The Expedition Diary - February 2006

01 February 2006 12:00:00

Fixing the Discovery

Woody was up bright and early to get down to a local farm machinery factory where one of Flash’s mates was going to shave down the important part of the steering box which is needed to make the Disco steering light enough for Col to be able to drive (torsion bar). Fortunately, it all went to plan and now, at 4mm thick, it worked beautifully. Steering Developments, the company who made the adaptations, had shaved it down to 3mm which was actually a bit thin and so had snapped on the Moyale – Marsabit road further up north.

The Doc, having still not found his microphone (spent the most of yesterday looking for it) had managed to locate Colin’s little camcorder one which was luckily compatible. He spent the day doing interviews with us all. I think we all really enjoyed it – it was like talking to a shrink and once you got into the swing of it, me and Chrissy especially, really started to talk! Everything came out from what we’d seen, our thoughts, emotions and expedition gossip. We both came away on a bit of a high!

I, once again, did more diary catch-up and a few errands with Ben in town. I’ve had to go to the bank everyday for the past week or so, to restock our money which has completely depleted due to all these vehicle parts we have needed to buy which has always been in cash. Use of our visa card has only recently been available and then it’s only in a bank. In Nairobi places are beginning to use cards in shops but generally, since we’ve hit Africa, most places only deal in cash (in Ethiopia, if you were buying a car it would be in cash!).

Farewell dinner was cooked by me, Nikki and Chrissy – a girly time in the kitchen together. A relatively early night to prepare ourselves for the days trucking tomorrow. I can’t wait to be back on the road again. The past week and a half has been very nice but I think we are ready to get moving again (and back on Mummy Matthews’ rations!).

02 February 2006 12:00:00

On Safari

Back to the early morning starts – up at 6am so we could be out in the vehicles for 7ish. This was going to be our first safari and what a place to do it - in and around the Mara. Cool box full of food (thank you) in the back, camera batteries charged and binoculars ready! We were all very excited for the possibility of spotting the Big Five and lots more.

What a day! It started off by making our way towards Ron’s son, Gerard’s camp where laid up a table by the river, of all our breakfast goodies supplied and prepared by Pauline and Izzy (their helper). At about 12pm, with a spotter in the back of the Disco, we head back out to spot some more wildlife. So far we had seen buffalo, wildebeest, impala, giraffe, numerous different species of bird including a secretary bird (which, surprisingly looks like its name), topi, akudu, crocodile, hippo (sheep and
cows as well!)

Hopefully, we were now going to see lions, cheetah, leopard and rhino (if we were lucky). Off we went driving around the park, with our eyes peeled for some beasts! And then we saw it, our first spotting of a lion. On the other side of the bank was a lioness lying under a tree protecting her well camouflaged cubs, from the large buffalo above. She wasn’t going to move because if she did then her cubs would be eaten by the buffalo, so she just lay there proudly, letting us watch her as she lay in the shade. When we moved on, having passed hyena and a jackal, we came across another lion – the big daddy, lying with his lady friend, with his legs wide open displaying all!! Again, neither of them moved except for the male who occasionally sat up allowing us to photograph his classic lion face, with his mane catching the slight breeze.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any leopard or cheetah but after we had dropped off our spotter, we were directed were to find the elephants. It was only a small herd but enough to entertain us for 15 minutes or so and get some nice photos. On our way home, we stopped to chat to a passing safari truck who pointed us in the right direction to see the climax of our day. Hiding down by the river, a little way off the track were 2 female lions with their four cubs and a recently killed wildebeest!! We sat, maybe 10 meters away watching them lie out digesting their kill (all except one greedy little cub who we nick named Chrissy!). All these animals are so used to vehicles that they don’t move away, it almost feels like they’ve been put there for our evening meal.

04 February 2006 12:00:00

Safari Guiding School

Organised for us today was a trip to Ron’s new business enterprise. It was a guiding school that had been set up to help young local Masi people gain a qualification in guiding which included modules such as ecology and conservation, first aid, astronomy, English, IT skills and other types of subjects that would help them in gaining their Bronze award for guiding. We arrived at about 11am, having travelled for about 2 hours through the Mara to a remote area where the school was located.

There were 23 very friendly and polite students all dressed in their traditional red dress with lots of colourful necklaces, belts and bracelets. I found it quite amusing how they all had big knives attached to their belts along side mobile phones!! Even in the middle of know where, when people are still practicing their traditions, mobile phone technology has reached them!!! These students have even been sponsored by safari companies, camps offering guided tours, their community or private sponsors. It costs a student $1800 for the year course which includes their accommodation, food, books, tuition etc and once they have finished, having been interviewed by various people, they should walk away with what is considered a decent, well paid job. Ron hopes that his school will not only produce good guides but will educate the locals on how to conserve what they so luckily have and also may perhaps produce some students who go onto think further than just guiding.

The purpose of our visit was to do just this. Ron was very keen that they thought about the possibilities that disabled travel could bring and how there was a market for such stuff. Hopefully some of them would go away and think about what Col and Ron had said and may pass on their knowledge to others – perhaps their next job. I think Ron also had some ideas for Col, his future and his school (unknown to Col!).

We returned home for a late lunch and then a rest/snooze, strum on guitar or run depending on who and how lazy you are (I went for the snooze because I luurrrve sleeping!).

Again, a great evening discussing our day, listening to some great stories from Ron and munching on a delicious dinner cooked by Pauline and Izzy.

P.S. I’m not sure if it has been mentioned about the droughts that are happening over here in Kenya. Everything is so dry and people, crops and animals are really suffering. The cattle, sheep and goats are all so skinny and the farmers have all moved far from their homes to find green pastures – even into Nairobi! It’s sad to see these farmers, some of them as young as 7, herding 4 or 5 skinny cattle or sheep, in the hope that they will survive and then perhaps pay for another meal. We have it lucky back home! The droughts seem to rotate every 4 or 5 years and then a really really serious one apparently every 20 years. We are due one about now so perhaps this year is the one. Back in Marsabit, I saw people queuing up to buy water which went on sale at 12pm - 30p for a drum full which would probably just be enough for the family’s drinking water let alone washing and cooking.

05 February 2006 12:00:00

Sotik

Total Distance: 12330 km

Author: Chris Parsons
Weather: Hot and sunny
Daily travel (route, road conditions): to tea factory then around the 3 tea estates. Back to the guest house before heading over to the main house for supper

Team (Dynamics, health): Nil of note

Camping and Living:
In the guest house of Sotik Highland Tea estate

General Interest:

Maarten Hooreweegen, our host and General Manager of the Sotik Tea Company Ltd, had very generously arranged for us to be shown around both the tea factory and the 3 estates that total some 14,000 acres. The factory tour started at 8am so we were up at our customary 6.00 to ensure punctuality. On our arrival we were eagerly greeted by the equally enthusiastic and knowledgeable Nzeki and George. Over the next 3 hours we were walked through the processes of tea production from withering to the final separation and grading prior to packing. We were even shown how to taste tea properly, though I must confess to preferring mine hot and with a splash of milk. Despite the fact we were over two hours late for our next appointment, through no fault of our own, we were forbidden to leave without sampling a proper cuppa.

