Life in Africa VI

The road to Mkonoo village (and Nadasoito) in the early days. Just beyond Unga Limited, which is a suburb of Arusha, an industrial area but there are many houses there too.

This is a dusty market area and I always wondered how the food and mtumba - secondhand clothing - was kept dust-free.

We were giving the Mkonoo village environmental chairman a lift and as he had a shop at Mkonoo, we stopped here to collect bulk bread. As the bread was being loaded, a young man reached into the Maruti and made a grab at Mag's bag which was between us. How he knew the bag was there, I have no idea! He was unsuccessful with the bag, and ran off into the village and Joshia took off after him. As Joshia closed on him, he called back, 'I have nothing, why are you chasing me?' Our friend was embarrassed over the incident.

The taxi stand in our early days in Arusha. Much different now but worth recording. The Lutheran church is to the right and in the road to the left there are the tourist shops and Kase Bookshop.

The Catholic church, Lushoto taken from the road to the Grand Mandarin hotel where we stayed many times. Even from here one of the things to distract tourist is the honking of the bus horns early in the morning to attract custom.
There is much that can be done to promote Lushoto but the buses are a distraction - even an annoyance.

The Irente Lookout is a very striking area to look over a large part of Tanzania. The road, red clay, used to be greasy when wet and we were lucky to have our own car to get there. Boys wanted to guide us and some wanted to guard the car - we really had no need for either, but I felt it worthwhile to pay something out of politeness.
Now ex President Mkapa has built a huge lodge that actually blocks the foot track out to the lookout. How he managed that - well that is the business of the country, but it is a spoiler.
At a small bar perched on the side of the track, I took Upendo, Eriki and Vai for a soda and a vervet monkey aggressively decided it would like some of the soda! It frightened the kids and I had to really threaten it to chase it away!

It might look a bit murky in this photo, but the views are stunning from the lookout. It is a pity that a lodge now dominates the area.







The main reason we visited Lushoto was to visit the National Tree Seed Project to purchase seed. The project was originally set up through assistance from Denmark and was a very efficient and well run project. To my knowledge it still is. The seed I purchased was very high quality and cleaned to a high standard.
I sat with the workers cleaning seed and talking to them - the best way to to gain rapport.


Cleaning a few Croton seeds at NTSP. It was a species I didn't need to buy because we were able to collect it locally at Makumira/King'ori.

Grant's Lodge is/was one of the more expensive places to stay at Lushoto - we never did. It is some distance in the hills beyond but a very pleasant journey - even passing through orchards of apple and pear. Much further on is a girls secondary school - the name of which eludes me - but we visited there when the guy from the Grand Mandarin asked me to give him a lift there. It is a very good school from what I saw and what he told me.


A moth at Sanawari with a six inch wingspan! Locals are afraid of such insects and fear that the dust from their wings can cause blindness. Totally outside my experience and I do not know the science behind the myth. There was the story that the fur from caterpillars causing irritation on the skin - well I found that to be correct when on a couple of occasions I had caterpillars down my neck!


Boys with a toy. Very often kids, or perhaps their older brothers, made made their own toys and chasing a wheel is fun and a skill. In this photo to the right is Roger. I wrote about him on a couple of occasions, and his life was not easy. I wonder on his progress now.
They stand in our yard - a pleasant place to live.




We passed the Meserani Snake Park many times on our travels and stopped by only once. It is a very good park and our kids have stayed there too. I have been to few snake parks and this one rates well.
I always though I could outrun a snake but I don't think that is so from one of my experiences at Ngarenanyuki.



Mama Baraka and Nai have a laugh on our porch. People seem to have the idea Africa is all about potbellied kids who are starving and dust and famine. There is plenty of good. Mama Baraka and Nai shared a special bond that is not at all that unusual in Tanzania. Mama Baraka was one in a million to us but that was our connection. We found treasures wherever we went.

Life in Africa V

The Amboni Caves near Tanga are interesting and I would have liked to have been able to spend more time there exploring some of the wildlife.
I would have liked a closer look at the bats - they are the only indigenous mammal in New Zealand.
The old guy that took us in there with his torch, switched it off to show how dark it was! Tanzanian torches do not always switch on!

Tanga was our first visit to the Indian Ocean and of course I was taken by the dhow sailing by.
So I felt the warm ocean and enjoyed the different vegetation there.
Tanga seemed a quiet town then - perhaps now it is much different but I am pleased we visited there even if it was for one night and even if we chose a hotel that carried a lot of night traffic.

