Journeys and Laboratories

Day 11 and 12

Lake manyara
Ngorongoro crater

When it comes to safaris I am no amateur. I’ve seen quite a lot of the Really Wild Show, and I very nearly completed the N64 game Pokemon Snap. Nevertheless, it is impossible to come to Tanzania without experiencing the real thing and we were lucky to be able to tag onto the Germans' journey for a discount cost (Safari means journey in kiswahili.). We were picked up at 6am from the hospital and driven 6 hours to Lake Manyara national park. When the sun set we left the park and stayed the night at a relatively luxurious lodge before exploring the famous Ngorongoro crater the following day. It is still the low season in Tanzania so the wilderness felt especially authentic as there were very few other cars in the park, apparently there can be standstill traffic at other times of the year.

The Tanzanian national parks are a bit like West Midlands safari park, only bigger. The scenery is a bit more jaw-droppingly beautiful too, but the idea of driving around and spotting animals is common to both (though in a 4x4 huge Toyota Landcruiser rather than a medium Nissan micra). The weather at Lake Manyara was very African: blaring sun burned most of the white people in the car, but it was an appreciated change from the clouds at Machame, and worth it (I imagine - I don’t include myself in the white people category) for all the animals we saw. We saw all the magnificent Lion King characters we were promised, but more striking for me was the abundance and diversity of bird life; surprising, fabulous, and alien.

Even without the animals I would recommend the safari for the incredible scenery, and driving around in a big dusty hulk of a 4WD looks like great fun too. Our driver seemed to enjoy it, and upon remembering an appointment he had to return from the park for he transformed into a red-eyed maniac rally-driver, more than tripling the 25km/h park speed limit through the dirt tracks and blind corners. He calmed down (only slightly) after we voiced some quite reasonable safety concerns and drove the 6h back to Machame in a hurried manner that might be considered normal for Tanzania.

Bulls on parade

Lake Manyara

Day 12

The Machame Laboratory

I spent the morning in the hospital laboratory, something I haven’t even done in England. An excellent day because for the first time I may have been of greater than zero use to the hospital, as I did a few clinical skills. Until now I have mostly hovered around, lost in the Swahili.

The laboratory is next door to a small clinic room where patients have basic investigations, most commonly haemoglobin levels, urine dips, and blood glucose, but also malaria tests, stool and urine microscopy and venepuncture. I joined forces with a clinical officer student called Wilson and together we ploughed through the list. I haven’t taken blood for months and was a bit concerned since the equipment for these tests is quite different from the standard NHS kit, but, happily, I didn’t run into any problems. Compared with the UK where everyone in hospital seems to get a full blood count, electrolyte and creatinine checked as often as possible, investigations here are Spartan – these flashy UK tests are extremely rare.

Obviously, as a long-time sufferer of medical student hypochondriasis, I took the chance to test my own blood for malaria (none found). I have surprised myself by not forgetting my anti-malarials yet (‘cause Mary has reminded me every single day), and a good thing too since I have recently become irresistible to the affections of various insects. There aren’t too many mosquitoes - but definitely more than enough - since Machame is at a fair altitude part way up Kilimanjaro, but this morning I found both of my ankles savaged by some other tiny creature – I count over 50 separate itchy lesions. 

Another internet update: the satellite dish at the hospital remains kaput. I'm at the internet cafe now but my laptop seems to be broken, so I'm uploading this from Mary's. I hate technology, but I continue to be alive and well.