TAZARA Express

Tanzania is unique in the sense that they actually have a functioning passenger rail network. Most other countries have allowed their rail network fall into a sorry state of disrepair. Our guide book recommended taking the Tanzanian and Zambian Rail Authority (TAZARA) Express train from Dar Es Salaam toward Malawi. The train journey is unique in that it travels directly through one of the many national parks in Tanzania. In theory you are able to view animals from the comfort of your cabin. However, when the train is delayed by 2 hours leaving Dar Es Salaam because it's discovered the brakes don't work, viewing animals in the dark isn't possible. Apart from this slight hiccup at the beginning the journey was very interesting.
Due to regulations men and women aren't allowed in the same cabins, read into this what you will. So Leighanne and I were separated for almost 24hrs, the longest we have been apart since we left. Sad I know, but it didn't feel right. Luckily for me, all the men in my cabin could speak English so my journey was quite informative. Unlucky for Leighanne, she was the only English speaker in her cabin so spent a portion or her time engaged in exaggerated hand signals.
The real character of the trip only occured when darkness decended. The cabins hold 6 people, stacked sardine style. Sleeping was a challenge at the best of times due to constant chatter and pumping African music coming from nearby cabins. However, the real problem was that at every stop, regardless of the time, everybody would wake up and open the windows and commence with loud negotiations with any and everybody on the station platform. Wanting to include you in the festivities, you were duly woken up as well.
After a long night and a good portion of the next day we rumbled into Mbeya station close to the Malawian border and made a dash for the nearest hotel with the hope of seeing England play. After finding a bar/shack that was showing the game we settled down for a few beers. Unfortunately, blackouts plague this part of Africa and at the crucial moment the lights went out. Didn't need to see the rest, everyone knows the result. Next day was the border crossing and trip down to the crystal clear waters of Lake Malawi.

Zanzibar

What a cool place, you would be forgiven for thinking it only existed in pirate novels. Good news for everyone though, it is very real and as interesting as would be expected. We caught the 'slow boat' over from the mainland, which turned out to be far more enjoyable then the 'fast boat' on the way back. This is primarily due to Leighannes new sea sickness affliction. First port of call was the ancient Stone Town, former seat of all the numerous powers that at one stage over the last 600 years ruled Zanzibar. The imperial palace, original British consulate, and Sultan or Oman resident are still standing and magnificent. Stone Town also has the best seafood market around. At dusk all the fisherman set up tables in the park and sell their catches to tourist and locals alike. Both nights we feasted on lobster, kingfish, tuna, shark, prawns, etc... all for about $5. There is nothing quite like a great meal that is really cheap as well.
Zanzibar, being a 'Spice Island' we ventured out the next day on a spice tour. Somewhat unsure of what to expect it turned out to be one of our best days. The island is full of every kind of fruit, herb, spice you could think of and some you've never heard off. Who knew that pepper grows on big trees and starts out green. Also, cloves eaten straight from the tree are incredible strong and would make really good beer food. We tasted almost everything including cinnamon bark, star fruit, sour soap, mango, papaya, watermelon, and many more. Overall the tour was very interesting and fulfilling. The day was topped off by a dip in some incredible turquoise waters.
After Stone Town we made our way over to the east coast to relax on the talcum powder sand. The sand is so white it hurts your eyes, in full sun it is impossible to walk down the beach without sunglasses. We spent 4 days sitting on the beach and eating lots and lots of cheap seafood.
Zanzibar was our last stop in Tanzania before catching the train to Malawi.