Zanzibar

After five action packed days in South Africa, from engagement ring to camping  and bike equipment shopping for the big trip and the off-road motorcycle course as well as spending (too little) time with our very generous friends and hosts Jana and Werner van der Berg, we were well ready for the next and last stage of our holiday. Zanzibar Island!

   We spent a full week recharging the batteries at Matemwe in the north-east of the Island. This particular part of the island is quite popular with divers due to the close proximity of Mnemba Island and it's 4 km large reef full with a stunning variety of colourful fish. 

  That and the fact that we won't get a perfect chance of such pleasant temperatures and ideal location any time soon again, made the decision to go for the PADI open water scuba diver certification pretty easy. Rory had no difficulties whatsoever - water is his element. Needless to say he is as much a bouncing ball under water as on the surface. He shall be referred to as the air guzzler from here on.

   But even I being more of a cat thrown into the water enjoyed the experience to the max. I've seen aquatic life with my own eyes I've only ever seen on TV before. Wonderful! We're quite proud of our certification. Not sure though if diving in Ireland would be as exciting. Somehow the prospect of the cold Atlantic ocean puts me off :) Lets see.

   It's off to Dar es Salaam on the mainland today by ferry and then early in the morning we're flying back to Ghana. The final preparation madness, Rory's bike fix and visa hunt is now only a couple days away. Stay tuned!

Karibu, welcome at Matemwe Lodge.

What a view over the Indian Ocean to wake up to every morning. Life is good!

Best spot in the house 

Hotel grounds

Great place to cool down while watching the ocean and small fishing boats go by.

Mnemba Island in the background. It is surrounded by an oval reef of 4 km.
This is where we did our PADI open water scuba diver certification.

Best spot for sipping cocktails and watching
the sun go down and the stars come out.

A typical fishing boat carved out of a single tree trunk without any power tools.

Literally bath tub warm water at low tide

The hotel supports a conservation project of the Green Sea Turtle. There are numerous sign posts indicating where, when and how many eggs were laid and when they are due to hatch.

We were privileged to watch how two baby turtles who had not hatched in time with their other brothers and sisters made it to the surface when one of the conservation project workers dug a hole to bury a new batch of eggs.

A new batch of Green Sea Turtle eggs ready to be buried in sand.
They look a bit like dented golf balls if you ask me.

Legends - both instinctively trying to head for the ocean but they had to be held back because the tide is too low and one of them had to see a marine vet first because of some apparent disabilities. 

The water from the beach is way too hot and would boil the poor things if left in there for too long. A rescue plan was made and off went Rory by Kajak to get cooler water further into the sea. Rory Green Sea Turtle Hero!

The healthy turtle was released later at high tide and the disabled turtle made it through the night and got to the marine centre in Nungwi in the north of Zanzibar. Let's hope he'll make it. 

This our group of fellow divers on our first open water dive. The guy leaning on a scuba tank is the very patient Jesse from Scubafish, our instructor.

Diving survived! :)

Fun on Two Wheels

One of the many definite highlights so early into our holiday was the weekend off-road motorcycle course with African Dream Adventures (ADA) in the 'cradle of humankind' in Gauteng, South Africa. 

   We met a lot of great people, in particular our instructors Judy and Mark who with their vast experience and enthusiasm made this an unforgettable experience. We can't leave unmentioned here the length they both went to in helping us progress with our skills for the big trip. Mark, if you're reading this you are an absolute legend for giving Rory your 'baby' (we are talking about a KTM). To lend your bike to a complete stranger and novice on the dirt is a very noble thing to do. I bet you liked how Rory thanked you by roostering you with your own bike ;-)

Some of the stuff we got up to and in most cases confidently mastered by the end of the course:

   - In depth practise of throttle and clutch control

   - Proper balance and positioning

   - Uphill recovery

   - Sand riding

   - Skidding

   - Gravel and loose rock tracks (such as found in river beds)

   - Light jumps / bunny hops 

It's been an absolute joy and our thanks go out to Heine and his family (the food was to die for!) and everyone else involved. We will make sure to be back for DP2.

Judy and Mark demonstrating what to do and not to do when stuck in sand

Mark talking me through a steep up- and downhill ride

Smiling for the camera, inside I'm dying a little bit... 

I made it up and down in one piece! Piece of cake ;-)
Thanks to a very patient instructor!

Debrief after 2 absolutely amazing days filled with fun and learning. Tired but happy heads on us.

Cheers to that!

Watching the pro's making a tire change look easy

Zambia

 Where to begin? Perhaps with the most exciting news: We got engaged! 

  Brave man, Rory proposed a few meters away from the edge of the Victoria Falls. He did a very good job as I didn't suspect a thing and on top of that he proposed in German. He had me in shock in the most positive way possible ;-) In the words of John Browne: I consider myself one "lucky duck".

