Reflections on our trip

First of all we should have called this blog Tanzania4Tea and Tomatoes! I was amazed at how many people were selling buckets of tomatoes alongside the road and they were really delicious.

In four and a half weeks we have traveled 13 000km through eight countries. The trip has given me a bigger picture of this wonderful continent of Africa. Here in South Africa we have limited knowledge about the people and activities north of us. Over the years many of us have built up misconceptions. Before we left many people told us that we were going to have a big problem with police road blocks and corruption. In fact everyone who stopped us was polite and friendly. There was only one determinedly corrupt border policeman at Nyamapanda border post in Zimbabwe. In fact other travelers we met told us they'd had problems with the same policeman and a few others. For this reason we returned via Botswana and not Zimbabwe. We heard a Zimbabwean on the radio wondering what had happened to all the World Cup tourists who should have been coming to Zimbabwe. Word gets around and people aren't prepared to be ripped off. Until Zimbabwe get their act together and stop treating tourists and visitors in this way they won't prosper as a tourist destination.

Things I will miss about the countries visited?

• Loads of fresh produce in Tanzania. 
• The wonderful friendly and welcoming people we met in all the countries we visited.
• Waking up each morning with a sense of expectation about what we will see and do. 
• The wonderful game reserves. 
• Scenery
• Mt Kilimanjaro, Victoria Falls, Botswana's wide open spaces. 

Things I won't miss?

• Potholes! 
• Wild bus drivers
• Money changers at borders

Things I appreciate about being back in SA?

• Being at home - always welcome after a trip. 
• Fellow South Africans
• Enjoying the World Cup Final 
• Understanding the currency. 
• My internet connection. 

The trip was awesome - a once in a lifetime experience. I am so glad we did it. It was really great to connect with Brock again and of course meet Delphi for the first time. Thank you Lord for the resources and the opportunity to do this trip. 

Saturday 10 July - Home to Port Elizabeth

We thought the last leg of our journey from Pietermaritzburg to Port Elizabeth would be a breeze even though it's a ten hour trip. We know the road well and after some of the roads we've traveled in the last month we were sure it would be easy.... but it did seem to take forever. I guess the anticipation of getting home makes the time drag.

 I wanted to take a photo of this little church near Kokstad on our way north last month but there was too much traffic. Today I had my opportunity. I just love the bright colours and the contrasts.

The trip was uneventful and we arrived as it was getting dark. Our dogs were amazed to see us. I guess when you're over ninety in doggy years the memory isn't a strong point. They thought we were never coming home again and they want to know what we've done with the house sitter. After a few minutes they did show some excitement and we were sniffed over to get the news from all over Africa. My trainers must be particularly interesting because I've worn them every day.

We found our house in excellent order, clean, neat and welcoming. Thank you Edwin for doing such a great job of taking care of things this end. It's wonderful to have one's own bathroom, bed, kitchen..... Life's good and we are feeling so blessed all over again.

We were in time to watch the third place play off between Germany and Uruguay which was actually taking place here in PE - of course we watched on TV. After all the lovely warm weather we have had up north we're going to have to acclimatize to the PE winter again. In fact there's lots we're going to have to get used to again - such as work...... But we have a new appreciation of South Africa for her climate, infrastructure, the wonderful people. It's going to take us a few weeks to get back into the swing of things but we are so grateful for the wonderful adventure we have had and that the Lord has brought us safely through eight countries and 13 000km. Wow!!! I will write a reflection on our experience as a final blog entry.

Friday 9 July - Rest day in Pietermaritzburg

The first thing we thought as we woke up this morning is that we didn't have to jump out of bed and prepare to take off for the next stopover. This was our way of getting our early morning exercise - especially when we had to take down the tent, fold up the stretchers and pack the car. We became very efficient in our routine but we're glad it's over for now - until the next camping trip.

Nicholas was on form and kept us entertained.

One of the chores we did was take a huge bag of dirty clothes to the local laundromat so we would at least go home with clean clothes. When you have to move on every day it's not always possible to keep up with the laundry. We became very casual about wearing less than clean outer clothes and concentrated on keeping up to date with washing the underwear. My jeans and cargo pants were capable of walking on their own by the time they had a good wash.

In the afternoon we were able to spend time with Janet in Hillcrest. Unfortunately Matthew was learning for an exam on Saturday so he wasn't able to join us. I'm actually starting to get excited about going home tomorrow.

Thursday 8 July - Vaalwater to Pietermaritzburg

We left the BnB early and soon found ourselves on the N1. Freeways!!! I had almost forgotten such things exist.

In Port Elizabeth we have the Bridge Shopping Centre over Langenhoven Drive. Here they have a Steers restaurant over the freeway! We had our breakfast at this Petroport north of Pretoria. We sat in the restaurant and looked down on the freeway below us. Such fun and worlds away from some of the places we have visited further north.

We arrived in Pietermaritzburg in the early afternoon and enjoyed time with Nicholas and Linda. It's amazing how much he's grown and changed in just four weeks.

I can't believe we're back in SA. The time has just flown by. It wasn't so long ago that Gareth took a photo of us leaving their house on our way north. What a wonderful month. I'm so glad we took on this adventure.

Wednesday 7 July - Back in RSA

We left the Elephant Sands lodge determined to do our best to get back there one day. It really is a great place to unwind and have fun. There was a large crowd of people there traveling from RSA to Chobe. They were also over-nighting and a jolly time was had by all!! Of course there was the soccer match and the elephant came back to the swimming pool to have his last drink of the day. Some of us wondered if we'd had too much to drink when we saw him.... Great entertainment.

The journey south went well. One of the guys at the lodge told us about the Parr's Halt border post. We went for it and it really was a great border to go through for the last crossing - sort of restores one's faith in border employees. Clean, organised, no trucks, no hustlers.... We then drove to Vaalwater where once again we prayed we'd find something suitable before dark and here we are in a lovely warm comfortable CLEAN room for the night. I also have my phone connected via my own sim card and it's working as a modem and no worries. We decided not to camp tonight as it takes too long to pack up in the morning and we want to make an early start for our long day ahead.

I was thinking as we drove, "Would I do this again?" Most definitely. It's been an awesome adventure and it's opened my eyes to so many aspects of our continent. One of the really interesting things has been watching the trucking community. There are thousands of truckers moving around from country to country. If we thought we have problems at the border they have it much worse. They can sit at a border post for days waiting for their truck to be checked  by customs and to get everything in order. They are a strong community together and we've noticed how they support one another. Then of course they have some abominable roads to contend with - such as in Northern Zambia. It's amazing how helpful they are too. If one takes the trouble to watch and learn the signals they give to any motorist behind them overtaking is simple. I had no fears of overtaking one or two trucks at a time. They are a great bunch of people.

