Conquering Kilimanjaro!

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & construction
WRITTEN BY: Sybilla Galvin

Jambo Rafikis,

I write this blog from a completely unique environment (and new country) to where our group has become so accustomed to living in in the past 2.5 months. Tsavo has been home to us for the past couple of weeks and we will be here until returning home or traveling onwards in only a few days time. Our conversations this week have centered around our best memories at camp and the things we are most looking forward to coming home to. Most popular include munching on tacos and slurping chocolate milkshakes, seeing if our dogs remember us and not having to sleep tangled in a fly net.

First and foremost though- Mount Kilimanjaro. Literally the biggest achievement of my life: 5895m of achievement- to be exact! On the Monday, Lauren, Rozi, Beardo, Ella, Rory and myself said a gut-wrenching goodbye to our Mwambani family. We knew it would be hard to bid farewell to the local boys, the Indian Ocean and the amazing staff at the camp but it was almost incomprehensible to the seven of us exactly how hard it would be to not return in the foreseeable future. I am 100% positive that myself and the others in the group plan to return to Mwambani village at the next given opportunity.

I don't have enough time to give a break down of the seven-day trek to the summit, but I can say in short that we all made it. (Hurrah for no awkward side note!)

Summit night was without a doubt the toughest challenge. Trying to hold our cold, underprepared bodies together, we each mustered the strength we had to keep team moral high. I have to admit I spent 75% of the 12km hike alternating between silent and bursting tears. We each had a very different experience that night. 2 hours into the trek Lauren began throwing up. Determined to reach the top, she took a much slower pace and was accompanied by our angel of a guide Robinson who stayed beside her through all 8 vomits to the peak and back. 3 hours into the trek Ella was vomiting, Beardo's fingers had reached a piercing level of cold and Rozi's mental breakdown had her more than ready to accompany anyone back to base camp.

We were told by one of our guides before leaving that night that long breaks would be our demise, and by this rest stop I could well and truly feel myself coming undone. Our third guide Nestory- the cheeriest, funny and cold-resistant guide- stayed with me as I fell behind due to my low level of energy and the intense cramps I felt all over my body. Nestory carried me part of the way up and I know if it weren't for him I would not have made it all 5895 meters. At 5.30am, Annabelle, Rory, Ella, Rozi and Beardo had reached the summit. Due to the cold the group only spent enough time for a couple photos at the summit. At 6.10am (perfectly timed without even knowing) I reached the summit in tears and watched the sun rise above the clouds by myself- the most spectacular and well-worthy view of my existence. 10 minutes later Lauren and I crossed paths and instantly all our emotions welled out into a heartfelt embrace. I could not be more proud of my fellow mountaineers (its official) for getting to the top and for being the most amazing bunch of people to do something so difficult and life changing with.

Tuesday morning was similarly emotional and relieving as we were the first group of the day to get to the bottom. Showering was magical, heat was wonderful and sleeping in a real bed was too good to be true. In the late afternoon the rest of the group (Sarah, Hannah, Matt, Calvin, Elles, Toby and Laura) and leader Eliphas met us at our hotel where we shared our stories of what had happened on the mountain and at our old home. We went out for dinner that night, where I had two main meals and fell asleep at the table.

The next morning we all got in our much-loved bus and crossed the boarder into Kenya where we are to spend the remainder of our trip. We are the first official group to stay in this new camp- erected in March of this year. The camp in many ways is similar to the one in Tanzania, with the two main differences being the spectacular change of landscape (Indian Ocean to vast flat plains) and our two-man mattress on floor tents.

Our itinerary here is very different from the continuous work on the house in Mwambani village, Tanzania (which I failed to mention earlier was completed by half the group while we were climbing Kili). In the short time we have participated in a variety of activities based mostly around construction and animal conservation. We have finished building a long drop toilet for the local primary school, made elephant determent fences with oil and chili, dug a trench in a wildlife sanctuary, made 'elephant dung' paper and spent time with local women's group making bracelets and leaning about what they do in the community.

Leaving Africa is going to be a very bittersweet experience, and we won't forget the incredible memories we've had here anytime soon.

Xo Sybilla

A Zanzibari trip for Tanzania Gappers

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & construction
WRITTEN BY: Sybilla Galvin

Jambo Rafikis!

The past few weeks have been an absolute high for the whole group. Last Friday morning we embarked on our long journey to Zanzibar. The day began at 4:45am to get a taxi to the bus station. The bus trip to Dar took a mere 8 hours, which we followed up with yet another taxi ride and a quick 1-hour ferry trip. From the moment we arrived in Zanzibar we were in love. We finally got to have some of the things we had been really craving since leaving home including bacon, burgers and mojitos alike. We stayed one night in Stone Town then retreated north to Nungui beach where our bungalow was situated right on the water. We had plenty of time to relax in the sun, haggle for beautiful Masai paintings and have cocktails on rooftop bars as the sun set right before us.

On Monday 8 of us chose to go scuba diving. Before reaching our first dive site the captain of the boat spotted a pod of dolphins and everyone on board jumped in with fins and masks to swim around with them! It truly was a magnificent site to see them at an arms length in the wild. We dived with turtles, octopi, stingrays and huge variety of fish, not to mention the colourful coral. Rozi, Lauren, Rory and myself were the only ones who stayed on for a second dive, of which we loved every minute. For Sarah's birthday we returned to Stone Town in the evening to go to our favourite restaurant. The next day was extremely sad as we said goodbye to the Zanzibar sun and boarded our 12-person plane back to Tanga (with Rory in the co-pilot seat).