Kapok was harvested from trees like this in days gone by for mattress and pillow filling as well as life vests and many other thing. Still it is used locally but there is no market for it these days.
Ceiba pentandra has few other uses save for firewood and local medicine, but none the less it is a striking tree - up to 30 metres high.

Soni Falls is on the way up the Usambara mountains to Lushoto - a must see stop for people visiting Tanzania.
We often stayed there and at first the small hotel was pretty much run down, but over time it improved and we always had very good service there.
There was a hole in the fanlight window in the dining room and during the evening meal a bat, or bats would fly in, circling the light-bulb to catch a moth and fly out again - very good radar!

The turnoff to Lushoto is at the village of Mombo, which is a busy market town and a rest stop for buses making a longer journey.
On a river terrace I found this stand of well tended trees.

On the corner of the Lushoto road the restaurant/hotel serves up a chicken and chips dish that is worth the journey!

I am told that the Arusha to Dodoma road has been much upgraded, which is a very good thing! I sometimes took this road to Babati and on up to Dongabesh on the pay run, and during the wet season the road had its challenges - sometimes there were deep holes and once water flowed over the bonnet.

I always like Baobab trees and seek out fine specimens - this one is on the Dodoma road and I just had to take a closer look.

Nasula Primary School

Those of a more ancient vintage may remember a movie called 'Hatari' starring none other than John Wayne, Hardy Kruger, Red Buttons and some others. This movie was filmed in part at Momella and we were told Hardy Kruger opened a safari lodge there.
I travelled over a lot of that country, and the movie makers must have faced challenges racing those Landrovers! The move now also interests because some of the filming was also in Arusha and some of the scenes are familiar.

We called the school 'Momella' because we knew no better and it was not until a signpost was eventually put up that we realised the school was in fact called 'Nasula'!
To my mind it was very appropriate that we worked in this area because the climate was difficult from the rain shadow effect of Mt. Meru. The short rains had started to fail and most times crops that were planted to utilize the short rains failed too.

The National Parks authority often donated funds to school that were on their borders [well also Ngabobo too, which was quite distant] and it was obvious that Nasula had received assistance because the wall and ceilings of the classrooms and teachers' office were lined with hardboard - called there 'ceiling board'.

Sometimes it is difficult to know how well the teachers and students cooperate, but a good litmus is the behavior of the students. These kids were very good to work with.
There were a number whose parent(s) were National Park officials and we used to give a lift to students we encountered along the road. Actually it was quite a hike for them!



I have not covered the use of banana fibre for making planter pots
instead of using polythene, which is expensive for some.
Take two pieces of banana trunk fibre (dry and supple - maybe by soaking) +-10cm long and +- 25cm long. Set them in an even cross and sit a small jar or soda bottle where the fibre crosses. fold the fibre up, around the jar/bottle and fold the top back +- 15cm and tie to secure with a thin piece of fibre. Carefully remove the jar/bottle and bingo, you have your pot - gently fill with soil and sow the seed. The pot is biodegradable some may be planted in situ. A very good system!


Because the soil was very sandy, we advised that large holes should be dug [pits] and filled with dry animal manure. The hole would not be filled, as much as 30cm from the top. This gives the tree some shelter from the winds and acts as a receptacle for water.




An example of the cooperation we received: we turned up on a school holiday/day off, which is why these kids are not in school uniform. We wanted to be sure the school understood the need for proper planting preparation and while the whole school was not there, these other kids passed on the information.





I had seen how trees were dispersed by some other agencies and all my training teaches that poorly handled trees equates to poor survival outcomes. Respect the plant as a living thing. So unloading tree is an opportunity to reinforce the message to the kids.
Hold the tree by the pot and line out in rows of the same species.
Most times the kids took this very seriously.




We struck a bit of a hiccup! The new plantings were browsed at night - by giraffe! They were just able to wanted on to the site and chew the new plantings. So the kids protected their trees with thorny branches.










The lines of protected trees ready for inspection. The kids labelled their trees so I could identify the grower. Some would add a little message, usually a slogan that we used in the seminars, to prove I guess, that they had been listening - thus enhance their chances of gaining a prize.



Generally the teachers like our visits because we looked after the whole school role for at least half the day - sometimes the whole day. At Nasula, we were some distance from a shop and I suspect the teachers supplied their own food to us. Generosity much appreciated.
The man to the right is the environmental teacher and the one in the dark suit is the new Head teachers. The department moved the teachers around the area.


