Yesterday I started my journey back to Dar es Salem by getting a mini bus up to Mazuz, which is on the main Malawian North/South road. So far so good, I got there at about eight in the morning and saw that a big bus from a 'reputable' company was heading to the border. So I got on board which was a big mistake. By thinking big I thought fast, big, big error. When we finally rolled out of the station we then stopped not only at every village and town, often standing idling for half an hour or move, but we also stopped for just about everyone waving at the side of the road.

As the bus was packed, with people standing in the aisle, it usually took ages for them to get on and off. Many of them, particularly the women had been to market, so had big bundles. Most of the women also had a child hanging off their back as well, nearly all these kids were incredibility stoic, they just hung there and observed the world without a murmur.   

I'd spent the last of my Malawian money on the ticket, so I couldn't jump off and try my luck on something that looked like it was going to move faster. So add to it all, as we got closer to the border there were lots of police checkpoints. At these most people had to get off and the policemen got on the bus and poked through their belongings. I asked one of the policemen what they were looking for, Reply - Everything. Then he made me open my rucksack. At the next one I had to produce my passport.

On the way down, the journey from the border had taken four hours, the trip back lasted nine. We rolled into the border village of Songwe at dusk, too late to cross the border as Tanzania is an hour ahead and they keep office hours. So I had to spend the night at the 'rest house' a very simple room and very clean but unfortunately with no running water.

After crossing over this morning and another packed mini bus I decided to spent the afternoon chilling in the pleasant town of Mbeya. Tomorrow will be taken up with another white knuckle ride back to Dar.

Finally I have seen Kilimanjaro, just a glimpse of the whole mountain around 0600 in the morning. Soon afterwards, the clouds roll in for the day. Even so it dosn't look much like the pictures as so much of the snow cover has gone.  I had pleasant trip down to Dar es Salam, in a modern coach filled with a large group of very smartly dressed convent girls. It made me realize how slowly the overland truck went, as the buses really move.

I spent a day in and around Dar, sorting out moving on, unfortunately I can't take the train to the south of the country as its fully booked, so it's going to be a 900km bus journey. The train station was worth seeing though, a massive Soviet style concrete palace of a place, which was almost completely deserted. Not surprising as only three trains a week run on the line.

I am now in Nungwi, a village like resort at the north of Zanzibar island where I stayed a month ago at the beginning of my trip. The bungalow resort I stayed in then burnt down two weeks ago, the walls of the buildings remain but the thatched rooves burnt very well and spread, burning down part of the neighbouring resort and a dive shop. An electrical fault said the owners, who were sitting in their office, now just a pile of rubble; others say they were being too successful so arson is more likely. This is Africa.

Still the beach is still white, the sea turqoise and warm and the sky blue, what more do you want?

A long time my last post as again not a good enough connections to edit this site. Last week I went into Rwanda for a day trip. Rwanda is a beautiful country, rolling hills and a higher standard of living than Uganda, all in all a pleasant place. We visited the Kigali Memorial Centre which tries to explain the genocide in 1994; it revealed how appearences can be deceptive. I shall write something longer on this visit in due course, I cannot remember the last time I was so affected by a place, and it needs some thinking about.

From being in the very south of Uganda, we then drove almost the whole lenght of the country to Jinja, located where the Nile flows out of Lake Victoria. I went in search of the source of the Nile, and discovered it. The Ugandans have added a grantic obolisk to the modest memorial where John Henning Speke saw the outflow, now much changed due to the building of a dam. Still a peice of geographical history.

From Jinja, we drove back into Kenya, to the Lake Nakuru National Park, where we saw lots of Rhinos, then on to Lake Naivash, where I went walking with the wildlife in the Crater Lake Game Sancuary. One excursion that bought back a lot of memories was a visit to Elsamere, the home of Joy and George Adamson of 'Born Free' fame. We were shown a video of her life, were I was surprised to discover she was actually an Austrian, when I had always thought she was British through and through. An interesting place. Sadly, on display in the garden was the Landrover in which George was murdered by Somali poachers; and of course Joy was murdered as well. Such is Africa.

In Nairobi, I said goodbye to the group and I'm now travelling alone for the rest of my trip. I've come south to Moshi in Tanzania hoping to get a glimpse of Kilimanjaro, which is persistantly covered in cloud. The town is full of young British yoofs, all on the ultimate sponsored walk, and 'doing Kili' for charity.

Tomorrow I'm off to Dar and hopefully a swim in the sea at the end of a long bus ride.

After arrival in Tanzania, I joined up with my truck group and we went together over to Zanzibar. I spent a day wandering around Stonetown, which in has not changed in anyway from when I was here four years ago; but such a timeless place would probably be very difficult to change anyway. We then went up to the beach resort of Nungwi, and spent a couple of days chilling out. It really is one of the nicest beaches I know anywhere, golden sand and clear, warm turquoise water to swim in. On the last evening we took a boat along the coast to a full moon party, which was a full on night out.

Back on the mainland, I started my journey with the group in earnest with a ten hour truck ride from Dar es Salaam to Arusha in the north of Tanzania. Rolling empty African countryside most of the way, but with so far to go we didn't even stop for lunch.  As we got to Mosi, we got a glimpse of Kilimanjaro through the cloud, and it was impressive, one of life's ambitions ticked in the box.

Today we are setting off on the highlight of our journey, heading into the Ngorongoro crater and the Sererigeti national park. Our amenable American tour leader Mat, gave us a talk on the do's and don'ts in the park, as we will be camping in the park itself with the animals all around us. There is an elaborate drill for leaving your tent to go to the loo at night, can you hear anything, do you see eyes watching you; all very important if you don't want to be a snack for a group of hyenas or a lion.

Unfortunately, the weather is unseasonably cool with some rain so we don't know what kind of views we will have. Heres hoping it will be spectacular.

When I go travelling, at least outside Europe I tend to wear a cheap Casio watch; if it's lost or stolen it doesn't matter, you're only $20 down and you can easily replace it. Before starting a long journey like the one I've just completed from my home in St Albans to Dar es Salaam, I use the stopwatch function to record just how long the journey took. With stopovers and time zone changes it's often not easy to work how many hours have gone by, but the watch will record it to the second. So I know that the journey from my front door to the Kipepeo Beach Camp near Dar took 23hrs 12mins and some change. This included a couple of hours stop over at Dubai Airport (where I saw my first Super Jumbo on a stand), going forward a couple of time zones, then back one. So I was awake and functioning for 37 hours,sustained only by a couple of cat/power naps.

My reward at the end of my journey was to be able to walk down to the beach and swim in the warm Indian Ocean, just as the sun was going down. Bliss.

Writing from Zanzibar,