Weekend exploring.

It has been an absolute privilege to come to Tanzania. Fuelled by my wife’s attention to such things, we have made the most of our opportunity to explore our novel surroundings. It is such a beautiful and friendly country.

This weekend we made our way up into the West Usambara Mountains (the ‘second half’ of the mountain range that we look out over as you travel up towards Moshi / Arusha). We left a very hot Muheza mid-afternoon on Friday in the hospice car, taking the solo New Zealand / Singaporean medical student with us. Thank goodness for air conditioning, it was wonderful to just be in the car and be a bit cooler! We headed up towards Lushoto and Irente Farm Lodge (2 ½ hr drive). The roads were surprisingly good almost all the way. As we wound our way up the mountains, the scenery was stunning, and the environment slowly changed to more of an alpine feel. The road became not dissimilar to some you might find in the Alps – steep drop offs (although no barriers here which is a little disconcerting) and very sharp u-bend corners (along with some alarmingly fast-moving vehicles, so very similar in fact!). 

Not a bad view for breakfast!

Irente Farm Lodge

Stepping out of the car when we arrived was delicious. It was cool! Such a contrast to what we have gotten used to. The farm is wonderful too. A working farm that has its own herd of cows (a Friesian cross which would not be out of place grazing in many a British field), pigs, bees, ducks, a fish pond as well as several crops to keep everything fed. The mountain-side setting is stunning, with space for the children to roam, animals for them to visit and homemade breads, cheeses and jams (the best we’ve found in Tanzania) to eat. We were very well looked after.

'Not sure who is more content!' and 'cheese making tour'

On Saturday afternoon, we made our way deeper into the mountain range to Mambo View Point Lodge. It was a bit of a mission to get there in all honesty. A further two hours on roads that were now dusty and often bumpy tracks, winding through the valleys and around the beautiful peaks, hundreds of terraced shambas (farms) almost impossibly sited on the slopes. We had one close call as we turned a tight left-hand corner (you drive on the left here like the UK) to find another 4x4 coming the other way on our side of the road at speed and almost upon us. Fortunately, I was driving at a gentle pace, slammed the breaks on and tucked into the cliff face. It swerved, missed us (just) and also managed to stay on the road. Hmmm. We have been well aware of the burden of traffic accidents in Africa. But up until now, we have not really had any personal experience of such things beyond the regular limb and head injuries presenting to the Hospital associated with BodaBoda (motorcycle) use. This was a near miss we would rather not repeat.

Apart from that, the other striking thing about our journey was the vast array of road improvements going on. There were many lorries dumping huge piles of stones and earth ready for making the roads more resistant to the rapidly approaching wet season (many of the road networks become impassable at that time). And there were many ‘bridges’ being made – drains for the many streams that form. The particularly interesting thing about these ‘bridgeworks’ I have discovered, is that they are often undertaken by the local villagers. They get together when problems emerge and try to tackle them, often commissioned / in conjunction with local government. The work is usually all done by hand, with no special equipment or machines. A lot of hard work, sweat and toil. Image that system in the UK! It is impressive, and epitomises the character and strength of community you find here.  

Mambo View Point Lodge is one of those little gems that you sometimes find and well worth the effort of getting there. At 1800m on the very edge of the mountain range, the views are stunning and the environment delightful. As the sun went down, we even needed jumpers! In the evening, they placed a brazier of hot coals under each communal dining table to take away the chill, and a stunning meal was taken chatting to the other guests and some of the staff. It is another establishment built by overseas entrepreneurs, but the owners of this one live here. Talking to them over a glass of wine struck a chord with me as they recounted their philosophy of ‘trade, not aid’. 

Our Luxury Banda and walking out to a view point - vertiginous!

Saturday night was the first time since being here in Tanzania that I have slept in a bed without a mosquito net (too high and cold for them – I was in a tent up Kilimanjaro). In the morning, we awoke to a stunning view, looking down upon the clouds. In the far distance you could just make out the two peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro. 

It was a fabulous weekend and another opportunity to recharge the batteries ready for the next week of work.

Another contender on our journey home.

Yes that is a massive satellite disk on the back of a motorcycle!