On inspection day, the kids liked to stand beside their tree and I would talk to each one and discuss their tree/trees. There is always the kid whose tree has failed and tries to put a live stick in the ground to make it look like there is a tree.
Actually the system is not really fair because there are so many variables and they don't start off evenly because we never kept culls in the nursery so some kids planted big trees while other planted the smaller ones - but it was the best I could do.


The outcomes at Nasula were very good and while the soils might have been sandy, the work the kids carried out to ensure the survival of their trees was considerable.
They did have the advantage though of nearby race water.

A good result.

Ngongongare Primary School

It was always hard for me to get my head around the name because mentally I would think of 'gong' and not 'gon' but as with most names, once familiar with it, the easier is to pronounce.

Loti was the Chairman of Ngongongare Primary School, and he often told me of some of the problems he faced there. Loti had no kids but was always interested in education - education was a passion of his.
The school population was made from a mix of local kids and those from the Seventh Day Seminary as well as 'imports' whose parents serviced some of the Lodges and other industries including the National Park - children of the Rangers.
Loti had his work cut out to keep the school running efficiently and following the curriculum! Part of the problem was, as far as I could see, that many of the teachers were the wives of lecturers at the seminar who were not as dedicated to their work as could be expected.

We carried out a full environmental programme at Ngongongare with the seminars as well as the planting programme. I wonder now at the progress of the Cupressocyparis leyandii that we supplied there. I found some of these trees in the Lushoto Arboretum and took cuttings from them - this species was a large part of my New Zealand experience.

The day we called to inspect the tree plantings and to encourage the kids, we found the young teacher who had been appointed the school's environment teacher, to be inciting the kids to be disrespectful to us. Loti had been side-tracked by the Head Teacher on school business so this young guy accompanied us around with the kids. I have no idea what was going on in his head; perhaps he did not realise that we spoke Swahili.
The school received a lot of visitors from overseas and maybe they had become used to visitor not understanding their language.
Regardless, I was not prepared to put up with the way he was acting and the way the pupils were responding, so I called off the inspection and decided not award any prizes. Loti was shocked and embarrassed about this and called an assembly where he gave the teacher and the pupils a good telling off.
The outcome, as you would expect in such situation was that the teacher was moved on.

Poor old Loti had another problem - he had arranged for some American student to visit the school and build a classroom. However the Head Teacher used the funds for the bricks to assist with his own personal problems. The news of this occurred just shortly before the students were to arrive so Loti had to scramble to find appropriate work for them.

Happily, Loti was able to sort out most of the dysfunction in the school - mainly by finding a good Head Teacher who lifted the performance of his staff. We carried out another planting programme where prizes were awarded and we were able to supply text books and some other supplies to assist the school.

Kids sitting under the Grevillea trees to listen to the environmental seminar.








Some of the teachers listen to the seminar. It was usual for the whole school to sit in on the seminars because while we targeted to older kids; the younger ones were distracted by our presence.







Kids lined up for the role play to demonstrate how trees help prevent erosion of the fertile soils.







Presenting chalk and other materials to the Head Teacher. For this we had received funds from Trade Aid, Timaru and also from Hughie and Trixie Muldrew of Hampden, Moeraki, Waianakarua and/or Oamaru. The support we received from different organizations and people was much appreciated.





Learning is never one way! The pupils of Tanzanian schools taught me through their singing of their national Anthem and Song, how proud they were of their country and freedom.
I staged this photo of Tanzanian school text books with the New Zealand flag because I was proud of the partnership.

The Road to Ngarenanyuki

It must be remembered that the only constants is that there will always be change, and certainly the this road developed and changed over the seven years we used it. It is remarkable that one old guy I spoke to told me that he had once seen a pride of lions resting under trees at the turn-off. Arusha national Park has no large cats, so that sighting must have been a very long time ago.
And now I see the road is now tar-sealed!

The Ngarenanyuki road leaves the Moshi - Arusha road just East of Usa River but there is no sign to inform, but that is usual! There is a large, concrete godown on the corner which is opposite the large rose farm.
The farm daily exports flowers to Amsterdam and they employ a number of workers who do not benefit from the same health and safety regulations that horticultural workers elsewhere have. I used to go there to buy lucerne hay for Mama Upendo.
I guess every statement deserves an explanation :
The use of insecticide and fungicide without adequate protection is unacceptable but the issues involved were too complex for me to address at the time and this is not the forum either.

