So from Zanzibar, we took the ferry back to Dar Es Salaam and were reunited with Athena at the beach camp. The following day, we headed out of Dar and continued on our way through Tanzania heading towards Ruaha National Park. We camped en route in the Baobab valley (Baobab trees are pretty cool, it has to be said). The next day it was just a short drive to our camp just outside Ruaha NP as the road surface was better than expected. It was quite a treat to not be in the truck all day and actually arrive at camp early afternoon and have some time to enjoy it. However, we have clearly all become quite sad because we were just excited that we would have the chance to do some washing and get it dry before nightfall! After over two months on the road, that is the sort of thing that we now find exciting!!
A very early start the next morning so that we could get into the game park just after first light. Breakfast at 5.15am which is no fun when you are on cook group. Ruaha NP has the most elephants of any park in Tanzania and we certainly weren't disappointed in that respect - we saw loads, some of which were quite aggressive and semi-charged the truck! Didn't get to see a lion kill though (or indeed any big cat kill) which has now become our quest. Not sure we will be that lucky, but we can but hope..
From Ruaha, we headed back to the town of Iringa to re-stock. As Cherie and I are responsible for the bar for this section of the trip, any stop in town for us just involves a mad dash around trying to locate cheap beer and ice. Finding ice is not always easy to say the least, particularly in a town that has local markets rather than one big supermarket. From Iringa, we continued on towards the Malawi border. Rather than try and do the trip in one day, we stopped at a great farm camp en route. As we have spent so much time sitting on the truck, eating and drinking over the past two months (today was the half way point of the trip by the way), we decided some exercise was in order. As there were lots of walks and farm tracks to explore, some of us foolishly decided to go for a run. I cannot believe how unfit I now am. I had to walk after 15 minutes whereas before leaving for Africa I could run for an hour quite comfortably. In my defence, it was quite hot and I was running in heavy walking shoes, but still....
Another early start the next day (feeling quite stiff and sore after my run!), and a long transit day. We crossed the border into Malawi just after lunch. Malawi is the first country that doesn't charge for visas. We camped that night right by Lake Malawi on the beach. The camp was lovely in that we were the only truck there as it isn't a camp that is regularly used by overlanders. The locals were delighted to see us and so welcoming and friendly that this more than compensated for the very basic facilities. Whilst the bigger overland camps have better facilities, the downfall is that you can guarantee that at least one truck will be leaving at 5am the next morning to disturb your sleep. You also feel cut off from the locals in that the camps are normally within a compound. Whilst I appreciate that the security may be necessary in some areas, it deters you from leaving camp when in many places it may well be fine to do so.
We are currently camping at Kande Beach on Lake Malawi where we are staying for three nights. Our journey here yesterday was an interesting one. We had planned to go to the town of Mzuzu en route to pick up some supplies but had heard from the locals that a protest against the government was planned for that day. As we headed towards Mzuzu, several vehicles indicated that we should turn round. As we got closer, we could see smoke billowing out of buildings and people running everywhere. The locals informed us that things had turned violent so plans to go through Mzuzu were quickly abandoned and we had to find an alternative route around the outskirts. I presume protests took place across all major cities in Malawi yesterday, but I'm not sure quite why or whether they will continue. Things are quiet at Kande Beach anyway! The lake is amazing and seems more like a sea because there are waves. Had a swim yesterday evening (after my second run of the trip) and the water is lovely and warm. Plans for today are not much - may be a snorkelling trip later today. Tomorrow, I'm planning to go horse riding as you get to ride along the beach and take the horses swimming in the lake.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me emails and messages via Facebook saying how much they are enjoying the blog. It is nice to hear from you all. Apologies that the blog site is so difficult to actually post comments on!
No comments:
Post a Comment