16 - 25 October
Our relaxing time is over at Nkhata Bay and we struggle to leave as our breakfast lasts quite a while. We finally get ourselves together and head off for Livingstonia.
The day started out overcast but was soon very hot. The roads were good quality and fun as we snaked along the shoreline of Lake Malawi.
A rare shot of both of us...
Shots of Dave on a track we found...
One of the villages seen on route...
Lunch by Lake Malawi
By about 3.30 we were at the sign post to turn off for Livingstonia and the road quickly deteriorated to rutted mud and rocks with hairpin bends and all on a steep incline. All was going OK but about half way up I had a tumble on a corner. Nothing hurt or damaged but it did shock me a bit as I wasn’t expecting it! We made it up to Livingstonia after a short detour by some local boys who told us there was an easier route which turned out even rockier!!!!
In town we looked for the accommodation we found in the Lonely Planet guide. The guide described the place as ‘a house furnished with original Victorian fittings‘.
When we got there these original features seemed far and few and the place looked run down albeit clean. After a quick chat we all agreed to head for the ECO camp we had seen 5 miles down the Road. Dave and I headed off and Mike stayed for a little longer to look around the town.
We headed off back and were soon at the track leading to the site. When we arrived we knew we had made the right decision. The site was set out on multiple levels with a view looking over the African wildness with Lake Malawi in the background. Mike and I shared a reed and straw hut with Dave having one of his own.
Once settled in and showered we headed back to the straw covered dining area to enjoy a couple of beers and dinner before retiring around the camp fire to finish the day. This is more the life….
Views from the camp and the camp...
The next morning we woke up and had a leisurely breakfast. Mike and Dave headed off to a local park for a walk and hopefully to see some wildlife although we had been informed that most of the animals had been poached so it was unlikely. I decided to kickback; enjoy the views and the solitude!
Another hard day at the office...
Mike and Dave were unable to find the road to the park, which turned out to be a track and not a road, so after play in the dirt for a while met me for lunch.
A shot of Dave at play.....
In the morning we had ordered chicken for dinner because we had been told that it is served fresh and they needed time to prepare it. Whilst we were in the middle of lunch we heard a huge commotion in the chick run before one of the staff returned with a chicken under his arm! Really fresh!
In the afternoon Mike and Dave headed out to the museum in Livingstonia and I just enjoyed the views…
Pictures at Livingstonia...
In the evening we relaxed with a hearty chicken curry…..
It was time to head off for Tanzania. The rocky road down not as bad as coming up and after a couple of hours we had made the border. The Malawi side was a dream, well organized and quick.
Tanzania wasn’t too badly organized but it was very hot and an even bigger shock it was expensive. Immigration cost $50and insurance was another $40. Ouch!!!.
We were soon moving again and although the roads remained good there was a big change in the vegetation from natural trees and scrub land in Malawi to very green banana and tea plantations. Also the people had changed from the very friendly Malawians too a lot more tourist aware Tanzanians and the kids took every opportunity to beg off you!
With the good roads we made it to Mbeya before dark and found an OK hotel for the night. We had a quick beer before Mike and I headed off to an internet Café to catch up on any news etc and Dave went for a walk. Not far out of the Hotel he heard the familiar ‘How are you my friend?’ and someone else walking very close behind him. So ignoring both he headed back to the hotel. Nothing happened but still a shock and not the best introduction to Tanzania.
The next morning around 7:30 there was a knock on the door and the hotel receptionist said that immigration was down stairs and wanted to see us. So we got up and went down. There were too officers who wanted to check our passports! So after asking for their ID we let them look at our passports. Hmmm, Tanzania is not enamoring it self to us at the moment!!!
We had not planned to stay here and we were glad too leave. The roads remained fairly good although a few sections were either potholed or heavily ridged we made it to Iringa. We found a hotel and after the receptionist saying it was full, then finding two rooms, one with bath and one with a bath and shower attachment! Mike and I decided to stay.
Dave decided to head to another hotel as his room was the one without a shower attachment and no plug in the bath!!
We met up for dinner and agreed to stay here for two night as we all needed to get washing done and the town seemed OK.
The next day was one of our admin days so not much to mention apart from it was good to get the clothes and especially the bike suits washed.
That evening we went to a bar we spotted earlier in the day with a pool table. We had a couple of games, two with one of the locals, before heading back to our Hotel for the night!
The break was over so soon, as it always seems, and we were on the road again. We also parted from Dave as he was heading off North West to Uganda and we were going north east to Kilimanjaro. So it was goodbyes all round and saying we will probably meet again some time in Asia!
