Tanzania: Into the Wild

We crossed the border from Rwanda, glad to be leaving the fabled ‘Land of a thousand hills’, and looking forward to the flat plains of Tanzania. The road had a final sting in its tail, and the lorry drivers at the border (who have to wait around 2 days to cross) advised us that there was around 30km of hilly terrain remaining. As we set off up the first of three epic climbs a lorry crawled slowly past and I had no qualms in grabbing onto the back for a free tow to the top. At the crest of the hill we were greeted with spectacular views of both Rwanda behind us and Tanzania stretching out in front of us. 

The hills of Rwanda are left behind

Tanzania is vast. The scale of everything seems to have been magnified (with the exception of the hills) in comparison to Rwanda, which was reflected in the massive scale of 1:1.2 million on our OS map. Even along the main road the landscape is sparsely populated, and we peddled past numerous ideal camping spots. We were later informed that this section of road is typical bandit country, but fortunately we passed through unscathed. As dusk approached, we had started to descend into the valley, which was heavily cultivated with few options for pitching our tent. We decided it was time to integrate ourselves with the locals and approached a small cluster of mud huts, where the owners gladly offered us a place to pitch up. The extended family, who occupied the huts, live a life of subsistence farming maize and rearing a sizable herd of goats. As we fired up our stove to cook dinner, the family gathered round and watched in silence, no doubt wondering where we had come from, where we were going and why we were riding such heavily laden bikes so far from home. After sharing out the few boiled sweets and Haribo we had carried since we set off, we settled down for a good night’s sleep. We were woken by the rooster long after we should have risen, as Pad developed the ‘turn alarm off in sleep’ strategy, employed by the sleep deprived and exhausted.

We hastily packed up, and with the hills behind us enjoyed easy terrain and clocked up our longest days cycling so far of 135km. This also took us over the 1000km mark, which signified Paddy’s longest cycle trip (my record was broken on the 2^nd day!), and seeing that fourth digit appear on the speedo was pretty rewarding.  With the promise of a rest day the following day, we made sure we had plenty of time to find a suitable campsite, which came in the form of Kigosi Game Reserve. We cut off the road, as a bridge passed over a crystal clear river, and followed a narrow track into the bush to a clearing where we pitched out tent.

The rest day was filled with exploring the local wildlife, consisting of huge colourful spiders, 3-foot monitor lizards and a few territorial monkeys. Pad also received a haircut, which I skilfully performed using his penknife, and we washed in the murky stream which had looked far more inviting the day before. Nevertheless it was the only wash we were to have in the 8 days from leaving Kabali until present, and we had to make the most of it.

Feeling refreshed after our day off in the bush, we set off early, and as we headed out along the road we caught sight of a huge troop of baboons along the roadside who quickly scampered into the jungle on our arrival.This was to be the longest stint of our trip so far, and we aimed to cover 450km over 4 days, so had to make tracks. The first morning went well and having covered a good 70km we stopped for our 2^nd breakfast and lunch. The choice for lunch was rice with chicken or meat, so we opted for the more descript chicken, and watched as the waiter then took then solitary chicken out of its cage and headed to the chopping block brandishing his machete. At least we knew it was fresh!

Rice is one of the largest exports from this area of Tanzania

Pushing on towards dusk to maximise our mileage left us few camping options that night. We opted for a small wooded area, sandwiched between a Khame Gold Mine and its associated air strip. Fortunately, we weren’t disturbed during the night by any of the Mine’s security staff. We were, however, visited by a pair of hungry jackals hoping for some scraps of our mango + coconut rice dinner. After another 130km day, not a single grain of rice was spared and the jackals left disappointed. We were forced into the tent early by some hungry mosquitoes, but on account of our early start the next day this was no bad thing.

