DAY 174. FRI 27/07. Mnazi Bay Marine Reserve, S'th of Mtwara to Quionga, Moz. 64 kms. Total 31642 kms. Andre & Annemarie Thearts. S10 35.535 E40 30.445

Left camp at around 8.30am, having arranged to meet the ferry at the Rovuma River at 12.30pm. Only about 40kms to go but still needed to go through immigration and customs at the Kilambo border control. No hassles - great border crossing and no additional costs involved, Inga did all the necessary paperwork while Rob changed money with the money changers and bought a few necessities e.g. beer, milk and cokes! Only thing is they ask you if you have contacted the ferry and they will not let you through if the ferry is not running. Only runs for about 4 days either side of spring tide i.e. full or no moon. So probably running for about 2 weeks out of every month but you should just consult a tide or moon phase chart when planning to cross and then contact the ferry man closer to the time to confirm. Arrived at the ferry (S10 31.067 E40 22.896) around mid day and it was just a case of "hurry up and wait" for the high tide at 2.30 pm to come in and the captain to arrive. In the meantime, luckily for us there were some guys selling some huge fresh prawns which Ewan promptly bartered for and got the whole lot - only 200 Meticas/about $8 for about 70 prawns! Also "employed" someone to dig a bit of the bank away to make the approach for the trailers a bit shallower as there was initially about a meter drop off from the bank to the ferry ramp. Eventually though we had the vehicles loaded and ready to go. Not as bad as we were expecting due to some of the stories we had heard. Cathey went 1st (as the guinea pig) and had a bit of a problem getting trapped on a log that was being used to ease the transition between the ramp and the bank, but after that the other vehicles went on smoothly - luckily as everyone was rather nervous! Unfortunately, once on the ferry Gerald realized on of his jerry cans had been stolen off the back of the caravan while we were waiting for the ferry so be careful! Crossing took about 30-45 mins, with only 1 engine running, briefly hitting a sand bank before spinning around to get off - getting to the opposite bank around 3.30pm. Getting off on the Mozambique side was much easier with a more permanent (less steep) sand ramp and landing site at S10 32.047 E40 23.281. About 5kms from there to the Mozambique immigrations and customs office at S10 34.177 E40 22.776 along a slow rough earth and sand road. Again a nice small quiet border post. Fees were $3 pp for us (tourism levy) and $4 for Cathey (customs charge). So only $10 all in - luckily no visa required for RSA passport holders. Just under 20 kms from here to Quionga, along a sandy track - bit of mud still after the rains and 1 water crossing - where we had a tip to stay with a SA missionary couple. Brilliant stop for us (as there is nowhere else close to the ferry to camp) camping under the tree, even with toilets and showers etc. Annamarie even gave us some fresh bread she had baked. (As is the usual with missionaries they don't charge for camping but a donation is customary) We all helped clean the prawns and Margie and Ewan cooked them on the skottel and we all feasted on a mountain of fresh prawns, still swimming earlier in the morning. Brilliant! Ps. We have since heard that the chief of the village has now put a stop to people staying over at the Thearts' which if true is a great pity for them and travelers on this route as it was the perfect stop over before or after the ferry crossing especially coming from Tanzania as the usual late afternoon ferry crossing doesn't leave you enough time to reach much further into Moz before dark.

TANZANIA COST SUMMARY:

• Diesel: 1395 - 1500 TSh/l (slightly cheaper in Dar, slightly more expensive elsewhere e.g. Lindi but average around 1400TSh/l)
• Camping: $4-$10 pp (average $5 pp; $10 is expensive! Usually advertised in US$ but you can always pay local equivalent if you prefer. Except Ruvula Sea Safari; [10 000 TSh pp/approx $8] who only charge in shillings)
• Guesthouses Zanzibar: $30 for double room per night, usually including breakfast and sometimes en-suite bathroom. (Can find slightly cheaper too at around $20-$25 per room but no less.)
• Ferry to Zanzibar: $25 pp one way slow ferry - $35 pp one way fast ferry
• Food: Shoprite well stocked and generally reasonably priced except for SA wine which is relatively expensive & some red meats.
• Visas: $50 pp obtainable at the border (+ $25 foreign vehicle permit and road tax)
• ATMs: readily available in most large towns e.g. Barclays Bank etc.
• Park Fees: Serengeti and Ngorongoro (new park fees/post 01/07/07): 50$ pp per 24 hrs; 30$ pp camping per night & $40 per vehicle. Ngorongoro Crater entrance fee $200 per vehicle per day on top of the above fees!