After a short drive passed the airfield Col apparently learned to drive on we arrived at the estate’s main office where we were met by Maarten and were introduced to Silas (the field manager) and Barnabus, who were to be our tour guides for the next few hours as we took the scenic driving tour around the estates. In keeping with farming around the world the secret to their success seems to have been to diversify, not only are they growing more than they need of eucalyptus trees and selling them as telegraph poles but also experimenting with natural oils production. The seemingly endless green, rolling fields of tea immaculately quilting the slopes of this gently hilly countryside made for a truly beautiful few hours drive and reminded me strongly of the Highlands on an all too rare perfect summers day.

By 2pm we were back at the red bricked guest house that commands such a spectacular vantage point over the ground we’d just covered. We had hoped to spend the afternoon swimming but by the time we’d had a very late brunch there simply wasn’t time left to fit this in before our diner engagement with Maarten and his wife Elfreda. Whilst Col went about his routine the rest of us busied ourselves with various outstanding tasks before heading over to our hosts stunning house for 7.30. By the time we arrived Nzeka and Silas were already in attendance and all enjoyed a wee tour around the vehicles before heading onto the veranda where we passed a very pleasant evening trading stories with our exceptionally well travelled companions over some especially succulent roast ham. We retired at a very respectable hour al well in need of an early night, all conscious that Col had plans for tomorrow!

06 February 2006 12:00:00

Arakat Tea factory, Guest House, Sotik, Kenya

Total Distance: 12330km

Author: Kiko Matthews
Weather: As usual – sunny with a sprinkling of clouds
Daily travel (route, road conditions): Good condition tracks around the Arakat factory village. Ben went to town to get out some money for me otherwise the only distance covered was to and from the squash courts.

Team (Dynamics, health): All good, we all enjoyed our exercise and hanging out with our new mates, Neziki and Silus. Good day had by all.

Camping and Living: At 11am, as arranged the previous night, Ben and I set off to the squash courts to challenge our new friends at squash. Having not done much exercise for a while or eaten much breakfast, things were a bit of a strain for my poor muscles and lungs! However, being a female, I refused to be beaten by a man and found every bit of energy I had left, to win the titles! Ben also had some good games especially since he hadn’t played for a couple of years. We would have made our mums proud! Chrissy and Woody relaxed and did various bits and bobs, while the Doc backed-up more video footage (the bane of his life!). Lunch by the pool for everyone and then a trip up to the view point for sundowners (drink as the sun goes down!) Unfortunately, the sun was on the other side of where we looking so probably would have been a better morning sun riser than sun downer! Anyway it was still an amazing view even if the sun set wasn’t included in it!

Dinner, cooked by Ben with help from myself, was a rice dish - cabbage, onion, sweet corn and rice type thing.

I think we were all very tired from the past few weeks/days which have actually turned out to be far from a rest! Fun though! Bedtime!

07 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Ikoma Camp, Serengeti, Tanzania

GPS: S02, 10,200 E034, 42,654
Total Distance: 12711 Km

Author: Colin Javens.
Weather: 35 degrees. Extremely bright, sunny and occasional overcast.
Daily travel (route, road conditions):
We left our AMA hotel at 9.30am after some problems trying to transfer money at the bank. We headed south-west towards Musoma and Lake Victoria on the best roads we’ve been on since we left Libya (we even had yellow lines on either side of the road). We descended through large rocky outcrops which were the size of small houses and to me resembled marble bolders I had previously seen in Australia. After just under 80kms we reached Musoma and viewed the shore of Lake Victoria. It was our aim to have a quick turnaround after changing some money at the bank and fill up with fuel before we headed southwest for Rubanda on the edge of The Serengeti National Park. When we turned off the road, the conditions seriously deteriorated. The tar ended and we drove the final 155km on dusty corrugated road to a camp site called Ikoma camp, just past Rubanda ready for an early morning departure through the Serengeti.

For me the driving has become slightly more challenging since Woody has fixed my steering box. Woody was concerned that if we lightened the steering too much it would increase the chance of it breaking again. So Woody fixed the problem but it has meant that the steering isn’t as light as it was and as a result it has taken a little bit of getting used to. Turning right for some unknown reason is harder than turning left. I am getting the hang of it though. Let’s just hope it helps to bulk me up a bit.

Team (Dynamics, health):
Ben as normal was in my vehicle navigating (in his ‘office’ as he calls it) and Kiko joined us for the day. Chris and Woody rode in Brenda with Chrissy in the back busily doing her dairy.

My burns still continue to heal slowly which is great and everybody else’s health seems fine.

Camping and Living:
As we didn’t have to pack anything away this morning we managed to leave in record time. We are now currently at Ikoma campsite. We are parked under a large acacia tree with the vehicles parked side by side and in front of our vehicles we have a small fire quietly burning away. Thanks to all of our friend’s generosity in Kenya it feels like a very long time since we last used our tents. I think I can speak for everyone when I can say that I’m really looking forward to it.

After 1 hr 30 the team had set up this evening and Woody prepared a delicious vegetable curry.

General Interest:
On the way to the Serengeti we were lucky enough to see Marabu Stalk, Zebra, Vervet monkeys, Baboon and Impala.

08 February 2006 12:00:00

Twiga Camp, Mto Wa Mbu, Nr Lake Manyara, Tanzania

GPS: S 03 22.464 E035 51.914
Total Distance: 12968 km

Author: Colin Javens
Weather: 35 degrees. Fantastically sunny.
Daily travel (route, road conditions):
As travelling through the Serengeti National Park was going to cost us a lot of money we decided to make the most of the day by getting up at 5am to make sure we were on the road by 6.30am. As we left our campsite the rising sun was creating sillouttes out of the acachia trees on the horizon. We had roughly 250 kilometers to do so we knew were on for a long days drive. As we were heading southeast we started off by driving through dense bush and directly into the morning sun, which made game spotting quite difficult. However it wasn’t long before we spotted two hyenas that we had heard calling around our camp the night before. By 10 am the landscape had begun to level out and I quickly realised that the corrugated dirt road we had been driving on wasn’t going to get better. Not long afterwards we were lucky enough to spot a leopard in a tree and a little bit further on we came across three magnificent male buffalo.

