Day 144 – 26th February 2010 (Kigali, Rwanda – Bilharamulo, Tanzania)
Rwanda is such a small country that although Kigali is about in the middle, we had time for a leisurely brunch and caffe latte and still made it to the Tanzanian border by late afternoon. Pretty painless border crossing and we spent our first night in Tanzania in an old German Fort – rather random.
Miles travelled: 197 miles (total 14,879 miles)
Day 145 & 146 – 27th
& 28th February 2010 (Bilharamulo - Mwanza, Tanzania)
We had to say goodbye to our friends, Oli and The Surf (which James has decided to rechristen The Quirk) today who are heading to meet Oli’s parents for a couple of weeks of luxury, we’re obviously not at all jealous!
Alone once again, the Team headed to the shores of Lake Victoria and
Tanzania’s 2nd largest town, Mwanza. Now, the main aim of today was
to get to Mwanza and find a TV showing the England v Ireland game by 7pm. Quite
a big ask in this part of the world particularly since Mwanza was 160 miles away
along, according to our map, a dirt track – to give you some perspective here, yesterday
it had taken an hour to get 20 miles along a similar dirt track – and to make
matters worse, the not so small problem of the Mwanza Gulf in the way. To go
around it would double the distance so we bit the bullet and went for the
track. Our luck was in. After 40 miles the track turned into pristine tarmac
road, a ferry was virtually waiting for us to carry us across the Mwanza Gulf
and next to the campsite in Mwanza was a lovely hotel with a terrace bar
overlooking Lake Victoria complete with a large flat screen TV on which, after
a bit of a convincing that Man U v Tonbridge Athletic (or some such team) was
not a valid reason not to show an international rugby game, we could watch the
game. Unfortunately, the same luck was not with England and after what can only
be described as a piss poor performance, England lost … pants.
Miles travelled: 168 miles (total 15,047 miles) Highlight of the days: Finding marmite in the local supermarket – we
were dangerously low on supplies
Comment of the day: that age old question “Has anyone in this room actually been to Manchester … no, then why are
you obsessed with their football team?” Tune of the day: Unfortunately
not “swing low, sweet chariot”
Days 147-150 – 1st-4th
March 2010 (Mwanza-Serengeti NP- Ngorongoro Crater - Karatu) Another anticipated highlight of the trip – the Serengeti National Park
and the Ngorongoro Crater, some of Africa’s best game viewing. Unfortunately,
the first part didn’t go too well for the Team … Part 1 – The Serengeti The Serengeti is a whopping 14,700 km2 and, since we only had
a 24hr pass, we had to speed through the first afternoon to cover the 100 miles
to the main campsite area, not exactly conducive to game watching, especially
when William seemed to be invaded by tsetse flies. By the time we found a
campsite, it was absolutely p***ing it down and we’d only seen one elephant –
our thoughts of sundowners on top of the vehicle surrounded by game were
clearly dashed. Instead, we were huddled under the awning sheltering from the
rain making a warming chilli con carne when suddenly Ness started screaming …
60 seconds later she was stripped half naked hopping around the campsite,
covered in biting ants – it would appear that once you kill one, they all
retaliate by instantly starting to bite which can be quite alarming when 20 or
more have managed to get all the way up ones trouser leg without you even
noticing. 60 seconds later, James was in the same predicament. Lesson of the
day = if a campsite provides little enclosed huts for cooking, there’s obviously
a damn good reason for this so use them! We woke up early, pleased that the killer ants hadn’t managed to launch
an assault on the rooftop tent. Unfortunately, it was still p***ing down so our
morning game drive was not very productive particularly when, at around 10am,
William’s diff lock failed and we found ourselves involuntarily sliding through
the mud towards the large ditch that flanked the track. We stopped and got out
to assess the situation – something not recommended obviously in a National
Park famous for its lions and elephants but since we had seen nothing more
dangerous than a grumpy warthog all morning, we felt pretty safe – more than
can be said for William who was balanced precariously at a 30° angle half way into said ditch. OK, time to consult
handy overland manual for recovery tips on possible mud stuck situation … Tip 1: once you appear stuck,
