TANZANIA

The landscape of Southern Tanzania was as beautifully mountainous as that of Norther Malawi, except unlike Malawi, all the villages dotting the side of the road were now surrounded by lush plantations of bananas or other fruit and vegetables and the distances between villages was such that it allowed us to stop to relieve ourselves on the side of the road without danger of flashing an OAP sunning himself on a bench outside his hut.













Sunset Over Mbeya Canadians Admiring Our Set-up

Our first night was spent just outside a town called Mbeya on a coffee plantation at about 2000m above sea level with views over the sweeping plateau and mountains in the distance. It immediately felt as though we had stepped back in time to the Colonial era with the deep wrap-around veranda of the main house, low ceilings and expansive manicured lawns complete with tennis, squash court and heli-pad which served as our campsite. You could almost hear the













Ladies Sorting Coffee Beans The Coffee Plants

settlers of old enjoying a cup of tea, pinki raised and saying things like "By Jove old Chap!" We used he time to get an education on the labour intensive production coffee and actually spent an extra night to take advantage of the TV to watch the final of the Super 14 which I won't give too much airtime to.

Heading further northwest towards Lake Tanganyika, the road suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a dirt track littered with what would otherwise be described as potholes had there actually been road to break up the continuous stream of ditches we had to navigate through. When we could tear our eyes and concentration away from the back breaking holes in the road, we noticed that the cyclists and
Kids Playing The Fool
pedestrians the road was littered with would literally haul their children, bicycles and cargo into the roadside foliage upon hearing our approach and would then themselves leap in after their possessions as thought their lives depended on it. This explained why we hadn't yet knocked one of them over while trying to avoid the holes but we couldn't quite work out the reason for this weird yet thoroughly entertaining behaviour! We had both showered that morning and were actually smelling quite clean, and we thought that we were driving quite considerately, rather hitting a donga than a cyclist who hadn't hit the bushes in time, so we were a little confused to say the least! And then our questions were answered; it started with a low rumble in the distance, which grew louder with each passing second. The sky soon filled with a cloud of thick red dust and before we could follow the pedestrians and cyclists into the foliage, we were shaken to our raised suspension roots by the cross winds of a speeding UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) brand new 2010 Land Cruiser literally bouncing from pothole to pothole with no regard for the vehicle or any pedestrian which might be caught in their onslaught! This continued for much of the 10hr journey to the little village of Kipili on Lake Tanganyika and soon we were also pulling off into the sanctuary of the long grass on the side of the road with the villagers in fear of our lives. So if any of you feel the philanthropic urge to donate money to a charity, don't give it to the UN because they clearly don't need your money!
On the way, we pulled into the dusty town of Sumbawanga for lunch where we were given such a warm welcome by all present and were even bought Typical Roadside Food Stall
a drink each by a doctor and his friend who wanted to
chat to us and hear our story. The one drink soon turned into two and we had a good chinwagging session but when a third round was offered, we politely had to decline if we were ever going to make it to our destination in time. It was a great introduction to the hospitality and warmth we would receive throughout Tanzania!

Lakeshore Lodge and Campsite situated just outside the village of Kipili on lake Tanganyika is owned by a South African couple, so the welcome we received after our taxing 10hour journey was second only to the pile of free firewood that came with our campsite. The couple were unfortunately off to Arusha for a travel expo so we were left in the hands of an English researcher and her Indian boyfriend who went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. It was great just having some company again so we planned to spend loads of time relaxing in the beautiful lounge area and chewing their ears off (they were equally as desperate for company living in a tiny village outside Katavi National Park where Emily is doing her research) so the four of us were super excited, that is, until our gas ran out. Yip, we had checked it in Malawi but forgot to do so again, so just as we were anxiously waiting for our kettle to bring to life the much needed water for our first cup of coffee, we heard a splutter splutter and then a weary puff as the last of our gas escaped through the pipe. We both stood there desperately staring at our stove, not wanting to Shaun's First Pot Bread!
breathe in case the flame came back but after a few
anxious moments of breath holding, we realised that there was no hope. And so we spent the next few days not relaxing in the lounge or swimming in the lake, or chatting to Emily and Adi, but hunched over our cooking fire from dawn until dusk trying to boil water, make or reheat meals and restoring our clothes to the colour we think they were on day of purchase. Emily and Adi thankfully took pity on us and sent up a flask of boiling water and even some papaya smoothies each morning which meant that we could at least spend sundown with them on the lake enjoying a few beers.