By 12pm we had driven through the famous wide open plains of the Serengeti and passed several rock outcrops that looked like islands in the middle of the plains. Above the size and magnitude of the huge blue African sky was quite hard to take in. Ahead of us on the horizon I could see the foothills to Ngorogoro crater growing in size as we continued to drive on. It wasn’t long before we started the long winding climb up the slopes heading for the crater edge. As we began to climb our surroundings began to get a lot greener. Like Kenya, Tanzania has been experiencing a long period with out rain which has in some cases reduced the local Marsaai tribes herds from 100 down to 1 or 2 cows. As we reached the edge of the crater we looked down into the crater itself and I was struck by the beauty of it – a definite ‘Natural Wonder of the World’. As time was pressing we tore ourselves away from the view and began the decent down the otherside heading for Lake Manyara. 60 kilometers later and we had decended all the way down towards the lake. Due to the lack of rain the lake had significantly reduced in size since I had last seen it in 1992. After 13hours of driving we finally reached the Twiga campsite. For me today has been one highlights of the expedition. For Woody who was driving Brenda he said that it was the most difficult days driving that he had done during the expedition. Maybe that’s what makes it exciting and enjoyable for me? Another fanastic day and I feel very lucky to be here.

09 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Masai Camp, Arusha, Tanzania

GPS: S 03 23.125 E036 43.208
Total Distance: 13084 km

Author: Kiko Matthews
Weather: As always, sun (with some clouds) Hot but bearable
Daily travel (route, road conditions):We drove the116km over perfect tar roads with markings(!) from Mto Wa Mbu, through Makuyuni and Kisongo to our final destination of Arusha.
Col managed to rip one of his tyres so that’s our 2nd puncture between both vehicles for the whole trip and both have been on good tarmac!

Team (Dynamics, health): All good. It’s so surprising how 6 people, all so different, have managed to get this far without any big arguments or fall outs (except for the break off of mine and Ben’s engagement). Whether Colin was aware of it at the time, he managed to pick a team of people who all accept each other for their good and bad points and who are all still friends! Good choice. I feel particularly lucky with the choice of employing Chrissy because she has been great for me in terms of having a great girl friend who I can talk to in times of need (there have been a few!) She’s also good fun and now a great friend. Another great choice so thanks to Jo (project manager) and Col.

Camping and Living: We rocked up at about lunchtime and decided to get our chores done so internet, bank and supermarket shop. A cup of coffee for everyone and then onto the campsite, a hub for over-landers apparently. When we arrived we saw another British landy and it turns out to be a couple, Bill and Claire, who we had met at Billings Land Rover show last July. It’s quite nice meeting fellow people doing similar trips because you get to swap stories and experiences and they understand what it’s like.
Thai green curry for dinner cooked by Chrissy and help from me.
Chris, Woody and myself went to the bar afterwards and had a really good chat about the trip, how (if) we’d changed, our good points, bad points (my mouth and brain don’t connect!) what we’d liked best, worst, what we found hardest about the whole experience – a really good conversation.

General Interest: Arusha is a larger town with all the amenities we could possibly need so managed to locate a spare parts shop to buy 2 shock absorbers for the defender since both back ones had gone, a new windscreen due to the old one having an ever growing crack right through it.
There are loads of white workers here as well either running tour/safari companies or working as anti-poachers or hunters. Companies are given a quota from the government on how much they can kill, they give them a load of money which then supposedly goes back into conservation. Rich American’s then pay the company a lot of money to go kill the animals. I’m not really sure how good this is or how above board it all is but…..

10 February 2006 12:00:00

Masai Camp, Arusha, Tanzania

GPS: S 03 23.125 E036 43.208
Total Distance: 13084 km

Author: Kiko Matthews
Weather: Again, sunny, hot, cloudy intervals
Daily travel (route, road conditions): Into town and back!

Team (Dynamics, health): All good

Camping and Living: Since we only spent one day in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Parks, instead of the 4 we had planned, we are now ahead of schedule for going to the Rowans. This means that we are staying here for few days rather than the 1 we had planned. Once again, the day was spent doing catch-up admin. Me and accounts, Woody and vehicle reports, Chris and video footage backing up on computer, speaking to the girls back home and attempting to get a new tyre. We sent Ben and Woody off to get a new tyre and being typical men, ended up coming back with no tyre (shop shut for lunch) a load of souvenirs and food!
Since it was Col’s routine day, Chrissy made sure that the toilets and shower were suitable for him, as is the norm. It was very hot, especially for Col who feels the heat far more than us due to his lack of sweating and poor thermoregulation.

The afternoon was spent tidying and talking to over-landers (the organised tour, type) who all arrived en mass at about 4pm. We like to spread the word on what we’re doing so the more people we meet and talk to the better with regards to spinal injury awareness. It’s also great to have different people to talk to just to dilute the amount that we spend with just each other!
Left-over Thai green curry for dinner and then Chris, myself, Claire and Bill went to the bar to exchange more stories while Woody, Col, Ben and Chrissy stayed with the vehicles, playing the guitar, downloading photos for you guys and chatting.

General Interest:
Whilst talking to a local guy Pascal, aged 27, it became apparent that biology education was obviously not quite the same as in UK. When talking about AIDS and HIV he was very aware of the use of contraceptives and their importance but he also mentioned that fresh fish helps you make babies!! Interesting, and no wonder that the birth rate is so high over here!

11 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Masai Camp, Arusha, Tanzania

GPS: S 03 23.125 E036 43.208
Total Distance: 13084 km

Author: Colin Javens
Weather: A humid start to the day was ended by a fantastic thunder and rain storm in the afternoon, which I think is greatly needed to top up the drastically low water table.

Daily travel (route, road conditions): As we were still slightly ahead of our schedule we made the most of the day in a organised camp by clothes washing, swapping warn tyres over on Beryl and generally having a good tidy up.

Team (Dynamics, health): As Kiko mentioned the team dynamics continue to run incredibly well and everybody seems to have fitted into their role incredibly well.

The Doc as always has his camera close to hand and at any interesting occasion pipes up with ‘Should I be filming this?’ Lately his evening seems to be filled with the laborious job of backing up his footage off the video tape onto the laptop and then downloading it back onto spare video tape to send back to the UK. He’s also always second into my tent in the morning as he helps Chrissy dress my burns and his expression and greeting (‘Morning all’) always helps to put a smile on my face. I think the Docs not much of a morning man and his slightly wrinkled expression behind his ever growing ginger beard helps to give the fact away. Along with his expression the half opened shirt exposing all of his African jewellery and his John Wayne stances just helps to add to my amusements.

The burns at the moment don’t seem to progressing or healing very much and unfortunately continue to weep which is one of the reasons why the Doc and Chrissy have to dress them every morning. Chrissy’s role in the expedition has developed into a very important position. It seems two fold. Along with her constant work rate around the camp and helping me every day for the last 100 days she seems to be the person who helps to keep the group together with her optimistic outlook and ability to raise both sides of a story.

Woody seems to have learnt so much over the past three months about our vehicles especially when it comes to my hand controls (as a result of all of the breakdowns). Woody doesn’t seem happy until he understands how something works. I remember when we were staying with Susie Allen in Nairobi when I came to the breakfast table and Woody looked rough. It looked like he had gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. I was greeted with ‘Javens I’ve got it! I know how the steering box works and it came to me at 4am this morning’. He had worked it out and once again managed to save our bacon and keep the expedition wheels rolling on.

