Tanzania

The Kitchen at Coffee Tree    

The beautiful dining room at The Old Farmhouse

Our next destination in Tanzania was Iringa, The Old Farmhouse Campsite. The distance to Iringa was about 280km and after breakfast and our tour of Utengule Coffee Farm, we left at about 11h00. We were on the main tarred road for a short period when we encountered roadworks. The roadworks continued for the next 200km! Road users were mostly big trucks and fuel tankers who do not adhere to traffic rules or road signs. They pass you on a blind corner or hill. A solid white line on the road means nothing. On the dirt road it was even worse. To slow down the traffic, severe bumps had been created in the road. In some places the bumps had been partially flattened by the big trucks, so they choose to drive on the side that had the smallest bump. More often than not that side would be the side we were driving on! To 'stay alive' we started doing the same - it was horrendous! It was a matter of 'push in or get pushed out! We eventually arrived at the camp site just as it was getting dark. We were met by 2 Masai warriors, complete with red cloth attire and spear. We set up camp as quickly as possible, had a tuna sandwich and collapsed into our beds. Ros and Theo discovered a 'coca cola spill' in their trailer, and first had to unpack crates and fridge, wash and clean, before going to bed. The next morning, after breakfast, we had a long chat with Nicky, the owner. She gave us invaluable information on National Parks to visit, accommodation, tour operators, and which roads to drive in order to avoid roadworks. 

                                                      Breakfast at The Old Farmhouse      We had been travelling for two months and had covered about 10000 km! The four of us sat down with maps and Nicky's info, and had a serious talk about the distances that we could cover in a day, how much time we had left, and everything we would still like to do. Dodoma was the next 'big town' and we had to sleep there for one night. On Nicky's recommendation we stayed over at The New Dodoma Hotel. By now we were getting fed-up with small towns with bad accommodation facilities and no camping, so we set our minds to drive further the next day. We drove via Singida and Babate towards Tarangire National Park. Ros found accommodation for us at Zion Campsite, just outside Tarangire NP. We got there in the dark and were the only campers. Dinner was Bully beef with 'smoored' tomatoes and onions. Ros added penne pasta to help fill those hungry stomachs! We had been traveling for six days and needed a break. The next day we entered Tarangire NP with one vehicle. There was a long que of mainly tour operators waiting to enter the park. We had never seen so many tour operators in one place, all waiting with their customers to get into Tarangire.  

Tour operators waiting to enter Tarangire NP

We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of animals we saw in Tarangire. It really lived up to its reputation as the park with MANY  elephants. We also saw great herds of Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Giraffes and Buffalo, and sighted the rare Thompson's Gazelle! Tarangire boasts a massive grass plain aptly named Little Serengeti. Enormous Baobabs covered the landscape. The park closed at 18h00 and we made it with a few minutes to spare! We camped at Zion for a second night and cooked fillet medallions with a mushroom sauce and a wonderful salad for dinner.  Arusha was an important stop for us. The Cruisers needed to be serviced and we had to get quotes from at least 2 tour operators. Once again it was Friday. Toyota could service the cars on Monday. We spoke to 2 tour operators and decided to drive to Kilimanjaro for the week-end while we waited for a quote to come through. As we left Arusha, we came upon another section of roadworks. We were glad to leave the town and the roadworks behind us as we drove to Mount Kilimanjaro. The last bookings were made in Zambia, so every time we neared a village we started scouting around for accommodation, using our internet connections, Tracks-for-Africa GPS, or the BRADT book for travelers. This time we struck gold and our Tracks-for-Africa led us to a small piece of heaven called The Coffee Tree Campsite, situated in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. It is a small, neat campsite, grassed with a well manicured garden. 

The Coffee Tree Campsite    

The kitchen at Coffee Tree

  The first night at Coffee Tree we got a reasonable quote from a reputable company, and we were very excited. We confirmed the booking, changed our Cruisers to be serviced on Tuesday, and decided to stay at Coffee Tree for 3 nights! It is a lot cooler here and we love it. (By the way, we had the whole camp to ourselves!) The next day Daniel took us on a 2 hour guided walk through the villages and right up to the entrance of Kilimanjaro National Park. Everyone we met greeted us with a friendly 'Jambo' (hallo in Swahili). Daniel is 54 years old and is actually a guide for hikers to the top of Kilimanjaro. He told us that he can only manage two groups to the summit in a month, as he is getting 'old'. I took this photograph of Daniel and Steve in front of a local shop. When Steve said to Daniel: Come stand here with me, we are the same., Daniel looked at him and said: The same, except I am flat!