We live on a wonderful continent with such amazing people who survive against all odds at times. I am proud to be an African and this trip has given me a new insight into our neighbours. It's been an education of its own. I'm so glad we did it.

Tuesday 6 July - Livingstone to Elephant Sands

What an amazing day. Even at the end of our holiday things get better and better. We came through the border into Botswana without much of a problem.  The photo is of the ferry across the Zambezi River.  At Kazangulu on the Botswana side of the river we counted 63 big trucks waiting to get through customs. Some of those truckers wait there for days. What a life!

The road south was pretty good most of the way until we reached a place where there was some road re-construction. However, the detour was a better road than some that we've traveled on lately. We had decided to travel as far at Nata and overnight there. The Bradt guide gave us two options that appealed to us. The one, Elephant Sands Lodge is about 50 km before Nata and the other one is 10km south. We took a turn into Elephant Sands and the first thing we saw was an elephant slurping up the water in the swimming pool! This was definitely the place for us!!

We pitched our tent and went across to the lodge and met Bruce, the local microlight pilot who does flips over the pans in the area. We decided to treat ourselves to a flip for our anniversary. Mark went up first and he took the photos. When they came back it was my turn. I overcame my nervousness and thoroughly enjoyed my flight. How magnificent to get an aerial view of the bush, the pans and the animals. I saw literally hundreds of elephant. Wow! Also some buffalo, giraffe, impala and a warthog. But seeing the bush and the pans is an awesome sight. Each of us enjoyed a twenty minute flight and I must say I was relieved when we both landed safely.

As we were walking back to the lodge Mark said he heard a thump noise. We went across to the lodge and bought a beer each. A few minutes later a young guy came in and said, "I'm fine! we're both fine but the microlight isn't so good." What do you mean? The microlight just crash landed at the end of the runway!!! Oh my. What a shock but what a joy that no one was injured. Another miracle....

And here's a shot of the damage a few minutes after my flight. Eish!! I've always been a nervous flier. If this had happened while I was on it I would have died of heart attack!!!!

Monday 5 July - Monze to Livingstone

We managed to make an early start.Today is Heroes Day in Zambia and tomorrow is Unity Day.We had a clear run south on a great road with very little traffic - possibly because of the holiday. There was a marked absence of trucks on the road so we had none of the angst of overtaking the heavies. The road deteriorated on the last 80km before Livingstone but unlike in the north they are actually working on the roads so there is hope.

Livingstone is a pretty place with a colonial feel about it. Unfortunately because of the holiday we couldn't change dollars to Pula for our trip to Botswana tomorrow but we had a great visit to the Falls. It's my first ever visit and it is an awesome sight. I can't believe how much water flows over the edge. We walked onto the bridge and watched a young girl do a bungi jump. Awesome but I'm glad I'm "too old" for that sort of thing. :-)

There were hundreds of people at the Falls and we enjoyed the cosmopolitan atmosphere. It really was worth the visit.

We also managed to book into a lovely campsite about 2km from the Falls at a place called Maramba Lodge. It's part of a lodge and although it's a long walk to the ablution block we're sure to have a peaceful and secure night in our tent - although there is a sign near our site saying, "Beware of the hippos". I don't think I'll be venturing to the facilities after dark - there's lots of shrubs near our tent and I do have my little stool with the hole in it. That has been used a lot on those long trips.

Our holiday definitely has a "winding down" feel about it but we still have tomorrow night in Botswana and Wednesday night somewhere in SA before we arrive back at Nicholas' house. Wednesday is our 37th wedding anniversary so we'll have to celebrate with a great meal somewhere - no tuna and couscous that night! A trip like this - a whole month in a confined space together all day every day has reminded us that we have a good marriage and a great friendship (except when Mark is telling me how to drive or I am tired and grumpy). We can appreciate one another for who we are and we are both grateful for our marriage. Thank you Lord!

Sunday 4 July - Mpika to Monze

Another long day in the car.... We are getting accustomed to spending most of our lives in the Jeep now. We know where everything is and we can pack and unpack pretty quickly.

The road improved as we moved south and we arrived in Lusaka shortly after lunch. The Bradt guide told us about two different shopping malls. We chose Arcades and what a pleasant surprise it was! It could be a mall in any suburb in South Africa. Best of all was the fact that it has a Super Spar - just like good old Knowles in Pinetown. We even knew where to find stuff because the layout is similar. We had a delicious sub for lunch and bought samoosas to eat for supper later. Best of all we found an ATM that accepted our cards and we were able to draw Zambian Kwacha and fill up with fuel.

Lusaka is a great city. It's fairly clean and well organised and the streets are very attractive with lots of trees.We had chosen to go to a campsite just north of Lusaka called Cane Break.We followed the road but must have missed the sign - or it has closed down since our Bradt guide was published in 2008. The sun was setting and we had no idea where to go - again! We said a prayer and looked at the Bradt guide again. I turned back a page and we discovered "the best camp site between Lusaka and Livingstone" was about 30km down the road. It's called The Moorings and it's on a beautiful farm. How did we miss that? The phone number didn't work but we drove in and had no trouble getting a place. Wow!

About an hour later two SA vehicles pulling trailers arrived. They are from Gauteng and had gone up to Serengeti in a group of ten vehicles. It sounds as if travelling in a big group has its problems and the group had split up. These two families were heading home via Botswana. They had heard so many stories of corruption at the Zimbabwe border that the decided to take the Bot route. Our own hassles with the Zim border police at Nyamapanda convinced us that we should do the same. Neither of us has been to Botswana and it had been part of our original plan. Mark did some research and discovered that in fact there was only 10km difference between two alternate routes so we're going to go for it.

Tomorrow it's off to Livingstone and then to the ferry across the Zambezi into Botswana on Tuesday. Zambia didn't get off to a great start with us but the roads in the south of the country are a great improvement and we enjoyed our second day.

Saturday 3 July - Mbeya to Mpika

After a wonderful night's sleep we set out for the border with Tanzania. The minute we pulled into the queue the hustling started. Mark managed to find a reliable guy to show him through the ropes. As I've said before every border is different. This time one had to move from one area to another in a haphazard fashion. After we'd cleared immigration and customs I sat in the car whilst Mark went to pay Third Party, road tax, carbon tax and various other amounts. When he  went to pay the road tax the guy asked for $30. After Mark received his receipt he saw it was for $20! Another rip off.


Whilst I was waiting in the car I was approached by a guy who asked what part of the Eastern Cape we are from. He is a Kenyan running his own business in Umtata for the last 10 years. He was a passenger on a bus waiting to be cleared through customs. We stood at the side of the road and had a wonderful discussion about the state of the continent. We were joined by a mother and son from Dar who were also catching the bus. We had fun speaking Zulu and Xhosa and generally chatting.