OTHER THOUGHTS ON TANZANIA:

We have been asked numerous times since whether it was worth taking our own vehicle through the parks in Tanzania i.e. Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Now that we have been we can probably say no - unless if you are lucky enough not to be on a budget. Serengeti on its own was probably worth it but the problem comes in being forced to pay $140 to transit the Ngorongoro Conservation Area on the way to or from Serengeti and on a terrible road too! Due to the new park fees most people are now not going down into the crater in their own vehicle, unless you have others you can share the costs with, and are either driving straight through or camping one night on the crater rim without going down, as we did. This amounts to $200 per day in each park however the only way to get value for your money in Ngorongoro, as you don't see much wildlife on the crater rim, is to pay another $200 to go down into the crater - which would make it $400 on its own for one 24 hr period. On top of this, especially in Serengeti, you are constantly under time pressure to get out in your 24 hr time limit and of course if you do see anything "big" you will be sharing it with about 20 other vehicles! So with the new park fees it has now reached the stage where you will get better value for money by doing an all inclusive safari from Arusha, which is obviously what the Tanzanian government is trying to encourage thus keeping individual vehicle numbers in the parks down. However with your own vehicle and traveling independently this goes against the grain so you would be better off skipping it. [Not that this will make a difference to tourist incomes as there are so many package tourists coming in on safari that a few less independent travelers are going to make no difference whatsoever] Anyway our favorite part of Tanzania was the coast and beaches from Peponi/Tanga, Dar, Zanzibar area down to Kilwa and Mtwara and if we had skipped the northern Arusha safari route it wouldn't have lessened our enjoyment of the country. Tanzanians are not in general exceptionally noteworthy for their friendliness and in that respect the country is a bit bland in comparison to some others. Lastly be careful about safety and crime in Arusha.

DAY 175. SAT 28/07. Quionga to Pangane Village/Beach. 301 kms. Total 31943 kms. Complex Turistico Hashim/Ashim? S11 59.963 E40 32.663

Another early wake up and 7.30am departure as we had a fair distance to cover today and weren't sure of the condition of the roads - so far Ewans's motto of "if you leave early enough you will always reach your destination no matter how bad the roads are" being very true. After saying goodbye and thanks to the Thearts's we hit the road. Another 20 kms or so of sand tracks until joining good tar road around Palma that continued all the way to Mocumboa da Praia and we made good time, with all of us pleasantly surprised at the good road. About 30 kms after Mocimboa da Praia at S11 30.614 E40 01.774 there is a junction to the left to continue south towards Pemba after which the road deteriorates significantly becoming quite badly potholed which slowed us down. Stopped along this stretch for lunch and juice along the side of the road. The road then becomes unsurfaced earth all the way to Macomia where we turned east at S12 13.783 E40 08.719 towards Mucojo. About 50 kms of good gravel road until we reached Mucojo, continued straight ahead following signs to Pangane Village down a rough tracks which eventually became a sand track through the palm trees lining the beach. Quite spectacular. After about 11kms, right at the end of the point, when you can drive no further, we reached a little piece of paradise, Hashim's, right on the beach, under palm trees. One or 2 palm shacks, open air showers and toilets, no running water or electricity, but the staff bring you paraffin lamps, fresh water, and the showers and toilet water are from tanks filled up directly from the sea. Great swimming and again fantastic sunsets. Definitely one of our favorite spots in the whole of Africa. Joined the others for a braai - great to have real South African meat - in fact the boerewors came from Rob's parents local Kenton butchery as Gerald and Maryanne also have a house there. Have to pack away your stuff at night though as they have had security problems there in the past but they do no supply guards at night who sleep next to each vehicle for a small tip.

