101 days to Zanzibar… (literally!)

As we rode over the last few hills through the Masai region of Kenya we caught a glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro through the clouds, our first taste of Tanzania. Within an hour of crossing the border the scenery had changed yet again with green mountains looming in the distance and a family of giraffe on the side of the road, looking at us as if we (well the bike anyway) was the same colouring as them but definitely not long lost cousins! We finished the day riding through the mountains to Arusha with a dusk-ish light, rainbows, rolling farming land, Masai men and women in their tartans that made me think of the Scottish highlands and a feeling that we were really going to like Tanzania.

We left Arusha and spent a night in Moshi, the village at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro where we camped at a centre that supports local educational projects. On deciding that we didn’t need to climb the mountain (at USD1500 per person!) we headed towards the Usambara Mountains and the village of Lushoto. After riding through the red and green wilds of Kenya and north Tanzania it was a treat to ride up into the mountains and be surrounded by lush, green plants, creeks and waterfalls. Just past Lushoto we found our campsite which consisted of a palm and wood structure that sat literally on the edge of the cliff with a view back down to the plains, it was aptly named the ‘Heaven Bar’. The campsite was a choice of three terraces, also on the cliff face and boasted a ‘toilet with a view’ but other than that no facilities – but it was a view we could not resist.

Although we are not fans of the big cities, there would be no Zanzibar without going to Dar es Salaam where we could leave the bike for a few days. Zanzibar is of course white sands, turquoise seas, palm trees, laid back people, reggae, beer and cocktails. We stayed in Bujwe on the east side of the island in an eccentric little place set up by a guy called Mustapha. If it had not been for Tille banging his head on a low hanging air conditioner in the street and requiring stiches (with no anaesthetic mind you!) in the Stone Town hospital it would have been 100% perfect!

On our return to the mainland Tille’s stitches were removed and we started the long road west towards Malawi, passing through the Mikumi National Park where we met with a herd of elephants on the side of the road (no more than 20 metres away!), zebra, giraffe, warthog, baboons, birds and water buffalo. The animals and landscape as a pair make Tanzania simply beautiful. We stayed in Morogoro, just outside Iringa and then at the locally owned and run Bongo Camp in Tukuyu before riding the last stretch through rolling tea fields into Malawi.

I write this from the Mushroom Farm which is a campsite on the edge of a cliff just near Livingstonia, overlooking Lake Malawi – which so far seems like a country stuck in a time warp with an innocence that is very appealing.