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Day 31 - Morogoro
Point of departure : Iringa
Point of arrival : Morogoro
Accommodation: New Acropol Hotel(www.newacropolhotel.biz)
Km travelled today: 305 km Cum: 7 430 km (gravel 0 kmcum 1 717 km)
Countries so far: 5/16
Where to next? Selous Game Reserve
Total number of photos taken : 8 (cum 1 362)
After confirming addresses and itinerary details of our fellow south to north travellers, John and Karen Ashton, and getting fuel, we were on our way by 09h30.
The much haunted Tanzam "Highway"… what a drive!Apart from the 80km ph maximum, slowing to 50km and 30km in towns, we also had to contend with a winding road with potholes, road works for extended sections, reconstruction of culverts and bridges and very ragged shoulders, rumble strips and significant speed humps.Then there is the traffic… taxis that make the worst of Johannesburg look quite reasonable, slow moving trucks, broken down trucks and, for some reason, buses for whom, the speed limit has no meaning.They just go!We were just pleased that one section where blasting would have closed the road for two hours, was passed before the blasting started.
Other than that, the route itself was very scenic, through valleys and gorges.The drive through the Mikumi National Park was pretty and we saw ground hornbills, elephant, impala and warthog. Marina saw… while John kept an eye open for rumble strips and humps (another favourite of Tanzanian roads).
The total 305km took us just over four and a half hours (a little quicker than we had anticipated).
We checked in at the New Acropol Hotel and what a treat - air conditioning for the first time since Sossusvlei Desert Lodge in Namibia a month ago.We met up with Bruno and Ursula and, over a couple of gin and tonics, spent a few hours chatting to them about their four years travelling through Africa.After 4 years on the road they are still not sure when they will go back to Germany and, if they will go back.
Apart from the aircon, the New Acropol Hotel is an interesting place... definitely a throwback to an earlier era despite the name, with a mixture of Arab carved doors, mock elephant heads above the entrance, other models of giraffe and monkeys, live birds in a cage, and a general sense of the grandeur of a bygone age, a little run down but nice.
The short rains seemed to have arrived in Tanzania.Both yesterday and today we experienced late afternoon/early evening downpours.
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