The hand cranked ferry over the Shire in Moz
The final sunrise in Moz at Vilankulos
The long road to South Africa
The sun sets on the trip in Kruger
Thursday 23 October 2008
Final photos - final part!
Mt Mulanje, Malawi
The hand cranked ferry over the Shire in Moz
The final sunrise in Moz at Vilankulos
The long road to South Africa
The sun sets on the trip in Kruger
The hand cranked ferry over the Shire in Moz
The final sunrise in Moz at Vilankulos
The long road to South Africa
The sun sets on the trip in Kruger
Final photos - part 2
White sands at Chintheche on Lake Malawi
Sunrise at Chintheche
Sue drinks beer? After the last drops!
Elephant damage to a Baobab at Liwonde NP
Our 'private' camp at Liwonde NP, Malawi
Sunrise at Chintheche
Sue drinks beer? After the last drops!
Elephant damage to a Baobab at Liwonde NP
Our 'private' camp at Liwonde NP, Malawi
Final photos - part 1
Mufasa stopping for a cup of fresh tea in South West Rwanda
Heading down to the Mtera reservoir in Tanzania
Observing the elephants in Vwaza Marsh GR, Malawi
A close pass by in Vwaza Marsh at the campsite
a close encounter with a youngster at Vwaza
Heading down to the Mtera reservoir in Tanzania
Observing the elephants in Vwaza Marsh GR, Malawi
A close pass by in Vwaza Marsh at the campsite
a close encounter with a youngster at Vwaza
Monday 20 October 2008
Mozambique, and this time it really is the end of the road
After our long haul down thru the country to Vilankulos we either had the
choice of staying and resting on the beach or making the final dash across
to the modern world back in South Africa. Beach, no. I guess we expect too
much sometimes but what we saw of Vilankulos did not exactly stimulate us
into sun bathing mode, so back to the road it was.
Our route would be a new one to us, a dash across from the coast to a
crossing of the Limpopo at Mapai and then the safety of the Kruger NP.
As it would be a long drive of over 600km and 90% of it on dirt roads of
some description we were up and away not long after 05h00. Boy we will be
glad to get back to normal sleeping hours! The first 50km from Vilankulos
was a quick sprint on good tar before we reached the turn at Mapinhane and
the start of the long gravel drive. To our surprise we had a great sandy /
dirt road all the way to Mabote, some 115km, and despite the odd suicidal
truck coming round blind bends on our side of the road it was uneventful.
Mabote is huge, and in the middle of nowhere, why? The only reason we could
think of was to mark the end of the good wide dirt road and the start of a
narrow sandy track that we had to negotiate for the following 170km to
Machaila. On the whole it was good but there were some extremely bumpy
sections and trying to keep speed up on a track that is the same width as
Mufasa and lined on each side by trees with no idea as to what might be
around the next bend was, err interesting. To be honest I loved it! At times
the sand became quite thick but with quick use of gears and 4wd we managed
to negotiate it problem free. Sue was however feeling the toll of the road
conditions and started to feel quite motion sick, but luck would have it
that a single motion sickness tab was still to be found in our medical box,
and that seemed to stem the nausea.
After Machaila the road opened up again to a wide dirt road but for the last
long stretch of nearly 100km we had many a speed dip to cross. Yes I do mean
speed dip, concrete trenches that are usually put in for streams to flow
across in wet weather but these seemed to be there purely as and alternative
to speed humps. Most of them came with an early warning sign but the odd one
didn't and on occasion Mufasa's brakes and tyres were put to the test to
kill 70km/h of speed at a moments notice. Little did we know that this would
be a breeze compared to what awaited us later on.
Finally we made the Limpopo and once again the clock was ticking away time
on us. We had read that the border crossing at Pafuri closed at 16h00 and by
the time we had crossed the river we still had about 100km to knock off on a
very bad sandy road that was full of sharp dips that shook all three of us
to the bone. Oh and before we move on, can you believe they charged us R60
to cross the mighty Limpopo river! Well I kid you not. The crossing was
merely a case of driving down one bank and over some logs and up the other
side, very dry at this time of year. It cost more for us to do this under
our own steam than for us to get a ferry across the mighty Zambezi, double
the cost in fact. When you next see Sue ask her about my feelings on this
that I politely informed the man at the gate.
Anyway, that last 100km was almost the end of us, thank God Mufasa is a
bloody tough chap is all I can say. Some of the dips we saw some we did not
and with the clock ticking and us wanting to make the border in time I had
to push pretty hard and keep the speedo over the 50km/h mark. At one point
we came to a split in the road and I took the wrong one on and we very
nearly got badly stuck in deep sand. Boy our hearts were in our mouths and
the sighs of relief once we had managed to keep moving and reached the other
side were probably heard back in the UK!
The time 15h44 and our location the border, YES! The formalities were easy
and despite yet more inquisition from the Mozambique police we were over and
into SA with no hassles that side. Boy we were happy, and after an easy hour
inside the park to Punda Maria rest camp (S22 41.594 E31 01.054) we were
able to put our feet up and knock a few of our remaining Mozambican beers.
We had made it and all still in one piece although I think all 3 of us have
the bruises to show from the drive.
So our last night in the tent, sob. We slept well and although we had
another long drive back to Joburg ahead of us we knew it would be a
formality on good fast roads, well good roads and as fast as Mufasa would
take us. It is a different world, highways, shopping centres, fast food! It
seems like we have never been away. All a bit of a blur. But after a few
days of relaxation we should be able to reflect on our amazing adventure. Oh
and blog about it so keep watching!
Relaxation, what am I on about? We have to sort out the contents of the
truck, give it a damn good clean inside and out, get it serviced, work thru
my long list of jobs that need doing, and then plan our next escape!
choice of staying and resting on the beach or making the final dash across
to the modern world back in South Africa. Beach, no. I guess we expect too
much sometimes but what we saw of Vilankulos did not exactly stimulate us
into sun bathing mode, so back to the road it was.
Our route would be a new one to us, a dash across from the coast to a
crossing of the Limpopo at Mapai and then the safety of the Kruger NP.
As it would be a long drive of over 600km and 90% of it on dirt roads of
some description we were up and away not long after 05h00. Boy we will be
glad to get back to normal sleeping hours! The first 50km from Vilankulos
was a quick sprint on good tar before we reached the turn at Mapinhane and
the start of the long gravel drive. To our surprise we had a great sandy /
dirt road all the way to Mabote, some 115km, and despite the odd suicidal
truck coming round blind bends on our side of the road it was uneventful.
Mabote is huge, and in the middle of nowhere, why? The only reason we could
think of was to mark the end of the good wide dirt road and the start of a
narrow sandy track that we had to negotiate for the following 170km to
Machaila. On the whole it was good but there were some extremely bumpy
sections and trying to keep speed up on a track that is the same width as
Mufasa and lined on each side by trees with no idea as to what might be
around the next bend was, err interesting. To be honest I loved it! At times
the sand became quite thick but with quick use of gears and 4wd we managed
to negotiate it problem free. Sue was however feeling the toll of the road
conditions and started to feel quite motion sick, but luck would have it
that a single motion sickness tab was still to be found in our medical box,
and that seemed to stem the nausea.
After Machaila the road opened up again to a wide dirt road but for the last
long stretch of nearly 100km we had many a speed dip to cross. Yes I do mean
speed dip, concrete trenches that are usually put in for streams to flow
across in wet weather but these seemed to be there purely as and alternative
to speed humps. Most of them came with an early warning sign but the odd one
didn't and on occasion Mufasa's brakes and tyres were put to the test to
kill 70km/h of speed at a moments notice. Little did we know that this would
be a breeze compared to what awaited us later on.
Finally we made the Limpopo and once again the clock was ticking away time
on us. We had read that the border crossing at Pafuri closed at 16h00 and by
the time we had crossed the river we still had about 100km to knock off on a
very bad sandy road that was full of sharp dips that shook all three of us
to the bone. Oh and before we move on, can you believe they charged us R60
to cross the mighty Limpopo river! Well I kid you not. The crossing was
merely a case of driving down one bank and over some logs and up the other
side, very dry at this time of year. It cost more for us to do this under
our own steam than for us to get a ferry across the mighty Zambezi, double
the cost in fact. When you next see Sue ask her about my feelings on this
that I politely informed the man at the gate.