Daniel, our guide.     Produce sold inside the shop

The village butcher    

The village Tailor    

Entrance to Kilimanjaro NP

 

Malawi - 9 September 2016

We entered Malawi on 9 September 2016. The border post of Mchinji was dirty, 'plein deurmekaar', but we were assisted and got through the arduous job of filling in forms, paying for TIP and getting third party insurance, which came to a total of MK45000! That is just short of R1000! We were surprised to find a relatively good tarred road that ran right through Malawi (M1). The small villages next to the road were neat and tidy, with gardens and small patches of cultivated land. We were so impressed! One could buy fresh tomatoes, sweet potatoes (red and white), sometimes even red onions and peanuts in baskets all along the road. The speed limit was 100km/h on the open road and 50 km/h through the villages. The villages were so close together that one seldom got to 100km/h, and driving through the villages dropped our speed to 30 - 40 km/h. There were hundreds of cyclist in Malawi. The bicycle is not only used for cycling, but also for the transportation of water, wood, pigs, goats and chickens, and whatever else. Baskets, 1,5 m wide are strapped on the back of a bicycle and goods are transported in this way to a town or market. It is quite hazardous trying to pass a cyclist with such a wide basket on the back, swaying over the road trying to keep his balance! Bicycles are also used as 'taxis'.  What a colorful world we have entered! Most women still wear the traditional chitenge, a colorful 'sarong' wrapped around their clothes, to be used as an apron, a wrap to tie a baby on their back or front, or to carry produce in, or to wrap around their shoulders when they are cold. It is often seen hanging in a doorway or used as a table cloth. The chitenge is bright and traditionally patterned batik. We have found out that it is sold in 4m lengths and is called Java fabric. There is a massive drive in Malawi to educate girls. One of the bill boards at a girls' school read: DONT MARRY ME, EDUCATE ME! The 120 km to our first camp site after the border took us 5 hours to complete. Steve negotiated a good price for B & B at Barefoot Safari Lodge and we stayed in their chalets for the night. We also had our vehicles, caravan and trailer washed at the Lodge! After breakfast the next morning we set off to Lilongwe, the Capitol of Malawi, and decided to drive into the town for supplies. Once again we had entered a town on a Saturday morning, and we struggled with throngs of cars and people. With a foreign vehicle registration (and a caravan/trailer in tow) you are a target! I was walking back to the vehicle on my own and watched a young man with fascination. He was scouting through the car park (he was about 20m infront of me) saw the Cruiser and caravan and targeted it immediately. He first looked at the vehicle registration, and then started circling it. He looked very disappointed when he saw no one in the car. He then stationed himself under a tree and watched the vehicle. I decided not to go to the car, stationed myself under another tree and watched him intently. Eventually he spotted me and started walking my way. Unfortunately there are so many people without work, and people are always begging. I have had an encounter with young boys on the side of the road that also said: give me money, give me food. I introduced myself and asked them their names. I asked them about themselves, about going to school, and about which sport they liked. Steve joined in and kicked a soccer ball around with them. I was surrounded by these beautiful, smiling young boys and complemented them on their good language and soccer skills. They counted with me while I was letting down the tyre pressure, right up to 60! Before I left I asked them: 'Now what are you going to do when you meet a stranger.' One replied: 'Hallo, my name is Lawrence, how are you today?' I couldn't have been prouder of my own children.  After we left Lilongwe we traveled to Mzuzu looking for accommodation. The area in Malawi up till now was very flat. We drove through our first pass, and Steve remarked that this was how he imagined Malawi to look. We saw massive boulders on top of the mountains that made Paarl Rock looked insignificant. As we climbed the hills, the temperatures dropped to 20deg. The first accommodation we encountered as we drove into Mzuzu was The Grand Palace Hotel, 4 stars. Steve negotiated an even better price than the previous night, and we were very happy to stay in a luxurious hotel!

The Grand Palace Hotel in Mzuzu

  After a wonderful breakfast and even better Mzuzu Filter coffee, we left for the Tanzanian border post of Serongwa. 155 km before the border, on a steep mountain pass where we had our first sighting of Lake Malawi, we met another cyclist, Nick Simon, coming up the pass. He is cycling from Cairo to The Cape. Check him out on nicksimon.org! He looked a bit hot and tired, but he was smiling and stopped to chat to us.