With the repacking of the bikes and the washing only returned this morning we had a late start and only complete around 200 miles. The driving was fairly uninteresting until we had to drive across a game park. With the usual warnings of wild life to avoid we were lucky enough to see, Antelope, Zebra’s and a Wart hog all beside the roadside.
We finally decide to stop at Morogoro and find a Hotel recommended by a Danish guy, working in Dar, who we met at lunch. The hotel was a bit more expensive than planned but couldn’t see much else in Town and it was nice to enjoy a pleasant hotel for a change.
With the short day we knew we would have a long haul day the next day. Some 400 miles to be precise! We were up early and on the road for 8:30. The first 100 miles disappeared quickly and so did the next 80 when we stopped for lunch. The next 120 was a grind for me as we never seemed to get there but we made it in the end and after a short break we were off again for our destination of Arusha.
The final section into Arusha took forever. The driving in town deteriorated to the worst we have seen in Africa but it still not a patch on the Argentineans! The town centre was really grubby and we found a hotel recommended by the Lonely Planet but it did not have parking and we in the rough end of town. We found another one which was a hostel attached to a Catholic school.
The rooms were clean so we took the room then headed out to a local restaurant we had seen. The place was empty but looked nice so we went in.
The food was expensive for Tanzania but we had a good meal but the light background music was awful!! The only words I can think were extreme Jazz with an African twist!!! Lots of warbling noises and weird musical beats! Towards the end of the meal there was an acrobatic act with some of the local lads with was pretty impressive!
The next day we were woken before day light by banging in the Hostel kitchens so we decided to move out to a campsite as we could do without the noise every day.
On the way to the campsite we looked into a couple of companies for Safari’s and to climb Kilimanjaro. Both were a lot more expensive than we thought. This was mainly due to the really extortionate fees the national parks were charging. They were charging $60 a day park fees then $50 a night to Camp!!!
After a bit of negotiating and finding other people to share the climb with we were able to get the prices down but it is still expensive!
When we arrived the campsite was fairly empty and had a nice relaxing bar area with food and internet. So we quickly pitched and kicked back for a few days to rest before starting on Kilimanjaro. However this didn’t work out! Every night the campsite bar was pumping out music until 3 in the morning.
Even after complaining to the manager who seemed shocked we had an issue with this!
So we moved to a cheapish hotel to get one night’s decent sleep before heading up the mountain.
John
Our relaxing time is over at Nkhata Bay and we struggle to leave as our breakfast lasts quite a while. We finally get ourselves together and head off for Livingstonia.
The day started out overcast but was soon very hot. The roads were good quality and fun as we snaked along the shoreline of Lake Malawi.
A rare shot of both of us...
Shots of Dave on a track we found...
One of the villages seen on route...
Lunch by Lake Malawi
By about 3.30 we were at the sign post to turn off for Livingstonia and the road quickly deteriorated to rutted mud and rocks with hairpin bends and all on a steep incline. All was going OK but about half way up I had a tumble on a corner. Nothing hurt or damaged but it did shock me a bit as I wasn’t expecting it! We made it up to Livingstonia after a short detour by some local boys who told us there was an easier route which turned out even rockier!!!!
In town we looked for the accommodation we found in the Lonely Planet guide. The guide described the place as ‘a house furnished with original Victorian fittings‘.
When we got there these original features seemed far and few and the place looked run down albeit clean. After a quick chat we all agreed to head for the ECO camp we had seen 5 miles down the Road. Dave and I headed off and Mike stayed for a little longer to look around the town.
We headed off back and were soon at the track leading to the site. When we arrived we knew we had made the right decision. The site was set out on multiple levels with a view looking over the African wildness with Lake Malawi in the background. Mike and I shared a reed and straw hut with Dave having one of his own.
Once settled in and showered we headed back to the straw covered dining area to enjoy a couple of beers and dinner before retiring around the camp fire to finish the day. This is more the life….
Views from the camp and the camp...
The next morning we woke up and had a leisurely breakfast. Mike and Dave headed off to a local park for a walk and hopefully to see some wildlife although we had been informed that most of the animals had been poached so it was unlikely. I decided to kickback; enjoy the views and the solitude!
Another hard day at the office...
Mike and Dave were unable to find the road to the park, which turned out to be a track and not a road, so after play in the dirt for a while met me for lunch.
A shot of Dave at play.....
In the morning we had ordered chicken for dinner because we had been told that it is served fresh and they needed time to prepare it. Whilst we were in the middle of lunch we heard a huge commotion in the chick run before one of the staff returned with a chicken under his arm! Really fresh!
In the afternoon Mike and Dave headed out to the museum in Livingstonia and I just enjoyed the views…
Pictures at Livingstonia...
