Safari

Safari in Swahili means 'journey'. Since being incorporated into the English language, it is now generally used to mean an expedition or adventurous journey. And what an adventure it was. I'll use the pictures below to tell the story...

The jeep and our luggage was all set and we're ready to go!

Our first campsite, with dinner being set.

Just outside, Maasai traders selling their goods.

A sign at the Manyara Lake National Park entrance. ;)

The colourful agama lizard.


The plentiful, but beautiful impalas.

The mighty giraffe.

Car trouble #1.. Before the journey started, the car we were supposed to use had already broken down. The replacement wasn't in great condition but our rookie driver decided that the Defender can handle a 1-foot tall rock in the middle of the road by driving straight over it (!?). The cylinder which connects the back wheels to the steering wheel fell off about 100m ahead. Thus, we continued our journey as a 2-wheel drive..

Acacia tree, a common feature of the African landscape. This was taken in the Serengeti National Park.


The very distinctive topi.

Campsite #2 - This was actually in the park itself without any barriers. We were told to make sure that food was safely kept as the animals come looking for food at night.


Hot-air balloon safari? Maybe when I'm a bit richer next time =)


Big, tall Ostrich.


Storks resting on an acacia tree.


Final campsite near Ngorongoro Crater -
I actually saw wild pigs in the middle of the night wandering around!


A Masaai 'village', just at the edge of the crater.


Descending into the crater.. considered by many as the 8th wonder of the world. Pictures don't do it justice.

Oh did I mention it was cold?!

We saw a huge line of jeeps in the distance..
what could they be looking at?

Nothing but the King and Queen of the jungle.
(They were quite far away!)

The majestic elephants.
They came really close to our jeep & doesn't seem to be bothered at all!

Alas, our trip had to be cut a few hours short as our car broke down for one last time =(

And we thought it was all over.. Surprise, surprise! The car that picked us up had a puncture along the way. What else can we can do but laugh..

Tanzania - Part 2

Entrance

So here's the second part of the post on my Tanzania trip. This time I will show you the hospital that I worked in, Mkomaindo Hospital. It serves as a district hospital for more than 400,000 people in the Masasi District. Now that's comparable to the whole of Cambridgeshire.. However, the hospital has just over 200 beds and only an average of 150 beds are filled at any one time due to lack of staff.

Shops/Teahouses opposite the hospital.

Hospital compound

The hospital is totally different from what I have gotten so accustomed to here in the UK. It lacks the most basic of equipments and medicines.. things that we so easily take for granted. For such a 'large' hospital, the only imaging they have are a really old and outdated X-ray machine and an even older ultrasound reader. The wards are crowded and dirty, and most beds don't have proper bedsheets. Houseflies are found everywhere in the wards, the delivery room and even in the operating theatre! I was totally shocked when I first entered the theatre. The condition was just apalling, and sometimes the doctors had to work without any electricity. It was definitely an eye-opening experience.

Women's ward

Theatre

Apart from working in the hospital, I also visited a leprosy settlement just next to a remote village. Leprosy is a disease that is caused by an organism similar to those that cause TB, and it can lead to permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. Infected people used to be isolated by their societies as it is spread via close contact and there was no cure until the 1940s. Even nowadays, many people are badly affected because of the stigma still attached to this disease. This little village of about 16 buildings are home to 60 people. They have all come here because of not being able to work to support themselves, or are discriminated by their own family.

Some of the residents.

Effects of leprosy

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On a lighter note, here are some other pictures I took around Masasi:

The Hospital seen from Mkomaindo Hill

On top of Mkomaindo Hill, overlooking the village

A mud hut

Witch doctor

Bomani Football Ground

It really does seem like football is the most popular sport in the world. Every boy in the village wants to be the next Ronaldo! The football field shown above is about 15mins walk from where I stayed and there's a football match held there every Saturday. It's great to watch football in such a beautiful place ;)

Sunset