Nick Simon in Malawi

We decided to travel through Malawi to get to Tanzania rather than Zambia. On our way back we will take time out and explore Malawi.   We got to the border post at about 14h00. 3 young boys ran to me - they wanted my empty water bottle. I gave it to them. Any water container is precious to them. They still have to walk many kilometers to collect water. I started chatting to them. Most Malawian children can speak or at least understand English. I asked theim their names. They gave me big beautiful smiles. The smallest one pointed to my hair and asked: Is it grass? I burst out laughing. I took his hand and and invited him to feel and pull my hair. He was fascinated.  By now, when we reached a border post, we knew the drill: sign out of the counry; sign into the next country; encounter third party salesman/woman; money exchanger finds you - know your exchange rate and negotiate a good rate; walk into obscure area where you exchange money; check the money; all this while cajoling and with small talk in between; go to immigration counter; get immigration form; fill in immigration form and go back to immigration counter; be friendly, be patient, answer all questions; move to next counter; vehicle registration, drivers licence, police clearance certificate, and what-ever-else-they-want; pay TIP, road tax and road levy, and whatever other taxes; move with third party salesman to his office (this time his office was behind two lively pubs) ... did I mention patience?...... Steve and Theo had disappeared with the third party salesman, and I was working on my blog when Ros rushed in and pointed out the time. We had only 20 min to get across the border! Tanzania is an hour ahead of South Africa, and the time was actually 17h40! We got across the border in time, but we could not believe that it took us 3 hours! 

Wheeling and dealing at the border post

  The guys had been held up (we felt purposefully delayed, as we were the only ones there!) and no one was thinking straight when we put our accommodation for the night into our GPS's. Utengule Coffee Lodge was our destination. It got dark when we left the tar road thinking that we were going up a mountain into the coffee plantations. We drove and drove and drove......but no coffee plantations! Twice Steve (with Theo' help) refueled our car with jerry cans. We started phoning Utengule coffee Lodge. I accidentally phoned our next destination. The lady, Nicky, was totally confused when we told her that we were over 2000m on a mountain pass. We checked our maps again, and saw that, instead of a decent tar road, we took a 'road from hell' (as someone described it). The road was actually a single lane, rocky dirt track, with the mountain on the one side and darkness on the other, the road dropping into an unknown abyss. We went through numerous villages, built within meters of the track. Tiny little shops, lit by candles and lanterns could be seen doing business late into the night. We were forced to slow down to a walking pace because of people walking in the middle of the road with their belongings on their heads. Some were on motorbikes, carrying everything from water, feed for their cattle, and passengers, or building materials sticking a meter out on both sides of their motobrbikes. Most bikes and even some vehicles had no lights! When we thought that the worst was over, we encountered Igali Pass. The road got increasingly worse with numerous sharp bends and erosion on the inclines. All this combined with never ending dust from motorbikes and vehicles coming from the front and back. This 73km took us almost 3 hours to complete. We were exhausted when we got to Utengule. We decided not to camp and booked into comfortable rooms. In retrospect we were sorry that we did not see the pass in daylight - apparently it is was beautiful pass! Before we left the next mornng, we took a walk to the coffee plantation. It was well worth the 1 hour trip.

Utengule Coffe lodge

Blossoms on the Coffee plants

 

Lusaka

Pioneer Lodge & Camp

For the past 3 weeks Steve had been making enquiries about upgrading our Cruiser's suspension. With the help of family, friends and 'connections', we managed to get hold of the IRON MAN agent in Lusaka, with positive results. Our accommodation for the next few days was on the opposite side of Lusaka, Pioneer Lodge & Camp. There was no road to our accommodation other than through Lusaka. Ros and Theo left Roy's Camp a bit later than us, and we're heading straight to Pioneer Camp. We managed to get hold of Mondi, the person who would install the new suspension, got a quote from him, and organized for Steve to bring the Cruiser in to his workshop the next mornng. We stopped at Toyota, and Steve replaced the filters on the air conditioning and the air filters on the vehicle. The road through Lusaka was 'interesting'. When we hit the Great Eastern Road that took us to Pioneer Camp, the traffic eased off a bit, and we noticed more modern buildings: shopping centers, hotels, and a beautiful University. Pioneer Camp was about 22 km outside Lusaka. Their chalet facilities did not look as good as our own beds and once again we decided to camp. Ros and I were excited to see a washing machine (don't laugh!) at the lodge and immediately organized our washing to be done. Dinners at the Lodge were really good and reasonably priced. Steve got up at 05h30 the next morning so as not to be stuck in traffic. Well, the story  about the fitting of the suspension to the Cruiser is best told by Steve. I had never seen Steve so frustrated, desperate (and a few other words I could add, but should rather not). He got home that night at 19h00! The ordeal was not over. He had to return the next day to have a few more things fixed, and was up again at 05h30. He got home at 17h00 the second day. The Cruiser looked good, and Steve had a smile on his face. The next morning we were up once more at 05h30. Steve went to town to refuel, while we packed and got ready for our next adventure: South Luangwa!