On Thursday we farewelled our beloved Paryz and on Friday Eliphas returned with 3 new additions to the group- Matt from Newcastle, Calvin from Canada and Elise from Holland. Our group is constantly changing but it's amazing how at home we all still manage to feel with everyone staying here. Friday (being Lauren's birthday) was a very different day from our norm. Instead of working on our mud house we spent the morning at the mamas' house cooking chapatti and vichetti (delicious little doughnut type things), and the afternoon weaving reads- used for bags, mats, hats and the like with the mammas and curious villagers. For Lauren, we organised to have a dance crew from a nearby village come and entertain us for the evening. Their performance varied from traditional Tanzanian dances, to hip-hop and an unusual Halloween style act at the end (too bizarre to explain…)

Work on the mud house is coming to a close for all of us planning to climb Kilimanjaro this Tuesday (eek!). The six staying behind will- fingers crossed- finish the house while we are on hiking, then meet us in Moshi before heading to Kenya for our last leg of the trip. As I am writing this it is starting to sink in that my stay here in Camp Tanzania is coming to a quick end. I am going to miss the local people and this place an unbelievable amount.

Next time you hear from us we will have conquered the tallest freestanding mountain in the world! Wish us luck!

Kwaheri!

Xo Sybilla

Project work continues as Kilimanjaro draws closer

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & construction
WRITTEN BY: Sybilla Galvin

Jambo mambo?! (Hi how are you?!)

Life in Tanga these days is moving very smoothly and very fast-we can't believe it's been more than a month since we arrived. This week saw our first actual bout of rain, which on most days began early in the morning and cleared by the time we arrived at work.

After handing over our first house we immediately began work on a new piece of land. We started on Monday, using machetes and an axe to cut down trees, shrubs and anything that covered the new land. By Wednesday morning we were ready to begin digging holes for the foundations, only to find out that we had cleared the wrong land and had to begin again from scratch. Luckily for us, a handful of generous locals offered their hands and muscle to help us get to the same stage. As of now, we have completed tying together the foundations with string and are using the mud we dug up last week to make the walls.

The current group obsession is the vibrant, patterned material sold at the town market, which we have enough of to now start our own shop. A local tailor woman has already done 3 trips to visit us, (expecting our latest orders back this weekend!) making various items for us with our purchased goods. The stack of materials we handed over this week was too heavy for her to carry out.

The pressure is now on for the team to finish the house before we head off to climb Killi and go to Kenya! We have been staying an extra half hour in the morning and almost an extra hour in the afternoons to get the job done in time. We definitely don't want to leave without finishing as this will mean the house remains unused until camps reopens in Jan. This added work has got our heads hitting our pillows before 9:30 most nights!

Xo Sybilla

Finishing the mud house, a trip to the sandbank and 4 important lessons

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & construction
WRITTEN BY: Sybilla Galvin

The past two weeks have been so busy for us here at Camp Tanzania! We've had our first African clubbing experience, handed over our finished house, been sea-weeding with the local mummas and said goodbye to a couple of team members (down to 12 at the moment and will be 10 by Wednesday). We are loving every minute of our placement and sometimes have to remind ourselves that being here is real.

The Friday just past was a rewarding and humbling day for everyone involved in the construction of our mud house. Although we weren't the ones to start the project, we are filled with a great sense of achievement that we were the ones to finish it. Sticking to our goal, we managed to get our mudding, paving, flooring and painting complete within three weeks. The bulk of our time was spent paving the walls, which everyone had an equal part in doing. While Lauren, Ella, Sarah B and myself stayed to make the floors level with mud and string, the rest of the crew began working on a toilet block for a member of the village who recently became paraplegic in a soccer incident (work on the structure will still be underway this week).

By midweek most of the team were back in our mud house coating the walls with lime. On Friday we were handed buckets of bright coloured paints & brushes and were granted creative liberty for the day. Eliphas, our leader, was quite keen on the idea of flowers, so that's the theme we went with and I must say I'm pretty stoked with the result. At the end of the day we met the family who would be moving into our house- their gratitude and loss for words made it all worth the effort, and that alone has made me all the more excited to get started on our next project.

One day this week, we put work at the mud house aside to give a hand at seaweed harvesting with one of the local mummas, which turned out to be a really interesting process. The seaweed is sold and used here in the village as a source of protein for children (made into a powder and added to meals). We spent the morning in the water breaking off small branches of weed and tying them to a long row of strings, which we fastened into the mud in neat rows with stakes. The afternoon was not what anyone would describe as riveting work. We sat in the shade around the biggest tangle of smelly, rotten strings I'd ever seen and attempted to free each line. Our efforts looked pretty dismal but I suppose it was one less thing the mummas had to worry about.

This past Saturday was a great day for everyone as we planned a well-deserved excursion to the 'sandbank' for Hannah's birthday, travelling by bus and boat. In not what I would describe as the most seaworthy vessel, we departed from Tanga town (into quite calm waters- to the relief of the few motion sickness prone passengers on-board). The first stop was a kilometre or so away from the sandbank shore, where we stayed for an hour for a spot of snorkelling- there really wasn't too much to see beside a school of fish and 2 or so starfish but in all it was a lot of fun for those of us who did go in. The sandbank was exactly what comes to mind when one mentions a deserted island; the sand was white and the water a brilliant blue. We couldn't believe how beautiful and secluded it was, not to mention how refreshing a proper swim was.

