Day 18: Mon 17th Feb: Chitimba to Mbeya, Tanzania - odo at Chitimba 5166km.

It's 270km to Mbeya where the Doddle needs its Toyota Book of Life updating with a major service - I am not looking forward to this bill (Prisoner of Mbeya Toyota). Anyway, we first have to say goodbye to Lake Malawi (getting quite fond of it actually) and then cross the Malawi Tanzania border which proves lengthy but quite easy. A black mamba tries to hitch a ride on the Doddle but is spotted and killed by the border guards (or so they say!) Lyn thinks the snake may have been a plant as the border guard then asked for my bicycle as payment for "saving us from the snake"!

Politics are alive and well in Malawi with signs like "Did you know that bad leaders are voted into power by people who voted!" Perhaps a message in there for South Africa? The signage that disturbed us the most was "Stop Child Trafficking" which was posted in most villages.

Dave and I eventually get a COMESA insurance that should last us the rest of the trip (instead of having to pay road tax at every border crossing).

At the first Tanzania road-block (about 10km from the border) I am asked to show my fire extinguisher and THREE triangles - ha,ha, I'm ready!

Day 19: Tues 18th Utungule Coffee Lodge, Mbeya - odo 5490km travelled.

The Lodge is a little gem and could star in an "Out of Africa" movie. We book a room and have dinner and breakfast at the lodge. Karlien has arranged for us to have a tour of the Coffee plantation first thing before breakfast and it is exceptionally interesting. The Zimbabwean assistant manager takes us around and explains the process and he is very informative. He studied at Fort Hare University in South Africa and in explaining his frustration with his Tanzanian workers, it is amusing that he seems to have more in common with us White South Africans than he does with them! He studied agronomy in SA and then could not find a job and of course could also not find a job in Zimbabwe so he ended up in Tanzania and has learnt a great deal about coffee. Once he has gained enough experience, he hopes to return to work in SA.

His opinion is that the Tanzanian government do not support and incentivise teachers enough to do a good job and therefore the standard of education is not good. He believes that translates into a 'bad attitude' amongst Tanzanians who take no pride in their work and simply want to get it done as quickly as possible so that they can earn some money. From our observation it seems a far more consumer-based economy than Malawi, where there are many small shops selling all kinds of things. The people are smartly-dressed and there are far more motor-bikes in Tanzania than in Malawi. The Malawians still barter a great deal and don't seem to be profit-driven.

Whenever we stop for fuel people ask if we are "on safari" - I suppose we are. The universal language on the road in Tanzania is "toot-toot" = thank you; left indicator on = you can overtake the vehicle; right indicator on = don't overtake there's an oncoming vehicle. Exactly opposite to what the drivers do in Malawi, so that takes a bit of getting used to for Simon.

We travel through the Sasa Ngoya region with plantations of eucalyptus on the left and pine on the right. There are huge plantations here and huge truck hauling wood all over the place. Signs declare "Safari Njema" which means "travel safely". We see many trucks that have had accidents and many abandoned wrecks at the side of the road so I reckon the accident rate is pretty high.

We stay at a room at the Old Farm House in Kisolanza. I go for a long bike ride round the farm and find a group of what I think are Maasai men - but because they are wearing purple (and not red) they are not Maasai (apparently if the Maasai catch others wearing their red there will be serious trouble). The farm is productive and has a well where we fill up the drinking water containers (will report later if this water was actually potable).

Day 20: Wed 19th Feb: Kisolanza to Ruaha National Park

On our way to Ruaha we visit the Isimila Stone Age site which was apparently a lake thousands of years ago. Erosion has left many towers of sandstone underlain by "cap-rock" (looked like granite) from the lake bed and has uncovered many stone-age weapons and implements. We have a guide to take us around the site and have a look in the little museum that they have established.

Ruaha National Park is impressive and we spot many animals as we drive around trying to find the camp sites. To say they are basic is an understatement and we end up sharing a site with about four other camper-vans and a team who are building something (hopefully another ablution block!) The one shower and one toilet are filthy but the builders try to clean them up as best they can. The road into the park is tortuous at times and it takes 160km of gruelling dirt and potholes to get there - unsurprising that it is little visited (although its proximity to Serengeti / Ngorogoro also helps).

