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