Last 3700km

We are back in Bukoba after 9700 km, almost Bukoba to South Pole. (10,000km from Equator to the pole , 10,002 in fact as the French got their calculations slightly out when defining the metre.)

After Zanzibar we planned to go south on the coast road. However met a Danish doctor who had just come up and he told us of a 2 km stetch where there is standing water and you don't know how deep it is till your car stops! Also it is not known if the people coming out of the bushes push/pull you out for 10,000TSh (5 pounds) or take your wallet, mobile and watch.

So we went off to Iringa on the Tanzam Highway, a lovely road sweeping from Dar To Zambia.


First a day in Mkumi game reserve wihich is a lovely neat reserve with all you want to see. Lots of elephant, giraffe, impala, buffalo, jackal etc. We were treated to two baby elephants playing in a puddle of water about 10 meteres in front of us. swinging their trunks, splashing, jostling just like 3 year old children. The mothers looked on unconcerned and then came up to squirt water into their mouths as the baby cannot squirt adequately till something like 7 years old.
Then through a magnificent baobab valley to Iringa in the Highlands. It is cool and temperate. stayed with couple of VSOs (Emma and Roland) doing great work introducing Moodle (Computer based learning/teaching ) to teacher training colleges.

Then another day down to Mbeya down in deep south. The world has passed it by a bit. Sleepy and laid back.
We stayed in a hotel which was once very nice, well constructed, a 3 storey building one might find in a low key Greek resort or eastern Europe The first room had an unmade bed (it was 4pm and they only had one guest staying the night before), the next the loo didnt work, 'OK so we make the bed in the first room', fine but the shower doesnt work, Ok another room for extra 5 pounds. oops no bulb in the light socket, next room loo was leaking and smelling, next room seemed acceptable though no mosquito net. So we took it and I nipped next door and unhitched the net from the ceiling and attached it in our room. seemed easier than asking the staff to do it. It was cheap and we felt virtuous volunteers. We were glad next morning to find our car had not been nicked but the nonchalence service at breakfast (we the only guests) reminded us of old communist Eastern Europe.


So a spectular new road down 1000 metres to Lake Nyasa/Malawi and we spent 3nights in a little wooden octagonal hut with 'windows' on 6 sides, actually gaps with mosquito netting, sitting on the sand by the shore. A gentle breeze coming through the hut kept us cool though no doubt everything we did was observed by those who wished to see. We were the only guests. Each morning a 20 metre walk to the beautiful clear Lake Malawi ( reputedly bilharzia free on this 3 km long beach with no reeds hence snails.) We were tempted to stay on and on and on. We even popped into the Lutheran Hospital set right on beach and did a ward round with a charismatic german woman doctor who had worked there for 10 years.

Back to the Highlands to stay with Geoff and Vicky Fox at Mufindi Highland lodge (who come from Tavistock, having a house across the field from us). They treated us magnificently and we had delicious food and met up with their sons Chris and Alex who happened to be there. We visited the splendid orphans homes they have set up and spent a while advising about a new hospital their NGO is building,

Then on to Ruaha NationalPark to stay in Chris Foxs very luxury lodge, Mwaguzi. A spectacular tent on the curve of the river and and beautiful design and artistic touches. The food was never ending and true first class. We were not used to the rich food!!
Had another day of seeing animals in the own environment and it was a fitting last safari. it rained the night before we left and we had some hairy driving to get out but we did!


So back to Morogoro to visit Sandra (VSO) and see her school and what she was doing. Lovely to see her in her placement.


Then three 8 hour drives to Singida then Mwanza and then back to Bukoba. However it is paved almost all the way apart from about from 30km stetch north of Dodoma and another in Kagera.
(to see a detailed log of the road Mwanza to Bukoba go to http://bradttanzania.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/mwanza-to-bukoba-by-road-in-early-2010/)





Coming back up the west side of Lake Victoria was spectacular, a beautiful new wnding road. Looking down at the blue blue lake and the islands doted off reminded me of the Adriatic drive down the coast of Yugoslavia or by some Italian lake. But there was almost no other cars or trucks, only people and cows and goats. Then coming back close to Kagondo where to the west the Rubya/Ndolade Escarpment above the Ngoni River was catching the evening sun and the to the east the Lake was still shimmering blue, we kind of felt we were coming home.


