - the point at which altitude sickness tends to start affecting people - and so was a little nervous about how i'd cope with the high altitude. As Wim and Jorge reeled off the mountains they'd climbed between them (Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Elbrus to name a few), I soon realised that if I stuck close to these guys I should be ok. Wim even had an amazing story about being ambushed by rebel fighters and held hostage by an American mining corporation when climbing the highest peak in the Phillipines!

At the Momella Gate in the national park (the starting point for our climb) we were paired up with another group who had booked with another company but would be climbing with us so that we could share the services of one park ranger. Steffi and Angelina from Germany and Laura from Switzerland therfore became part of our group as we set off up the first part of the mountain.

Our route to the summit

Ahead of the climb I read about the mantra for climbing mountains such as this - "Pole Pole" - which is Swahili for 'Slowly'. Both our guide Alfani and Wim and Jorge made the importance of this clear from the beginning and so I had to rein in my preference to go charging up the mountain and go steadily uphill at what can probably best be described as 'funereal speed' - certainly a lot slower than the pace I'd walked at with Paul and Kirsty on the Haute Route! This was to help our bodies slowly adapt to the rising altitude and prevent the risk of suffering altitude sickness later in the climb.

my companions for the Meru climb

After about three hours of steady walking uphill (including past a herd of cape buffalo), we arrived at our lodgings for the night - the Miriakamba Hut - which sits at an altitude of 2500m. Here we found a surprisingly extensive set of huts and buildings which can cater for up to 80 people during the high season (there were just 6 of us there on this occasion).

hiking past the buffalo

The next morning we were up in time for the incredible sight of the sun rising over Mount Kilimanjaro - a beautiful sight which felled us with excitement for the challenge ahead of us to conquer a similarly challenging peak. We set off a couple of hours later and followed the same "pole pole" rhythm for a further four hours until we reached our next rest point - the Saddle Hut - at 3500m. We were there in time for lunch, so the afternoon was spent with a little additional acclimisation as we climbed Little Meru, a smaller summit on the shoulder of Mount Meru itself.

Then came the real challenge - summit day. Over dinner that evening we were told that our climb to the summit would start at 1am (yes 1am!) and so we would need to be up again by midnight in order to prepare for the climb. Alfani gave a stirring talk about the challenge ahead of us and the difficulties we might encounter on the way, which left us suitably inspired and terrified all at once! As he spoke, heavy rain started falling for the first time in three days - not great timing.

After a fitful few hours sleep, we were up again and after a quick snack we were all set to leave. Unfortunately, the rain was still falling (tho it had eased a little) so we kitted ourselves up in our waterproofs and set off together up the mountain. It was of course pitch black, so we had little idea of our surroundings until we walked back the same way several hours later. However, I knew that the path would largely follow the crater edge of what had been a huge volcano several thousands years ago - we were therefore fortunate that there was only a little wind. The rain did make it hard going for a while, but this finally stopped after a couple of hours as the clouds cleared away and left us with a starry night above us.

setting off at 1am

Cup of tea at 4000m

When it began to get light at 6am we were still an hour from the summit, but we did once again get to see the sun rise over Kilimanjaro and the plains below - a fantastic sight, but one which couldn't distract from treading carefully along the path in front of us!

sunrise over Kilimanjaro

The summit didn't seem to be getting any closer as Alfani informed us that Meru's summit actually consists of eight little peaks of which we were heading for the highest, and seemingly furthest away. So on we trudged, and soon we had snow underfoot as we reached higher altitudes where the earlier rain had fallen as snow.

trudging through the snow

To keep me going over the last few hundred metres, I switched on my I-pod to listen to a few tunes that I'd picked out to keep me going. Not far from the top, Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who came on, and almost unbelievably, as I stepped on to the summit the song reached a crescendo and Roger Daltrey let out a huge primeval roar (if you know the song you'll know what I mean) and so I had little choice but to do the same! After a total of 6 hours of steady climbing (and a further 7 over the preceding two days), we'd finally reached the top!

with Wim, Jorge and Alfani on the summit

Little Meru, the ridge we walked round and the ash cone that sits below Mount Meru

And so that was that - I'd climbed the highest mountain I'd ever attempted and other than a slight headache at one point suffered no significant issues with altitude sickness. The views from the top were absolutely incredible (and apparently ten times better than those from the top of Kili) and made the climb even more rewarding than it might have been.

I could probably write a whole book (or at least blog post) about the descent down the mountain, but time and your level of interest means I'll have to tell that story another time. Suffice to say that I made it down safely and quickly without any problems, but one of our group began to suffer very badly from altitude sickness on the descent. Thanks to the quick thinking and experience of Wim and Jorge, everyone made it down the mountain in one piece, but if it wasn't for them I might have been writing a very different blog post. All I will say is that 4566m is a very very long way up and should not be attempted without the right equipment and understanding of what it entails, so make sure you do your research before attempting this or any similar climbs.

Dan

And so it begins...(Arusha, Tanzania)

So what have I been up to so far?