We park on a hippo path adjacent the river in the belief that they won't use it if we are there and that proves to be true. The 'camp site' has no perimeter fence so we keep an eye on the elephant which are nearby and of course the hippo who make a lot of noise about us being in the way. The lions we hear in the distance fortunately do not come anywhere near the camp. We wake up the following morning to pouring rain and have to pack up in the rain - not fun! We then get bogged down trying to leave camp (about 10m from where we parked!) and get the 'Kak Move the Day!' award from our fellow-travellers. The muddy road out is an education and an obnoxious (trumpeting ears flailing) young bull elephant on the way out is an exciting exit.

Day 21: Thurs 20th Feb: Ruaha to Dodoma, Tanzania

The road to Dodoma is horrific. Simon's driving skills are really put to the test but we find our way around all the trucks and buses that are stuck in the mud and it is rather a thrilling drive. We pass many Baobab Trees as always and it is interesting to learn that they are in fact succulents and highly valued by Tanzanians who use the seeds as a source of vitamin C, the bark to make cloth and the holes in the trunks collect water when it rains.

We spend the night at the "New Dodoma Hotel" which looks very nice but the walls prove to have been built from biscuits and not bricks so the road noise and the noise from the neighbours is unbearable and I get very little sleep. However, it does have a clean en-suite bathroom with hot water so I'm not complaining. Dodoma is the capital city of Tanzania (Dar es Salaam is the commercial centre) but it is a very African city with lots of small shops and we cannot even find a supermarket so I'm not all that impressed. Just another city.

We notice that there seems to be more electricity distribution to the small villages and less water carrying than in Malawi, however, there appear to be less schools and certainly a lesser deal is made of school signposting than in Malawi, Zambia or notable Zimbabwe where the latter still hold the record so far with attention to education (on the surface at least).

Day 22: Fri 21st Feb: Dodoma to Karatu.

We have an interesting drive to Karatu and spend a lot of time on slow detours where the Chinese are busy on roadworks. These detours are very slow-going so we spend hours on the road and eventually get to Kudu Camp, Karaty where we will be camping for the next couple of days.

Day 23: Sat 22nd Feb: Ngorongoro Crater

We take two vehicles into the Ngorongoro Crater and our guide, Dave, stays in Kudu Camp to do some maintenance on his vehicle. The Crater is everything we ever imagined with loads of wildlife. The Tanzanians have cottoned on to this tourist attraction and we are charged $340 (USD) to drive around there for the day (two people, one vehicle). Even so, the place is packed with tourists and most are in 'game drive' vehicles so we presume they are staying in the surrounding lodges. We think it is very busy and are relieved that we are here in the 'quiet' season. High season must be unbearable! Every time there is something interesting to see like lion or elephant or rhino close to one of the roads, everyone descends on it like ants and there is much jostling amongst the vehicles to try to get the best view. The 'game drive' vehicles make the mistake of trying to muscle the Doddle out of the way and the South African comes out in Simon who successfully keeps pole position!

We find it very interesting to see the Maasai grazing their livestock in the crater (although only in the one corner). They live on the rim of the crater and are allowed to take their animals in for grazing and the conservation area co-exists with them quite successfully. We do wonder how long that will last as the Maasai strive to build up the numbers of their livestock and have really over-grazed large areas of Tanzania that we have driven through. Does not seem to be sustainable. Apparently the lions leave the Maasai cattle alone and have a healthy respect for the red-clothed men.

We have a stunning day and are rewarded by three male lion lolling in the bush next to the road on the way out.

NOTE ON FUEL CONSUMPTION: - we are currently getting nearly 10km / l and fuel cost in Tanzania is 2170 TSH/l which is about US$1.38/l or say ZAR 15/l.

Day 24: Sun 23rd Feb: Kudu Camp, Karatu

Day of rest (for some!) Actually we do a lot of re-packing and of course I need to do our washing as well (by hand - what fun!!) The sun is shining so we need to get this done. The highlight of the day is spotting one of the resident hedgehogs which run around the campsite in the dark. It is really the cutest thing and hisses and makes noises while it is rolled up in a ball to scare off its 'attacker'.