The farm encompassed a large are of grass [the roses were grown in tunnel houses] which had been planted in lucerne which was regularly cut and baled. They sold it to specific customers, but would sell to casuals when a surplus was available. Hand cutting fodder for zero grazed cattle is an onerous task and as the season becomes drier, the gathering of fodder is over a much larger area. To help Mama Upendo - and Upendo - I used to buy some of the lucerne hay and from time to time, bundled fodder cut by young men from further up the Ngarenanyuki road or from Usa River.

The road starts off long and flat, with rough gravel, through some Silky Oak trees planted each side of the road. Past the new school, International and established to make money, and through fertile farmland. This is where young men cut fodder and transported it on their bikes to Usa River for sale.
There is a ramshackle wooden house where often two men sat to sell a few bananas or other produce and we had an acquaintance that was a twice daily wave as we passed by. We stopped the day we were transporting a sick woman to hospital who needed water and I asked them if the water was clean. They showed me a small, flowing natural spring with fresh, clear water - they were lucky indeed to have it.

To the left there are fertile fields where different cash crops are grown flowers one year, peas another. There is good water here, but during the wet season once the road became impassable and a diversion was made through a large farm. I guess the farmer was not too happy about that. Another time a similar diversion was made because a huge tree fell across the road.

On the corner just before the road climbs uphill, a large, posh safari lodge has been established among what was a very good coffee plantation. Money talks and the owner apparently made his money in the Tanzanite mines - he made it rich and is said to have tossed money from the balcony of the Impala Hotel. At least the story sounds good!

Up the hill there is the homestead of the coffee plantation; obviously well set up and during our stay the built a huge plastic lined reservoir - a huge bank of water should the dam collapse! In the earlier I used to pick a man from Usa River who worked at the plantation - a nice man and I never knew why he never appeared again.
Once this first uphill section has been completed, there is a flat spot where there is a tiny produce market and a road junction that goes to Mt. Meru - actually to Mulala where Mbise lived.
Along on the left a small orphanage was built using burnt bricks - maybe ten children stayed there and over time we had one of those waving relationships which saw us eventually providing a few toys and a little food.
To the left there was a large poultry farm, and again I became aware that I no longer saw people going to and from, so guessed it had closed down, but I never asked and was never told.
Further to the left a new house was built by a Pastor and we helped him with trees, and closeby a sawmill set up business and they committed the unsound practice of spreading sawdust on the road surface.

Again the road climbs, turning as it does so and to the right a family built a burnt brick home so one day we stopped and provided them with trees that were well cared for and flourish - that went on for three seasons.
At Ngongongare there is the Seventh Day Adventist Seminary with its guarded gate and a village beyond complete with dukas and a clinic. Loti lived beyond the village as he has a substantial farm. The guards at the gate knew me and I did not need to sign the entrance book.
Very often people would want a lift down to Usa River and I did not always cooperate as sometimes I needed some space and some quiet. Sometime providing lifts can involve complications.

There is a small market place with some dukas and a research facility for the fluoride in natural water. A few safari lodges, among them Ngurdoto Lodge hosted by friends Dick and Delores Novac - a very nice place to stay!
A little further along is Ngongongare Primary School and beside it a snake park where I saw the biggest chameleons I have ever seen. I'm not sure that it remains open.
To the left is the Lutheran Ailanga Seminary - it was vacant ground when we arrived in Meru and the General Secretary requested ideas from me for its use - I had no input into the suggestion of a seminary. We assisted with tree planting and the rainwater harvesting spouting and tank.
On the other side of the road is the Lutheran Church which was an older, wooden building but by now, I guess there has been some improvements.

This area suffers from wandering elephants, mainly at night, and crops are lost, water projects damaged.

Shortly there is the entrance to Arusha National Park - the road to the left goes to a sawmill where we sourced sawdust, but it closed down, perhaps to reopen.

Nowadays, shortly after the gate is the post where payment is made to enter the park, but previously it was on the right junction of the road a little further on. Sometimes during wet conditions when our usual route was impassable, we took this route and had to negotiate hard for access.

We usually took the free, rough route to the left past Little Serengeti where slips once caused the road to become a bog. The road passes through scrublands, climbing all the time, sometimes rocky and rough. It was always ideal to use four wheel drive as it was easier on the vehicle.
Near the summit the vegetation becomes rainforest and there are always Dik Dik, sometimes Colobus Monkeys and often clouds of iridescent blue butterflies.
Once over the small ridge, the rainforest peters out but there are always sitings of warthog with their aerial tails and giraffe and on the roadsides, sometimes there are views of the Ngarenanyuki river as well as indigenous Pencil Juniper trees.
The road heads roughly North and the further you go, the drier the land/vegetation becomes.

