A Few More Memories

Just arrived in Tanzania

The start on Day One -all looking clean and fresh!

This lady was 96 and still very much in charge!

Sometimes any rock worked would do!

Our tent was on the right - definitely only room for two people bags had to stay outside!

The cloth worn by the Maasai warriors

Ngorongoro Crater

Our leaders Steph and Sam - both amazing.

Day Six - Weru Weru Lodge

Saturday and most of the group were going home today, a few were heading to Zanzibar for a break by the beach and we were staying at the hotel in Moshi for a wind down day before starting home tomorrow morning.

It was a slow morning, a few tired and heavy headed people did surface for breakfast but it was a little subdued.  It was a very strange feeling today as we all felt a little odd not getting on our bikes! Most of us had been planning this trip for about a year and now it was over, it was a weird feeling, what did we do with our weekends now?  Thoughts were turning to the next trip we might do!

The bus came to take them to the airport at midday and after some loud and tearful farewells silence fell on the hotel!!  Andrew, Christine and Ashlyn were still trying to sort out their plans so we had a snack lunch with them before spending a few hours by the pool going over the last few days.  

It really has been an incredible five days, if feels much longer than that having packed so much into each day and trying to take in what we saw when we were able to take our eyes off the few yards of road in front of us sure that we would not crash into some pothole!

We have met some amazing people with all different reasons for doing the ride and the experience will stay with us for a long, long time.

The map below shows our route - follow the red line from right to left.

Perfect end to the day.

They even gave us medals!

Day Five - The Final leg to Ngorongoro Crater

SUCCESS - Challenge Completed!

Up and suitcases ready for breakfast at 6am!  Our 6.30 start ended up nearer 7 as there were some punctures even before we had started!  We only(!) had 38km to cycle today and most of it on Tarmac but the ups just seemed to get harder and the downs shorter but WE DID IT! 360 kilometres completed and the challenge conquered so chuffed with ourselves.

The scenery was even more stunning and green as we travelled right through the centre of the Rift Valley. The fruit trees, farms and Maasai towns all along the route gave us something to look at when we could take our eyes off the road! Again most of the locals had big smiles as we passed and the little children alternated between saying Jambo (hello) and asking for "dollar" as they ran down to the edge of the road to see us all pass.

Everyone got everyone else up each climb and the final climb to the first Ngorongoro gate was quite emotional  - watching everyone cross the line and complete the challenge for their particular charity.   The group range in age from 19 to 64 and all of us finished and most with a smile, some through a few tears!  

After everyone had taken all the photos, cried and congratulated each other we were all going on a safari into the Crater itself. We managed a quick change of clothes, got a picnic lunch box, found a truck and then headed up to the rim of the crater with amazing views down to the rain forest of the Rift Valley on one side and the Ngorongoro Crater on the other.  What an incredible sight!  50km across, a huge lake in the middle with salt water and the greener areas where the water has come down from the rim in rivers and the land is quite lush at the base of these.

We saw wildebeest, buffalo, gazelles, crane, warthogs and lions and hippos.  It was fantastic but sadly I did not get to see an elephant which was a shame although I did see a herd through a telescope from a viewing point on the rim so I shall make do with that.

We had a five hour journey back to Weru Weru hotel which was much longer than planned but amazing to drive over the roads we had cycled and we were even more impressed with ourselves!!  Dinner was rather late but it did not stop the party and celebrations.  Everyone really let their hair down and relaxed.  We all analysed the ride and reminisced over the bruises and had a few drinks to take any pain away!  It feels strange to think we are not getting on the bikes again tomorrow and that we won't all be together again for a water break!  We finally had to say goodnight at 1am but the others carried on I gather until about 5!!

What a great day and a great trip - bring on the next challenge!

Day Four - Roika Campsite, Tarangire to Lake Manyara Hotel, Lake Manyara National Park

The first person woke at around 5 o'clock this morning and that basically means that the rest of the camp are awake pretty quickly after that!!  The plan was to leave at 7.15 again so up, dressed and packed and breakfast as the sun was rising!

The plan today was 66km and we were going to keep going through so we could get to the hotel for a late lunch and relaxing afternoon. The start was the way we came in last night and we hadn't enjoyed part of that very much then so weren't keen to do it again, but off we set with tired legs and tired bikes.  It was the day of the punctures, it was constant - every few minutes you would pass someone else on the side of the road waiting for the repair crew to come past and fix it!!  The area was flat and dusty again unti we reached this waterhole which was lovely and then after that it became a little greener and healthy looking.

We were getting too chuffed with ourselves that all was right with our bikes and then ended up having four punctures between us in about as many kilometres, serves us right!  The terrain was either very rocky or sandy but relatively hard this time.  It was hard and in places just endless but we did see some Zebra which really brightened my day.

