Travel Diary: Rwanda

Rwanda you blew our socks off! Although we only spent 10 days in Rwanda it currently ranks as our favorite country on this journey (after Mozambique for which we just have a soft spot). Every hour of every single day something impressed us, whether it be the proud and functioning civil society; the communities caring for each other; Happy children running with a bounce in their step, How random adults will help small little children (dressed in neat school uniforms) to cross the road; Adults moving about with vigor, Pretty gardens everywhere; Zero litter or even leaves in gutters, Smooth roads with fresh paint markings throughout. We could go on and on but really it has to be seen to be appreciated.

Our border crossing at Cyanika was perhaps even easier than the one from Tanzania to Kenya a couple of months ago and already on the Uganda side we got a taste of what to expect, money touts who politely asked if we needed money and didn’t hassle us when we said no but rather helped us navigate the various buildings you are required to visit in order to cancel the Carnet and get stamped out. Once through the Uganda side you need to remember to cross over the road as Rwanda is a Right Hand Drive country.

Rwanda is a land of curves and passes which naturally means stunning scenery but also slow driving and so the 120km’s to Kigali took quite sometime but we weren’t complaining as we marvelled at the scenery or how in the middle of nowhere there would be somebody tidying up a little section of the road. We probably drove over 5 -6 mountain passes and on each one we saw small pelotons of cyclists out training, we doubt it will be long until Rwanda has a cyclist challenging for the polka dot jersey in the Tour de France.

Wonderfully clean and well mantained roads

Another sign that the country is more advanced was upon entering Kigali and noticing how all the BodoBoda riders have helmets on, including their passengers, that and the fact that the traffic lights not only work but have count down timers on them. The traffic however is still pretty chaotic which combined with driving on the “wrong side” of the road means you need to be super vigilant. One of Stuart’s ex-colleagues (Dion Thompson) had kindly invited us to stay with him so we quickly stopped at his house and loaded up the washing machine before heading out to find a supermarket, bank and place to obtain a local SIM card.

Over the next 4 days, courtesy of Dions wonderful hospitality we got to see how vibrant, modern and metropolitan Kigali is. This is something we would have no doubt missed out on if just on our own. Of course no visit to Rwanda is complete without visiting the various genocide museums and so while Dion was at work we took ourselves off to the Genocide Memorial monument. The tour makes for a very emotional and quite draining 4hours. It is absolutely horrific to see the atrocities and hatred mankind is capable of and how the world pretty much looked the other way while it took place but then on the other hand it is amazing to witness how the country and people have rebuilt themselves over the last 25 years and in fact overtaken all of their neighbors in terms of development.

Perhaps due to a lack of planning (or because it doesn’t really matter whether you have carefully plotted a route or not when traveling like this) upon leaving Dion we ended up driving back over the some mountain passes we had crossed on our way in. Our destination was Red Rocks campsite on the way to Gisenyi, which one review in iOverlander describes it as “the most backpackeresque place we have been to in Africa. It ticks all the boxes with graffiti, guests with dreadlocks and weed smoke”, as well as that they support the local arts community and have a small recording studio on site. So we were expecting something different but it exceeded our expectations as Mr Jones got a starring role in a music video shoot. #MrJonesFanClub

When we arrived a crew was busy setting up to film a love song by a Rwandan artist called Edouce Softman, after shooting the first scene the videographer come over too admire Mr Jones and to ask if we would mind if they took a few shots with him as the background. Who are we to say No! Over the next 4 hours they shot various scenes and now we are holding thumbs to see if Mr Jones makes the final cut for his song “Ni Wowe”.

Our own #behindthescenes video of Edouce Softman: Ni Wowe

After the excitement of the film shoot a few days of relaxation on the shores of Lake Kivu was called for. Lake Kivu as with many of the other Rift Valley lakes is just huge, covering over 2700 square kilometres and being more then 450m deep. Across it’s waters is the Democratic Republic of Congo which is a stark reminder of how one country can rise up in 25 years and another can just slip further into darkness.

The drive around the lake and down to the camping areas we stayed at once again provided many slack jawed moments as we marveled at the scenery and tidiness of the rural areas. Most of the lake’s shoreline consists of steep hills covered in tropical forest, with little coves everywhere and the water dotted with multiple tiny islands. If we had to choose to live on a lake this one would currently be top contender.

Of course the campsites were once again nothing special and usually a study in contrasts, such as our first two nights were we camped in the backyard of a small guesthouse next to the staff kitchen and had a nightly audience to our own food preparation. In fairness they probably sat on that wall every night and chatted, we and Mr J just added something new to talk about. The stark contrast is evident as you step around the building onto the lakeshore and the most stunning views.

Further down the lake, we stayed in the grounds of a hotel but for a change we weren’t in the back and probably had the best view of all, parked down on the lakeshore lawns were lunch and drinks were served for the hotel guests. Of course Mr Jones did his best to grab the limelight, this time Stuart snapped a pic back of another fan club member as they passed by on a water taxi. A few minutes later Mr Jones latest fan club members (Francois & Benoit) had disembarked and had invited themselves on a tour of our living quarters.

Snapping “back” a member of Mr J fan club

A common activity that many lodges and campgrounds (throughout Africa) offer is a “cultural tour” of the local village where they take you on a walk through the village and you get to see and take pictures of the villagers going about their daily business, this has got us to thinking that perhaps we should create our own activities list: USD5 for a pic of us and Mr J or USD10 for a “cultural tour of him. If we had done this from the start we could have avoided drinking box wine or alternatively paid for half the trip by now. #MrJonesFanClub

Leaving Lake Kivu and the little town of Kibuye the Rwanda slack jawed moment’s continued, this time because the road deteriorated and was a potholed and gravel mess equalled with scruffy villages. The contrast to the Rwanda we had got used was so stark that it almost felt like this little section had been neglected or overlooked in Rwanda’s rejuvenation. Why would this be when the rest of the country has come so far? Also the people in the area generally appeared poorer and more apathetic, is that a sign of what poor infrastructure does?

Our intended destination for the day was a spot about 100km short of the Tanzania border so that we could get across the border early and have plenty of time to deal with what we had heard were terrible roads on the Tanzania side. To get there though we had to pass through Kigali once again and so having found a German butchery previously who supplied good quality and reasonably priced meat we made a stop to fill-up the freezer.

Since entering Rwanda we had noticed a small vibration coming through the car usually when powering up a hill or riding against the gears on a downhill and as we left Kigali this seemed to be getting worse so upon arriving at our overnight destination the rest of the daylight hours were spent trying to diagnose the issue. Not having a wealth of mechanical knowledge can make figuring out such issues a challenge but thanks to modern technology it is certainly easier these days. Having spotted some suspicious items Stuart sent off an email to the mechanic who has maintained Mr j over the years hoping to get a reply even though it was approaching 5pm on a Friday, thankfully Marc come back quickly with some advice. In the meantime a very suspect Universal Joint on the rear prop shaft was found and as it was now rather late, we turned to a Landrover facebook group and searched past discussions. This seemed to confirm that it was most likely the UJ causing the vibrations which fortunately we are carrying a spare for. The next days planned border crossing was scrapped for a maintenance day.

At first we attempted to do the repair ourselves but after struggling with the prop shaft bolts Stuart called it quits and we decided to rather take a slow drive back to Kigali and find a garage their. A call was made to Dion to see if he could find a suitable garage and in doing so we discovered it was UMUGANDA day and therefore everything would be closed until 11.

Umaganda which loosely means “coming together in common purpose to achieve an outcome” is a mandatory program on the last Saturday of each month which has been in place for the last 10 years. From 8:00 to 11:00 all businesses are closed, cars are kept off the streets and Rwandans come together in their neighbourhood to try and make it a little bit better than it was the month before. The evidence speaks for itself although it is not without some controversy as a lack of participation can result in a fine or even arrest.

We had just resigned ourselves to sitting on the side of the road waiting for 11:00 when a singular car drove past so we decided to risk it and follow, a few kilometres down the road at a traffic circle the police pulled over the Rwandan car but allowed us to pass. It turns out that while on Umaganda day Rwandans may not drive prior to 11:00 foreigners can and so for most of the journey back into Kigali we enjoyed blissfully quite roads. Upon arriving back in Kigali we had not yet heard back from Dion so first tried two garages marked on iOverlander but both were closed for the weekend, thankfully shortly thereafter Dions contacts come through with a garage that was open.

Mr Service Ltd is located down a dingy backroad and the first impression of the yard is not great but the Turkish owner and his staff were super helpful and professional and in just over an hour they had removed and refitted the prop shaft. Once again #MrJonesFanClub emerged, this time in the context of a small bidding contest between the owner and one of his customers for an offer on Mr Jones. We had a guaranteed offer of USD30k for him, not bad considering he is 25 years old, and an off the charts one of USD100k! Before temptation got the better of us we made a hasty retreat back to Dion’s house.

There didn’t seem any point overnighting once again closer to the border and so we made an early start from Dion’s knowing a long day was ahead of us, in the end it was 12 very eventful hours! The first drama of the day was a duplicate credit card transaction for fuel at a very smart Engen garage. We literally did not have a single franc in cash left on us so chose Engen as you could pay with your card but having driven away Stuart had a nagging suspicion that all was not in order, so an hour down the road we stopped and checked the banking app. Once again modern technology come into play as we chatted to the bank via the app on our phones and then filled in, signed and logged a dispute via the laptop and email. All done from the side of the road.

Once back on the road we were soon at the border only to be confronted with our next drama of the day, our stay in Rwanda was technically illegal! We had been given a 90 day stay upon entry and paid no visa fees, which it turns out is only allowed for those traveling on a diplomatic passport. After much back and forth we were told we had to go back to the Rwandan side of immigration, get a different stamp and pay for a visa. At any other African border post an issue like this would have opened us up to all sorts of potential issues but not in Rwanda were they were only intent on making sure the rules were applied correctly.

