6 NOVEMBER 2010 - Why are we spending so much time in Tanzania?
Several months ago, the Ethiopian embassy in Nairobi stopped issuing visas to enter Ethiopia. There are 3 ways around it.
Firstly, get your visa in Harare, Zimbabwe. No thanks. Besides, we found out after we'd passed through.
Secondly, fly into Addis Ababa, get a single entry visa at the airport, then try to have it converted to a multiple-entry visa at the Department of Immigration in Addis, then fly out again. Expensive, bureaucratic, and again: no thanks.
Thirdly, send your passports home. And so it is that we have been in Tanzania for the past 9 days sans passports. Right now, they are in a DHL package - complete with Ethiopian visas issued over the counter at the consulate in Melbourne (thanks Dad!) - bound for Amsterdam, then onwards to Moshi. It would be an understatement to say that we are really looking forward to getting them back.
For those researching, you will find the latest Ethiopian status updates in the forum at the HUBB. But if you're still researching, and not driving yet, then I hope you also have the April 2011 Sudanese referendum on your radar.
6 NOVEMBER 2010 - Stuck in Lake Natron
We went to Lake Manyara National Park. It was nice enough, but we couldn't find the tree-climbing lions, and compared to the other parks we've been to, it's a bit average.
So instead, we hatched a plan to drive north to Lake Natron, an alkaline lake in the middle of a volcanic region near the Kenyan border.
The plan: head north, slip off the road near Ol Doinyo L'Engai, a 3000 metre active volcano that is holy to the Masai, and find somewhere to pull an epic bush camp overlooking Lake Natron. "Best of all", Glenn & Steve sold it to the group - "it will all be free! No more park fees!"
The reality: utterly beautiful scenery, majestic volcanos, $40 (per person) in road fees levied by 'local councils', and more Masai than could shake a stick at you. So many Masai, in fact, that there was no way we were going to be able to make a sneaky exit from the track to set up our super-secret epic bushcamp without getting visited.
We still had a crack. Returning from one offroad camp-search, the Americano-mobile bucked forward suddenly and came to a jarring halt. Deadpan over the radio comes Glenn: "I seem to have fallen into a hole".
Several months ago, the Ethiopian embassy in Nairobi stopped issuing visas to enter Ethiopia. There are 3 ways around it.
Firstly, get your visa in Harare, Zimbabwe. No thanks. Besides, we found out after we'd passed through.
Secondly, fly into Addis Ababa, get a single entry visa at the airport, then try to have it converted to a multiple-entry visa at the Department of Immigration in Addis, then fly out again. Expensive, bureaucratic, and again: no thanks.
Thirdly, send your passports home. And so it is that we have been in Tanzania for the past 9 days sans passports. Right now, they are in a DHL package - complete with Ethiopian visas issued over the counter at the consulate in Melbourne (thanks Dad!) - bound for Amsterdam, then onwards to Moshi. It would be an understatement to say that we are really looking forward to getting them back.
For those researching, you will find the latest Ethiopian status updates in the forum at the HUBB. But if you're still researching, and not driving yet, then I hope you also have the April 2011 Sudanese referendum on your radar.
6 NOVEMBER 2010 - Stuck in Lake Natron
We went to Lake Manyara National Park. It was nice enough, but we couldn't find the tree-climbing lions, and compared to the other parks we've been to, it's a bit average.
So instead, we hatched a plan to drive north to Lake Natron, an alkaline lake in the middle of a volcanic region near the Kenyan border.
The plan: head north, slip off the road near Ol Doinyo L'Engai, a 3000 metre active volcano that is holy to the Masai, and find somewhere to pull an epic bush camp overlooking Lake Natron. "Best of all", Glenn & Steve sold it to the group - "it will all be free! No more park fees!"