Our hardest morning yet consisted of 75km in total, 66km of which were on dirt roads, which whilst more challenging provided added interest, spectacular scenery and the benefit of no buses hurtling past at top speed. It was a tall order, but by our mid-morning coffee stop and a pack of biscuits each we were hitting our target. The final 5km saw the ‘road’ deteriorate to a mixture  bone-shaking corrugations, and 2 inch deep drifts of sand. Finally, shortly after mid-day we rolled into our target lunchtime destination of Nzega, where we enjoyed a sizeable lunch and a few cold sodas. As we prepared to get back on the road, we generated increasing interest from the local clientele, including the local bwana kubwa (big man) in the midst of his Sunday session. This mildly(?) intoxicated and generous fellow insisted we accept a few cans of beer for that evening and some cold water to refill out bottles before setting out.

Beautiful morning light along the dirt road

We’re starting to feel fitter now, and getting used to the inescapable heat and 6-hour days in the saddle, but the last hour always seems hard. Past 100km, our legs start to feel heavy and no longer willing to grind on without conscious persuasion. As the road steeped we dug deep, determined not to save the climb for the following morning. Our efforts were not in vain, and we enjoyed a perfect camping spot. Again, we were not alone, and as we climbing into out tent we heard the not-so-distant cackle of a couple of hyenas. We’d put all our food bags up trees to dissuade such scavengers, and fortunately were not disturbed during the night.

Crossing the Wemhere swamp the following day had us recollecting the hills of Rwanda with fond memories. The never-ending flatlands of the swamp were relentless, and the headwind slowed our progress. With not even the slightest downhill we had no respite and the only option was to put our heads down and grind out the miles. We were now entering Masai Territory and started to witness the traditional dress and shawl associated with this tribe, and it was nice to see this customary style maintained in this rapidly developing country.

We relished the climb that afternoon onto a plateau around 1500m, which afforded some cooler temperatures and a magnificent camping spot, with stunning views of the expansive landscape below. We were forced to up the ‘manliness factor’ that night by our malfunctioning stove, and cooked our dinner on an open fire, which served the dual purpose of  deterring any wildlife from our camp as once again we heard the cackles of hyenas as we were drifting off.

The hard work of the past 3 days had paid off, and our fourth day consisted of an easy 45km role into town, where we reached the first internet connection since the Rwandan capital. This evening we will cycle another 30km out of town to a hospital run by Irish Nuns, who are friends of Dr Howlett Senior, where we will enjoy a much(!) needed wash and the comfort of a real bed.

Rwanda: The land of a thousand hills

Monday 15^th January marked the day we had “completed” our first country, Uganda. We had spent a final couple of days in Lake Bunyoni, near the Southern Ugandan town of Kabale. Rick’s University friend, Will Symes joined  us for a couple of days of feasting and resting (I hope it wasn’t too arduous for him) and Amhagara Island provided the perfect setting: swimming, good food, a steady supply of beers and some stunning birds (no really, the avian kind). 

Early morning speedboat

We left Kabale with refreshed legs and for most of the morning we clipped along comfortably pondering what Rwanda might hold for us. We had been told that things were very different, the people were more reserved, public services workedand there is no such thing as a bribe! We had heard of a driver who was stopped for speeding, the police officer suggested he could be let off with a bribe, which took full advantage of. On arriving home the driver reported the behavior to the local police chief, who promptly sacked the policeman.

One thing was fairly clear though, in the “land of a thousand hills” the terrain remained much as we had left it in Uganda, both sharing the western Albertine Rift of the East African Rift Valley. As if we needed reminding of this, soon after the border we wound our way up a steep sided valley to the thin airs of a 2000m pass. Thankfully, this was to be the last climb before the entry into Kigale City, which also happens to be perched on a hilltop, and the welcomed hospitality of a friend from my recent Tropical Medicine Diploma,  Jean-Luc. Over the following two days Jean-Luc went out of his way to make sure that we were rested , very well fed and given a fantastic tour of the city. If he ever fancies a change from medicine he would do well as a Kigale City guide!

