Sandy goes to Africa

Sandy goes to Africa | sitemap | log in

Tanzania.

To view photo album of Tanzania click on any photo

to view photos of the Serengeti click on the animal phots.

Monday 14th September

Across the bridge from Rwanda once more we found customs and immigration quite quick, Jackie did the paper work and visas etc, while I went back to resave the car, eventually I freed the car with a lot of help from the truck drivers who kindly shunted about for me. Collecting Jackie we set off, the first 200kl was supposed to be bandit country; so stopping for a cup of tea was out of the question. However we continued on Kahama some 315kl. We tried to find a hotel for the night as no campsites were to be found in that area, however the first two we tried had quite an attitude problem when we asked if they had any rooms, the answer was a very quick no. So they obviously didn’t want us so we moved on to the third, the Prime Hotel (GPS S03 49 732 E032 36 262) where they were very welcoming and at 20,000 Tas it was worth it.

Tuesday 15th September

We needed a bank that supported Visa to obtain local currency, so taking the hotel manager into town as a guide funds were obtained. After which we set off to a place called Mwanza right by Lake Victoria some 280kl. We had a straight forward run arriving around 4.30. At the Yacht Club Campsite there were four South African cars going north so we were able to swap info on roads and borders etc. Not the best place but it was the only place. But for your 20,000 shillings you could get a hotel. Makes you think sometimes.

Wednesday 16th September

Heading for the Serengeti National Park today but before this we needed to buy food. Found a half decent shop but boy did they no how to charge. A tin of tomatoes was £1.00, a packet of small bisto £4.00, needless to say we bought the minimum. Jackie disappeared to buy a local sim card for her phone, after which we headed off to the campsite just outside the Serengeti Gate. Arriving they wanted 30$ but we got them down to $20 and at there exchange rate that worked out at 20,000 shillings as we need to keep the dollars. Pulled into the campsite and found the Dutch in residence. Sandy was in need of a bit of attention, the gear box was getting quite noisy so I changed the oil for heavier grade oil instead of the hydraulic oil that is normally used. Cleaned the air filter and made some adjustments and all was fine.

Thursday 17th September

We filled up with diesel as the last thing we wanted to do was run out of fuel in the Serengeti. The run to the garage told us that whilst the gear box still had a singing noise (worn gears) it was noticeably quieter. Arriving at the Serengeti gate we paid our $400, (OUCH!!!) we wouldn’t have minded but the road/dirt track was appalling. 150kl to the campsite which they said would take 3 hours, WELL NOT IN OUR CAR!!! We still want it to work after so it took us more like 4 hours 30 min. However, on the way we saw Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, Crocodiles and warthogs.

Arriving at the campsite we found it to be very good considering we were in the middle of the bush, with a new toilet block and showers although they were cold.

Friday 18th September

With everybody getting up early at about 5.30am to go on game drives, we also got up and we were ready to go at 7.00am. Heading off to a spot we had been told had lions, we found some Hyenas and Vultures eating a Buffalo carcass but alas no lions. Continuing on we took other tracks off to both sides but nothing, not a cat in sight. In fact only Impala and Springbok. Returning to the start point we turned to the right and came to a hippo pool. Shortly after a lion came in sight closely followed by two more. This was what we wanted to see. Later we saw lots vehicles heading down a track at quite high speed. Knowing that the local drivers have radio contact and work together we followed. In a tree was a Leopard. Some distance away but there it was. Retuning to the camp site had breakfast, although a bit late in the day. We took it a bit easy for the rest of the day intending to leave in the morning.

Saturday 19th September.

We headed for the east exit gate that joins onto the Ngoronogoro Conservation Area. Part of this is a crater at the top of the mountains that has a lake and water all year round. This attracts quite a lot of wildlife. You name it and its there but the catch is, you have to pay $50 each to drive through, $40 for the car, and to enter the crater another $200. As the gate is 1 1/2 hours drive to get the most you have camp for the night another $30 each. This is a total coat of $400 to look at the crater. A step too far we thought. $140 to drive through was way over the top in cost but you had no choice. The road was appalling. Another test track for the manufacturers. I don’t know where they spend the monies they collect in park fees but it sure as heck is not on the roads. It took 4 hours to drive 90kl. Ok the locals do it in 2 ½, but we have too far to go to play games like that. We found our camp site Twiga Camp at Mto Wa Mbu (name of the town/Village, not our fault we don’t name them) about 5.30 and set up for the night.

