Tanzania

Bongo Camp - Iringa - Ruaha - Iringa - Bagamoyo - Lushoto - Kilimanjaro - Dar Es Salaam - Zanzibar - Kilwa

Africa is burning, but help is on the way.

First we had Bobby Geldof, then we had Bono trying to save Africa.  Now we have every American that sets his foot on this continent, believing that they can do the same.  The difference is that these self-interested do-gooders, who have only realized where Africa is on the global map, want to refurbish the whole of Africa – ala American style.  So what do they do ?  They pay a fortune to a volunteer company  in America, so they can come out here & save the dying.  They each pay an amount equivalent to what 5 small schools or a small hospital would cost.  Mother Teresa did it the hard way.  We see them  driving around in the biggest flashiest SUVs that money can buy & having a holiday of a life time. Staying in the most luxurious accommodation & spending the equivalent of what an average African earns in a year on a boozy lunch. They say that $6 out of $10 goes to the people organizing these programs, the remainder goes to pay for some elites gold bathroom fittings & the starving kids still have flies in their eyes. Then they go back home & the only thing they have done, is create a lot of paper-work. They now know where Africa is, but still have no clue what it is about & Africans are no better off.

So where am I going with this story ?  Well firstly, I have to set the scene.  We were camping in Rauha National  Park in Southern Tanzania.  This is not Serengeti  or Ngorogoro crater, where the tourists outnumber the mosquito by 10 to 1.  This off the beaten track – 110 km’s off to be precise, of rough corrugated 4x4 dirt roads.  Here the lions don’t roar for the camera & when you  come upon a great sighting, the chances are that you will have it to yourselves.  No Germans in khaki or stadium seated safari vehicles photo bombing your pictures.  We stayed at Public campsite No. 1.  There is only one camp site,  they haven’t got around to building No. 2.  It is on the banks of the Rauha River & what an idyllic spot.  Below our camp was a raft of hippos  burping & grunting in the muddy river.  There was only one other vehicle and they were friendly & camping at a bend in the river behind some trees, so it was as if we had the place to ourselves.  There are no fences & the Eliies often cross over to wonder through the camp.  At night we would  hear the lions roaring on the other side & the laughing hyenas reminded us that this was rough camping at its best.  Later that afternoon, some dark clouds had started to build up on the horizon, but it was all piss and wind like the barbers cat.  A light sprinkling & it cleared up into a magnificent sunset.

 At about 7pm, we had just eaten dinner, cracked open our first Kilimanjaro Beer & lit the fire, when we heard a vehicle racing towards the camp.  At first I thought it was one of the rangers, as you were supposed to be in camp by 6 & the speed limit is 50.  A kitted green Land rover came roaring past in a cloud of dust & proceeded to the next camp site about 300m away.  We couldn’t see them, but I heard them do 3 high speed circuits around their camp before opening, then slamming their doors & noisily setting up camp.  Ten minutes later we heard what sounded like the packing up of camp, more slamming of doors & the landy raced towards our camp again.  As an after-thought, it abruptly stopped.  A well fed bloke jumped out & strode towards us.  When he saw me, he stopped and shouted  “Are you going to have that fire burning all night ?” in a nasal American  twang.  Not the traditional African greeting of“ Good evening”, “Hullo”, “Howzit” or “Jumbo”, but “Are you going to have that fire burning all night ?” 

Now how does one reply when being thrown such an unexpected question ?   “ Yes, we are trying to keep the lions from marauding our camp ?” or  “ No!  We are using it for lighting so we can climb into our tent – Just give us a couple of secs ?”

“Well not all night” I replied honestly & waited for a reply.

“ Your smoke is coming into our camp” he said. 

Unbelievably in Africa, smoke does tends to drift downwind,  as I am convinced it does in the rest of the world.  We had set up camp hours before they arrived & I hadn’t realised they owned the camp like they do the rest of the world.  Their camp was 300m away, surrounded by bush.  The fire was a small atmosphere fire, for Lynda & myself.  What smoke did manage to reach them, would have smelt like an angel farting in the wind to most Africans.

“Yesss ……and the problem is ????”

“I hate to see Africa burn!!!” he said & stormed off in search our another campsite upwind & beyond the other campers.

All was quite for a while between Lynda & myself, then we began to laugh at the absurdity of the whole situation.  They want to be in Africa, but they don’t won’t Africa to be in them.