Anyway, that last 100km was almost the end of us, thank God Mufasa is a
bloody tough chap is all I can say. Some of the dips we saw some we did not
and with the clock ticking and us wanting to make the border in time I had
to push pretty hard and keep the speedo over the 50km/h mark. At one point
we came to a split in the road and I took the wrong one on and we very
nearly got badly stuck in deep sand. Boy our hearts were in our mouths and
the sighs of relief once we had managed to keep moving and reached the other
side were probably heard back in the UK!
The time 15h44 and our location the border, YES! The formalities were easy
and despite yet more inquisition from the Mozambique police we were over and
into SA with no hassles that side. Boy we were happy, and after an easy hour
inside the park to Punda Maria rest camp (S22 41.594 E31 01.054) we were
able to put our feet up and knock a few of our remaining Mozambican beers.
We had made it and all still in one piece although I think all 3 of us have
the bruises to show from the drive.
So our last night in the tent, sob. We slept well and although we had
another long drive back to Joburg ahead of us we knew it would be a
formality on good fast roads, well good roads and as fast as Mufasa would
take us. It is a different world, highways, shopping centres, fast food! It
seems like we have never been away. All a bit of a blur. But after a few
days of relaxation we should be able to reflect on our amazing adventure. Oh
and blog about it so keep watching!
Relaxation, what am I on about? We have to sort out the contents of the
truck, give it a damn good clean inside and out, get it serviced, work thru
my long list of jobs that need doing, and then plan our next escape!
Mozambique, gut feelings, and a bridge too far!
Yes sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don't. Our plan was to
leave Malawi east into Mozambique at the Milange border and then head east
and south to the ferry across the mighty Zambezi at Caia. Well that was not
our plan of choice but it seemed like a better option than west via the
Mwanza border into Mozambique and then south via Tete. The route of choice
however was out of the southern most point of Malawi at the Marka border and
then cross the Zambezi via the Dona Ana bridge between Mutarara and Sena
thus avoiding the ferry further east at Caia. We would head then to Caia on
the south side of the Zambezi river and continue south thru the country from
there.
The only thing between us and our plan of choice, the Dona Ana bridge, was
it open for vehicles? Now our guide book said 'yes', a German guide book of
some fellow travellers said 'ya', so we thought excellent! For backup we
tried to get some info via family off the web, but the info never arrived
for some reason, we know where you live!
Our decision made, we would go for it and aim south out of Malawi and the
questionable bridge, what the heck. It was quite a drive to the border and
as luck would have it lunch time when we got there so the immigration man
was back at his house having his 'lunch'. We managed to find him and
persuade him to help us out and shortly after he arrived to process us.
Customs was cleared easy enough so over to Mozambique it was.
The only problem, everyone we asked at the Mozambique border gave the same
answer to our question, 'No!'. The question, 'is the Dona Ana bridge over
the river open to vehicles?'. Bugger! We did not fancy a long back track up
thru Malawi and then having to choose an alternative border exit so we
ploughed on with a now unavoidable date at the ferry across the river at
Caia ahead of us! The border on the Mozambique side was easy, apart from the
very officious police who wanted to examine the contents of the truck. After
an interrogation over my grease gun, I think they thought we were
international grease gun smugglers, we were on our way. Apparently the Dona
Ana bridge closed to traffic last October, it is being reinstated as a rail
bridge!
Our next obstacle would be not the ferry across the Zambezi but a crossing
of the Shire on the way there. Now we had read somewhere that the little
ferry there was not working, gulp, but the guys at the border assured us it
was, one of them even said there was a bridge, hmmm!
So on we ploughed knowing that the Zambezi ferry stopped at 17h00 and time
was slipping past. To our great relief the ferry across the Shire was
working, a hand cranked ferry, and we were eventually across with no
problems. Time had however slipped too much and we would not make the
Zambezi ferry in time so a bush camp would have to be found for the night
somewhere, not an easy task in Mozambique where there is constant habitation
along the road even out in the sticks. Thankfully just as the sun was
setting we came across a spot not far past the village of Sabe and hid away
for the night (S17 39.760 E35 30.231). There was no way to become invisible
but no one that found us bothered us in any way.
Up early the next day and to the ferry before it started operations at
07h00. There was a long queue of trucks but only a few small vehicles so we
thought no problem. As the ferry arrived so did several buses and this being
Africa they got loaded and the cars got left behind despite having been
there for ages! We managed to get across on the next trip and we off and
away. The 710km ahead was daunting but the road was good tar all the way,
even the last 50km before Inhassoro that was badly potholed on our way up,
and we made our destination of Vilankulos late afternoon and in time to get
money diesel and beers! The campsite of Josef e Tina (S21 59.870 E35 19.433)
was average but we just needed a place to rest our tired bodies before the
next long leg of our route thru the country across to Pafuri and back to
South Africa.
leave Malawi east into Mozambique at the Milange border and then head east
and south to the ferry across the mighty Zambezi at Caia. Well that was not
our plan of choice but it seemed like a better option than west via the
Mwanza border into Mozambique and then south via Tete. The route of choice
however was out of the southern most point of Malawi at the Marka border and
then cross the Zambezi via the Dona Ana bridge between Mutarara and Sena
thus avoiding the ferry further east at Caia. We would head then to Caia on
the south side of the Zambezi river and continue south thru the country from
there.
The only thing between us and our plan of choice, the Dona Ana bridge, was
it open for vehicles? Now our guide book said 'yes', a German guide book of
some fellow travellers said 'ya', so we thought excellent! For backup we
tried to get some info via family off the web, but the info never arrived
for some reason, we know where you live!
Our decision made, we would go for it and aim south out of Malawi and the
questionable bridge, what the heck. It was quite a drive to the border and
as luck would have it lunch time when we got there so the immigration man
was back at his house having his 'lunch'. We managed to find him and
persuade him to help us out and shortly after he arrived to process us.
Customs was cleared easy enough so over to Mozambique it was.
The only problem, everyone we asked at the Mozambique border gave the same
answer to our question, 'No!'. The question, 'is the Dona Ana bridge over
the river open to vehicles?'. Bugger! We did not fancy a long back track up
thru Malawi and then having to choose an alternative border exit so we
ploughed on with a now unavoidable date at the ferry across the river at
Caia ahead of us! The border on the Mozambique side was easy, apart from the
very officious police who wanted to examine the contents of the truck. After
an interrogation over my grease gun, I think they thought we were
international grease gun smugglers, we were on our way. Apparently the Dona
Ana bridge closed to traffic last October, it is being reinstated as a rail
bridge!
Our next obstacle would be not the ferry across the Zambezi but a crossing
of the Shire on the way there. Now we had read somewhere that the little
ferry there was not working, gulp, but the guys at the border assured us it
was, one of them even said there was a bridge, hmmm!
So on we ploughed knowing that the Zambezi ferry stopped at 17h00 and time
was slipping past. To our great relief the ferry across the Shire was
working, a hand cranked ferry, and we were eventually across with no
problems. Time had however slipped too much and we would not make the
Zambezi ferry in time so a bush camp would have to be found for the night
somewhere, not an easy task in Mozambique where there is constant habitation
along the road even out in the sticks. Thankfully just as the sun was
setting we came across a spot not far past the village of Sabe and hid away
for the night (S17 39.760 E35 30.231). There was no way to become invisible
but no one that found us bothered us in any way.
Up early the next day and to the ferry before it started operations at
07h00. There was a long queue of trucks but only a few small vehicles so we
thought no problem. As the ferry arrived so did several buses and this being
Africa they got loaded and the cars got left behind despite having been
there for ages! We managed to get across on the next trip and we off and
away. The 710km ahead was daunting but the road was good tar all the way,
even the last 50km before Inhassoro that was badly potholed on our way up,
and we made our destination of Vilankulos late afternoon and in time to get
money diesel and beers! The campsite of Josef e Tina (S21 59.870 E35 19.433)
was average but we just needed a place to rest our tired bodies before the
next long leg of our route thru the country across to Pafuri and back to
South Africa.
