On the way to the border we had to stop as there were riots in the road ahead. We thought they were political but Vernon (our guide) found out they were about football of all things! It was a fairly scary experience - we were told to sit down, put our seat belts on and keep the windows shut. There were men blocking the road up front and burning tyres. The police then turned up and fired warning shots which made all the protesters scatter so that we could safely d...

A late breakfast this morning and we were on the road by just after 8.30. As we drove southwards the "highlight" of the morning was an unexpected stop in the middle of nowhere due to a flat tyre. As Vernon and Piet attended expertly to the mishap, the rest of us interacted with a few inquisitive locals who stopped by to see what was going on. Disaster averted, on we went hoping to find a shaded spot for some lunch. Unfortunately no such spot revealed itself ...

After breakfast we got in the truck and set off. We stopped on the way for a view of Lake Malawi from up high but unfortunately due to the haze it wasn't such a good view. After climbing back up the hill and another short journey in the truck we arrived at a small market town, Mzuzu. This is where everyone shopped for their fancy dress costumes for this evening's party. I was amazed by all the second hand shoes and clothes here - its obviously where all the...

Richard woke us up this morning as we overheard him saying good morning to his tent partner, Mike. Good thing too as we had slept through our alarm. With packing done and breakfast eaten (including delicious hard-boiled eggs) we were on our way at 5.30. The first two hours before sunrise were spent getting broken sleep in the truck. The rest of the morning was spent looking out at the passing Tanzanian scenery and having a few stops to use the bush camp toil...

After breakfast we got on the truck and headed to Iringa. The roads here are so bumpy and sitting at the back of the truck should have a danger warning - we both caught some air during some of the big bumps! Along the way we stopped to marvel at a huge Baobab tree which looks like an upside down tree. Legend has it that when the gods were mad they pulled the tree out of the ground and threw it back to earth, roots facing up. We also tried some of the fruit ...