Apart from Ben’s excellent navigation skills and his constant energy he always seems to be doing something around camp. I don’t think he ever really sits still. In camp he also seems to direct the team really well and when a jobs done you’ll always hear the call ‘Good work fella’. He also uses his sense of humour as a tool to get on with everyone we meet on route.

Our final and youngest member of the team Kiko (or Mama Matthews) has took control of our stocks and rations and every once in a while pulls a treat out of the bag which has been smuggled past five other ravenous expedition team members. She is also in charge of our communication and is really managing our finances really well. She is as we call her ‘The lady with the money’.

Everybody we meet on route always ask us ‘So have you had any major problems?’ and the answer is normally always quite simply ‘No’. I believe that a very major reason for this has an enormous amount to do with the members of the expedition team, their attributes and skills and the way we all work together. I definitely wouldn’t be here without them. Even if their sense of humours are a bit warped.

12 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Masai Camp, Arusha, Tanzania

GPS: Twiga Camp, Mto Wa Mbu, Nr Lake Manyara, Tanzania
Total Distance: : S 03 22.464 E035 51.914

Author: Chrissy Prydun
Weather: Tropical. A hot muggy day followed by torrential downpour. It’s the first proper rain we’ve had since Libya.

Daily travel (route, road conditions): Today was the first day that’s felt like a particular day of the week for a while. I.e. it actually felt like a Sunday. The great thing about this trip is that everyone works really hard but at the same time we have become so removed from the rat race and stressful pace of the western world that we often lose track of time and dates. Albeit the fact it may be 6am, waking up doesn’t feel like a chore when we think of how lucky we are to be where we are and to do what we are doing. Of course conjuring up different ways in which I can hassle the Doc on the morning of choice for our morning ‘hassling the doc’ spiel also puts a grin on my face. At the same time I wake up and have no idea what day of the week it is until I consult Col with his snazzy wrist watch with calendar included. Even Col says he used to not be a morning person until this trip and is always grinning back up at me as I emerge from my upstairs tent ready to uncordinatly ninja my way down the ladder.

In the first part of the trip because of the time constraints we completely lost track of current affairs and what was going on in the world outside our camping spot of choice. More than often when we speak to locals it is at the market or service station or when we are asking for directions. At the beginning of this trip in particular we would quite often spend a day trucking, setting up camp at dusk and driving off again at dawn admiring the scenery but not really having the time to greatly soak up the culture or see a lot of sights. Libya was a great example of flying through a country but not learning much about it. We never buy newspapers or watch TV. Luckily this has changed. Since Part 1 of our trip is over we have a lot more time on our hands, the roads are supposedly better and we have started soaking up more of the culture. Kenya was the first place some of us really interacted with locals when Col, The Doc and I made a trip to KPO which was a fantastic day had by all. Similarly rather than flying through a country we have had enough time to stop at a place for more than one night, we are more frequently surrounded by groups of curious locals trying to gain the best vantage point to sneak a peak at Col’s hand controls and consequently we too are learning a lot more about the country itself as well as it’s peoples reactions to driving home and what Col’s purpose in Africa.

Team (Dynamics, health):

Today everyone emerged from their tents feeling slightly groggy and doing various bits and bobs around the camp before retiring to an early night. Mummy matthews treated us to delicious hangover lunches and the Doc slept on the couch all day. Although it was never televised, the England vs. Italy Six Nations Rugby match the night before had presented the perfect opportunity to celebrate at the campsite bar. Consequently it had been a long night and the Doc, Ben, Col and I who stayed up till dawn had some great conversation about the team dynamics with Ben making a toast that the rest of the trip be as successful as the first half. It may not sell that we have had a trip without arguments and any major tensions but it’s true. For six different people we have gotten along remarkably well having spent 100 days or so together. That’s not to say people don’t have their bad days and quiet moods but everyone has adapted to tactfully respect those times, empathising rather than criticising, I have to admit though that I’m not surprised that it’s worked so well. What surpised me at the start of the trip was that so many people asked us about the possibility of personal conflicts etc and fights as though this would become a major issue. My response was that I believed that there might be small conflicts but at the end of the day this trip had attracted six like minded people and for the sake of a successful trip and the realisation of Col’s dream, that at the end of the day we could always put things aside for the greater purpose. We tease and wind each other up like family but balance each other out. Health wise we have all managed to start bulking back up to our original weights courtesy of over indulging in Kenya and our new meal plan. Doc and I have very nerdily agreed that eating more protein is a good idea for all of us, particularly in aid of helping Col with wound healing etc. As such, since we have better access to more nutritious food we have all implemented an egg a day policy to help our immune systems etc even if we continue to squabble over the best way to cook them (scrambled, poached, hard-boiled etc). Moreover on the topic of nutrition we are never partial to indulging in a few tuskers from time to time. Of course this pursuit is solely in aid of boosting the brewing industry economy as well as ensuing that our livers continue to function efficiently! ;)

Camping and Living:

It was quite a mellow day due to celebrations the night before. We farewelled new friends Bill and Claire who we spent a great few days with. The Doc was yet again pleased to meet people he could have intellectually stimulating conversation with.so sad to see them go.

General Interest:

There are 120 different tribes in Tanzania!

13 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Rowan Family, Arusha, Tanzania

GPS: S03 24.471’ E036 47.063’
Total Distance:13100km

Author: Kiko

Weather: Hot, Humid

Daily travel (route, road conditions): Rest day at the Masai Campsite and then 5km truck to the Rowan’s house just outside Arusha. The roads went immediately from tarmac to some really bad dust/stone/mud tracks full of pot holes. We had arranged to be at the Rowans for 5pm and since we were only 5km away, we didn’t actually leave
until 4.30pm.

Team (Dynamics, health): Despite the heavy rains the night before the air was still pretty muggy especially by the afternoon. This kind of weather makes everyone a little bit lethargic so the morning was spent having a ‘small breakfast’ (eggs, sausage, tomato, bap and jam, fruit salad!) for £1.50, a cup of coffee/tea and then, as per usual, a bit of diary catch-up, vehicle checking, clearing up, e-mail, pop into town to get some presents for family and friends, and some birthday cake ingredients for the Big Guy’s birthday on the 16th! It has been suggested to Col that he must eat an egg a day to help with his weight and burn healing so a bit of scrambled egg in the morning along with a Veinna sausage, should help a bit!

Camping and Living: As mentioned above, we hung around Arusha until about 4.30pm when we headed off to our next kind hosts, the Rowans. Anthea and Anthony and their 3 children kindly offered to have us to stay for 2 nights on our way down towards Dar es Salam, and so we took up the kind offer. We were treated to beds and a tent to sleep in, a few beers and a delicious meal of shepherd’s pie.

