Hakuna Matata

In Swahili Hakuna Matata means “no problems“. After all the problems I had concerning my project

and my organisation one would think that now I should have no problem. But during this week this proved to be wrong.

On Monday after the hiking tour I walked very slowly and like an old woman. After several weeks of being abstinent to sports and walking up the mountains my legs and bum were aching. Apart from that the day was relatively normal. We went to work and at midday we took a dalladalla to town to have some lunch. As we were just about to return tot he hostel first the girls from Tanga and then the Lindi-girls sent us a message saying they had just arrived in Morogoro and were now coming to our Lodge. The girls from Lindi, Maria and Nadja, and the girls from Tanga, Lena and Miriam wanted tovisit us in Morogoro and to explore the area. They had plans to go on a safari fort he next day and Anna and I wanted to join them. After we were all sitting together, talking and sharing the latest news while drinking a cold coke, Anna and I had to leave for our first language lesson. We walked to the office of the TTPRO where our Swahili teacher was supposed to meet us. We waited for over 45 minutes until we lost our temper and we grew hungry. We were slightly annoyed and returned to the hostel without knowing any new vocabulary. After we joined the others there weh ad dinner together and went to bed early as we had to get up very early. Our safari was due to start at 7 o´ clock in the morning but because ittakes about two hours to drive tot he Mikumi National Park we ordered a taxi for 5 o´clock. This cost a little bit more than going by bus but the first bus left at 7. Unfortuntely, our taxi driver did not think it appropriate to be on time. While we six girls waited with big lunch pakets, hundreds of bottles of water, cameras and safari hats strapped to our backs there was still no taxi to be seen. About half an hour later a small white car came round the corner. Hurraay! As fast as we could we squeezed into the car. One person was sitting on the front seat, three in the back and two on their laps. Because we were running late we had to hurry now which is almost impossible on this kind of roads.

As we approached the National Park the number of road bumps increased which made the girls sitting on the laps hit their heads on the roof and the driver had to reduce his speed. We atched the scenery we were driving pst and noticed several road signs warning the drivers from running over wild animals. For example, it costs 15 000$ for running over an elephant and only 450$ for running over a warthog. We could already see the first monkeys, zebras and giraffes while we were driving on the highway when there was big car crash in front of us. One lorry was completely burned and the other was lying sideways. This led to further delays and our company we were doing the safari with had already phoned us because they were worried. Fort he last few metres the taxi was making funny noises and as we parked the car we noticed hat the back tire was completely flat. Looks like we girls were to heavy to race over those bumps.

The jeep for our safari was great. The car looked like a pickup but on the back there were two benches to sit on and we had a sun deck. We had no problems to look out for animals all around us, while sitting on those high benches. We climbed up the steps onto the jeeps like excited kids. The guide joined us on the back benches to give information about the park and the animals. The first animals we could see was a warthog family. Our jeep came to a halt and one could only hear the cameras clicking. We were even able to witness how the mother pig tried to save her children from a jackal before we continued our journey. During the drive we saw a lot of impallas, zebras and giraffes. Impallas are small gazelle which have a black McDonald´s “M“ on their bum. I was surprised about zebras always staying together with giraffe. I thought they looked very pretty and elegant with their stripes. Even giraffes are surprisingly well hidden among the dry bushes. I found it so amazing to see these animals I have only seen in zoos and on TV in their real surroundings. Some animals were extremely near to our jeep. This impression was intensified as we noticed some gray big animals in the distance. I was absoluteley speechless as we approached the group of elephants which was standing nearby munching on some leaves. It was a whole new experience to see those wild animals rather than going to the zoo. Also, we saw buffaloes, gnus and a lot of interesting looking birds.

As the sun rose during midday most animals were hiding to take a nap. We drove to a little place were we could have lunch. While wes at under an old baobab tree we ate chapati with ketchup.

Because of the food and the heat we were becoming tired. As soon as we reached an extremely muddy part we were definitely all wide awake again. The road ahead was quite steep and extremely muddy. “Will this really work?“, Nadja even asked. Sure, there would not be any problems. With speed we drove into the mud… and got stuck. After we tried to drive through and the mud was splashing all over the shop the guides turned off the engine and grabbed a shovel to put try sand in front oft he wheels. This was an adventure. Luckily, we were able to drive on after some time.