The Park exit [or entrance depending where you come from] is where the hikes start their climb of Mt. Meru and where the guides sit and wait for custom - they were usually friendly and waved to us as we 'pita'(ed) by.
The road becomes sharply down hill and the road is of river washed stones - harder to climb. And as the road flattens there has been a cellphone tower erected. Most of this part of the road was dirt with many wet crossings [fords] but the base was hard and there was no danger of becoming bogged or stuck.
This road has now been upgraded.

To the left is the turnoff to Mwakeny Primary School and to the right Momella, later renamed Nasula Primary School.
Momella is the area where filming took place of the movie 'Hatari' starring John Wayne, Hardy Kruger, Red Buttons to name a few.
After the thicket of yellow-trucked Fever Trees the growing village of Olkung'wado is within site and the turn to the left is now where the local government office is, but past the office is a ford and the road goes on to Kisimiri.
But straight on there is a small bridge which is the entrance to Olkung'wado.

Olkung'wado is a market town with the 'main street' being a row of dukas. Over the seven years we noticed that this was a growth area - especially houses made from concrete block, causing us to name it the 'grey village'.
Just North of the main village, DME built a new, large clinic and there is their district office and the church, closeby is Olkung'wado Primary School.

It is difficult to find them without some knowledge, but between to village and the DME area there is almost a crossroads; to the right you can reach King'ori via Lendoiya and to the left there is a ford across the river which is a shortcut to Ngarenanyuki village through an area that is wet enough to sustain a banana plantation.

On the 'main road' which by this time becomes more like a track, there is a turnoff to the right which takes you to the village - no, not quite a village - of Emanuel where a new church replaced and old one and where a new primary school was established.
But following the 'main road', after a bend to the left there is the Ngarenanyuki Secondary School, which is also part of the DME fold.

Shortly after there is a bridge that passes over a deep gorge with the Ngarenanyuki River and then a T junction.
To the left is the way to go to Ngabobo and onwards through Maasai country to the North - there was a police post, which became derelict, but because it is possible to reach Kenya on this track, stolen vehicles and contraband used to move through here. There is a junction where the road heads East through Ilkirimuni and on to Sanya Juu.
There is a track that goes off to the right that eventually goes down a long ridge where in our last couple of years, the new Kisomonu was built.

The main road goes on to the small village of Ngarenanyuki, passing on the way, the home of the OiC of the Olkung'wado Clinic, who was a nephew of Loti's making him an associate of mine. Ngarenanyuki is a small market area with a couple of stalls and the road going back to Olkung'wado is to the left and on that road [track] is a small government hospital.
By this time the road is really heading West and passes over another bridge and there is an old signpost bearing the familiar Shell petroleum symbol for years ago an international car rally passed through here.
The road/track begins to peter out to a dusty track and through a gulley where to the right a track goes up to where we took Neema (see another post regarding her).
Onwards past the home of Loti's sister and the track is a dust-bath, there is the Ngarenanyuki Primary School and church, after which the worsening track passes through Uwhiro and on to Kisimiri.

While there is a village named 'Ngarenanyuki' the name refers to the area which is huge and we worked throughout the area over the years.

Over the years we carried out a lot of work in the area which will be detailed as time goes on

Typical is a young child carrying water at Kisimiri

Some of the Dangers

I gave my word that I would respect the request: Tell people about the good things, not the bad.
I will keep my word, but not everything was good and to be balanced, I have to mention some of the bad, although there are some things I will leave out.

Some of the negatives that touched me could happen anywhere in the world, so do not necessarily reflect on Tanzania, although they did happen there.

I had broken a tooth and 'was sent' to Nairobi, Kenya to have it repaired, which involved an overnight stay - oh Mama Mbembe wanted me to go there and return the same day, but that was beyond reasonable.
As I crossed a busy road, a young lad ran past me and swiped the cat from my head - the one with Tasmanian Devil on it. He ran off down the road and I sprinted after him [without thinking and leaving Mags on her own]! There was a line of cars, stopped for some reason and one of those saw that I was chasing the guy, opened the door, hitting him, almost knocking him off his feet! I was catching up on him and he ran across the road close to where four or five men were standing. 'Catch the thief!' I called, and they caught him and were about to beat him up - I clenched my fist to give him a swipe, but reason took hold and the guy handed me the cap. I think they let the guy go, but I had not realised that I was a spectacle for the many onlookers who clapped as I headed back to Mags. With all that attention, I had to control my breathing so I did not look puffed! But the danger was, where was that guy leading to? And leaving Mags on her own! This was Nairobi!