Surprised Rwandans

It’s fair to say that Rwanda did provide some refreshing differences from Uganda. The city of Kigale is busy with new businesses, reflecting one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It’s busy diversifying into an IT centre, and providing a home for financial services in East Africa. New Hotels and high-rises are popping up monthly in the centre – in the 3 month space of the diploma Jean-Luc noted a few new arrivals. What differentiates it from other East African cities is the order and cleanliness as it does this. The city aims to stop using Matatu’s within the next couple of years, replaced by a hop on/off bus services. The streets are near enough spotless and the city greens are well trimmed, with no one daring to set foot upon them. The waves of growth are also clearly spreading beyond the capital city – as we travelled the road the Tanzanian border at Rusumu, new homes,  health centres (accompanied by over 90% coverage of national health insurance!), banks and Centres de Sante (community centres) lined the road.

The challenges it has overcome to get here have been remarkable. Jean-Luc kindly took us to the Rwandan Genocide Memorial. Set amongst a rose garden and series of mass graves, the memorial is a reminder of a difficult and sad time for Rwandans and is designed to ensure that there will never be a repeat the massacre of 1 million innocent Rwandans. The experience left us silently shocked and pondering how these events could have happened. Sadly, as Jean-Luc reminded us, the current situation in South Sudan shows that the lessons are still to be learnt internationally. The long history of the Genocide is steeped in the creation of Colonial divisions (the original definition of Tutsi by Belgians Colonialists was any person who had more than 10 cows), and European actions (bank rolling a $12 million dollar arms deal late in 1993 for the Hutu government) and inactions (failing to intervene despite ongoing reports of genocide).

Perhaps with this memory in mind the government has taken a forceful approach to controlling any security breaches. As we cycled into the city every 400m we passed a stern-faced, fully armed police or army member. Jean-Luc mentioned that this was a response to a series of grenade attacks over the past year. It’s not something that the people like seeing on the streets, but that they have gotten used to.

So as much as the countries did share similarities in climate, geography, people (we found no evidence of reservations as children and adults shouted “Mzungu” excitedly at the passing cyclists) and a complex and violent history (Amin in Uganda is reported to have imprisoned and killed hundreds of thousands), the more recent histories have diverged. Uganda moved taken a softer African Socialist approach while Rwanda has chosen to retain control through a Conservative approach. Behind each is the leadership of one man, in Rwanda, Paul Kagame who by the end of his 7 year tenure will have been leader of the country for effectively 23 years, a similar record to his next door neighbour, the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. How these countries progress over the coming few years will be interesting to see – both hold great potential but the routes to unlocking these will clearly be very different.

Weaver birds nesting

The cycle out of Kigale to the Tanzanian border was, much like the country itself, small and intense. Both days had their fair share of shorter and longer hills, though the general move was to a more arid landscape. The birdlife of East Africa continued to fascinate us – many of the winter migrants occupied the rice farm lands and on our  final night in Rwanda we were joined by a huge Ground Hornbill. We reached the impressive Rusumu falls after winding between old volcanoes that dotted the landscape, no doubt equally impressive 3 billion years ago during their tumultuous formation. After just under two weeks we had “completed” two countries, we the next was not going to be so easy…

Rusumu Falls

Crater Lakes to Kabale

We left our recuperative camp by the crater lakes early, feeling only marginally better than when we arrived. If anything the quads had tightened, and felt stiffer than ever. Fortunately the hard work of the previous cycling day left us with the advantage of altitude, and as we rolled down the bumpy dirt road, the fresh air revived us and our stiff legs stopped complaining quite as much.

The villages in this area, were basic by western standards and dishearteningly none of the children were at school this Wednesday morning. However, they were keen to shout encouragement, which grew with fervour as we cycled further from the tourist resorts around the lake, and we Mzungu (white people) became more of a spectacle.

After a quick stop for a Rolex, we reached the main road and returned to the smooth glide of tyre on tarmac. Motivation was still lacking slightly and we trundled on. After passing through a couple of industrial towns the road levelled, and hills opened out into a wide valley. Just visible to West was the outline of the Rwenzori mountain range, and to the East the outline of the Great Rift Valley.

