Home » Malawi Tanzania » Cycle to the Summit Part 17 - Dar es Salaam to Lilongwe

Highlights of the Dar to Lilongwe stretch of Cycle to the Summit have included some super cycling and World Cup football action. We cycled through Mikumi National Park where we saw elephant, giraffe, zebra and buffalo, before crossing into Malawi to see first hand the famine situation that is featuring in the UK press. We also learned about the increasing problems associated with the AIDS epidemic. We are currently enjoying the hospitality and company of our friend Sutapa in Lilongwe. Over the next few days we will visit WaterAid and plan for the final stages of our journey to the Earth Summit in Johannesburg.

Cycle to the Summit Part 17 - Dar es Salaam to Lilongwe

Toby Hammond
2006-06-25 20:12:13

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with Huzuni who told me that one basket of tomatoes (about 50kg) sells here for 8000TS ($8), while it would sell for 20 000TS in Dar, 450km away. We spent the night in a hotel that had been converted from an old hospital. However, we were in no doubt that it had once been a hospital judging by the disinfectant smell and the plasters that were being used to patch up the holes in our mossie nets.

4th June 2002 - Iringa to Kisolanza Farm - 59km

We spent the morning in Iringa catching up with emails and updating the website. I went to the war cemetery and walked around the headstones reflecting on the waste of life that war is. Most headstones were in memory of young men in their early 20's. We set off late afternoon and passed schoolchildren walking along the road, knawing on sugarcane to pass the time as they walked home. We had seen many of them the previous day apparently close to their school, some 7km away. We stopped for refreshments and while we all quenched our thirst with a soft drink, Toby sampled some local bhang juice - made from fermented sugar cane. As lovely as it was (?) and wanting to get to Kisolanza Farm campsite before dark, he gave the remainder to a local enthusiast and we pedalled off. Kisolanza farmhouse, nestled amongst huge trees and well-kept gardens seems like an idyllic setting for all sorts of travellers, whether to camp or stay in one of the adjoining cottages and is certainly worth a stay if you ever pass that way.

5th June 2002 - Kisolanza Farm to Nyororo - 70km

Warm, freshly baked bread from the farmhouse made a great start to the day given that it was so cold. We set off wearing jumpers - the first time we had delved in our bags for our warmer gear in ages. We cycled through Sao Hill National Forest Plantation and breathed in the lovely smell of timber being harvested. After a late lunch, we weren't back on our bikes for long before we discovered a series of deep ...