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16th december - 27th december

Overlanding across Afica in our Land Rover Defender: Tanzania

Andy Lees
2006-05-16 13:31:11

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drew closer the clouds parted and the mountain rose higher, its glaciers now visible, spilling down from the peak. we could understand why people wanted to climb it. suddenly we wanted to climb it. but not this time, we wanted the beach for christmas, not freezing cold, blisters, crappy food, aching limbs and not a drink in sight.

the drive was long and hot and draining. we were stopped by police with a radar gun on a dubious charge of speeding. the officer was very keen on fining us, but lost enthusiasm after a protracted debate and the relisation that i wasn't a resident in tanzania.

after twelve hours on the road, we'd covered the 430 miles to dar es salaam and managed to locate the silver sands beachside campsite. the campsite was fine, but we were a little disappointed. it wasn't what we'd envisaged. in short, it wasn't tiwi beach - the campsite whose charms had captivated us for three whole weeks was only about 100 miles north or us. having seen a sign for another backpackers on our way up the coast, we decided to get back in the car and check it out.

the signs led us through the backstreets between the beach road and coast. we were about to give up when the revs suddenly picked up and we came to a halt. the wheels were spinning and we were stuck in some deep silty mud. i couldn't believe it. after all those muddy tracks and river crossings i'd been caught by surprise on a suburban street, pootling along, not even looking at the road, but scanning the houses for hostel signs.

in seconds people surrounded the car, crowding the windows. those genuinely offering help were drowned out by the sneering demands - "give us money!". it was an uncomfortable situation, it wasn't a good area and the sun was setting, it was christmas eve and the absurdity of the situation was infuriating. fueled by the fatigue of the long drive, i was angry enough to be oblivious of the crowd. i threw the sand-ladders down from the roof-rack, jammed them under the rear wheels and revved us out of the mud. the disappointed crowd dispersed as quickly as they'd arrived. leaving us to make our way back to silver sands where we'd now be quite content to spend the night.

the camp sight looked better in the morning sun and we spent a pleasant and relaxing christmas day doing very little. for breakfast we enjoyed chicken frankfurters with our eggs; the closest thing to bacon the predominantly muslim area could supply. christmas dinner was fish, fresh from the sea, gutted and cooked by ourselves. there were no presents, but we gladly accepted some delicious christmas cake from a south african doctor, travelling north with his son. in the end, we enjoyed it so much we stayed for boxing day too.

dar es salam to malawi - 27th december

leaving dar es salaam, we needed to traverse the width of the country once more in order to reach malawi, where we hoped to spend new year. it would be two more days of long drives, broken by a night at a farm in iringa, the half way point. the roads were good, and the driving went smoothly. we passed through the alien regularity of vast plantations, watched elephants beside the road through national parks and criss crossed rivers through picturesque valleys. in the lowlands we sweltered in the tropical heat before the land began to rise and the air quickly cooled. by the time we reached the malawian border it was raining, pelting down in fact. we would leave tanzania as we'd entered, in the midst of a deluge.