DAY 176. SUN 29/07. Pangane Village/Beach. 0 kms. Total 31943 kms. Complex Turistico Hashim/Ashim? S11 59.963 E40 32.663

Went for a walk along the point/bay at spring low tide and watched the entire local population harvesting small shell fish (look like little snails) which they dry in the sun. Also plenty of fisherman and divers out in small dugouts and dhows. Quite a thrill to hear the fisherman singing and chanting in rhythm as they paddle back to the village at the end of a days fishing. Also spent most of the day buying seafood from the locals - ended up with about 18 crayfish and langoustines, 5 squid and a huge kingfish. We got the locals to clean and prepare some of the crayfish for dinner (rest being frozen), while we cleaned and prepared one of the huge squid for calamari rings as a starter. Rest also cleaned and frozen as steaks. Also got the locals to fillet the kingfish, which we cut up and froze for later. So a huge seafood feast cooked in the camp by Margie - calamari was a bit tough though as it was so thick but the crayfish tails were excellent. Again a brilliant sunset over the water on one side and the full moon reflecting over the water on the other made for a great evening swim.

DAY 177. MON 30/07. Pangane Village/Beach to Pemba. 288 kms. Total 32230 kms. Nacoles (Jardine?) Bush Camp. S13 00.140 E40 30.858

Again left bright and early and retraced our steps to Macomia where the others put in diesel. We just bought a few essentials: bread rolls, beer and fanta. From here it was lovely tar road all the way through to Pemba and we arrived just after lunch time again pleasantly surprised by how good the roads were. Went to check out Nacoles Bush Camp 1st which the others had been told about (left just before police check point coming into Pemba) which is on the western side of the peninsular - i.e. opposite side to Wimbe Beach. In 2 minds at 1st about the place as it was stiflingly hot but eventually decided to stay. Glad we did as it is a bit of an upmarket/luxury camp in that they provide wood and light huge camp fires at night. Also bring hot water in flasks and coffee to the camp in the afternoons. Again with great, clean, open air toilets and showers lit with paraffin lanterns at night. A bit more expensive than usual at $10 pp per night but with the little extras worth it. Had some lunch before all going into town separately to do some errands. We went to the supermarket (S12 58.028 E40 30.428) 1st to buy some supplies which was a bit disappointing - not as well stocked as we had imagined. Apparently there is a better one in town around the corner from the Standard Bank. Drew some money at Standard Bank ATM (1st ATMs in Moz) before going on a bit of a tour of Pemba. Town itself is rather dirty, dull and disappointing but Wimbe Beach along the eastern side of town is why Pemba is famous. However it is quite developed for tourism now and quite built up with 2 large resorts, casinos and apartments, but still beautiful on the beach. But we did prefer Pangane further north. Went to the well known Russels Camp and Blackfoot Bar, just to check it out and see if there were any campers we knew there and had a beer - the local 2M. Also did some trip planning after hearing from Inga's parents that they want to meet us on the way into Namibia. Quite a nice camp but a bit more suited to backpackers and overland type trucks. Put in diesel on the way back to camp and arrived to a beautiful sunset. Ate dinner with the others again - this time some of the superb kingfish fillets from Pangane. Great eating fish!

DAY 178. TUES 31/07. Pemba. 0 kms. Total 32230 kms. Nacoles (Jardine?) Bush Camp. S13 00.140 E40 30.858

A pretty low key day. Gerald went into town early to get his truck serviced otherwise the rest of us just stayed in the camp all day. Went for a bit of a walk along the beach which was a bit of an experience getting stuck in the mud of the mangrove swamps. Not a good swimming beach by any means. In the evening we watched the sun go down on the beach and took some lovely photos as with the spring high tide the water was coming right up into the camp. Later sat around the camp fire again with a few beers before another lovely braai for supper - this time with Margie's delicious homemade wors.