Oasis Overland Adventure - Part 2: Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe

After three weeks on the truck we arrived back in Nairobi, sad to say goodbye to Joe, but also excited to welcome aboard seven new passengers. However, as we briefly mentioned in our last update we were actually going to leave our overland trip for a short while. The reason being that we didn't want to (this time anyway) splash out the $500+ each for a 3 day safari tour of the Serengeti. Whilst both of us really enjoy safaris, as some of our previous blogs make clear, we made the choice to give it a miss and save the money for another trip (we also realised that another $1,000 out of our travel pot would likely hamper our end of trip plans) so we packed up a small bag each and said goodbye to the truck for just over a week.

It wasn't just us making this slight change to the trip itinerary. We were leaving with another couple on the truck, Aussie Ben and Irish Sheila, bearded Scotsman Scott, West Country girl Keianna and the coolest guy we've met on our travels so far, New Yorker Michael. All had made the same decision as us and so we set off on a mini adventure of our own, unaware of the drama that awaited us over the next 8 days.
After an all day coach journey from Nairobi to Mombasa which took 12 hours instead of 10, mainly due to the tarmac road disappearing way before it should have done, we arrived into Mombasa late at night hot, tired, dusty and extremely sweaty. We caught a taxi to our venue for the next few days, Diani Beach, about 35km south of the city. We rolled in hoping for an easy ride, however, we were to be disappointed as when taking a short ferry crossing the car battery died and so we jumped out and had to push the vehicle up the ferry loading strip because the truck trying to tow it could only manage a screaming wheelspin, moving side to side instead of dragging the taxi with it. This all whilst the passengers and vehicles wanting to travel back the way we had just come from were beginning to board the ferry, only in Africa! 





Enjoying a drink with a view

 

Melissa on a her camel ride!

This was all drama we could have done without, especially as there was one stage where our taxi, now full of life was being towed off into the distance, full of our bags, as we stood on the tarmac hoping it would stop for us. Thankfully, we caught up with it at a nearby petrol station and after a successful bump start we were finally on our way!

The stunning Diani Beach

The next few days were spent relaxing and enjoying the stunning beaches of Diani and swimming in the incredibly crystal blue sea. Melissa rode a camel and I bought a hat and we just enjoyed lazing around at our own will. However all this was about to come undone somewhat.

Strolling along the golden beaches

The first of our problems occurred when we had to change the hostel we were staying at. We had rather overlooked the fact that it was Easter weekend, and with this being a very popular spot, our hostel didn't have room for us for more than two nights. We spent a long while searching for an alternative place to stay and as a last resort booked in to the only place we could find to accommodate seven of us affordably. To be honest we had reservations about staying at the 'Ocean Bay Hotel' as it had no reviews on booking.com or Tripadvisor (unusual for a hotel in the middle of a busy tourist destination) but we really had nowhere else to go so we hoped for the best.

The actual night we stayed there was unpleasant enough, bloodstains on the sheets, a broken shard of glass for a mirror, showers not working, broken mosquito nets etc. These things are disappointing but things took a turn for the worse the following day.

The morning actually started out ok, myself and the boys had gone out fishing on a local boat, which was great fun until I got seasick about 20 minutes in! I did however catch the most fish (perhaps my added bait in the water was helping) but nothing we caught would have filled a hungry tummy, in fact most of the catch seemed more suited to aquarium tanks. When we returned from our trip we met the girls who said that the hotel wanted money for our stay. I stayed back in a café with Scott, still feeling a bit ropey, and the others went back to the hotel to complain about the hotel facilities and to negotiate a price for our stay.

Scott with one of the prize catches of the day

What followed was not what we expected at all. In short the hotel demanded a lot of money from the group for unsatisfactory rooms which we refused to pay. As we resisted some extra 'security' from nearby turned up, and intensified the situation. Next they locked the gates and bar to stop us from leaving and the hotel manager grabbed hold of one of our bags, trying to rip it from Michaels hand and in turn breaking his sunglasses (which ironically were worth more than the total cost of the nights stay) in the process. When finally we agreed to pay the full amount, just to be done with the situation, the manager then demanded the second nights fee as we had gone past the checkout time. This was completely unreasonable and the situation was extremely hostile. It wasn't until some of the group started filming the ordeal on our phones and mentioning contacting the foreign embassies that the locals started to back down and unlocked the gates.

All this may sound a little bit dramatic, but it really shook the group up, bar Scott and myself who were enjoying a spot of breakfast at a local café. We had begun to wonder where they had got to, but were relieved to at least know it didn't become violent. Incidentally we complained to booking.com with details and pictures and video evidence but they have refused to offer us any help or assistance, rather disappointing from such a reputable firm.

