Day 7: Kapishya Hot Springs to Utengule Coffee Lodge, Tanzania (402Km and 11hours)

We left Kapishya after two days of lazing around and relaxing, wishing we had more time to spend at this wonderful place. We packed up and departed early in the morning, setting off at 06:00. This would likely be one of our longest days on the road. We drove back through the beautiful nature reserve and turned onto the Great North Road once again, preparing ourselves for the roads and traffic that lay ahead. The section towards the Zambia and Tanzania border is probably the worst stretch of road I have ever traveled on. The horrible thought that we must come back on the same road enters my mind. Perhaps we can find an alternative route for the way back?

On the Zambian side, the primary mode of transport is Chinese motorbikes, which are used to transport just about anything you can think of.

I obtained the contact number of a customs agent for the Tunduma border post from the 4×4 community forum, recommended by other overlanders. We reached out to him a couple of hours before arriving at the border, and he assured us that he would be there to assist.

As we arrived in the hustle and bustle of Nakonde, the town just before the border post, we made a quick stop to buy some fresh bread. Then, we proceeded to enter the border post. Driving in, just as he had mentioned, we spotted a man waving at us with a huge smile on his face. Could this be Emmanuel? Fortunately, I doubted he could miss us, considering we were the only two kitted-out overland vehicles and the only foreigners around.

We negotiated and agreed on a price, and he directed us to a parking spot. Let’s do this.

I wonder if the Landy is pulling the tractor, or if the tractor is pushing the Landy?

We handed over our TIP (Temporary Import Permits) from Zambia to the official. Before giving them up, we took pictures, just in case! We proceeded to the first checkpoint and were then directed to Port Health upstairs. This was a bit odd because Tanzania is a country that never really recognized COVID and lockdown restrictions, and most countries no longer require vaccination certificates or rapid tests.

At the Port Health office, they asked for vaccination certificates or COVID tests and offered to conduct a rapid test at an astronomical cost. They also wanted to charge us $50 to sanitize our vehicles. What a joke! Buses, trucks, taxis, and bikes passed through with no testing or vehicle sanitization. We soon realized that this was only for foreigners, a dodgy money-making scheme concocted by some corrupt border officials.

I asked the official to show us the government gazette indicating that passenger vehicles must be sanitized, and I also asked Emmanuel, who had returned from passport control, to assist us. They showed me a gazette outlining standard procedures for arriving by plane or boat, where they spray aerosol cans in the cabin before landing, but there was nothing about passenger vehicles. We refused to pay based on this, and after Emmanuel also spoke to them, they became so embarrassed for trying to con us that they agreed to sanitize our vehicles free of charge.

After the ridiculous sanitation process, where they took wet wipes with sanitizer and wiped our door handles and steering wheels, we proceeded to the next step. Emmanuel handled everything for us, and after our passports were stamped, they wanted to inspect our vehicles. The official asked us to take all our suitcases to be x-rayed, and upon opening our canopies, he quickly realized it was easier said than done. Emmanuel talked to him, and he agreed that we didn’t have to do it.

We continued to the permits and payment area, and Emmanuel queued and managed all of that while we waited outside the building. He came back every now and then, giving us hope by saying, ‘Almost done.’ Three hours later, at 14:30, we were finally cleared to go. African borders are not for the faint-hearted! Emmanuel showed the permits and documents to the border officials and instructed us to drive through and wait at the first garage to settle his payment. It cost us about $80 per vehicle, including Emmanuel’s fees.

As we drove through the gate, it was mind-blowing how different it looked and felt on this side compared to 100 meters back on the Zambian side. Tuk-tuks, bicycles, and bikes were everywhere. We met up with Emmanuel, settled with him, and continued on our journey.

We were amazed at the differences between the two countries. The houses all had sharply pitched corrugated roofs, and there were no flat roofs to be seen anywhere. We continued driving towards Mbeya and once again encountered our biggest nemesis: traffic. We passed some very slow-moving trucks on a mountain pass. Although it was on a solid white line, there was no oncoming traffic, and there were no cops around (or so we thought). Everyone else on the road was doing the same thing.

