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18 December 1998

The Kingsmill's Trans-Africa Overland Trip, Part 8: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi

Geoff Kingsmill
2006-04-25 21:06:58

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officer. To our relief he looked at our passports and said that we needed to fill in a visa application form and pay US$20 per passport. Why the Tanzanian Embassy in Lusaka had said that this was not possible is anyone's guess! As usual the border proceedings were cordial, straightforward and took less than one hour. This was the first time we had to show our Yellow Fever certificate. Road tax was US$25 and the Yellow Card Insurance we purchased in Harare was accepted without question.

The road to Mbeya was very good. The countryside along the way was mountainous, green and looked beautiful. We bush camped just outside Mbeya and next day travelled to Kisolanza Farm Camp, 50km short of Iringa. This farm is owned and run by a British Couple and has been in the family for three generations. The farmhouse is a spacious stone house with thatched roof and a beautiful cottage garden. The campsite is well laid out with immaculate facilities. There is even a separate designated camping area for the overland trucks! We purchased fresh farm vegetables, meat and bread from the farmhouse.

From here it took a long day to reach Dar Es Salaam. This city is in poor condition and has little to offer, except for this beaut Internet Cafe. Last night at 10pm we picked up Dave Young from the airport. We have spent the last couple of nights at the Silver Sands Beach Resort(hovel) Campsite with six overland trucks. The whole city has a shortage of water and electricity so parts of the town including hotels have no utilities for some hours each day.

Just now as we are typing up this E-mail we met two Aussies, Luke and Mark, who purchased a Toyota Hilux in South Africa and are driving through to Kenya. We hope to spend some time travelling together in Uganda early in the new year.

Tomorrow we look forward to spending a few nights in Zanzibar, an island well known for its spice and Muslim culture. We have now spent 84 days camping in our rooftop tent. The time in Zanzibar will be our first time away from Troopie.

We have all been keeping well. We look forward to enjoying the plum pudding and custard which we have been keeping for Christmas. We wish you all a very happy and blessed Christmas and new year.

Cheers,

Geoff, Kienny and Su-lin Kingsmill