Sparks between borders

After bartering for more artwork we left Moshi at 3pm and, ignoring all our instincts and putting good judgement aside, we pushed on to the Tanzanian/Kenyan border. We didn't count on the roads to the border sucking so badly...and the roads on the other side of the Kenyan border sucking even more!

Jittering from the corrugated roads two South Africans made it between borders...where we would go no further for several hours. Customs and immigration had already stamped us through at this point and need I mention that our goal is to prove our car is roadworthy enough not to be abandoned in their country. Anyhoo, as life (and murphy's law) goes, we broke down on the other side of the Tanzanian border in no man's land.

Several hours later after two dodgy "electricians" (we nicknamed them sparky cos that's all they managed to create - sparks), many prying unhelpful eyes and one very annoying, demanding, pushy fixer my incredibly clever and quick-thinking man got us back on the road with a temporary fix.

We couldn't believe how ridiculous the Sparkies were. Essentially, the corrugated roads knocked our cables out of position from the battery to the starter motor causing the car to lose power entirely. The Sparkies, who came highly recommended as the best in the business (wa'eva!), had a small wire that they linked up to the battery and created sparks on all our fuses to try find the problem. Our translator (the Sparkies couldn't speak English) was a very helpful guy from immigration although he kept insisting that these guys were brilliant and that the job at hand was very very difficult. Along with they Haynes manual Campbell managed to figure out the problem in no time but couldn't get the Sparkies to let him test his theory. Eventually Campbell managed to push his way to our car and give everyone the fright of their lives when Kaspuur roared back to life.

Can you Adam and Eve it, the Sparkies still wanted to be paid - for doing nothing!!! - and they wanted our Haynes manual - as if! We gave them a fair tip for their time to which they scoffed at and we made our way to Kenya. What a long long night.

We broke down again less than 24hours later - hmph! Despite all odds, we rolled into Nairobi and will roll the car to Land Rover for a major service on Monday.

In the grand scheme of things it is a minor problem that can easily be repaired, so we aren't worried but I am so proud of my man!

We don't do packing

Ally and I have managed to pick up some really nice African art & Americans along the way. Mostly we have been bartering things we really don't need, or think we don't need. Among the list of things we have traded are a cordless drill, electric razor, guide books, swiss army knife, flasks, compass... the list goes on. These are things we find are taking up space and we are unlikely to use. Its been part of our plan to get the Kaspuur lighter.

So, now we have just traded weight for weight we decide to ship our African art back to Cape Town to save space. Dar es Salaam seems like the logical city to ship this stuff from. As it turns out Dar is not logical at all.

Firstly, as it turns out Dar is our most manic city yet. We set out to find the post office. We take one look and decide that no mail has ever been sent or received from this place(this is a little unfair, I'm sure it works well but it didn't leave us feeling confident our package would arrive safely).

So onto the courier companies. UPS seems to have the best rate so we used them. By the time we arrive we had been driving around Dar for two hours. Its 38 Degrees. The roads are lawless and parking is 300 Shillings an hour (about the cost of a coke).

UPS don't do packing material. In fact nobody does packing material. In all our searching we found one guy who made a box out of sheets of cardboard and used very expensive bubble wrap (imported from South Africa). This small operator drives to the courier companies and sets up shop on the sidewalk. Its an hour wait for him to arrive and an hour process for him to make the box and wrap everything. Ally is supervising. I'm circling the block, refusing to pay parking on principle (you park anywhere, like on a sewage drain, and then some guy arrives from nowhere and asks for money). I lost 3kg's in body sweat.

Ally is almost done supervising, when the box price suddenly doubles. Our courier cost also goes up because the make shift box adds 5kg's onto our weight. All this time the temperature is still rising. A compromise was agreed whereby UPS gave us a discount to cover the additional packing costs. This avoided certain bloodshed. It only took a full day, tears, sweat and a little bit of your soul but our goods are now safely en route to SA.

Da lyons for real!

All our relaxation from the Golden Tulip was undone in one morning in Dar trying to get some "simple" admin done - see Campbell's post. Usambara Mountains, northeast of Dar Es Salaam, was the perfect way to unwind and is a definite must on the Dar to Marangu route.

We decided to go local and camped at Irente View point which is set up on a shear cliff drop up in the mountains. King James Engineer built the bandas and the viewing deck himself. We weren't brave enough to stay in the bandas but the camping grounds were too stunning to turn down.

The next two days were an education and a half. Our guide, Joseph, took us on a 6hour hike through the Usambara mountains teaching us about local plants and their medicinal value as well as local history. We really recommend asking for Joseph from Irente View Lodge if you want a great guide and don't let his age deter you. Although he is only 19, he is definitely worth his weight.