After 2 hours Mark finally returned and we were able to get going. We really didn't know what to expect and in fact we had to travel over 500km before we came to a town where we could draw some money and start looking for accommodation. The road was a total nightmare - worse than anything we've seen before. The potholes were craters!!! We saw at least two overturned trucks. Well, the 3 ATM's didn't accept Master Card and we couldn't find anyone to change our dollars. Pray! It was getting late when Mark opened the Bradt guide again and read about a compound just 2km down a side road. It used to be a village for people working on the TanZam highway but now it is used to house government officials and NGO's. We went over there and found a comfortable rondavel for $30.  Whew! Thank you again Lord. We met some great people there and had a good rest.

Friday 2 July - Iringa to Mbeya

Our last night in Tanzania tonight. Quite sad really but we still have Zambia and the Vic Falls to look forward to.

We went back to Iringa from our campsite - two hours on a mostly corrugated road. The villages we passed through were remote from "civilization". It takes two hours to get to Iringa but the Park was well worth the visit.

In Iringa we visited the information centre and book store for a late breakfast and some internet time. Whilst we were there three young USA girls came in and told us they are there for three weeks on an adventure mission. WE were able to give them some of our remaining Bibles to give out at their mission. Our load is definitely getting lighter. 

We had a happy trip from Iringa. I did most of the driving to give Mark a break after the rough roads yesterday. All was going well until we had a "puncha" (the Tanzanian version of puncture). My wonderful husband changed it quickly and we were on the road again. Apart from the tension over the tyre situation we did a lot of teasing about who has the most traffic fines. I am very careful not to get another fine because at the moment the score is 2 all. Mark is hoping I'll get one more so he can gloat.

We checked out our Bradt guide and decided to phone ahead to a guest house in Mbeya for the night. Setting up the tent and taking it down in the morning takes a while and tomorrow we have a border to cross so we decided to take the easy route and go to a guest house. We have passed many guest houses all the way along the Tanzam highway and many of them are right on the road. One has visions of sleeping in a hot room with big trucks roaring past all night - and believe me there are MANY trucks on the road. We arrived in Mbeya at rush hour and my heart sank. Surely this place won't be on that busy road. Well we got hopelessly lost and ended up on the far side of town without seeing any of our landmarks. We stopped at a garage and one of these wonderful, kind and helpful Tanzanians offered to drive ahead of us and show us the way. We went all the way back and took a side road and then another left and we landed up at Peace Guest House. What a wonderful surprise to find such a beautiful guest house in this busy town. It has a very high standard at only R300 bed and breakfast for both of us. TV, Aircon, fridge, shower and loo en suite.... Wow! Sheer luxury.

So here we are. We've just watched Netherlands knock Brazil out of the running. Mark is fixing the "puncha" outside and we can look forward to a peaceful night's sleep after a long and busy day.  We're starting to look south towards home but we're still enjoying our travels. I think that a trip like this when we spend most of our time together in the car is a real test of our relationship. So far we're holding up...

Tomorrow it's the Zambian border. We pray there won't be any corrupt border police there.

Thursday 1 July - Ruaha National Park

The camp we stayed at overnight is actually outside the park. We had another 30 km to travel to the gate - some of it on very corrugated roads.

The Park is truly beautiful. The Ruaha River runs through it and along the river it is lush and green. The area is teeming with wildlife. We could easily see crocodiles, hippo, nyala, impala, giraffe and so many birds. It was like the Garden of Eden. Mark especially enjoyed seeing birds we don't see further south, like a touraco that he was delighted to spot. The hippos were especially amusing as they peeped at us from the water or lay around like great mounds of blubber. The zebra and giraffe have different markings to the ones we are used to. I couldn't resist this rear end shot of a zeb. Excuse my butt!

We had not seen any lion so we decided to take a road away from the river. It took us into very dry bushveld and the road began to deteriorate. We saw very little game in the area and as the road became worse we began to feel very isolated. There was no cell contact in the area, the road was in a shocking state and we realised that if we were to break down there it may be a couple of days before anyone found us. It was a very tense hour or so and we made our way back to the main river road. We think that every visitor entering Ruaha without a trained guide should be given a two way radio or a chip of some sort so that they can be tracked.

When we rejoined the main road with great relief we went to a view site where we had a lovely view of the animals below and then Mark said, "We have to see lions!" A few minutes later we were driving along a road and he shouted, "There's a lion! It was down at the river bank and we couldn't get any closer but we watched for a couple of minutes. Then Mark looked to his right and there was another lioness about 40m away watching him! We drove up to another point hoping to get a clearer view but it didn't work so we returned to where we had first seen them. Within a short while we saw eight lions making their way down to the river and crossing at a shallow ford. Then we realised they were sneaking up on a couple of warthog grazing on the opposite bank. The lions were very organised and spread themselves out so that the prey could be cut off if he decided to run in either direction. Suddenly they sprang into action. The two warthogs ran in different directions and the lions pursued just one of them. They disappeared behind some bushes but we heard the poor little warthog squealing like a stuck pig (!) as the lions closed in for the kill. How tragic, but what a thrill to have witnessed this. It was certainly worth the trip to Ruaha along some very rough roads.

Our Bradt guide had said the camping was very basic with one long drop loo and no water - bring your own - and that's why we had chosen to camp at the private camp outside the Park. However, when we saw the camp on the banks of the river we were quite sorry we hadn't decided to live dangerously. One doesn't have to move, just pull up a chair outside the tent and have an uninterrupted view of the game on the river. Well, maybe next time. We did see one couple from Gauteng in the campsite and they had one of those well-equipped off road trailers with all the necessities of life - even a solar panel! What luxury!

And so back to our campsite for one more night and then south west tomorrow as we make for the Zambian border.

We have been very impressed by the Tanzanian people. They are friendly, helpful and very welcoming. Most of the 40 million people are poor by our standards but they are extremely enterprising. The campsite we stayed in is a great example. The family have built up a well run facility with a couple of sites for tents but quite a number of clean, comfortable chalets/ dormitories and they can cater for big groups. They have a dining room and a pub. I admire their entrepreneurship. Generally people are getting on with making a living any way they can. The nation has a wonderful unity. Apparently President Nyerere did away with tribal leaders and concentrated on uniting all Tanzanians as a nation. Fifty years down the track it appears to have worked. Well done, Tanzanians. Oh and one other comment: There is no such thing as an obese Tanzanian (or Malawian). There are no big chain store supermarkets selling junk food or processed stuff. People eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and of course meat. They are hard working, healthy and they mostly use bicycles for transport. There are mini bus taxis but they are much better drivers than ours in SA.

Yes, Tanzania has been a great experience. Well worth the visit.

Wednesday 30 June - Dar es Salaam to Iringa

When we got back to the hostel last night we both fell into bed. I didn't stir until 4:30am when I woke up bathed in sweat. The humidity in Dar is worse than Durban - and this is supposed to be the cooler time of year. We packed up and left the city before the rush hour traffic began. Of course we had to say goodbye to Brock as he flies to Canada tonight. So we are once again without our interpreter.

