5.30 alarm. First light showed that our askari was still there, now wearing a grey suit jacket over his Masai shukas. Barney paid him and off he went. Then we had a bit of a nightmare: the truck wouldn’t start at first. B suspects that the batteries have come to the end of their life, so we have kept the engine running all day, even while refuelling.
Another day of green and attractive scenery. We drove through forests of baobab trees with sunflowers and maize planted in between. Green trees, blue sky, orange earth and houses made of orange bricks. Very striking. We reached the dam on the Great Ruaha. Here, on each side, we were asked for water by the security staff. It was all very odd. We thought they must have some kind of scam going. We gave what we could from the cab and were sent on our way.
Somewhere along the way, I was almost asleep, head nodding, when B suddenly called out. I looked up in time to see our spade slide off the roof-rack, over the bonnet and onto the road, where we ran it over, breaking the wooden handle. We didn’t stop and get it.
We made it to The Old Farm at Kisolanza by 3.30. We had stayed four nights here in 2013 because we found it so pleasant and well run. Big disappointment. There was a corporate do there with tents all over the place and VERY loud music starting up. We turned around and headed back to Iringa, to Riverside (or River Valley) Camp, hoping for better luck. Again, it had been well run in 2013. Things do change. We had to pay upfront: usually a bad sign. They kept trying to light the campfire, which we didn’t want, but there was no hot water because the donkey was damp and stone cold. They had a job to get it going but managed this while we were at dinner. However, we still didn’t get a shower there because both were occupied by staff. We gave up and had a shower at home instead, feeling a bit grumpy, especially after three hours extra driving. The nice black lab was still about, though, looking a bit grey around the muzzle and a bit lonely. I gave him some of my leftover chips from dinner.
Another day of green and attractive scenery. We drove through forests of baobab trees with sunflowers and maize planted in between. Green trees, blue sky, orange earth and houses made of orange bricks. Very striking. We reached the dam on the Great Ruaha. Here, on each side, we were asked for water by the security staff. It was all very odd. We thought they must have some kind of scam going. We gave what we could from the cab and were sent on our way.
Somewhere along the way, I was almost asleep, head nodding, when B suddenly called out. I looked up in time to see our spade slide off the roof-rack, over the bonnet and onto the road, where we ran it over, breaking the wooden handle. We didn’t stop and get it.
We made it to The Old Farm at Kisolanza by 3.30. We had stayed four nights here in 2013 because we found it so pleasant and well run. Big disappointment. There was a corporate do there with tents all over the place and VERY loud music starting up. We turned around and headed back to Iringa, to Riverside (or River Valley) Camp, hoping for better luck. Again, it had been well run in 2013. Things do change. We had to pay upfront: usually a bad sign. They kept trying to light the campfire, which we didn’t want, but there was no hot water because the donkey was damp and stone cold. They had a job to get it going but managed this while we were at dinner. However, we still didn’t get a shower there because both were occupied by staff. We gave up and had a shower at home instead, feeling a bit grumpy, especially after three hours extra driving. The nice black lab was still about, though, looking a bit grey around the muzzle and a bit lonely. I gave him some of my leftover chips from dinner.