Friday 17 October 2008
Malawi, some times things work out, some times they don't
I guess from time to time when travelling for such a long period you get the odd moment or two that is just going to frustrate you. No matter which way you turn there is always something or someone doing there best to ruin your plans.
After our short but overall pleasant stay at Chintheche we set off for the capital Lilongwe bright and early on an indifferent Tuesday morning. It seemed like a good time to move on especially as the tranquil lake had turned into the North Sea in the middle of January overnight. The wind was blowing, the waves were crashing in, yep even on this placid lake, and it was more Scarborough than Mauritius!
So with the wind behind us we made the short hope south west to the capital to sort out my Mozambique visa and get some internet and shopping ticked off. We had heard and read that the Lilongwe Golf Club (S13 59.679 E33 46.137) had space for people to camp, and so they did. The golf club is not quite Wentworth but it was a good enough spot to stop over while we were in town. The visa was a mere formality, turn up at 08h00 and pay the money, then come back at 14h00 to collect the passport with shiny new visa. Internet access was plentiful and fairly cheap and quick, and there were a few nice shops to get stocked up with everything we needed. I have to admit to a moment of weakness. There was a nice new Nando's at one of the shopping centres and we just could not resist the urge for a quick bite of spicy chicken and chips! As you would expect it was OK but not top notch. As we had made such easy work of all our chores in town we decided that we need not stay another night at the Golf Club but instead head of in search of some more rest and relaxation back at the lake. One thing stood in our way, well there was another but we will come to that. We had paid for two nights at the club so we needed to get a refund for one night, easy you would think! As we had yet to go back and collect my visa we went to the club and asked for the said refund. They couldn't do it without their manager, and yep he was at lunch, well more of a siesta as it was only just 13h00 and he wouldn't be back until 15h00. Despite our best efforts the man at the desk wouldn't be sweet talked into helping us out, so we had to go and collect the visa and then return later to get the money.
Thankfully the drive east back to the lake at Senga Bay was not a long one but we knew that our next obstacle was waiting for us there. I had been informed by a chap I was chatting to at the Mozambique Consulate that over the coming weekend Senga Bay was playing host to the Lake of Stars music festival, great! Well not so great if you wanted to find a place to camp as from the Friday night thru the weekend the place was fully booked. We managed one night, Wednesday, at Cool Runnings (S13 43.847 E34 37.149) but decided to move on in search of another haven of rest the following morning even though they could accommodate us for one more night before all hell broke out. We might have been able to find somewhere else in amongst the throng over the weekend, but we are getting too old for mixing it with young party goers living it up until the early hours! As far as we know they usually have the festival somewhere else in Malawi and not in October, just our luck!
Our new plan, head for Cape McClear on the southern point of the lake. Great plan, another obstacle. One road in, one road out, small road, just big enough for two vehicles to pass, huge lorry strewn across the road, bags of grain everywhere! As you can imagine there was ant like activity to off load the cargo and then we presume try and move the truck. There was a path around on the side, but we were assured that we would have to pay the nice kind helpful locals k3000 to use the path around the side to get pass. Strangely enough I said 'no thanks old chap' or words to that effect and we turned around in search of another option for the night. We are getting to the point on this trip where we are just maxed out on greedy stupid people with no more in their minds than relieving you of your money for nowt in return. Can you believe they even wanted us to give them water as they were hot! So yet again a new plan had to be made. The lady at Cool Runnings had told us about a new place, Venice Beach Resort, at Monkey Bay not far from where we were so that is where we headed. It's a small world. As we were approaching the crappy Venice Beach, not finished and very expensive with no facilities, we bumped into a South African couple towing a caravan. Would you believe it that they too had come across the road block that morning and they were the ones who paid a fistful of dollars to the kind locals to dig a path around the lorry for them! Would we ever find somewhere to hole out?
Our next attempt was the Palm Beach Resort further south along the water from Monkey Bay, again a woeful place, looked like it was derelict, and was very expensive. A quick walk around, an 'are they kidding', and we were off yet again on the road. Our options of lake side relaxation had run out, our only option now was where we had planned to go after the lake, the Liwonde NP. Thankfully we had two very pleasant nights there. We stayed at the Chiguni Hills Lodge (S15 00.804 E35 15.721), and despite the best efforts of an overland truck full of Dutch we enjoyed it very much. Not quite relaxation by the lake swimming, and it was pretty hot during the day, but we saw some animals and plenty of birds and managed to chill out as best we could.
From Liwonde NP our plans were the Zomba Plateau and then Blantyre / Limbe before departing to Mozambique. Would we find peace and quiet anywhere for a few days until my visa start date? The Trout Farm (S15 21.194 E35 18.029) on the Zomba Plateau did the job but only for one night. Our timing as usual was rubbish and we arrived on Saturday afternoon, had a nice spot in amongst the trees just up from the not so exotic Trout Farm. The facilities were poor but the place was fairly cheap and the bird life excellent. The next day however it all changed, day trippers again! By lunch time the place was filling up and we could have stayed, but our tranquillity had been lost so we moved on yet again. We could only hit the border on Thursday due to my error in getting the visa to be valid from the 16th. I assumed that we had at least a week or so planned out at the lake and the NP, silly me!
Yet again we holed out at a golf club, this time the Limbe Country Club (S15 49.344 E35 03.769). Parked just next to the sports field and the clubhouse it was good for a single night but not longer. The next day we changed some more money, filled Mufasa's belly and set off for our last hope of peace and quite in Malawi. If this one did not work out we had no clue as to what to do. Whilst at the shops I chatted to another travelling couple in their SA plated Land Cruiser. Not good news. We had after much deliberation plotted our escape from Malawi into Mozambique west towards Tete in the northwest of the country. The helpful couple informed us that the road south from Tete was awful, badly potholed. So we decided that our only option was to head east to Mt Mulanje and then into Mozambique from there down towards Caia and another date with the dreaded ferry across the Zambezi!
Mt Mulanje is the highest peak in in Southern Africa north of the Drakensburg in SA, or sommit like that. You can hike on them, its a minimum of 7.5 hours each way to the main peak, one of three in the range. Needless to say we shall just sit and admire it from our resting place the Likhubula Forest Lodge (S15 56.257 E35 30.071) in the foothills of the mountain. Yes finally at the eleventh hour we have hopefully struck gold. We have set camp in the small but pretty gardens of the lodge and over the tops of the trees we can admire the rugged mountain. Will we manage three nights here before we can exit stage right? We might even stay longer if we can find enough food in the truck! The chef here is apparently excellent, after reading the guest book, so hopefully we might be able to have dinner on our last night, we shall see.
Then its Mozambique, probably a swift run thru the country, but if we find a nice spot then we shall rest a while. The only problem, yep another obstacle, the government has decided that no camping is allowed anywhere that is not owned by a Mozambique national! So all the places that you could have previously used that were say run by a SA can no longer offer camping, rooms yes, camping no! Don't you just love politicians!!
After our short but overall pleasant stay at Chintheche we set off for the capital Lilongwe bright and early on an indifferent Tuesday morning. It seemed like a good time to move on especially as the tranquil lake had turned into the North Sea in the middle of January overnight. The wind was blowing, the waves were crashing in, yep even on this placid lake, and it was more Scarborough than Mauritius!