you’d better get out to assess the situation – tick Tip 2: if it’s
bad, you could have a cup of tea – hmmm, not particularly helpful when stuck
in middle of lion country Tip 3: drive into a slide, turn
the wheel into the wayward direction – tick, unfortunately now William is at a 40° angle near the bottom of the ditch and in
serious danger of rolling over Tip 4: utilise available resources like rocks, logs and bits of
plank – unfortunately not many
people leave handy planks around in the middle of a National Park Tip 5: out with the shovel - … And two very sweaty hours later, William was free and we were heading
out of the Serengeti as quickly as possible … but we did manage to catch sight
of a leopard on the way out, which made everything worth while! Lesson of the
day = sand ladders are next to useless in mud and don’t wear flip flops on
safari. Part 2 - The Ngorongoro
Conservation Area The day did get significantly better! It turned out that Oli and his
parents had also arrived that day at the Ngorongoro Crater and very kindly
invited us for a drink and then dinner at their lodge – we were staying at the
public campsite down the road which couldn’t have been more different from the
Ngorongoro Crater Lodge – this place was truly amazing, wood panelled dining
room, chandeliers everywhere (even over your bathtub), beautiful view over the
Crater and as much booze as you can drink… heaven … it was with much jealousy
we went back to the public campsite to sleep in our little green tent! And it still got better, the next morning we descended into the Crater
to be greeted by a couple of elephants, a spotted hyena, some Rhino and then …
finally for the team … a lion. The lioness was so impressed with William that
she even walked down the hill to have a closer look … nothing to do with the
large herd of zebra behind us obviously. We then joined the Stevens once again
for a beautiful brunch overlooking a hippo filled lake – we left the Ngorongoro
Crater very happy bunnies (assuring Mr & Mrs Stevens that we would not be
following them around for their entire two week holiday … honest!) Miles travelled: 367 miles
(total 15,414 miles) Highlight of the days: Gotta be the Lions sighting and the Ngorongoro
Crater Lodge Comment of the days: Oli “I
can sit in my bathtub and watch game in the Ngorongoro Crater whilst drinking
free sherry!” versus Ness “I’m trying
to kill it but it won’t f***ing die!” [attempting to kill a tsetse fly with
her flip flop whilst succeeding only in breaking the compass…] Sightings of the days: Leopard,
Lion, Buffalo, Elephant and Rhino - Big Five in 24 hours – tick! We even saw
two cheetah for good measure Day 151 – 5th March 2010
(Karatu-Arusha) So enough of the National Parks for a while, the team headed to Arusha
and civilisation … a bit more civilisation than we bargained for. As we arrived
at the Masai campsite the owner did warn us that it might get a bit loud it
being a Friday night, he was not wrong! It turned out we were camping at “the”
place to party in Arusha, the manager (gay-dar was making all sorts of bleepy
noises) was very excited that the dancers had been booked from Dar and would be
arriving for their set at midnight. Hmmm, must be getting old – we decided to
only stay one night. Miles travelled: 97 miles (total 15,511 miles) Highlight of the day: James thrashing Ness 5-1 at pool and drinking
just enough beer to block out the noise of 400 locals plus a couple of overland
trucks partying their Friday night away Comment of the day: James [overhearing an overland truck client
bragging about his African experiences] “I’ve
had worse pooh experiences than he’ll ever have had” Tune of the day: Some
techno dance abomination Day 152 – 6th March 2010
(Arusha - Moshi) Making a swift exit from party central, we headed to Moshi at the foot
of Mount Kilimanjaro, which was sneakily hiding behind a very large cloud –
really, you would have thought a mountain that big you would be able to see at
least some of it but no, photo op of William with Mt Kili in the background
dashed L But we did have a very nice café latte
macchiato in town and found a great little campsite … unfortunately, whilst we
were enjoying a lovely dinner with a volunteer chap in his gap year just of the
boat from England, an overland truck had arrived at the campsite and we
returned to find William surrounded by tents full of loud American
“overlanders”– personal space does not seem to be a concept these guys understand! Miles travelled: 63 miles (total 15,574 miles) Comment of the day: American overlander truck girl “Ouch!”