Campbell holding a camelion - apparently these are a really bad omen in Tanzania and are "shooted by the kids with a stone" >>>View from Usambara Mountains >>>
Joseph with the very yummy Jack fruit that tastes like a rubbery version of pineapple - bizarre but tasty >>>

We can't quite work out whether it was the local cuisine, the sampling of Jack fruit, the long drop masking itself as a flush toilet, or the doxy but the Usambara Mountains left Campbell with a nasty case of Bombay belly which saw us to Marangu.

Marangu is the town where most trekkers leave for Kilimanjaro and where every local on the street runs at you to sell you some trekking package of sorts. Coffee Tree campsite came in close second to Fawlty Towers in Livingstone, but not quite. I know Campbell was grateful for the clean toilets in close proximity to our campsite.

I can tell you it was hard leaving Marangu and not climbing Kilimanjaro with the amount of stories you hear and the vibe in the town, but we have decided to climb Mount Kenya.

We met up with Team America in Moshi and an honourary Team America member, cousin Nikki, to go on an awesome safari through Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara National Park. We went through a great tour company Peter Tours and Mountaineering who provided a great budget camping option.

We were lucky to enjoy the big five (with the exception of leopards) and in the Ngorongroro crater we had three lions sleeping in the shade of our car - so wicked!

Shortly after this picture was taken all three lions got up walked over to the car and plonked themselves in the shade. We quickly rolled up our windows >>>

The real deal up close and personal!

Vicious animals in Lake Manyara National Park (hee hee Jill from Team America having a laugh) >>>
Team America (plus cuz) are heading to the gorillas in Uganda and Kaspuur are heading to Nairobi to service the car and climb Mount Kenya.

Team America (from left Nikki - cuz, Danny and Jill) >>>

Two cops and a bottle of gin

African countries are filled with police road blocks. Mostly they are trouble free, freindly affairs. Except for our most recent one. A cop waves us off the road and the conversation goes like this..

Campbell: Hello, how are you?

Cop: Very good thank you. My freind, we have a problem.

Campbell: What problem?

Cop: Well, my freind, this machine (cop produces a speed tracker that looks like a packman game) says you were going too fast.

Campbell: Really? This is a Land Rover, they don't go fast.

Cop: Can I have your licence please. You pay cash fine now. (cop walks away with licence, Campbell stays in the car, Cop returns) What is wrong my freind?

Campbell: I have no money.

Cop: Okay, I let you off with a warning but you still pay me a fine.

Campbell: Huh?

(Campbell hands over a bottle of gin we have been carrying for weeks)

Cop takes gin and smiles. We drive on.

Kaspuur and Team America!

Since our last post we have covered a lot of ground – a whole country in fact – from Chipata in southeast Zambia to Liliongwe in Malawi.

I know I am not going to get away without mentioning this in the blog so I may as well face the music. Very unlike me, I almost lost our Carnet de Passage at the Zambian/Malawi border crossing. Losing our Carnet is worse than losing a passport because it is much much harder to replace. We are all human I guess! You can bet Campbell teased the pants off me all the way into Lilongwe.

Lilongwe is like most major cities in Africa, chaotic and haphazard although functional in its own way. Sticking with our theme for all cities of get-what-you-need-and-get-out, we made our way to the greatly anticipated Chembe Eagle’s Nest in Cape Maclear, Monkey’s Bay.

OMG, what a tough place to get to! Do not attempt when the light is fading and you are only in Dedza – it’s longer than it seems. As highly recommended as Cape Maclear comes we did not expect it to be so remote. It was late in the day and my shift to drive when we happened upon one of the most winding roads through the steepest mountain passes we have encountered on this trip. With the low-hanging mist and only the light from my headlights, it was a scene directly out of Silent Hill – freaky. In the interest of preserving our brakes I had to gear down the mountain from second to first all the way. So we did not reach speeds greater than 20mph for over an hour. No surprises that I handed the wheel over to my co-pilot at the base of the mountain.

This is with our spotlights on >>>
If you think that was destination found, think again. The time was fast approaching midnight and with nothing but pitch black on either side of the road and our headlights blinding the locals we drove on and on towards what we thought was Cape Maclear – our estimated 4hour drive ticking into 8 hours on the road that day. Eventually, after a scary situation with some villagers and some precarious causeways and drainage pipes that you would think could never ever hold a 3 ton Landy, we were directed to Chembe Eagle’s Nest.

If it hadn’t been for the torrential down pours for three days in a row we would probably still be staying in this idyllic location run by a Welshman named Kevin.

Our view from the campsite as we wake up >>>

Campbell has filled you in on our lesson learned on the way to Nhkata Bay. In summary: lots of mud, a night in Dwanga, a comfy bed, meeting Carston and Lucy, yummy dinner and breakfast, lots of reliving our narrow escape and many guardian angels :)

Next stop Mayoka Village, Nhkata Bay. An absolute must for anyone traveling to Malawi. Mayoka offer camping (although you need a small tent), chalets right on the water front and dorms all for reasonable prices. They have awesome friendly staff who great you every day as though you are their long lost relatives. You can also use (for free) snorkeling gear and attempt, if you dare, the dug-out canoe. Jill and I provided the whole village and all the fishermen with endless laughs at our attempts to get on the damn thing. It was great fun. Poor Danny swallowed a ton of water just trying to help us on. Campbell was clever; he stayed well clear of us.