The border with Tanzania is a “one-stop” one but with offices on each side of a large river and depending on which direction you are going you use one or the other for both passport controls. In principle this works fine if you are heading in one direction only but in our case we now had to go against the flow of traffic twice in order to go back to Rwanda, get our visa and then back to Tanzania to follow normal emigration processes. Added to the above was that once all this was complete the Tanzanian official to whom we needed to pay road tax was on lunch and so we had to “wait”.

Leaving the border you are given one last reminder of the stark contrast between Rwanda and most other African countries, within 100m the road deteriorates into a potholed nightmare. As somebody prior to us had described it: “it is so bad the potholes resemble bomb craters”. More on that and the couple of remaining dramas for the day to follow in the Western Tanzania blog.

Africa is a beautiful continent and has much to offer but in our opinion for it to be truly wonderful, a giant leap forward is still required and Rwanda gave us a glimpse of how that may be even possible in the space of 2 decades. At the risk of repeating ourselves below is some of the impressions which really stood out as different to most of the other countries we have visited so far:

A proud and functioning civil society
Communities caring for each other
Happy children running with a bounce in their step
How random adults will help small little children (dressed in neat school uniforms) to cross the road
Adults moving about with vigor
Bicycles used as bicycles (even if transporting a load) and not just pushbikes
Productivity – Even in small or rural villages, people always appear busy, not just standing or sitting around talking away the day
Pretty gardens everywhere
Zero litter or even leaves in gutters
Somebody is always cleaning or tidying up the roadside (even on remote dirt roads)
Smooth roads with fresh paint markings throughout
Apart from the one exception, were road maintenance is required it is done by professional looking crews
A clean and smart capital city
A modern metropolitan and vibey culture in Kigali
Functioning street lights even in small towns
Traffic lights which work, have count down lights on them and are obeyed
Adherence to the law (Boda boda riders with helmets, water taxis with life jackets)
A society that partakes in physical activity for pleasure (cycling clubs, running groups, walking groups, basketball courts, etc)

For sure we did not spend long enough in Rwanda to get a holistic view of it and there must be negative sides to it as well nonetheless the positives made a big impression.

Links to other sections of the blog relating to our time in Rwanda:

Gallery: Rwanda

Practical Information: Rwanda

Captain(s) Log – January A glimpse into the emotions of life on the road

Maintenance log: A list of what it takes to keep us and Mr Jones on the road

Travel diary: Uganda

Mountains, Valleys and Lakes. From the madness of Kampala traffic, to raging waterfalls and rapids, very slippery and muddy roads and finally the serenity of watching mountain gorillas, Uganda delivered many wonderful surprises.

In contrast to our smooth and easy entry into Kenya, the exit from Kenya and entry into Uganda was once again the usual African border crossing chaos even though the Malaba border post is meant to be a one-stop one. As we have become accustomed too, the ATM’s weren’t working which meant having to change USD for Ugandan Shillings to pay for road tax and insurance although at least there was a bureau de change open. In East Africa a real pain in the proverbial …. has been 3rd party insurance which you are legally required to get but for which there is no clear process or pricing, while ignoring our self-appointed border tout we shopped around and thought we had got a good deal only to find out a few days later that we had in fact over payed once again. That combined with the USD 50pp visa fee for Uganda made for an expensive day.

Despite being constantly overtaken by the local drivers who seem to have no regard for the road rules when Stuart was stopped for speeding in a poorly marked village zone it felt like were once again back in Tanzania, especially as given the demeanor of the various officers it did not appear to be an official stop. A quick hideaway of what little money we had left from the border crossing and it was time for the “games” to begin. There is no script for how the games will go but in our experience the key thing is to appear to have all the time in the world. When they finally come to accept that we had no money due to the expensive border crossing and after turning down there offer to leave Tania with them while Stuart took another officer 15km down the road to the nearest ATM and instead offering that he was welcome to ride along on the back floor we were eventually let off with a warning.

We spent our first night and the subsequent nine at the very appropriately named campsite “The Haven” which is perched above a set of rapids on the Nile river just down from its theoretical source as it exits Lake Victoria. Part of the reason for our lengthy stay was that The Haven campsite was just too good to risk going elsewhere for Christmas.

We did venture out from the campsite a couple of times for day trips, first into Jinja for some shopping and to have a rare bite to eat out and then for a fairly lengthy day into Kampala in order to book our Gorilla trekking permits. While we have complained at length this trip about the high park fees in East Africa, this has been one must-do bucket list item we had for the whole trip and so we each happily shelled out USD600 for the permit. Despite being 2 days before Christmas, or perhaps because of this, the whole process took 3 hours but all the staff were super friendly and apologetic. Just as we had received our permits the office had a surprise visit from the Ugandan Wildlife Authority Executive Director and his entourage (bearing cake and Pepsi’s) who had come to wish everyone a Happy Christmas, so we enjoyed a small snack and drink before heading out into the crazy Kampala traffic.

Next on the to-do list was meat shopping but Stuart missed the turning for a fancy mall, much to the co-drivers disgust and instead ended up at super dirty and busy strip mall (2 days before Xmas) which ultimately ended in a rather failed shopping trip. Leaving the mall we then followed the GPS instead of our gut’s (which said too reverse the way we come in) and ended up stuck in a huge traffic jam.

Christmas on the road will always be a low key affair but thanks to modern technology we spent the best part of the morning catching up via WhatsApp video call with all the various family members no matter where in the world they may be. When leaving SA we had packed a roll of pork in the freezer with the intention of roasting it on Christmas Day but as the Haven was putting on a buffet complete with Turkey we decided to leave the roast for another day and rounded off a lovely day with dinner out and listening to a local musician.

For part of our time at the Haven we had a lovely Ugandan family, (Paul, Anna and their 2 kids) camped next to us and when they left we realised something we have struggled to put a finger on for a while: we have missed being able to interact and discuss life with local people from each country who have a similar middle class outlook as ourselves. While we have met some travellers and had interesting conversations with them it is not the same as chatting with people who are actual citizens of that country and live and breath that country each day but at the sometime have a worldly outlook and also travel abroad.

On Boxing Day it was time to hit the road and we headed to Sipi Falls and Mount Elgon, this meant backtracking a bit towards Kenya and going past the “speeding” incident area but thankfully we had no further incidents. After the Haven, Sipi falls was a bit of a shock to the system with very basic camping options and instantly being hassled by tourist “guides” who wanted to accompany us to the waterfalls for the miserly sum of USD15 per person! Eventually we settled on a spot that at least had a flush toilet but no real shower and settled in for the afternoon. As an added bonus, we had a fairly decent view of one of the 3 falls that comprise Sipi.

Hoping to perhaps do some short walks we moved the next day to Mount Elgon Forest Exploration camp which is on the lower slopes of Mount Elgon. The campsite is an idyllic little clearing in the forest but it quickly become apparent that we would not be walking as you need to take a guide and pay national park fees which as everyone will know by now are pricey in East Africa.

We have got very used to rain the last 1,5 months but the overnight storm was particularly heavy. After some early morning photos we started the descent back to Sipi, on the way in the road had been rough but going out was “interesting”. The rain had turned sections into a very muddy skating rink which had Mr Jones crabbing along sideways on more than one occasion despite having the diff lock engaged and in low range doing 10km/h only. Sadly we have no pictures or video from that part of the drive as the co-driver had white knuckles and her eyes closed…

On the drive up to Sipi we had seen a magnificent waterfall plunging off the escarpment and when later studying iOverlander saw that there was in fact a new addition for a campsite located close to it, so having survived the descent from Mount Elgon but with the the co-driver still a little green we decided to head there. A new place like this is usually not on Tracks 4 Africa and so we have to rely on either Google maps or maps.me for navigation, both of which have the interesting habit of taking the road less travelled. Having declined the first two suggestions for a road there we eventually found our way to Sisiyi Falls. It turned out to be a wonderful find and although basic was a pleasure to camp there. As an added bonus, a 10 minute walk through a lovely enchanted forest got you right to the base of the falls and you could do it by yourself and for free.

Short video clip from just below the Sisiya falls

With New Years approaching we headed back to the Nile river but a new campsite called Kalagala Falls. It is relatively new and has been setup with the large overland trucks (20 people per truck) in mind which means each parking/camp spot has a large Banda providing a covered area for cooking and cleaning, we took full advantage of this and spread ourselves out like we were living in a large mansion.

Interestingly on New Years Eve 25 years ago Stuart was just finishing a very different kind of adventure, climbing the Ice Window route on Mount Kenya. Being young & naive he and a friend had attempted to climb the route in under 12 hours and so had departed base camp with only climbing gear, some water and tuck biscuits. How wrong they were as they only summited at 11pm, spent the night just below the summit and abseiled off the next morning. After 30 hours they finally returned to base camp, slightly less naive!

We finally enjoyed our roast pork and mini ice cream tubs on New Years Eve and then joined the eclectic mix of overland truck passengers together with their drivers and crew for what turned into a wonderful end to 2019. Needless to say we were a little tender the following morning and had to delay our departure by one more day.

Leaving Kalagala Falls our intention was to try and briefly stop in Kampala for some restocking and then to overnight near Entebbe, however the gas filling depot need to keep our cylinder overnight so a change of plans was required. Having braved the Kampala traffic to cross town to a backpackers we were disappointed by the condition it was in and decided to try another one, but before doing that we stopped at a car wash to give Mr Jones a well deserved clean. While observing proceedings Stuart spent a humbling 45min chatting to the one employee who was deaf but so interested in Mr Jones and our travels. Using an “old school” cellphone were you need to press the “GHI” key 3 times quickly to just say “I” certainly brings home to you the challenges of people with disabilities in emerging countries.