It is common for people to cover valuable items such as radios or television sets with pretty doilies and I first thought it was to keep dust off the. Rather it is to keep prying eyes off them!
Joshia built a modest little house and he had a small, cassette radio sitting on a table. In the middle of the night there was a loud bang, his door was bashed in with a large rock/boulder [called a 'fatuma'] and the radio was taken before Joshia could get out of his bed! Quite obviously someone knew exactly where the radio was, meaning that the robber was someone who had been to the house.
Closing the door after the horse had bolted, we gave him the money to buy a iron-grill door.
But if you show off valuable things, you have to be very cautious.
The fruit ladies will poke their head in your car and look into your wallet if you open it. To them, seeing a few notes all at once is a lot of money and they will talk about it , making you a target!
It is unwise to flash money around or gold watches or cellphones.

I took advantage of doing some work in Arusha while the Landrover was being repaired by Marangu [they just called him that because he came from there] out on the Dodoma road - not quite as far as the African Heritage complex. Someone phoned [cellphone] while I was in Arusha. I had plenty of time, so I decided to walk - saving a few shillings - though usually I hired a taxi or caught a Daladala. From about Shopright the road passes through petty industry and market areas that serve poorer urban areas. Some way along the path I followed I felt a severe slap on both my shoulders simultaneously and at the same time someone made a grab at my cellphone! He missed his grip, the phone in its pouch falling to the ground and I elbowed them both away and they ran off behind me so I did not see them. I replace my phone at the front of my trousers, rather that the side where it had been - but I always checked, it was not visible, so they had followed me from town! I decided to catch a Daladala, even though it too far to pick up the car. Just walking along keeping my eye out for a passing Daladala. This time I was held in a bear hug from behind, while the other searched for the phone. The old trick is to raise your arms and drop to your knees, and I did, slipping from his grasp, but with my arms up there I could not defend the phone! The young men ran past me and up a dingy alley. A couple of women at a vege stall saw what had happened, and it was over too fast for them to react, but they shook their heads in warning for me not to follow them - and I agreed with them. Of course if you want to claim on your insurance, you need a police report! At the police station there was a big African man who also had his phone stolen. He had in his shirt pocket and the same thing happened to him - slapped on the shoulders from behind and the other from the front pushed in the chest and and simply lifted the phone from his pocket. These guys were mobile!

An event occurred that caused me to call on the Agency field rep, Mama Mbembe, on a Sunday afternoon. She had moved to a secure house just opposite the Ilboru Safari Lodge and the large, two metre high metal gate was closed but not locked, so in I went.
There was a scurry inside when I knocked on the door and when Mama Mbembe opened the door, her body language said to me that she was none too happy to see me! Sitting in her lounge room was an African man, drinking beer. I knew this guy, Remin, it was he who Mama Mbembe used to have the vehicles repaired, She had taken the business from Muktah who had been doing a very good job. We vols complained about Remin because the work he had dome on the vehicles was unsatisfactory and we and all witnessed conversations like this:
Mama Mbembe: How much for the repairs on the car?
Remin: 80 000 shillings will be enough.
Mama Mbembe: Oh that's too cheap, here's 120 000!
You just don't do this sort of thing - especially not field reps!
It was obvious to me that the pair though they had been compromised! On the following Monday, I had to take the Toyota to Remin for a grease, oil change and new filters.
That afternoon, I drove straight back to Makumira and did not use the vehicle again.

The next morning I set off to head out into the villages but there was a ditch to bounce over beside the big Cathode tree at the gate of Makumira Secondary School. The bounce popped the tie-rod from the wheel, thus causing me to lose all steering on the vehicle. If that had happened when I was going along the Moshi - Arusha road, I would probably be dead! There is a hole on the threaded end of the tie-rod to fit a split pin to make sure the nut does not come off! This was too much of a coincidence for me!
The outcome was that the gate into Mama Mbembe's house was to locked at all times and nobody was allowed to enter unless summoned! We all recieved notice in writing.

