PS Border Trivialities

On entering Kenya we were required to take out third party insurance. A border official pointed to an agent just ‘happening’ to be ‘hanging’ around close by. Trustingly we followed through a dusty stretch of border town into his “office” equipped with computers, printers, desks etc. We were asked for 120 USD which was reduced to 50 after heavy negotiations. After agreement he pulled out an ancient manual traveler typewriter and started to fill out the necessary documentation, (which turned out to be no more than a sticker!) This piece of equipment obviously had seen better days and several letters kept on jamming and had to be pulled off the ink roller. We both had to control ourselves from bursting out laughing as this was serious business and the insurance agent in his “modern” office” kept on hammering on the typewriter and using his finger to slam an occasional obstinate non performing letter onto the roll. After two hours of this and not receiving any accompanying docs to verify the insurance we could carry on with our mad travels.

Posted by Anka

Our Tanzania Safari Ends

Our final night on this leg of our Tanzanian safari is spent in Masumo. We camp on a peninsula that juts out into Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world. This massive lake shares its shoreline with Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, providing food and water for approximately 30 million people. We share the campsite with 4 overlander trucks, which is normally our cue to make a move, but these are families travelling together and were probably quieter than us. Once again Uli & Anka arrive within an hour of us, Konstantine still roaring, but down two tyres.
As the sun sinks into the coral pink water our safari, the Swahili word for journey, comes to an end. Early the next morning we travel through hundreds of boulder strewn hillocks, over the Mara river towards the border post.

African border crossings are a slow affair and it seems to be impossible to have all the correct paper work. This time I had overstayed my road tax permit by 9 hours and Uli, had not been sold one. Some fast talking, particularly by Uli (he can be diplomatic if he tries), sees the officials waive his fine.
We have loved every second of Tanzania, its warm friendly people have wished us Karibu (welcome), where ever we have travelled.

A fresh delivery of Kentucky Fried Chicken ala Africa.

The Endless Plain

The 100 odd kilometers from Ngorongoro into Serengeti, are sheer hell, resulting in me losing my sense of humour pretty badly. However all is forgiven when we take the Seronera River loop. Immediately our path is blocked by a herd of at least 500 Buffalo and 53 Elephants crossing. We feast on an And Beyond ‘to go’ lunch box while our eyes feast on the game.

Around the next corner Lorna spots a Leopard in the quintessential pose, legs and tail dangling from an Acacia branch. We still have far to go and as always when you are in a rush, the game is literally everywhere. We see 2 Lions hunting a Zebra, 2 under a bush right next to road and literally thousands of Wildebeest and Zebra before we reach camp.
From the second we arrive at Serengeti Under Canvas, Baraka and his team make us feel as if we have arrived home. Julius our private butler takes care of our every needs, he even washes half a ton of Tanzanian dust off our car. The wild life experience and particularly birding with Mohamed, our ranger, was wonderful. The South African Minister of Tourism should pay a visit to Tanzania and particularly And Beyond, to learn a thing or two about the hospitality industry. Although the great herds of the main migration have left already, we are fortunate to catch the tail end, still seeing thousands of animals as they make there way north. They still have to cross the Grumeti & Mara Rivers before making the turn back to the Serengeti, meaning ‘The endless plain’ in Kiswahili.

Sadly our 3 night sojourn comes to an end, but first, Lorna & I give the Under Canvas guys a show of how the other half camp, opening our roof tent and showing them the compressor, fridge, solar panel etc. We depart, with the guys singing Jambo, jambo bwana.

We are going to miss the luxury, but we will miss the wonderful hospitality and genuine smiles of Baraka and all his team more. Asante sana.