We crossed the equator at midday, which in hindsight was not the smartest idea. So after a couple of quick photos, we pressed on towards Queen Elizabeth National Park- fulfilling one of Paddy’s long term goals of the Safari Cycle across a NP. Although the elephants and lions were sheltering from the heat of the day, we saw several herds of antelope and gazelle and, to our surprise a hippo plodding slowly across the savannah at least a mile or two from the river.

A hippo- the only animal sweating more than we were!

Despite the lush landscape, the wildlife of QE national park is not as abundant as it should be. The wildlife suffered hugely during the 1970’s as a result of the ‘Machine-Gun Hunting’, a past time of ex-dictator Idi Amine. Although these days are fortunately a thing of the past, the Park does not receive the protection it is due, and the lion population alone has suffered a 40% decline in the past 15 years. This recent decline is a result of corrupt park officials, who allow Congolese farmers to cross the border to graze their cattle within the park. This alone would not be an issue, but for the farmer’s ‘strategy’ of using a poisoned cow as a decoy to prevent the lions from hunting their cattle. This poison is then passed on to the lions or any other scavengers with catastrophic effects. This has led to the drastic reduction in the number of lions, and the hyena population of the park has been all but eradicated as a result. Considering QE is the most visited national park in Uganda, the future is not looking bright as long as the wildlife and resources remain so undervalued.

Pressing on out of the park, we climbed a steep hill on the other side in search of the home of Nicole, a Project Coordinator for Volcano Safaris, who we had been put in touch with through our friend Will Symes. Nicole’s main role is in the Community Development Projects, funded by the profits from the safari tours. These involved projects such as the Women’s Local Coffee Initiative, which encourage local women, to grow and process high quality local coffee which was then sold to the local safari lodges with profits going to the workers and local community.

We were treated to home grown vegetables from Nicole’s garden, and what we felt were much deserved cold beers. We camped above the gorge, where a river rushes below the thick canopy of the trees that provides the habitat for chimps and monkeys, and rested up for the following two days of hard hill climbing.

After a cooked breakfast and a couple of strong cups of the local coffee, we set of again for what promised to be a hard day’s cycling, climbing approximately 1000 metres, leaving the flat lands of the savannah far behind. We pedalled through the local villages, this time encouraged to see the children all on their way to school, however they still found time to run alongside us up the steep hills, pushing us along (me anyway) whenever our pace slowed.

As we climbed, the air cooled, and we felt refreshed and re-motivated in comparison to the lack-lustre pace of the previous day. We carried on up through tea plantations- which we have begun to associate with pleasant cycling terrain- pleasantly cool due to the altitude and smooth rolling hills.

A local tea picker working on the plantation

At Ishaka we branched from the main road onto what is marked as a B-road on our maps. These would be no more than bridleways in the UK, and thanks to a heavy downpour, the muddy track made for slow progress. We stopped for our usual 3 carb lunch, consisting of rice, posho (a white starchy stodge), and matoke (mashed plantain), served with an almost equally flavourless dipping sauce. Whilst enjoying our carbs, we pondered the lifestyle and opportunities available to the younger generations in these small towns due to the lack of education, jobs and transport links, and could easily see why many young people opt for the slums of Kampala as an attractive alternative.

A few miles on from lunch, we stopped briefly to witness the spectacle of the local healing hot springs, where 40 to 50 local men, women and children bathed in the steaming waters, witnessing the spectacle of two filthy cycle tourists washing in the ladies pool. Whoops.

We cycled swiftly(?) on, and as the afternoon became increasingly humid, we were relieved to reach tarmac once more after an uncomfortable 45 km of challenging off-road. We paused for a well timed soda break, and sheltered from torrential rain and thunder storm. Cycling down the hill, we enjoyed the cool air and moisture following the rain. Nightfall was fast approaching, but we were all too aware of the mosquitoes we would face if we didn’t climb out of the valley away from the marshlands before pitching out tent. As light was fading we cut off the road, to seek refuge by a church where the local priest granted us permission to camp after Paddy tried his best to tailor his religious beliefs to match those of the priest. I’d lost the love by this point and quietly cooked up dinner before retiring to my tent at the end of the hardest day’s cycling yet.

