Update from Amann Bungalows - Zanzibar

Hi guys

So - when we last wrote we were enjoying a cold beer in South Luangwa after a miserable drive and a very late night. Since then we've had our fair share of ups and downs, but as we're writing this from Zanzibar, I can't imagine anyone is feeling too sorry for us! J

Our first stop major stop after South Luangwa was on Lake Malawi (check the pics - looks like we're on the beach somewhere on the east coast), at a great spot called Kande Beach. We enjoyed two very lazy days there chilling on the beach, reading in the hammocks, and drinking some fine Bunnahabhain whiskey (thanks Julie and the SC team)! Apart from doing nothing, we asked one of the locals to make us a few shirts with a map of Africa, our route and "Njovu" printed on the back. They come back looking really good, however, after that, every local within a 100km radius wanted to sell us something - from key rings, to board games, and everything in between.

After a few days on Kanda Beach we headed north to Nyika National Park (after a small detour around Nkhata Bay, which provided little in the form of camping, and thus the decision to move on). The park was freezing, and that evening we fired up those warm water bottles (compliments La and Sean), and threw on two pairs of tracksuit pants, a shirt, sweater, jacket, and bini. We also met two South Africans there who have been working in various parks across Tanzania (most notably the Serengethi) for a year so we got out the map, and they shared some great Serengethi stories and secrets with us over the fire! We woke up at 5am the next morning and headed to the border.

Mission.

Eventually got over the border short 3 hours and $75. It took us two days to drive to Dar-es-Salaam, and we went straight to the port to organise our ferry tickets to Zanzibar. Another mission. Again, (after many hours and many more dollars) we got the tickets, and made our way to a very nice campsite on the beach called Kipepeo - will definitely stay here again for a few days when we get back from the island.

We departed from Dar at 7:30 the next morning on what was suppose to be a 90 minute boat trip. Half way there however the Sea Express 2 had some "technical difficulties", and after being stranded midway between Tanzania and Zanzibar for well over an hour we finally got going again - reached the shore at 10:30 - not as early as we had hoped, but we were in "Hukuna Matata" country now, and things have been great since we arrived.

We had a small hiccup trying to get to our bungalow, but after a small trip around Stone Town, a beer, a sightseeing expedition to the taxi drivers local market and then to his home (to drop off the supplies he just purchased) we were finally on our way! Amann Bungalows is a great place; we're on the tip of the north coast in an area called Nungwi. The water is warm, the beaches are white, and the beers are cold.

We've added a few photos if you wanna check them out, and will add some more from Zanzibar later.

Thought we also add a few trip stats with you: So far, we've covered just over 5000kms, our truck has guzzled over 600 liters of diesel at an average cost of R13/l (R17/l in Zambia!), our fuel billed has accounted for almost 60% of our total spend, we've visited 4 countries, crossed 4 borders, been stopped almost 30 times by the police for "random" vehicle checks, and we've both realised that our hatred for dust goes beyond anything else on this planet.

Cheers!

Johan and Rhett