Sunday. 20th September.

Having found a good camp site we decided on a chill day. Apart from cleaning the car (all the dust) we did nothing. We met with three motor cyclists travelling north to Germany, two Germans and a South African. This proved to be helpful to us all as we could exchange information on roads and camp sites etc.

Monday 21st September.

We left Mto Wa Mbu (don’t you just love that name. Can you pronounce it, go on give it a try. Bet you can’t.) and headed for Arusha a reasonable size town with a supermarket. Our supplies were running very low and soon to be down to bread and butter. Seeing food again was great. T bone steak about £2.00. We had a bit of that. Lunch in a local cafe and catch up on the E mails. Then to the camp site where we intend to stay for two days and catch up on the blog ready to download with the photos before we set off for Dar es Salaam on Wednesday via the scenic route and the coast road.

Tuesday 22nd September.

Quite day today bit of route planning, monkey watching, they are a pain in the rear but you can’t help but laugh at the antics of them. Like teasing the dogs, they come down the tree and sit on the floor watching the dogs. The dogs watch the monkeys,

the dogs charge for the monkeys and the monkeys jump into the tree about 2 to 3 mtrs high. Just out of reach. The dogs bark and run around until they get tired or fed up then the whole cycle starts again, the monkeys come down out of the tree and so on. Then down town to the internet to download and update the web.

Wednesday 23rd September

Had to go down town again today as the internet was playing up, so thought we would give it another go. But to no avail, we could not load on the recent pictures for some reason so it will have to wait now until we get to Dar sa Salaam. So we made our way to the coast today, but we will be staying somewhere half way as it is quite a run. We did about 100kl then pulled into the Elephant Hotel who also allows camping, not a great site but it is only for the night.

Thursday 24th September

Setting off early we left the Elephant Hotel for the Beach Club Resort at the coast to a place called Pangani. We had two options; one where we had to catch a small ferry, or go round on the road, choosing the road way we did however miss the turning, bearing in mind we were looking for a dirt track. Looking at the map we decided to find another road, this road was a white road on the map and a worse one than the one we missed.

So taking this second option the road did not seem to bad to begin with, but slowly the road deteriorated and deteriorated some more. Meanwhile Jackie took over the wheel which I think she regretted as the track had not been used for some time. It was overgrown and rutted from the rain, so out come the bush cables on the front to protect the windscreen.

Eventually we just ran out of track altogether and ahead of us was just a thick dense forest.

Turning around we headed back to the main road, by the time we got there it was nearly 5 0’ clock!!. As it gets dark here by 6.30pm we had no time to loose, so we pushed on to the next turning which was another dirt road but much better. Just as we were about to hit the coast we came to a barrier across the road, it was the gate to the Saadani Forest reserve. We knew it was there but according to Tracks for Africa it showed the road going round. Wrong!! At this point we only had 30kls to go and they were asking us to pay $20 each, $40 for the car. $80 just to use the road, well one thing was for sure we were not about to pay out $80 for that. At this point it was dark anyway and they do not let you into the game parks after six thirty so we would still have been stuck. Heading back to the main road we headed north back towards Serera the next camp site. By now it was dark, like black. No street lights, no reflective markers, no road markings just on coming headlights. Most of them on high beam and not wanting to dip them but having 6 front spots and two headlights shining on them encourage them a tad to dip when required. Night driving is lethal in Africa. Broken down trucks on bends, roadwork’s, people walking in the road, push bikes loaded with planks of wood sticking out into the road. And of course they all have warning lights and reflective strips, like heck they do (NOT). We eventually arrived back at Segera at about 10.30 pm. Totally cream crackered and ready for bed, we had been on the go from 9am. Bush driving while it can be fun for short distances is hard work for extended periods. Well it is if you don’t want to kill your car and we still have a long way to go. You are constantly on the look out for pot holes, ruts etc and it takes a lot of concentration hour after hour. But back to Segera and the camp site, the Segera Hotel, not our first choice but beggars can’t always be choosers. The toilets/showers were, shall we say not to be recommended, (Understatement) the camp site resembled an untidy tip but we needed somewhere for the night. The intention was to move on first thing in the morning.

Friday 25th September.

