Tanzania...

Bordered by Kenya and Uganda, Tanzania is one of the East Africa countries which boasts majestic tourist attractions such as Zanzibar, the stunning Serengeti National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, Lake Victoria to name a few.

For our journey to this beautiful country, we began in Dar-es-Salaam.  “Dar” as it is known by the locals, is Tanzania’s richest and largest city.  Surprisingly quite a modern and busy city, Dar was a great place to shop especially for Tanzanites :) A rare stone, which is graded by the 5 C’s i.e. Colour, Clarity, Cut, Carat, Confidence (Certificate). 

We headed down to the slipway with some of our Tanzanian friends to begin exploring and later enjoyed a lovely seafood dinner.   Our meal was tasty and the vibe was very much relaxing.  The Tanzanian people are such lovely people, whose mother tongue is “Swahili”.  Swahili is the national language or official language spoken across Kenya and Congo as well.   When we travel to a country, we love to have the local experience of exploring the local cuisine and visiting places the locals would frequent. 

Tanzania boasts a number of world class beaches.  White crispy sandy shores, complimented with stunning blue waters.  Beautiful palm trees add to the greenery, whilst gorgeous weather conditions makes this country a perfect honeymoon destination. 

Zanzibar, which is famous for being the spice island of Africa as well as Nungwi are the perfect places to visit for a romantic and relaxing break.

Travelling south west of Tanzania, we headed down to the city of Mbeya.  Mbeya is situated through a narrow highland valley and a range of mountains.  Back in the 1920’s Mbeya was founded as one of the gold mining towns of Tanzania. 

On route, there are many ‘pit stops’ where local busses, trucks and local travelers stop for refreshments and lunch.  We weren’t hungry so we chose to stop never the less to have a look and top up on bottled water and continue with our journey.  Apart from the pit stops along the route, are small entrepreneurs trading as manual distribution centres for the locals where one can purchase necessity items such as milk, stout, fruit and veg, etc.

Driving through was quite an experience as at times, with eyes peeled on the road and silent prayers… we arrived safely at our hotel after a grueling 14 hours on the road.  Road cowboys are in abundance in Tanzania with trucks chancing overtaking other trucks on blind bends to wild life grazing on the side of the mountainous roads.

We checked in at the Utengule Coffee plantation which was a fantastic lodge on a coffee estate.  Upon arrival, we were treated to the best gourmet (in our opinion) Arabica coffee which was a product of the estate.  The accommodation was basic but offers all amenities that one requires.  Set on the slopes of the mighty Tanzanian mountains, it is truly an oasis of calmness.  We were fortunate to have fantastic weather throughout the trip and bear witness to the absolutely stunning Tanzanian sunset.

Tanzania is definitely a country worth visiting and we hope to return again in the future to explore Zanzibar and the other beautiful beach resorts of this diverse country.