I leave the green Rwandan hills to reach the dry plains of Tanzania. The roads are bad, the cars are rare but the Tanzanians are extremely friendly and helpful. So truck after truck, I hitchhike more than 1000 kilometers to reach the famous Kilimanjaro where Sebastian is waiting for me.

 

The highest peak in Africa is hidden in the clouds in this rainy season but it appears after a few days! We are staying in couchsurfing by Grace's family. She is 48 years old and has 4 children. She works hard in the hospital, volunteers for old and disabled people on weekends and hosts travelers. When the opposition will take the power, she hopes to join the future government. She thinks that she has a chance because with her master's degree and her excellent level of English, she is much more educated than most politicians in the country. But for now, we go to share few pints at the Kilimanjaro Oktoberfest. My screams support Sebastian who has just won the competition of the fastest beer drinker : 1 liter in 8 seconds without breathing, I feel so proud of him !

 

The next day, I go for for my first safari. I visited all travel agencies in Moshi and I got a mission as photographer / cameraman. I will be paid to join a 3 days safari, which normally costs 600 dollars.

I am amazed by the multitude of wild animals living in harmony. The jeep with opened roof takes us to Tarangire National Park, famous for its baobabs. Barely entered, while two antelope males fight with their horns, a leopard jumps to attack them but they escape in time. The crater of the Ngorongoro volcano "holds prisoners" lions having sex, a bloody hippopotamus, herds of zebras and wildebeest, a rhinoceros far away ... This is my favorite park because of the beautiful volcanic landscape. Finally, on the third day, we drive in the park of Lake Manyara, famous for its lions in the trees and its thousands of flamingos.

 

When I coma back to Moshi, Sebastian is suffering in the bed, as if his body had turned into a huge hematoma. He caught malaria. Thankfully, our host Grace has taken care of him and I take the relay for another four days. Before we leave, we make a small presentation with photos and videos for the family and the friends of Grace to explain our hitchhiking trip around the world, the concept of hitchhiking and to undo the prejudice that "all whites are rich ". They seem fascinated.

 

After a stop in the old German port city of Bagamoyo, we reach the megalopolis of Dar Es Salam. We explain our project to a manager of Azam Ferry and leave five minutes later with free tickets to the island of Zanzibar. Like what sometimes, just ask!

 

Stonetown is the main town in Zanzibar where Freddy Mercury was born and grew up. It is also the ancient capital of Oman where Arab, Indian and Tanzanian cultures mixes together. A maze of stone streets lead us to the apartment of our couchsurfer Haji, looking like Ali Baba cave. Under a torrential downpour - it is still the rainy season - we reach the north of the island where we rent a room for a week of vacation. We swim in the turquoise blue water and clean the white sand of its numerous plastic waste brought by the tides.

 

I talk with many massais on the beach. They are young and come here a few months to work in tourism and then go back to take care of their sheets and cows in the northern plains. They are easily to recognize with by their red and black sheet around the body, their holes in the ears, the lack of two teeth in the front and their numerous beaded bracelets.

 

Zanzibar is a name that made me dream. It's a little too touristy and polluted, but it's still a paradise island. Back in Dar Es Salam, Sebastian jumps on a train to Zambia and I continue my hitchhiking world tour alone. We will meet again in a few days in Lusaka, the capital.

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