Leaving Segera Hotel (how it is a hotel is anybodies guess) by 9 am we headed or the Beach Crab Resort. Going south back down the same road we were looking for the right turning. Confirming with the local police we headed off down the dirt road once more. This time in the right direction. 20kl further on we came to a set of gates across the road. Fearing something similar to the game park we asked a local. It turned out this was an army barracks and the road went through. Booking in at the gate off we went but there was no gate out? Strange that the road just went on. We now went through a forest, up hills and over a plain where breakfast just had to be had. But eventually we could see the sea. Arriving at Beach Crab Resort we were right by the sea. Parking up by the beach we were overlooking the Indian Ocean. What a view in the mornings. This will do us for a few days.

Saturday 26th. September. Chilled out sat by the sea, swam.

Sunday 27th. September. Oil change on Sandy and chilled out.

Monday 28th. September.

Heading south towards Dar sa Salaam. We had two choices once more, north to the ferry or south and across country. You got it, south and across country. Off we went but we had to find the turning at Mkwaja. Now sign posts are not in any great abundance around Africa. GPS reference point was not available so it was once more by the seat of the pants and asking the locals. Eventually knowing we were very close we ended up asking on of the locals and he offered to take us to the turning. Sitting him on our third seat (the front spare wheel) he showed us he right road. (about ½ a kl away). Taking about 3 hours to get back to tarmac we continued south towards Bagamoyo, having a choice of three camp sites we thought one has to be ok. How wrong can you be. The best was $12 each. Not a chance. The other two were shall we say unsuitable. 30kl south was Silver Sands Hotel with campsite so off we went. It sounded nice. Unfortunately! This was not the case. But time was not on our side. So for the night it had to be. Cold showers once more. The ladies were disgusting. Jackie used the men’s showers which were not brilliant. You could see it used to be a nice lace but it was now so run down and dilapidated. At first light we were off.

Tuesday 29th. September.

Crack of sparrows we were off into Dar sa Salaam. Landrover dealer for a seal, pr of front springs (ours are sagging sadly), bank, decent supermarket, chemist for Jackie’s Malaria tablets and internet. The only thing we were now lacking was cooking gas and somewhere to sleep. Nothing major. Taking the ferry to the south of Dar we found out camp site. Hot showers, by the sea on the beach. Bliss once more and we could take out time and plan out route to Malawi. Met up with a couple of Kiwis travelling north to Europe in a Toyota.

Wednesday 30th September.

Fitted the new half shaft oil seal, and sorted the route out for Malawi. Bugger it rained!!!!!!!! That’s not on the score card. Deciding if I can fit the two new front springs here or not before moving on. Might give it a go in the morning. Met Martin and Jet (Dutch) who have travelled south down the west coast in a Landy freelander and now going north up the east coast to do the full circuit. (www.whataboutafrica.org)

Thursday 1st October. (Bugger doesn’t time fly soon be crimble).

Sat on out backsides today all day. Enjoied the sun, Steve, Katie, Roy and Sandy arrived early evening so time was spent catching up on past events and happenings.

Friday 2nd October.

Set off at about 10am with the intention of leaving Dar se Salaam however events overtook us. Having to take the ferry across the inlet to the north side we had a bit of a shock when we had to que for over an hour to board. The crossing only takes 5 min. The ferry dose two crossings an hour and they don’t hang about loading or unloading. Consiquently it was close to 12 when we landed. First job was to find some gas for the cooker. One bottle was empty and the other about ½ full. The shop in the town could not fill an English bottle. But the gas plant would. Finding it was another story. We had the way point but it was in the petrol storage distribution area. Trucks were everywhere. The dule carriage way (yes dule carageway0 was littered with artics, drawbars (trucks and trailers). Some broken down, some just parked (or abandoned, that’s what it looked like). Fighting past this lot was fun so say the least but to be fair to them they are a helpful bunch. The navigation showed a left turn, but it was a solid wall. Not able to turn around we headed up the road through more trucks. Eventually turning we headed back. But this time it was blocked solid. Onto the wrong side of the road for a bit, then over the kerb and onto the grass. (Not flat grass like your lawn, rough, unkempt, long, littered with junk and one or two broken trucks). Eventually finding a turning (while the nave said NO!) we went and found the Onix gas. The nav was right on the button. But the road wasn’t. But moving on, our next quest was shopping, in a supermarket on less. Nowadays this is always a thrill for us as no 1, you don’t know when you will find another one, no 2; you don’t know what will be inside or not as the case may be. Finding the bank was easy and low and behold the cards worked. Its 50/50 as to if they will or not. Some times the link is down, sometimes it the bank who are not cleared by Visa for international transactions and sometimes the blo£@y machine dose not work period. Next port of call was to find parts for Sandy. Fruitless task this time. I wanted 2” packers for the suspension. They make them but not to the quality I want for my car. Internet was next. That was quite good but not able to load much on just check e mails. By now it was close to 5pm. far too late to start off so we headed back to the ferry. Another 1 ½ hours to cross and back to the camp site. Few surprised looks as we rolled back into the camp site but tomorrow is another day.