A misty morning behind the church

After the difficulties of the previous day we were left with a short 60km into Kabale, with rewards of flavoured food, cold beer and a day of recuperation. We had received warning of 70km of constant uphill to reach the town, but were relieved to find this a slight exaggeration. A snapped chain delayed us slightly, but our spirits were high and we pressed on quickly determined to reach town by lunchtime. We paused for a cup of tea (which proved to be hot milk) and a rolex and watched the children play in the most versatile of Ugandan toys.

The rubber tyre- suitable for ages 2+ to adult.

We climbed for about 30 minutes, as languages started to change and we heard our first shouts from locals in French, as we were now approaching Rwanda. The hills steepened and Pad did well to converse with the locals who chased him up the hill will barbequed corn on the cob, while I sweated behind.

10km from Kabale we stopped for a treat of laughing cow cheese on ritz crackers, admiring the view of the valley below and our improved climbing prowess and fitness. The final 10km into town passed in a blur, as we dropped down the other side of the valley, racing towards the rewards that only 600km of cycling over 6 days can make you really appreciate.

This stage done, it was time for some serious carb loading, a real shower and to catch up with old Uni mate, Will Symes who was working our here on the same Community Development Scheme as Nicole. Details of this and our rest day on Lake Bunyoni to follow next time.

Thanks for reading, and for the many generous donations we have already received. 33% towards our target of £2500. Get clicking people!

Kampala to Crater Lakes: Turn right and straight on for three days

It’s taken a total of 10 days to get from Kampala, via Fort Portal and Kabale, to the Rwandan border. We have had superb cycling and met some fantastic people. Its difficult to do justice to everything Ugandan has thrown up for us, so between Rick and myself we’ve tried our best to summarize it.

As dawn broke across Kampala, we struggled to push our bike out of Emily Lewis’s drive. We were both rethinking our loads and possible mileage for the day. The city, thankfully, remained relatively empty and we made a quick exit via the ring road, successfully negotiating our only turning for the foreseeable future. It was a case of “turn right at the roundabout then straight on for three days”. Bar a few friendly lorries, and some less friendly buses, the road started and remained quite quiet.

Much of what lay ahead was an experiment; where would we eat, and sleep? How long would it take us to get places? One thing that became clear early on was that the heat would play a big role. By 11am suffering from early sunstroke , we dived into the nearest village. The heat was compounded by the road, without gaining much altitude we had a continuous 5 minutes up, 1 minute down cycle.

As any Ugandan will tell you, food is characterized by the banana, whether it’s yellow or green, or mashed or roasted. For lunch that day we settled for a banana stew. One under-represented food we were recommended, and continued to have every day of the trip for our mid-morning snack, was a Rolex. Double egg omlette (maybe with some tomato or onion) rolled in a chapatti – the food of champions and if anyone is looking for a business idea for export, look no further.

Local bikes heavily laden with Matoke

The highlight of the first day was undoubtedly being stopped by a man on a motorbike. He demanded that we both take 1000 Sh (40p) for water. After 5 minutes of bringing him to the verge of anger, we convinced him that if he put it in his Sunday collection, it would somehow make its way to us in the long run.

We camped that night on the crest of a hill above Lake Wamala, as Ugandan legend has it the site of the origin of man. Nambi, the daughter of God, started a family on earth, on the shores of Lake Wamala. Her mistake (as with Eve) was to disobey her father, when she returned to heaven to get grain for her chicken. There she met her brother, the spirit of disease and death, who followed her down to earth and has stayed there since… For us this disease spirit came in the form of mosquitoes. While in the night they were more of a nuisance than a bother, when we emerged from the tent in the morning and looked behind between the fly sheet and inner there must have been hundreds of them! Luckily however, they seemed not to be the Anopheles, malaria carrying species.

Having covered 85km the first day we needed to make some ground if we were to make the 300km to Fort Portal in three days. We were helped by some cooling early morning mist but by 11am this had burnt off and we again dived for cover. Luckily, some early cloud cover allowed us to start out at 2pm (rather than 3:30 the previous day), and make up ground.