I flew out to Nairobi from Heathrow on Tuesday morning last week to begin my seven month adventure in Southern Africa and South America with a lot of excitement and just a little trepidation. Mum and Dad kindly drove me to the airport, and after a quick breakfast together and an emotional farewell I was off!

Saying goodbye to my little sister

Everybody I'd spoken to who had been to Nairobi said it wasn't somewhere that was worth hanging around in so I took their advice and just stayed one night before getting a shuttle bus early the next morning across the border in to Tanzania. The bus journey was relatively uneventful, although crossing the border was a little interesting as you have to walk across the no-mans land between the two countries at which point various people try and persuade to follow them, presumably to pay some erroneous charge or exchange money at poor rates (at least that's what the Lonely Planet guide says they wanted). The fact I'd sorted my Tanzanian visa in advance made things a little more straightforward than they might have been at least.

Before long, we arrived in Arusha, something of a tourist capital in this part of Africa given its proximity to Mount Kilimanjaro, the Ngorogoro Crater, and the Serengeti National Park. It's a lively place where a mzungu (foreigner) who is new to town can't walk more than a few metres without being offered a safari, taxi ride, or some local souvenirs. That said, it's surrounded by beautiful countryside and most people are incredibly friendly (even if they are trying to sell you something).

Getting my bearings in Arusha

I was staying at the Ujamaa Hostel (http://www.ujamaahostel.com/) which was to prove a wonderful home from home for the next week. It's primarily aimed at volunteers staying in Arusha for several months, which the hostel helps to place with local projects such as schools, an orphanage and a children's home. As a result, it's more of a home than a hostel with a great friendly atmosphere and plenty of banter over dinner in the evenings.

Almost immediately upon arrival I was asked the rather direct question - "Can you paint?" - and so the next day I found myself helping out with the building of a new school just outside Arusha. I had planned a quiet day of relaxation after 36 hours of travelling from London, but figured this would be a good way to get to know my fellow Ujaama residents and see something of the local area and so I'm really glad I answered that initial question with a resounding "Errr, sort of".

The school we were helping is the Meru View School (http://meruview.org/) which caters for 65 children aged between 4 and 7. They're moving to a new location in the new year so the volunteers are currently helping to paint new classrooms.

painting primer on to one of the classrooms with Victoria

swamped by kids at break time

painting a new classroom with Kiera

We also popped in to visit the children at their current site, which was an amazing, humbling experience so soon in to my time in Africa. On walking in to each classroom we were greeted in unison with the following chorus which couldn't help but bring me out in a massive grin (so much for English reserve)....

Class: Good morning teacher! How are you?
Us: We're very good, how are you?
Class: We are fine! We are Class C. Welcome to our school!

A Tanzanian welcome from Class C

I guess you had to be there, but it was an amazing experience.

The rest of my first proper day in Africa was equally eventful as first we had to pull over on the road to make way for the presidential motorcade on our way back to Arusha, with 50+ Land Cruisers whizzing by. Roman (one of the fellow Ujaama residents) and I then stopped for some rice and beans in a local cafe before getting a piki piki (motorbike) back to the hostel - I clung on for dear life most of the way! Today was also the day that the rainy season decided to start (how's that for timing) so I got to see some proper African rain, which also resulted in the hostel adopting a local stray puppy which had been found outside our hostel shivering in the rain.

piki-piki ride in Arusha

Milika the stray puppy which took up residency at Ujamaa during my stay

The other main highlight of my first week in Africa was my safari trip to Tarangire National Park and the Ngorogoro Crater. Due to limited time and trying not to spend all of my savings in my first week away, I just booked a two day safari rather than the more common four or five day safari that many people do which takes in the Serengeti as well. However, this was still a fantastic experience, with the crater being particularly wonderful. It's probably better if I let the pictures do the talking, but we managed to see lions (including seven lion cubs!) and elephants very close up, plus hippos, zebras, giraffes, buffalo, wildebeest, hyenas, jackals, and a whole host of local birds, as well as the backsides of two rhinos from a long way away (but that still counts right?!). The crater is actually a caldera (a collapsed volcano) which creates an amazing natural spectacle within which to go on safari.

Elephants in Tarangire

Lions and lion cubs in Ngorogoro

Hippo in Ngorogoro

Today (Tuesday) I said goodbye to my new found friends at Ujaama and caught a shuttle bus to Moshi, around 80km east of Arusha from where I'll be starting a trek to the summit of Mount Meru. The day before I'd squeezed in to a dalla dalla (local private bus which can squeeze up to 25 people in despite being the size of a peple carrier) for another visit to the school, but today I found myself the only passenger on the bus so sat up front with the driver so that I could get a better view of the local countryside as well as the Tanzanian approach to driving!

Mount Meru is often used by people as acclimitisation for climbing the taller Mount Kilimanjaro, but I imagine also by people like me who are too tight to pay the not insignificant cost of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Still, at 4566m, Meru is a pretty imposing mountain in itself so I'm really looking forward to tackling it tomorrow.

Anyway, that's more than enough from me for now I think - I'll try and post again once I'm back from Mount Meru.