However true to form first we picked up a nun at Kagondo then a badly bruised 'body' lying in a ditch ( he had stolen some bananas and was severely beaten). We took him to outpatients at Bukoba hospital , left the sister at the cathedral and arrived back at Yasila Hotel 10 weeks after we had left.
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Great journey, great experiences and so glad that we were back in one piece with no real mishaps.
Looking forwards to catching up with family and friends in UK and will try to send personal emails or speak on the the phone to those we do not see

Mafia and Zanzibar

Hello All, once more.

If you feel like it, here are some more of our Safari notes:

After saying farewell to Mary Claire, We headed off to Mafia Island (from Arabic: "Morfieyeh" meaning group or archipelago, not the Italian underworld, though one would be forgiven in thinking otherwise given the number of Italian Hotel businesses in Tanzania!).Mafia is an idyllic tropical island also mentioned in Miltons Paradise Lost. on the way we flew over the great Rufiji River.


We stayed on the edge of a Marine Park, and relaxed. The Mafia Island Lodge is a lovely tropical hotel, a firm favourite! Powdery sandy beaches, warm sea, lagoon snorkelling in the very aptly named Coral Garden where we saw fabulous corals and millions of fish, all colours of the rainbow, peacefully going about their business. It was like watching whole communities from above (and around, as the fish swam abount us without any fear...if we came too close they would see us off even though they were only the size of our little fingers!) We also went on a wonderful evening sunset sail on a dhow for a couple of hours.
Brilliant.
Then on to Zanzibar. Before going to Stonetown, we spent another few days on a coast, at Paje in the South East. Staying at a Beach Bungalow style hotel, run by a sweet slighty scatty Japanese woman. Being mid (lunar) month, the tides were incredibly low, so the reef in front of the hotel stretched for 1/2 a mile or so of ankle deep warm water. We watched the women farming seaweed from their seaweed shambas, huge sacks of wet seaweed dragged, then carried home on their heads for drying out.
Even probably ate some of it with our sushi/sashimi/tempura!


Hired a couple of bikes to cycle along the beach to a lagoon where we could swim and snorkel (again) and generally lie around under the shady casurina trees and lunch on seafood.......(would it help to write that we had to struggle with flat tyres and gears that didnt work? mm-mm ... didnt think so...what about: no electricity on Zanzibar, and hot hot nights? Still no sympathy?)
Most places had generators to keep the beer cold...
After a few days of this we were so relaxed we could hardly walk!

On then, to Stonetown for the Sauti Za Busara, the annual Musical Festival, (Google it if interested) with music from around Africa and other ethnic minorities (including a woman from Lapland with an amazing voice, they called her the "Masaai from the North"). It was held in the Old Fort, and was four nights of great music of all styles, all under the African starry night skies. Big professional bands alongside smaller amateurs, children from the streets trained to play local instruments and dance, all women Taarab players including a 94+year old singer with a powerful voice, a disabled group from the poorer areas of Znb, Ethiopian, Mali, Senegalese, Gambia, South African, Kenyan, Nigerian, Reggae, Hip Hop and a local favourite from Denmark/tanzania called Mzungu Kichaa who has taken the pop scene here by storm.


We spent our days trying to cool off, meeting friends, trying and usually failing to get online, eating freshly roasted goat with a cool beer. One day hired an ngolawa (small dugout vessel with outriggers and a dhow-like sail) and were taken out to an island, tacking out first , way beyond, to a sand bank, then back to snorkel on the reef. Sailing back before the wind in full sail, we feasted on (slightly salty) fresh sweet mango, pineapple, bananas.....
We stayed centrally, Clove Hotel, we recommend it, with a cool roof terrace for breakfasts.
We met up with many friends from Tz, and also Jono and James, friends of Tom's; two young men from Tavistock whom we have known for some time....small world.