  We spent 3 nights at the plush Royal Livingstone Hotel - all part of Rory's scheme which now makes perfect sense of course. Things went wrong the first day when we ended up third degree sunburn victims. Silly schoolboy (and girl) error. Despite the aches, pains and sleep deprived near grumpiness we had the most amazing time at this truly beautiful spot.

  The hotel shares grounds with Velvet Monkeys, Zebra's, Impala's and other furry or feathery friends. Those of you who know Rory, will know of his love for food and protectiveness over same once landed on his plate. Seeing Rory's shocked face after a cheeky Velvet Monkey ran up beside him and robbed a bread roll he had saved for the best part of his dinner - PRICELESS! 

// edit: Have to add a little something here for the mostly female readers. My good man gave me the most beautiful Marcasite Claddagh ring as a token until the real thing is finished. Rory wanted for us to choose the stone together and the setting/design of the ring is something he has chosen. South Africa has been a special place to us hence the ring is being made by a Jeweller in Johannesburg as we speak and I will get to see and wear the final product  once we're arriving in Galway at the beginning of June. 

Majestic, thundering Victoria Falls

Rory before the proposal, contemplating his fate

Border crossing into Botswana 

This one didn't make it...

View of the Falls and the Zambezi river from the Hotel grounds

Celebratory Cosmo's *yum*

Make Fufu Not War

Well I'm glad I got to experience my last riot on site before leaving this country. Excellent timing! It's mad how quickly a seemingly peaceful crowd can turn into an angry, loud, stone throwing, intimidating mob. Once again, it's all about the money. As the construction project is at final stages many of the local Ghanaians try to negotiate large bonus sums for themselves. Quite understandable actually. There may not be any work left for most people in the region for some time, years perhaps. However the demands aren't necessary reasonable and as yesterdays events have shown sometimes you just can't reason.
   What started as civil discussions with labour representatives and management, turned quickly into stone throwing and other exercises of the intimidating kind. When it got heated I slipped off my chair, to a crouching position in a corner of my office in an effort not to be seen or heard for about 1.5 hrs until the first wave of the angry mob had calmed. This turned out to be a good idea. Eventually though I was discovered by a group of workers. This is probably the first time I got the shakes out of fear and not knowing what is going to happen. The mind tends to go a bit ahead of itself I guess. I could see in the eyes of the guys they were surprised to see me there and after a few seconds that seemed to be minutes they made handsignals to try and calm me down and ensure I would be left alone as I was a woman. "Ghanaians don't beat women."
   I decided to play it safe and remained where I was though and I got the occassional check up visit from some of the more peaceful minded workers who wanted to make sure I was ok. After about another hour later these guys decided they would guard me and walk me off site to a pick-up from Security. Nerve wrecking having to walk through this mob but my guys kept shouting "she's a woman", "she's not part of management, let her go" and all was fine.
   Boy, did I enjoy that double whiskey when I got to the camp where a worried Rory had moved every lever into action to get me out of there and had the whiskey ready. 
   Today, the situation with my own company is unchanged but at least somewhat peaceful. Obviously there won't be any work done for a while. Also, I think I don't have an office anymore as it got trashed, so my last day at work has come 2 days early. Another sub-contractor is going through the same problems with their workers this morning and  as a safety precaution, we are on red alert for a possible emergency evacuation to Accra.
   Rory and I have spent the last hour frantically packing our bags and in the middle of it all I have finally managed to get and pay for travel insurance which will also cover us for motorcycle overland touring. Lastminute.com :)
It can only be more relaxed from here on!

What lies ahead

As some of you may have already heard through the grapevine or directly from us, we will be going on the BIG TRIP much sooner than originally planned. Rory's current job has come to an end as the construction project is now in final stages. Although about 3 months sooner than we had anticipated we are thrilled.
   Frantic packing has started. Both Rory's and my last day with our employers will be this Friday, 1st March. Our room looks a bit as if a bomb has gone off and it's the nicest feeling in the world as it calls for adventure and reminds us daily of what lies ahead of us. Sometimes a small bit of panic creeps in as well mind you. There is still so much to do...
   But first things first. We had booked and pretty much paid for our next holiday already. Not going would mean wasting money for nothing. So we're still going to fly to South Africa on Sunday, 3rd March. We will spend a few nights in Livingstone (Zambia) at the Victoria Falls, return to Johannesburg (South Africa) and take part in a weekend dual-purpose off-road motorcylce course, do some outdoor shopping to buy a tent, sleepings bags etc. and then it is off to the island of Zanzibar (Tanzania) to enjoy the last bit of comfort for a week.
   On 20th March we'll be arriving back in Ghana. Rory will have to transport his bike to Lome (Togo) to the only KTM dealer in the west of Africa. It needs serious looking after, so fingers crossed all goes well.
   We will have to apply for our Ivory Coast visa in Accra which shouldn't take more than 2 days to be processed. Hopefully. Our planned route then will take us from Ghana through Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco into Europe where they better have the Tapas ready for us!
   As it stands we're aiming for 1st April to commence the trip. Oh boy! :)