Emily was doing research on the Sakuma tribe in villages around Katavi National Park just north of Kipili, and she strongly encouraged us to freecamp within the reserve on account of the fact that they do it all of the time. I wanted to point out the fact that they do it with an armed ranger and that our only ammo is a small tube of mace and a blunt panga, but thought better of it as we headed north on the equally bad dirt road to Katavi. Now Katavi has the main road running straight through it, making it very hard to pay park fees, especially since the ranger huts are so well hidden that some of the rangers looked almost as lost as we did. As we entered the reserve, we started scouting for places to free camp for the night, determined to stop being such campsite sissies but there were two big problems; our car was being covered by Tsetsi flies even while driving and as soon as we came to a stop, the winged devils covered everything and even started making their way in through the air vents! Problem number two when we could actually see through the flies on our windows was the fact that half of the reserve was a smoldering mass of black from both controlled and uncontrolled fires, so the desire to free camp soon gave way to our need for luxurious campsites, so we headed through the reserve to the town on the northern border and camped on a deliciously lush lawn right on the feeding ground of a herd of hippos with not one Tsetsi devil around. The next day we were determined to harden up and camp in "the wild" so we started doing some serious scouting around the lake where the grass was beautifully green, Tsetsi devils were minimal and there were loads of hippos and ellies making for a pretty spectacular place to set up camp. Unfortunately we bumped into a ranger who wanted to have a chat with us, which forced us to open our windows as slightly as unoffensibly possible. As soon as the window was open however, the buggers streamed in like a bunch of fat kids at a cake party and the ranger eventually gave up trying to get any info out of us while all of our attention was solely devoted to the termination of our uninvited hitchhikers using any book at our disposal! The soft covers worked best.

Having had our encounter with the ranger, we were a lot more hesitant to freecamp, but the spot was so beautiful and the setting sun meant that more visits were becoming less likely, so we drove a little further around a corner and well off the track and stood around looking positively guilty. Eventually we agreed that it was too late for anyone to come so Shaun hastily dug a fire pit, lit a fire and we cooked cup a soup (yes, hardly a tough bush meal but the sun was setting and it wouldn't attract man eating animals), and managed to sit around enjoying our 'wild' experience for exatly 5 seconds before we had to attempt to wash under our tap while avoiding the relentless mosquitoes, looking out for man eating animals and trying to beat the sun intent on dipping below the horizon before we were safely stowed away in our tent. It was a last minute panic but we made it, and bravely watched the last of the rays dissapear from the safety of our rooftop tent! When we left early the next morning, the puzzled looks from the rangers as we headed in the opposite direction was truly entertaining, but only with the confidence that comes from not having being caught!

After all of that adventure, we needed some down time which we found at a campsite on Lake Tanganyika just outside the town of Kigoma on the border with the DRC. We desperately needed to fill up our gas but when we stopped at one of the petrol stations, they informed us that we had to consult a group of men sitting under the big tree at the market. When we enquired with the group under the tree, we were informed that we had to go to the blue container on the left hand side of the next road left. When we eventually found the container and its owner, he did have gas but only in pre-filled bottles and no pipe to fill ours with! So we spent the next 5 days cooking over fire once more but thankfully the campsite owner took pitty on us and invited us for a fish

Some Down Time on Jackobson's Beach

braai with her and her other expat friends the night before we left!

When in Rome . . . washing my hair at the only available water source . . .






And suddenly before we knew it, our time as rough and dirty travellers was momentarily up as we drove the 1200kms east to Arusha to meet up with Shaun's family for our much anticipated experience of the highlights on Tanzania's tourist trail!

The Road East