Ngorongoro

It’s amazing how TV programs and travel guides can distort the truth. We had created an image of Ngoro in our minds and no matter how many times that we were warned, we could not wait to visit. So I suppose we had only ourselves to blame.
The park officials did not even blush at the exorbitant fee they charged, US$480 buys entry for 2 and a single visit to the crater floor. As we drove through the gate we were confronted by the pinkish red dust churned up by the hundreds of car, trucks and buses that share the ‘park’ road. Tour operator’s, particularly Leopard Tours (Spread the word, Do not use them) drive like maniacs, seldom making space for the oncoming vehicle, forcing us to play chicken, thereby slowing them, at least slightly. Ngorongoro Crater has only conservation area status, therefore the wildlife has to share the area not only with tourists, but approximate 65 000 Maasai and 400 000 head of their livestock. The Tanzanian government does not appear to have the political will to decide one way or the other, even though approximately 500 000 international visitors, each paying a minimum of US$ 200 in entry fees alone, visit this world heritage site, annually. The sustainability of the ecosystem is under such severe pressure that Unesco has issued an ultimatum, either reduce the people, both Maasai & tourist, or loose world heritage status. Time will tell.

We continue the climb to the crater rim, I feel for our precious Cruiser, the corrugations threaten to shake it to pieces. I need to concentrate fully on driving, fortunately our ‘digs’ for the next 2 days, the fabulously opulent And Beyond’s Ngorongoro Crater lodge is fairly close to the entry point.

This epitome of luxury is perched on edge of the crater rim and has a view of the crater form wherever you look, including the loo. Our eyes cannot settle as we try to take in all the detail, the style an eclectic mix that has been described as Maasai meets Versailles. But words cannot describe the place, suffice to say ‘it’s a feast for the eyes’ and our stomachs, we were soon to find out.

We awoke early the next morning for our drive into the crater. Mist hung heavily making the montane forest that grows on the rim look like an enchanted garden, the piece that is not covered in dust that is. The descent from the rim at 2 300 to the crater floor 600 meter lower, is once again a dusty affair. We get to see reasonable quantities of game, but only add Black Rhino and Golden Backed Jackal to our list. Fortunately our ranger is a good birder, which added greatly to our visit and list. We head back to the lodge, via the one way ascent road, unfortunately disappointed, the number of tour vehicles ( up to 120 have been reported at a single Leopard sighting), the Maasai salesmen pestering you to buy imitation ’artifacts’ while you’re trying to view game on the poor roads and the overflowing sewage from the toilets, make Ngorongoro nothing but a rip off.

With 2 days to go before the luxury of Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, we head off the tourist route in search of Flamingo’s and Africa’s only active volcano, Ol Doinyo L’Engai. The road traces the eastern boundary of the Ngorongoro/Serengeti parks, the sky is hazy & dust fills the morning air.

Euphorbia form forests on the hot western hill faces and a lush green band of trees runs along the junction between the vertical crater walls and the harsh dry valley. We start our descent from the escarpment into this stronghold of the Maasai. These tall, statuesque pastoralists drive their vast herds of cattle, goats & donkeys in search of grazing & water, behind the animals the wind whips up plumes of dust, which rises like smoke. Both the woman and men cut holes into their ears, creating long dangling lobes, into which they insert white and brass ear rings. The tribe seems to prefer white jewelry which stands out against their dark blue, purple and red blankets. Unfortunately trying to photograph them elicits demands of a hefty payment and we are not interested in contrived shots so we will have to be content with the memory of these tall, long legged people striding across the dry plains.
Conical relics of volcano’s dot the landscape, the sun rises high in the bleak sky as the temperature, often well above 40 degrees C, soars.

Finally, L’Engai’s classic shape rises up, white ash covers the upper levels, one cannot help comparing it to Kilimanjaro’s icy cap. We continue, crossing black volcanic larva flows and fields of ash, which has spewed out over this valley continuously since 1883. Its most impressive eruption was in 1966, when ash fall was reported more than 100km away. It is easy to see why the Maasai revere Ol Doinyo L’Engai and call it ‘The Mountain of God’
We make our final descent into the rift valley, away in the distance we catch the first glint of Lake Natron.
When the sun starts to cool, we head out to the Lakes edge in search of Flamingo’s, however Uli decides to give us some impromptu, and we soon found out, much needed mud recovery practice. The black mud holds Konstantine in a vice like grip, necessitating plenty of digging, jacking & then stuffing course grass under the wheels before we are finally free. We were given this tip by an “experienced Maasai women’ whose only English word was hello, yet she managed to communicate with us easily.At dawn the following day we return, the warm glow of the sun reflecting golden off the water.

