Tanzanian Tales

We’re back home tonight after a wonderful three weeks away in Tanzania. This was the first time we had taken the children to East Africa and it was absolutely fantastic to introduce them to our favourite country. We spent most of our time visiting friends down in Mufindi and Iringa, before finishing up with a few days relaxing on the beach near Bagamoyo. 

We stayed with our friend Sion in Dar for a couple of days at the start of the trip and had great fun catching up on several years' worth of news whilst the children made themselves at home in the playroom. Some aspects of the city have changed significantly since I was last in Dar 5 years ago. The traffic was much worse (it took us a full two hours to crawl from the airport to the Peninsular), the supermarkets are swankier and the High Commissioner's Residence (my future home - I am seriously thinking of applying for the job of High Commissioner's wife regardless of whether Simon ever bids for the role of High Commissioner) has been painted a very odd shade of mustard yellow.

We travelled down to Mufindi via Mikumi national park, where we stayed overnight at Stanley’s Kopje, with its stunning views and canvas cabins. After the drive down from Dar, the children were a little tired as we entered the park. Freya slept throughout the 2 hours that it took us to reach our camp, missing a close encounter with 4 staring buffalo (I was too scared to take a photo) and a glimpse of a family of elephants which even prompted Alex to look up from his colouring for a second and breathe a quiet ‘wow’. I’m not sure that Freya completely understood the concept of a visiting national park in Tanzania. When we asked her on the guided game drive which animal she’d most like to spot, her reply was instantaneous: ‘a sheep’. 

Fortunately for Freya, we headed off to Mufindi the next day to visit friends at the wonderful Highland Lodge, where there were plenty of farmyard animals of all descriptions to engage with. Her wish was granted and she fed a lamb – and a rather greedy calf - from a bottle. Mufindi is rapidly becoming our second home – it is stunningly beautiful and very close to our hearts. This is where we have planted a small plantation of pine trees - the objective being to harvest them in 10 years' time and start building the dream home (well, Simon's dream home - my heart is still set on the High Commissioner's Residence in Dar). Mufindi is also the location of the Igoda Children's Village project with which Simon has been closely involved with for almost a decade, and it was great to have the chance to catch up with developments in person. The community has been ravaged by AIDS but the charity is making a huge difference - from being on its knees ten years ago the community is now much more robust and able to support itself. We took the children to visit the nursery school affiliated to the project, I toured the sewing school and Simon visited the hospital at Mdabulo, which has been transformed since our last visit. Our friends Geoff and Jenny have been running the project for the past six years and now have two children of their own (the fabulously named Twilu and Tuke, two auburn-haired dynamos whom Alex kept referring to as 'the orphans' until I explained to him that Geoff and Jenny were actually their Mum and Dad).

We were incredibly well looked after by the entire Fox family and the children managed to fit in several firsts during their stay in Mufindi: first time sleeping in bunk beds; first time on a horse – Freya looking particularly impressive on her mighty steed, she has fabulous posture and no fear at all; first time on a quad bike; first attempt at fly-fishing and first time making a bow & arrow. I took the children to the trout hatchery to watch a rather messy process that I'd rather not describe (suffice to say that I now feel slightly queasy whenever Freya, who still has difficulty pronouncing her ‘k’s, asks for ‘milt’ to drink).