So with the wind behind us we made the short hope south west to the capital to sort out my Mozambique visa and get some internet and shopping ticked off. We had heard and read that the Lilongwe Golf Club (S13 59.679 E33 46.137) had space for people to camp, and so they did. The golf club is not quite Wentworth but it was a good enough spot to stop over while we were in town. The visa was a mere formality, turn up at 08h00 and pay the money, then come back at 14h00 to collect the passport with shiny new visa. Internet access was plentiful and fairly cheap and quick, and there were a few nice shops to get stocked up with everything we needed. I have to admit to a moment of weakness. There was a nice new Nando's at one of the shopping centres and we just could not resist the urge for a quick bite of spicy chicken and chips! As you would expect it was OK but not top notch. As we had made such easy work of all our chores in town we decided that we need not stay another night at the Golf Club but instead head of in search of some more rest and relaxation back at the lake. One thing stood in our way, well there was another but we will come to that. We had paid for two nights at the club so we needed to get a refund for one night, easy you would think! As we had yet to go back and collect my visa we went to the club and asked for the said refund. They couldn't do it without their manager, and yep he was at lunch, well more of a siesta as it was only just 13h00 and he wouldn't be back until 15h00. Despite our best efforts the man at the desk wouldn't be sweet talked into helping us out, so we had to go and collect the visa and then return later to get the money.
Thankfully the drive east back to the lake at Senga Bay was not a long one but we knew that our next obstacle was waiting for us there. I had been informed by a chap I was chatting to at the Mozambique Consulate that over the coming weekend Senga Bay was playing host to the Lake of Stars music festival, great! Well not so great if you wanted to find a place to camp as from the Friday night thru the weekend the place was fully booked. We managed one night, Wednesday, at Cool Runnings (S13 43.847 E34 37.149) but decided to move on in search of another haven of rest the following morning even though they could accommodate us for one more night before all hell broke out. We might have been able to find somewhere else in amongst the throng over the weekend, but we are getting too old for mixing it with young party goers living it up until the early hours! As far as we know they usually have the festival somewhere else in Malawi and not in October, just our luck!
Our new plan, head for Cape McClear on the southern point of the lake. Great plan, another obstacle. One road in, one road out, small road, just big enough for two vehicles to pass, huge lorry strewn across the road, bags of grain everywhere! As you can imagine there was ant like activity to off load the cargo and then we presume try and move the truck. There was a path around on the side, but we were assured that we would have to pay the nice kind helpful locals k3000 to use the path around the side to get pass. Strangely enough I said 'no thanks old chap' or words to that effect and we turned around in search of another option for the night. We are getting to the point on this trip where we are just maxed out on greedy stupid people with no more in their minds than relieving you of your money for nowt in return. Can you believe they even wanted us to give them water as they were hot! So yet again a new plan had to be made. The lady at Cool Runnings had told us about a new place, Venice Beach Resort, at Monkey Bay not far from where we were so that is where we headed. It's a small world. As we were approaching the crappy Venice Beach, not finished and very expensive with no facilities, we bumped into a South African couple towing a caravan. Would you believe it that they too had come across the road block that morning and they were the ones who paid a fistful of dollars to the kind locals to dig a path around the lorry for them! Would we ever find somewhere to hole out?
Our next attempt was the Palm Beach Resort further south along the water from Monkey Bay, again a woeful place, looked like it was derelict, and was very expensive. A quick walk around, an 'are they kidding', and we were off yet again on the road. Our options of lake side relaxation had run out, our only option now was where we had planned to go after the lake, the Liwonde NP. Thankfully we had two very pleasant nights there. We stayed at the Chiguni Hills Lodge (S15 00.804 E35 15.721), and despite the best efforts of an overland truck full of Dutch we enjoyed it very much. Not quite relaxation by the lake swimming, and it was pretty hot during the day, but we saw some animals and plenty of birds and managed to chill out as best we could.
From Liwonde NP our plans were the Zomba Plateau and then Blantyre / Limbe before departing to Mozambique. Would we find peace and quiet anywhere for a few days until my visa start date? The Trout Farm (S15 21.194 E35 18.029) on the Zomba Plateau did the job but only for one night. Our timing as usual was rubbish and we arrived on Saturday afternoon, had a nice spot in amongst the trees just up from the not so exotic Trout Farm. The facilities were poor but the place was fairly cheap and the bird life excellent. The next day however it all changed, day trippers again! By lunch time the place was filling up and we could have stayed, but our tranquillity had been lost so we moved on yet again. We could only hit the border on Thursday due to my error in getting the visa to be valid from the 16th. I assumed that we had at least a week or so planned out at the lake and the NP, silly me!
Yet again we holed out at a golf club, this time the Limbe Country Club (S15 49.344 E35 03.769). Parked just next to the sports field and the clubhouse it was good for a single night but not longer. The next day we changed some more money, filled Mufasa's belly and set off for our last hope of peace and quite in Malawi. If this one did not work out we had no clue as to what to do. Whilst at the shops I chatted to another travelling couple in their SA plated Land Cruiser. Not good news. We had after much deliberation plotted our escape from Malawi into Mozambique west towards Tete in the northwest of the country. The helpful couple informed us that the road south from Tete was awful, badly potholed. So we decided that our only option was to head east to Mt Mulanje and then into Mozambique from there down towards Caia and another date with the dreaded ferry across the Zambezi!
Mt Mulanje is the highest peak in in Southern Africa north of the Drakensburg in SA, or sommit like that. You can hike on them, its a minimum of 7.5 hours each way to the main peak, one of three in the range. Needless to say we shall just sit and admire it from our resting place the Likhubula Forest Lodge (S15 56.257 E35 30.071) in the foothills of the mountain. Yes finally at the eleventh hour we have hopefully struck gold. We have set camp in the small but pretty gardens of the lodge and over the tops of the trees we can admire the rugged mountain. Will we manage three nights here before we can exit stage right? We might even stay longer if we can find enough food in the truck! The chef here is apparently excellent, after reading the guest book, so hopefully we might be able to have dinner on our last night, we shall see.
Then its Mozambique, probably a swift run thru the country, but if we find a nice spot then we shall rest a while. The only problem, yep another obstacle, the government has decided that no camping is allowed anywhere that is not owned by a Mozambique national! So all the places that you could have previously used that were say run by a SA can no longer offer camping, rooms yes, camping no! Don't you just love politicians!!
Malawi, a new adventure or the end of the road?
Now this is a country that we knew little of. Some people we have met raved about it, some were indifferent, how would we get on?
The border crossing was easy enough and we were soon on our way heading to Karonga and a place to stay for the night. Now Karonga does not get a good write up in the guide books and to be fair there is not really much there to attract the passing tourist. It does however have banks and petrol stations, two essential items when entering a new country. After checking out our first option for the night, the Mufwa Lodge, and not being very impressed we headed to the National Bank of Malawi to get some cash from their ATM. We had found their old bank in the old part of town and were dismayed to see it almost in ruins, but thankfully there is a nice shiny new version in the new part of town. It would only give us K20000 (about £80) at our first attempt so we tried again but the damn ATM decided to go to sleep instead. Needing some urgent fuel we put in enough to keep Mufasa going and then went and bought a few beers to keep us going too! As the town was not looking like a good place to camp we headed off in search of a better option. On the way out of town I noticed people queuing back at the ATM and yes it had decided to do some more work so we raided it for another K20000 to bolster the funds.
We eventually found a reasonable place for the night at Chitimba, the Sangilo Sanctuary Lodge (S10 31.057 E34 13.043). The setting was great but the camping area was not much to shout about, but as the light was fading we decided to stay. We had a simple dinner and hit the sack. The owner was back in the UK and the family looking after the place had decided to sort out a few problems with the bathrooms, so the main facilities were not working and the ones we could use were not great, but we managed. From Chitimba we drove south and inland to the Vwaza Marsh GR, our first park in the country. The fees here are pretty cheap but the parks are not as well stocked as some of those in Tanzania and Kenya due to many a bad year of poaching, however they do have plenty to offer. Before reaching the park we stopped off at Rumphi (S11 01.260 E33 51.906) for some essentials, bread and beer, and a wee bottle of the local Malawi Gin to test!
