Kenya_Tanzania

Had a couple of mails and text messages of people wondering why some of the updates are so far a few between... well, internet access really is not as widely and easily available as most of you are used to! some place we get to we hear similar stories, that the internet has been off for the last 3 days, other times it is just dog slow (measured in bytes per second... with several thousand ms ping times... Packet data is available in most towns on the GSM network, but at roaming costs of US$17/MB... I'm not that keen to do updates using this!

Ok, on to the blog update. If a road is on a map, it doesn't NOT mean it (a) exists or (b) is drivable... We entered Tanzania from Kenya at Moshi, and headed east to Arusha. Here is a typical Kenyan landscape - this by the way is along the Voi / Moshi road, that is supposed to be a paved road ;-)

The scenery was beautiful though, and it was good to spend some time away from the Kenyan traffic... here we are next to a large Baobab tree, with three Maasai kids for company.

The plan was to take a trip into the Ngorongoro Crater Reserve, and then head south through Dodoma to Iringa. Thanks to Asia's (more about her later) friend, Issaya, who works for a local tour operator, we were shocked to learn what it costs to enter Ngorongoro.. We would have to hire a car for the day, that was estimated at $200, then $50/person park entry fee an additional $200 Crater fee (additional to the park fee)... That puts us at at least $500 for the day trip... a little on the steep side for us...

On hearing that we wanted to go down the Dodoma/Iringa road, Issaya made a couple of calls and thereafter strongly advised against it... due to the rain season, this road was very bad, buses were doing the lower 150km stretch in 12 hours! So we turned west and headed to Tanga - to get a view of the Indian ocean. Although this is quite a large port city (around 300,000 inhabitants) it is a real Sleepy Hollow!

So where was I..? Ahh Malawi... Yes, as I write this, we are in Mbeya, just north of the Malawi border... We are on our way to Mozambique and are going through Malawi to get there, as our other 2 options rained out... initially we wanted to go down the eastern coast of Tanzania, to Mtwara, where we could cross the Ruvuma river on boats, or head 250 clicks south-east to Masuguru where the new Unity Bridge was completed in 2009 - and unveiled 12 May 2010 - We just saw it on the news. Both presidents of Mozambique and Tanzania attended the function. Two problems though.. (1) it is the main rain season, and all indications are that the road down to Mtwara will be in VERY bad shape... and (2), we got some second hand news about another traveler that crossed the Unity Bridge, but had to turn back as the roads in Mozambique , south of the bridge are in bad shape... and that was prior to the main rain season... (which probably explains why on the news we saw both presidents landing on the bridge in their respective helicopters!).

We're pretty glad we did! We read an article in the local Tanzanian newspaper yesterday that a bulldozer was sent down that road to clear the road and free several buses, trucks and some vehicles that were stuck for a few days, after the heavy rain of the previous week! In another news section it showed 2 Landrovers slip-sliding from one side to the other... on that same stretch of road... most of it is a red clay which becomes slick as wet soap once it rains... wouldn't be fun on two wheels!

Driving back from Arusha meant that we drove through Moshi again, and had a second chance to get a glance of Kilimanjaro... however, as before, it was still under a thick blanket of clouds... and this was the closest I got to taking a picture of Kilimanjaro ;-)

Nairobi was the most "western" of all the larger cities of East Africa thus far, but still some surprises. The BMW dealership, Auto Bavaria, is the only BMW dealership between Windhoek, Namibia and Cairo, Egypt and we took in the bikes to get a quick oil change. They were very friendly and helpful, but don't expect a fully fledged Motorrad dealership. They don't market the 800 series and thus no oil filter for my bike, no tires in stock either - as a matter of fact, we could only find two 150/70/R17 tires in the whole of Nairobi, one a road tire and the other a Metzler Tourance. The dealership also can't get a replacement GT1 and hence they have ordered two GS-911's to service their clients in the mean time!

We came across Chris, a German ex Motorrad Master technician, who now runs JJ's (Jungle Junction) - a overlander workshop and campsite - the place most overlanders gather, whether to take a break or have Chris work on the vehicles or bikes! It was Chris by the way who had the dual purpose Metzler tire... and after giving him a GS-911 demo, he wanted one ASAP - lucky I had a spare GS-911 with me! ;-) Hence Chris now also has a GS-911 and with his years of vast BMW Motorrad experience, JJ's would most definitely be on my "highly recommended" list for anyone passing through Nairobi on a BMW motorcycle (or any other for that matter!).

The other interesting fact was that it seems Nairobi has some severe problems with its water distribution network. Most people have water trucked in... As we arrived at our camp site, there was a water truck... It seemed strange, but I didn't give it another thought. Then after our bikes were serviced, we were informed that they could not wash or clean them, as they had just run out of water! I asked Mike (the dealer principle) about this, and he explained the dire situation of the municipal water supply - apparently if you are dependent on it, you might have water two or three days a week - if you're that lucky! Hence most people and companies have large storage tanks and additionally opt for an external supply!

Back to Asia, a polish girl come writer/columnist, who decided to spend 2 months in East Africa. She flew into Nairobi, and woman-alone, took buses, Matatu's, boda-boda's and other public transport, to get from one place to another... not really knowing where she would go, but befriending the locals on the busses etc. who would invite her into their homes or accompany her to a destination, to make sure she got there safely... (More out of a sense of responsibility for her safety I think!). Anyway, quite some stories she has to tell, from hair raising taxi trips to several marriage proposals (40 cows was the highest offer if I recall correctly ;-) )... Not quite sure whether she's a little crazy or just innocently naive! But the important thing is she is healthy and well, and was on her way back to Poland the next day... completing one huge adventurous chapter of her life! (and she's already planning to come back to Africa!). For those of you who read Polish (or are willing to try a Google translation) here is the link to her blog: http://zabierzmniedo.wordpress.com

We're not quite as adventurous, but alas have already completed 11,000km of our journey... only another 5,000 to go! ;-)

Mozambique is lying ahead... we'll probably spend some rest days at Vilankulos, Pomene and Inhambane... depending on how long the trip down to the coast takes us!

Till next time!