Swimming With Turtles

14/05/2012

Today, my fourth day on Zanzibar, I roped myself a couple of sea turtles, lashed 'em together and made a raft Captain Jack Sparrow style.

Well, not quite. I did stand on a turtle though. And give another one a hug.

Hanging out with a turtle, feeding her some seaweed. while she gives Jodie a slap across the face. Thanks Ed, I think you took this great pic!

Christmas Gifts for First-Time Backpackers - Part 1

Today I'm taking a quick break from recounting my African Adventures, in order to address a question which I thought warranted some attention. A family friend has two daughters who will be jetting off on their first overseas adventure in 2013, and yesterday she was asking me for some advice:

"Christmas is coming up, what can I get them as presents that will help them out in their travels?"

Good question.

Stung, Nauseated, Banged-up and Bruised

13/05/2012
Breakfast overlooking the blue water, a dhow ride under the sun, snorkelling the Mneba attoll reef and chasing fish through the water, dinner on the sand and sipping cocktails while watching the sun go down. All of this sounds like a lovely island escape. But what makes this 'lovely' but rather sterile-sounding day into an unforgettable one?

A Word of Warning

When the Consequences of Sex on the Beach are More Than Sand in Unmentionable Places

My Ongoing Battle With Boats

12/05/2012
So far on my African travels I haven't had much luck with boats. From being thrown out of the raft on the Nile to a very bumpy and extremely wet trip to Ngamba Island that caused a lot of yawning (a warning sign that I'm on my way to getting sea sick), there has yet to be a time when I've been in a boat without there being some kind of mishap or difficulty.

Why then, did I choose to pay $15 for a ten minute ride on a banana boat? Good question.

It's barely even a boat, just a bright yellow inflated tube that silly people sit on top of and get pulled along by a speed boat. And with my above-mentioned record, you would think I might be a little hesitant to hop onto a contraption on which I can barely balance. But that, my dear friend, would be overestimating my good sense and underestimating my enthusiasm to try new things.

Awkward!

11/05/2012
Tom and I get along really well, so it didn't phase me a bit when a few tent buddy shuffles occurred and Tom and I needed to share a hotel room in Stone Town. How many naps together  had we already shared on the truck beach? Men hog the bathrooms less too, so I wouldn't have much competition for the mirror when getting ready. Score. We laughed and joked about 'sleeping together' as we made our way up the two flights of stairs to our room, inserted the key and opened the door...... To find a beautifully made up queen-size bed. Oh.

Awwwkwwaaaarrrrrdd!!

Feeling the Heat

10/05/2012
Thank the heavens, after a horror of a day yesterday, today I woke up feeling much better. We were off early, eating breakfast and lunch on the run as we made our way to the Tanzanian coast and Dar es Salaam. Despite the packed lunch, we still had a few pit stops for coffee and snacks. One of my favourite things about east Africa would have to be the samosas - they are everywhere, dirt cheap and amazingly tasty. I don't know exactly what is in them (and I think it is safer if I don't know), but they are little triangle parcels of deep fried goodness. At our last stop at a road station not far from Dar, I bought a couple to keep me going until dinner.


It was a classic truck day, with everyone keeping themselves entertained by reading, catching up on their diary entries, watching the countryside go past, playing card games or having a general chat. A few of us were discussing our worst ever date stories. I told the tale of how one weekend I had managed to crash a 'romantic' night in Adelaide for my friend and her sort-of boyfriend at the time: safe to say, it was well and truly crashed. We also played 'Root, Shoot, Marry', and everyone on Jozi was put under pressure by Mitch and Jules to name names. It made for a very interesting afternoon and some very red faces.

The Day After the Night Before

9/05/2012
These are the travel notes that I wrote for myself about the 9th May, 2012:

• Today was a complete write-off
• I woke up most likely still drunk
• Things went downhill pretty quickly
• Couldn't keep anything down all day 
• Felt like death warmed up trying to drink a milkshake at the Arusha shops
• Spent the entire rest of the day on the beach, not moving and wanting to die
• Tried taking anti-nausea tablet when we stopped at the White Parrot campsite for the night. 
• Fail. Threw it right back up.
• On second attempt managed to keep down another anti-nausea tablet and some hydration salts, with a handful of plain pasta for dinner.
• Went to bed very early