Saturday 3rd October.

Ok we try agene. 8.30 and we were on our way to the ferry. Dam good job its only 50p to cross. No que, 30min and we were across. Onto the A7 and we were away. Few traffic jams on the way out but nothing major. Heading west we made good time. Passing thorough the game park (bugger one we don’t have to pay to drive through for a change) we saw some elephants and giraffes but that was about all. We ended up at Boabab Mountain Camp. Not a bad place. Meting an English gentleman called Arthur, with Pearson from Zimbabwe and Malcolm from Malawi who were on a fishing trip complete with wives. (Some wives are very understanding). Pearson very kindly offered us accommodation in Lusaka if we were around that area. Thanks Pearson we may just take you up on that kind offer. It’s much appreciated.

Sunday 4th October.

Leaving Boabab camp we are making our way to the Farmhouse Campsite some 170kl away. It was a beautiful drive taking us through the valley and up and over the mountains. The road in places had very bad potholes but we have been on a lot worse. We found the campsite easily, but as we were approaching it there was an awful noise coming from the gearbox when in second gear, well we just looked at each other but I won’t print what we said!! Deciding not to worry about it for now we set up camp, very nice it is to but no internet as we wanted to have a look at the possibility of having a gear box shipped over from England, but it will have to wait. We decided to spend a couple of days here, and will leave on Tuesday to make our way down to Mbeya where there is a Landover dealer; we can then see what our options are.

Monday 5th October.

Bob spent best part of the day entering our fuel use onto the laptop, this took some time as we have not done it at all and we have been travelling for six months now. I meanwhile caught up on the washing, there is always somebody on the sites that will do your washing for you but in cold water, it doesn’t do it for me I am afraid. So sneaking to the showers I filled my tub with lovely hot soapy water and washed clothes and bedding, everything came up so nice and clean and it was all dry within a couple of hours. In the evening we had a lovely meal in the restaurant, when you consider that we were sat in what was basically a mud hut with a thatched roof the standard of food was amazing, we would say to the standard of the Bell at Stilton. However, not long after we had sat at our table Bob had seen a cockroach and a mouse on top of the wall, but not wishing to tell me because he new I would be legging it out of there he kept quite until I saw it for myself, luckily we had finished our meal so we were out of there.

Tuesday 6th October.

We left the Farmhouse this morning at 9’ clock to make our way to Mabaya, had a very steady run as the gear box is poorly but it appears not as bad as we thought, but it still needs sorting. Got to Mabaya around 4.30 and found the campsite called the Karibuni Centre, this is a church run site with camping in the grounds. We did however take a room as they were so cheap, it was 3000shilings to camp and 20000 shillings for a room £9.00, nice hot water for shower what more could we ask for.

Wednesday 7th October

Heading for the border at Malawi today. We got packed up and left around 8 0’ clock. We are really looking forward to Malawi as we have heard such good things about it. Malawi is said to be the friendliest country out of all of them. The drive to the border was spectacular and the scenery stunning. The gearbox was not too bad, but Bob drove because it needs some tender loving care and I tend to grate it when going into second. To keep the gearbox cool, Bob used the Scottish overdrive down the hills by putting it into neutral. The problem seems to be when the drive train is slowing you down, probably a bearing. When we arrived at the border we did the necessary paperwork on the Tanzanian side, and then went through to the Malawian side. Did the normal visa, passports and we were free to go it all took 45 minutes so not bad. We stopped for some breakfast just off the road, within minutes we were surrounded by kids, all 26 of them, but not one of them asked us for anything, they were polite and we chatted about school, perhaps it is right about what they say about Malawi. Then we were on our way and made our way to the Ngara Resort for the night.