From time to time gangs set themselves up and maraud totally indiscriminately and often quite violently. During these times it is not safe to travel at night as your vehicle can be taken from you. Some are armed with firearms while others have pangas - machetes. They have even been known to dress up as traffic police, and when you stop for them, you are robbed. Because the police had no transport, they would flag you down and ask for a ride to town, Tengeru, or Usa River . If I recognised them, I would give a lift, but if I didn't, I would just say it was Agency policy not to give lifts to uniformed people. A gang even attacked a well respected Lodge just out of Usa River and robbed all the guests! The guards cannot win because usually they are unarmed, or maybe with a punga or even a bow and arrow. Then the first person arrested if there is a robbery is the guard! During an attack, most people will keep their heads down, trying to be inconspicuous but during a spate of attacks in our area the village authorities made it mandatory to call out a distress call - ooo wee ooo wee - to alert village men to come and help. I bought three of those battery operated bike horns that have many alarm sounds and kept one for us and gave the others to our near neighbors.

There was a gang going around the Meru villages during the night - they were 'concerned' because too many 'outsiders' were 'fouling' Meru women. They knocked on the door and asked to inspect the man's penis. If he had not been circumcised, they would do the job there and then!

A German friend who was a Pastor lived with his wife and young daughter at Nkoaranga, further up the mountain from us. This guy had done a lot in the community, with DME and elsewhere but that did not protect him!
Volunteers with the Agency brought little from New Zealand because the unaccompanied luggage allowance was only 25kg but other we able to bring in container loads. My friend from Germany even brought a grand piano with him.
He had two Labrador dogs and at least two night guards, but the dogs were drugged and the guards dealt with and a gang of thugs entered my friend's compound!
They made several threats and said they would be pleased to see the blood of the white woman.
A traumatic experience for them all and the thugs left after taken what they wanted plus one thousand US dollars that was in the house. It is always best if that sort of cash is not in the home - it puts pressure on the rest of the expat community.
My friend discussed with me about the possibility of keeping some sort of a firearm in the house.
I advised against it because even an expert might get two shots away but sooner or later they would wrestle the firearm away and then what happens? They would use it against you!

Then a similar thing for Mama Kuku, she has done a lot of good within the community raising funds for different projects including schools.
While she lives close to the main road, on the rim of Lake Duluti is remote and since the death of her husband she lives alone save for guards and household staff. However she has been a successful business woman, so has a measure of wealth.
Thugs have been to her house twice, robbing what they could and the second time, beating her up quite severely.

There is some spooky stuff that also goes on, most usually targeted at local people, but not necessarily so.
There are potions available, even from market like Tengeru, that can be mind altering, or perhaps kill. These potions mainly rely on the belief of the people who use them but some are herbal.
It is generally believed that dried crocodile bile or brain is a deadly poison, causing excruciating death over a long period for which there is no antidote. I did not experience any of this but it was widely talked about and I was told that anyone killing a crocodile made a public spectacle/display of burying the bile and brain to avoid accusations of using for 'bad things'.
Some of the 'herbal remedies' probably contain Datura, which grows in many parts of the tropics, and Datura causes hallucinations and all sorts of other conditions that may last for some time. I suspect there are other plants available that are semi poison.
Mbise told me: Many men in the Meru area will avoid marrying a woman from Akeri because women from that village like to dominate their husbands and will use potions if they are unsuccessful in that dominance. A man owned a small village shop, it was humble and sold mainly grocery items and it was good small business. He married a woman from Akeri and soon she wanted to make changes to the shop and to handle the money, but the man did not want those changes. The woman went to Tengeru and bought a potion 'to make her husband mpole - slower.' She was told to put half a teaspoon of the stuff in his tea, but she decided to us a full teaspoon. The effect was that the man lost all enthusiasm and desire and became very slow. The woman gained the control that she wanted, but it turned out that she was no good at business and the shop failed leaving them both as paupers.

We had a man who used to come to us to find work so that he could fund his cannabis addiction. Even though he was an addict, I found that he could actually be trusted and he always did a good job. But because of his addiction he was poor and lived in poor conditions and I helped him with clothes and shoes from time to time.
This guy had done well at school and had a good job with General Tyre - he showed me the papers to prove it. His brother - according to many local people - had become jealous of him, so bought a potion to make him the way he is today.
I have no way of verifying this, but it is the way things are.