Half an hour later, as we were driving into the next town, we spotted a neatly dressed Police/Traffic officer in an all-white uniform waving his hand and signaling us to pull over. He politely greeted us and explained that he had stopped us because we had overtaken a truck on a solid line. No way! How was that possible? I asked him for proof, and he took out his phone and showed me a video that someone had obviously recorded on their cell phone from another truck and sent it to him via WhatsApp. Really?

He provided us with the fine amount for our infringement, and I asked him if we could pay by card (he had a card machine hanging around his neck). He insisted on cash only. I explained that we had just arrived in Tanzania and hadn’t exchanged any money yet, and we had no cash. To our surprise, he let us go with a warning. What a day! Luckily, we dodged that bullet that we certainly did not expect at all.

After a long day, we arrived at Utengule Coffee Lodge at 16:30. The lodge is perched on a hill overlooking the escarpment, and the campsite is located on the helipad (a flat area below the restaurant).

What a delightful place with so much character! We promptly set up camp, and we all reached a consensus that after such a long day, we deserved a meal in their restaurant. We savored a delightful meal while watching the sun set.

Day 8: Utengule Coffee Lodge (Mbeya) to Old Farm House (Kisolanza), near Iringa (300Km)

We woke up a bit later that morning after the long day we had the previous day. We packed up and, following a hearty breakfast in the restaurant (with plenty of fresh coffee produced at the farm), we bid farewell to Utengule. While we would have liked to stay another day, we were also eager to leave civilization behind and head to our first national park.

Before hitting the road, the Barista gave Ewert Jnr a chance to use his machine, and he treated us to one final cappuccino.

It took us nearly two hours to navigate through Mbeya. What a bustling place! You really have to stay focused to avoid the tuk-tuks and all the other traffic.

We head for Kisolanza where we will overnight at Old Farmhouse.

We arrived at the Old Farm House, set up camp, and took a stroll to explore the restaurant nestled within the ruins of an old farmhouse.

We had initially planned to dine in the restaurant but opted for a late afternoon snack board and a braai instead.

Day 9: Old Farm House to Ruaha National Park (121Km)

Tanzanian National Parks operate on a 24-hour system. This means that if you enter the park at 9 am in the morning, you have to exit on the same day before 9 am otherwise, you will be charged for a full day again. We left the old farmhouse at 8 am so that we could enter Ruaha at midday, giving us two full days in the park. Just before we turned off to Ruaha, we stopped at a small village by the side of the road to stock up on some cold drinks and fresh produce.

Melody and I crossed the road for shopping, and I also looked for some charcoal. During our exploration, we came across an elderly lady making something similar to “Indian Roti” using a traditional stone plate with charcoal. We asked her what it was called, and she said, “Chapati.” Well, when in Rome, we decided to order a few to try later during a lunch stop. As we turned off towards Ruaha, we came across another village. I managed to find a small quantity of charcoal, as the bags they were selling on the side of the road seemed like they would last for months

The drive to Ruaha is spectacular, and it’s so nice to be on a gravel road. We stop to deflate our tires to 1.8 bar. Along the way, we come across a beautiful Catholic church in the middle of nowhere.

We reached the entrance gate at 11:20 and proceeded to reception for check-in. Tanzania Parks has an online booking system, and I managed to pre-book and pay for all our campsites and park fees a few months in advance. The only thing I couldn’t pay was our vehicle fees. The lady at reception retrieved our booking from the system but informed us that the vehicle fees had not yet been paid. She then inspected our vehicles to determine their weight. The moment of truth arrived: were we going to have to pay the astronomical $150 per day per vehicle for foreign-registered vehicles weighing above 2001 kg, or would it be the $40 fee? Unfortunately, there was no such luck, and we were charged the higher rate of $150. Our vehicles are now registered in the system, so we will be paying this rate in all the parks. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but it is what it is. We drove into the park and stopped again to deflate our tires because the corrugations on the road were really bad (1.5 bar). We crossed a bridge with some hippos and crocs below and continued our drive into the park.