General Interest: The Rowans own a farm which produces vegetables for Sainsbury’s and Tesco so next time you see Tanzania on your baby sweetcorn, mange tout, or any other veg, it may well have come from them! Unfortunately, in a place like this where the lack of red tape and health and safety issues are so refreshing, the UK and it’s obsession with these, still manages to influence the way that they produce their crops. Because they are producing for the UK, all the same regulations apply to them as would to a British farm. This means they have to have audits all the time for things such as dog poo, yet every other wild animal is not screened for but can happily run around the crops!

14 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Rowan Family, Arusha, Tanzania

GPS: S03 24.471’ E036 47.063’
Total Distance:13100km

Author: Woody

Weather: Hot, Humid (18mm Rain Last Night)

Daily travel (route, road conditions): Rest day at the Rowans

Team (Dynamics, health): Colin treated himself to a much needed days bed rest today. A few late nights were starting to take their toll on some team members and a day relaxing in the garden was well received by all. When Colin did get up in order to carry out his evening routine the sudden movement combined with the afternoon heat and his relatively low blood pressure caused him to blackout for around 30 seconds. Col can’t remember it happening and woke up feeling pretty confused but he seems unconcerned about the incident. The doc also believes that there is no cause for concern.

Camping and Living: We are being well looked after here at the Rowans and have pretty much been given licence to roam around the house and farm at our leisure, If only we had the energy too!

General Interest: Ben and I made use of the farm workshop and scrap heap to make Col a birthday present. When at Ol Molo Colin had particularly admired their BBQ made from an old plough disc on legs so we have managed to cobble together something that looks very similar, Hopefully Kiko will let us buy meat more often now to cook on it!

15 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: KASI (Kilimanjaro Association of the Spinal Injured) - Moshi

GPS: S03°20.926’ E037°20.500’
Total Distance: 13172km

Author: Chrissy Prydun
Weather: Very Muggy and Hot. Probably the most humid day we’ve had and warmest night

Daily travel (route, road conditions): We were sorry to farewell the hospitable Rowans who we had hit it off with incredibly well. From here there was a 1hour drive through lush, tropical landscape on dirt roads . This was the part of Africa I was most keen to get back to: dark to red soil, banana plantations and palm trees mingled with the sound of crickets and with the air dense from humidity. From here it was about another hour on Tarmac to hilly Moshi again with that same tropical feel, a hilly town dotted with more tropical foliage including the Flora trees with their red flowers abloom, situated afoot the start of the hilly ascent to Mt Kilimanjaro the highest peak in Africa. Roads in general are remarkably good in Tanzania. Although we all enjoy the rough terrain and certainly will encounter more of it as we go off the beaten track to visit game reserves etc in the future, nonetheless the less bumps the better it is for Col’s burns.

Team (Dynamics, health): Today was the first day that we all felt the heat on the trip. When we arrived at KASI – (Kilimanjaro Association of the Spinal Injured) we were delighted to meet some of the heads of the organisation – Zacharia, Henry, Idon and Falsetta. They treated us to a soft drink whilst briefing us on the way the fundraised money CJSIT had donated to them had been used, enlightening us on some of the projects of the organisation and suggesting an itinerary for the next few days. However after this we had the afternoon off and the heat seemed to affect everyone. We have had hotter days, but the humidity was so high that most of us had to lie down from lethargy. Colin in particular was feeling the affects from the heat and had to rest up for the rest day drinking lots of water and being sprayed with our water sprayer. Nonetheless he still lay there with his unstoppable grin however sticky the weather was. Woody went to work on Col’s off road chair, Doc braved the humidity for a run around Moshi. Kiko and I were treated to a local cultural groups drumming and dancing performance whilst we did clothes washing and Ben rustled up some of his favourite mealie – corn cobs drizzled in butter and generous amounts of salt and pepper!. It was just too hot to eat any more although of course the always ravenous Woody convinced the Doc to go on a romantic dinner for two so they could indulge in something more substantial.

Camping and Living: We set our tents up in the car park of YWCA – the headquarters for KASI and another other organisations. We were offered one room where Col, Woody and I slept whilst the others slept in the roof tents enjoying the extra space. The landlady of the organisation let us use the bathrooms with lovely icy cold water to shower in and cool us off.

General Interest: KASI is an Association that was formed by People with Spinal Cord Injury who live in Kilimanjaro region in 1993. They are one of the organisations that money has been raised for as part of the expedition. Their mission is to effectively facilitate the Rehabilitation and social re-integration of people with Spinal Cord Injuries who live in the Kilimanjaro Region. Some of their activities include: holding training sessions to increase members (with Spinal Cord Injuries) knowledge about spinal cord related health and social issues; to provide councilling and home visits to members and assist members with access to wheelchairs and other assistive devices both directly and indirectly through encouraging local production. More interestingly to support it’s members with income generating activities. For example one of their initiatives at the moment is to train female members to make batiks and tie dye cloths providing them with a way to generate income in other ways than those that their injury might prevent them from engaging in.

16 February 2006 12:00:00

Happy Birthday Colin!!!

Date: 16th February 2006 (Cols Birthday)
Location: KASI (Kilimanjaro Association of the Spinal Injured) - Moshi
GPS: S03°20.926’ E037°20.500’
Total Distance: 13172km

Author: Woody

Weather: Hot and Humid Again!!

Daily travel (route, road conditions): Based at KASI only travelling within Moshi to see various workshops and offices.

Team (Dynamics, health): The heat and humidity here in Moshi seems to be sapping everyone’s energy levels but everybody seems to be coping so far!

Camping and Living: Our intrepid photographer arrived today causing a bit of a reshuffle in sleeping arrangements. After eating out at a local hotel to celebrate Cols 26th birthday he bravely scaled the ladder at he back of the Discovery to share a tent with Kiko!

General Interest: This morning Col, Chris, Chrissy and I went to visit the social welfare office just up the road from KASI. Barnaby from KASI accompanied us to the office to introduce us to the relevant people. Pushing Barnaby up the long hill to the office gave me the chance to find out from him a little about how his disability affected his life in Moshi. It was refreshing to hear just how normal a life he lived despite the lack of government support and funding. Barnaby told me about his life at home with his wife and young son and how much he enjoys his work at KASI. This however was sharply contrasted by his stories of how his home had been burgled six times in the last twelve months. He told me that the intruders targeted his house because they knew he could not easily defend himself or his family. We also discussed the problems he had with his wheel chair. He had saved his money for a long time in order to buy a pressure relieving cushion for his chair but he had clearly been given some appalling advice on what he needed. His cushion was ridiculously small considering Barnabys ‘robust’ stature. He was amazed to hear about the pressure mapping devices Colin had access to at Stoke to design and mould a cushion to match his needs. Barnaby told me of the problems his chair caused with a skin complaint he had and I was amazed at how open he was about the scars this caused. He even showed us some of the more severe ones on his legs. It was again very refreshing to hear someone of his level of disability allowing a near complete stranger such an insight into something that is clearly very personal.