The second backpackers, while a bit difficult to find, was a significant improvement and so we moved out of Mr Jones for only the 4th time in 5 months. After picking up our gas bottle the next morning we moved on to Nkima Forest camp. The lodge itself is idealic with a great outlook over the Mabamba Swamps on Lake Victoria and we easily lazed away a few afternoons beside the pool reading and birdwatching. While we aren’t big twitchers we do enjoy spotting birds and got a few new ones, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Ross’s Turaco & The Great Blue Turaco. The campsite however felt like a bit of an afterthought being a 10 minute walk away and hidden at the bottom of the hill together with the staff quarters.

When on night two we nearly got carried away by mosquitos we hastily changed plans to go Shoebill spotting the next day and instead moved over to Fort Portal near the Ruwenzori mountains. Initially we had thought of spending one night at a backpackers in town before moving out to Kluges Guest farm which is 20km away but upon arriving late Sunday afternoon nothing particularly looked appealing and in fact we quickly nicknamed it Fort Pothole rather than Portal so after filling up with fuel we head out to Kluges Guest farm.

In East Africa the little 100cc motorbikes (known as Boda Bodas) are everywhere and we have seen them transporting everything from 3 adult passengers with the driver sitting on fuel tank, to 3 beer crates piled high behind the driver, to beds, to construction material and so forth… But one carrying a coffin was a first for us and we couldn’t help but snap a pic as we passed.

Kluges turned out to be a real gem with flat grass camping, clean ablutions with delightfully hot water and swimming pool around which we could laze. In addition we could take walks through the forest and didn’t have to pay a guide for that pleasure! In 5 months we have not booked anything in advance so it felt a bit strange having to think 10 days ahead in terms of our rough route as the gorilla trekking is booked for the 15th and so we needed a rough itinerary for the days between. Initially we had intended to stay only 2 nights but as it was so peaceful and the next few stops didn’t look that great we ended up extended our say and enjoying the luxury for 5 nights.

Fort Portal and Kluges border on the area known as the Crater Lakes region which is a very scenic area of old volcanic craters now filled with water and surrounded by beautiful grassy and forested hills. Our plan had been to drive around the lakes then stay over in the area but after the luxury of Kluges none of the options grabbed us and so as the next planned stop was only 2 hours away we decided to push on. The backroads out of the area were very scenic and narrow and after our recent experiences with mapping software we often doubted if we were heading in the right direction but ultimately we popped out onto the main tar road. Stuart had spent some of the time at Kluges figuring out how to import the iOverlander database into the Garmin so now we can use the iOverlander POI’s together with Tracks4Africa and not be as reliant on maps.me which has a nasty habit of seeing footpaths as good dirt roads and wanting to lead us down them.

Our planned overnight stop just before the Kazinga Channel and on the outskirts of Queen Elizabeth National park turned out to be rather disappointing but fortunately there was a marginally better option next door. After a simple stir fry for supper we were in bed quite early, only to be awoken at 2am by a trumpeting elephant and the sounds of automatic gunfire. It turned out that a herd of elephants had wandered from the park into the campground and the security personnel were trying to herd them back out, when one of the Ellie’s got a bit agitated they had fired a few shots into the air with their AK47’s to try and encourage him to move in the right direction. Over the next hour or so we sat in our bed peering out the window watching large grey shapes slip through the night followed by men with torches and the occasional gunshot. Eventually it all quietened down and as we were drifting back to sleep Tania heard a slight eating sound and there going ever so quietly through the trees right next to Mr Jones was a lone young elephant, it seems he/she had evaded the attention of the “herders”.

As we had now skipped a couple of planned overnight stops we once again needed to kill some time until our gorilla trekking date, the peace and quite of Nyore Hillside retreat was perfect for that and 3 nights slipped by. When looking at the routing from there to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the gorillas we had noted on iOverlander a “corrupt police spot” where a number of people have been pulled over for “speeding” offences in the past. Not wanting to go through that whole process again we made sure to have the spot programmed into the GPS, of course when passing it there were no police but lo and behold at the very next village there they were which Stuart had anticipated and so was only doing 40 in the 50km/h zone. This did not deter them from pulling us over and after the usual introductions the officer proceeded with “do you know you are in a 50 zone” to which Stuarts reply of “yes and I was doing 40” flummoxed him briefly until we received the reply of “actually you were being a very good driver and we zapped you at 41, you may proceed”, Mmmm.

If we count it as an attempt, albeit a weak one, to extract money from us then that puts us 5 – 0 up on the game with dodgy traffic cops since leaving Mozambique. Interestingly everyone always has a fear of the Mozambique cops and yet in all the years we have never had an issue with them.

Having thought we had solved our mapping issues while at Kluges by combining iOverlander with Tracks4Africa on the Garmin, it was rather annoying when we still got routed on the scenic route past Lake Bunyoni on our way to Biwindi Impenetrable forest and the mountain gorillas. We even stopped before taking it to check the gps screen and couldn’t really see anything too much wrong but that soon changed when we landed up on a very narrow road along which the locals were quarrying away the sides and in some places there were sheer drops down to the lake, being scared of heights Tania was not a happy camper! As we discovered later, upon joining it, there was a tar road option which while longer would definitely have been quicker (and yes we do have the correct setup on the GPS to take the quicker route not shorter one).

15 January was the day we had been waiting for for so long and the one bucket list item that had to be ticked, tracking the mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The family we got allocated was Mucunguzi, this involved a 30 minute drive from the park gates over some pretty hectic 4×4 tracks (so Mr Jones got to partake too and Tania got to be scared again) up to an altitude of 2300m and then after that a very steep and muddy hike from there. After about 90 minutes walking we reached the trackers who had located the gorillas. For the next 60 minutes or so we scrambled and bashed our way through thick bush on a very steep slope following the family as they moved. The trackers cut a path with their machetes for you as you go. Given the terrain and vegetation taking pictures was a challenge so often we just sat, watched and admired these gentle giants. It was confirmed that Stuart, in cohorts with Mr Jones, remains the only one who can scare Tania when the silverback stood, bared his teeth and mock charged her – she didn’t even flinch…

Our last night just short of the Rwanda border was the perfect send-off to a wonderful month spent in Uganda. The road to the camping spot was often no more than a path and we again doubted the mapping software and existence of a camping spot next to Lake Chahafi but when we got there the staff were so welcoming and helpful. They even collected our dirty hiking boots when they saw them lying next to Mr Jones and returned them the next morning looking better than new and we got a complimentary breakfast together with awesome Ugandan coffee. We have got so used to paying high prices for next to nothing and we got all that for USD25 😁

Gallery: Uganda

Practical Information: Uganda

Maintenance Log: a list of the damages we incur or work required to keep both Mr Jones and ourselves on the road.

Travel Diary: Kenya

Merry Christmas everyone, here is the latest edition of our travel diary, this one covers the relatively short time we spent in Kenya. In addition there are links to the picture galleries, our hopefully “practical info” pages for anybody perhaps planning a trip here in the near future and of course the obligatory maintenance log showing what has required attention (not just Mr. Jones related)

We never look forward to border crossing as you just don’t know what to expect and what hassles you will have however the border crossing into Kenya at the Namanga one-stop border post is by far the simplest and cleanest boarding crossing we have yet to do. Having said that, we were still approached by the inevitable tout (Omar) when filling up with cheap Tanzanian diesel just before the border. Omar was quite the character, he had the facial features of a Somalian, was missing more teeth than he had, wore a Maasai blanket and spoke fluent Afrikaans. He tried to weasel his way in with us and we did our level best to ignore him, at the border boom he tried to get his hands on our documents which naturally we refused and then he got into a small fisticuffs with another tout and was duly hauled away by security, no doubt missing another tooth. Once past the boom however you enter this lovely clean area with nobody hassling you and all administration for both countries handled inside one building, the person taking payment for road tax even providing us with a “hotspot” off his phone so that Stuart could get the OTP needed to process the credit card transaction…

The drive into Nairobi was quite simple and for Stuart it was quite noticeable to see some of the progress that Nairobi has made over the last few years since his last business trip there, with things like the bypass roads now fully complete and functional. Also the traffic was not too bad but perhaps that is because it was a Sunday afternoon.

For the first part of our stay in Nairobi we stayed at Jungle Junction which is an iconic overlanding campsite and has probably seen most overlanders at one time or another who pass through Nairobi. The “honesty” bar fridge and notice boards are covered in stickers and cards of travelers details from over the years and it was so nice to find our friends, Chris & Erin Ratay, sticker on the board with incredibly a space below it for us to stick our own contact details on.

In 2010 we met Chris & Erin in Malawi, at that stage they were enjoying one of their many annual 2 month breakaways from life in Colorado USA. Prior to settling in Colorado they had ridden their motorbikes around the world and hold a Guineas book of records for that. In 2011/12 when they rode their bike back from Tanzania to South Africa, we lent them Mr Jones for a couple of weeks and for them that was the beginning of the end for long term motorbike touring. A few years later, having now done much of South America on the motorbike, they returned to South Africa and purchased a Land Rover 130 Defender which they they have now driven across Africa to Europe. On their way north they stopped over in Johannesburg and introduced Vifaru to Mr Jones, now in virtual spirit we were able to reunite Mr Jones and Vifaru again.

East Africa has been experiencing exceptionally high rainfall this season which is being caused by a phenomenon known as “a positive Indian Ocean Dipole”, this occurs when their is a significant variation in the sea temperatures of the Western and Eastern Indian Ocean with the western side being much warmer. The resultant low pressure cell that forms over the Western ocean causes cooler airflow from East to West and subsequent heavy precipitation.

With all the rain, the Jungle Junction campsite often represented a swamp but we made do as best we could. While there Mr Jones got a well deserved service and we managed a few trips into the nearby shopping mall. On one of those we spotted an insurance brokerage and as we had had a nagging suspicion since entering Tanzania a month ago that the COMESA ( provides you 3rd party cover for East Africa) insurance purchased at the border may not be valid, we stopped past to check and sadly confirmed our suspicions. It meant we had been conned out of USD90, a month ago and had been driving around illegally during that time too. The plus side was to buy insurance for our time in Kenya was relatively cheap, the downside was that due to the regulations and our planned time in Kenya we weren’t able to buy COMESA for the remaining countries and so will need to buy insurance at each country as we enter it.

