Southern/East African Trip 2019

Day 24 & 25 – 2 nd & 3 rd July 2019 We had been told that the East Usambara Mountain range was magical, and now it was time to see so for ourselves. Our plans had been to stay at Emau Hill, but once we had made the 30 km journey up the mountain, we had decided that we were going no further!  From the town at the base of the mountain, the first thirteen km’s were not too bad, but it took us at least two hours to do the last 17 km’s.   It was one of the hairiest road trips I have ever taken – ten thousand times worse than Sani Pass from Himeville to Lesotho (for those of you who can relate)! The people at Amani, like every Tanzanian we had come across, were ever so welcoming.   As we were the only campers there, they suggested that we camp at the Resthouse area.   This was a double bonus as we could use electricity as well as the bathroom of one of the cottages; and all the birding trails start at the Resthouse.  We were ready to do some serious birdin

Peponi is really off the beaten track, and for a resort, terribly unspoilt.   We were pleasantly surprised that the campsites had electricity.  We did nothing other than relax for the three days! Peponi Beach When the tide was low, like Zanizibar’s East Coast, the water ebbs for miles. We enjoyed huge bon fires after dinner at the campsite and also bought a big fish (we think a yellow tail) and a much smaller bottom feeder which sort of looks like a grunter, off a local fisherman.  They were prepared on the braai with lovely roasted vegetables and sweet potatoes that we had bought along the road.  Delicious! As there were only 4 vehicles camping, we got to meet the other two couples – the first a young couple from north London, Gabby and Fred, who were on a six-month belated honeymoon that started in Sri Lanka, followed by India and now Africa for the remaining 4 months.  They joined us around the camp fire one evening. The second couple were South Africans from

Day 21 – 29 th June 2019 We headed back to Iringa and from there traversed the Udzungwa Mountains toward Mikumi.   Although we were in a long train of trucks, doing not even 10km’s per hour, the drive was spectacular!    Baboons were dotted all along the pass, running besides the trucks begging for food.   Clearly, they are regularly fed by truckers.   This is really sad, as quite a few of the baboons are killed by vehicles because of this.   No sooner were we through the pass when we encountered the baobab forest at Mbuyeni.   T he Morogoro Province must have the largest concentration of baobabs in the world! We arrived at Tan Swiss around 16h00.   One of the Lodge Staff offered to go into Mikumi with Peter to show him where to shop for the supplies we needed.   After a very disappointing dinner at the Lodge, we retired to bed as we had a very long journey ahead of us the next day to Peponi Beach Resort, situated between Pangani and Tanga on the north coast of Tan