The reality: utterly beautiful scenery, majestic volcanos, $40 (per person) in road fees levied by 'local councils', and more Masai than could shake a stick at you. So many Masai, in fact, that there was no way we were going to be able to make a sneaky exit from the track to set up our super-secret epic bushcamp without getting visited.
We still had a crack. Returning from one offroad camp-search, the Americano-mobile bucked forward suddenly and came to a jarring halt. Deadpan over the radio comes Glenn: "I seem to have fallen into a hole".
TANZANIA (AGAIN)
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This reminded us of the last time we went offroad together, months ago, in Katavi National Park. Here are some photos at last.
Lake Natron delivered our 'most epic waterfall-swim' of all time, adorable Masai kids, and a pet goat that perpetually hung around back of the Americano camper waiting for Corrin to 'compost' - aka fling food - out the back door.
Unfortunately, Lake Natron also delivered justice: 2 months of giving it to Team America for getting stuck in Katavi came back to bite us when we broke the crust on the lake flat (we were out chasing flamingos at the time) and sunk into the mud of Lake Natron. A large crowd of Masai spectators arrived to enjoy the spectacle. Thanks to Corrin for these photos (and the others on this page).
Steve retired hurt after smashing his hand into a steel mount, leaving Mark and Glenn to do most of the work. With a combo of jack + bridging ladders + sand ladders + shoveling mud, we rolled free a couple of hours later.
8 NOVEMBER 2010 - Mobbed by mini Masai
We bush-camped in a dry creek bed to the south east of Lake Natron. The next morning, we were swamped by school-children who were being herded to school by an older boy using a stick/switch as a whip.
They clearly don't get many mzungu in these parts. Small hands were drumming Greer's ground tent, the underside of our rooftop tent, the side of the Yank camper. Apparently, it was time for us to get up and be entertainingly white.
Greer gave the kids a puzzle: some of the pieces were gone in seconds. The stuff sack for the ground tent, the peg bag, Greer's beloved hand sanitizer and her sleeping bag sack were quickly gone too. Heading after the kids on a valiant and partly-successful retrieval mission, Greer got accidentally whipped with the switch by the child-herder. We thought it was pretty funny.
We bush-camped in a dry creek bed to the south east of Lake Natron. The next morning, we were swamped by school-children who were being herded to school by an older boy using a stick/switch as a whip.
They clearly don't get many mzungu in these parts. Small hands were drumming Greer's ground tent, the underside of our rooftop tent, the side of the Yank camper. Apparently, it was time for us to get up and be entertainingly white.
Greer gave the kids a puzzle: some of the pieces were gone in seconds. The stuff sack for the ground tent, the peg bag, Greer's beloved hand sanitizer and her sleeping bag sack were quickly gone too. Heading after the kids on a valiant and partly-successful retrieval mission, Greer got accidentally whipped with the switch by the child-herder. We thought it was pretty funny.
8 NOVEMBER 2010 - Eat my Australian Dust, v2
Months ago, Mark lost a bet. We found a nice patch of bulldust and extracted the winnings.
Months ago, Mark lost a bet. We found a nice patch of bulldust and extracted the winnings.
9 NOVEMBER 2010 - Farewells
We said farewell to Glenn, Corrin and Greer today. Glenn and Corrin headed for Ngorongoro Crater with Greer stashed in the back, their sights ultimately set on Zanzibar. We have picked up our passports, and are turning north for a long sprint across north-eastern Africa. After almost 7 weeks on the road and plenty of misadventures together, we felt like a chapter ended when they drove away. It was a sad day.
Our goal now: Cairo by 15 December.
We said farewell to Glenn, Corrin and Greer today. Glenn and Corrin headed for Ngorongoro Crater with Greer stashed in the back, their sights ultimately set on Zanzibar. We have picked up our passports, and are turning north for a long sprint across north-eastern Africa. After almost 7 weeks on the road and plenty of misadventures together, we felt like a chapter ended when they drove away. It was a sad day.
Our goal now: Cairo by 15 December.