One of Stuart’s ex-colleagues who now works in Nairobi had invited us to stay over at his house and so on Friday afternoon we drove across town to the newer “expat” areas. This meant heading towards the city centre and the inevitable traffic, while sitting in one of the traffic jams a message popped up from Steve on the phone to which Stuart replied we are “currently at Stork Circle”, Steve’s reply of “see you tomorrow morning” sums up the traffic quite nicely.

Any visitor to Nairobi who has transited from the airport towards town will probably recognize what Stuart refers to as “Stork circle”, it is the chaotic traffic circle next to the national stadium were you are guaranteed to idle for a lengthy period and above which there are always a number of storks perched in the trees. If you are lucky they do not mark your car as you are stuck under their tree waiting for the traffic to start moving. In the end we got across town in under an hour, partly aided by a large bull bar and not being intimidated by the mini bus taxis.

It was great to catch up with Steve & Leonore, meet their new addition to the family (Alexander) and enjoy the simple pleasures of a home (on-suite bathroom, washing machine, large kitchen and freezer so that we could defrost ours, etc). Tania also got to indulge in a back massage which was well deserved after all the long hours in Mr J and one afternoon we took a short walk in Karura forest. This is a 1000ha forest within the heart of Nairobi and is a wonderful breakaway spot for many.

From Nairobi we headed to Lake Naivasha which although it is in the Rift Valley sits at a relatively high altitude of 1800m, the final descent into the valley is spectacular and we naturally stopped for the obligatory photos at the touristy viewpoints. Mr Jones had to do some wading in the last 15km as the tar road along the lake shore had been washed away and a torrential mini river was flowing through, for us the water was only up to the bottom of the doors but for many of the small cars going through it was rather deep. Camp Carnelly on the lake shore is located within a large Fever tree forest and is very pretty, unfortunately they did not have power at the campsite and with the cloudy weather combined with tree coverage it meant for the first time this trip our solar panel could not keep the fridge battery sufficiently charged and so we only stayed two nights.

80km further along was another lake and so with plenty of time on our hands we did some grocery shopping and then enjoyed a lunch at Spur, Naivasha was the last place we expected to find a Spur. The drive along the Rift Valley towards Lake Elmenteita is magnificent with fever tree’s lining the road and wonderful views across the Rift Valley, when not worrying about the Kenyan drivers overtaking antics.

The campsite overlooking Lake Elmenteita turned out to be a real gem with super friendly staff, electricity and hot showers. The only potential negative was the lack of shade but with the current weather that was not an issue for us. We had hoped to use the SUP on the lake but water craft are not allowed as the lake is a haven for Flamingos and Pelicans so we had to make do with watching them from our vantage point in camp. Although we are not great “twitchers” we did get to record some “lifers” while there with the help of WhatsApp , Stuart’s mom and google.

By coincidence, exactly 4 months after crossing the Tropic of Capricorn in the Kruger park we crossed the Equator, naturally we stopped for the obligatory photos. A real pleasant surprise and interaction here was how the hawkers left us entirely alone until we had taken our photos and only then did they approach, it was only lady hawkers and at one point about 5 of them had Stuart squashed up against the open drivers door as they leaned into the car peddling their wares to Tania. They were however so sweet and gentle with each only wanting to sell one item so long as their colleague also got to sell one that we ended up getting out of the car again and going to each stall to buy a small little item and drove away with smiles on our faces.

At the start of the day we had been undecided as to which lake to head to next, Lake Bogoria or Baringo, at the equator we decided for the latter. Lake Baringo is naturally very full at the moment and we ended up camped within 10m of the waters edge, however the camp staff assured us that the crocodiles were friendly ones and thankfully we only saw one baby during the 2 nights we spent there. The sounds of fish eagles calling and hippos grunting made for a beautiful background soundtrack and on the one afternoon we were treated to a young hippo frolicking and eating in the reeds just 20m offshore from us.

A curious hippo at Roberts camp, Lake Baringo

From Lake Baringo we intended to head east towards Eldoret and then Uganda with a stop at Naiberi for a night. The drive there was absolutely spectacular with the GPS leading us from valley floors at 1400m over two mountain ranges, the first at 2000m and the second at 2700m, initially on a minor tar road, then dirt and finally a very muddy pass. Just before the last pass we were confronted with a raging river but thankfully a couple of locals on motorbikes crossed over to us on a pedestrian bridge and showed us the way to a small concrete bridge which Mr Jones just fitted on. On the other side we stopped in the little village to consult the locals on how best to get to Naiberi, with conflicting opinions we decided to risk the pass as it seemed the shorter route. As we got higher and started to experience the first of the many to come landslides the trepidation grew but thankfully each time a track had been cleared through them and ultimately we were able to summit and join the tar road to Naiberi. We learnt a couple of days later that it is quite possible to drive all the way to Naiberi from Lake Baringo on tar but in fact the GPS mis-direction had given us a spectacular drive with great scenery and wonderful people interactions.

River or road, track through one of the mudslides

Although it had been a spectacular drive it had extended the planned ETA and so with only 15km to go until our planned destination we were looking forward to stopping and enjoying a cold beer. Unfortunately only 5km down the road a minibus taxi rolled as it was coming towards us and so we spent the next hour or more applying minor first aid, thankfully there were no major injuries with the worst being a broken collar bone. It was however sad for us to observe how many very smart SUV’s just drove past without any consideration to stop and attempt to help.

Feeling rather shattered we decided that dinner in the rather unique cave bar at Naiberi camp was in order while watching the Cape Town sevens rugby on tv in order to decompress from a day of very conflicting emotions.

Our intention the next day, was to stop briefly in Eldoret for some shopping and then head across to Uganda but the best plans are meant to be broken. While shopping in the very fancy Rupa’s Mall we were approached by a young Lady (Jenienne) who asked if we belonged to the Landy outside and duly invited us to come and stay on a farm nearby.

Before heading out to the farm, part of the shopping mission in Eldoret was to find a louder hooter for Mr Jones. IOverlander referenced a street with lots of spares shops, this turned out to be the “backyard mechanic” hub of town. Google maps took us into the street but it was total chaos and after running out of space we somehow managed to reverse back out while being hassled by boda boda’s (little 100c motorbikes) impatiently trying to squeeze past. Having parked in a quieter side street, Stuart returned on foot to see if he could source something suitable. Being the only Mzungu in a spot like this is guaranteed to create a lot of curiosity. Hopefully now the sheep which are forever wandering into Mr J path will react a little earlier, goats, donkeys and dogs are generally street wise sheep are absolutely clueless!

The Krugers are 4th generation Kenyan/South African farmers, in the early 1900’s a number of Afrikaaner families come to Kenya to farm in the Eldoret area and as we later learnt the Kruger’s are the last remaining family from that migration. Jannie & Jeannine together with Fanie & Carol were wonderful hosts, providing us with a whole house to ourselves and so we spent a couple of nights chilling on the farm and getting some chores done (clothes washing and High pressure clean of Mr Jones underside). The farm itself is spectacular with areas set aside for wildlife and the rest for farming. On an afternoon drive with Jenienne we observed Oribi, Duiker, a herd of endangered Rothschild Giraffe and heard how just recently they had captured and relocated a lone male lion who had wandered onto the farm and then disappeared and evaded all attempts to catch him for nearly 2 weeks. Stuart also got to hitch a ride with Jannie in the massive combine harvester as it is maize harvesting time, which was a new experience.

After 2 wonderful nights but needing to move on, we left the farm and headed for the Uganda border a few days later than originally envisaged.

Summary: Kenya surprised us, after Tanzania we were a bit jaded (in particular due to the corruption and park costs) but Kenya revitalised us. Kenyan’s are very friendly and helpful, English is well spoken throughout the country even when buying veggies or seeking directions in remote villages. Entering Kenya we didn’t really have a plan as to where to go other than stop in Nairobi and regroup, sadly the weather didn’t play along with us and because we have now decided we would like to get to Cape Town for April we ended up spending only 3 weeks in Kenya. We could however have spent much longer, firstly there is the coast North of Mombasa which looks stunning and then we found many little gems throughout the country and are sure there are many more and that is without visiting any National parks.

Gallery: Kenya

Useful links and Practical info for Kenya

Maintenance log: a list of the damages we incur or work required to keep both ourselves and Mr Jones on the road

Travel Diary: Tanzania

The latest edition of our travel diary, this one covers the month we have spent in Tanzania. In addition there are links to the picture galleries, our hopefully “practical info” pages for anybody perhaps planning a trip here in the near future and of course the obligatory maintenance log showing what has required attention.

Even though the Malawi/Tanzania border post (Kasumulu) is relatively small and we crossed on a Sunday it still was the typical African border post experience: Chaotic, slow, needing to source money via black market money changers as the ATM’s never seem to be working, negotiating for insurance, etc. On the positive side we seem to be getting better at not being swindled by the money changers, this time Stuart insisted on them giving the exact rate quoted by the Tanzanian Revenue service fee receipt and that they pay the authorities direct, only then do they get any USD from us.

Our first impressions as we left the border and started the climb up to Mbeya was of significantly less people density, less young children, less deforestation and far more open space with indigenous bush than Malawi. A very welcome change indeed. On the other side of the coin we encountered crazy driving and traffic on entering our first town (Mbeya), especially by the little tuk-tuks. Our first overnight stop was at Utengule Coffee lodge on the outskirts of Mbeya were we camped on the plantations helipad for 2 nights before starting our journey towards Dar es Salaam and the coast.