Big tent, small campsite and Campbell teatering over the edge >>>

Nhkata Bay is also where we met what would be our travel buddies for the next few days. Danny and Jill have been backpacking around the world for a year and still have a year to go. Over the past few days these two Americans have provided us with lots of laughs, entertainment, rum, hakuna ma tatta renditions and valuable travel advice. We thought we would enjoy having our back seat to ourselves again, but we missed you guys (sob sob) moments after we dropped you off at the bus stop to Kilimanjaro. It is looking likely that we will meet up again though.

Our journey with Team America took us from Nhkata Bay to Chitimba (ahoy Irish Miles Nash with the short shorts and Steph) where we had yet another successful bartering session for African art. From there across to the very painful and annoying Tanzanian border crossing, where they would give us US$5 2003 printed notes but would not accept them (wa’eva T.I.A) to Mbeya. Again, nothing really worth doing or seeing in Mbeya but it’s a good get-what-you-need-and-get-out city. We stayed in a missionary run accommodation which I would recommend to anyone needing a clean bed for the night – yey yey no camping!

Yet again we tried and failed to make a certain distance. Mbeya to Dar es Salaam is further than you think with interchanging good and bad roads, speeding buses and debris of overturned trucks littering the roads. We were first in line to watch two trucks right an overturned truck with a cargo container. Awesome to watch but we got told off for taking photos. Opps – it’s not like anyone was injured!

Our route took us through a national park were we saw herds of elephant, buffalo and giraffe as well as the most beautiful and yet silent heat lighting dancing across the sky. Unable to make Dar we stayed in Morogoro for one night and sampled Kuku Chombe, which is essentially like KFC but with less oil, and the local beers Serengeti, Safari, Kilimanjaro and I can’t remember the name of the fourth (Danny?).

Dar Es Salaam…hmm. My mother always says "If you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything at all".

We decided pampering was a definite need after the hard graft of the past few days, so Campbell and I checked in to the Golden Tulip.

Roads are meant for walking

Malawi has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. The colours here are incredibly rich in everything that you see. The only thing more colourful than the land is the people. And they are everywhere you go because even the biggest highways belong to foot traffic and cycles. Its very hard to take your eyes off the road for all the people, potholes, bicycles and bad motorists coming from the opposite direction.

Everybody in Malawi is friendly. No business is done without introducing yourself and asking after each others health. We got a taste of true Malawian friendship last night when we got incredibly stuck in mud...

Our day started by leaving Cape Maclear for Nkata Bay. A good days drive up the shores of Lake Malawi. A setback occurred when one of the roads was closed due to a bridge being washed away. This meant a diversion back to Lilongwe, then North to drive round the bridge. This adds a good couple of hours onto an already long day.

So back to Lilongwe and North on the M1. This is a lovely piece of tarred road (still full of villagers walking everywhere). We decided to leave the civilised road for the M7. A road that hasn't been travelled by another car for a long time (we only found this out en-route). This we hoped was a short cut. In many ways it was, just not in the time saving way. We travelled through 35miles of the most amazing countryside. Through tiny villages with people who were amazed to see a car drive past.

The journey ended onto the road we were looking for which was well tarred for about 4 meters before we went back onto dirt and mud.

10 minutes of mud brought us to a huge truck stuck in the mud. It blocked the entire road. No way to get passed... Maybe. A Land Cruiser found a way through so we decided to follow. We rounded the huge truck (still stuck in the mud) and slid off the dirt road into knee deep mud. We were stuck in a bad way.

4 hours later we were still stuck, now with a couple of other cars and the big truck. It was dark, oh and we were in a national park crossing with lion amongst other big animals around.

Just when we thought it was hopeless 25 people pulled the huge truck out of the mud in tug-of-war style. 5 people and a Land Cruiser pulled us out of the mud. We then towed a pickup out of the mud. Another 4x4 and our Landy tried to tow a Cruiser out of the mud before our (3 ton) tow rope snapped. Another Landy pulled a Mazda out of the mud with a running start into the tow (crazy way to lose the back half of your Landy but it worked!). After that we called it a night for the graders and trackers to come collect the cars we couldn't get out.

We were looked after that night by Carsten and Lucy. They very generously put us up for the night, fed us and sent us on our way the next morning feeling ready for the road ahead. A very big thank you to them.

The stunning scenery of the Ntchisi Mountain pass. The calm before the storm raging around the corner >>>


Our landy working hard to pull a Land Cruiser out of the ditch. This was our last tow for the night. The ditch and mud we were stuck in was much deeper than this >>>


Sorry about the poor quality photo but this is the knee deep mud that we got stuck in >>>