Later that night, he came around again, but this time not to throw us some more trivial pursuit questions, but to apologize.  “I’m not used to public campsites “ was his excuse for his rude and obnoxious behavior.

 

Well that explains that & thanks for gracing us with your presence my honorable friend.  I am sure you are doing admirable things by just being here.  We should all be eternally grateful & may you continue to save Africa on your terms. Sorry you have to mingle with us public plebs. I just hope the real Africa doesn’t get too close and taint you.

Lynda asked him if he had had a bad day.  “No” he said, he had had quite a good day.  Well thanks for trying to spoil ours, but I am sure you don’t care.  Just like you don’t really care about Africa.  It is all about you & what you can brag about to your friends and family.

“Being born in Africa is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

PS .  Later that night the wind changed to the opposite direction & the friendly campers braaied till 11 that night.  Africa belongs to nobody & no one said it would be easy

 Firefly - Bagamoyo

 Firefly - Bagamoyo

 Fishermen & Dhows - Bagamoyo

 Fishermen & Dhows - Bagamoyo

 Dhows - Bagamoyo

 Bagamoyo

 Fishermen - Bagamoyo

 Bagamoyo

 Sunrise at fishing village - Bagamoyo

Zanzibarian Door - Bagamoyo

 Bagamoyo

 Bagamoyo

Fishing village - Bagamoyo

Lushoto - Usambara Mountains 

Lushoto - Usambara Mountains

 Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro

Campsite Report

Farm House - Iringa

Cost  -   R 75 pp             No. of days Stayed  - 3       |  Wi-Fi  - Yes - free   |       Electricity Point  - Yes

 Reason for staying: Stop over

Attraction: Iringa

Rating:  8/10

Comments :  Great place to stop over.  Has everything a camper might need. Value for money.

Rob & Angie Allanby & their 2 sons@ Iringa Farm House.  We ket on bumping into them from Malawi to Tanzania.

Chogela campsite

Cost  -   R 115 pp             No. of days Stayed  -  1      |  Wi-Fi  - No   |       Electricity Point  - No

 Reason for staying: Just outside Ruaha National Park

Attraction: : Ruaha National Park

Rating:  7/10

Comments :  Not a bad campsite.  We had a look at another one close by & this was definitely the best option.  Lots of space under large shaded trees on a sandy, but clean ground.   Ablutions were a bit tired.  I do think they are over charging & capitalizing on the Ruaha National Parks expensive camping fees, which are 3 times the cost. 

Chogela Campsite

Ruaha National Park campsite

Cost  -   R 920 pp including car fees & entry fee for 24 hrs            No. of days Stayed  - 1      |

 Wi-Fi  - No   |       Electricity Point  - No

 Reason for staying: Ruaha National Park

Attraction: : Ruaha National Park

Rating:  10/10

Comments :  Absolutely loved this place.  Rough camping at its best.  No electricity.  No Wi-Fi.  No fences & right  on the banks of the Ruaha River.  Lions roaring & hyenas laughing on the far bank.  Hippos grunting in a pool below & ellies wondering through the camp – what more could you ask for.  Just one thing.  Please lower your rates for South Africans & SADC countries.  We don’t earn dollars or euro’s.  Would have definitely stayed longer if the cost wasn’t so exorbitant & out of our budget.  Having said that, it is one of the cheaper parks in Tanzania to visit.  You don’t get the crowds or German tourist photo bombing your pictures, in fact if you came upon a great sighting, you would probably be the only ones there.  Not teaming with wild life, but I suppose we are spoilt with that down South. Definitely a great place to visit & highly recommended.

Ruaha Campsite

River-side campsite

Cost  -   R 115 pp             No. of days Stayed  - 2      |  Wi-Fi  - Suppose to be   |       Electricity Point  - Not really

 Reason for staying: Stop over from Ruaha National Park

Attraction: : None

Rating:  5/10

Comments :  This place has definitely lost its mojo.

Tan\Swiss campsite

Cost  -   R 115 pp             No. of days Stayed  -  1      |  Wi-Fi  - Yes - free   |       Electricity Point  - Yes

 Reason for staying: Convenient stop over on the way North or South

Attraction: : Mikumi National Park

Rating:  6/10

Comments :  Nothing special about the campsite, but it was functional as a stopover point.  In its favour it had fast & free Wi-Fi & a swimming pool.