In the afternoon Henry (KASI’s Director) took us all to see the workshops at KCMC where they were training people in the skills needed to manufacture prosthetics and wheel chairs. We were given a very interesting tour of the department and were introduced to some of the students there. I was amazed by the quality of workmanship that was shown in both workshops especially after experiencing the standard of car mechanics in these countries! When we departed I got my first glimpse of how Henry transferred from his chair to a car. Manuel, KASIs full time driver simply scooped Henry up in to his arms and swiftly deposited him into the passenger seat of their land cruiser. The whole process took all of 30 seconds with neither of them looking at all flustered at any time. It left me feeling slightly embarrassed that they were now waiting for us as we had barely started the process of hooking Col up to his expensive hoist system. It showed me just how different the expectations of a disabled person in Africa are compared to a western Europeans. We have invested a lot of time and money in specially made equipment in order to give Colin that little bit more dignity where as Henry felt so lucky just to have a car to be bundled into in the first place.

17 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Masai Camp, Arusha

GPS: S03,23.126 E036,43.210
Total Distance: 13300km

Author: Colin Javens
Weather: 34 degrees. Very humid
Daily travel (route, road conditions):
After visiting a lady in the morning who had suffered from a SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) we left Moshi heading west towards Arusha. With Gary (our expedition photographer for the next couple of days) riding shotgun we set off. Unfortunately, Kilimanjaro (the tallest free standing mountain in the world) to our left was still hidden by clouds and we were unable to see the summit as we began to climb towards Arusha. However we were very fortunate to see Mt Meru appear from behind the clouds as we reached the outskirts of Arusha. We arrived at our destination ‘The Masai Camp’ after two hours of driving.

General Interest:
We had arrange with KASI that we would quite like to meet somebody in or around Moshi who had suffered from an SCI to learn how they and their families cope with the after effects of an SCI.

We drove for 30 minutes out of Moshi into farm land that was occupied by lots of small family plots called ‘Shambas’, which were growing maize and other subsistence crops. We had followed Zachariah (one of the staff at KASI who was also spinally injured) to meet a lady called Pricilla who had an accident and broke her neck in 1984.

To get to Pricilla’s house we had to drive up a dirt track. Behind some large banana trees I could just make out a small house. Once we had unloaded I had to be lifted across a rickety footbridge to follow a twisting footpath towards her house. Moments before I was lifted across, I heard a lot of commotion only to see Zachariah lying flat on his back, holding his head after some over eager helpers had got a little carried away trying to help him across the footbridge and had dropped him backwards out of his chair. Already we were learning how much more difficult life is with SCI in Africa and we hadn’t even met Pricilla yet! As we neared the house we came into a little clearing to see a small mud hut and a white rectangular building with a metal roof. To the left of the building I could make out a lady in her sixties sitting in a wheelchair in the shade of a banana tree. I could instantly see that her injury was a lot worse than mine. Pricilla only just had enough movement to shrug her shoulders and later I found out that she had broken her neck at C3/C4. After introducing ourselves to Pricilla and her family Zachariah kindly translated all of questions to Pricilla in Swahili.

Like the majority of people around Moshi Pricilla sustained her injury when she slipped over in the wet season whilst carrying farm produce on her head. We learned that as a result there are a higher proportion of injured ladies (as they tend to do all of the lifting and carrying) than in other parts of Africa. I think that one of the greatest differences between having a SCI in the UK and Africa is the amount of support that we receive from the government. Since Pricilla had her accident her family/children have had to sacrifice their own careers and life to look after their mother. Where as I have a (due to the support from the government) personal assistant in the UK to assist me with my day to day needs, which provides myself and family with so much more independence than a family like Pricilla’s.

The other big difference is equipment. At home I have an adjustable height bed, pressure relieving mattress, adapted bathroom, shower-chair, ramps, access to medical equipment, medical care, adapted vehicles, ELECTRICITY etc. Pricilla had none of these! One of the most dramatic things I learned was that she hadn’t left her shamba since her accident. So try to image you can’t move yourself at all, you are unable to read and you have no electrical devices (TV, Radio) to keep you entertained and you have to rely on your family for absolutely everything and you’ve put yourself in Pricilla’s position. This may sound very strange but I personally came away feeling incredibly happy with everything I have. That includes the amount of movement I have to being able to have all of the opportunities and support we receive in the western world.

18 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: The Rowan’s farm

GPS: S03 24.443 E036 47.019
Total Distance: 13308km

Author: Chris Parsons
Weather: hot, humid
Daily travel (route, road conditions): Masai Camp, Arusha to Rowan’s farm

Team (Dynamics, health): nil of note

Camping and Living: camping in Rowan’s garden using their facilities and eating with them

General Interest:

According to Col, all Africans celebrate their Birthdays for 48 hrs so last night had been spent respecting his wishes and lining the barman’s pocket. The evening was nothing too indulgent but enough to make our 6am start today smart somewhat more than usual. “With only 6 km’s to cover today why the earlier rise?” I hear you cry as one. Good question, thanks for asking. The answer lays with our latest honorary member of the team, Gary the photographer. He wanted to set up a photo shoot with the sun still low and that meant an early start!

As planned we arrived at our allotted time of 8.30 and where soon being reluctantly shepherded through a series of shots on the banks of a nearby watering hole. We all quite enjoyed the experience of being treated like models but it was swelteringly hot. It was all very well for Gary kneeling on the far bank enjoying the shade and hollering his instructions across to us but we were dripping within minutes. Happily he got some great shots.

After a couple of hours he was satisfied and we sifted location to a hillock across the farm with a supposed, albeit distant, view of Kilimanjaro. Gary was looking for a panoramic shot for the fold out centre of our forthcoming new brochure. Sadly the sun was by now too high and she was veiled in mist. The decision was taken to all decamp back to the tranquillity of the Rowan’s vast, cool veranda in the hope that as the wind picked up later in the afternoon she may reveal herself long enough for the shot. Sadly, in typical diva style, she only put in an appearance too late in the day as Ben drove a reluctant Gary all too soon back to the airport and a flight on to a not so sun soaked North London.

Whilst the rest of the team enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of the Rowan’s amazing hospitality I took the opportunity of popping back into Arusha to catch up with some e-mails and do some shopping for Anthea (our hostess). A complete absence of eggs in our by now usual Shoprite necessitated an exploratory foray into the heart of Arusha and afforded me the extraordinary opportunity of seeing the Tanzanian President drive past just a few feet away in his striking crimson uniform.

Miraculously, despite the appalling road conditions I successfully got the full two dozen eggs back unbroken to find Gary pacing the veranda intermittently gazing out into the mist as if shear force of will might lift it in time. As much to pass the time productively as to spare both his shoe soles and the tiles of the veranda I suggested popping up to the hillock anyways so we could be ready with at least one vehicle should Kili make a fleeting appearance. After a bit of bundu bashing on its slopes I managed to stall Brenda in perfect position for a photo neither of us had seen – with Mt Meru as the back drop. We whiled away Gary’s last useful hour playing with this shot and left, via a full speed splash through the necessary ford, satisfied we’d passed the time constructively.