We were supplied with a packed lunch of chapati, salad and food things of an unknown variety. By 3:30pm the island was beginning to disappear so we packed up and headed back to camp, all feeling a little sun kissed (some much much more than others) and exhausted from being in the sun all day. In the evening we got into embarrassingly matching NFL jerseys (purchased from the markets) and got a maxicab to a club in Tanga, which I'm really not sure how to describe in text. I'll leave the description at… different.

3 weeks has been enough to learn some valuable lessons when it comes to life here. These 4, however, seem to resonate with everyone in the group the most:

Lesson 1: never ask what you're eating
Lesson 2: don't expect anything to happen on time- if the taxi is booked for 9, don't bother getting ready until 9:15
Lesson 3: vague answers are about as good as it gets- don't expect a full explanation of what exactly it is you will be doing in advance of it actually happening; 1 minute crash courses are given for each new trade when we get to site.
Lesson 4: do NOT leave the zip of the tent open (even the slightest) at night as it makes guests including the camp dog, frogs and lizards feel welcome.

On a final note, we heard word this week from Bronwyn and Nathan (the Melbourne couple who were at camp with us for 2 weeks) about their Kilimanjaro success. The lack of training they did in the lead up has made us all feel ready and led me to believe that we will make it- no sweat.

Sybilla x

Project work begins for Tanzania Gappers

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & construction
WRITTEN BY: Sybilla Galvin

Jambo!

This week has been what I would describe as completely out of the ordinary for every one of us. Half of us were farewelled by our family from home, while the rest of us said our goodbyes to the countries we had previously been travelling in. Lauren and myself boarded in London and- meeting Annabelle in Doha- were the first arrivals of the day in Tanzania. I expected to step off the plane and into extreme heat but instead donned my jacket as it was cold and drizzly. At the airport we were greeted by Ella, Paris and Hannah and together experienced some confusion as to who was picking us up, as the man (now known as our wise, hilarious, booty-shaking leader Eliphas) didn't seem too certain that we were the Caucasian teenagers he was looking for-until he finally produced a list of our names and everyone was at ease.

Our first experience of Tanzania began with some friendly men helping load our bags into the bus. Well, they seemed friendly, until they demanded 10 US from each of us, to which Lauren quickly handed over a 20 for the two of us (which they all swooped on). Only when we were on the bus did we realise and laugh at how much we had just given (this soon became a bit of a running joke at Lauren's expense- but we all learned something from it). The drive from the airport to Moshi took an hour, where we met Rozi and Rory and other volunteers who will be with us for different periods. In total we are 14 made up of 10 Aussies, 2 Poms, a Scot and a Dutchman.

We arrived at Camp Tanzania (after 7.5 hours) in Mwambani village a day later and were greeted by the smooth sound of Bob Marley, a panoramic view of the ocean and 7 British uni students here on a sports aid program. We only had 4 days together but that was enough time for them to show us the ropes and most importantly the way to the nearest pizzeria!

To our great fortune the house we are working on is only a 2.5 minute walk away from the gates of camp. What began as a bare mud house (started by the last group of volunteers) has become- in 5 days- a plaster house and in the next 2 weeks we hope to have made it into a painted, fully functioning home. I think the whole team was slightly taken aback by the sheer scale and effort required by each single task handed to us, not to mention the direct heat we have been subjected to most days.

Monday morning saw us digging clay out of a pit 10 minutes away and transporting it in sacks to the mud house. This work was so demanding and extremely tiring due to the lack of shade and 30+ degree heat. By the afternoon we were onto mudding. This consisted of us removing our shoes and squelching together the morning's collection of mud with water. The fun part came next- tossing the mud at the walls and eventually at each other. We returned to camp in the afternoon, skin hardened by mud and spirits high, keen to continue the next day.

By Thursday morning we were back to the pit but instead were digging around the surface to collect sand for plastering. I think many of us who are uncertain of our choice of uni course may turn to plastering as we have, as a group, become quite apt.

Every morning I wake up to the sound of the ocean. A run on the beach or on the soccer field across the road seems the perfect way to adjust my body to the cold shower- something I perhaps should have tried at home, but am slowly getting used to. To the dismay of some, every breakfast, lunch and dinner so far has consisted of carbs, carbs and carbs. It can get a little repetitive but at least it's good.

Earlier in the week we drove into town to hit up the western convenience type supermarket for other essentials including peanut butter, nutella, vegemite (yes, they have vegemite!) and some Tanzanian cider called 'Savannah'.

Thanks for reading!

Sybilla x

Tanzania Gappers complete project work in record time

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & construction
WRITTEN BY: Madi McAllister

Jambo!

This will probably be the hardest blog I’ve had to write, after the best three months of our lives it has come to an end, but for some it’s not goodbye – it’s see you later.

