Tanzania

29th August 201 
 
We entered Tanzania a couple of days ago after a rather boring drive through Zambia. The border was a different matter- complete chaos, lorries everywhere and touts wanting to help you through the various procedures at the border. The whole of the squalid border town seemed to be crammed into the tiny strip between the two countries. Some two hours later we felt as though we had been spat out and ended up in yet another pit full of parked lorries waiting to cross the border, tuk tuks darting everywhere and chaotic roadside markets. At times our side of the road was also a parking lot for traffic waiting to cross into Zambia. Eventually John wound his way through it all and we were on the 'open' road heading to our planned overnight halt. It was not to be and the lorries that had kept thundering past us on our way earlier in the day were now forming one long, often stationary line in Tanzania. We needed to travel 50kms  before it went dark. Two hours later we were still little over half way and it was dark. We have never been more thankful to see a modern hotel and conference centre. We pulled in and begged them to let us stay the night on the car park.
Tanzania has I am pleased to say improved. We are still encountering some bad patches of tar but nothing compared to what we had in Zambia and the first 100 or so miles in Tanzania. The lorries and buses are still a nightmare as they hurtle past at break neck speeds even through the villages and as every tiny settlement has a speed limit a series of tall rumble strips at both ends and speed humps in the middle, progress is slow.
The scenery has more than made up for it. It is absolutely stunning. The rift valley was beautiful with wide ranging views and today we have driven through a mountain national park. As we are only 7 degrees south of the equator we have started to get a huge variety of vegetation including mile upon mile of baobab trees.
We are now heading to Dar es Salem with the aim of going over to Zanzibar for a few days providing we can find somewhere safe to leave Nicolle.

Zanzibar
3rd September 2014
 
After over 5 hours of negotiating the traffic in Dar es Salaam,we eventually reached our beach side camp spot as dark fell. The Police were directing traffic in the city so traffic lights had been switched off. This led to over half an hour waiting before your line of traffic was moved on! At the campsite we were fortunate enough to meet up with one of the Dragoman overland groups. Their cook gave us all the information we needed to get to the ferry to Zanzibar. So off we went - tuk tuk to the passenger ferry across the harbour, followed by a walk to the ferry terminal, VIP seats on the fast ferry and there we were- Stone Town, Zanzibar. It seemed more like a northern Africa town with souks and narrow bustling alleyways. We stayed in a hotel in the heart of the old town. We were given the owners room which was a penthouse on the roof so we had our own room 'with a view, over the harbour and town.
Zanzibar was a complete mix of cultures and full of history. The Anglican Cathedral in Stone Town is built on the site of the former slave market and whipping post. There were Persian baths, a Hindu temple and numerous mosques. We spent a day exploring the town and a further day on a spice tour which took us to the north of the island. Everywhere was very fertile and we really enjoyed seeing the spices growing and then having a 'spice lunch' freshly cooked the day ended with a visit to an idyllic coral fringed beach.

Kilimanjaro & Ngorongoro Crater
10th September 2014
 
The route north was along a mainly newly surfaced road with only a few stretches where there was a diversion because the road was incomplete.  It was a great relief not to have the succession of high and chassis shattering rumble strips and raised humps either side of every village - we were lucky that these still had to be built on the new stretches. The many police checks continued and we were convinced that when they asked us our nationality, all they wanted to do was practise their English.
​The route was lined with stalls selling fruit and vegetables. There were also many charcoal sellers.​

​As we approached our campsite on the flank of Kilimanjaro, the whole mountain was shrouded in cloud but an hour before sunset, the clouds lifted and from our pitch we had a perfect view of its snow capped top.
The world heritage site of Ngorongoro Crater is absolutely spectacular. It is a complete caldera and the 2000 ft descent into the crater was hair raising to say the least. As it is a conservation area it is only accessible by 4WD and with a local guide. Lake Magadi in the centre of the crater acts as a watering hole for wild life - herds of wildebeest, zebra and buffalo; lions, hyenas and jackels; black rhino which annoyingly stayed hidden from our view; gazelles, elephants and flamingo. Our camera worked overtime and our visit to the crater has been one of the highlights of our trip.​

From Ngorongoro Crater​ we headed to Kenya [click] and the equator before returning to Tanzania.
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Heading towards Malawi
21st September 2014
 
We are now heading back south towards Malawi, unfortunately having to retrace most of the route we used north. There is little choice of tarred roads, none of which are yet complete across the interior or western side of the country.
​We stayed overnight in the grounds of the Marangu Hotel overlooked by Mount Kilimanjaro. Whilst John was cleaning Nicolle with stream water running from the mountain, I wandered the grounds and took some photos of the beautiful flowers and trees.

On the road through the Usambara Mountains we passed many brick kilns.
We then drove through the Milkumi National Park. There was a strict speed limit and warning signs detailing the fines if you ran over and killed wildlife. The fine was US$100,000 for an elephant! Felt reasonably confident that we mighty not manage to do that.   
We are currently spending a few days at the lovely Kisolanza Lodge near Iringa. It is an oasis of peace and calm in the midst of a frenetic country.  Today has been a jobs day.  No electricity or mains drainage but they have clean water and a wood fired furnace for hot water so we washed some clothes. Tomorrow we will relax before heading ever onwards.
One of the beauties of this place is the evening meal. It is definitely in the gourmet standard and such a rare treat after what we had found to eat elsewhere. It is cooked over charcoal in a candle lit mud walled thatched roof barn. As it is pitch black by the time the meal is over a guide takes you back to your motorhome.

Farewell to Tanzania
25th September 2014

This post really should be titled 'Thank God we've left Tanzania and here's to calmer travels through Malawi'. Time will tell but first impressions are good. The final day in Tanzania took us through some impressive scenery and the fertile areas of the Great Rift Valley - mile upon mile of tea and banana plantations. BUT it also led us to getting us very cross and annoyed at one of the numerous Police check points. A lady officer demanded to check our vehicle fire extinguisher and fiddled with the catch nearly setting it off. She then wanted to see our first aid kit and proceeded to open it up! I saw red but she merely stated that she was a Police Officer implying that she could do what she liked. I exploded when she tried to open the sterile packets. At this point she gave it back to us. We are sure that she was just looking for some way to fine us but as we hadn't been speeding and had all the correct documentation and equipment, she was being plain awkward. Tanzania had some wonderful highlights but the petty bureaucracy, the traffic police, the lack of end of speed limit signs, the rumble strips and road humps, many unsigned and the filthy villages and towns made it a difficult country to drive through. Add to this speeding overloaded coaches, mini buses and lorries constantly whizzing past made driving an unpleasant experience.

[click] to continue our travels into Malawi