We discovered that rush hour begins shortly after 5am in Dar. We passed many trucks and small buses on the road and it's quite tricky watching out for pedestrians in the dark. About an hour and a half after we left Dar Mark overtook three vehicles going up a hill. We heard a pop sound and a few minutes later Mark started to pull off the road when he realised we had a puncture. It was a very dangerous place to pull over because the verge was narrow and there was quite a dip to the left. We decided to limp a further 100 metres up the hill because we could see a driveway. We were very grateful to discover it was a service station and we had a flat area to change the tire.

The puncture was caused by a plug that blew out. We had had a slow leak repaired in Moshi a few days ago and this was the plug blowing out. We had to unpack a whole lot of stuff and I put the box containing our compressor onto the roof rack whilst I moved other stuff out of the way so we could get the jack out. Sadly I forgot to put the compressor back in the car and now it has a new owner who no doubt picked it up along the road between there and here. :-(

The trip to Iringa was interesting as we traveled back through the Rift Valley. We had one very scary event when a bus came at full speed around a corner coming towards us. He suddenly started drifting towards us side on - we had nowhere to go. There was a cliff face to our left. For a few minutes it was like staring death in the face but thankfully he managed to right himself and we lived to tell the tale.  We were already a bit spooked by all the speeding buses who had passed up in dangerous places and we'd seen two overturned trucks.

We drove into Iringa town and found a delightful information centre with some lovely helpful people. We were able to phone ahead to our campsite and book in for the night. The camp is excellently run by the local community, just outside the park gate. We have met up with an interesting couple here. They have been on the road over two months, doing a similar thing to us. She runs a Backpackers in Oudtshoorn and he is a Dane. We are sharing the small campsite tonight. They are heading towards Dar tomorrow so we were able to share tips and experiences.

This photo was taken just outside the gates to the Park. It's a very remote area and I had just said to Mark I wondered if the people even knew there is a World Cup on. We came around the corner and saw this dish outside a very humble home. We're quite sure they know all about the World Cup and they haven't missed a game!

Tomorrow we will spend the day in the Ruaha National Park. We have heard only good things about the Park so it's really something to look forward to. Lots of photos........

Tuesday 29th - Pangani to Dar es Salaam

It was a long day of traveling. We left Pangani at about 10:45. Unfortunately there's no direct route to Dar es Salaam so we had to retrace our steps back to Korogwe and then head south to the junction with the T1 at Chilenze.

Dar is a nightmare as far as traffic goes. There is only one road into the city and the traffic streams in and out - mainly buses and big trucks. We finally got to our accommodation in the middle of the city at Luther House. We were going to camp out of town but it got so late. We looked in the Bradt guide and found this hostel. It's a ministry of the Lutheran church. We got an adequate room with shower and toilet, a very noisy fan and an even more noisy airconditioner. The important thing was having off street parking for the car.

We went with Brock and another friend to a lovely Indian restaurant called the Alcove where we enjoyed a wonderful meal. Unfortunately we were both pretty exhausted and I could feel myself nodding off at the table. Fortunately I was very tired so that when we arrived back at the hostel I just went straight off to sleep and didn't stir until 4:30am when I woke up drenched in perspiration and most uncomfortable. I'm sure Dar is a wonderful city but we didn't get to see it in daylight. Ah well, another time....

Monday 27 June - Leshoto, Luengera and Pangani

I am looking forward to posting photos of today's trip. We woke up to clouds at Muller's Lodge. After breakfast the cyclists departed and Mark, Brock and I had a conference to decide whether to go on to Korogwe and look for Leungera Estate where he spent the first 9 years or so of his life. We decided to move on because the weather didn't look as if it was going to be kind to hikers.

At Korogwe we asked directions and were pointed in the general direction of Luengere. We had to ask a few people along the way but we eventually arrived at the settlement where the de-corticator and the Estate offices were. We took the road that should have taken us in the general direction of the house Mark's dad built. Mark just remembered it was on a hillside overlooking the plain. After some more asking direction - thanks to Brock's Swahili - we traveled on a track parallel with the hillside. We saw a house that could have been the one but we couldn't find a road up to it. We met a man on a motorcycle who said he would show us where the old manager's house is. We went back down the road and stopped beside a field of green beans. From there we had a clear view of the house up on the hill but we couldn't see a driveway. Mark walked about and found a single track through the cornfields. We decided to go along it and see if it would take us closer.

After a while the track petered out near where a farmer was planting yet more beans. We chatted with him and he said yes, it was the old manager's house. We could see the path carried on for about 500m up the steep hill to the house so we decided to go up on foot. The farmer came with us and half way up we were joined by another farmer. It was a steep climb through shoulder high grass and weeds. I was delighted by the huge variety of butterflies which took my focus off the climb.

When we reached the house Mark confirmed it was the very house where they had lived. We met another man there who was staying in the very bedroom that Mark and his younger brother used to share. The house was built of dressed stone from the area and the walls are over 30cm thick with huge pillars on the verandah. There were few windows intact and the ceiling is falling in in places. The roof is in bad repair but the solid walls are all there.

It was so cool on the very wide veranda and the views are magnificent across the plain to the Usambara Mountains in the distance. The veranda's are very wide - wide enough for five little boys to work off their energy on a rainy day. At the back of the house is a cool courtyard where a number of goats were lying in the shade of some trees.

Mark remembers that just below the house was all forest but now there are just corn fields which allows an uninterrupted view of the mountains. It was such a pleasure to just be there and sit on the veranda wall enjoying the view. The three local men who were with us were very interested in the stories of past times in the house. Far from being scathing about the condition of the house, Mark was so glad he has been back to see it and said he's pleased that someone is using it as home. The house is about a past era in Africa but he has no regrets, just memories of his boyhood. It was such a blessed visit.

We left with the friendship of the three men and one of them picked about a dozen fresh mealies in his field. All my married life I have heard Mark's family telling stories of events at Luengera and I could only imagine the house. Now I have actually seen the magnificent home with it's huge rooms, high ceilings and wonderful verandas. What a privilege! Thank you Lord.

The rest of the afternoon we spent travelling down to Beach Crab resort at Pagani. It's a rustic resort right on the beach and we enjoyed crossing the river on a ferry at sunset and then sipping drinks on the deck at the resort watching the moon rise. A perfect ending to a memorable day.

27 June- Moshi to Muller's Lodge

We said goodbye to Moshi this morning without having actually seen the mountain from the town. Ah well, we guess it isn't really there - just a figment of everyone's imagination. We must have looked a sight setting out. The car was pretty full on the way up but now we have Brock and his luggage - he'll be flying to Canada from Dar for two months. We have added a couple more items to the roof rack. The person sitting in the back seat has just enough space for them to sit. They can't look right or behind because there's a mountain of luggage up to the ceiling. We're as bad as those taxis we pass along the road.