We gaze out at thousands of Lesser Flamingo, using their upturned beaks to filter the water in search of algae which flourishes in the alkaline water which drains off L’Engai. A saline content of up to 8% creates an ideal habitat for between 1.5 & 2 million birds. The ever present wind dries a thin layer of mud, which cracks like All Bran flakes beneath our feet as we head back to our cars. We decide to follow a fast flowing river into the Ngare Sero gorge.

It seems impossible that so much water flows from such a dry land. Our sure footed guide, a local Maasai, leads us along the steep path which crosses the river regularly. The route rises as quickly as the temperature and the wind roars in the canyon that has been cut over the eons by the water. We pass by a first set of water falls, but continue up to what appears to be a palm fringed oasis high on the mountain.

From here we wade through waist deep water and enter an overhanging rock cave. Water cascades all around us, we take a cooling shower in this breathtaking oasis before heading back……..a truly awe inspiring place.

A Maasai goat condom!

Manana Manyara

We use our spare day to catch up on all the things we just never get time for, like writing this blog. Believe it or not it took over 5 hours to post the previous 3 blogs. Uli and I went to 'town' to track down a battery, as with all purchases in Africa, especially one of this magnitude, the negotiations are a slow drawn out affair between the buyers, the seller and the entire village. We finally bought the 'As used in Germany', made in Thailand battery and headed back to camp for lunch. This time we had found a good campsite attached to a lodge a couple of kilometers outside the park, giving our wallets a bit of relief. The camp is situated in a grove of Fever trees, at night the Giant Eagle owl's calls for a mate. This large owl has eyelids that are a beautiful light pink in colour.

We awoke before dawn, broke camp and headed for Manyara National Park, famous for its tree climbing lions. The theory goes that the lions spend the majority of the day resting in trees, up to 5m off the ground to escape the biting flies. Talking about biting flies, Tarangire and Manyara have a number of flies that bite, but the Tsetse Fly is by far the worst. The Tseste is the reason vast areas of Africa cannot be used for cattle. Not only is their bite very sore but it soon starts to itch and can be inflamed and itchy for days. They are also carriers of sleeping sickness.

We entered Manyara National Park in the north, which is adjacent to Ngorongoro. It was wonderful being the first cars to travel through the lush green forest. Huge Sycamore Fig trees with buttressed trunks grow to amazing proportions, in an effort to reach the sunlight. The forest gives way to dense thorn thickets of various Acacia species and then finally opens up into Acacia savanna. Once again the birding is excellent raking up a number of lifers in quick succession.

The road finally starts heading down to the edge of the Manyara Lake and we catch our first glimpse of the flocks of pink flamingos.

Unfortunately the lake has receded dramatically, but with binoculars the wheeling flocks feed frenetically in the shallow waters, which never exceed 500mm in depth. We continue further , here water hot enough to boil an egg bubbles out of the ground. Large numbers of game gather to drink this mineral rich water.

We saw a troop of Olive Baboons that numbered in excees of 100, Warthog, Zebra & Buffalo, all spent a long while before slowly moving away. In the distance the wind created dust devils, resembling mini tornados, sucking the white dessicated sand that lines the edge of the lake high into the sky. Manyara is a different park experience where huge numbers of game are not found, but its varied habitats make it a very special and unique place. As birders we loved it.

Fresh fish ala Tanzania

Toyota, Tarangire, Toyota

The owner of Dik Dik allows us to camp on his lawns under huge exotic trees and to use his famed garage to inspect the underside of Konstantine. On the way down from Mt Meru the bellows that help to support the suspension had deflated, we feared that one had been pierced. We were unable to establish the cause so decided to head to Arusha Toyota first thing in the morning. Konstantine had spent 4 days in Toyota Dar for a blown turbo gasket and a broken aircon pipe, both problems had reappeared within a couple of hundred kilometers of leaving Toyota, so this was an ideal opportunity to see if they could sort these out while we repaired the suspension.