Anyhow just as we thought the drama was over, and we arrived back at our hostel from the first couple of nights who now had room again, we realised Melissa had lost her phone. We thought it may have been stolen or dropped during the confrontation, and that would have been the last we would see of it. 

However, it was not to be, however, as amazingly for us, the moment we arrived back at the hostel in our tuktuk a guy came out and jumped straight into it. We hadn't thought anything of it at the time, as the tuktuks didn't deliberately pick people up from the hostel, but instead from the main road 200m away. However after frantically trying to call Melissa's phone from another one and leaving a message asking to call back we amazingly got a call from a very friendly American named Colin who had found it rattling around on the floor of the tuktuk. He delivered it back later in the day and we could finally relax again, enjoying a final night feast of amazing fresh lobster, crab, red snapper and jumbo prawns with a bonfire on the beach.

Aussie Ben & Sheila with a seafood feast!

This wasn't to be the last drama for us though, nor the last story involving a phone. On our way back to Mombasa we caught the ferry that we had previously broken down on, this time as foot passengers. It was extremely hot and crowded and absolutely manic as we exited the other side. As we arrived at our hotel Michael went to check his phone (a 128GB IPhone 6S), and realised he had been pickpocketed. Disaster, especially with all his photos stored on it. What followed was actually one of the most exciting hours of my life, and I probably can't do it justice in trying to describe it, but I'll try my best. 

The queue for the ferry

As his phone had a roaming sim it meant it was connected to data, meaning we could use the 'Find my iPhone' app from Scott's phone. We hadn't been able to do this with Melissa's as her data was turned off. After putting in the details Michael's phone location popped up on the map, in the exact spot where we caught a tuktuk from the ferry. There was nothing else for it, Michael, along with myself and Scott keen not to miss out on the excitement this time, hailed down a tuktuk and sped off to the ferry, checking Scott's phone constantly. We arrived to a similar seen of chaotic African 'organisation' as we had recently left, but soon realised our chances of seeing an iPhone lying around were extremely slim. We looked around, including checking some local phone sellers but no sign of it. Our hopes dashed we returned to the tuktuk slightly crestfallen.

Imagine trying to find a phone here!

However, one more check of the location showed that the phone was moving! It was now on its way into downtown Mombasa. We jumped back in our tuktuk and told our driver just to drive. He didn't fully understand what was going on but seemed quite happy to go along with it. Off we sped to the next location, hoping for a sign of our prize, however when we arrived, at a crossroads junction, we had no luck. On each corner were phone shops and stalls and we suddenly realised our thief was after a quick sale! We asked around but unsurprisingly nobody owned up to having seen or had it. We realised there was one thing we hadn't tried, and that was to call it, so after buying some airtime for Scott's phone, giving Michaels a buzz, and hoping for the best, we waited. No response! Again, no response! With our tuktuk driver still waiting around we decided we perhaps should call it time, and Michael began already looking for a new phone to buy. However once again the location of his phone updated and showed up at a nearby market, so we got back in our tuktuk and sped off to a new location. 

The scene we arrived to was immediately disappointing, as in the backstreets we now found ourselves in it seemed that every single shop was selling phones. What chance did we realistically have of tracking down Michael's amongst the mass of readily available devices. Still, try we did, asking and looking around. We even stood at the exact location that Scott's phone was sending us to. Nothing however, no word nor sight of it. The phone had clearly stopped moving, but we just couldn't find it!

We basically admitted defeat, and were about to wipe the data from Michael's phone, rendering it pretty useless when suddenly Scott's phone started ringing, and from none other than Michael's number! Nobody was talking however, and we could just hear background noise, similar to where we were standing. We looked around but could see nothing, it was so frustrating, we had come so far, tracking the phone all across the city, and yet here we were in the exact location, even actually on the phone to the thief, yet we couldn't locate it at all.

Devastated at how close we had come, but yet still failed, we decided it was time to call it a day. Our tuktuk driver was still patiently waiting, now even asking around himself to help us out. Michael decided he would have 'one last look', and what happened next was incredible. Where our previous searches had been along the ground and shops, we had neglected that there were balconies on the first few floors of the row of buildings we were outside. As Michael looked up he saw a row of men with their backs to the road sitting on the first floor balcony. This wasn't an unusual sighting in itself, but what was incredible was that one of them had Michael's phone pressed up against his ear! Amazing, unbelievable! I was on Scott's phone trying to get our thief to talk, telling him I could see him. Michael and Scott then ran up the stairs to confront the guy before even thinking about the possible consequences. The look on his face was of such shock that he simply just handed the phone straight back to Scott. No words, no confrontations, nothing. Just a very relieved trio of Mzungus's and a very perplexed group of Kenyans. 

