Things to do in Dar

Being in the city means that there’s plenty to do here. Where I live is good for shopping as there are lots of (mostly tiny) shops / wooden stalls.  Sometimes the sellers lay their goods out on a cloth on the ground, or, in the case of clothes, hang them from the trees.

There are also some supermarkets, the larger ones being not unlike those in the UK, and with a fairly wide selection, including some goods imported from Europe (although these tend to be pretty expensive). If you go into a shop already carrying a plastic bag of shopping, you usually have to leave it at the front of the shop and collect it again when you’re finished. There are some small shopping centres too, particularly in the parts of the city where most of the expats live, and a larger one towards the outskirts of the city with a few huge stores.

There are even a couple of gyms nearby which have things like yoga and aerobics classes. I wasn’t expecting to have any use for a gym kit here, and so I’ve ended up wearing a pair of walking shoes, my oldest t-shirt and a pair of borrowed shorts at the gym (and looking like a twit). Exercising in these temperatures can be hard going (although apparently doing yoga in intense heat is the latest craze).

There are quite a few cafes, restaurants, bars (including an ‘Irish’ pub and ‘English’ pub) and nightclubs, and some places have live music.  One time, when a band was playing (with the audience sitting on the floor in front of them), two women suddenly leapt up from the crowd and started dancing in front of the band. More people joined them and they all seemed really good at it. The dancing involved high-speed hip movements and it looked like there was some kind of dance-off going on. By the end of the night the stage area was full of people dancing.

Ngorongoro

We leave the Serengeti and pass by the Oldupai Gorge, where the fossilised remains of some of the earliest forms of humans have been found.

That night, we camp on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, a huge crater left by the collapse of a volcano, and now covered in grassland, woods and lakes, and full of wildlife.

As darkness falls, some zebras wander through the camp site.

We get up early next morning to descend into the crater, and it’s freezing! My packing list for Africa should have included a woolly hat.

As well as many of the animals we saw on the Serengeti, we also see a huge flock of flamingos, lined up as if in a chorus, and buffalo, and jackals. And even, from a distance, a rhino.

Later, as we all head off again, I feel really glad I went on this trip. It’s definitely been the highlight of my stay here.

Sunrise over the Serengeti

In the early morning, the Serengeti sky is a very light blue, and the grass is a pale yellow-green, as if the colours are only just beginning to seep into the day. The grassland stretches out around us, punctuated by trees and bushes, and framed by mountains. The air is cool and fresh and the early morning feels peaceful.

At first sight the landscape seems empty but before long we see elephants, some ambling alone, others in herds.

Again we spot hyenas, snouts in a carcass.

And a troop of curious baboons, including babies.

Herds of antelopes, gazelles and zebras (possibly my favourite) graze all around, while giraffes browse among the trees.

A warthog family bustles through the long grass, looking officious, tails sticking up like antenna.

Hippos lie in their muddy baths.

We also see herons, roller birds and eagles.

And plenty of lions, skulking in the grass, or snoozing in trees. A couple of lions lie lazily in the sunshine, stretched out on their backs, while beside them lies what looks like a black and white striped rug.

Then we head to see part of the Great Migration – an enormous herd of wildebeest, mingled with zebras, gazelles and others. The migrating herd follows the rains (which bring fresh pasture) and in a few months’ time will tramp north to Kenya once the Serengeti’s grass is exhausted.

Later we see some wildebeest graze beneath a tree, seemingly completely unaware that just above their heads, a leopard waits on a tree branch.

As we leave the vast Serengeti plains, we all feel incredibly lucky to have seen so much.