The road to Rumphi was good, the road from Rumphi to the park was not so good. It was not bad but after being spoilt with good tarmac for quite a while even a good gravel road seems very bumpy! The reserve is not huge and does not have that much of a variety of animals but it does have plenty of Elephants and you get very close to them indeed! The campsite (S11 08.009 E33 39.103) is not too far from the lake and is a great spot just to sit and watch the big beasts amble past or play in the water and mud. At one point a herd of about a dozen Elephants including a few real youngsters wandered thru the bushes just a few metres from the truck. Needless to say Sue wasted no time in ensuring that Mufasa's passenger seat did not get cold! The Elephants did not even seem to notice us and it was quite special to be so close to them and to observe their behaviour as they passed us rather than us passing them on a game drive. As well as the animals and the birds it was just a nice spot to chill out, well if you can chill in that sort of heat! Eventually our day came to an end and we retired up to the now cooling tent to await and enjoy the noises of the night.
The great thing about the roof top tent is the view. As the sun came up the following morning we were able to sit up there and survey the surrounds and marvel at beauty of the spot we were at. It was very tempting to stay in the reserve longer but we hoped that there would be plenty more sights and places to keep us busy all thru the country. So after a slow morning and more close encounters with the Elephants down at the lodge we headed off in search of the next experience, of course stopping again in Rumphi for more essentials, but not including any more of the cheap (and average) gin!
We decided some relaxation was needed, so we went in search of a good spot on wonderful Lake Malawi to chill for a day or four. We had received good recommendations of the Chintheche Inn (S11 52.995 E34 10.105) at Chintheche from several fellow travellers and that is where we ended up. They have a large camping area next to the accomodation, the big overland trucks stop off on the way thru Malawi, and a lovely white sandy beach on the lake. Again like the spot we had at Sunrise Beach Resort near Dar the place had the feel of a 'cheap Mauritius'. Feeling the need for a treat we indulged in the delights of the restaurant the first night, and boy was the food good.
With only us and another German vehicle in the camp the place was deserted. Well it was at first. The trouble with these places, as per Sunrise, they get plenty of day visitors over the weekend. On the Sunday the place became quite busy during the day but thankfully most of the day trippers left before dark and those that remained did not spoil our evening too much. They did however delay our dinner at the restaurant!
Another day and another picture. Quiet, nobody around, waves lapping on the shore, sunshine, and not a thing to worry about. Well nothing except the worsening financial crisis in the world, why Michael Owen has not been selected in the current England squad, and whether Hull City might win the Premier League or not!
The border crossing was easy enough and we were soon on our way heading to Karonga and a place to stay for the night. Now Karonga does not get a good write up in the guide books and to be fair there is not really much there to attract the passing tourist. It does however have banks and petrol stations, two essential items when entering a new country. After checking out our first option for the night, the Mufwa Lodge, and not being very impressed we headed to the National Bank of Malawi to get some cash from their ATM. We had found their old bank in the old part of town and were dismayed to see it almost in ruins, but thankfully there is a nice shiny new version in the new part of town. It would only give us K20000 (about £80) at our first attempt so we tried again but the damn ATM decided to go to sleep instead. Needing some urgent fuel we put in enough to keep Mufasa going and then went and bought a few beers to keep us going too! As the town was not looking like a good place to camp we headed off in search of a better option. On the way out of town I noticed people queuing back at the ATM and yes it had decided to do some more work so we raided it for another K20000 to bolster the funds.
We eventually found a reasonable place for the night at Chitimba, the Sangilo Sanctuary Lodge (S10 31.057 E34 13.043). The setting was great but the camping area was not much to shout about, but as the light was fading we decided to stay. We had a simple dinner and hit the sack. The owner was back in the UK and the family looking after the place had decided to sort out a few problems with the bathrooms, so the main facilities were not working and the ones we could use were not great, but we managed. From Chitimba we drove south and inland to the Vwaza Marsh GR, our first park in the country. The fees here are pretty cheap but the parks are not as well stocked as some of those in Tanzania and Kenya due to many a bad year of poaching, however they do have plenty to offer. Before reaching the park we stopped off at Rumphi (S11 01.260 E33 51.906) for some essentials, bread and beer, and a wee bottle of the local Malawi Gin to test!
The road to Rumphi was good, the road from Rumphi to the park was not so good. It was not bad but after being spoilt with good tarmac for quite a while even a good gravel road seems very bumpy! The reserve is not huge and does not have that much of a variety of animals but it does have plenty of Elephants and you get very close to them indeed! The campsite (S11 08.009 E33 39.103) is not too far from the lake and is a great spot just to sit and watch the big beasts amble past or play in the water and mud. At one point a herd of about a dozen Elephants including a few real youngsters wandered thru the bushes just a few metres from the truck. Needless to say Sue wasted no time in ensuring that Mufasa's passenger seat did not get cold! The Elephants did not even seem to notice us and it was quite special to be so close to them and to observe their behaviour as they passed us rather than us passing them on a game drive. As well as the animals and the birds it was just a nice spot to chill out, well if you can chill in that sort of heat! Eventually our day came to an end and we retired up to the now cooling tent to await and enjoy the noises of the night.
The great thing about the roof top tent is the view. As the sun came up the following morning we were able to sit up there and survey the surrounds and marvel at beauty of the spot we were at. It was very tempting to stay in the reserve longer but we hoped that there would be plenty more sights and places to keep us busy all thru the country. So after a slow morning and more close encounters with the Elephants down at the lodge we headed off in search of the next experience, of course stopping again in Rumphi for more essentials, but not including any more of the cheap (and average) gin!
We decided some relaxation was needed, so we went in search of a good spot on wonderful Lake Malawi to chill for a day or four. We had received good recommendations of the Chintheche Inn (S11 52.995 E34 10.105) at Chintheche from several fellow travellers and that is where we ended up. They have a large camping area next to the accomodation, the big overland trucks stop off on the way thru Malawi, and a lovely white sandy beach on the lake. Again like the spot we had at Sunrise Beach Resort near Dar the place had the feel of a 'cheap Mauritius'. Feeling the need for a treat we indulged in the delights of the restaurant the first night, and boy was the food good.
With only us and another German vehicle in the camp the place was deserted. Well it was at first. The trouble with these places, as per Sunrise, they get plenty of day visitors over the weekend. On the Sunday the place became quite busy during the day but thankfully most of the day trippers left before dark and those that remained did not spoil our evening too much. They did however delay our dinner at the restaurant!
Another day and another picture. Quiet, nobody around, waves lapping on the shore, sunshine, and not a thing to worry about. Well nothing except the worsening financial crisis in the world, why Michael Owen has not been selected in the current England squad, and whether Hull City might win the Premier League or not!
Wednesday 8 October 2008
Tanzania, the second and brief visit
What to tell? Not much! We were officially 'in transit'. The journey from Kigali to the border was easy on a good road as we had come to expect from Rwanda. The border crossing a mere formality. The Rwandan side quick and easy, the Tanzanian easy but slow. It took us a while to convince the immigration official that we needed a 10 day transit visa, his starting gambit was to only give us 4 days to get all the way thru to Malawi! The transit visa was only $30 compared to a full visa for $50, so a few pennies saved. Our planned route down thru the country was a non stop express with perhaps a few days chill out in Iringa.
Our first day was a haul of 458km and despite the good tarmac it was a slow journey. Endless villages with 50km speed limits, we obey the locals don't, and speed bumps for enforcement. Mufasa was getting harder to push and when worked too hard just stumbled and puffed white smoke, a bit worrying. I knew it was a combustion problem but easily fixed or not I wasn't so sure. We made Kahama that night and managed to locate a place to stay, the Comfort Hotel (S3 50.048 E32 36.987). It was clean and had secure parking and was well priced. The place next door where we ventured for a drink and something to eat was not so clean and was ridden with flies all coming from the kitchen! We had a quick beer while fighting off the pesky insects and went back to the hotel where Sue cooked some simple pasta and then we managed to watch the rest of our movie as the laptop was again working! Did I fix it, don't know, perhaps all the speed bumps had restored some order to it!