We didn't have too far to travel and when we got to the turnoff to the lodge we were going to we stopped and had coffee at a roadside tavern. We had an entertaining time watching the vendors and hustlers working the buses that stopped on the road. We left the main road and wound up through the most beautiful mountain pass. The views were spectacular. There were the usual little settlements we passed through and the road was really good until the tar ended. We eventually came to Muller's Mountain Lodge - an almost unbelievable place. It seems quite out of place with it's alpine setting. There are huge Norfolk pines and a beautifully laid out garden. It's a really lovely setting. Sadly I appear to have formatted my camera disk before I downloaded the photos of Muller's. At least it was only these photos and not the whole lot!

Shortly after we arrived a group of 24 cyclists from New Zealand and their backup team arrived. They are doing an 800 km cycle tour through Tanzania, ending tomorrow on the coast at Pangani. From there they'll go to Zanzibar and then fly out of Dar. The cyclists are a pretty friendly bunch and we had a very social afternoon finishing off with a gathering for drinks and watching the Germany vs England game.

Dinner was a buffet of the most delicious home grown vegetables and salads with some meat or other (I didn't even try it). Brock, Mark and I are now in our cottage. It has a lovely living area with a fireplace and two bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. It's a far cry from our night in the "guest house' in Morogoro last week but once we leave Brock in Dar it'll be back to camping for us so we'd better enjoy it while we're here. If the weather is good tomorrow we'll stay and do one or two of the lovely walks in the area otherwise we'll move on and maybe go to the coast.


Great place, great views, great company... Good night all.

26 June 2010 - Rest day in Moshi

Today is our last day in Moshi. It's sad to be starting the long trek home - especially as the cloud over Moshi still hasn't lifted enough to get a clear view of the mountain from the town.

Brock, Mark and I will be setting off for Dar early tomorrow, stopping over at Leshoto on the way. We are hoping to pay a visit to Luengera Estates where Mark spent his early childhood. Brock is flying to Canada from Dar on Wednesday so we'll be leaving him there and heading for the Ruaha National Park for two nights. We've heard it's a really great park and we're looking forward  to being there.

We spent the morning doing chores in the town - I'm discovering more and more gems as we explore with Brock. He treated us to a most delicious chicken curry for lunch. We went to a restaurant called Chez Deli where the cuisine is north Indian. Mark and I agreed it really was the best curry we've ever had. Thanks Brock. When we came back from town the three of us did the afternoon siesta thing and now it's packing time. Our holiday isn't over yet but we're definitely turning our heads for home.

We've decided to cut out the two days in Botswana for this trip. Crossing borders is expensive and we're going to be just traveling through the country so we've decided to save Botswana for another time. Instead we're heading back to Pietermaritzburg to visit Nicholas and his friends and family. :-) We'll still arrive home two weeks from today - just a different route. And so back to packing......

Friday 25 June - Arusha National Park and Moshi

Today was fairly relaxed. We woke up at the Momella Lodge and went on a drive up the lower slopes of Mt Meru. It was very damp up in the forest but truly beautiful. The highlight was arriving at the Big Fig tree. We were amazed that it had a hole in the bottom big enough to drive our car through. What fun!

The Arusha National Park is truly beautiful and well worth the visit. The two craters are an added bonus. We only got to see one of them but Brock assures us that a visit to the Ash Cone is very rewarding. Unfortunately time and the weather were against us but we loved what we saw of the park. Thank you, Brock for arranging this wonderful visit.

We arrived back in Moshi in the early afternoon - just in time for a late lunch and disrupt Delphi's packing. She is leaving for Toronto this evening and she was trying to get organised. It was lovely to have a bit more time with Delphi before we took her to the airport for her flight.

This is a photo of us all together shortly before we took Delphi to the airport. We'll miss you Delphi. It's been wonderful meeting you for the first time. Thank you for your hospitality.

On the way back from the airport we caught a brief glimpse of the mountain from the Moshi area for the first time. It's so huge and dwarfs the town.

And so our time in Moshi is coming to an end. Tomorrow Brock, Mark and I will spend the day at home. Brock will be packing for his flight to Canada next week and Mark and I will be sorting and re-packing our mountain of stuff. When we leave and go to south again we'll have Brock and his baggage with us so it's going to be an interesting "sardine can" taking off from Moshi early Sunday morning. From here on we will be slowly heading home. There are still some highlights on the way and two weeks of travelling to go. The trip meter in the Jeep is about 6400km so far and counting.

Thursday 24 June - Arusha National Park

When Brock said he'd arranged for us to visit the Park and stay in a lodge for the night I have to confess I wondered if it was really necessary. After all we are from South Africa and we often get to see animals in their natural habitat. Well now I can honestly say it's been worth every kilometer and every dollar we spent to get here.

The Park is amazing. More breathtaking than the animals is the scenery and vegetation. Within the Park there are two craters.

On our way in to the Momela Lodge we visited one of them and drove up to a view site. We were amazed at the site of the huge crater below us and although there weren't many animals grazing down there at the time the number and variety of butterflies was worth it. I have never seen so many varied specimens in one place. I really wish my sister-in-law, Jill could have been with us.

Later in the afternoon we took a trip to see some flamingos on a lake within the Park. There were thousands and thousands of them. I so wish I could post a photo right now but unfortunately I only have 25MB of bandwidth available on my phone and once I start I won't know when to stop. We also saw lots of bush buck, water buck, giraffe, hippo, warthog and zebra on the drive. 


We have just watched Slovenia beat Italy. Wow!!! We have missed so many of the games whilst on the road but that one was worth seeing. And so to dinner.... Bon appetit folks.

Wednesday 23 June - Moshi and Kilema

It was my birthday today and it turned out to be a really memorable one. It was wonderful to wake up and not have to start packing and hitting the road again. That in itself was a birthday gift.

Brock and Delphi, our hosts, had arranged a trip to Kilema on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro. We hadn't seen the mountain yet because of a layer of cloud but we believe the mountain dwarfs the town of Moshi. Kilema is the area where Delphi was raised and some of her relatives still live there. She and Brock had arranged to trip to visit Delphi's cousin Sylvan, his wife and large family.



Sylvan is a stone mason and he took great delight showing us how he cut stone blocks using hand tools. Kilimanjaro is a volcano so the rock is volcanic. We were amazed at how much he could do with the resources available to him.

We were treated to wonderful African hospitality when we arrived at the homestead.

We were ushered into the home and treated to a delicious meal. It was the first time I have had a meal using a special type of hard green banana and meat. The bananas are a staple food in this part of Africa. We really enjoyed the meal.

One of Sylvan's daughters recently gave birth to a beautiful little girl. A new baby forms a focus for the family and we were impressed by the love and support for one another. We were very privileged to share in this special meal with the family.