The main project – the toilet block, was scheduled to be a 5 month project, and was supposed to be finished in October… but with all the hard work we put into over the past two and a half months, we were definitely not letting another group finish our work! We were working full steam ahead on the toilet block to get it done. In the final two weeks we have: built doors and door frames, made two "L" shape walls around the doors, laid hundreds of bricks and plastered absolutely everything! We built the structure of the roof and the Fondis (tradesmen) put it all up and put tin sheets on the roof. In our final three days of project work, we were pushing ahead- exhausted, and some sick- to get it done. We spent three full days of painting, starting with a few coats of lime undercoat, then the yellow top half and the bottom blue half. In the final few hours we painted black all around the bottom as a border and we added all of our handprints and the names of everyone who contributed to the building. We could not have been any prouder or happier with completing our project ahead of schedule and showing the school, village and our project workers that with determination, hard work and a focus of finishing it can be done!

There was another group who was also working on a mud house for a Mama in the village next to the school; this project began during our second month and they already finished! The mud house consisted of building the mud walls, painting and putting down a concrete floor. The mud house group put money together and brought her a bed and mattress with a mosquito net and a few items for cooking. It was another incredible moment that touched everyone's heart. The Mama was incredibly grateful of the work put in to her house, and was so thankful she now not just had a bed, but a mosquito net too. We've learnt that even the smallest gifts can truly make an impact on someone’s life.

With all our projects done and dusted and only a few days left in Tanga and Mwambani village, we held an assembly at Mwahako primary school to hand over all our completed projects. The included the classroom repainting and replastering, the verandas, two new taps, re-built desks, the toilet block and 728 books we donated after raising enough money! The head teacher made a lovely and touching speech in Swahili, translated into English by our project leader Eliphas. The village, teachers, school board, students and families were so grateful for our hard work and what we have done for them. They say “You haven’t lived a day until you do something for someone who can never repay you” and I’m pretty sure we all walked away feeling this way. We celebrated by getting tuk-tuks home on our last day, which we have been waiting to do the whole time, and it was a crazy and fun experience enjoyed by everyone!

After all of our work, we spent two days at the beautiful Peponi Beach resort, while we all got to relax by the pool and beach and reflect on the past months we have spent in Tanzania. Our last weekend consisted of our last trip into town, last football match against the locals (like every other game… we lost), last outing to the club 'La Vida Loca' and our last play with all the kids in the village whilst all the girls got their hair braided and henna tattoos for the trip home by the Mama. Saying goodbye was not easy for anyone and many tears were shed- even by the people we least expected it from.

We spent our last day in Moshi on a Safari at Tarangire National Park, where we got to drive around for hours in our opened roof, Jeep type of cars in the hot sun. We saw so many animals, including lots of elephants (like the one above!), zebras and giraffes, which were so amazing.

Now we are all safely back in Australia, Tanga and Mwambani village hold a special spot in our hearts. If it weren't for the friends we made, our project workers, chefs, camp leaders, our camp 'mum' and 'dad', the people in the village and everyone’s welcoming smiles and laughs, we wouldn’t have had such an incredible time. Some of us definitely plan to return there one day.

Thankyou to everyone and my fellow Aussies who I got to share the trip with – it wouldn’t have been the same without any of you. Goodbye for now, and I’ll see you all soon!

Love
Madi

Elephant dung, Maasai dancing and snorkelling: Tanzania update

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & construction
WRITTEN BY: Maddi McAllister


Jambo Rafiki!
(Hello friend)

I have no idea where to begin- the weeks are just flying by and so much has been happening!

19 of us spent 5 days away an Ndarakwai camp, which is set out in the middle of a national park. We got to participate in wildlife conservation activities such as making paper out of elephant dung (gross), Mexican poppy clearing, waterhole maintenance and making animals out of snare wires! We also went to visit a Maasai village where we were greeted with many friendly faces. Each of us were picked by a Maasai and taken into their home where we got to make a bracket and a necklace with them. They also sung some songs and danced around for us, with some of the boys joining in too!

The most incredible part of it all was waking up everyday to some of the most amazing animals such as elephants, zebras, giraffes, warthogs, elands, wildebeest and more. Watching the zebras drink from the waterhole we were working on was a great sight.

We have made so much progress on the toilet block! We have started to build the walls and in just under 2 weeks we have made the walls 9 layers high and began making a wall in front of the cubicles. For about a week we only had 1 spirit level and between 8 people laying bricks it was taking quite a while. When one of the camp ladies surprised us one morning with 3 new spirit levels, excitement levels were through the roof! With only a few weeks to go our main focus is the toilet block because we definitely want to see it finished before we leave.

A group of us also treated ourselves to a snorkelling trip; we got to see some cool fish and coral, as well as some massive sea urchins at the bottom! When we went out a bit further we found an island sand bank in the middle of nowhere, which was pretty cool too.

Saying goodbye to our 'two-month' friends was the hardest part; it was such a teary farewell! Nick made a lovely speech to ensure that anyone who wasn't already crying was now. The 11 of us, as well as our camp parents Gladice and Eliphas, went out that night to celebrate Nick's 19th birthday. The Tanga beach resort was a beautiful location and a great way to say goodbye to some wonderful people.

Hard works pays off for Tanzania Gappers

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & construction
WRITTEN BY: Maddi McAllister

Jambo!

Since I have last written we have had a jam-packed few weeks! Here at Camps international they have a pretty big summer! Unfortunately due to issues in Kenya, no camps are currently running so they are sending them to the next best place, Tanga! Luckily for us we got to extend our family to about 45 of us, meaning we had to move camps due to so many people. We all settled into our new camp quickly and celebrated Eilish's 19th birthday. We got her a cake and delivered it with all the kitchen staff and camp leaders banging pots and pans singing songs in Swahili!