Not far out of Mbeya, Stuart got stopped for speeding, which he was in fact doing as he had sped up just 100m before the end of a 50 zone. The officer however only had a cellphone pic of the “offence” as the person manning the radar gun was situated 5km further back in a village. So began a rather long cat and mouse game as Stuart insisted on seeing the actual radar device, the operator then had to catch a motorbike taxi to bring it and in the process Stuart got to witness a number of under the table payments by the local offenders. This opened an opportunity to discuss the “issue” and in the end we drove away not having to payed anything but having learnt a lesson regarding where the speed zone ends exactly.

The distance from Mbeya to the coast is just over 800km but it took us 5 days, simply because after each day’s drive we felt we needed a rest day before tackling the next stage. The main reason for this is twofold, the speed limit constantly moves between 50 and 80km/h and then the rest of the road users are borderline crazy so the two combined require exceptional concentration levels. A best and worst case example of this driving is the video we captured of two fuel tankers overtaking us on a very steep downhill with blind bends ahead

The main highway to Dar passes through Mikumi National Park which means if you cruise along at a reasonable speed you have the opportunity to do some game viewing without paying the ridiculously overpriced Tanzanian park fees but perhaps the even better reason to game view is to ensure you do not accidentally knock over any animals as the fines are quite steep. We have no idea why a giraffe is more valuable than a lion but you most definitely don’t want to hit one of them.

As we had been warned by many that the traffic in Dar es Salaam is crazy and should be avoided at all costs, we turned North just before Dar and headed to a small town called Bagamoyo. Bagamoyo has a dark past as it was the main port for the ivory and slave trade in the 19th century, it was then the capital of German East Africa for a decade before that moved to Dar es Salaam. It has a small “stone town” of crumbling buildings from that time which we enjoyed a walk around until a short tropical downpour forced us to take cover inside the port entrance. The port is still very active with Dhow traffic as Bagamoyo is in fact closer to Zanzibar than Dar es Salaam

When pumping up our Stand-Up Paddleboard (SUP) in Malawi in order to paddle the lake in search of a spot to watch the Rugby World Cup quarter finals we had discovered a crack in the pump, Red Paddle (the SUP manufacturer) had been fantastic in sending out a new handle via courier for us. We had had that delivered to a colleague of Stuart’s brother and were planning to have to go into Dar to collect it but Benson was fantastic and brought it to Bagamoyo for us. Unfortunately the handle ended up not fitting so we arranged for another to be sent, this time for us to pick up in Nairobi.

We did however venture to the outskirts of Dar on one day in order to do some shopping and found a real gem of a shop called Shoppers Plaza. Normally we are a source of some fascination when we empty 5l water bottles into the water tank outside shops but this time we split up meat and repacked it for the freezer in the parking lot, boy did we attract a crowd. Much discussion was had about us in Swahili and all we could understand is that our “long safari” was being discussed, in Swahili safari means “to journey”.

In our initial trip ideas, a visit to Zanzibar was always on the cards but in the end we decided not to go across as firstly the current season of “short rains” is not ideal for visiting, secondly we would need to find a spot to store the car where we could it plugged into an electrical point so that our freezer didn’t defrost. It is not so easy to find such a spot that has reliable electiricity and will ensure it remains plugged. The final reason was we calculated a week in Zanzibar travelling independently would prove to be a rather pricey exercise and we could in fact get there cheaper flying from South Africa on a package trip.

So from Bagamoyo we decided to head up the coast a bit in the search of white sands and a spot to put down roots for a bit however to move only 80km north meant a 230km round trip, firstly going back inland and then back down to the coast as the alternative was traversing Sadaani National Park and we did not feel like paying USD140 just for that privilege. Not long after leaving Bagamoyo Stuart had another encounter with the Tanzanian traffic police and again dodged paying, this time by insisting on paying the official amount provided he could have a receipt and turning down offers for them to “help him out”. As luck would have it the receipt machine didn’t have signal (or perhaps this was by design) and so he was let off with a warning. It might appear like we are speedholics in Mr Jones which apart from being impossible it’s just that the police here are sneaky in the tactics to catch people. When chatting to other travellers the question always is how many fines have you paid versus warnings that you have been given by the traffic police, a form of cat and mouse that gets played out.

The trip turned even longer when the road back to the coast turned out to be 100km of dirt made very slow due to the many ruts recently ripped up by vehicles due to the unseasonal heavy rains the area has recently had. For the last 10km we wondered if the camp was even operational as the road kept getting narrower and often felt like little more than a footpath so we were delighted to find Barry’s Beach Lodge open but instantly disappointed when we saw the beach was littered with seaweed and generally not suitable for chilling on. Also it was incredibly hot and humid and the campsite was tucked back and “protected” from the breeze. With nowhere else to go we took out some beers and chilled on the lounger just above the beach, slowly our sense of humor returned and was helped along by a glorious sunset.

In the end we spent 3 nights there as it was quite pleasant chilling on the loungers and using the swimming pool. Swimming in the ocean was only feasible at high tide due to the big shifts in tides, at low tide the water was at least a 20 minute walk away. All in all it was a pleasant few days at Barry’s apart from a small incident Tania had with a coconut tree when making a supply run back to Mr Jones one afternoon.

We were still undecided whether to head into Kenya via the coastal route or to go inland and up to Nairobi and as the roads were in bad condition we made a short 2,5 hour move up the coast to a spot between Pangani and Tanga called Peponi. For the first time in years we had to haul out the recovery straps, so that we could pull a Landcruiser which had chosen to breakdown at the most in opportune spot on the ferry crossing at the Panga river. Peponi was the kind of spot we had hoped for 3 days prior with clean beaches, lovely treed campsite and a funky chill out area, so we stayed for 6 very relaxing days.

Peponi to the small port town of Tanga is only 30km but again it took over an hour due to the sorry state of the dirt road after the recent rains. After a little bit of a wander around we found a small superette to re-stock at and then set off for the East Usambara mountains and a spot called Enau Forest lodge. These mountains are only 45km front the coast and rise to 1000m in altitude so naturally get a lot of rain, especially in the rainy season which we find ourselves in. Halfway up our path was blocked by a truck which had slipped into one of the deep ruts and despite the drivers and various helpers best efforts it was clearly going nowhere. Out come Mr Jones recovery straps for the second time in a matter of days so that we could pull him onto hard ground.

Rescuing the truck from the mud

The road up passes through the Amani Forest reserve and we were expecting to pay park fees of USD30 so were not impressed when this turned out to in fact be USD65 for a short 1hour traverse through the protected part of the forest! Enau Forest Lodge was however very nice even if rather wet, Stuart got caught out and took shelter for 30minutes under a rock overhang when out on a short walk from camp one afternoon. We awoke to torrential and continuous rain on the third day and as we were operating off the solar panels decided it would be best to move, also we weren’t looking forward to the muddy descent and didn’t want to risk doing this later if the rains didn’t let up. The descent while requiring a lot of concentration and the use of low range in fact was a bit of a non-event.

Just a little further inland is the West Usambara mountains and again we were rewarded with a spectacular drive up to the highlands, this time thankfully on tar. The highlands are at 1400m above sea level and 1000m above the Maasai plains below, once again it receives a lot of rain but is less wild and therefore has a very well developed farming area. All in all it is a very pretty area. For our first night we camped at the Irente Cliff Viewpoint hotel, you camp in the rear parking lot but this gives you a spectacular view straight from your backdoor.

Stuart did a mornings guided walk to a different viewpoint and through the local villages and farmlands before we packed up and moved just 2km up the road to Irente Farm which has a lovely campground in the forest and is of course more peaceful than a parking lot. Using the knowledge of the area gained from the guided walk we did some short walks from here too.

We were hoping to get good views of Kilimanjaro on the drive to Moshi but unfortunately it remained cloaked in a layer of cloud all day. The day ended with a bit of a bitter taste in our mouths after a run-in with some scam artists at the Coffee Tree campsite and we ended up spending another night behind a hotel in the parking lot/campsite. It was at least peaceful and in the morning the clouds had cleared and we could get a look at the snow capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro.

From Moshi we headed westwards, stopping for some shopping in Arusha before heading towards the Ngorongoro & Serengeti reserves. Sadly we wouldn’t be visiting either as the park fees are just exorbitant, a 24 hour trip into the park and descent into the crater would set us back USD580! Our planned stop for the night was Migombani which is perched halfway up the escarpment overlooking the Rift Valley and Lake Manyara National Park. Initially Stuart couldn’t find it on Tracks4Africa so we were using google maps which took us along the roads it has on record and deposited at a very large camp on the top of the escarpment, effectively the closest point on google maps but directly above Migombani. It was in fact quite a nice diversion with good views on the way up the escarpment but not fully appreciated at the time.

Migombani camp is a real gem with the best ablution facilities we have had all trip, a lovely pool overlooking Lake Manyara and for the first time in a number of weeks we got to interact with a number of other overlanders. It was very easy to spend 4 nights here, although we did almost get washed away a few times due to the occasional torrential storm.

Stormy weather makes for fun photo opportunities

An early start got us to the Kenya border just before lunch, all along the way was evidence of the heavy rains we have had the last few days with overflowing rivers, debris washed onto the road and flooded low level crossings.

Tanzania East & Central Gallery

Captain(s) Log: a different view of the ups and downs of daily travel life

Useful links and practical info for Tanzania

Maintenance Log: a list of the damages we incur or work required to keep both ourselves and Mr Jones on the road

Travel Diary: Malawi

The latest edition of our travel diary, this one covers the two months we have spent in Malawi. In addition there are links to the picture galleries, our hopefully “useful info” pages for anybody perhaps planning a trip here in the near future and of course the obligatory maintenance log showing what has required attention (not just Mr. Jones related)

After an exhausting day to enter Malawi and a less than desirable first night at Palm Beach campsite we were up early and on the road, first task of the day was to obtain local currency and a local SIM card in the closest town (Mangochi). The banks only allow 3 withdrawals of KWH80 000 per person (ZAR1600) and as credit cards are not easily used we made sure to obtain the maximum and nearly needed a kitbag to store it all as the largest denomination is 2 000!