The day did not start well, first they managed to break off the shock absorber bolt, we then discovered that the one heavy duty rear coil spring had snapped along time ago and a crack had formed in the chassis. Our luck soon changed, first we managed to find the leak in the bellow system and repair it, we then located a new set of the correct coils and Toyota had a replacement pipe for the aircon. Things were looking up, but only for a while, we had our external mirror nicked while parked in an area recommended by the garage, apparently very common in Tanzania forcing owners to have the registration number engraved onto the mirror. We soon found out that driving without one is impossible, so were relieved to track a replacement down. The price fluctuated from Tsh 100 000 (about R750) for a second hand, I assume previously stolen one to finally Tsh 51 000 for an apparently 'unobtainable' brand new one from Toyota. One could not help getting the impression there was a scam going down.

Our luck continued, Kelli our daughter who manages Leadwood Lodge in the Sabi Sands for And Beyond, arranged accommodation for Lorna & myself at the And Beyond Ngorogoro Crater & Serengeti Lodges for 5 nights at staff rates. Ngorogoro Crater Lodge was awarded third place by Conde' Naste in their world ranking. We cannot wait for this once in a lifetime experience, at US$ 1400 per person per night, this type of luxury is normally only for the rich & famous. Thanks Kel bell.

We overnight at the beautiful crater Lake Duluti, unfortunately the bathrooms and barking dogs spoilt the place for us, but as we always say "when its dark all campsites are great"

The 100 odd km's to Tarangire National Park pass through a vast dry dust bowl and scrubby acacia. Here Maasai herders each with a herd of 50 or more cattle trek towards the few water points. Its amazing to see that their traditions are still intact this far into the 21^st century.

These scenes would make wonderful photos, the mixed coloured herds churning up the dust being led by 1 or 2 Maasai dressed in flowing bright red, purple & black cloth, but unfortunately tourism has spoilt them so they demand money if you take photos. We turn off the main road, the final 7k's to the park is the worst corrugated road I can remember. We stop to check out a private campsite, ever hopeful that we will be able to save the park fee for the night, no luck and Konstantine's repairs to the aircon have not held. So, Uli & Anka head back to Toyota for the third time & we head into the park.

We soon forget the cost of entry, the huge herds of Buffalo, Zebra, Wildebeest (Gnu) & Elephant are worth it. Tarangire apparently has the largest number of Zebra & Wildebeest outside of Serengeti. We add Cokes Hartebeest, Olive Baboon & Grants Gazelle, which look like very long horned Springbok with out the black stripe. Our list of bird lifers rises by another 13.

Toyota pulls out all the stops working late into the night to repair the aircon. Uli also decides to replace the rear shocks as a precaution. We had heard really bad stories about the dirty, overcrowded, non functioning toilets at the National Park public campsites, we found them empty, clean & aside from the cold showers absolutely perfect, cost excepted obviously.

Uli's misfortunes continue, it appears the alternator is overcharging causing the one battery to explode spewing acid all over the engine bay, how Uli remains upbeat I do not know!

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We eat our way to the 'top' of Mt.Meru

Ever since this trip was conceived 2 years ago, Uli has told about this little piece of Switzerland in Africa. As we turned into the long driveway of Dik Dik lodge we realized we had arrived in the 'African Alps'. Not because of the mountains but the rows & rows of perfectly straight vegetable gardens each with its own yellow hose pipe, neatly rolled and stored, all exactly the same. Uli has told us many times of the thick feather down duvets, the fully imported wheel balancing machine (probably the only one in Tanzania that nearly bounced right out of the garage when he attempted to balance a tyre repaired by a local fundi), but mostly he has spoken about the food.

Uli & Anka treated us to a lunch that makes your mouth water, at a price that makes your eyes water………A MERU PEAK GRILL. For the uninitiated you are served a selection of 6 thinly sliced meats with various sauces which each person cooks on the conical cooker in the centre of the table. The food, the cold Kilimanjaro's(the local brew) and the great company made for an afternoon that we will talk about for years to come.

