Zambia World Wide

Chapter 3

I suppose in some ways we still could hardly believe that we were finally on our way home. It had taken many months to settle in Zambia and although we enjoyed our new life. I think we had to return before we would really be sure that we had not made a mistake. We are now on our way to Mombasa in Kenya for a week’s holiday before continuing our journey to England. On the way to Mombasa the flight landed at Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania for a two hour stop. As we approached the airport the captain announced that we would be passing Mount Kilimanjaro and if we looked out of the starboard porthole we would be able to see the mountain. All that we could see was the base of the mountain, then we all looked up. It was unbelievable, we were actually flying round one side of the mountain well below the peak. It really was an awe inspiring sight, we were looking up at the peak half obscured in the early morning mist, with the sun just coming up over the horizon. As I said we had a two hour wait at Kilimanjaro airport, I still remember sitting outside with Jan and the lads and watching the sun climb over the mountain. It was a lovely sight and I am sure that we would never live in a more changeable, interesting and more romantic place than Africa which seemed to have a magical charm that was forever changing. From Kilimanjaro we flew on to Mombasa airport and were taken to our hotel which was on the edge of Diana Beach. The town of Mombasa is an island, linked to the mainland by a bridge and a causeway, our hotel was actually on the mainland. The setting was ideal, white sandy beach, light sea breeze barely moving the palm trees and a coral reef. All this only a two minute walk from our room which was on the ground floor of the hotel.

We had decided want we wanted was a relaxing holiday which would give us time to adjust before travelling on to England. Having arrived at the hotel we wandered outside for a walk around to see what there was to do and see, it was quite impressive, there was a great deal to see and do. It was the right kind of place for the children. They were going to have fun of that I am sure. This holiday was also our first experience of German package tourists, they are so selfish and arrogant, it is beyond belief. They make it quite apparent that the German people feel they are the superior race and all other races are scum in comparison. However we had by now travelled a fair amount and made sure they would not spoil our holiday which we and the children had been looking forward to. When we left England Gary was 20months old, although he had spent many happy hours on the beach, he could remember nothing. This was to be the first beach holiday that either of the boys would remember. This holiday we thought would be special for them and a holiday they would remember. There was a tourist bureau in the hotel foyer where we were able to obtain information about Mombasa and the surrounding area. About 100yards from the beach was the coral reef, and at low tide we could swim out to the reef, and walk along the top. The sea life was fantastic, there were sea urchins, hermit crabs and a large variety of small colourful fish darting about in the rock pools. The variety and colours of the star fish and sea shells was quite unbelievable. Most evenings after dinner we would walk along the seashore. It is a little difficult to describe the feeling one gets when walking along a soft sandy beach at night. The moonlight reflecting off the water. Soft sand sliding under your feet. The warm breeze against your body, taking away the heat of the day. Plus the feeling of isolation, as though you are in a world of your own. We swam out to the reef whenever possible, there was so much to see that we never tired of searching for new creatures and still found those we had already seen fascinating. One morning we went out to the reef at high tide in a glass bottomed boat. This time we could see a much greater variety, many of which were much larger than we had yet seen. We could not only see the reef but also the area around the reef. The water was crystal clear and we could see right down to the seabed which was of course white sand. There were octopus and squib, some of which were quite large, they lived at the edge of the reef and were difficult to spot. All along the reef and on the surrounding seabed were enormous sea slugs. The boat anchored over the reef and both Jan and Gary went snorkelling while I looked after Craig, they had great fun and were sad when it was time to go.