A SIM card proved to be a far greater challenge and after stopping at numerous street side vendors we eventually found one who had a SIM. A lengthy registration process ensued and an even lengthier mission to get airtime due to a simple mistake by the vendor. While frustrating, it was easy to see how the mistake was made when we were trying to purchase KWH 18 000 worth of data and typically all the vendor deals in is transactions of KWH100 per person. He was absolutely devastated by the mistake and did his utmost to fix it, so after 3 hours standing on a bustling sidewalk we were finally on our way to the lake.

The first 2 days at Cape Maclear were spent cleaning out Mr Jones after the horrific roads of Mozambique and getting some items fixed in the village (small sewing jobs and welding of our rear step). Just as we were getting ready to relax the lodge informed us they were expecting a group of 40 school children and it might be best of we relocated our camping spot, so we moved in close to another South African couple and laagered up… Kitty & Gerit had initially set off from PE with the intention of driving up to the Serengeti and back down again, after many diversions their children back home have decided “Africa had swallowed them”.

Just as Kitty & Geritt left another group of 4 vehicles from SA arrived and where once again advised to laager up by us as a large church gathering was taking place in the village and much noise was expected for the next 4 days, so a few more social days followed.

Cramped quarters at Chembe Eagles Nest, Cape Maclear

Just as we were getting ready to leave we got wind of 3 days of planned protests around the elections held earlier in the year. Previous protests had got a bit ugly so we decided to sit tight and wait those out. The say bilharzia is a risk at Lake Malawi but quite possibly a much greater risk is “Lake Fever”. Symptoms vary but generally include the inability or lack of desire to leave the lakeside, days may blend into weeks and then who knows after that..

Every evening we watched glorious sunsets and the village children playing and laughing while they played on various sorts of craft on the lake. In general life is hard for children in Africa as there are many chores to be done and no time for play, this is one of the few places were you just see children playing for the sake of playing.

In total we spent 13 days at Cape Maclear which was a little longer than we planned or wanted but nonetheless a pleasant break. Our days where spent taking the SUP out and paddling across to one of the islands or just chilling with a good book. We have become quite proficient on the SUP and averaged 3 – 4 km per day of paddling with our longest paddle being 9km.

When the protests fizzled out on day 2, the decision was easily made to pack up and head for the Lilongwe for a supply and admin run. On the list of “to-do’s” was: Extend our visas by 30 days, replace our inverter that had broken (needed for charging of electronics), food shopping and to get COMESA insurance so that we are covered for all of East Africa. Unfortunately we didn’t come right with the Inverter or Insurance but were pleasantly surprised with the smart Gateway mall on the outskirts of Lilongwe. That night we camped at Woodlands which is a little forest reserve in the heart of the city, it was really pleasant and surprisingly quiet considering it’s location.

The following day we headed back to Gateway to buy some more wine we had found “marked down” after having first tasted one with our braai at Woodlands. Wine is generally 3x the price here and so finding an “okay” bottle at almost normal prices meant we cleaned the shelves of all stock.

A short skip and hop got us to Nchisi Forest Camp. A lovely little spot in the mountains with flat grass to camp on and nice hot showers. They have marked trails through the forest, one of which we did and it turned into excellent training for our future gorilla trek as the first 2km just go straight uphill. That afternoon a lovely English couple arrived, Steve & Leanne, they have been on the road in East & Southern Africa for 3 years now. Their initial plan was for 6 months…

After two full days at Nchisi, we headed back down to the lake and were most grateful for Tracks4Africa as the roads were very minor with many diversions. Steve & Leanne were also overnighting at Nkhotakhota Pottery Lodge and over some wine and quite late into the night (for us at least these days) we swapped stories and experiences of life on the road.

Our original plan was to stay at the pottery lodge for Stuart’s birthday as the restaurant had some interesting and different choices from the standard offering but when the wind blew constantly for 24 hours and coated everything in a fine layer of beach sand we decided on the morning of his birthday to pack up and move. Before making that decision though we spent a relaxed few hours holed up in Mr J catching up on social media, receiving birthday messages and even a video call from his folks (go Jenny & Norman!). The marvels of modern technology keep you close to home.

Steve & Leanne had already moved just 100km further up the lake at Ngala Beach and said it was nice with lawn and trees so we took a leisurely amble up there, stopping along the way at a roadside market to do grocery shopping. A really pleasant surprise on arrival at Ngala was a card and beer (from Mozambique) as a birthday gift from Steve & Leanne, a very small gesture but it made Stuart’s day. The campsite was quite busy with a number of people using it as a last stop before arriving at the Lake of Stars music festival so we got to have a number of interesting chats.

Ngala beach was food for the soul with big trees, lush green lawns and just so peaceful. We ended up spending 3 days just chilling and reading, we even put the slack line up and spent an afternoon playing…

With time on our hands due to our visa extension we turned back south, our objective being Zomba plateau and Mulanje mountain, two areas we hadn’t been to and where we thought we might perhaps escape the heat, wind and dust for a few days.

The final road up to Zomba Plateau is a spectacular winding narrow road with great views and excellent roadside shopping (giant strawberries, gooseberries, mulberries). It gains 600m in altitude over just 8km. A slight mixup in our route planning meant we missed what we thought was the better campsite (but in fact wasn’t) and ended up at Kuchare trout farm. The campsite is nothing more than a picnic site in a clearing in the forest but it was divine, surrounded by massive trees with a mountain stream flowing past and we had it all to ourselves. A planned one nighter turned into two and we could easily have stayed more days if not for a lack of sunshine and the need to charge our dual batteries. The solar system did well but a misty day 3 meant zero chance of charging. On a whim we decided to follow some of the forest tracks before descending back off the plateau and were rewarded with some spectacular scenery. Unfortunately just as we were nearing the end of a rather long loop we found our path blocked by a broken down logging truck and although the driver said help would be there in 15minutes, he did not in fact have a watch (and 15 African minutes could be ??). As it was already 3pm we decided to play it safe and reverse our route.

80km south of Zomba is Mount Mulanje where we had hoped to spend a few days doing walks on and around the mountain but quickly changed our minds when from the moment we arrived at the turnoff we were swarmed by “mountain guides” wanting to offer their services and running after Mr Jones as we moved along the road, using shortcuts to catch-up and “point” us in the right direction, etc. It was too much of an onslaught for our liking and so we skipped out of there quickly. Luckily we found a pleasant new spot (Africa Wild Truck campsite) set in amongst the tea plantations and ended up spending 4 days there. It seems we are starting to settle into a slow method of travel and becoming less destination driven.

We had a loose idea to try and meet up with Steve & Leanne in Cape Maclear for Steves 60th birthday which was in 6 days time so we intended to go from Mulanje to Blantyre to restock supplies and then slowly work our way up to the lake. The plan quickly changed when Blantyre had almost no options in terms of wine and meat and so a quick decision was made to head for Lilongwe again. What is a 4,5 hour detour with 35deg temps inside Mr Jones when you are low on red wine? Speed markings in Malawi are usually very vague as to when they start and end and so Mr Jones picked up his first speeding fine ever, we could only hope that it would all be worth it when we got to Lilongwe.

Absolutely worth a speeding fine and a little bit of heat

The drive from Lilongwe to Cape Maclear goes down a spectacular pass just south of Dedza, along which there are many “ToyRUs” stores selling brilliantly carved and manufactured wooden replicas of Land Rovers, Landcruisers, Cameras and bicycles. A stop at one and we now have a “mini me” of Mr Jones on board for good luck, we only wished we had space for more items as they would make wonderful pieces of art when we eventually settle down again into a fixed homestead.

A short video of the amazing wooden art and how they work

Cape Maclear was once again spectacular in terms of scenery even if the madness of the village and people going about daily life on the shores of the lake can be a bit overwhelming at times. One sad observation is despite Cape Maclear being one of Malawi major tourism attractions, a national park and the existence of many lodges whose livelihood depends on tourism there does not appear to be any concerted effort by the role players to ensure a clean environment free of litter on the beach.

After two nights at Fat Monkeys, which still has the same chilled and bohemian vibe as it did 9 years ago when we we first stayed there, we moved into a room for the first time in 2 months. A lovely afternoon and evening ensued celebrating Steve 60th birthday.

From Cape Maclear we did a relatively big hop up the lake hoping to stay over at Makuzi, which we had so enjoyed 9 years ago as it has lovely grassed terraces and a quite secluded bay and private beach. It however was not too be as the International schools were having a week long holiday and Makuzi was full, after consulting iOverlander we moved just a bit further to Songa Muyo. This was perhaps an even nicer find than Makuzi with big lawns and trees to camp under, super friendly staff and wonderfully decorated ablutions and a nice beach with big rocks.

We had been hoping for an extended stay at Makuzi and certainly got marooned at Songa Muyo, in the end spending 7 days there whiling away the days reading, swimming and taking the SUP out including paddling to another lodge in order to catch the Springboks play Japan in the rugby world cup quarter finals. Our list of maintenance issues not related to Mr J continue to grow, this time the high volume manual pump for the SUP broke but fortunately we have an adaptor for the car pump and so could still use the board. Red Paddle have so far been great in attempting to deal with the issue and with a bit of luck we will have a replacement pump waiting for us at DHL Dar Es Salaam.

The road north takes you up into the mountains to a town called Mzuzu where we hoped to do some restocking. On the steep pass we passed a cyclo tourist pushing his bike, he seemed okay and we didn’t think to stop but when we come out of Shoprite he was wandering around our car looking a bit forlorn, turns out he was English but had been living in Cape Town for the last year and was now cycling home. He was feeling very flat and had in fact bummed a lift after we passed, so we offered him a coke and a chat.