It really was amazing to get the phone back as none of us had held high hopes. Our brief spell as detectives had proved successful and we were so overjoyed that we didn't even try to barter with out tuktuk driver when he charged us. He had enjoyed the whole saga too, and was in disbelief at how we had managed to find it. It left me wondering how many people have had similar situations, and feeling incredibly grateful for Apple's software. 

Exploring the 'Old Town' in Mombasa

The rest of our trip was thankfully less eventful, and involved another all day bus journey, this time from Mombasa to Dar Es Salam, before boarding the ferry to the beautiful island of Zanzibar. Here we met up with our group again and spent more time relaxing on sandy beaches, swimming in the brilliantly warm sea, sunset cruising in local dhow boats, and wandering the twisty turny little backstreets of the infamous Stone Town, well known for its spices. We negotiated the local markets, picking out some awesome flavours along the way, and spent time getting to know the rest of the group, who are an awesome bunch of guys from all over the world.

Enjoying the sunset dhow cruise

The local fish market...it stunk!

Melissa selling some spices

Wandering the streets of Stone Town

After our short stay on the island was up we all boarded the ferry again and were reunited with our driver Walter and our big yellow truck. What lay ahead was several days of long longggg drives through Tanzania bush camping as we went, which basically meant pulling off the road when it was starting to get dark, hacking our way through any low hanging foliage, parking up and setting up our tents for the night. This was all good fun, even if a little dull and monotonous at times, although the scenery more than made up for the distance.

Hacking our way into a bush camp

Once through Tanzania we entered into Malawi where we spent 5 days camping along Lake Malawi. Firstly we stopped for a couple of nights at a campsite fairly north on the lake where we spent time exploring the local village and had some fun trading with local guys from the market. We saw young children fishing on the shores, learning a skill that will be vital in their future years, and we saw the amazing craftsmanship of the local woodcarvers. I even had time to sneak in a bit of football with some local boys, although the thorny sandy pitch was a menace to my bare feet.

Local boys fishing on the shores of Lake Malawi

I've always got time for football

We moved on to a place called Kande Beach where I was treated to a very nice birthday indeed. We started the day with pancakes, then I spent the morning paddling out to a small island in the lake with two others. I was annoyed not to have taken my camera with me, but we had fun scrambling over the rocks and through trees, and I saw an absolutely massive lizard too! After an easier paddle back and a play surfing in the waves we called it time and spent the afternoon relaxing by the beach. 

Kande beach by day...

...and at dusk

The evening was spent partying and wearing dreadful clothing we had bought the previous day at a local Malawian market. There was a prize for the worst dressed and there were some incredible costumes that made you wonder what on earth people had been doing with these items before hand! We enjoyed a spit roast pig for dinner that our tour leader Em had generously spent all day carefully tending to. It was a delicious treat, although a bit harsh on the two vegetarians in the group. We had a fun night and were late to bed, mainly due to the tremendous downpour from about midnight into the early hours. When you're camping, getting into a tent wet is such a nuisance. 



Pig / Dinner!

The group on at Kande Beach in terrible dress

We moved on from Kande Beach for a night in the capital city Lilongwe, although weren't there long enough to explore at all. Next we drove into Mozambique, a costly drive as we all had to pay for a visa when all we were doing was driving straight through it to get to Zimbabwe. Anyway it was a very scenic, if expensive, drive and we saw lots of smiling faces and also noted the contrast to the soaking wet Malawi where we had just come from. I lost count of the number of dried up river beds we drove over, and it reminded me of the severe drought much of southern African is experiencing at present, which we also saw earlier during our time in South Africa and Zimbabwe. After another bush camp, this time under the stars which was quite special, we crossed the border into Zimbabwe and drove to Harare, a welcome return for us, as we were eagerly awaiting reuniting with many people we met during our month there in January.

A scenic lunch stop en route to Harare.

Visiting special friends in Harare :)

Now that we are in Harare we have a couple of days to visit our friends, get my haircut (but I'm not going to shave my terrible travelling wannabe beard which my mum described as making me look dirty!), say farewell to one member of the group, check what, if any, budget we have left for the rest of our trip and then prepare for the next chapter of this amazing journey. We are just over halfway through and will write a second blog post once we reach Cape Town in the middle of May.

Thanks for reading!

Ben


Prayer requests:

• That we are continuously kept safe, especially when travelling as a group, and we are thankful for our safety so far
• We are grateful that God has been looking over us, especially with our missing phones and dodgy hotel experiences!
• That long lasting and special friendships can come about as a result of this trip. We are already a very close group and are grateful for all the new friendships
• We are thankful Jo got his passport sorted and that so far all border crossings have gone smoothly
• For our families at home, communication is tough on the truck and therefore difficult to speak to friends and family as much as we would like to