Photos of Africa_2012

Photos of Africa-2012

Each of the 5 photos below is the cover of a photo album. Double click on the link below the photo and it takes you to that album. If you are also interested in reading about the trip, I've created captions under all the photos.

#1 Album

From Africa_Dubai_2012

#2 Album

From Africa_ South Africa_2012

#3 Album

From Africa_2012_Tanzania#1 of 2

#4 Album

      From Africa_2012_Tanzania#2 of 2
#5 Album

From Africa_ Zanzibar _2012

Intro

Africa, a dark star in a bright, night sky. I knew little about Africa, other than it sparkles like a diamond. And its brilliance brought marauders from all over the world to exploit its minerals and its people.   Africa also appears to be dangerous, full of poverty, disease, torture, and famine.  Yet, I sensed that on a continent to rival South America in size, there was an adventure to be had with minimal risk.  I wanted to experience huge herds of migrating wild animals.  I wanted to meet tribal peoples who lived their cultural heritage, practiced their traditional  beliefs, and adorned themselves with vibrant costume and jewelry.  I wanted to stand in the silence of breathtaking landscapes, beautiful and unexploited. These things would not last forever. Now was the time to explore the Africa that I imagined.    

Africa- What I Wanted, What I Got 

From Africa_ Zanzibar _2012

I did my research and realized that more than 2 months was needed to explore Southern and Eastern Africa. So where should we go?  South Africa offered the end of all roads with a finger of land reaching out into the sea, splitting the Ocean into two, The Atlantic and The Indian.  It also was a country boasting incredible landscapes. With Cape Town and Table Mountain beckoning, South Africa was high on our list. 

Mozambique was on the radar too, offering pristine islands. Unfortunately it also had a malarial invested coastline with an unreliable transport system, moving over antiquated infrastructure of bumpy roads. Apparently it could take a week to travel short distances and with the rainy season approaching, conditions could only get worse. Now was not the best time to visit.

I was also drawn to Tanzania.  It offered the migration with thousands and thousands of Zebra and Wildebeest in pursuit of greener pastures.  It offered the opportunity to interact with the cultures of the colorful Maasai warriors, the Hadzabe Bushmen, and the Datoga Tribe. It also had a decent infrastructure of roads and traveler support.

From Africa_2012_Tanzania#1 of 2

From Africa_2012_Tanzania#2 of 2

From the mainland of Tanzania, the romantic island of Zanzibar was also easily accessible by ferry boat.  Known by many as the Spice Island, it is 98% Muslim in religious practice and dress code. Veiled women in black are frequently seen navigating the ancient city of Stone Town.  The flavor of Arabic influenced architecture permeates this port city full of confusing narrow, windy streets absent of directional signs and numbers. Stone Town sounded exotic.  It had my vote. 

Zanzibar also offered gorgeous white, sandy beaches, blue sea, excellent snorkeling, and tranquil fishing villages to explore. It would be the perfect ending to a safari. Thus we settled on South Africa(SA), Tanzania(Tanzi), and the offshore island of Zanzibar(Zanzi). 

From Africa_Dubai_2012

Our first stop was Dubai on our 30 hour flight.  It represented a 4 day respite and promised to dazzle us with architectural wanders, chiseled out of the sand dunes. We marveled at the highest building in the world, a 3 story aquarium, an indoor ski slope, and a manmade island. We indulged in the world's only country with a shopping festival and a mall with over 1200 shops. We stepped out of the city and enjoyed the vastness of the desert and what the country had achieved in creating Dubai.    

From Africa_Dubai_2012

I didn’t expect South Africa to be so modern.  It didn’t feel like a third world country, but more like Brazil, Thailand, or Costa Rica. It has an excellent infrastructure throughout. The roads were so good we decided to rent a car, even though we’d be driving on the unaccustomed left side of the road. 

From Africa_ South Africa_2012

The car gave us freedom to explore and we were able to visit many extraordinarily beautiful places.  I was disappointed however that the tribes, such as the Zulu, were near fully assimilated into contemporary South African culture and that many of the most gorgeous beach towns were now developed.   We were a few years too late, though modern SA offered much.  The peoples, black and white, under the leadership of Mandela were able to find forgiveness and acceptance, each of the other. The abolishment of apartheid was allowing for economic growth and development.  And South Africans of all color were accepting and welcoming of us. We did not feel threatened. 

The coastline of SA should be called The Riveria of South Africa.  Village development along the sea has not been done haphazardly as some Uruquayan communities, but with thoughtfulness in architectural design and environmental impact. Unfortunately the garden route has become more expensive with investors lusting after the tourist dollar.  

From Africa_ South Africa_2012

There are National Game Parks throughout South Africa.  You can even self-tour with car, but that doesn’t ensure that you will see more animals.  Animals hide well for a reason and a guide who knows the roads and watering holes will increase your odds of a sighting substantially. 

Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and Durban are beautiful coastal cities, each with their own energy and culinary delights.  Johannesburg on the other hand speaks of danger, a place that you want to avoid.  Our experience there was uneventful, though we always kept a watchful eye.  Overall, South Africa was not what I expected, but I wasn’t disappointed with what I found.  

From Africa_ South Africa_2012

Our next destination was Tanzania.  We made our way by bus from the humid, dirty coastal city of Dar Es Salaam to the higher elevations and Arusha, a 12 hour bus ride that was supposed to take only 8 hours.  Arusha is the jumping off point for safaris.  I decided that we would not book a safari until we arrived as I imagined it was a very competitive business and that it was.  This turned out to be a good decision as we saved several thousand dollars on our 8 day Safari package with lodge accommodation. We spoke with many who had booked through international travel agencies and paid double for the same experience.

Our approach also gave us the opportunity to customize our days to include a not-to-be-missed cultural component.  We were able to visit a Maasai village, hunt with the Bushmen, and observe the primitive hot metal recycling and fabrication techniques of the Datoga Tribe. 

From Africa_2012_Tanzania#2 of 2

Exhausted from the potholed roads and our diligence standing watch all day to see as many animals as possible, we decided to save a couple of days of overland travel and fly an 18-seater to Zanzibar.

Zanzibar was everything that we imagined it to be.  We spent several days in Stone Town, meandering the tiny streets, getting lost frequently. A few days in the North of the island would be the perfect ending to our African adventure.  We found delightful courtyard accommodation only a few hundred meters from the beach.  The sand was white.  Very White.  And the sea, as blue as you can imagine, was actually warm with slow, rolling waves, perfect for body surfing.  We walked daily, long expanses of beach at low tide and observed the women of the fishing village collecting edible seaweed and small minnow-sized fish.  They were colorfully dressed and contrasted with intensity against the white sand and shades of blue sea. Tanzania and Zanzibar met my expectations.  I found what I imagined and more. We were not disappointed.    

From Africa_ Zanzibar _2012

From Africa_ Zanzibar _2012

From Africa_ Zanzibar _2012