A quiet Haleluya Sunday morning, 9am and like a well oiled tourist machine Shidolya were straight back to our hotel to whisk us off to Mount Kilimanjaro. Climbing "Killi" had always been in our plans so we had been carrying tramping boots, thermal clothing and wind/water resistant mountain gear since leaving the UK. Now, after lugging this load around in sweltering hot conditions it was great to finally need it! Unlike our shared safari experience, this time the 4WD had just us and a new guide, the excellently named Haleluya. Trying to carry on the fun banter of t [View Full Entry]

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Bordering on madness So we crossed the border from Rwanda to Tanzania at Rasumo. We were expecting a long trip by truck and minibus along the northern edge of the country then a long zig zag up and down in order to reach Dodoma and then eventually Arusha (destination for safari and Kilimanjaro climb) So we were delighted when we heard a bus was leaving early in the morning direct for Dodoma, and even happier when we heard we'd timed it perfectly because the bus actually only goes 3 times a week. After a quick look at the available 'accommodation' [View Full Entry]

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Sardines Let us begin with a word on Ugandan taxis. They are not called 'shared' for nothing. To get to the border with Rwanda we took one of these cabs to save time. Inside the regular saloon car there were 4 adults including Big Dave in the back, 2 adults in the front passenger seat and 2 more on the drivers seat. The driver somewhat impressively managed to change gear even while half sitting on another man's lap! The border crossing was fine. We even managed to avoid the 'give the muzungus the wrong money because they don't know what [View Full Entry]

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Major Man-flu Back to Kampala and thank goodness for the fast free ride because by the time we got to the Backpackers David was feeling sick... really sick. Of major worry was that he had five major symptoms of malaria including a roaring temperature and aches and pains all over. Now if there is one thing that Africa does well it's having clinics that specialise in the quick detection and treatment of malaria, especially since some of the strands here can kill you in 48 hours. So, having consulted our trusty guidebook for doctors that would be open on a [View Full Entry]

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CHOGM is coming When we arrived in Uganda everything smelled of paint and the international airport at Entebbe was being completely rebuilt. Wow! we thought this place must really be on the up. It didn't take us long to realise that in fact the whole of Uganda and more specifically Entebbe and the capital Kampala are in overdrive trying to get ready for the Heads of Commonwealth meeting taking place there next week. The whole place has gone Chogm mad. Resurfacing roads, filling in holes with concrete that is bound to chip out again in a matter of weeks and [View Full Entry]

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For our second week in Ethiopia we travelled overland to the South. What followed was 7 dusty, bone rattling, dusty, incredible, and did I mention dusty, days. We organised our tour via our cheapie hotel The Wutma in Addis Ababa and given the cut down price we eventaully managed to negotiate we were pleasantly suprised when our driver Guade turned up, not only on time, but in a reasonable looking 4x4. "Today to Arba Minch" he told us, in what turned out to be fairly bad English, and off we set. It's 500km south and setting off at 8am we fully [View Full Entry]

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Looking for the fastest new way to take off the years?! Well then ladies and gentlemen roll up, roll up and discover the miracle new cure that is......... ETHIOPIA. That's right, Ethiopia, because the moment you step foot into this wonderful country you are stepping back in time, 7 years and 8 months to be precise. Surprised? You will be, as we have found Ethiopia to be the most surprising, amazing and fascinating country we have ever visited. For starters as we write this it is October 20th, 2007 at 11:30am. Only here it's actually October 20th, 2000 as Ethiopians celebrated [View Full Entry]

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