Col was for his routine and Ben the airport as taxi driver with his chuntering passenger. Our plan for the evening had been to repay, in part at least, the wonderful Rowan hospitality with a second outing of Col’s plough disc BBQ but we were thwarted by Jack, their only neighbour. There was an international coffee conference in town and he had already prepared 2 sheep for spit roasting. It seems we were to be guests of honour in a virtual stranger’s home yet again. We passed a thoroughly interesting and entertaining evening with this diverse collection of folk from all over sub-Saharan African. Yet again we left latter than expected with pockets full of standing invites to several homes en route.

19 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: The Rowan’s farm

GPS: S03 24.443 E036 47.019
Total Distance: 13308km

Author: Kiko Matthews
Weather: hot, humid
Daily travel (route, road conditions): Rest day so none

Team (Dynamics, health): Col had a rest day in bed, whilst the rest of us spent it diary writing, doing e-mails, iPod creating (Colin’s new music machine for his birthday present from the Barlows – thank god for some decent music in the discovery at last.!!)

Camping and Living: camping in Rowan’s garden using their facilities and eating with them. Traditional roast lamb for lunch and soup and bread for dinner – we’re being treated once again.

General Interest: It was not really a day of much interest other than talking, and reading. I took a walk over to the farm office, where even though a Sunday, was still busy with people working. Even though it was still quite humid, it was a little cooler today so a bit more pleasant to work in.
Anthea took her younger daughter for a malaria test which was fortunately negative. None of the locals here take malaria pills because it would do them worse than good, being on them all the time. The use the preventative method of covering up and then just have to live with it if they get it. Most of the people we have stayed with have had it at least once and I have only heard of one really bad case so far. An anti-poacher I met who was out in the bush at the time and he honestly thought he was going to die. Everything hurt so much he couldn’t even turn over in bed – I think he ended up in hospital. Apart from that, they all seem to cope. The stories we have heard about people on Larium seem far worse! Strangely, it seems to be more the women than men and one story was of a women who tried to kill her husband/partner whilst staying at the Beaton’s, in the Mara!

A big trucking day tomorrow to head towards the Nikki Guaui’s farm, so early nights for all.

20 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: 88 Hotel, Morogoro

GPS: S06 48.140 E037 41.501
Total Distance: 14 029km

Author: Kiko Matthews
Weather: very hot, very humid (No storms for us but a text message from Anthea said that we’d just missed massive storm which blew the roof of their staff accommodation off!!) When I went to bed, unable to have had a shower, my legs were so sticky that I was sticking to the mattress, the sleeping bag and myself. The first really uncomfortable, sweaty day!)

Daily travel (route, road conditions): A long drive starting at 7.30 and arriving at 6pm. All the main roads from here on down are good tarmac which Woody is very happy about because it saves the cars from too much damage. I get the feeling that the Defender especially, is beginning to feel the strain. I have no idea how heavy it is but probably way over the recommended weight limit. 10 heavy boxes in the boot, off-road chair, tent and 4 jerry cans on the roof, 3 people and loads of extra camping equipment, oil, jacks, sand ladders, Chris’s souvenirs(!), fridge and food, 120 litres of water, 120 litres of fuel and all the rest!! The Disco is spared a lot of this weight and just carries 3 people, a tent, a wheelchair, 6 bags, extra bits of Colin’s like the shower chair and medical supplies. It is essential that we don’t overload the Disco so that it is as easy as possible for him to drive. The big weight difference may have something to do with the 4 shocks that have gone on the defender and none on the disco! The defender is feeling the pain now!
We stopped off in Moshi to get some shock absorbers, money and food supplies and then headed towards Dar es Salaam but took a right turn before we got there which took us down towards Iringa. We passed rolling mountain/hills, pineapple plantations, towns and villages. The soil changed from a brown/yellow then to a deep red colour which sounds beautiful but gets all over you and makes for some very dirty looking individuals. I can’t wait to get home and not have to wash my feet or hands every hour because they are so filthy! Tanzania is much greener than anything we have driven through yet. At about 6pm it was time to stop and set up camp in Morogoro (The journey could probably be a bit shorter if it wasn’t for the 20 toilet stops we take!)

Team (Dynamics, health): It seems like we are a very healthy bunch of youngsters (except Chris who is 30!) and there never seems to be much interest to report on us here. Col’s health is the same and his burns continue to heal slowly.
Chris, Woody and myself rode in the defender where we probably spoke a total of 200 words the whole day (strange though because the silence isn’t uncomfortable or boring now). The other three, I’d imagine talk a lot of non-sense and drank a lot of water (hence the numerous toilet breaks!)

Camping and Living: We managed to wangle a cheap spot in the grounds of a hotel and whilst Colin and Chrissy got on with the routine, I showed Chris how to make stir fry. I’m not convinced he could do it again but as Chrissy pointed out, it was nice to see him at the cooker for once! To be fair to Chris, he has taken on the role of washer-upper, very well instead of doing any cooking. The evenings are nice and cool but despite this, because of the daytime heat and the sweatiness it had caused, I still managed to stick to my mattress.

21 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Kisolonza Old Farmhouse Lodge

GPS: S08’08.763 E035’24.776
Total Distance: 14,386km

Author: Chris Parsons
Weather: typically sunny and hot until shortly before our arrival when we experienced a thunderstorm.
Daily travel (route, road conditions): Morogoro to Kisolonza , just south of Iringa, by way of Ruaha gorge. Good tarmac roads all the way until turn off to the lodge roads
Team (Dynamics, health): Nil of note

Camping and Living: 4 bedded chalet kindly donated by the owners the Ghaui’s with 2 sleeping in tent atop Brenda. Food eaten in the attached restaurant of tomato soup followed by chicken curry with banana and date cake to accompany coffee.

General Interest:

Despite having only half the distant to cover today compared to yesterday we were all keen to get up and going. We knew we would had to pass through the Mikumi National Park and wanted to be there before the sun got too high in the sky and limited the possibility of game spotting. So it was that we rose before the dawn, completed the by now second nature morning routine and were on the road as planned by 7.30. The first couple of hours were much the same as yesterday. Good fast roads making the excessively green countryside slide past in a blur. It’s amazing how something that was quite such a stark surprise on first sighting so quickly becomes un-note-worthy. Simple readjustment of the brains “norm” settings and Hey Presto normality redefined.