On iOverlander we had seen an isolated lodge on the lake which had rave reviews “despite the road to get there”. The lodge doesn’t appear on Tracks4Africa yet but T4A did have a 4wd track heading to the area the lodge appeared in so we figured that must be the road. Fortunately when the track seemed to head in the wrong direction, Stuart decided to consult iOverlander again and google maps as we where definitely not heading to the correct place. The road that followed while a little rough and probably no fun in the rainy season but was spectacular and took us over the mountains and down into a little bay on the lake. It reminds us of Betty’s bay in South Africa but just with a sand track leading over the mountains into it instead of along the coast. Usisya lodge while not setup that well for vehicle camping (i.e.you camp in the parking area) has a great outlook, really cool outdoor shower and a very chilled vibe plus we had it all to ourselves apart from the owner and staff.

Halfway down the big descent to Usisya, the lodge is on the other side of the hill

The drive out from Usisya certainly challenged us and Mr Jones, you climb very quickly and steeply and on a relatively rough road. As Mr Jones struggles with such steep inclines unless he has high revs and a reasonable pace it didn’t take long until we had him in Low Range 3rd. All was going well until after one corner even in low range he started to lose power and then cut-out. This was a far from ideal place to breakdown as it is rather isolated, there are maybe 3 cars in the village and we were on a very steep incline! Even though we had 1/4 tank of diesel in the main tank Stuart assumed we had a fuel starvation issue so we started to pump fuel from the 3rd tank and to hand prime the fuel system. After 20min we were back up to half a tank and so we held thumbs and attempted to start, what a sweet sound when the engine kicked in. Mr Jones got a gentle slap of admonition for stressing us! As luck would have it the fuel transfer pump stopped working as we got started but as we now had enough fuel to move upwards we left that for another days worry and fortunately it turned out to be just a loose power connection.

The next couple days in Mzuzu were taken up with admin issues such as filling gas bottles, hunting down paraffin in the back alleys of the local market (for our fire stones instead of firefighters), shopping and some maintenance on Mr J. And we got to catch rugby semi-final on our way out of Mzuzu at the local tavern together with a couple of other Saffas who are also heading north.

We have far preferred the scenery along the lake of Northern Malawi as it has lovely mountains and far more indigenous forest than the central and southern portion, the drive from Mzuzu to the mushroom farm near Livingstonia was no exception. The road meanders along valley floors then climb up and over this big mountain which is clearly hell for the long distance truckers based on the number of trucks broken down on it before descending back to the lake and then climbing up to the mushroom farm via an iconic dirt pass. There are so many switchbacks that at one point the road almost looks like a big blob on the GPS.

The mushroom farm is perched on the edge of a cliff and it was very easy to spend a couple of idyllic days admiring the view with our biggest worry only being the repositioning of our solar panel through the day to ensure our fridge battery maintained optimum charge.

Livingstonia at roughly 500m above the lake was built by Scottish missionaries in 1894 after two previous attempts to establish a mission on the lakeshores (one of them being a Cape Maclear) had failed due to most of their people dying from Malaria. Many of the original buildings are still standing which the Livingstonia university now utilise but for us as tourists there was not much to see. In addition to the Mushroom farm there is another camp perched on the edge of the cliff called Lukwe Eco camp, the write-ups on IOverlander are very positive and so we had in mind to spend a night here too. We were very impressed upon arrival as the attention to detail and hand crafted art and buildings make a great impression, over a Coca Cola on the balcony we thought to spend a night in one of their little chalets as they look directly over the valley and from the outside look great however upon viewing one we were horribly underwhelmed. The campsite was at the back with no view so also didn’t really appeal and we therefore decided to head back down to the lake, a decision we would soon regret.

The descent back down the pass was as spectacular as the ascent 3 days earlier and fortunately any traffic we did meet was at a spot were two vehicles could squeeze past each other. The first time we found the iOverlander reviews to be totally foreign to our experience was on our first night in Malawi two months ago and now as we near the end of our stay we again experienced this. The owner and staff of Hakuna Mutata are very friendly and helpful but the campsite is just a large plot of sand with one central thatch shade area and a long walk to the waters edge. In 40 degree heat with strong “berg” winds this is far from ideal and was made worse when Stuart sunk Mr Jones into the sand trying to park in a shady spot. As we didn’t feel like letting the tyres down just to move the landy 10metres and with it being too hot to dig him out we decided the best course of action was to grab a couple of beers, sit under the thatch and wait for it to cool down. Having been grumpy and irritable about the situation we were served a good portion of humble pie when the staff arrived with a large hose to wet the sand down and help to get Mr Jones out.

Nothing could however change the environment and so the next morning we moved 60km further up the lake to what we hoped would be a campsite with more shade and some grass. FloJa camp turned out to be exactly that with lovely terraced camping spots, big trees, funky sitting areas and only metres from the waters edge. As a plus it looks like there is a good chance of being able to watch the finals of the Rugby World Cup here (Springboks versus England).

Our last beachfront property for a while

Final thought on Malawi and our time here

In total we will have spent 58 days in Malawi and have absolutely loved our time here, the people are super friendly and it still deserves to be called “the friendly heart of Africa”, it is easy to get marooned on the lake and in addition the various mountain destinations (Mulanje, Zomba, Mushroom farm/Livingstonia) are spectacular. It is therefore well worth a visit.

The negative side to Malawi is that it is one of the poorest countries in the world, 173 out of 182 and we cannot see how that will change in the foreseeable future. From our observations Aid and the provision of Aid is big business in Malawi, you cannot drive more than 5km without seeing a sign proudly announcing that XYZ was funded by ABC organisation or country. It is so bad we nearly crashed the first time we saw a sign stating that a project was funded by the Malawian government. Aid has been flowing into the country for 30+ years and yet there appears to have been no progress (88% of the population live on less than USD2 per day, 35% cannot read or write by the age of 15, etc, etc). In our amateurish observations the actual impact of aid has been to create a culture of “expectancy” whether it be from large aid organisations or simple travellers like ourselves. In addition after chatting with many people who have spent far more time here than ourselves there is a general frustration with the slow pace of change and implementation of programs. We are sure there is a very controversial thesis waiting to be written about the true impact of aid in developing or hindering a country’s development.

Malawi Gallery

Captain(s) Log: a different view of the ups and downs of daily life

Useful links and practical info for Malawi

Maintenance Log: Malawi was generally more friendly to us than Moz but still required some work

Travel Diary: Mozambique

When we left Mozambique after our 3 week holiday in April we debated which way we would head North when we eventually started full time travel in a few months time, would we go West and via Namibia & Zambia OR would we return back to our happy hunting grounds of Mozambique and head northwards that way? In the end the decision was made by Stuart acquiring another surfboard and the desire to test it out.

New board, Old Board & Tania’s body board

With a desire to at least have some new experiences as we travelled the southern portion of Mozambique we decided to enter through Kruger National Park and the Giriyondo border post, this would be our 5th different border post used to enter Moz. In hindsight this wasn’t the best decision as we had to incur additional transit fees for the Mozambique portion of the trans-frontier park and some very corrugated roads which threatened to shake both us and Mr Jones apart. All was made good once we arrived at Chidenguele and enjoyed a Rum & Rasberry while looking out at the ocean.

A short hop took us up to Tofo where we spent the next 12 days just chilling out, enjoying the great vibe of this little village and of course surfing. This brought our residency time in Tofo to 36 days for 2019 and many of the locals seemed to think we were permanent residents or long lost friends. Over the years we have seen a steady upliftment of Tofo, one improvement we really appreciated was a new Japanese restaurant called Sumi which just happens to be run by a childhood friend of Tania (Craig Harburn). The menu is influenced by the availability of local produce and the catch of the day, it is world class and we enjoyed a couple of evenings out there.

In 2008 on our first trip to Mozambique, we had three goals, firstly to celebrate Stuart’s Dad 70th birthday somewhere along the coast, secondly to tick off a lifer for Stuarts folks birding list ( a Green head Oriale found on Gorongosa mountain and thirdly to visit Ilha De Mozambique. Although we managed to achieve the first two goals and did get quite far north we quickly realised that Ilha was going to be too far on bad roads especially with 5 people and all our camping gear packed into one Land Rover. On subsequent trips we have had the loose goal of getting to Ilha but invariably got marooned on the beaches down south so this time given that we didn’t have the usual time restrictions we decided we would visit Ilha, leaving Tofo we knew we had almost 2000km and at least 5 days of hard driving ahead of us.

As we moved north of Vilankulos the road began to deteriorate and we soon found ourselves rock and rolling through potholes while playing dodgem with 30ton trucks. Truck & pothole dodgem video

A days break at Goody Villas in Inhassoro was just what the doctor ordered for both Mr Jones and ourselves as it was so nice to have grass to camp on and not have sandy feet as moved around in camp.

A stroke of luck meant the expected bad roads north of Inhassoro were not too bad and we made good time to the planned overnight spot so decided to gamble and see if we could make the next days drive as well which fortunately went well as we made Gorongosa in the late afternoon.

Mozambique seems to be a tale of thirds, the southern part has steadily developed around tourism over the last decade, the northern section is also growing and changing due to coal and maybe gas. However as we drove through the middle section we couldn’t help but feel depressed as we pushed towards the Beira & Gorongosa area, there is practically no change from 12 years ago in terms of development of the area or people. Possibly the only change is that the children and teenagers we saw back then are now parents.

Another depressing sight in this section is the level of deforestation and slash and burn activities, for 50km before and after the Inchope intersection (Beira) the bush is just burnt or burning and smog/smoke hangs everywhere.

