To me, on the contrary, travelling as I have come to find out is never an escape, if it rejuvenates, excites, relaxes, educates and nourishes your body and soul then it is a path to finding yourself. That said, as much as I love travelling, I won’t refer myself as a travel blogger but below quote best describes me…I am just trying to tell a story 😄
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”- Ibn Battuta
Pic: Lake Victoria
Mwanza town is described as the rock city because of the massive rock formations sorrounding the town. The gigantic boulders are noticeable as soon as you cross into Mwanza region. I will highlight some of the things to do in Mwanza at the bottom …storytime first! :D
Mwanza trip was so spontaneous because we had initially planned a #TembeaKenya trip to the beautiful Rusinga islands specifically Takawiri island when a friend casually mentioned Mwanza in Tz….a quick Google check and we were like if there is sun, sand and Lake Victoria like Takawiri then why not! 😃 randomness redefined! Despite the difference in distance, Mwanza trip was a plus for us as it was way cheaper! (got to save them coins!).
We entered Mwanza via the Isibania/Sirari border in Migori county because it offers the shortest distance, clearance with migration is effortless as the border is less busy compared to the one in Namanga.
The culture difference hit me as soon as we crossed the border, hawkers would hitch a lift to the next shopping centre for free and passengers would freely share food purchased. Tanzanians can be a bit vulgar :D nevertheless, their use of euphemism also intrigued me, for example, they would say ‘ni wakati wa kuchimba dawa’ to mean it is time for a short call….this among many others and the way it’s placed in a sentence with their accent jazzed me!
As the trip was random, we had no planned itinerary but our first plan as soon as we arrived was to get accommodation, freshen up and have brunch before anything else. Having alighted in the outskirts of Mwanza, a very kind gentleman with whom we had exchanged pleasantries with in the bus offered us a ride to town and he went ahead to show us various hotels and guesthouses we could board, Mwanza town is very affordable, way more than we had anticpated and getting a decent self-contained room with a t.v, hot shower and Wi-Fi (disclaimer on WiFi though, availability is not guaranteed)is not a hustle.
Food is very affordable and being a Friday we went with the meal of the day — chicken biryani as it is a must meal in every menu in every hotel every Friday (a special meal for most muslims on their day of worship so we were told). I asked for tea myself and what just woowed me is that you can have your tea however you want it at no extra charge - whether it is plain, with milk, with iliki (cardamom) or with masala…. No additional charge guys! Nairobi is a fraud 😃 !! A drive through Mwanza town is an impression of a functioning government, it is as clean as Kigali, I remember it had rained heavily that afternoon and as soon as it stopped the local municipality were up unclogging the drainage system. P.s Nairobi governor should also visit Mwanza as one of his usual unending benchmarking trips.
A trip to Mwanza is not complete without the beach, we opted for Tunza beach then Malaika Beach Resort which has a beach front, we were very few at the beach and I came to learn later that they prefer to be at the beach much later in the afternoon, the water was very clean and I had no single sighting of water hyacinth, the locals are not even familiar with this hell of a weed (man, aren’t they lucky!)
My highlight of the evening that day were the Kenyans we met at the beach, the two ladies picked our accent and they were quick to greet us the Kenyan way ‘wamlambez’ and I was like eff adulthood as we all replied ‘wamnyonyez’ 😂 other than the accent, you just need the Kenyan flag wrist band to pick a Kenyan, the way it unites Kenyans…..it just works magic!
Malaika beach hotel on the other hand is a high end hotel with the same concept as English Point Marina, but very serene! On that particular evening, there was a lady doing solo performances and the Kenyan lady we had met ealier at Tunza (a performer in her own right) asked if she could do a piece and when she got a chance, she sang her rendition of Nyota Ndogo’s watu na viatu to the delight of the diners…it was a beautiful evening!
Pic: Tunza beach
Night life in Mwanza is kinda basic, not wild and not as vibrant as Nairobi’s either. We watched the Sudan and Tanzania match with our Tanzanian friends before having a glimpse of Tanzanian rhumba nite that was complete with Congolese live bands and dancers, the crowd was elderly but lively and the music great to say the least. The cask bar and grill located at the Rock City Mall on the other hand is urban, they played lots of Tanzania and Nigerian music. At some point though the crowd went wild when Nyashinski’s mungu peke song played, everyone was on their feet singing along to it…still a major hit in Tz clearly! It felt nice despite it being probably one of the two Kenyan songs that played that evening.
Sunday, our departure day was also the day Rock City Mall marathon was happening, Kenyans still with our #NoHumanIsLimited vybe won top six positions in the full marathon and the part that made all of us laugh was that number seven was a Tanzanian who appeared in the finish line four after number six…..shhh don’t tell! And the MC kept referring to every Kenyan going to receive the medal as Kipchoge…the winnings was a perfect good bye for us! Mwanza town, despite my short stay gave me an idea of Tanzanian culture, very kind, sincere and united people. It is not like Nairobi as far as safety is concerned and I could tell I was loosing my guard very fast. The entire experience had me laughing most of the time (key: interact with the locals, they are very easy to talk to). As we left, I knew I was definitely going to visit Mwanza again.
Mwanza is a great get away….a hidden gem. If I have atleast convinced you to visit Mwanza you can add below ‘a to do list’ that I have not mentioned above to your itinerary.
- Explore Lake Victoria in the evening by boat…sunset is stunning
- Visit Julius Nyerere home
- Discover Serengeti National Park - 2 hours from Mwanza town and 3 hours from Isibania border
- Visit Jiwe Kuu
- Sight seeing of the hilly rocky Mwanza town and surroundings
- Discover Sukuma museum (Named after the the largest ethnic tribe in Mwanza)
- Explore the night life
- Interact with the people. It will enable you understand their culture
Cheers!