In the evening we relaxed with a hearty chicken curry…..
It was time to head off for Tanzania. The rocky road down not as bad as coming up and after a couple of hours we had made the border. The Malawi side was a dream, well organized and quick.
Tanzania wasn’t too badly organized but it was very hot and an even bigger shock it was expensive. Immigration cost $50and insurance was another $40. Ouch!!!.
We were soon moving again and although the roads remained good there was a big change in the vegetation from natural trees and scrub land in Malawi to very green banana and tea plantations. Also the people had changed from the very friendly Malawians too a lot more tourist aware Tanzanians and the kids took every opportunity to beg off you!
With the good roads we made it to Mbeya before dark and found an OK hotel for the night. We had a quick beer before Mike and I headed off to an internet Café to catch up on any news etc and Dave went for a walk. Not far out of the Hotel he heard the familiar ‘How are you my friend?’ and someone else walking very close behind him. So ignoring both he headed back to the hotel. Nothing happened but still a shock and not the best introduction to Tanzania.
The next morning around 7:30 there was a knock on the door and the hotel receptionist said that immigration was down stairs and wanted to see us. So we got up and went down. There were too officers who wanted to check our passports! So after asking for their ID we let them look at our passports. Hmmm, Tanzania is not enamoring it self to us at the moment!!!
We had not planned to stay here and we were glad too leave. The roads remained fairly good although a few sections were either potholed or heavily ridged we made it to Iringa. We found a hotel and after the receptionist saying it was full, then finding two rooms, one with bath and one with a bath and shower attachment! Mike and I decided to stay.
Dave decided to head to another hotel as his room was the one without a shower attachment and no plug in the bath!!
We met up for dinner and agreed to stay here for two night as we all needed to get washing done and the town seemed OK.The next day was one of our admin days so not much to mention apart from it was good to get the clothes and especially the bike suits washed.
That evening we went to a bar we spotted earlier in the day with a pool table. We had a couple of games, two with one of the locals, before heading back to our Hotel for the night!
The break was over so soon, as it always seems, and we were on the road again. We also parted from Dave as he was heading off North West to Uganda and we were going north east to Kilimanjaro. So it was goodbyes all round and saying we will probably meet again some time in Asia!
With the repacking of the bikes and the washing only returned this morning we had a late start and only complete around 200 miles. The driving was fairly uninteresting until we had to drive across a game park. With the usual warnings of wild life to avoid we were lucky enough to see, Antelope, Zebra’s and a Wart hog all beside the roadside.
We finally decide to stop at Morogoro and find a Hotel recommended by a Danish guy, working in Dar, who we met at lunch. The hotel was a bit more expensive than planned but couldn’t see much else in Town and it was nice to enjoy a pleasant hotel for a change.
With the short day we knew we would have a long haul day the next day. Some 400 miles to be precise! We were up early and on the road for 8:30. The first 100 miles disappeared quickly and so did the next 80 when we stopped for lunch. The next 120 was a grind for me as we never seemed to get there but we made it in the end and after a short break we were off again for our destination of Arusha.
The final section into Arusha took forever. The driving in town deteriorated to the worst we have seen in Africa but it still not a patch on the Argentineans! The town centre was really grubby and we found a hotel recommended by the Lonely Planet but it did not have parking and we in the rough end of town. We found another one which was a hostel attached to a Catholic school.
The rooms were clean so we took the room then headed out to a local restaurant we had seen. The place was empty but looked nice so we went in.
The food was expensive for Tanzania but we had a good meal but the light background music was awful!! The only words I can think were extreme Jazz with an African twist!!! Lots of warbling noises and weird musical beats! Towards the end of the meal there was an acrobatic act with some of the local lads with was pretty impressive!
The next day we were woken before day light by banging in the Hostel kitchens so we decided to move out to a campsite as we could do without the noise every day.
On the way to the campsite we looked into a couple of companies for Safari’s and to climb Kilimanjaro. Both were a lot more expensive than we thought. This was mainly due to the really extortionate fees the national parks were charging. They were charging $60 a day park fees then $50 a night to Camp!!!
After a bit of negotiating and finding other people to share the climb with we were able to get the prices down but it is still expensive!
When we arrived the campsite was fairly empty and had a nice relaxing bar area with food and internet. So we quickly pitched and kicked back for a few days to rest before starting on Kilimanjaro. However this didn’t work out! Every night the campsite bar was pumping out music until 3 in the morning.
Even after complaining to the manager who seemed shocked we had an issue with this!
So we moved to a cheapish hotel to get one night’s decent sleep before heading up the mountain.
John