Roy's Camp

Sunset over a fire at Roy's camp

Roy's Camp

We left the  Busanga Plains with great memories. Our next destination was Lusaka. Once again we had quite a distance to cover in unknown terrain, so we managed to get accommodation at Roy's Camp. This camp was not on our itinary, and we were not sure what to expect when we drove down the road towards the camp. What a surprise we got - a little gem next to the Kafue River, with welcoming hippo noises, and even a small crocodile bathing in the hot son! Just as welcoming was yet another friendly Zambian, Mark, who helped us in every way he could. Mark helped us to wash our caravan and car! We set up camp, had a hot shower in clean ablution facilities, made a huge fire (complimentary wood supplied by the camp) and watched a spectacular sunset. 

Camp fire at Sunset

 

Busanga Plains North Kafue

Busanga Plains lies in North Kafue. It is part of Kafue National Park and is known for its tree-climbing lions. Like the rest of Africa, it has also experienced drought for a few years. On our way to Busanga, we came upon a veld fire that chased us back on the road we came. We have been in other parts of Africa where we have had similar experiences, but this fire roared with a wind chasing it and we choked on its smoke. The wind changed direction a few times. Eventually Steve and Theo unhooked a trailer, and went to investigate. They came back, smiling, and we got our vehicles turned around once again (not an easy feat on a single track with deep culverts and high embankments on both sides!) We drove through a sad looking veld. It was amazing to see how quickly the fire dissipated. The dry grass burned with high flames but was not hot enough to light up the surrounding trees. Gilmore had told us that they actually set out to burn the veld at a certain time of the year. August is not the month to burn the veld, because of the 'August Winds'.  Busanga was a pleasant surprise. Flood plains dotted with 'islands', literally thousands of Lechwes and Pukus, buffalo, hippos and crocodiles ever present at every lagoon or waterhole, a variety of bird life (a bird lover's paradise), lion and elephant. Poaching, although illegal, is still taking place. Therefor elephant is best avoided as they are very agrressive. For us the 'elusive' leopard stayed elusive, although residents talked about seeing them almost daily. Unfortanely Busanga has no camping available in the Park, but if you can afford to stay in a Lodge, it is really worth a visit. The Lodges combine a 3 night stay with Ballooning! We met Balloonist Eric, and his wife Nancy - two amazing people, who are also avid conservationist and anti-poaching supporters, who, with their Ballooning, is trying their best to promote an influx of visitors and money to Busanga to conserve this beautiful part of Africa.

Kaingu Lodge Kafue

To get out of Liuwa Plains we had to take the pontoon to get across the river once again. Our next destination: Kaingu Lodge in Kafue. The trip to Kaingu was almost 600km. We got up in the dark, and started traveling with the first light of day. We knew that despite our early rise, getting out of Liuwa's thick sand, waiting your turn to cross the river by hand drawn pontoon, and stocking up in Mongu, would not get us to Kaingu Lodge before dark. Instead we opted to camp at Mayukuyuku Lodge en route. The next day we only had 137 km to drive to get to our destination. It took us 4 hours to complete our journey to Kaingu. The first 40 km we drove was on a good tarred road, with many speed bumps, as we were traveling through Kafue National Park. The next 40 km was on a reasonable gravel road. The last part of our journey took us on a beautiful, winding track, through dense forests dotted with massive granite boulders.  Every now and then we spotted Zebra, Puku, and Vervet Monkeys. on this track we collected passengers in the form of tsetse flies. I noted in the instructions we got from Kaingu that we had to stop and spray our vehicles against these pests at some point. At a 'check point' we enquired about the spray, but the official did not know what we were talking about. We continued on our way to Kaingu. Kaingu clearly stated that we were not to bring the tsetse flies to the lodge. We were nearing the lodge and all we had in the caravan was Doom. We stopped the car. Steve rushed to open the caravan with hundreds of tsetses attacking him. I retrieved the fly swotter (aptly named 'Iedere vlieg se moer') and set off doing exactly that! Steve entered the caravan with tsetses in tow, closed the door behind him and made a lot of noise! I was outside swatting myself to get rid of tsetses biting me, jumping up and down and waving my arms. After Steve had emptied the can of Doom, he exited the caravan, well marked by tsetse biting marks, and remarked drily: Well, we declared war on the tsetse flies, and the tsetses won! We continued our journey and 'licked our wounds'. About 2 km from Kaingu Lodge we came upon a big sign that read: PLEASE STOP YOUR CAR HERE FOR 5 MINUTES. THIS IS A TSETSE FLY CONTROLL AREA. which we did. Lo and behold! All the tsetse flies lost interest in our vehicle and disappeared! I have been dreaming about visiting Kaingu Lodge for more than 2 years. A few years ago we discovered that Gilmore and Julia, a couple that we had met on a 4x4 trip from Luderitz to Walvis Bay, had bought shares in and was helping to run Kaingu Lodge. So we were so excited to meet up with Gilmore and Julia once again! The team of Rick (a retired veterinarian) and Lynda (pharmacist), Gilmore (a forestry specialist and practical engineering person), and Julia (with her artistic background) makes a formidable team at Kaingu Lodge. We camped at Chief's Camp, but could also use the lodge facilities. We went on a river cruise, a game drive, and had dinner at the lodge. The staff at Kaingu was friendly and helpful. We did not want to leave! The last day Gilmore and Julia took us on an interesting walk. We ended on top of a granite rock (similar to Paarl Rock) with a beautiful view from which we watched the sunset and had some drinks. Then they invited us for dinner at their house. The house is absolutely unique. It was built on and incorporated into granite rocks and trees. There are no glass windows and the doors do not get locked. All the furniture were hand made and Julia's artistic flair is everywhere to be seen. Julia's own personal art adorns the lodge as well as the Chalets at the lodge. We stand in awe at all the work Julia has put in to building and decorating, not just their own house, but also the ablution facilities at Chief's Camp, and the bathrooms in the Chalets.

