The Kilwas and the Selous

After the adrenalin session of the Ruvuma river crossing we moved on to the
Kilwa's - towns and islands - of the Tanzanian coast. Kilwa Kivinje (Kilwa
of the casuarinas trees) owes its existence to Omani Arabs which established
a base here in the early 19th century. Kilwa Masoko (Kilwa of the market) is
the springboard to Kilwa Kisiwani (Kilwa on the island) with ruins dating
back to the 13th century, considered to be one of the most significant
groups of Swahili buildings on the east African coast and is a declared
UNESCO World Heritage Site. (pic42)
On the way northwards petrol was not available at known stations like Ikwiri
and Kibiti. Eventually we had to resort to about 8 liters of "petrol" from
canisters at Mazomora to make it to a brand new station at Mkurango. As it
was already afternoon we decided to stay overnight in Dar es Salaam. The
next morning, with full tank (App 1000Km reach) saw us on the way to the
Selous (Pic89) Close to the Mtemera gate we located the Selous River Camp
site. In a beautiful jungle like setting on the Rufiji River - the only
place that caters for our type of car based camping - we could venture daily
into the Selous. Parts of it were declared by the German Government in 1905
as wildlife sanctuary and today it is the largest Wildlife Reserve in
Africa. Animals were plentiful. Elis, giraffes, impala, waterbuck,
wildebeest, hartebeest, warthog, abundance of water birds, hippos and crocs
(pics 138, 157) . . and as a matter of interest it hosts the largest numbers
of wild dogs on the continent +/- 400
We drove out through the north entrance (Matambwe gate) and had the most
fantastic scenery on this little bumpy road through the Uluguru mountains
with steep mountain passes, peppered with contorted black rock formations,
which is quartzite (white marble), and through dense jungle type forests.
(pic182)
On this bad road to Morogoro Konstantin started to get a bit rattled. We
lost the aircon and soon at average speed of 22kmh, with little fresh air
entering, produced a driving 'Sauna'. At Toyota Morogoro no one could help,
so on we went to Dar. There we did find out that the Service manager for
Tanzania of Toyota is Uwe, an old acquaintance which we last saw in the 70's
in my Formula Vee racing support times.
So Konstantin got a good reception and will be 'fighting fit' again soon

What a send off.

Thank you to everyone for making our send off so special. Dean & Dani for hosting us, Jill, Dawn,

my Mom and especially Francesca for all the wonderful cakes & finally Maria from EfferVescENTS who can turn a cup of tea into an event fit for a queen.

And what’s a party without music……a special thanks to John and his trio of vocalists.

Marc & Lorna

Insane river crossing by starlight

Posted by Uli & Anka

Apologies & thanks

Firstly, thanks so much to the people that have made comments on our blog and apologies for the hiccups during the blogs infancy. This is the first time that I have attempted to set up a blog and it was a late idea which has resulted in a number of teething problems.

The good news is we seem to be getting the settings correct so hopefully you all will not be receiving so many unnecessary notifications.

When you would like to comment or correspond with us, please do not reply using the email address that delivers the 'new posting notification', this address was set up to accommodate the large group of people that wish to follow us. Once I leave to join Uli & Anka on Saturday I will stop monitoring this address.

In future, please click on the RWEMAD link that is displayed towards the bottom of the posting notification in blue. This will open the posting in our blog and here a section will be displayed where you can comment and we can reply.

Finally, do not despair if we take a while to reply. If Uli & Anka's experience so far is anything to go by, getting internet access is problematic.

Posted by Marc

They made it

A very relieved sounding Uli called at 21:20 last night to say they had made it across the Rovuma. In true African style the "shipping department" decided to dispense with trivialities like the tide and weighed anchor just after 20:00

The 45 minute crossing turned into an hour and a quarter, due mainly to the 2 stroke engine giving up the ghost on at least 20 times, resulting in feverish activity by the bush mechanics.

Anka was heard on at least one occasion asking "R WE MAD"

We will update this post with pictures as soon as we can upload to the server.

Posted by Marc

Konstantin sets sail.

Well its on.

Tonight at 01:00 for the princely sum of US$300, Konstantin, Uli & Anka depart for Tanzania precariously perched on 3 rowing boats. Apparently, this is when the tide is best to do the crossing which takes about 45 minutes. Cannot for the life of me work out why they can't go tomorrow during the daylight! Well I suppose Africa knows best.

Watch this space, will keep you posted.

Marc

SAS Konstantin sets sail

Uli and Ankla spent the last 2 days on Ilha de Mozambique. The small island about 3km off the coast used to serve as the Portuguese East African capital. All that remains is now rather faded. They stayed in a B&B that has been recently renovated by an Italian architect.

Today they headed to Pemba, a palm fringed beach resort in Northern Moz. This means that in 2 to 3 days time they will arrive at the Rovuma River. The Rovuma forms the border between Mozambique and Tanzania.

Now crossing this 2 km wide expanse of water used to be via a ferry, but as these things do in Africa, it sunk and to date has not been refloated.There is, a new bridge being built about 500km up river, but this would mean a detour of more than 1000km..........................

However, there is one other option, its is a rather risky operation, but Uli is undeterred.

We have read that the locals lash a couple of rowing boats together using saplings. You then drive onto them and voila', Konstantin becomes the SAS Konstantin.