Our second day was another long one, 571km, to Dodoma. Whilst driving I had a moment of sheer inspiration! We stopped for lunch just short of Singida and I applied my 'magic' touch to Mufasa. He has two fuel filters, one of which I replaced back in Ethiopia as required, the other I left. Now as to why he has two I am not sure, but I had decided that the small unchanged one was causing the problem so I bypassed it, and success. Mufasa was now snarling like a trooper! With power restored we ploughed on to Dodoma. I will seek a replacement filter as soon as possible, but as far as I am concerned running on one is no issue. We had a crap stretch of about 100km before Dodoma where the road was being rebuilt and the diversions were bumpy crappy dirt tracks but apart from that it was good smooth tar. After a long hard drive we decided to treat ourselves to a room at the New Dodoma Hotel (S6 11.063 E35 44.911). Nice hotel and not too pricey, about £30 for a double with breakfast. We ate dinner in the hotel's Chinese restaurant, was fab! Can you believe that the hotel has a wireless internet network but you have to pay extra for it! Everywhere we went in Rwanda had FREE internet access! Anyway, we had a nice night and were fully refreshed for the next leg.
Our third day was a shorter haul, 346km, but a bit slower. The road to Iringa is dirt but good dirt and the drive was very nice indeed, especially with Mufasa back to full health. We had a proposed location to stay at but had no clue as the where it was, but we managed to get some directions and as luck would have it the Old Farm House (S8 08.747 E35 24.762) was 50km south of Iringa on the road to Mbeya and on the route to Malawi. What a great site the farm is! It has been kept very 'bush' and in the 'small vehicles area' where we are there is nobody else. There is another area for the big overland trucks but you would never know they were there. They grow flowers on the farm and would you believe export them to Holland!A very pleasant 4 nights we had on the farm, beers, choc brownies, muffins, t-bone steaks (not the best we have had), oh and I got the mechanic at their flower project to change Mufasa's oil for £6 labour. So all in all a good result. Then it was off to Malawi and a new adventure. As usual we were trying to dispatch our remaining local money and managed all but Tsh700 (about 70p) which we later passed on to a guy venturing north from Malawi. The crossing of the border, a synch, and again no visas for either of us so couldn't be better. As for Malawi, we shall see.
Our first day was a haul of 458km and despite the good tarmac it was a slow journey. Endless villages with 50km speed limits, we obey the locals don't, and speed bumps for enforcement. Mufasa was getting harder to push and when worked too hard just stumbled and puffed white smoke, a bit worrying. I knew it was a combustion problem but easily fixed or not I wasn't so sure. We made Kahama that night and managed to locate a place to stay, the Comfort Hotel (S3 50.048 E32 36.987). It was clean and had secure parking and was well priced. The place next door where we ventured for a drink and something to eat was not so clean and was ridden with flies all coming from the kitchen! We had a quick beer while fighting off the pesky insects and went back to the hotel where Sue cooked some simple pasta and then we managed to watch the rest of our movie as the laptop was again working! Did I fix it, don't know, perhaps all the speed bumps had restored some order to it!
Our second day was another long one, 571km, to Dodoma. Whilst driving I had a moment of sheer inspiration! We stopped for lunch just short of Singida and I applied my 'magic' touch to Mufasa. He has two fuel filters, one of which I replaced back in Ethiopia as required, the other I left. Now as to why he has two I am not sure, but I had decided that the small unchanged one was causing the problem so I bypassed it, and success. Mufasa was now snarling like a trooper! With power restored we ploughed on to Dodoma. I will seek a replacement filter as soon as possible, but as far as I am concerned running on one is no issue. We had a crap stretch of about 100km before Dodoma where the road was being rebuilt and the diversions were bumpy crappy dirt tracks but apart from that it was good smooth tar. After a long hard drive we decided to treat ourselves to a room at the New Dodoma Hotel (S6 11.063 E35 44.911). Nice hotel and not too pricey, about £30 for a double with breakfast. We ate dinner in the hotel's Chinese restaurant, was fab! Can you believe that the hotel has a wireless internet network but you have to pay extra for it! Everywhere we went in Rwanda had FREE internet access! Anyway, we had a nice night and were fully refreshed for the next leg.
Our third day was a shorter haul, 346km, but a bit slower. The road to Iringa is dirt but good dirt and the drive was very nice indeed, especially with Mufasa back to full health. We had a proposed location to stay at but had no clue as the where it was, but we managed to get some directions and as luck would have it the Old Farm House (S8 08.747 E35 24.762) was 50km south of Iringa on the road to Mbeya and on the route to Malawi. What a great site the farm is! It has been kept very 'bush' and in the 'small vehicles area' where we are there is nobody else. There is another area for the big overland trucks but you would never know they were there. They grow flowers on the farm and would you believe export them to Holland!A very pleasant 4 nights we had on the farm, beers, choc brownies, muffins, t-bone steaks (not the best we have had), oh and I got the mechanic at their flower project to change Mufasa's oil for £6 labour. So all in all a good result. Then it was off to Malawi and a new adventure. As usual we were trying to dispatch our remaining local money and managed all but Tsh700 (about 70p) which we later passed on to a guy venturing north from Malawi. The crossing of the border, a synch, and again no visas for either of us so couldn't be better. As for Malawi, we shall see.
Rwanda, the rest of the story
How can you top our Gorilla experience? Not easy, but Rwanda has so much else to offer. After the success of the Gorilla visit we headed off to Kigali. What a great capital city, and the basis of what we were to experience all around the country. A clean, well loved place, no litter, and no hassles. It is quite hard to imagine that this is a country that was almost torn to pieces no more than 14 years ago. As you might expect we gravitated to the large new shopping centre in town to have a look around before heading off for some lunch. We managed to locate a very nice restaurant, Chez Robert, and indulged in a stomach busting buffet. We were probably the scruffiest people in the place, very much a business lunch spot, but our money is as good as anyone else's, and we were warmly welcomed. Suitably stuffed we wobbled off to seek a home for the night and had one of those very frustrating afternoons. The first few options on our list didn't work out and we eventually ended up out near the airport at the La Palisse Hotel (S1 57.333 E30 07.926). It was not cheap at $10 each, but we were able to camp in the car park and they had free internet so we got plenty of browsing for our bucks! They had wireless but the strange thing was, fortunately for us, the signal was rubbish in reception where the computers were but it was just fab up in our tent in the car park! The latest set of photos we uploaded were done at the hotel.
As Rwanda is on a different clock to the rest of east Africa it gets light an hour earlier and we were able to get on the road sharpish in the morning to head west out to Lake Kivu. The road was stunning if not very straight! It was built by the Chinese not long ago and is quite an impressive piece of tarmac. Just recently Mufasa had been suffering from a lack of power and a few of the climbs were a challenge. We thought it was just crap diesel. Anyway, after a long but pleasing drive we descended onto Lake Kivu and the town of Kibuye. Again our accommodation options were limited but as luck had it we found the Moriah Hill Resort(S2 03.560 E29 19.945) right on the lake and they let us camp in their car park with a key to a room for ablutions. What a nice spot, and the hotel was empty. The rooms were new and the bathrooms luxurious, but badly finished. It chucked it down that night and I had to bail out the load bay in the morning with the rain that had leaked in through a mystery hole somewhere. Thankfully everything is in sealed boxes so no damage was done.
The next day we continued on down the lake from Kibuye on another great road but this one was gravel. The views of the lake and the surrounding hills were stunning. Our planned destination was Kamembe at the foot of the lake but our plans changed. We left the good gravel road and hit tarmac about 25km north of Kamembe, but the road was badly potholed. There was no definite location for the night in Kamembe and rather than having to backtrack later on we decided to head east instead and head for Butare where we thought we had a good sleeping spot planned. The road, sill potholed, took us up into the Nyungwe forest reserve, a rain forest. Angolan Colobus Monkeys playing on the sides of the road. Thankfully we didn't get wet but had a scenic and interesting drive on a slowly improving road, up into the hills and then down to Butare. A different town but same old story, couldn't find anywhere to stay. We checked out a mission that we knew had accommodation, but there was no space for us to camp. I then noticed that the Hotel Ibis (S2 36.128 E29 44.538) was labelled on the GPS as 'with camping'. What a result. We camped for FREE in their car park, and had free wireless internet, well when I managed to find a spot where the signal was good enough. They gave us a key for the conference suite for ablutions and as we were camping for free we felt obliged to eat in their restaurant. Oh, it was pouring down anyway so cooking was not an option! We retired back to Mufasa's cab after dinner as the rain was still dropping and watched a movie on the laptop. That is when the thing started playing up. About 40 minutes left of the movie to watch and it just kept crashing, bugger! So we gave up and went to bed, thankfully the rain had stopped and we were able to put the tent up without getting soaked.