Back to Dar es Salaam, something of a comedown! But again, meeting friends which is fun.
After all day getting our car fixed (brakes) we hope to head off again soon, down the coast.

Second 3000 km

Have done almost 6000km, same as the distance to Cape Town or Cairo.
Are you sitting comfortably?

Here are more update notes and impressions since we left Uganda.
At Jinja next morning we had a total eclipse of the sun at 08.15, the longest eclipse this millenium!!!, which sent everything dusky and quiet.
We were more concerned to get our silencer fixed as it had disintegrated on safari. Where could we get a new one?
We do not have new ones but we can get one made in 3 hours!
So 4 hours late with new silencer and sparks plugs we were on the road.
A few hours later we had a surreal experience of a semitrailer joining our road at speed and gently tipping over , taking the cab with it , slideing across the road to come to a rest about 40 yardsin front of us. The driver climbed out of the shattered window and was joined by many people who were on the side of the road. Fortunately no one was in front of us and no one injured so we just backed off and went on our way -- a little shaken.
We skipped through Kenya in one day, passing through 2 border posts and back into Tanzania again. Interesting drive via Kakamega and Kisumu, a terrible road, the route my mother used to take to Kenya many years ago taking my brothers to school
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Back to Musoma, where we have visited before, to find it full of tourists and (almost) nowhere to stay. Our 1st choice had no less than 3 overlanders camping with their little mushroom tents beside the lake! We managed to get 2 rooms there the following day, having driven to Mwanza to pick up Mary Claire (Rs sister) who joined us for a couple of weeks. It was much more peaceful after the weekend! Musoma is a delightful Town and we enjoyed watching the sun set over the Lake sipping a beer

On into the Grometti corridor, the Western gate of the Serengeti. We followed the Grometti River in to Serenera, where we camped, seeing herds of zebra, wildebeest, giraffe.

We were treated to a sighting of a family of bat-eared foxes playing and a lone black-backed jackal, then a real treat: a large pride of lion crossed in front of us, on their way to hunt: 14 adults and about 7 young, all different ages. They took no notice of us, and were all most single minded!
Camped in basic campsite and had 3 days with a Landcruiser with open top roof and driver Andrew.
Saw animals in their environment, especially struck by elephants coming very close, graceful giraffes, leopard on the prowl, a cheetah with cubs and lions stuck up a tree.
Heard hyena in the camp at night....



On way to Ngorongoro, took a side (?better?) road but got caught in a downpour and had a hairy 20min slipping and sliding in sticky mud, which splashed over the windscreen, trying to keep the momentum going and not slide off the track and not hit the underside of the car. was not a good place to get stuck --- but we made it through
Camped on edge of Ngorogoro crater, spectacular site. Woken at 2 am by tearing of grass on all four sides of tent. R peeked through the flap to peer at the underbelly of a mighty buffalo. When 20 min later all was quiet we ventured out to the loo to find a large buffalo chewing the cud between Mary Claires and our tent. We shot back into the tent and crossed our legs. Poor MC was wondering if a buffalo was going to step on her, or worse, have a pee on her tent!
We were informed next day that they all were friendly, but didn’t believe that...


The Crater is stunning,
Manyara : we saw elephant young playing in the mud pool, pushing each other in

Tarangire was lovely for the accommodation, however grass was high (rainy season) : dik diks walking all around us at the camp.

Arusha for lunch stop then on to


Moshi: treated to a spectacular view of Kilimanjaro for breakfast on the roof.
Usumbara mountains - Lushoto- good weather, fabulous views from the Irente Point after a 2hr walk. Quaint hotel with faded history...a time warp.


on then to the coast, to a lovely hotel Travellers Lodge, right by the sea, at Bagomoyo where we spent a few nights recovering from the long dusty, bumpy drives we had done. Lovely garden with 125 different palms, warm Indian Ocean and scrummy seafood.




Saw Mary Claire off in Dar es Salaam, after a great 2 wks with her, and now shortly off to Mafia Island and then to Zanzibar for the Music Festival. Return to mainland on 16/2/10, then further travels to the South and West of Tz before heading back to UK via Ethiopia on the 24/3/10.