We arrived at Gorongosa Adventure campsite (a little camp just outside the park boundary) to a “ghost town” feel. We were the only people there and there was no indication of anybody around. Everything still seems functional if just a little covered in winter leaves so we parked and opened the car. It was stinking hot at first but as evening arrived it cooled down nicely and went “bushveld quite”. Also some camp attendants arrived and we “checked-in”, based on their register we were the first visitors in 30 days which sums up our interactions with other revellers in Mozambique. In our 24 days travelling through the country we met one Swede on a motorbike and saw in the distance two other “overland” vehicles, in particular once we left Tofo most of the time we felt like the only foreign travellers.

From Gorongosa to the Zambezi was only 300km but took us over 7 hours, the road had massive potholes, lots of detours, dust so thick from trucks on the detours that sometimes we couldn’t even see the end of the bonnet. The terrible roads resulted in a coolant leak which fortunately Stuart could bypass quite quickly and keep us moving.

What is crazy is that 11 years ago the EU spent a fortune on building a bridge over the Zambezi which is world class and certainly cuts out waiting for a ferry etc, but what good is it if the 300km leading up to the bridge are a road from hell that just punishes and kills vehicles, cargo, people etc. A first world bridge connected to roads that don’t exist…. After a hard day on the road we couldn’t help but wonder how cynical will we become about aid and the mix of 1st and 3rd world by the end of this trip?

After a long day, CUA CUA lodge was a welcome relief, a couple of beers later and the bartender bringing round a hosepipe to wash off Mr Jones grime from the day makes the world seem better. We camped on the front lawns below the bar and next to pool, the shower facilities are not great so we rinsed off the dust in the pool.

Another long, hot day followed in order to get to Nampula with no stopping for 9 hours but at least the roads were improved. We camped next to a beautiful lake and granite outcrop, the only downside was it is the weekend picnic spot for the Nampula brat pack and the party was in full steam when we arrived Sunday afternoon. The last revellers left around 9. We slept like the dead until some voices and what sounded like an attempt to open the back door woke Tania at 4:00, then the main security light went out! We sat nervously staring out the windows trying to see if anybody was around and luckily nothing come of it. When the security light come back on, Tania took night guard shift together with her kindle while Stuart caught a few more zees.

A pleasant surprise when leaving Nampula was to find a brand new Shoprite, which was very well stocked, clean and had safe parking with nobody hassling you while you try and pack the car. We also found a shop selling water so stopped and bought a number of 6l containers which we decanted into water tank right there on side of road, so that we had our full 60l of freshwater back on board. A reminder of the differences in priorities when travelling in the 3rd world is how as soon as you finish emptying a water container somebody is there looking to collect the empty for their own use.

The only camping option at Ilha de Mozambique is on the mainland where the causeway starts, our first impressions upon arriving were not good (perhaps cause we were exhausted from many hard days of travel) as the entry to the campsite is right in the busy part of the village and rather dirty but it turned into a good find. The people running the site are super friendly and go out of their way to help even though there was a major communication barrier as neither of us could speak the others language, the facilities are old but nice and clean and we are camped right on the edge of sea. There was a nice casita to sit under and watch the comings and goings of the village pass by on the sea shore. We were planning on going across to Ilha right away but when we got a surprise breakfast (fried egg and bread roll) brought to us, we immediately started to relax and ended up spending the day chilling and doing chores on Mr Jones. Tomorrow is another day…

Camping on Mainland just across from Ilha de Mozambique

The island of Mozambique (3km long by 500m wide) was ruled by a sultan (Musa Bin Bique) during the times of Vasco de Gama and it is from this and subsequent Portuguese pronunciations of his name that Mozambique derives it’s own name. In the 15th century the Portuguese established a port and built a chapel which is now considered the oldest European building in the Southern Hemisphere. In the 16th century a fort was built and the island become a major trading post for slaves, spices and gold. A 3km bridge erected in the 1960’s now connects the island to the mainland.

The island has an interesting mix of Arabic, Chinese and Portuguese influence and we enjoyed a day of visiting the museum, fort and then lazing on a rooftop terrace watching dhows sail by as they go about their daily business.

From Ilha to Malawi we had 700km to traverse and based on the information we had the middle part was really bad roads, the plan was to split this over 3 days driving. When we outpaced the GPS calculations by 2 hours on the second day and the GPS showed we could make Malawi by 3 that afternoon we decided to carry on.

That decision turned what had been an easy day into a day from HELL, the road for the next 200km was ugly dirt with soft powdery sections (like Dakar Fesh Fesh) that just enveloped the whole car. Almost immediately the GPS ETA started to climb and we were under pressure.

*The irony of arriving at the Town Of Malema exactly as the tar ended and terrible dirt started was not lost on us*

Mr Jones did not get higher than 3rd gear for the next 5 hours as Stuart battled the road. We arrived at the border filthy and tired. Somehow we survived the border crossing with our sense of humour intact even changing money with the black market traders (and not getting conned) as the ATM inside Malawi wouldn’t give us cash and we had border fees plus insurance to buy. The last 40km were done in the dark (breaking a hard rule of ours to not drive at night) with Stuart sticking close behind a truck no matter how slow or fast he went as at least he was a moving wall.

Mozambique/Malawi Border, not exactly a major crossing

The straw that almost broke the camels back was arriving at Palm Beach camp ground on the Lake, opening the back door and absolutely everything including the inside of draws was covered in dust and the campground and its ablutions are grimy. We closed off a 12 hour day on the road with a beer and packet of Simba chips as we were too tired to be bothered to do anything else….

All in all we had a great time and a few adventures in Mozambique, now we are looking forward to some R&R time next to Lake Malawi.

Mozambique Gallery

Maintenance Log: Mozambique created it’s fair share of issues

Useful links and Practical info for Mozambique

From a Dream to Reality

As you will have probably read in the About section, both of us have always had a desire to lead a simple life and travel without the restrictions of annual leave.

While researching and dreaming of the route we would take if we took a Gap Year, Stuart come across an article from the Land Rover Club about a South African couple who drove around the world in their Land Rover Forward Control called Dipli ( http://www.overlandhb.co.za).

We eventually got to meet Jan & Leone in 2016 but it was their website which first inspired the idea of a longer and worldwide trip as early as 2010.

Our early idea was to build a motorhome style camper on the back of a 4×4 truck, complete with bathroom. We figured the space and home comforts would be ideal.

When Stuart was explaining the idea to a friend who had just moved back to the UK, our email exchange went as follows:

Mr. D: The Gap Decade hey? That sounds pretty cool, especially if you build your own wheels and accommodation. You could go wherever, whenever. It begs the question why more people aren’t doing that all the time!

Stuart: I like the sound of a “gap decade”, never thought of it like that. Is it reasonably feasible or is it just a pipe dream, I think it is perfectly feasible with a bit of careful planning, some hard work & financial discipline and then some luck. It will require us to be sensible in our lifestyles and maybe make one or 2 sacrifices along the way, but from our point of view these sacrifices are not big however.

As an example, we had spoken of moving into a bigger house cause sometimes a bit of extra space would be good but then we thought about it and what we have is perfectly adequate (in fact very nice) and when I punched the numbers we realised that if we moved then after 8 years (ideal start date of the gap decade) we would have substantially less savings which could help to fund the gap decade. So easy decision!

Another example, my car is 5 years old now which is when most people would be looking to buy a new one, but if I keep it for a few more years we can save all those repayments towards the gap decade.

Why do more people not do it ? Apart from the financial sacrifices required, I think the next main reason is most people wouldn’t consider it that attractive, they would rather holiday in fancy hotels than live “rough” in a small truck. Then there is security, even if you hate your job you usually know it will be there tomorrow and that at the end of the month you will get paid whereas if we do this we will be on our own…. I think when it gets closer to the time breaking away from the job security will be (certainly for me as an accountant) the hardest step to make 🙂

In December 2010 we undertook a 3 week trip to Malawi for which we had planned very little and would be going further from home than ever before… Both of us considered it as a possible litmus test for being able to do a much longer trip. The trip was fantastic and definitely cemented the dream in our minds. We also met the next couple (Chris & Erin Ratay of www.ultimatejourney.com) to inspire us (and who in turn we subsequently helped inspire to abandon motorbike travel and purchase a Land Rover). In return Chris regularly checks up on us to see when we will be setting off!

Mr Jones & Vifaru meet, 5 years after Malawi & 4 years after Chris & Erin swapped their motorbike for a trial trip in Mr J

So after returning from Malawi we put together a ‘business plan’ that would allow us to embark on a Gap Decade in approximately 2020.

Over the next few years we continued to dream, take holidays and save furiously.

In May 2015 we set off for Mozambique, with the intention of going far north but plans are made to be changed and probably because we were both coming off incredibly hectic periods of work we ended up not going very far at all. In fact we got marooned in Tofo for 11 days. In the campsite with us was a German registered Landy driven by Hendrik and his Swedish wife, Caroline. Hendrik was also carrying surfboards and trying to re-learn how to surf just like Stuart and so we spent a lot of time going to the beach and cooking meals together. They were able to partially stand-up in their Landy and possibly because we were starting to have concerns about a big vehicle for long term travel in terms of road access, costs and maintenance it was during this trip that we started to revise our thoughts and wonder if we could make Mr Jones work for us long term and what it would take to do that.

Upon our return to South Africa we did research and found the Icarus roof conversion by AluCab which resulted in the seeds being sown to stay loyal to Mr J. The conversion of Mr. Jones to what he is today can be found here

9 years after the email conversation above, we are now in a position to leave and all the items (careful planning, hard work &financial discipline) have been needed, including right at the end a bit of luck.

In addition to those mentioned above who inspired and influenced us throughout the dream, we have also taken a lot of inspiration from:

The Bells( www.a2aexpedition.com) – A South African family, driving a Land Rover who over the last 7 years have driven much of the route we plan to take.

Land Cruiser Adventure https://landcruisingadventure.com – 16 years on the road and still going strong!

Tucks Truck https://www.tuckstruck.net – One of the websites Stuart followed regularly when we were planning to build a truck. Been on the road since 2014.

Category: Travel Diary