Day 9 We left Mbeya, Tanzania on Monday 17th…had a really nice breakfast in town at a little café which has its own tiny little supermarket selling fresh bread called Babukubwa. We’d had supper there the previous night and they’d been so friendly we decided to return. The boys ordered Kenyeje and were rather disappointed to be served hot water with a tea bag on the side but other than that the food was yummy. We drove two hours south west from Mbeya to the border town of Tunduma, not the greatest experience. From at least 10 miles out you can [View Full Entry]

---

---

Here are some of the pictures so far...rapidly running out of time so don't know how many I can load! [View Full Entry]

---

---

On Saturday we drove to Ruaha National Park…an early start but it was worth it because Ruaha was really brilliant, a complete comparison to Mikumi! The atmosphere of the park was much more enjoyable and so were the animals. We spent most of our time driving up the Ruaha River, which is at its lowest point as we’re just at the end of the dry season. Still there were lots of Crocodiles and Hippos and water birds. The park also had a much wider variety of vegetation, lots of stunning baobab tress and an acacia woodland where we found a very [View Full Entry]

---

---

We spent most of the day on Tuesday in Dodoma, trying to sort out our roof rack. Finally managed to leave at about 2, heading in the direction of Morogoro, an agricultural town some 500km inland from Dar es Salaam that lies encircled by the Uluguru Mountains. The drive down to Morogoro was stunning - we followed the distant line of the Rubelo Mountains on our right and then broke through into the Makata plains which liead into Morogoro. On the advice of our guidebook, which we have now learnt to distrust somewhat, we chose to drive the apparently ‘easy drive’ [View Full Entry]

---

---

Drive down to Arusha was uneventful...stayed with friends of Robert just outside city in the most amazing house ever, nice to have one last night of luxury before we start slumming it. We left Arusha early and reached Dodoma yesterday at around 6. Ate staple meal of rice and beans... before decamping to our christian hostel Yesterday we encountered our first problem with the car. Nothing major, just that the roof rack is slightly broken. As I write it should be being fixed. We are aiming to drive from here to Morogoro and from there into the Uluguru hills where there [View Full Entry]

---

---

The journey begins today!! These are the pictures of our final preparations, loading up the car etc. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Finally we decide on a leaving date! The momentous day will be Sunday 9th November, which is coincidentally Robert's 19th birthday. The drive will be a relatively short one - Nairobi to Arusha in Tanzania where we will stay with some friends of Robert...our last night of luxury before the endless nights of camping begin. Insurance was completed today, and tomorrow we will complete the necessary documents to gain our Carnet (effectively a passport for the car). Equipment is beginning to flood the small spare room in Robert's house, though we still have to see whether it will all fit into [View Full Entry]

---

---

These are the pictures of our car...10 minutes before the heavy rain came which I'm now watching from the safety of the upstairs study - quite a sight! [View Full Entry]

---

---

Yesterday a whole day was spent in examining the car. It turns out that for a car that has sat un-used and neglected (poor thing) for nearly 4 years, it is in great condition. That said, over the past month it has become very well known to several mechanics of a nearby garage. I am reliably informed (this area not being particularly in my area of expertise) that the shocks are good, the boot space of adequate size, the clutch easy to handle and the engine in splendid condition. We are however in need of new tyres but we're hoping to [View Full Entry]

---

---