as she tripped over our tent ladder – that’s what you get when you position
your tent 3cm away from William, ha! Days 153-156 – 7th-10th
March 2010 (Moshi - Pangani) Thanks to the lovely considerate people in the American overland truck –
whose tight itinerary meant noisily packing up their tents and having loud
conversations about Cosmo magazine and the lack of hot water at 5:30 in the morning
- it turned out to be an early start for the team. Still, a couple of café
latte macchiato’s – the team was back on fine form and forgiving of the world
(apart from perhaps certain overland trucks…). And it was time for another
beach holiday, yay! And what a lovely spot we found on the coast at Pangani – great little
campsite on the beach, with a restaurant and well stocked bar, a small swimming
pool, a coffee place next door that baked fresh baguettes for our lunch, some
very contented cats and a yappy Jack Russell that had a thing against palm
trees and coconuts. Unfortunately it was too hot to sleep properly which was a
bit of a bummer! Miles travelled: 247 miles
(total 15,821 miles) Highlight of the days: just relaxing on the beach, it’s a hard life
this overlanding business Tune of the Days: The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Tight Fit (truly surprised
this hasn’t come out before) Day 157 – 11th March 2010
(Pangani - Bagamoyo) We thought that perhaps it might be a bit cooler further down the coast –
we were wrong plus, somehow, a small swarm of mosquitoes managed to get into
the tent … not a good night, best not talk about it… Miles travelled: 187 miles
(total 16,008 miles) Highlight of the day: Fondue on the beach (oh yes, we thought it was
only 80’s dinner parties and in the Alps but oh no, it has made it to the
Tanzanian coast, yay!) Days 158-160 – 12th-14th
March 2010 (Bagamoyo - Dar es Salaam) If anything it is hotter still in Tanzania’s capital, so we were very
pleased to see our friends in Dar, the Wardy’s, and be staying in their awesome
house (well, the maids quarters actually – gotta love the expat lifestyle J) with air-con and a bed … pure luxury! Miles travelled: 62 miles
(total 16,070 miles) Highlight of the days: Catching up with The Wardy’s, real ice-cream,
a home cooked roast chicken with all the trimmings (and not the usual African
brown stringy chicken, a proper plump organic one!) with Peruvian wine
(surprisingly very good) and cooling off in Philippe & Jennifer’s pool. Comment of the day: Goes to Sasha, Wardy’s almost 5 year old
daughter, explaining the ups and downs of her school’s two slides to Ness “…. Well, you know how it is, …” Tune of the day: some 80’s classics in the Q bar Day 161 & 162 – 15th & 16th March 2010 (Dar es
Salaam - Iringa) Back to the tent for the team, via a quick stock up on mostly pork based
products at the lovely Oyster Bay deli, and we headed for the much anticipated
cooler climates in the southern highlands of Tanzania … and it didn’t
disappoint. The drive took us through Mikumi National Park, with huge herds of
elephants and giraffe just by the side of the road – I think we saw more from
the road today than we did in 24 hours in the Serengeti and this was free and, thankfully,
a lot less painful experience! Then we arrived at the lovely Old Farm House,
Kisolanza, owned by Nicola Ghaui and her sisters, who, although their family
has been in East Africa for over 100 years, greeted us in a perfect home
counties English accent “are you lost?” followed
by her Rhodesian Ridgeback called Muppet and equally large white dog of dubious
origin called Popeye. As we were drummed into dinner of roast beef and red
wine, we decided to stay a couple of nights!
Miles travelled: 361 miles
(total 16,431 miles) Highlight of the day: Mikumi National Park and the Old Farm House,
Kisolanza Observation of the day: all campsites should have separate areas for
private vehicles and overland trucks – they really don’t mix well! Day 163 – 17th March 2010
(Iringa-Mbeya) OK, so what is it with African countries and the excessive use of road
bumps?? You can be travelling at 60mph along a perfectly good road with no-one
around and suddenly, without warning, the whole vehicle is thrown in the air
and crashed down as you hit a road bump the size of one of Sevenoaks famous oak
trees (or the three that are left anyway) uprooted and laid across a perfectly
good road … good job we have shocks the size of Mike Tyson’s arms to see us
through. Anyway, rant over … and first prize goes to James today for getting
the first speeding ticket of the trip, despite said road bumps! Miles travelled: 196 miles (total 16,627 miles) Highlight of the day: Camping on the helipad of a coffee plantation
lodge – yeah right, how many people helicopter in to Mbeya??? How many people
have even heard of Mbeya?? Wishful thinking on clientele me thinks.