This jealousy thing is quite rife: We met the niece of Big E who was a very good student, and a vibrant, vivacious young woman who was popular with her teachers. She was sent to Karatu to a secondary school where again she was very popular in the school. But somebody, probably out of jealously, gave her a potion and reduced to to a mpole - slow person, who just sat staring into space. Some say that this was the work of a jini.

The jini are evil spirits, goblins and many misfortunes are put down to them. And there are mchawi - these are witches or sorcerers and these people create misfortunes.
At Mbise's home village, he took me to a school where the door was smashed in and some 60 desks were damaged.
A young man loaned an older man (who turned out to be an mchawi) some money and after some time, the younger man asked for the money to be returned. The older man did not like the younger fellow's tone and told him bad things would befall his family.
The young man's sister was cutting fodder for the family cow and cut her finger - she died a short time after. A brother died in a rockfall at the Tanzanite mines. The family house cow died suddenly.
Then the mchawi was seen naked up a tree (which for some reason these people do) and the village people captured him and he confessed to being involved in the death of the girl, the brother and the cow as well as twenty four deaths! They locked him in the school classroom while the elders sent for the police at Usa River.
The village youth were not prepared to wait for the police and smashed the door down. The mchawi tried to hide in the rafters but he was stoned and died there in the classroom.

None of this should be confused with people who practice traditional medicine. From these people, generally there is no malice and many of their cures do work and to comment on these people is outside my experience.

Life in Africa IV

I had tried and tried to take a photo of the sunrise on the East Coast of Zanzibar, but always failed because of cloud. Most usually we stayed at Page Ndame and on the beach there was an income generating project for the local people. Sticks are driven into the sand and a special seaweed is attached [it will grow from the 'cuttings'. The dried seaweed is sent to Denmark.
It is not hugely profitable though.

The sticks are interlaced with string to attach the seaweed and at low tide women later harvest the weed. Because of the Islam culture, most of the women wore dresses, some down to the ankle. Very difficult for wading through the water.
The glare from the sand is intent and it was only during our last visit did I see dark glasses being used. Makes you wonder about the eye damage caused and resulting from a project that is supposed to benefit local people.

This woman was not harvesting seaweed, but fishing, still in a long dress. She was happy because the day before she was fishing near me when I stood on a skate! I managed to drive it towards her and she speared it plumb, dead center! It was about 40 cm across, so a good size. She told me she sold it to buy food and soap for her family. The area is pretty much fished out and usually octopus is the quarry. Mostly they are sold local restaurants because with the cash they can buy whatever is needed in their households.

We usually stayed upstairs at Paje Ndame [which is the name of the owner] and a local guy. Many of the prime beach sites are being bought up by foreigners, from what I saw, Italians and they are stopping the local people from using the beach in their traditional way. Probably land acquisition through some form of payment to officials.
Some of these people disrespect the local culture - one woman we saw was well over-weight and wearing a yellow bikini - pot belly sticking out and the bottom part of the bikini stuck in her rear crack! Just a bit gross to my mind! And I bet to the local people!

These outrigger canoes lay on the sand at low tide. The tide comes in very quickly when it decides to. The beach is long and flat and there is a reef out there which is just visible if you look hard.

The reef looking back at the island. We liked to walk out at low tide - the reef is under water at high tide. It is quite far and it is necessary to wear footwear because of the sea urchins and their spines.

The reef is quite degraded because of over exploitation and the use of explosives to catch fish or shellfish. None the less there is life out there and it is good to go out there.



A big jelly fish washed up on the beech. I had never seen a bigger one. Just those washed up on the beaches of Christchurch where those stinging bluebottles or man o' war cause problens from time to time.

The streets of Stonetown where it is easy to get lost, but not really lost you always find your way out. They are narrow and really worth exploring. I guess it depends what interests you but there are those doors and interesting shops.
You have watch though that you keep out of the way of motorbikes!

It is always interesting to visit local markets and it is amazing to see the quality of the produce in most places. Zanzibar is one of the spice islands, so there are those smells.






I never got over the romance of those dhows. These days you are able to tour on them.

A sunset from Stonetown. The beach front at Stonetown is most interesting in the evening. There are all of those food stall and very good food it is.
One evening we witnessed a big thunderstorm over the mainland. It went on for maybe twenty minutes and was one of those spectacles you rarely see.

The road leaving Dar es Salaam before it was improved. The improvement meant that many houses had to be demolished and most were actually long time squatters with few rights. They had nowhere to go - the march of progress eh.

This old road was potholed and slow going which make one appreciate good infrastructure.