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The old man finally reveals himself

We drove through, what seemed like never ending Sisal on our way to Marangu. These spiny cacti give the landscape a very dreary, scruffy & patchy appearance, much like my new beard.Facial hair aside, today we should see Kilimanjaro, but as we made our way along the arrow straight road we could see huge, dark rain clouds, Kili was not going to reveal himself too easily, and certainly not today. As we turned off the main Dar-Arusha highway, we were surprised to see a crane trucks cab protruding above the surrounding buildings. When we investigated we could see what had happened, the crane had obviously been trying to lift one of those huge three sided billboards into place, I would assume the billboard was heavier than the truck and the whole lot collapsed on to the roofs of the buildings leaving the crane truck "standing' on it rear with the cab 10m in the air. What was amazing is that it was 'business as usual' in the half demolished shops below the crane & billboard. (Photo especially for Manuel)

On to a very wet, but surprisingly clean Marangu, the set off point for the majority of climbers who attempt to climb the highest mountain in Africa. We soon 'chickened out' of camping, we would spend the night at the Capricorn Hotel. A rainy day is a good opportunity to catch up, so Anka & I decided to update the blog. This involved driving around town, trying to establish a reasonable signal. We finally found a spot below the Zain cell tower and by inching back & forth, we finally connected. Believe it or not that was the easy part, I had prepared 2 posts, but after 90 minutes to upload the first 150kb, we decided to call it a day, we would have to try again closer to Arusha.

In the morning the clouds still hung heavily, I have read that Kili, the highest free standing mountain in the world, can remain hidden for 2 weeks at a time. But we were in luck, the clouds started to drift away to reveal 'the old man'. It was a surreal experience seeing this African icon for the first time.

We had intended to camp outside the Arusha National Park to try to save on the steep park fees, but as always the campsite was a grotty place, close to town and ever present blaring music. So $170 poorer we entered the park gates for the night. Arusha NP is not only home to both Mt Meru & Little Meru, Uli has climbed both conical shaped peaks, but it also has the Ngurdoto Crater said to be a mini version of Ngorogoro. The forest around the rim is spectacular.. Shards of sunlight find their way to the forest floor, which is covered in lush green ground covers and tiny colourful flowers. There are several lookout point along the rim, allowing us to see the crater floor about 30m below. We get to see Sykes Mangabey, Black & White Colobus as well as big herds of Buffalo & other plains animals. Our campsite is in a clearing in the forest at the foot of Mt Meru. Fruiting trees filled with monkeys make for a pleasantly noisy night. We awake early to the sound of the ever elusive forest birds, but we are lucky today getting 3 lifers including a new Turaco & Trogan species. Our plan for the day is to drive the 4x4 track approximately halfway up Mt Meru, what a fantastic drive it turned out to be. Icy, crystal clear mountain streams tumble though the forests. Old mans beard & other fungi & mosses hang from the branches of the trees and fallen logs. We eat breakfast of Rye bread & local Irente cheese at the Kilimanjaro picnic site before tackling the last section of the road. The forest tree species change subtly as we head higher, we estimate the straight trunked trees to be in excess of 50m tall, their leaves resemble those of the Cypress family. All around is signs of animals including a lot of fresh Buffalo dung, we occasionally hear the warning bark of Bushbuck but animals are difficult to spot in the dappled light. The forest floor becomes covered in yellow & orange coloured Knifophia spp and blue Aristea as we climb the final 100m to the end of the track, 2300m above sea level. A dagga bull, the name given to old Buffalo bulls that have left the herd, stares at us as we gaze at the dramatic views across to Little Meru & Kili in the distance. Sadly we have to head down to avoid having to pay park fees for another day.

But Uli has a surprise up his sleeve for us but this will have to wait for our next blog.

