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.

14 June Hluhluwe to Bobolo

Well here we are a few days later in the beautiful Eastern Highlands of  Zimbabwe. Today I have a bit of time to catch up while Mark and his brother Patrick go "walkabout". Let me go back to Monday morning.

Today (Monday) was very interesting. We left Dave and Anne in Hluhluwe just before 8am. We can really recomment Country Rose BnB. Great people, great accommodation.

We managed to clear two border posts without any problems. The people were pleasant and thing went very smoothly. Some of the roads in Swaziland were pretty rough - and we thought the Addo Rd was bad before it was repaired. However the main road through Big Bend was great. Then it was onward and upward to the border post near Goba where the views over Swaziland stretched away below. All the border control offices are clean and neat and things seem well organised. Joy!

The roads in Moz up to Bobolo were in good condition and very pretty with lovely trees and lots of evidence of crops being grown. And then we arrived in Maputo. That was less pretty, less organised and very busy even for a Sunday. We stopped at a garage for fuel and a large crowd of little boys soon gathered around the car asking for money, bread, sweets ..... One little boy stood next to my window saying, "I want money, I'm hungry. Ag Shame!" He'd obviously had heard this from previous travelers. It was so cute. I did notice that the boys only approached tourists - not locals who chased them away.

And then on to Blue Anchor Inn just north of Maputo at Bobolo. Paul and Liz Hallowes run a superb establishment. The hospitality is great, the food is delicious and of course the company is congenial. The inn was full and included some families from Johannesburg getting away from the traffic problems. One of the visiting children had a vuvuzela which one of Paul's dogs broke as soon as he tried to blow it - a feat Paul tells us he's trained to do! It was lovely to connect with Paul and Liz again. Thank you for your wonderful hospitality.

Oh and we did get our first traffic fine for doing 69kph in Maputo - so easy to do when one is trying to find the route through the chaos. The traffic cops were pleasant and we paid up. Ah well, we were speeding....

Support

Dave and Anne have done the trip we are doing before and in fact they go into Mozambique fairly often so it was a great opportunity whilst we stayed over in Hluhluwe for Mark and Dave to go over the route we will be taking. There's nothing like experience shared to get a clearer idea of what to expect.

Thank you Dave and Anne for your wonderful hospitality and all the help and support. We wish you were coming along with us. 

Saturday 12th June - Leaving Pietermaritzburg

Here we go again! Gareth, our son-in-law took this photo of us packed up and leaving their home in Pietermaritzburg this morning. It's been a really great day with lots of stops. First one was with Carol in Pinetown - very brief, just to collect a gift for Peta. Then on to Melmoth to see Gwen and renew old ties. Then to Empangeni to see Sheila and Patrick and a couple of Mark's nieces and great nephews. We so wish we had more time in each place but we must keep moving north.

We finished off our day in Hluhluwe where we're staying with Dave and Anne and we had a great evening with Maggie and Oumi. Thank you Lord for safe traveling so far. Beautiful weather and lovely scenery - especially to be back amongst fever trees. And now to bed... Tomorrow we leave South Africa and venture into Swaziland and Mocambique. The great unexpected....

One more sleep...

Believe it or not this is an organised mess. Everything is itemised according to its container. It's now all accumulated together ready to pack into the Jeep. Now it's even more exciting.

We leave tomorrow morning. We'll have our alarm set for 5am as usual but if we wake at 3:30am - as we sometimes do - we'll climb in the car and leave then.

It's really cold at the moment and there's snow forecast for some parts of Eastern Cape - the route we usually take to KZN - so we could have an interesting start to our trip. This time tomorrow we should be seeing Nicholas.... (oh and his folks of course).

The Facilities.

When you gotta go, you gotta go! We've been warned not to expect Ultracity-style stops for the loo. Apparently it's better to go and dig a hole in the bush. When you're going to be doing 10 000 km in  a month you might as well have the best. I decided to splash out and buy one of these clever little stools - my word they charge you to cut a hole in the seat! Another thing to tick off. Only seven more sleeps.....