We noticed a very relaxed lion laying near the path which was falling asleep while we stopped and took some pictures. A little bit further our guide noticed another one. Of course we wanted to see that one, too! We checked whether there was anyone near by and went offroad to see the lion. In between some palmy lay a really big lion with a mane who was sleeping. We did not want to disturb the animal for too long and quickly got back on the road. Going offroad is normally prohibited. As we were on our way tot he water hole to see the hippos and crocodiles we were attacked by a swarm of tsetse flies. We tried to keep them away as their bite hurts and they can infect you with the sleeping sickness. Something else that I was also fascinated of was that the scenery changed during our tour. Sometimes there was only dry savannah, sometimes green gras and sometimes it looked like a jungle. At the end of the day we were extremely exhausted but totally happy. You rarely have these kind of experiences!

Unfortunately, the luck was no longer with us. The next day started like every day until two men arrived at work and introduced themselves as officers from the immigration police. They wanted to see our passports but because they might get nicked we never have them with us. After we talked tot hem for a while it was quite clear that they wanted Anna and me to apply for a working visa. But we had talked to Baracka about the issue a few days ago. We phoned him so he could tell those men that he had registered us and that there were no problems. For some reason, Baracka was thinking differently. He told us that this was non of his business and that we had to figure it out ourselves. That was when I lost my temper. I made it very clear to him that he should come immediatley to solve this problem as he was responsible for us. Finally Baracka did come but with bad news. He told us that obviously there were problems now and we now needed to solve this problem. Yes, great Baracka! What do you suggest us to do? Of course he advised us to simply pay 200$ for a new visa and get it all over. I remained to be stubborn and said I had no money and was therefore not willing to pay for my visa. Baracka assured us to talk to the main responsible in Tanzania to resolve the problem. In the meantime we drove back to our hostel to fetch our passports and bring them to the Immigration Office. In the car we talked to Baracka about our options and agreed on trying to explain to the officers that Anna and I were not staying in the Amani Centre for very long as we wanted to travel a lot.

At the Immigraion Office the man behind the counter handed us some papers to apply fort he working visa. Because Baracka was only playing on his phone I asked the officer why I was supposed to apply for a working visa when I was only there to visit the Amani Centre. I explained to him that I had neither a contract nor did I get any payments. The officer told me that working did not mean to be paid so I asked them to give me a definition of work. Responding to my question the officer led Anna and me past the prison and brought us to another office. There, we were seperated and interrogated. The guy questioning Anna told her right away that she should not try to explain herself as he knew she was lying because Baracka told them while he “registered“ us that we were working for the Amani Centre. Luckily the guy who was questioning me was not like that. I insinted on only staying in Morogoro for a visit. I even wanted him to show me the law which prohibited me to only visit the Amani Centre. Of course he could not show that law to me but explained tourism as: visiting Zanzibar, going on a Safari and staying in a hotel. Great, I went on a safari yesterday, I had plans to go to Zanzibar in December and I was staying in a lodge. In addition I wanted to spend a few days in the Amani Centre. Because the officer grew a little desperate he left the room and came back with Baracka. He stood in front of us and started yelling at us why we were causing so much trouble. There were no problems and we were supposed to just agree to pay for the visa and end of story. Another officer, a great fat guy, started yelling too and asked us whether we thought we could change the law. If we did we could go straight to court. As fast as we could we escaped tot he corridor where we were still able to hear the guy shouting. Of course we did not want to change te law but we had the impression that we were cheated. Somehow it is strange that after two days at work the Immigration Police turns up to get you pay the visa as nobody ever said volunteers were working. Even my organisation underlined that I should get a tourist visa. Silly corruption… After the events of that day we were metally exhausted and in a very bad mood. We filled out the forms, handed them back to Baracka but up until now we have not heard from the immigration police again. Hopefully they will remain quiet and forget about us!