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Full moon rises over the Usambara's

We leave the sultry coastal climate behind. The 70km’s of bumpy gravel that links Bagamoyo with the Dar-Arusha road is being built by the Chinese. It seems as if their philosophy is ‘development at any cost’ if the number of mature trees that have been pushed over to make way for the road is anything to go by, you would think that they were constructing an 8 lane motorway. The coconut palms and swampy grassland give way to the dry interior, which has been extensively planted with sisal.
Some on route guide book reading alters our course into the Usambara Mountains. From Mombo the narrow road that has been cut into the steep cliffs snakes its way high into the cool air of the Usambara’s, one gets the feeling that you are heading up to Darjeeling. Our destination, Irente View lodge is perched about 1000m above the valley floor, known as the Masaai Steppes. At this point we are approximately mid way between Cape Town and Cairo, as the crow flies. Cocks crowing are the alarm clocks of Africa and this camp had plenty, unfortunately they were the only birdlife we saw the entire day. We had anticipated seeing some forest species but sadly only patches, of verdant green rain forest remain, every available centimeter of the steep slopes is being cultivated, it’s difficult to imagine how they manage to till the land. However, driving around these mountains with the swirling mist made for a fantastic day. It is interesting to note that the Usumbara & Udzungwa mountains which form part of the Eastern Arc range contain more species of plant than America & Britain together. Also the fauna & flora have develops similarly to an island population resulting in a very high endemism of species, very worrying when you see how little is left untouched. We ate our lunch of locally made Mispel jam on bread before heading to the Pangani River campsite. It is hard to imagine that we are only 25km’s in a straight line from Irente, here the landscape returns to short scrubby thornveld and we start to see local herdsman dressed in dark purple coloured kikois with out of place plastic white sandals, similar to those we saw near Ruaha. We camped among Fever trees, an Acacia species named by early explorers due its sickly greenish yellow coloured bark and their tendency to grow near swampy mosquito invested areas. As the colours leached away, Greater Bush baby started to forage on the gum of the Acacias, their screeching call is different to those we hear in SA, the guide book says the call is used to identify the species. Before the full moon rose, fire flies flickered in the dark, it had been a good day. We look forward to Konstantine, Uli & Anka joining us again tomorrow.

Who says Africa is only for toughies?

After the ordeal of getting to Sunrise Beach, one of the south beaches of Dar, our first swim in the Indian Ocean quickly soaked away the stress. However as the sun started to set the music started and was not to let up until Sunday afternoon, we had forgotten that it was the weekend. Fortunately we were so tired, we could have slept through an air raid, Uli & Anka battled.
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise each morning, spending the majority of the 2 days relaxing in the shade of the swaying palm trees in this tropical paradise. We even got used to the music.
Konstantine needs to visit Toyota as the turbo manifold gasket has blown, so Uli & Anka remain in Dar and we head north to Bagamoyo. Crossing from the south by ferry took 2 hours, its unbelievable how many people, bicycles & cars can cram onto one vessel. I must say the Tanzanians go about their lives peacefully paying little attention to us. The traffic through town makes Johannesburg’s pale into insignificance, we managed to buy and eat our lunch of bananas, naartjies & corn on the cob, braaied over wood charcoal, while on the road. The fruit & veg in Tanzania is good and available all along the road, actually the first 45km out of Dar is one long market selling everything imaginable.
The muezzin’s call to prayer awakes us long before it starts to get light. We have noticed how the influence of Islam has increased as we have journeyed north, with mosques replacing the Jehovah Witness Kingdom Halls & Seventh Day Adventists churches of the south. Bagamoyo is of historic interest, as it was an important gateway for the slave trade. Of the approximately 1.5 million slaves that arrived here more than 50% remained in the Zanzibar, Pemba and Kilwa area, about 30% were shipped to Arabia and the balance to the Americas. This transport route via Zanzibar had been established much earlier for trade in ivory, Copal gum etc. The Sultan of Zanzibar finally abolished the trade in humans in 1873. The buildings that remain from the Germans first headquarters in East Africa have fallen into disrepair, with only small sections of the Boma, Custom house, Block house & slipway to dhow harbour remaining. There are few beautifully carved ornate ‘Zanzibar doors’ still to be seen along India road, which runs along the coast to what remains of the slave market. It is ironic that the body of Livingstone spent a night in Bagamoyo having been carried 1600km by two of his faithful servants all the way from N Zambia, before being returned to England via Zanzibar. The doors to the Anglican Church bear a sign stating ‘Through this door Dr David Livingstone did pass’.

