Lake Tanganyika

UGANDA The Lodge at '@on the river Ishasa' was comfortable, and the staff extremely pleasant and helpful. After advice from a tour guide and some locals, we decided to drive back via the road we took to Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforests. This road was well maintained because it was regularly used by visitors to the Mountain Gorillas. This route took us pass Lake Bunyonyi and Kabale. That night we slept at THE GREAT LAKES MUSEUM & LODGE. TANZANIA - LAKE TANGANYIKA After breakfast we continued to the border post of Kikagati. After passing through the Ugandan and Tanzanian border posts, we were advised to return to Uganda, take a 50 km detour, and re-enter Tanzania from Nshangezi. This detour saved us from having to negotiate a difficult pass, which, after the rain, could have been treacherous. From Nshangezi we drove through enormous sugar plantations. Just before Kyaka, there was a police and customs check point. Here they checked our re-entry permits and we continued our journey to Bukoba. The Victorious Perch Hotel provided us with accommodation once again. At 06h00 the next morning we left with hotel packed breakfast parcels. At about 10h00 we stopped for breakfast and coffee in The Biharamulo Nature Reserve. As Steve sat down on the caravan door step, he noticed a white substance dripping from underneath the caravan. The remainder of our milk cartons (3 liters) had chafed through on the previous day's journey. It was the first time that I was glad that the caravan had not been sealed properly. The clean-up was quick and we managed to save 1,5L, pouring the milk into 3 x 500ml empty water bottles. The breakfast provided by the hotel included 2 slices of dry bread, one hard blue boiled egg, 2 dried out chiapattis, and 1 not-so-cosher sausage. We took out our own butter, jam, peanut butter and syrup, and made some coffee. Our journey took us back to Nzega and from there to Tabora. We booked into The Orion Tabora Hotel. It is a beautiful old colonial style hotel. At dinner we met a group of Tobacco merchants. They advised us which roads to take to Lake Tanganyika and warned us to expect poor roads. The next morning we took the B6 to Ipole. From Ipole the tar road turned into a track that changed from bad to worse. The wheel on the caravan picked up a 6inch nail - our first and only puncture on the whole trip! 

Puncture

   

First and only Puncture!

  Over the next 4 hours we experienced every bad-road-scenario: potholes, soil erosion, soft, thick sand, roads with rocks and boulders, powdery dust holes, and perfect corrugation that shook the caravan almost completely off the road. We were exhausted, having to fight the road all the time! Accommodation at Mpanda was unacceptable, and in Katavi National Park far too expensive due to park fees. We made the decision to continue to Kipili on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. The first section of the gravel road through Katavi had culverts sitting on top of the road, covered in sand and not easily noticed in the evening dawn. Tsetse flies hitched a ride with our vehicles until we left the wooded forests that flanked us on both sides of the road. Outside Katavi National Park we came across an excellent newly tarred road (about 20km long), before it, once again, changed to a gravel road which winded through Namanyere and Kipili fishing village. We reached Lake Shore Lodge at 22h00 that night. The staff at Lake Shore Lodge had been informed of our late arrival and put us into Bandas for the night. A Banda is a sparsely furnished room without a bathroom and toilet. Ablutions facilities were in a separate building and was shared between Bandas. The Bandas and ablution facilities at Lake Shore Lodge was spacious, beautiful and clean. Steve and Theo talked one staff member into opening the bar and pouring us each a drink before we went to bed.

Lake Shore Lodge

  The next morning we could see our surroundings in daylight and we were thrilled! Lake Shore Lodge has Camping, Bandas, Luxury Chalets and a Honeymoon Suite. The Lodge is run by the owners, ex South Africans, Chris and Louise. Chris is an engineer, builder and restauranteer. Louise used to be a fashion designer in Johannesburg. They make a formidable team. The Lodge is beautifully laid out, well built and perfectly maintained. Louise's feminine touch and artistic detail is everywhere. The camping and ablution facilities are situated under massive mango trees, with plenty of shade. LSL offer their guests diving, snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, fishing, sun-set cruises, quad biking, interesting walks, just relaxing in the sun or reading in an open air lounge. They serve great food, and dinner is a lantern-lit affair on the beach, just a few meters from the water's edge.

View of Lake from Inside the Lodge

  Steve had tremendous fun hooking a few tigers from the jetty and the beach. We loved it so much that we ended up staying for 8 nights! (The last 2 nights we were upgraded to the honeymoon suite!) I promise that this will be my last 'spill' story: remember the milk that we transferred from broken cartons to plastic water bottles? Well, when we opened up our fridge in the caravan after above mentioned horror road, all the plastic bottles had chafed through and everything else in my fridge stood in 1,5L of milk! Luckily, the milk was contained in the fridge. (Always a silver lining.........) The fridge in our caravan packed up - a gas pipe must have broken due to the bad road - and all the gas leaked out. Luckily we still had our trusted 40L Engel in the car. ZAMBIA Ndole Bay is situated on Lake Tanganyika, but on its south western side, in Zambia. The border crossing through Tanzania and Zambia did not take long and we managed to get to Kasame where we stayed for the night. From Kasame we would have had to travel all the way back to Ndole Bay. Unfortunately an old back injury started playing up and Steve turned back towards Mpeka.The Forest Inn (not the one in Nzega!) was fully booked when we arrived there at 17h30. We continued for another 2,5 hours to Frangilla Farm. By this time it was dark and we were glad to get off the road. The Great North Road is not pleasant to negotiate at night. After breakfast Steve drove through Lusaka to Livingstone. The temperatures soared the further south we went. Livingstone was battling a mosquito plague with temperatures of 45 degrees C. We booked into the Protea Hotel for the night (air conditioning was a major prerequisite).  CAPRIVI AND NAMIBIA The next day we had another border crossing, Shesheke and Katima Molilo. From there we travelled to Nambwa in the Caprivi. We were a little apprehensive, knowing that this once 'wild place' had undergone a tremendous change. A lodge had been built where we once camped and we did not know what to expect. African Monarch left 4 of the original camp sites in place. We camped next to the river with good, old, familiar views. The lodge is stunning, but very expensive. We experienced thunder, lightning and rain - a first for us in Nambwa. We had 2 good days in Nambwa. We met a very special gentleman in Nambwa. Klaus accompanied Steve on an evening game drive, and mutual interests created an easy friendship.  Ngepi camp was our next stop. Here we washed our vehicle and caravan and slept with the trumpeting of elephants and the whoop-whoop of hyenas in our ears.

Sunrise in Nambwa

 

Camp site at Ngepi

  We stopped and stared at the road running through the Kaudom ("next time - my back will not make it") then turned away to Rundu for fuel. Tsumke, Grootfontein, all the Otji's!, until we reached Otjiwarango. Unpack, eat, sleep, drive..... ITS TIME TO GO HOME! One more place to sleep - Orange River Lodge - Noordoewer. Last border crossing - South Africa - our beloved country. Breakfast at the Springbok Cafe ............Somerset West at 14h00!  21 July 2016 - 30 October 2016  102 DAYS       7 COUNTRIES  +- 20000 KM ITS GOOD TO BE HOME!!!