To welcome in the new members of our group we may have played a few pranks (initiated by our camp leaders). Firstly, we told them that we did a prayer before dinner and because there were so many people all our dinners would go cold because we had to wait for everyone to pray. Our favourite prank was 'the swimming test', where we made the newbies swim about 20 metres in less than knee deep water- needless to say they all looked ridiculous! But we all got a great laugh out of it.

We are all working at the school now; we successfully finished our first project of renovating the classroom. We re-did the floor, plastered the walls and painted them. And it looks amazing! The most incredible moment was when the kids returned from summer break and they came into the classroom and were ecstatic to see their new desks. It was a pleasure to watch.

The toilet block is still in progress, we have laid the 'drop hole' with brick walls and a structure and we have recently started cementing the floors. The floors will be a bit of work but afterwards we'll have to put the toilet holes in and build the walls and roof! We have also built verandas in front of the two buildings to prevent water running underneath the classrooms when it rains and deteriorating the under layers of the floors.

There is also a group working on the four old toilets they had at the school; we tore down the old walls, rebuilt and plastered them, and the next job is to repaint the block. It has been really hard work, especially when we have to mix cement by hand and use tiny bits of sand paper to smooth the walls but when we see the progress and results all the sweat, blood and blisters are worth it!

Last week we got to experience Marine conservation. Using flip flops that have been collected from the beach and ocean we got to make bracelets with fish, turtles or balls! It was a very unique experience that we all enjoyed. The 15 of us also went on a safari to Saadani National Park! It was a two-day safari and we got to see giraffes, elephants, lions, hippos and crocodiles! It was such an amazing experience and it made us feel like we were really in Africa after getting to see some of the Big 5!

Until next time!
Madi, Eilish, Ben, Imogen, Nick, Emily and Leon x

Visit to Zanzibar for Antips Tanzania volunteers

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & conservation
WRITTEN BY: Tanzania Gappers 2014

Jambo! Habari?

We have had a very busy few weeks since I last wrote! We unfortunately had to say goodbye to two of our new friends Bryony and Jen who were going back home! We had a going away campfire, where we roasted several bags of marshmallows! But fortunately we were greeted with a new friend Victoria from the UK.

Work wise, we got to spend a day with the Mamas Seaweed farming which was different and very fun! We split up into two groups and all together we made 67 lines to grow seaweed, which in two months time when they are harvested will provide an income for them and their families!

We are still very busy working at the school concreting the foundation for the classroom in only 3 days! We are just over half way in finishing the final concrete layer which has taken 2 days so far and only about 2 to go. Then we can begin painting. The hole for the toilet block is at 7 1/2 foot we have cemented a border around the bottom of the hole and have began to lay bricks. It's tough work mixing the cement as we don't have machines for it, just shovels and hard labour but it does make it more rewarding.

Everyday we also walk to and from school which is about 3 kilometres each way! We have also began a competition to see who can run home the fastest!

16 of us had a "holiday" to Zanzibar Island for 5 days! After a long and complicated trip to get their we finally arrived! We were greeted by our tour guide Abdill, who took us to our hotel. On the Saturday, we started nice and early with a tour in Stone Town with Abdill. He took us to the Zanzibar spice market, we got to see, smell and taste a variety of fruits, herbs and spices! Us girls and Simon (UK) were a fan of the lip stick fruit, which was a lovely red lipstick a perfect colour shade for us!

We visited the Slave chambers in Stone town before heading to the markets! Saturday night we had dinner at a lovely new restaurant overlooking the beach. Sunday morning we were up and out by 6am to travel down South to swim with the dolphins! All 16 of us went but due to some severe sea sickness (maybe hungover) some of us didn't quite make it into the water to swim with them, but those who did swim with them had an absolutely amazing time! After lunch we were back on the road going up to the north of Zanzibar we stayed 2 nights in a lovely hotel right on the beach! Was very relaxing after a few tough weeks of work! We also decided to spoil ourselves with a massage and Henna tattoos!

On one of our trips into Tanga town involved us riding in on the safari truck, because the bus was in Kenya. People stare at us enough because we are Mzungus (White people) and you can only imagine how much more they were staring!

Until next time!
Madi, Eilish, Ben, Imogen, Nick, Leon & Emily xxx

That's a wrap! First week in Tanzania includes lots of hard work, football and laughs

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & conservation
WRITTEN BY: Tanzania Gappers 2014

Jambo from Tanzania!! Habari gani? (How are you?)

After 28 hours of travel we arrived at the Keys Hotel in Moshi which is where we spent our first night! When we arrived we met 13 people from around Europe who would be joining us for the next 2/3 months and greeted by Eliphas, our group leader!

On our second day we had a 8 hour bus trip to our camp in Tanga! The bus ride went pretty fast. During the journey we were stopped on the road due to road works and then bombarded by the locals who were trying to sell us oranges, drinks, and other fruits through the windows. One of our new friends Jonny tried to trade Eilish and I for a bag of oranges!

When we arrived at our camp we were greeted by our lovely camp manager Eustace. Our new home away from home is overlooking the beach, which is very relaxing! We are fortunate to have flushing toilets, but we have cold showers, which is (sometimes) very nice after working in the sun all day!

