An african love story

I have not shared stories with you for a while as I am so involved in my Masai community education campaign which is leaving little time for anythung else.

It is taking me on a journey to reconnect with old friends and to also go beyond my comfort zone to ask people for support, but it has so far been an AMAZING experience and one that is leaving my heart full of love every day!

We have also had a very sad week as we lost a young warrior in a tragic accident but the amount of love and support that has and is being shown to his family is just overwhelming and is leaving everything else in its shadow.

I am wrapped in a blanket of love, in the mood for sharing this beautiful emotion with the world and this is why I would like to tell you a love story - my very personal one. The story of how I met my husband Sokoine:

Sokoine taking a break while herding our cattle

I had met him on Mafia Island. A magical place. Paradise. A haven of peace, blue seas and the most amazing diving. Mafia to me was Zanzibar’s little sister. Just as beautiful and cultured but more herself. Less altered by the hordes of tourists that befall Zanzibar so frequently.

The day I set foot on Mafia was the day I met Sokoine.

I was with a group of volunteers, exploring the village of Utende, when we bumped into some Maasai. I was enthralled at first sight. He was taller and bigger than the others, but what drew me in were his eyes. Dark and fiery, yet infinitely kind and patient.

Our wedding day.

I tried to keep him there, on the dusty road in the midst of the village, with my year’s worth of Swahili I had picked up working in Ifakara, close to the Selous Game Reserve in the south of Tanzania. I did not want this moment to end. Another one of those moments that made me feel so intensely at one with the dust under my feet and the sun caressing my skin; at one with the country I had come to love, with the Swahili flowing freely off my tongue, with the immensely beautiful and fascinatingly exotic people standing in front of me.

He worked as security for one of the hotels by the beach and everyday, when we walked past, I tried to make myself as noticeable as possible, pushing our dive cart, laughing, talking; and should I glimpse him watching me, my heart would beat a little faster.

Five weeks passed and I became more and more attached to Mafia, its people and Sokoine. I knew I would not go back to Germany.

And when my friend Michael, whose shop down by the beach was right next to Sokoine’s, told me one day that Sokoine liked me, it seemed I had even more of a reason to stay.

That this beautiful, proud, mysterious human being that comes from a world I cannot even begin to envision, should like me, this ordinary white chick, was too much for me to comprehend. But it was true and we got together and spent the most amazing three weeks under the sun and the stars of Mafia Island…

…a year later we married and moved to his traditional Masai home in the Masai Steppe of Tanzania.

Our son Yannik, Sokoine and I. 

Six years later, and I am still here with him, his parents, his grandmother and more recently with our son. I am as in love with the beautiful country as I have always been and have recently launched a campaign to bring environmental education to our Masai community to make a stand against the ongoing environmental destruction of their homelands.

If you would like to support me in saving the Masai culture along with the wilderness they live in and depend on to feed their cattle, click on this link.

7 great places to visit in Tanzania

Us humans have the bad habit of letting routine take over our lives - losing sight of what is important to us or what we are thankful for.

Well today, I reminded myself to be thankful for calling the beautiful country that is Tanzania my home and I would like to share with you some of my favourite places that I have been lucky enough to discover during my eight years here.

Zanzibar
Despite being a tourist hotspot, this beautiful island has my heart. The mix of Swahili culture, Arabic flair and turquoise waters off white-sand beaches makes me fall in love every time I go. I relax the instant I set foot on Zanzibari soil.

The beautiful waters of Kendwa, Zanzibar bathed in evening light.

Arusha
Gateway to the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park, the town of Arusha is pleasantly cool and green. It has a nice chilled-out atmosphere and many little restaurants where one can find decent European food. It also has a great craft market where you can buy souvenirs.

Mount Meru, Arusha 

Kilimanjaro

Even if you are not there to climb the 'roof of Africa', visiting Marangu in the foothills of the mountain offers great hiking opportunities to local waterholes and to coffee plantation. I have also had the best cup of coffee I have ever had in the town of Moshi which is similar to Arusha.

Ruaha National Park

My favourite and the biggest National Park in Tanzania, it is a truly wild place which makes for an amazing safari experience. I once spend the night there with a friend and did not sleep a wink because a pride of lions was rumbling and roaring all night.

Lions stilling their thirst after rains in Ruaha National Park 

Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area
A world-heritage site and a natural wonder, looking down into the crater is a humbling experience. I don't think I have ever seen a more beautiful sight or one more wild and natural. It is also home to a huge number of wildlife including the Big Five.

Ngorongoro Crater as seen from above the crater rim.

Mafia Island
I worked there for nearly two years and sampled its amazing dive sites many a times. It is a place where you are guaranteed to see rays, turtles, giant groupers, dolphins and even sharks. It is also becoming famous for offering snorkeling with whale sharks that frequent its eastern shores.

South beaches Dar es Salaam
I love the fact that you can feel a million miles away from hectic city life in Dar es Salaam, when you are, in actual fact, still in the city. The ideal place to spend a weekend sunbathing and drinking cocktails.

Turquoise waters at Kigamboni beach, Dar es Salaam 

These are just a few places I visited and loved - Tanzania has so much more to offer. Just one other great place to see, is our home here in the Masai Steppe, if you are up for an adventure ❤🌍🌳🐾