From Butare we had planned to stop off at a couple of churches on the way back to Kigali that are memorials to the 1994 Genocide. Despite our best efforts we couldn't find the turn off to them from the main road back to Kigali. So instead we headed back to the capital for some coffee, shopping, a visit to the Genocide Museum, and then lunch.After a very interesting, thought provoking, but gut wrenching tour of the museum we were even more amazed at what we had experienced around the country. The story told was pretty horrific but with our own eyes we had seen such an industrious and proud society. Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. There was barely a minute on the open road where we did not see a soul or a patch of land uncultivated. The infrastructure looked impressive, and the place is spotless. Plastic bags are banned and they only use paper packets at the shops. Trying to tie up all we had seen with the senseless mass murder that went on is very difficult. I would have to say that Rwanda would have to be the most civilised of all the countries we have visited on this trip. Our only problem after leaving the museum was looking at the people we saw and wondering, were you involved? As you travel the country you see groups of prison inmates, mostly dressed in pink outfits, working here and there. The majority of them are either accused or convicted of genocide crimes. All you can say is what an amazing turn around, and a credit to the new government and the people some of whom must have mind blowing memories to carry with them for the rest of their lives. Sadly we only managed a week in the country, so far yet to travel and the clock ticking. We stayed the night back at the La Palisse (S1 57.333 E30 07.926). I made use of the free internet again to try and troubleshoot the still sick laptop, but with no success. Then the next morning we were off to the border and back into Tanzania.
As Rwanda is on a different clock to the rest of east Africa it gets light an hour earlier and we were able to get on the road sharpish in the morning to head west out to Lake Kivu. The road was stunning if not very straight! It was built by the Chinese not long ago and is quite an impressive piece of tarmac. Just recently Mufasa had been suffering from a lack of power and a few of the climbs were a challenge. We thought it was just crap diesel. Anyway, after a long but pleasing drive we descended onto Lake Kivu and the town of Kibuye. Again our accommodation options were limited but as luck had it we found the Moriah Hill Resort(S2 03.560 E29 19.945) right on the lake and they let us camp in their car park with a key to a room for ablutions. What a nice spot, and the hotel was empty. The rooms were new and the bathrooms luxurious, but badly finished. It chucked it down that night and I had to bail out the load bay in the morning with the rain that had leaked in through a mystery hole somewhere. Thankfully everything is in sealed boxes so no damage was done.
The next day we continued on down the lake from Kibuye on another great road but this one was gravel. The views of the lake and the surrounding hills were stunning. Our planned destination was Kamembe at the foot of the lake but our plans changed. We left the good gravel road and hit tarmac about 25km north of Kamembe, but the road was badly potholed. There was no definite location for the night in Kamembe and rather than having to backtrack later on we decided to head east instead and head for Butare where we thought we had a good sleeping spot planned. The road, sill potholed, took us up into the Nyungwe forest reserve, a rain forest. Angolan Colobus Monkeys playing on the sides of the road. Thankfully we didn't get wet but had a scenic and interesting drive on a slowly improving road, up into the hills and then down to Butare. A different town but same old story, couldn't find anywhere to stay. We checked out a mission that we knew had accommodation, but there was no space for us to camp. I then noticed that the Hotel Ibis (S2 36.128 E29 44.538) was labelled on the GPS as 'with camping'. What a result. We camped for FREE in their car park, and had free wireless internet, well when I managed to find a spot where the signal was good enough. They gave us a key for the conference suite for ablutions and as we were camping for free we felt obliged to eat in their restaurant. Oh, it was pouring down anyway so cooking was not an option! We retired back to Mufasa's cab after dinner as the rain was still dropping and watched a movie on the laptop. That is when the thing started playing up. About 40 minutes left of the movie to watch and it just kept crashing, bugger! So we gave up and went to bed, thankfully the rain had stopped and we were able to put the tent up without getting soaked.
From Butare we had planned to stop off at a couple of churches on the way back to Kigali that are memorials to the 1994 Genocide. Despite our best efforts we couldn't find the turn off to them from the main road back to Kigali. So instead we headed back to the capital for some coffee, shopping, a visit to the Genocide Museum, and then lunch.After a very interesting, thought provoking, but gut wrenching tour of the museum we were even more amazed at what we had experienced around the country. The story told was pretty horrific but with our own eyes we had seen such an industrious and proud society. Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. There was barely a minute on the open road where we did not see a soul or a patch of land uncultivated. The infrastructure looked impressive, and the place is spotless. Plastic bags are banned and they only use paper packets at the shops. Trying to tie up all we had seen with the senseless mass murder that went on is very difficult. I would have to say that Rwanda would have to be the most civilised of all the countries we have visited on this trip. Our only problem after leaving the museum was looking at the people we saw and wondering, were you involved? As you travel the country you see groups of prison inmates, mostly dressed in pink outfits, working here and there. The majority of them are either accused or convicted of genocide crimes. All you can say is what an amazing turn around, and a credit to the new government and the people some of whom must have mind blowing memories to carry with them for the rest of their lives. Sadly we only managed a week in the country, so far yet to travel and the clock ticking. We stayed the night back at the La Palisse (S1 57.333 E30 07.926). I made use of the free internet again to try and troubleshoot the still sick laptop, but with no success. Then the next morning we were off to the border and back into Tanzania.
Rwanda, oh and the Gorillas
Yes I know it has been a while since the last blog, but things just don't go as planned sometimes. We have had a few technical issues, bloody laptop kept crashing!! It seems happy now after some miscellaneous 'fixes' and the odd threat of chucking it in the bin. It has taken us quite a while to find good access to the web after leaving Rwanda, and finally in Lilongwe (Malawi) we have it!
Rwanda was a bit of a whistle stop tour, but what we saw of it would give us memories of a lifetime. Due to some bad planning we arrived in Rwanda on a Saturday, and it was hosing it down as we crossed the border. Formalities were quick, and hooray no visas for either of us! Our plan, to attempt to see the Gorillas in the Volcans NP in northern Rwanda and then tour the country to see the sights. By the time we hit Ruhengeri (S1 30.239 E29 38.119), the gateway to the Gorillas, it was Saturday afternoon and the banks were shut and no ATMs in sight. So with only USD in our pockets we headed the few km north to Kinigi Village and the Kinigi Guest House (S1 25.958 E29 35.906). Just down the road from the Guest House is the Volcans NP Headquarters but there was nobody around by the time we arrived. So we settled in for the night, we could camp in the car park, and made a plan to show up at the headquarters at 06h30 Sunday morning and see if we could get permits for the Gorillas. Thankfully I had remembered that Rwanda is an hour behind Uganda and I readjusted our clocks!
Just to explain the Gorilla business in Rwanda. In the park there are currently 14 groups of Gorillas, 7 for research and 7 for tourism, and 8 permits are issued every day for each tourism group at $500 a permit. Yep that's five hundred US Dollars each. Our only hope was any cancellations as the permits are booked solid weeks in advance. To get to the groups it is a 30-45 minute drive from the headquarters at the park to each group, then you hike up to the forest from wherever you park, and finally a hike of anything from 30 minutes to 4 hours to reach the particular group you are to visit. You then get an hour, not a minute more, with the group before you hike back etc. The problem with the transport is that there is none as 99.9% of people are on a tour in a vehicle. So if you don't have wheels it is a problem.