This photo shows a number of generations within the family. The baby is really pretty and obviously loved by all.

From there we visited a school, a church and a hospital in the surrounding area. The roads are understandably very steep but the area is beautiful with lush vegetation, waterfalls and of course people who go about their business.

We also visited the Live Chagga museum where the curator gave us an animated and interesting history of the the WaChagga people who live in the area. It is something like our cultural villages in South Africa.

We then went to visit two more of Delphi's relatives who live in the town of Moshi, one of the being Delphi's sister, Sophia. Amidst much joking and laughter Mark agreed to take Sophie as his second wife. I readily agreed as long as she is prepared to take over all the cooking. It was a happy and fun visit.

From there we went to a birthday dinner at the Bristol restuarant in Moshi. It was a balmy evening and we sat on the veranda next to a lovely courtyard, enjoying our meal. A great ending to a perfect day.

Tomorrow we are off to a game park.

Tuesday 22 June - Morogoro to Moshi

This was quite a long haul. The roads were okay most of the way with a few pot-holed sections but nothing too serious. One of the really fascinating sections for me was passing through the junction at Chilinze. This is where one turns north off the main Tanzam highway. There is a cluster of shops and a busy market. The fun part is the dozens of mobile tradesmen (hawkers) who dodge between the cars and buses selling fruit, mielies, bread, samoosas, chicken... you name it. I even saw one guy with toiletries and combs neatly arranged in a shallow box. I was so fascinated with the sights and sounds I forgot to take a photo. It was really hectic as there were easily ten buses parked off and the vendors dodged around amongst the traffic. It was quite a relief to get away without hitting a pedestrian.

On the road up to Moshi we passed a large overland vehicle was and ND number plate. There was much joyful waving and hooting between us. When one is so far away from home seeing a familiar number plate is really exciting.

The greatest problem for us on the roads in Tanzania has been the speed restrictions. Every few kilometers one passes through a village or settlement and the speed limit drops to 50kph and even 30kph in some places. The traffic cops are everywhere and they're very quick to trap with their hand held radar machine - especially when they see a foreign vehicle. Mark was trapped doing 65 and we had to pay another spot fine. This time there were two cars pulled off the road simultaneously. Mark swore he was doing 50 and asked the cop how he could tell which vehicle was travelling at 65. Of course the cop couldn't answer that but we had to pay up. We were powerless to argue our case. How annoying!

So now the speed fine score is two to Mark and one to Brenda. We have learnt to be very vigilant and both watch for speed restrictions and warn whoever is driving. I had one funny incident when we came upon a 30kph sign. I quickly slowed right down to the required speed and as I went around a bend there was a cop in the road. She immediately raised her hand to stop me. A cop with a radar machine was on the verge on the right and he had to shout to her that I wasn't speeding and she waved me on. They obviously expect to catch lots of people in that spot. I smiled and waved as I crawled past them.

And so at an average speed of about 70kph for the day we finally made it to Moshi and found Brock at an arranged meeting place. We only then discovered that we were now one hour ahead of SA and it really was time for tea in Tanzania. We were also just in time to watch Bafana Bafana beat France 2-1 but sadly they didn't make it into the next round of the World Cup. We are still very proud of them.

Mt Kilimanjaro looms over Moshi but unfortunately there was too much cloud cover. Perhaps tomorrow....

Monday 21 June - Iringa to Morogoro

Wow but Tanzania is a huge country and there's such a wonderful diversity of scenery. We had a shorter trip today but very interesting. We set off from our lovely Iringa campsite on a good raod thinking it would be plain sailing. Little did we know we were soon to go down a spectacular pass and enter the Rift Valley - a truly beautiful area. The scenery is spectacular but there are a lot of roadworks with the usual stop/ go waits. The vegetation kept changing for bushveld to riverine bush to indigenous forests of giant baobab trees. Every corner brings a new surprise - some of them in the form of buses and trucks hurtling down the highway!!!

We've developed a good regimen for our diet on the road. We decided not to buy food along the road to avoid getting tummy upsets. We have instant oats and fruit for breakfast, cream crackers, cheese, cashew nuts and fruit during the day and a meal made from our store of canned food in the evening. We haven't had any problems in the tummy department so far. We also carried enough drinking water from Port Elizabeth, although that is now coming to an end.

We reached Morogoro in the early afternoon. We drove around looking for a likely camping spot but it didn't look promising. We asked a few people along the road but we didn't have enough Swahili and they didn't have enough English so it was a bit frustrating. Morogoro is a busy, dusty little town and we were beginning to get desperate when we saw a lady who turned out to be an American living in the town. She suggested we try Hotel Sophia of the nearby Mama Pierina's. Our Bradt guide describes Mama P's as an unpretentious place with good food. Unpretentious it certainly is but we decided it was passable for a one night stopover and at least our car would be in a locked courtyard. The owner is a wonderful character of Greek/ Italian extraction who was born in Tanzania and lived here her whole life. The guest house was started by her mother and she has carried it on. It seems some serious maintenance but she is in the process of upgrading some of the rooms. We joined some of the people in the bar to watch Portugal beat North Korea. It was fun as we couldn't believe that Portugal just kept scoring.

Our evening turned  out to be very entertaining. The vegetable lasagne was delicious and they even served it with a Greek salad. The feta is locally made and too salty to be palatable but we enjoyed our meal. One thing that is really prolific in the area is delicious tomatoes and we made the most of them. We met up with a young Irish couple who had been doing some work on a school computer centre in Lilongwe and had made their way up to Tanzania by bus, train and taxi. How's that for adventurous? They were making their way to Nairobi where they'll catch their return flight to Ireland. Demetri, the owner of the guest house, kept us entertained with her own stories of life in Tanzania. She's a very colourful character who's a friend of all. She seems to take care of a number of people within her guest house community and can be described as a "tough lady".

I have discovered than most buildings in Tanzania, including the guest house, don't have glass in the windows. They have strong bars and mosquito mesh. It's all one needs in this hot climate but it does pose a problem in heavy rain with the wind blowing. Of course one can't really block out noise which is a problem when people pass on the corridor or when the call to prayer is sounded from the local mosque in the early hours of the morning. We managed to get a reasonable night's sleep and departed early Tuesday morning, leaving one of our vuvuzelas in the bar.

Sunday 20 June Chitemba to Iringa

We arrived at the border and sailed through the Malawian side. No problems. The Tanzanian immigration and customs people were also great. Everyone was great. The unpleasant part of the experience was the huge number of hustlers and beggars. One has to buy the obligatory Third Party insurance and different companies tout their product.Then there are the monychangers. We have learnt that it's good to change some money iwth these guys as they give quuite a good deal and we've used them successfully up to now. On the Tanzanian border the modus opperandi is to crowd the customer and try to confuse him. We have learnt not to hand over our dollars until we have counted out our bundles of notes and laid them on the dashboard. The guy yesterday tried to change the exchange rate after we had settled on a rate.