It was going well, really hot again around 35 degrees so lots of water breaks to ensure we were hydrated and to keep us all together a each stage.  The end of the ride was a 3km climb up to the hotel and that was one climb I don't want to have to do again in a hurry.  It was so steep and so hot, but we both made it and all the cheering at the top from the other guys was great. Time for quick group shot then the final 2km or so to the actual hotel.

Wow what a place! I almost felt guilty but then again after what had gone before we all felt we deserved it!! Our late lunch was really tea as we did not get their until 4 but it was very welcome whatever the time.

The rooms were stunning and the views over the lake spectacular.  After enjoying a long soak in a wonderfully warm bath, we went for a wander around the beautiful gardens to see if we could spot some animals apart from the baboons around the hotel itself - nothing close but I did spot giraffe in the far distance.

We had a lovely dinner before an early night as starting at 6.30 tomorrow.

68km

Day Two - Olpopongi to Arusha

OMG what an incredible day!  Well I can say that now that it is all over! We started our day at 7.15 and cycled 20km on sand, some of which was about 4 inches deep and almost impossible to get through without walking! Then we had 15km uphill on an extremely rough track - all of this took about three hours which was much longer than planned! After a break for lunch we then hit the Tarmac which we would now be on for about 45km but the first 15 km were up a long and steep hill (with no flat breathing parts) and really tested us all after our morning!

By the time we set off for the last 30km which were downhill and flat and therefore actually really rather fun and meant we could lift our heads up and look at the scenery, the sun was sinking fast and the chances of reaching the campsite before dark looked very unlikely but that didn't stop them.   To cut a long story short it ended up that about half the group, after navigating our way through potholes and rocks on what we thought was the path to the camp, ended up cycling on a main road for half an hour in the pitch black with no lights following one of our support vehicles to show us the way. Pretty scary really but we made it and can laugh about it now!

The whole day was cycling around Mt Meru trying to spot wild animals but basically there were only gots, cows and a rabbit! I did finally spot a few gazelle in the distance when we had stopped for lunch. The area is stunning and the farms really cute. Most of the locals remained entertained by us but a few were less thrilled with our presence!

As I said an amazing day but not one I wish to repeat again too soon!

82km

Day Three - The Tembo Club, Arusha to The Roika Campsite, Tarangire National Park

Up early again, even earlier than asked due to the tent having no soundproofing!  They were taking no chances today and kept telling us the route, how long it should take and what we would do if it got dark before we reached our destination (they wanted no repeat of yesterday!)

After 82km yesterday we had 98km today but most was on Tarmac and although there were hills they went down as well as up so should have been an easier day! Started off really well and we raced along eating up the miles on the nice roads but sadly the Tanzanians had decided to resurface an awful lot of their highways and their idea of a diversion was onto an absolutely horrendous mix of gravel, sand, broken Tarmac and potholes. It also added on about 5 more kilometres so we ended up doing 104 today!

The scenery again was fantastic, bustling towns, pretty farms and huge expanses of nothing but scrub and dust - it is the dry season of course!  I looked hard for any wild animal but still only cows and goats!  Tonight we stayed at the Roika campsite in Tangire National Park and the route in was both bumpy and sandy but fun.  Lots of elephant dung in evidence but sadly no sighting of an elephant itself!  The tents were up so we grabbed ours and then found there was a pool so we had a quick dip to cool off! The showers were really quite posh tonight - hot water and shower head so I actually managed to clean my hair tonight - bliss!

Sitting having a G&T before supper and then to bed and hope that no animals come skulking around the tents later!  We were entertained at dinner by a few of the Maasai tribe who were there to protect us from animals in the night, showing us their various tribal dances and getting some of the younger people to join in.  It was a good day!

104km

Day One : Moshi to Olpopongi

We all gathered at the front of the hotel at 7 to set off at 7.15 and amazingly everyone was there on time.  After the obligatory photo of the group in front of the banner we started on our way. 

It was fantastic, we started on a rough track for about a kilometer then we hit Tarmac. We rode on the main road around the base of Kilimanjaro waiting for the clouds to clear so we could see the peak, we glimpsed it briefly before the clouds came back! The Tarmac then suddenly disappeared and we were back on rough track cycling through towns, past children heading to school and appeared to be a real source of entertainment to the crowds of people starting their day!

We had some long hills, dusty flat trails and some deep sand traps (which did catch a few of the riders out but luckily no serious injuries). 

Our camp for the night was in the Maasai area of Olpopongi which was a cultural village set up to show visitors what Maasai life is like. We ended up sleeping in a genuine mud hut with Lee and Kate which was very nice as the tents looked awfully small!  Roasted goat for dinner around a lovely campfire before heading off for a relatively early night, that's if we can find our way in the dark! Beautiful clear starry sky - absolutely stunning.