Firefly - Bagamoyo

Cost  -   R 60 pp             No. of days Stayed  -  5      |  Wi-Fi  - Not yet   |       Electricity Point  - No

 Reason for staying: Coastal Town

Attraction: The old Town ( think smaller version of Stone Town – Zanzibar)

Rating:  10/10

Comments :   This was a hidden gem that one always hopes of finding when travelling.  They hadn’t quite finished with the campsite when we arrived, but they were kind enough to let us camp and use all the facilities.  We were told that the campsite would be ready in the new year.  The main house & accommodation is a large, airy Swahili mansion, which the owner had taken 2 years to repair &  renovate.  There is a large round swimming pool in the courtyard surrounded by palm trees.  There are scatter cushions and lounging seats which gives the place a very Bohemian/Zanzibarian feel about it.  Moroccan lamps are hung up in intimate alcoves.  The camping area is a large grassy area with a few trees & extends down to the beach.  A high palm woven fence surrounds the property.  The old town of Bagamoyo deserves a mention, this was one of my favorite towns on the mainland. Loved this place.

Firefly - Bagamayo

Irente Biodiversity Lodge & camping - Lushoto

Cost  -   R 70 pp             No. of days Stayed  -  2      |  Wi-Fi  - No   |       Electricity Point  - No

 Reason for staying: Usambara Mountains & cool climate

Attraction: hiking the Usambara mountains

Rating:  7/10

Comments : The cool and lofty heights of Usambara mountains are a great relief from the dry, hot & dusty plains below.  The small campsite is on a working farm & you can buy homemade jams, butter & some of the best cheeses I’ve tasted.

Views from the top of Usambara Mountains - a short walk from the campsite

Coffee Tree Campsite - Marangu

Cost  -   R 290 for a bungalow with veranda             No. of days Stayed  - 4       |  Wi-Fi  - No   |       Electricity Point  - No

 Reason for staying: Mount Kilimanjaro – spent Xmas here

Attraction : Mount Kilimanjaro

Rating:  8/10

Comments :  Even though they are called a campsite, it is not really a campsite, you just pitch your tent on a small lawn in front of the bungalows.  But why camp here when you can use their small but clean bungalows at a very reasonable rate.  Value for money.

A short walk takes you to these views of Mount Kilimanjaro

Peponi - Pangani

Cost  -   R 102 pp             No. of days Stayed  -  6      |  Wi-Fi  - Yes - expensive   |       Electricity Point  - Yes

 Reason for staying: Beach & new years

Attraction: : Beach

Rating:  10/10

Comments :  This destination campsite came highly recommended & it didn’t disappoint.  The campsite is right next to the beach in prime position.  With a lot of places Tanzania that offer camping, you are relegated to the back of the property as an after- thought.  But not at Peponi.  There is a swimming pool, 2 bars & they have amazing seafood platters& food in the restaurant at very reasonable prices.  My only complaint was the Wi-Fi, which was ludicrously expensive & inexplicably chewed up your gigs at an alarming rate.  We were told  by management this was unique to us, but after speaking to a few campers found this was a common complaint.  Tip Next door to Peponi is Capricorn Resort.  They have a delicatessen & make fresh bread every day (9am) – they also have free Wi- Fi.

Peponi Campsite

Makardi – Kigamboni ( Dar Es Salaam)

Cost  -   R 80 pp             No. of days Stayed  -  4      |  Wi-Fi  - Yes    |       Electricity Point  - Yes

 Reason for staying: Convenient starting point to get to Zanzibar

Attraction: : Dar Es Salaam & the beaches

Rating:  8/10

Comments :  This popular campsite has a bit of a Train Station feel about it, with lots of people coming and going.  A lot of people use this as a base for getting to Zanzibar.  You can leave your vehicle here for R 50 a day, while visiting Zanzibar.  There is a swimming pool & lively bar & restaurant.  It is on the South Side of the river.  They organize Tuk-Tuks when going to the ferry. 

Makardi Beach. The campsite is behind the cottages

Msemo Hotel  ( Southern Cross Hotel) - Mtwara

Cost  -   R 80 pp   |             No. of days Stayed  -  1   |           Wi-Fi  - Yes – Suppose to have   |     

 Electricity Point  - No

 Reason for staying: Border crossing into Moz

Attraction: : Border Town

Rating:  7/10

Comments :  A lot of expats working on the gas fields use this Hotel & its bar and restaurant is quite popular.  Great sea front position.  They allow camping, but it is very basic.  You use the restaurant toilet & there is an outdoor shower that exposes you to any-one walking past.  Not bad for a border town stop-over

At Msemo Hotel, they allowed us to camp on the lawn