Upon leaving Mufindi, we made the journey – three hours by road – to Banawanu, a tiny village near Iringa, where our dear friend Christina was awaiting us. This was a poignant visit. We named our son Alex after our Tanzanian friend Alex Kibiki, one of the kindest, gentlest and special people one could ever hope to meet. Incredibly sadly, Alex was killed in a road accident three years ago - knocked off his piki-piki (little motorbike) by a lorry as he rode into work in Iringa - and he and our little Alex were never able to meet. Alex’s death still feels very raw and I had been trying hard not to think too much about the moment when we would arrive in Banawanu and he wouldn't be there to welcome us. He is buried, alongside other members of the community, in a little shamba just behind the house, surrounded by maize and shaded by avocado and papaya trees. We visited the grave, and Christina spoke to him and told him we had come to visit, and I just about held it together until we were walking back to the house. Simon came for the wake but this was the first time that I had visited since Alex died. I still feel profoundly affected by Alex’s death, I think partly because he represented to me all that is good about Tanzania - he was honest, hard-working, caring, inquisitive, enormous fun and had the potential to make a real difference to his community - and his death feels like such a waste. He had put himself through four years of agricultural and veterinary training in Arusha, spending months apart from Christina and their three daughters in order to complete his education. On my last visit, he had just established a local veterinary practice in Iringa and we accompanied him on his rounds as he inspected a cow in difficulties and castrated a dog (without anaesthetic – Simon’s eyes still water every time he thinks about it). Alex's death also represents the fragility of life here, and this was brought home to me yet again on this visit with the news that Alex and Christina's daughter, Rose, who is currently at secondary school up in Mwanza, had just been diagnosed with typhoid. She was receiving treatment and was doing ok, but is still very weak. 

Despite the sad circumstances, we had a wonderful time during the three days we spent with Christina. The children were able to sample ugali, mandazi, rice and beans, and fish cooked on a charcoal fire. They absolutely loved bathing from a bucket of hot water - I've never heard Freya giggle so much - and had great fun pretending to serve customers in Christina's little duka, whilst Simon sat outside on the little verandah drinking Safari beer and practising his Kihehe with the locals. We visited one of Christina's neighbours who had offered to give us some milk for Freya's breakfast - and Alex helped to milk the rather surprised cow! We called in at the house in Tosamaganga in which Simon and his friend Jonathan (now Freya's godfather) lived when they were both VSO volunteers. Iringa was much the same, with the exception of a swish new café and bookshop aimed at ex-pats. There were even a couple of mamas in the market who still remembered Simon and Jonathan, which I think was just about the high point of Simon's trip. 

We spent another night in Mikumi on the way back to Dar – this time in Vuma Hills, another of the Fox’s stunning camps. We had a fabulous game drive in the evening, where we spotted lions, crocs and hippos as well as the 'usual' animals. The game drives were notable for the questions they prompted from the children, who were a lot more engaged with the whole experience on the second Mikumi visit. 'Can a hyena run as fast as a lion?', asked Alex. 'Do giraffes sleep standing up? Can warthogs swim?' Not to be outdone, Freya joined in with her own questions: ‘Can a hyena eat a house?’ ‘Can a hyena fly a plane’? ‘Have you ever seen a hyena eat a malaria tablet?’ ‘Do sharks eat carrots?’ ‘Can a lion eat you if you’re sitting on its back?’

We spent our last three nights on the beach at Lazy Lagoon – a wonderful place to finish off the trip, where we did nothing much but play with the children, swim, tuck into delicious meals and read a couple of novels. All was well in paradise until the last evening when Freya jumped on the bed and split her head open on the bed post. Some homemade butterfly stitches seem to have done the trick – let's just hope the wound has healed well enough to take them off by the time she is a bridesmaid next Saturday...

This really was the most fantastic family holiday - it truly felt as if we were making memories. I'm not sure how much the children will remember of their first trip to Tanzania, so asked each of them (and Simon) to tell me what they enjoyed most about the entire experience. And here's what they said:

Highlight of Simon’s holiday: Alex marching up to the Masai guard at Vuma Hills and asking to see his knife; Alex finding a homemade football (made of plastic bags and elastic bands) and wanting to bring it home.

Highlights of Alex’s holiday: Meeting Christina and seeing Alex’s grave. (I totally welled up when he gave that answer).

Highlights of Freya’s holiday: Playing with in the playroom at Sion’s house; sleeping in the little bed at Sion’s house; playing with the pussy cat at Sion’s house (I honestly don’t know why we bothered to take her along).

As for me:

Highlights of my holiday: Playing ‘Happy Families’ in a hammock on Lazy Lagoon; seeing lions on the game drive, drinking tea on the verandah at the Southern Highlands Lodge.