The morning came, up at 05h45, and we packed the tent just in case we needed Mufasa as transport to get us to visit a group, assuming of course we managed to get permits. Our intention was to stay at Kinigi for perhaps 2 or 3 nights and have a few stabs at getting permits and if not successful head to Kigali and try the office there. Off we walked down to the headquarters to check in and see what the score was. We were told it was fully booked but to hang around just in case. Over the next hour or so all the tour vehicles piled in and the place became very busy with happy punters all ready for their experience. One guy offered us a single permit but we said we needed two and we would only go if we got two as we agreed between us that we either both get to see or neither of us does. It wasn't looking good, until at the eleventh hour we were approached by a guy who had 2 permits up for grabs as his clients had not shown up! He wanted us to buy them from him direct but we were only going to hand money over to the park official at the desk, especially $1000 worth! The permits were genuine, great! Only problem, no available transport to get us to the group, bugger! So I dashed back to fire up Mufasa. It turned out that we were the only two in our group, thus no other transport. The next problem was our guide, Eli. He goes with you from the headquarters, we only have two seats! We had no other choice but to squeeze the three of us in the cab, me driving, Eli in the passenger seat, and Sue perched half on the passenger seat and half on the cubby box in between the seats. All aboard and we set off to see the Gorillas! We couldn't believe our luck, just the two of us and our own group of 11 Gorillas, including a one week old baby, a 4 month old baby, and an eight month old baby! It just happened that we were to trek to one of the research groups, the Bwenge group which means intelligent in the local language. The researchers don't work the weekends and sometimes they allow people to visit one of those groups if need be.
It was a bumpy drive, well for poor Sue perched as she was. We parked in a small village and commissioned one of the locals to guard Mufasa with the promise of $10 should he still be there when we got back. Our trek started. It was about an hour up to the forest, and then once there we would find out from the trackers where the Gorillas were and how long it would take to get to them. Our luck just continued, the Gorillas were low in the forest at the bamboo level due to the time of year and the lack of vegetation further up in the hills. We only had to trek for about 15 minutes into the forest to get to them.
Our trackers and guide led the way and before we knew it we were just a few metres away from these majestic beasts! What do Gorillas do all day? Eat and sleep! Well all of them that is except the 8 month old! He just wanted to play and was running and rolling around trying to engage one of the older Gorillas to play with him, all to no avail. His 4 month old sibling was too young and just kept hold of its mother all the time. Then the silver back the appeared, wow, huge! He was more interested in snoozing than he was of us. We watched them all eat a bit and snooze for a while until the silver back decided it was breakfast time and lead his entourage off to find some nice green shoots. We followed and watched them devour wild celery by the fist full. The big man eats 30kg every day! Unfortunately we didn't get a glimpse of the newborn, his mother was quite sensibly keeping him well hidden. Sadly before we knew it our hour had passed and it was time to leave. We just couldn't believe how lucky we had been and it didn't seem real.
Before we realised it we were back down at Mufasa and then back at the headquarters in a kind of awe struck daze! Needless to say I took the odd hundred photos, but no video. Well, I secretly took some on the still camera but none on the camcorder as they charge a silly amount for a permit to use videos and still photos and our memories tell the story just as well!
So there you go, our hopes and dreams of seeing the Gorillas had be realised. It may have cost a fortune and our budget is completely blown now, but wow, what an experience of a lifetime!
Rwanda was a bit of a whistle stop tour, but what we saw of it would give us memories of a lifetime. Due to some bad planning we arrived in Rwanda on a Saturday, and it was hosing it down as we crossed the border. Formalities were quick, and hooray no visas for either of us! Our plan, to attempt to see the Gorillas in the Volcans NP in northern Rwanda and then tour the country to see the sights. By the time we hit Ruhengeri (S1 30.239 E29 38.119), the gateway to the Gorillas, it was Saturday afternoon and the banks were shut and no ATMs in sight. So with only USD in our pockets we headed the few km north to Kinigi Village and the Kinigi Guest House (S1 25.958 E29 35.906). Just down the road from the Guest House is the Volcans NP Headquarters but there was nobody around by the time we arrived. So we settled in for the night, we could camp in the car park, and made a plan to show up at the headquarters at 06h30 Sunday morning and see if we could get permits for the Gorillas. Thankfully I had remembered that Rwanda is an hour behind Uganda and I readjusted our clocks!
Just to explain the Gorilla business in Rwanda. In the park there are currently 14 groups of Gorillas, 7 for research and 7 for tourism, and 8 permits are issued every day for each tourism group at $500 a permit. Yep that's five hundred US Dollars each. Our only hope was any cancellations as the permits are booked solid weeks in advance. To get to the groups it is a 30-45 minute drive from the headquarters at the park to each group, then you hike up to the forest from wherever you park, and finally a hike of anything from 30 minutes to 4 hours to reach the particular group you are to visit. You then get an hour, not a minute more, with the group before you hike back etc. The problem with the transport is that there is none as 99.9% of people are on a tour in a vehicle. So if you don't have wheels it is a problem.
The morning came, up at 05h45, and we packed the tent just in case we needed Mufasa as transport to get us to visit a group, assuming of course we managed to get permits. Our intention was to stay at Kinigi for perhaps 2 or 3 nights and have a few stabs at getting permits and if not successful head to Kigali and try the office there. Off we walked down to the headquarters to check in and see what the score was. We were told it was fully booked but to hang around just in case. Over the next hour or so all the tour vehicles piled in and the place became very busy with happy punters all ready for their experience. One guy offered us a single permit but we said we needed two and we would only go if we got two as we agreed between us that we either both get to see or neither of us does. It wasn't looking good, until at the eleventh hour we were approached by a guy who had 2 permits up for grabs as his clients had not shown up! He wanted us to buy them from him direct but we were only going to hand money over to the park official at the desk, especially $1000 worth! The permits were genuine, great! Only problem, no available transport to get us to the group, bugger! So I dashed back to fire up Mufasa. It turned out that we were the only two in our group, thus no other transport. The next problem was our guide, Eli. He goes with you from the headquarters, we only have two seats! We had no other choice but to squeeze the three of us in the cab, me driving, Eli in the passenger seat, and Sue perched half on the passenger seat and half on the cubby box in between the seats. All aboard and we set off to see the Gorillas! We couldn't believe our luck, just the two of us and our own group of 11 Gorillas, including a one week old baby, a 4 month old baby, and an eight month old baby! It just happened that we were to trek to one of the research groups, the Bwenge group which means intelligent in the local language. The researchers don't work the weekends and sometimes they allow people to visit one of those groups if need be.
It was a bumpy drive, well for poor Sue perched as she was. We parked in a small village and commissioned one of the locals to guard Mufasa with the promise of $10 should he still be there when we got back. Our trek started. It was about an hour up to the forest, and then once there we would find out from the trackers where the Gorillas were and how long it would take to get to them. Our luck just continued, the Gorillas were low in the forest at the bamboo level due to the time of year and the lack of vegetation further up in the hills. We only had to trek for about 15 minutes into the forest to get to them.
Our trackers and guide led the way and before we knew it we were just a few metres away from these majestic beasts! What do Gorillas do all day? Eat and sleep! Well all of them that is except the 8 month old! He just wanted to play and was running and rolling around trying to engage one of the older Gorillas to play with him, all to no avail. His 4 month old sibling was too young and just kept hold of its mother all the time. Then the silver back the appeared, wow, huge! He was more interested in snoozing than he was of us. We watched them all eat a bit and snooze for a while until the silver back decided it was breakfast time and lead his entourage off to find some nice green shoots. We followed and watched them devour wild celery by the fist full. The big man eats 30kg every day! Unfortunately we didn't get a glimpse of the newborn, his mother was quite sensibly keeping him well hidden. Sadly before we knew it our hour had passed and it was time to leave. We just couldn't believe how lucky we had been and it didn't seem real.
Before we realised it we were back down at Mufasa and then back at the headquarters in a kind of awe struck daze! Needless to say I took the odd hundred photos, but no video. Well, I secretly took some on the still camera but none on the camcorder as they charge a silly amount for a permit to use videos and still photos and our memories tell the story just as well!
So there you go, our hopes and dreams of seeing the Gorillas had be realised. It may have cost a fortune and our budget is completely blown now, but wow, what an experience of a lifetime!
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