Livingstone and Stanley: From Zanzibar to Ujiji

Stanley reached Zanzibar on 6 January 1871 with his newspaper's order ringing in his ears: "Of course you will act according to your own plans, and do what you think best--BUT FIND LIVINGSTONE!" The waterfront flew the Sultan's blood-red banner and the flags of four consulates. Stanley lodged in the house of the American consul, Captain Webb, and in 28 days had the "New York Herald" Expedition equipped. Mrs Webb gave it an American flag, raised at the mast-head when the dhows sailed for the mainland.

Location precision: Stanley lodged in the American consul's house on the waterfront, but its site is not identified; the pin marks Stone Town.

Visitor guidance: Stone Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 and is a major tourist attraction.

From Zanzibar the expedition landed at Bagamoyo, on the mainland coast, and Stanley took a house near the western edge of town, where the road from Unyanyembe enters. Livingstone's own relief caravan had lain here for 100 days. Stanley's moved faster: on 21 March 1871, "exactly seventy-three days after my arrival at Zanzibar", it marched out with three white men, twenty-three soldiers, a hundred and fifty-three carriers, 27 donkeys and a cart. Livingstone himself never visited Bagamoyo alive; his body was laid in the Old Church tower after his death.

Location precision: Stanley's house stood near the western outskirts of the town; the pin marks Bagamoyo.

Visitor guidance: Bagamoyo Historic Town is a National Historic Site of Tanzania.

Mpwapwa is a mountain range rising over 6,000 feet above the sea, and the traveller from the coast was grateful for its milk. Stanley left his assistant Farquhar, who had fallen ill, in a village on its slopes, to recover and rejoin the expedition at Unyanyembe. He never did: on the march home in April 1872, Stanley entered Mpwapwa "where my Scotch assistant, Farquhar, died". The place is also remembered for earwigs, which in Stanley's tent "might be counted by thousands".

Location precision: Stanley camped around Mpwapwa and left Farquhar in an unnamed village; the pin marks the town.

At Kwikuru, the capital of Unyanyembe, the governor Sayd bin Salim welcomed Stanley with a noiseless ovation. The Arab town of Tabora had over a thousand huts and tembes and, Stanley reckoned, five thousand people. But the direct road to Ujiji was closed by war with the Nyamwezi ruler Mirambo. Stanley joined the Arabs' campaign ("why should I refuse my aid?"), five of his men were killed, and the carriers lost heart. By August 1871 Mirambo's forces had burned a quarter of Tabora, and Stanley chose a southern route.

Location precision: The events spread across Kwikuru, Tabora and the country around; the pin marks Tabora.

On the southern detour Stanley found himself in Uvinza, the country of the chief Nzogera. On 1 November 1871 he sighted the Malagarasi, "a narrow but deep stream" in a valley hemmed in by lofty mountains. Getting across was a matter of haggling: a chief named Kiala first sent word that the white man must pay fifty-six cloths, and the final demand was thirteen doti for Nzogera and ten for Kiala. The river empties into Lake Tanganyika and is nicknamed "the river of bad spirits".

Location precision: The crossing point is not identified today; the pin marks Uvinza, the district where Stanley crossed.

On Friday 10 November 1871, the 236th day from Bagamoyo, Stanley's caravan marched into Ujiji behind the American flag, which the crowd recognised from the consulate at Zanzibar. Stanley walked up to the white man in front of the Arabs, took off his hat and said: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" "Yes," came the answer, with a cordial smile. Livingstone, whom many thought dead, had arrived back the day before to find his goods sold. Stanley handed him a letter-bag that had left Zanzibar 365 days earlier.

Location precision: The pin marks the town of Ujiji, where a memorial commemorates the meeting; the exact spot is not pinned.

Visitor guidance: Ujiji has a monument, the Dr. Livingstone Memorial, and a modest museum.

After six days of rest in Ujiji, the two men set off by canoe up the north-east shore of Lake Tanganyika, looking for rivers that might flow out of it. At the Mugere River, Chief Mukamba gave them a hut, and on the second evening Susi, Livingstone's servant, got "gloriously drunk" on the chief's pombe. Surveying the Rusizi's mouths settled the old question for good: the river enters the lake. A monument at Mugere shows the date, 25 November 1871, scratched on its rock. Some wrongly call it the meeting place.

Location precision: The monument marks where the pair stayed with Mukamba; the Rusizi mouths they surveyed lie elsewhere on the lake's north shore.

Back at Unyanyembe, Livingstone had comfortable quarters, "a palace compared to his hut in Ujiji". On 14 March 1872 the two friends shared a sad breakfast; Stanley could not eat. Livingstone insisted on coming "a little way" down the road. His farewell: "God guide you safe home, and bless you, my friend." Stanley's last sight was Livingstone near the gate of Kwikuru, lifting his cap to a waved handkerchief. He never saw him again. Livingstone died on 1 May 1873.

Location precision: The farewell happened near the gate of Kwikuru; the pin marks the Livingstone tembe museum at Kwihara, an hour's walk from Tabora.