A short visit to the Rock city

Last weekend we went to Mwanza. A small vacation felt like a good idea after being here in Nkinga for eight weeks. 

The vacation started with a bus ride of 5 hours. The road between Nzega and Mwanza is really good. It is big and paved! Not at all like the roads in Nkinga, where big dust clouds form after every passing vehicle. Like here:

Upon arrival to the hotel we felt very spoiled, our room had a bathtub, a hair dryer and a view over the hotel swimming pool. The bed however, was extremely hard so one of us slept on no less than 8 pillows! Guess who...

Our hotel room!

Even though it rained every day we got a chance to try out the pool.

Maria relaxing in the hotel pool.

Mwanza 

Every part of Mwanza is not beautiful.

One of the thing we have missed the most is shopping. So upon arrival in Mwanza we walked the short distance down town and explored its various shops and markets. Some parts of the town are very nice while others are not.

When going to Mwanza we absolutly had to take a boat trip on the lake Victoria. We went to the national park Saa Nane island (two o'clock island). Us, two tanzanians and our guide had an adventurous journey out to the island. The boat ran out of gas. So the crew had to the only oar to paddle to shore to get some gas. 

After this episode we got safely to the island. We took a walk around it and then the tanzanians decided to go back while we stayed another couple of hours exploring the island by ourselves. This is what we saw:

Impalas were everywhere on the island.

Saa nane island has a very impressing nature with a lot of rocks.

The animals were not afraid of us.

However we were a little afaid of the crocodiles occupying the island. They hid in the vegetation lurking on us. That is what it felt like anyway!

The crocodiles' nest is just behind Maria.

A crocodile relaxing in the sun.

The last day in Mwanza was spent endulging in a luxorious dinner. We had Tilapia at hotel Tilapia. Whit a spectacular view of lake Victoria and good wine to go with it. 

We had dinner at Hotel Tilapia. 

Yummy yummy.. tilapia and mashed potatoes. 

Going home we met up with our new room mates, Fanny and Alexandra from Stockholm. We took the bus back to Nkinga together. Upon arrival in Nkinga we felt like home!

The view from our bus seats.