The only actual museum is housed alongside the impressive Catholic Holy Ghost Church.

By the way does anyone need some shades?

Into the chaos

Finally we could answer the “where are you going?” question with “Dar”, for me a rather exotic sounding destination, time will tell.
We left an icy & wet Kisolanza and headed north on the road which is being constructed by Denmark. I assume these donor countries feel that they have fulfilled their social responsibilities however it is sad to see how quickly these gestures fall into disrepair as the locals do nothing in the way of maintenance. About 70km’s outside Iringa, which is at an altitude of 1500 m, the road starts its descent towards the coast. The beautiful pass is covered in Miomba marred only as Uli says by ‘civilization’ litter and graffiti. Yellow baboons play chicken with the cars & trucks as they pick though the discarded blue water bottles & other debris. The Miomba gives way to mixed Baobab/thornveld and finally as the Udzungwa mountains rise from the valley, the dry slopes are totally covered with Baobabs. At this time of the year these leafless giants branches take on a silver appearance and the dry hot slopes that rise up at 45 degree become covered in bright pink Impala lily flowers. The road continues to run parallel to the Great Ruaha on its route to the Rufiji river, which runs through Selous to the sea. Our intended stop in Mikumi is full, the weekends fill up quickly, so Uli suggests we head south to the Udzungwa Mountains NP.

The mention of the Iringa Red headed Colobus, an endemic primate only seen in this reserve, is enough to get Lorna & myself to agree. The road towards the reserve runs through lush rain forest covered mountains, it’s hard to believe we are on the other side of the same hot Baobab peaks we just left behind. We cross many rivers that drain out of the forest and the landscape takes on the look & feels of an Indian ocean island, coconut palms and all. The road deteriorates badly and the last 20kms are slow and dusty. It take quite a while to convince the officials that we need to drive to the campsite as our roof tents are attached to the cars, but do not want to pay the US$40 fee for the car as there is no where else to drive in the park. They even offered us porters to carry the tents to site, obviously not many visitors use their facilities, once again probably due to the cost, and certainly not with roof top tents.
The anticipated dawn chorus does not happen, but it’s still magical to wake in the dense forest. The plan for today is to walk up to the Sanje Falls, which drop in three steps of 70,30 and the final 170 meters. In true African style the guide is late so we head up alone, leaving Ludwig to catch up. The steep ascent is made easier by the good path that has been cut trough the forest. The falls are spectacular from the view point, so we decide to walk down to the pool where they cascade into. As I sit on the rocks in the shade of the overhanging trees looking up at the water as it plummets down, I think to myself, how truly blessed we are to experience such grandeur.
Back on the road to Dar, we get what I am sure will turn out to be the only free game drive in Tanzania, as the main road slices through the centre of Mikumi NP. Giraffe, elephant, buffalo, zebra, ground hornbill and large herds of Impala graze alongside the highway, seemingly oblivious to the traffic. The final 107km’s into Dar are like a grand prix, except that the vehicles are travelling in two directions. A double white line means you can overtake if you are fast enough, a single if you are as fast as the car you are overtaking and a blind rise on a bend is the ideal place to launch your attack on the truck in front of you. The traffic, cars and people in Dar make for a chaotic blend, with everyone trying to get in front of the next. The gps leads us flawlessly until the ‘the lady’ announces that we are to board the ferry…………………we have gone the wrong way down a one way. Tsh5000 later the smiling cop stops the traffic to allow us into the constant stream of cars, we board the ferry to our camp site on the south beach of Dar. We have arrived.

As we started on the last blog with a tail ender, heres this blogs one.