The town and villages we passed and snacked in were generally linear trading centers, reflecting that most of Ugandans live off subsistence farming. In general the land is well watered and fertile, and farming is mostly a case of just sowing the seed and taking in the harvest. Uganda’s main exports; coffee, tea and tobacco, are all agricultural, and it supplies grain to S Sudan and the DRC. The Government believes that agriculture is the key sector to provide growth within the country. Like many sub-saharan countries this reflects a lack of economic diversity, which leaves the country so susceptible to variations in price and weather systems. One opportunity has been the recent discovery of oil around Lake Albert, however embroiled in allegations of multi-million dollar bribes and the lack of a regulatory framework which prompted the oil companies to go to the international court of arbitration, the likelihood of seeing any oil before 2015 is unlikely. In addition, the environmental impact of many of these economic policies is painful, for example deforestation of the Congo eco-system for charcoal, agriculture and bushmeat is a huge problem. It is something that we need to think critically about in developed countries, as a recent letter to the Norwegian Prime Minister, outlining the hypocrisy of their Climate Change and Investment policies highlights.

Our second night campsite was, fittingly, on a patch of ground recently slashed then burned. In the misty early morning over looking the remaining forest, we watched a Ugandan Crested Crane calling from the top of a tree, accompanied by Ibis and Colobus monkeys, hopeful that these forests can be retained. The early start that day put us in good shape to reach Fort Portal and we were helped by cooler temperatures as the road wound its way through the foothills of the Ruwenzori’s, culminating in a 20 minute stinger of a hill. The final 30 kilometers rolled through verdant tea estates and, for a short section, through Kibale National Park where we got our first glimpse of some black and White Colobus monkeys and a stunning Long Crested Eagle.

The beautiful scenery surrounding Crate Lakes

Described as one of the more attractive towns in Uganda, Fort Portal is the capital of the Toro Kingdom and is reputedly one of the possible hideouts for Gaddafi, as he has a special relationship with one the ladies in the Toro Royal Family. After a hearty lunch we felt more inclined to move on to our next days rest destination, Lake Nkuruba. It is one of a series of steep sided crater lakes nestled in amongst the forest. The decision was well worth it as we were greeted by a resident group of colobus and a refreshing swim. We spent the rest day around the lake, doing a few washing chores and relaxing in the company of, at one point, three different types of acrobatic monkey.

The local monkeys showing off their athleticism

It’s difficult to finish without mentioning the children and politics of Uganda. Children, mainly because wherever we went we found them in large numbers, whether it was cycling through a village with kids shouting “Mzungu” (white person), through maize fields when a head would pop up with a quick shout, or seeing them streaming down the valleys towards the road, again shouting “Mzungu”. The birth rate of 6.3 (2009) is clear to see, and represents the huge unmet need for contraception in Uganda. (Also incidentally represented by the number of backstreet abortions – illegal otherwise in Uganda, which contribute 16% toward maternal mortality). And Politics because of the towering figure of Yoweri Museveni who will, should he reach the next elections in 2017 in place have ruled the country for 31 years. An incredible feat which leaves opinion divided within the country over the merits of his continued rule, but with half of these struggling to find a safe democratic place for their voice.

Here we go then. First blog update on the eve of our departure from Kampala. For simplicity this will be a joint blog by Paddy and myself with updates provided by each of us in turn. It's been a hectic few days, from struggling to pack all our kit up, fixing our bikes back together after rough flights over and racing back and forth across Kampala 3-on-a-bike (boda-boda) style taxis.

(Pad and local ‘engineers’ working on his rear wheel)

We head West tomorrow for Fort Portal where we hope to arrive in a few days. Supplies have been bought and bags have been packed. Everything fits pretty well, and we’ll see how we fare cycling with our heavy loads.

(Our kit ready for packing- we know Matt Bell’s excited by this one!)

So, wish us luck and tune in for the next update with some trails from the road. Many thanks to everyone who has already donated towards our fundraising efforts for WaterAid.