Baobab on shower wall, done by Julia

Bottle detail in Baobab

Toilet with a view

Rock pools at Kaingu

Sunset with Gil and Julia

 

Liuwa Plains

The Pontoon

From Kabula Tiger Lodge we had 315 km to drive to get to Mongu. We stocked up on fuel, water food etc. From Mongu we travelled to Kalabo. The road to Kalabo was a brand new tar road. We crossed 26 bridges, spanning many wetlands and rivers, most of them dry this time of year. Prior to the road being built, Liuwa Plains had been inaccessible during the rainy season. Although the road was very good, we had to stop at many 'check points' or slow down because of cattle, goats, donkeys, and small villages right on the highway. This road will in future be used by Zambia to access Angola's harbours. At Kalabo, the only way to cross the river was by using a pontoon. This pontoon can transport only one vehicle and trailer at a time. It is pulled across the river by 4 men, using a thick rope which is secured on both river banks. It just did not look adequate to carry a vehicle and a caravan, and as many pedestrians that could fit on it. Theo and Ros was first and we took pictures and videos as they went across. Theo radioed us as soon as he drove off the ferry: the sand was thick and soft. We started letting our tyre pressure down even before we drove onto the ferry. We were suppose to sleep at Katoyana, the camp site in the middle of Liuwa Plains, but opted for an alternative: a community camp, not too far away from the pontoon.

Community camp site

 After a light supper we watched the sunset, took many beautiful pictures, and watch a red moon rise on the opposite horizon. It was beautiful.

Sunset

The next mornng we set off to Katoyana. We travelled for most of the day, game viewing and bird watching as we went along.  The road was hectic at times, but we made it to Katoyana in one piece. We were welcomed to our camp site by two friendly Zambians, Agrey and Lucas. They were happy to see us and offered to bring us wood, wash our dishes and clean whatever else needed to be cleaned. Every morning they swept our camp sites and at night brought us lots of wood. We had enormous camp fires at night. Steve and Theo explored the north of the park while Ros and I chilled the first day. The second day, on a long drive to the south of Liuwa, Steve and I came upon 6 hyenas, bathing in the water and mud of a pan, cooling off in the heat of the day. On the opposite end of the waterhole a water monitor (about a meter long )tried to sneak out of the water. The hyenas spotted him, and watched him with interest. He carefully and as quickly as possible ambled back into the water. Liuwa Plains lives up to its name with thousands of square kilometers of grasslands, which are submerged during the rainy period, which is mid November to April. Dotted across this vast landscape are islands covered in enormous trees. Although the area was very dry, we were amazed to find pans, filled with water and greenery around it. These pans were filled with a variety of large bird species which included Saddle Bill Storks, Grey Crowned Herons, Secretary Birds and many more. We saw big herds of Zebra as well as Blue Wildebeest. We loved Liuwa. It was so remote. We were the only occupants at every camp we stayed in.  At our last camp site in Liuwa, we had 11 bats in the ablution facility. We were so dusty that not even the bats could keep us from having a shower! Due to the very sandy conditions in Liuwa, Steve got his worst fuel  consumption thus far - 26,3L/100km.