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.