Here are some pictures to show you what I mean by a little risky.

.

Well I suppose all thats left to say is Bon Voyage

Marc on behalf of Uli & Anka

A little over weight, but quick as ever.

Well it happened even quicker than we expected, Uli phoned yesterday to say its impossible to upload to the blog using a Mozambique sim. Its so slooooooowwww. So he asked me to update you on their behalf.

Uli & Anka arrived from L'Agulhas to spend the evening with us in KZN on Thursday. Early the next day they were off to Sodwana Bay, but on route Uli decided to stop at the weigh bridge, and was he in for a shock. Unladen a Land Cruiser weighs 2400kg with a maximum weight when loaded of 2900kg. Well Konstantin weighs a wee bit more.........4100kg. Undeterred they headed for Moz and are now in Gorongosa National Park, let me tell you K may be overweight, but she sure is quick. Uli told us the roads have been reasonable but the prawns are great. If you know Uli thats exactly what he loves, good food and bad roads. Today they head for Mt Gorongosa so lets hold thumbs that they get to see the Green- headed Oriole which has a very limited range and therefore a big tick.

For anyone interested in reading about Gorogonsa visit www.gorongosa.net.

Marc on behalf of Uli & Anka

Fine print & special clauses!!!

We are told that computers are designed to speed up our lives giving us more time to pursue our other interest. As we all know this could not be further from the truth. So in order to reduce our computer time it has been decided to combine our efforts into one blog.

Firstly, some intros. Uli & Anka are based in Midrand and drive a charcoal Land Cruiser named Konstantin. They, if you have been concentrating whilst reading the previous postings, left on 2 June form the southern most point of Africa, L'Agulhas, and their trip is planned for 7 months. Lorna and I ( Marc) will depart from Pennington on the Natal coast on 20 June, traveling first to Johannesburg to say our good byes and then leaving on the 23rd so that we are in time to meet U & A on the 2 July in Iringa, Tanzania. Our adventure is for 5 months and we drive an, as yet unnamed white Cruiser. Help please!!!

So why write a blog? Obviously its the 'modern' way to record our travels so that when we are really old, grey and decrepit we have something to read. Its allows friends, family & creditors, to see that we are still alive and kicking. But for us there is a far more compelling reason. Picture this......................the same 4 people chatting around a campfire every evening drinking the occasional schnapps. There is a distinct possibility that stories are going to be repeated.  We are going to need outside interaction and this is where YOU come in. We need you all to add to our experience by commenting, asking questions or just letting us know you are OK. To this end we have made provision at the end of each posting for comments, please use it. By the the way, this is Africa so do not expect an immediate reply. To be strictly correct, this is Africa.............. do not expect a reply.

Finally, each post will be signed by the postee and posts made are not necessarily the opinions of all members of the blog.

Jokes aside, we are doing the trip but you guys will add to it greatly, and you have a broadband connection and we will be suffering with a steam driven modem, so give us a hand.

Marc 

We have joined the blog and the road begins

ALL of the million and one preparations are behind us and we can start our safari.

Foul weather greeted us at L'Agulhas and we said our good byes to Willie and Gardy assisted by Lorna and Marc. The Wild-/South Coast is passing by  and in about two days time we will be crossing into Mocambique at Ponto de Ouro, then the 187 days adventure can begin in earnest. Signing off Anka and Uli  

Kyk weer

The rising sun turns the lighthouse golden, adding to the sense of occasion. Uli does his magic with the panga and the bubbly flows once again. This time I manage to miss the photo opportunity but what the hell.......    

For a moment we are alone with our thoughts as we all place a stone on the cairn of rocks that travelers the world over traditionally do, finally at least for Uli & Anka the adventure begins. May they travel safely and enjoy each second of their adventure. 

Lets get this show on the road

 T minus 2 sees us in our rented Golf and Konstantin & crew cruise into a very wet and windy L'Agulhas within seconds of each other. We are joined in a round of schnapps by Gardy & Willie, friends of the Bahmanns, who came along to witness the send off.

With the storm reaching a peak we decide, lets do it. We grab the iced bubbly and head out for the southern most point of Africa. By the time we have walked the 50m to the plaque that marks the point we are soaked. Uli draws his panga and within seconds the champers has been sabraged.

Kingsley is not going to outdo us...........

If Kingsley is doing his trip to hand out mossie nets, then we should have a ‘reason’ to do our journey. What better one than adding to our Zambian Shoebill, by trying to see the Shoebill in all three places it occurs on earth and so the king Balaeniceps rexbecame our ‘reason’ and therefore commands centre spot on our decal. If artwork is required my Mom gets called and in no time at all the basis of our decal is on paper. Naturally, Manuel gets roped in for the next step and soon we have a pro set of stickers for both cars. Uli managed to turn the first set into what he described asCasper the pocked marked Shoebill, his second attempt was successful.

Speaking of cars, it is tradition in the over landing fraternity to name your steed. U & A have long driven Konstantin, but we have battled to find an appropriate name for our white Cruiser. We have toyed with Valemkaque which means ‘fills the road’ in Xhosa, then Toyendi which apparently is Swahili for ‘Lets go’, but maybe we should christen her (or is it him?) Rwemad which as the English speakers amongst us know, means ‘are we mad’ Give it some thought and let us know.

By the way if you think we are only out to see the Shoebill then U R Mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!