Mark had to get quite firm and  say, "Take it or leave it". We got out of there glad to have made it without any serious altercation but for a while we felt very vulnerable. Interestingly just before that I had been reading Psalm 43 whilst waiting in the car. I prayed the first few verses for Mark whilst he was sorting out the Third Party insurance and I could see the moneychangers waiting for him like vultures.

From the border we we climbed steeply upwards past lush vegetation including many banana plants and vegetable fields. One of the first plantations we saw was a tea estate so we knew we were in the right place for tea. We soon left the high country and descended into bushveld as we joined the Tanzam highway. The roads are good in places but in others there are potholes and one has to drive with care. Then of course there are the police roadblocks! Most of them just waved us through but as I was driving through one settlement I was caught going 60kmh in a 50 zone. Eish! It's so hard to drive at 50 and besides I had missed the sign. At least I wasn't too far over the limit and we paid up. This is the second fine of the trip and the score is one all to Mark and I.

We reached Iringa and looked for the Riverside Camp Mark had found in our Bradt guide. It is a really pleasant surprise. The surrounding area is dusty bushveld but the campsite 1.5km off the main road is a beautiful green, secure site. It was wonderful to pitch our tent on a lush green lawn and have electrical points to recharge the laptop battery. Unfortunately although the boiler had been fired we didn't get any hot water for showering because of a broken tap that leaked all the hot water down the drain. We only found out about this too late. I was very brave and showered and even washed my hair in cold water. Ah to have clean hair again!


Here we are spilling out of our Jeep as we set up tent and do some laundry. It really was a wonderful surprise to find this lovely spot in the middle of the bushveld. 

We expect to reach Moshi on Tuesday. Let the adventure continue.....

Saturday 19 June Sedna to Chitemba

This is the day I really fell in love with Malawi. It has such a variety of biomes. The area from Mzuza to the lake is really beautiful. One travels over a mountain pass and has a magnificent view from the top of Lake Malawi.

We pulled over to take a photo. There were two little local boys on the road and when they saw me get out the crossed the road to avoid walking past us. As we started the car again I offered them a sweet each. They screamed and ran up a steep bank into the bush. This is an extreme version of “don’t take sweets from strangers”.

The main form of transport in Malawi is bicycle. There are a few buses and some taxis but most people use bicycles. We saw men with their wives sitting side saddle on a specially made padded seat behind and some of the women even had a baby strapped on their back. The bicycles are even used to transport big bundles of wood, containers of water and produce. Amazing!

We really enjoyed the rest of the drive until we started looking for a campsite. Mark had found some prospective sites marked on a map. We saw one site signposted but Mark’s place was still 7.5km further on so we went to look for that. We didn’t find it and even the local policeman couldn’t help so we went back to the first place. It turned out to be quite good – called Sanctuary. No hot showers but we pitched our tent as it got dark and then went and had a beer in their beautiful pub which is a few feet from the lake shore. This photo was taken at sunrise the following morning. The wind had been blowing for a few days so the waves on the lake were quite high and crashed onto the beach - just like the ocean.

Malawians are very friendly relaxed people. They are also extremely poor. We made the comment that we had more possessions in our car than 90% of the people we saw on the roadside. The houses are small mud huts with a flimsy thatch roof. Life is simple but healthy. There doesn’t seem to be such a thing as an over-weight Malawian.

We’re becoming good at erecting and striking our tent – like a well oiled machine. Dinner is usually a couple of tins we brought with us. Amazing how delicious it tastes at the end of a long day of traveling. We managed a good nights sleep and managed to set out early on Sunday morning, headed for the Malawi/ Tanzania border.

Friday 18 June – Dedza to Sedna

We left Peta and Rory and their beautiful little girls early on Friday morning. It was cold and raining and it was sad to leave the warmth of their home. They are doing a great job living so far from convenient doctors, shops and even pharmacies. Whilst we were chatting in the morning I called baby Maya sausage. Riley immediately piped up in her two year old voice and said, "She's not a sausage! She's Maya. The sausages are in the fridge!" So cute!

The border crossing was accompanied by the usual stress of finding out what works here. Every border seems to have a different set of systems. At the same time one has to be sure not to leave a passport or bag behind. There are also many people milling around waiting to make a quick buck. Once we had finished we sat it the car for a long time waiting for the border policeman to get back from tea. Such a waste of time! The Malawi side was small and crowded and dirty. We met some interesting people though. There was a group of 12 motorcyclists from Italy who were riding from Rome to Cape Town. They had a support vehicle with them. They were members of the police force and Interpol and they were called Moto for Peace. It was a very interesting group. I asked them if I could take a photo of them but of course photos at border crossings are outlawed and an official quickly came over and stopped me. Oops! I did get one of their vehicle.

Lilongwe was a busy place and we took a long time getting through traffic, shopping at Shoprite and going to get a sim card, air time and data. We finally worked our way through the traffic and took the road we thought would be taking us to Senga. Once again we were blessed by an angel in the form of a traffic cop who stopped us at a routine road block near the airport. He asked where we were going and when we told him he said we were on the wrong road and showed us a dirt road going off to the right that would be a short cut back ‘re our proper route. Whew! Once again, Thank you Lord.

One of the things that amused us on our trip to Sedna was seeing young boys on the side of the road selling rat kebabs. They collect rats, cook them and thread them onto a stick. They then stand on the side of the road and sell them.

It was getting dark by the time we found our campsite after getting lost once again. We managed to get the tent up and “eat out” (of cans of course!) We then wandered down to the pub on the beach – literally right at the water’s edge and met a couple who were enjoying a weekend break. We had a lovely chat. Now the electricity has gone off so it’s really time to hit the stretcher. It’s very windy right now but I think I’m so tired I’ll fall asleep quickly. Good night!

17 June - a day of miracles.

We set out early from Juliasdale and took a short cut through Marenderos to the Harare - Nyamapanda road. The roads were pretty easy but sign posting is non-existent. If we hadn't had very clear directions to the short cut we would never have found it.
We arrived at the border in good time and went through Immigration and Customs without a hitch. We then had to report to the police check in the car park. The policeman in charge asked for our police clearance. Huh? We have a Carnet from AA and letters from the bank for our car and insurance etc but this was the first time we'd been asked for a police clearance. No one ever told us we'd need one.

Now what? We had a chat (there were about four policemen milling around). We had to convince them we still support Bafana even if we aren't in SA when they accused us of "running away". I went and got a vuvuzela out of the car and they all had a go at blowing it but none of them managed. But the problem of the police clearance was not solved. Another South African came through from the other direction and said, "Yes, you have to have a clearance". Arghhhh. The policeman in charge suggested we go back to Harare and contact Interpol.