We have 3 lovely cooks who provide us with breakfast, lunch and dinner! We eat a lot of carbohydrates to provide us with a lot of energy! We eat rice/pasta/potatoes and lots of veggies (getting our 5 a day!) and different types of meats.

Friday to Sunday was orientation around the camp, town and village! We made a visit to the school we will be working at and was greeted with plenty of smiles and children who loved posing for photos! We had a tour around Tanga town, where we went grocery shopping and brought lots of snacks and chocolate. Sunday we had a relaxing day and had a tour around the village and the beaches.

Everyone was up early Monday and excited for our first day of working at the school. The school we are working at has 792 students and 16 teachers and 10 classrooms! The smallest class has around 50 students and some have up to 120 students. The most shocking part to us all I think, is that there is only 4 toilets for all the students to use! And the older kids are unable to use the toilets and have to go into the villages. The 16 teachers (male and female) also share one toilet.

We have begun 3 projects at the school; building a new toilet block, re-flooring a classroom and repairing desks. We spilt into 3 groups to get it done as fast as we could. Our first week of work was tiring, hot, sweaty and dirty! We all worked so hard as a team and put in a wonderful effort and surprised our leaders at how fast we can work, or maybe the just had lower expectations for us! In our first week we made around 30 desks, tore up the concrete and laid the foundation for the new cement and dug 7foot deep in a 10x20foot hole for the toilet block! Friday afternoon we finished a bit earlier as reward for our hard efforts and being so far ahead!

We also have 2 Swahili lessons a week and we are learning pretty fast! We try to impress the locals with our attempt to talk to them.

For those who are a fan of football(soccer) there was an opportunity for them to go into the village and watch the World Cup! In the village they had a small tube TV which was brought out on to the front porch and everyone from around the villages would come over and just sit around outside and watch it!

We got to experience the Tanzanian nightlife. We went to a place with a live band and lots of people who very friendly there was lots of dancing and maybe a drink or two! We didn't get home until after 3! (Only because the football was on at 1am)

Kwaheri! (Goodbye)
Lots of love, Madi, Eilish, Imogen, Emily, Ben, Leon and Nick!

Nowhere we'd rather be. Our last Tanzania Gappers for 2013.

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & conservation
WRITTEN BY: Tanzania Group 2013

Currently we have the last group of Tanzania gappers for 2013 and although they have only been with us a few weeks, they already feel at home in Mwambani village, Tanga. They have been extremely busy but managed to sit down and update us on whats been going on…

Cant believe we are approaching the end of week two already! We are having an amazing time here in Camp Tanga, and feel that camp is now our home. No doubt we were all really nervous when we first met, but can honestly say that the 9 of us have become such a strong group of friends. When we came to the gates of Camp Tanga we had no idea what to expect, but wandering into a camp with such spectacular sea views and welcoming chill out area far surpassed our expectations. Not to mention the welcoming arms of Eliphas and Anderson, our Project and Camp Managers. The village of Mwambani is full of the happiest and most friendly people you will ever meet. We have loved having a chance to work with some of the locals, interacting with the kids after work, and teaching people of all ages how to speak English. In turn we have been learning Swahili, and been practising our phrases with the locals.

Within the past two weeks we have helped complete the construction of a house in the village for a local family. This involved plastering the walls with a sand and water mix, and then smoothing them, which proved quite a challenge! After this we painted the walls and levelled the floor. It was challenging work for all of us but it was a definite achievement and we are very much looking forward to helping the family move in next week.

We have also had the opportunity to teach the locals English in the afternoons. It soon became apparent that there were many different levels of ability, so we split them into a beginner, intermediate and advanced group. We have made a lot of progress with the beginners, teaching them the basics as well as songs such as Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes which they loved! The intermediates have been building on their vocabulary and spelling, and the advanced have been learning grammar which really challenges us on our knowledge of the English language!

In our free time we have a lot of time to bond as a group, including numerous card games, swims in the sea, and trips over to our next door neighbour’s house. Depending on our energy levels at the end of the day, we sometimes venture into the football field across from camp and play with the kids, generally ending with each one of us on the ground with all the children on top of us! The occasional beer (or two) proves very satisfying after a week’s work and our fabulous chef Donald cooks the most amazing food for us. Adding to the experience are the cold showers and fact we have to manually scrub all the dirt out of our mud soaked clothes, although some chose not to participate in either activity!

This weekend it is both Charlotte and Claire’s birthdays, so we have plans to go to a resort down the coast; on a lovely beach with a swimming pool. We are going on a snorkelling trip to a reef on Saturday, followed by a birthday dinner and plans to relax on Sunday, so we are all really looking forward to that.

So all in all everything is great; while we are missing the comforts of home, there isn’t anywhere else we’d rather be.

Zanzibar, a holiday within a holiday

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & conservation
WRITTEN BY: Abi Gordon

Arriving back in Tanga yesterday evening was both happy and sad. Happy because we were greeted so warmly by the group as well as camp leaders Elphas and Anderson, and sad because we had just left Zanzibar, our holiday within a holiday.