On our way into Ruaha, we couldn’t find any firewood. The ranger at the gate mentioned that we could find some at the Park Headquarters. I asked the ranger there if we could perhaps purchase some wood, but he explained that they do not sell firewood in the park, and we were supposed to bring in our firewood. However, he offered to help us by taking some wood to our campsite. What a nice gesture. We then took a drive to check out the different public campsites since there were no other people booked for camping in Ruaha. After considering our options, we decided to stay at our originally booked campsite overlooking the Ruaha River. For lunch, we made some wraps using the chapati we had purchased in the morning. Wow! Chapati is amazing.

After lunch, Cristel quickly rinsed some of our laundry that we had ‘washed’ in our Scrubba bags on the way here. The Scrubba bag is by far the best 4×4 washing machine! We hung the clothes inside the enclosed dining area at our campsite, which is probably intended for tourists from abroad who are afraid to have dinner in the open.

We decided to embark on a late afternoon game drive. Ruaha is very dry, hot, and humid during this time of the year. We found that most of the wildlife were scattered along the ‘River of Life,’ where there was abundant green vegetation and some patches of water.

We were fortunate enough to spot a lioness, all by herself. We followed her as she crossed the road and then disappeared into the bush.

While on our game drive, we noticed a road leading up a koppie/mountain. This road appeared to lead to a cell phone tower, and Anton, who loves exploring less-traveled roads, decided to investigate. We decided that he should go and check it out first, then let us know if the road was passable before we attempted it. We didn’t want both of our vehicles getting into a predicament. The adventure had only just begun!

When they were about halfway up, Anton called us on the radio and informed us that the road was very steep and narrow, with no space to turn around. He strongly advised against following and attempting it. We then lost radio contact with them, and we started to get really worried. About an hour later, they managed to find a spot to turn around. Shortly after that, they called us on the radio to let us know that they were safe and on their way back down safely.

When they returned, we decided to head back to the campsite as a major storm was brewing from all directions. We reached the campsite and only experienced a few drops of rain, allowing us to enjoy the beautiful sunset while setting up camp.

While we sat around the campfire, we received a visitor—an African Genet—curious to see what it could find for food.

Day 10: Ruaha National Park

We woke up and decided to make breakfast somewhere along the river, enjoying some good sightings along the riverbed. After breakfast, we continued with our game drive. We stopped at a viewpoint along the river and witnessed a warthog running away from a lioness that was right under our noses. She crossed the riverbed and disappeared. Could this be the same lion that we saw yesterday? I grabbed the binoculars, scanned the river, and noticed that there were more lions and cubs resting on the other side under a tree.

We turned around, retraced our path, and crossed over the riverbed in search of them, hoping to find a road that would offer us a better view. After going back and forth, we eventually located some tracks that hadn’t been used in a long time and decided to give them a try. Bingo!

We managed to reach them and observed from a distance as they left the tree and moved into a donga to get away from these visitors who had come all the way from Gauteng to see them.

What an amazing day in Ruaha, with its magical baobabs. Just as we arrived at our campsite, a tour operator pulled in with a Land Cruiser packed with people and camping gear. Hopefully, they won’t be too loud and spoil our night. We got our fire started, and shortly after their arrival, they left for dinner at the headquarters’ dining hall. We spent the night around the fire, enjoying a lekker braai. They only returned later and went straight to bed.

We couldn’t help but think and talk about how fortunate we are to live in Africa with our heritage and culture. People pay huge amounts of money to come here and often miss out on experiencing sitting next to a fire with meat on a braai, in the middle of the wilderness. It’s truly priceless. The bitter pill of the $150 vehicle fee is soon forgotten.