After some discussion and checking over our vehicle he suggested we might like to buy him a cup of coffee. The short story was we bought him a "cup of coffee" and we were able to proceed. A return trip to Harare would have cost us so much in time and money and with Zimbabwe one can't be sure of what other corruption one will encounter on the way.  This was our first real encounter with blatant corruption and it left us with a sour taste. When we went through the Mozambique side of the border there was much hussling by people there and attempts made to extract extra cash but we managed to clear that one without further hitch.

One of the good things that came out of our policeman incident was that we met a Zimbabwean coming through. He verified that one does need a police clearance but he also warned us that we need to get our documents stamped at the customs office in Tete if we are proceeding to Malawi. Another thing we had not been told but thanks to this fellow we were able to get the required stamp on our way through Tete. Apparently if one doesn't have it at the border with Malawi one has to return to Tete to get it!!! Eish! Another miracle. Thank you Lord! 

In the morning we had prayed that the traffic would be going our way at the Tete bridge over the Zambezi. We had heard that the wait can be up to an hour. Guess what? the traffic was going our way and we went straight through!The photo is of the magnificent bridge across the Zambezi River. The delays are due to maintenance work taking place.

I tried to phone Peta to get instructions to their place which is on the way to the Malawi border. I couldn't get through and it was only when she sms'd me later that I discovered that they didn't have cell reception. Peta is an enterprising lady. She had internet access so she Skyped her sister-in-law who is in Bali and asked her to send us a message on my cell phone giving clear directions to their turn off. Now how's that for using technology to problem solve? Wow!!!

It's definitely time for bed... We're off to camp at Lake Malawi. It's a shorter trip and we have the name of a good camping place through Peta's friend. This network of support blows my mind. Thanks everyone.

16 June Rest day in Juliasdale.

We had time to relax and enjoy the beauty of Packie and Pixie's home town. Mark and his brother went up to Troutbeck to see the sights and look at a bridge that Patrick is building. Pixie rode her bike up to Troutbeck and met up with them. I take my hat off to my sister in law for her commitment to getting fit. Well done Pix. I stayed home and caught up with some blog entries and had time to get to know Summer Rayne better.

Later we all took a trip up to Nyamezi (not quite sure of that name) - a time share that Patrick built about 10 years ago. The place is tranquil and in a lovely setting. We had our picnic there. It's a pity that it isn't being used much.

Later we watched Bafana Bafana being beaten 3-0 by Uruguay. Pity.... We are still rooting for them. Whenever someone spots one of our vuvuzelas in the back of the Jeep they ask for one. Sorry.... It was really worth taking our detour through Zim to spend time with the PB branch of the family.

Inhasorro to Juliasdale

One of the things that didn't go so well so far is connecting to the Internet. I bought a sim card and air time in Moz but just didn't get it to connect in spite of a call to Customer Care. Now that we are in Juliasdale with Patrick and Pixie Hallowes (yes, the Hallowes are all over the continent) we are able to catch up.

We left Inhassoro just as the sun made it's glorious appearance. Wow!The trip as far as the junction with the Beira corridor was good. This photo is of the bridge across the Save River. It's really impressive.

No road works, lots of people along the way and interesting sights. I just love to see how the people live and wonder at their ability to make a living from available resources. There is obviously a system of marketing the resources. People line up bags of stuff like coconuts, reed grass and cashew nuts outside their homes and we surmised that trucks collect them in exchange for goods or cash - not sure about that part. Around the homesteads there is plenty of small scale farming happening and there are many fruit trees. Distances are very far and resources limited but the people are enterprising.

We didn't come across a single road block. The road from Beira to Mutare becomes steeper and there are far more people walking on the sides of the road. Constant con-conurbation is the pattern. But the people are careful and walk on the correct side of the road. Again there is produce for sale and lots of schools. It wasn't quite as litter free as further south.

The movement through the border post went well and then we realised we had to find our way to Patrick's unaided as we didn't have the local sim card and my roaming just didn't work for some reason. However Mark had printed out a Google Earth shot and finding our way down the steep track to Patrick and Pixie's was easy. It was a lovely surprise to see the Summer Rayne is here as well so we get to see Mark's youngest niece as well.

Thank you Lord for safe traveling, for wonderful people we have encountered along the way and lovely resting place at Juliasdale.

Tuesday 15 June Bobolo to Inhassoro

Tuesday was another long and interesting day. The sunrise in Bobolo was magnificent and we climbed into the car with great expectations - only to find the battery was dead! We had left the small mobi cool box plugged in overnight. Thank goodness for the graciousness of Paul who brought his bakkie round to charge our battery.

The trip up to Xai Xai was comfortable and we enjoyed the scenery along the way. The town itself it pretty with an obvious Portuguese influence in the architecture. The streets are clean with very little litter. It's one thing that has that has struck me so far is that the towns are not as littered as they are in South Africa.

Just before leaving the town we stopped for a short break and then we hit the roadworks. The good thing about roadworks is that something is being done about the state of the roads - thanks to the Chinese who are trading infrastructure upgrades for natural resources. The construction slowed us down but things still went smoothly.

It took us until sunset to reach Inhassoro. There were times when we were able to travel fairly fast but one has to be very careful of the 60kph speed limits wherever there is a town/ settlement. That is where the traffic cops are likely to jump out and hand over a ticket. Again the roads are litter free even though there is a huge number of people living along the main road. There is seldom just open, unoccupied countryside. People go about their business and try to sell whatever they produce. Cashew nuts, banana, pawpaws, cabbages.....

As a teacher the school children impressed me. From very small they are walking in an orderly fashion on the side of the road, facing the traffic. The schools I saw were well kept, freshly painted with clean surroundings. By the end of the day we worked out that they must run a platoon system with some children going to school in the morning and some in the afternoon. There certainly appears to be a commitment to education.

The worst part of the day was the roadworks closer to Inhassoro. They are completely reconstructing the heavily pot holed road and for 50km one travels on sandy tracks at the side of the main road. At least it's one way each side and providing one doesn't get behind a slow moving vehicle one can travel at a reasonable speed  (60kph). It's just red dust flying everywhere but the alternative is to stay on the road and risk falling into one of the deep potholes/dongas. Eish!!!

And so to Inhassoro where we stayed at the Dugong lodge. The accommodation was good and the food delicious. The only other guests were a group of bikers but they did their own thing in the bar. Once we fell into bed at the late hour of 8pm we both just "died". A satisfactory end to an interesting day.

I have to say that I've been pleasantly surprised by Moz. We had heard about road blocks and aggressive cops but apart from the speeding fine we were only stopped once by a very pleasant female cop who I think was just interested to know where we were going. She did tell me I should learn Portuguese if I am visiting Moz. Yes, I agree - but for two days all we've learnt to say is "Obrigardo". Thank you to the people of Moz for a great trip so far. It really is a beautiful country.