Blogs from Kigoma, West, Tanzania, Africa

Yes, I'm definitely off the beaten track. Most visitors to Tanzania concentrate on the northern circuit of game parks, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. Not that there aren't game parks here on the west of Tanzania by Lake Tanganyika - there's Gombe NP and Mahale Mountains NP both known for their chimps, and Katavi NP, the 3rd largest NP in Tanzania. But since I'm not planning on visiting any national parks around here ... I'm just travelling down to Zambia to meet up with my family ... I haven't met any other travellers ... there's been the occasional safari 4x4 ... but very few in number. I expected to meet some hardy souls in Ujiji or Kigoma ... but, I was the only Muzungu. There would likely have been some travellers on the MV Liemba travelling down to ... read more

How do you fit 18 people into a 14 passenger van? ... simple solution ... just make the seats narrower ... that way the van can announce proudly that it is for 18 people and not just the standard 14 people. I thought I'd be travelling in a bus for the majority of the trip to Kigoma in Tanzania. Turns out the van was the best part of the trip. The road south of Bujumbura was paved but pot holed. The road north of Buj is in much better condition. The good news is the pot holes work as natural speed bumps. I was sitting next to a Burundian who works for UNHCR. He's very energetic and ambitious. I think he'll do very well in life, considering how hard he's been working so far, and how ... read more

The departure After leaving Dar es Salam and getting on the bus towards Mangula A (and yes there is both an B and C villages in close proximity) with the Sister and Soudi a.k.a. Shadow we soon realised that this would be the last time we meet in a couple of months. This because of my previously rather ambitious plans of crossing back through Kenya and accompany the Sister from Dar es Salam to her flight home from Johannesburg in the beginning of May. However realising this was not possible we had to make our quick farewells when the bus stopped to let them off. So from now on I’m alone, kind of scary and a little sad but at the same time exiting. The Sister and Soudi dropped an hour before reaching Morogoro and I ... read more

Just as Africa was getting predictable. Just as Africa was become easy. Just as Africa was getting, dare I say it, dull. I found myself in Western Tanzania, and everything seemed to change. Rwanda was tarmaced, efficient, and regulated. Cafe's with air-con and leather seats charged European prices for cups of coffee, while the clientele read the latest daily. Journeys, though beautiful, passed without incident, and towns visited almost passed without interest. It was nice for a few days, but that's not really why I came to Africa. Burundi was better, more manic, more frantic, somehow more 'alive', but still somewhat predictable. And then I found myself in Western Tanzania and it all seemed to change. Western Tanzania, an endless land, where train journeys last for 24 hours, and boat trips even longer. Where six hour ... read more

Mpulungu is a single road town but this time a surfaced road which leads to the harbour at one end. We are the only mzungu's (white people) in town so stand out. We find a 'hotel' near the harbour which has cottages in the grounds. They are basic but the same price as a dorm bed in Lusaka so quite reasonable. There is no running water so the bucket system is in use for the shower and toilet, but there is a large fan and mosquito net, and surprisingly a TV. This has a satellite connection but is run from the main house so we can only watch whichever channel they decide to watch, and that often cuts out. We visit the harbour to inquire about the MV Liemba Ferry which runs on Fridays but they ... read more