Leaving Tanga for Zanzibar was eventful, when after hauling out bags into the taxi at five in the morning, and driving for just five minutes, we came to a screeching hault. Abi realized she had left her phone behind. After a quick sprint back to camp we were on our way again. 6 hours later we arrived in dar es Salam for our stop over, armed with a few lonely planet books and fanny packs, ready to "stay vigilant and remember our training" - as recommended in a concerned text by one stressed out mother.

We arrived in Stone Town, Zanzibar the next day by ferry, and walked a short distance to our little hotel. There we indulged in free wifi, actual warm showers and napping. In the evening we had dinner at the busy night markets and ate tall stacks of chapati, freshly cooked lobster skewers and bannana Nutella chocolate pancakes.

Then we sat on the pier watching some of the locals dance, until they started counting down and flinging them selves into the water. Full of food, very tired, and having convinced Beth not to jump off the pier, we walked back to the hotel. The next morning we celebrated Larissa's birthday by publicly serinading her at breakfast, and then cake and cocktails in the evening. Shopping however, was the main event of Stone Town. Getting lost in the winding little streets was so much fun, and allowed us to discover the house of spices restaurant ( lots of delicious pizza) and a tiny little coffee house (lots of delicious cakes!).

We perfected our haggling skill too, and always asked for 'rafiki price'. The next day we went on a spice tour just out side of Stone Town. A man climbed all the way up a coconut tree and made us leaf hats, an Sophie earnt her nick name 'pilli queen' after she ate a raw chilli called 'pilli pilli ho ho' - the hottest chilli in east Africa. We then set off for nungwi and arrived just in time for dinner at sunset on the beach.

Our main activity for Nungwi was our boat trip, where we went scuba diving and snorkeling. The ocean was so clear, and we saw dolphins and huge star fish. We all got very awkward wetsuit burns and got home for some hammock time and dinner. The rest of the trip mostly consisted of food sun and sleep, as well as a reggae party in Kendwa rocks. Before heading back to Tanga we had one more night in town, whee everyone fished their last minute shopping. We bought tonnes of clothes, paintings souvenirs and Hannah and Beth bought a hat for mikki, a boy who lives in the village back in Tanga.

In camp, progress has continued on the trust house whilst we were gone, and plastering, windows and door frames have all been finished! The next day however, we had to say goodbye to our British and Dutch friends, for who it was all time to go home. we also had to say good bye to fellow Aussie Hannah, whose presence in the group will be surely missed! Zanzibar was amazing, and a lovely break, but I think it also made us appreciate our little home we've made in Tanga even more.

Living in Tanzania - 1 month into our journey

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & conservation
WRITTEN BY: Hannah, Abi, Larissa, Sophie and Beth

Jambo Jambo from Tanzania! One month down and we are finally back home in Tanga. The last week in Kenya was excellent, including a safari and climbing a mountain... on our supposed 'rest day'.....
The safari which took place in Tsavo East National Park was amazing. We saw plenty and plenty of Temba (elephants), Twigga (giraffes) and Pundamilia (zebras, which left Hannah a very very happy girl!) Our first animal encounter was a massive heard of buffalo, they are quite scary looking creatures! Then we were lucky enough to see two Simba, a lion and his lioness.
The drive in our open safari truck left us all with a beautiful glowing brown tan, we were all very excited until the inch thick layer of dust was washed off and we were pale once more.The next day we all woke bright and early, ready to climb Mt Kasigau.


We were informed it would take two hours to climb up, two hours break and then two hours back down. "You'll be home by 3" they said.. "It's and easy climb" they said... 9 hours later we returned to camp thoroughly exhausted. The actual climb was very steep and slippery, however very enjoyable. the views were beautiful. Coming back down was very eventful. we soon found out the best way to descend was to slide down the mud on our bums. A symphony of screams and laughter echoed around the mountain for 30 minutes.

Leaving Kenya was a sad affair, we had to say goodbye to our 1-monthers and the amazing kitchen staff at Tsavo, everyone was quite on the bus ride that day. However as soon as we reached Tanga and drove through Mwambaini spirits rose. I think everyone has grown so attached to this village we actually refer to it as home. Work has been resumed on the trust house, and it is coming along nicely. The inside and black board has all been plastered and is ready for the second layer and the paint. Plastering outside is taking longer as we are all starting to feel the heat! so everything is very poley poley (slowly slowly) here.

A new group of 11 have just arrived, which will hopefully mean work will be completed faster. They are all so lovely and we are looking forward to the next month together.
Us Aussies have been busy planning a relaxing trip to Zanzibar... Much recruitment! Everyone is Raha Sana ( very happy!! ) and getting along nicely!
We hope everyone back home is well.

Until next time
Love Hannah, Abi, Larissa, Sophie and Beth.

Seaside projects in Tanzania

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & conservation
WRITTEN BY: Sophie Trigger

We have now been in Africa for almost three weeks, and to our surprise, we have found ourselves in Kenya much earlier than expected! After landing in Moshi, our first challenge was to brave the nine hour bus trip on the hot African road - but once we arrived at the beautiful seaside Camp Tanga, we instantly fell in love with our surroundings, as well Camp leaders Eliphas and Anderson. We were also thrilled to meet the twelve other volunteers we are travelling with (nine Brits, two girls from Bahrain and a hilarious Dutchie), and have now all become great friends.

Our first week in Tanzania can be best described as messy - both through the long hot hours of project work (sweeping and plastering out the inner walls of the village trust house), and through our first African clubbing experience on Saturday Night. It was also marked by our first encounters with cold showers, African creepy crawlies (namely the ten inch long centipedes) and of course the gorgeous grinning children of the village.

We felt as though we had only just settled in at Camp Tanga, when it was time to relocate to Kenya, and our new home for the next two weeks, Camp Tsavo. After two days on the bumpy road, endless paperwork for visas, and exchanging of money, we were relieved to reach the remote and rustic new camp, in the heart of Tsavo National Park. Our week in Kenya has certainly been eventful - in between sightings of zebras, giraffes, baboons and buffalo, we have had many projects to keep us occupied. We have spent two days cementing the floor of a classroom in Sasenyi Primary School, a morning learning to make Elephant Dung Paper and an afternoon of bead-work with the local Women's Group (an activity most enjoyed by the two boys) just to name a few.

We are looking forward to the upcoming week in Kenya, but are also missing our friends and village in Tanzania.
Missing everyone at home, and we will try to blog again when we can!

From Sophie, Larissa, Abi, Beth and Hannah

So long Tanzania!

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & conservation
WRITTEN BY: Kaitlyn Hickey

It's hard to believe that we have left camp, all our international volunteers and local friends in Mwambani village, three months have gone so quickly! Before leaving, we spent four days in Usambara where the volunteers ate amazing food and helped out on a few different projects. We spent some time painting an office, fixing the roads and helping build a teacher's lounge at a school.

All the volunteer’s favourite volunteer work project was to help at the women's craft project where we helped them cut out fabric, stuff toys and sew with manual machines. This was much tougher than it looked, but was very rewarding as the women then sell the products we helped to make.

It got very cold at night and tents were flooded, leaving everybody eager to get back to Tanga. There we continued with our volunteer work on the toilets and nursery, and we are proud to say we finished cementing the toilets on our last day! We handed over the second of the houses we worked on which was again such a great feeling.

One of the lovely mama's we have been teaching English to, invited the volunteers over for a traditional afternoon tea which quickly turned into a big dance circle with most of the village joining in! We didn't realise quite how many people we had befriended and it was very sad having to say goodbye.

After a long drive to Moshi we had our last meal all together before people started to go home. The rest of the group leaves today while Kaitlyn and Lizzie set off for a safari. We have had the most amazing time, have done so many great things and met the most wonderful people. Nakupenda Tanzania!

Tanzania Gappers head into Kenya for projects & safari

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & conservation
WRITTEN BY: Kaitlyn Hickey

An update for you all on our volunteer trip to Kenya! We drove to Muhaka where we had a good first night out with some of the Kenya group and were thoroughly impressed by the size and contents of the supermarket there, you could buy lawn mowers and cheap alcohol! After a day by the beach where Hugh and Steven rode a camel, we headed off in the safari truck to Tsavo. Our first activity was making paper out of elephant dung, which we learnt helps protect elephants because money can be made off the paper, as opposed to poaching. We then excitedly went on our first of many game drives.

The group quickly got stuck into volunteer work alongside the locals, digging holes and transporting manure for planting many, many trees. The work was very hard and we were laughed at quite a lot, but we think our efforts were appreciated in the end! The volunteers also spent some time working in two different primary schools, building a new kitchen in one and painting classrooms in the other. It was good fun being surrounded by all the kids and the head teachers of both schools gave us informative tours of their respective schools and it was nice to see how proud they were. The weather in Kenya was very hot and very dry, but everyone worked very hard.

Lauren was in the wars while we were volunteering in Kenya but managed to get through quite a few injuries, illnesses and even an attack by a swarm of bees still with a smile on her face! Some of the group enjoyed a very long hike up Mt Kasigau and the rest of the group climbed the mountain, but wouldn't go so far to say they enjoyed it! We visited a Maasai village where we took part in a welcoming dance and got shown around the houses and taught to create fire the Maasai way. We went on a bush adventure where we inspected various animal poo for reasons we're still not 100% sure of, even stopping the truck for a good look at some dik dik poo (fun fact, dik diks poo in the same place their entire lives!).

We had a competition building bush shelters and we started to get the idea that Hugh was actually planning to live in his team's, which was the superior shelter mainly due to the brilliant trap kaitlyn built for any attacking lions. We tried our hand at archery at which Lizzie found she was quite the pro at!

The next day, the volunteers headed out on safari and although we didn't get to see any of the infamous Tsavo lions, we saw plenty more elephants, zebras, giraffes, antelope and warthogs as well as some animals we hadn't seen yet such as waterbuck and ostriches. We did a bit of volunteer work with some maintenance of the nursery containing the trees that were going to be planted in the holes we assisted in digging. For our final activity we watched the sun set from sunset rock which was beautiful (and which you would hope was beautiful given the name) followed by a night drive.

While we were sad to say goodbye to our new friends in Kenya, we were excited to get back to our home in Tanga. This took quite a few hours longer than expected due to trouble at the border but we managed to get through eventually and didn't end up in a Kenyan jail! Back in Tanga we have some new international volunteers in the team and have said goodbye to some others with a fancy dress party on Halloween.

Project volunteer work has involved digging a hole for toilets in the village, helping the fundi (builders) create a roof for the nursery as well as seaweed farming, cow milking and herding, chopping fire wood, cooking and the running of the new computer classes. With only two weeks left in Tanzania, we are trying to fit in as much as we can before we have to say goodbye!