Now the Mikumi National Park is a unique experience for us in that it simply straddles the main road and so costs only the fuel you burn traversing it. Within 5 minutes of entering the park we all but ran into an elephant ambling across the road to graze on the other side. We’d be told this park was full of game but after the comparative disappointment of the Serengeti weren’t totally sure what to expect. From here on in the laptop was put away, the music turned down, the idle chit chat forgotten and to a man, and woman, we were in game spotting mode. We were lucky enough to see nearly as diverse a range, though not in the numbers, as our amazing time in the Mara but one incident stands out for all of us. Ben, navigating as usual from “the office” of Beryl’s front passenger seat, pointed out a dead giraffe just off to the side of the road on the left. They slow but don’t stop. Those of us in Brenda were about to take the same course of action when Chrissy pipe’s up “Very nice guys but what about the lion and cub under the tree next to it?” After about 5 mins lapping up their post prandial stupor a passing lorry pulls up and the two drivers proceed to get out of their vehicle and approach the cub. This still remains an ill advised course of action and elicits the almost inevitable response from the nearby, but hidden mother, she first growls an unequivocal warning, which they amazingly ignore, and so she charges them. By know they seem to take her seriously and beat a hasty retreat to the safety of the trucks cab, only to re-immerge a few moments later for the entire process to be repeated again. Not that I would ever wish ill on any of my fellow man but my finger was hovering expectantly over the record button on the video camera, just in case it turned bloody!! Happily they got the message this time and climbed into the ca and drove off leaving us all, including the female lion a little flabbergasted.

Unsurprisingly the rest of the days journeying struggled to live up to this excitement, though it must be noted that the leg through the Ruaha gorge is as scenic as we’ve been privileged to experience. Not since the Simian Mts in northern Ethiopia have I enjoyed such breathtaking vistas of craggy mountain passes threaded through by muddy brown rivers and endless panaromics over virtually ever rise. The added joy here is that the entire place is so shockingly green. It’s as though God turned his back on an over zealous angel who seized the opportunity to utilise the lion’s share of the worlds green palate on this wee country. Utterly stunning and such a stark contrast to the weeks and weeks of drought induced brown we’ve seen recently.

We reached our destination mid torrential down pour (the first time we’ve driven in rain since Libya), quickly set up camp and adjourned to the anteroom for something of an impromptu team meeting. There was a general sense amongst our number that despite the fact the hardest driving conditions are behind us we are most definitely not on easy street. Faster, poorly tarmaced roads present their own dangers and now is definitely not the time to drop our guard. Satisfied we were all singing from the same song sheet we retired for diner and then bed.

22 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Kisolonza Old Farmhouse Lodge 51km from Iringa, Tanzania

GPS: S08’08.763 E035’24.776
Total Distance: 14,386km (110km travel in defender)

Author: Kiko
Weather: Hot, cloudy spells, pleasant, thunder in distance!!

Daily travel (route, road conditions): Travel into Iringa for Ben and myself otherwise none.

Team (Dynamics, health): As mentioned above, Ben and I went off to town whilst everyone else rested up at the campsite. All well.

Camping and Living: Provisions purchasing, e-mail, inner-tube for puncture number 3 (Chris drove over a glass bottle whilst listening to Sarah Brightman’s, ‘Time to say Goodbye’ on the iPod – his most hated song!) and money from the bank, ended up taking me and Ben until 3pm. By this time, Woody had changed the front shocks on the Defender (with the help of Chrissy!), she had also done Col’s washing, he himself had got on with essential KASI report writing for the trustees, and Chris had done washing, filming, and diary. The usual nothing-exciting-but-essential chores that our days off always tend to involve. The evening consisted of veg curry (with a bit of chicken) and some fillet steak (£2.50 /kg!!) cooked on Col’s birthday present made by Woody. Bill and Claire, who we had met at Billings and at the Masai camp, turned up and also joined us around our camp fire. All very jolly especially once Col had finished his routine and some other contacts we are going to stay with came and introduced themselves.

General Interest: Just to reiterate a bit on how long everything always takes, here’s an idea of times today – a rest day!

Col’s ‘get-up’ from bed – 1 hr
Trip into Iringa – at least 4 hours
Computer charging - 1 hr
Col’s KASI report (unfinished) – 2hrs
Woody’s shock changing - 1 ½ hrs
Lunch prep, eat and clear away – 1 hr plus
Col’s routine – 4 hrs (this means that Chrissy is only around camp on and off in between being with Col) at least.
Washing clothes – at least 1 hr
Me preparing veg curry etc (for 6 people) – 3 ½ hours by the time everyone started eating it.
Bonfire/BBQ preparation – the usual 2 - 3 hrs after the boys have finished messing with it!
Washing up and clearing camp (not just case of sticking in dishwasher!)– 1 hr

And this is without having to set up the tents! So as you may see, even a day of rest isn’t really what it sounds like. You may, if you’re lucky get half an hour of touch rugby (as did Bill, Woody and Chrissy) or book reading (Ben), or just staring at the trees (me)! The time just disappears and before you know it, what needs to be finished by that day (i.e. the KASI report) isn’t and it’s bedtime. If you think something will take and hour, you can usually double it or more!

23 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Tanqala campsite, 20km outside Ruaha National Park

GPS: S07 80.114 E035 05.619
Total Distance: 14645km

Author: Chris Parsons

Weather: typically hot and humid

Daily travel (route, road conditions): from Kizolanza farm through Iringa and onto campsite

Team (Dynamics, health): Sadly today the almost inevitable happened half the team succumbed to stomach upset. We’d done well to survive over 100 days without an outbreak but whether the chicken, rare beef or some other factor was to blame we dropped like flies this evening. Myself, Chrissy and Woody had awoken to stomach cramps and with some considerable urgency had to make our way to the toilets. The worst seemed over by the time we left the farm and all seemed well enough until we arrived at the campsite. As I was unloading Col’s wheelchair Kiko called me over to attend to Woody who had rather unceremoniously slumped against the front left tire of Brenda and was less than responsive. Lying him flat and raising his legs soon brought him partially around where upon he confessed the state of his bowels and that he’d, as ever, not drunk adequate water during the course of the day. We set about addressing this and he retired early to bed clutching a 2L bottle of water made up with Dioralyte. Within the hour I was feeling decidedly light headed and nauseous. We seemed to spend the rest of the evening passing each other on our way to the toilet. Chrissy was next to suffer a similar fate. None of us managed the dinner Ben so diligently cooked for us. An apt reminder that food hygiene should also remain high on our priority list

Camping and Living: all camping at…….

General Interest:

Having re-evaluated our time line last night we decided that it made more sense to make a leisurely push for the outskirts of the National Park today and then enjoy a full day there tomorrow rather than cram it all into today. This afforded us something of a lie in, not rising until 8. I then performed my weekly duty of taking the dressings down on Col’s burns, cleaning them and redressing them for the week to come, a process that rarely takes less than an hour. Breakfast followed before Col set about trying to complete the report on our recent visit to the Kilimanjaro Association for the Spinally Injured (KASI). The rest of us busied ourselves with generally tidying and packing duties after which we had a sandwich, said fond farewells to our old friends Bill and Clare – we met them at Billings Show what seems an eternity ago now – checked with Gill that we were good to spend the night back here on Saturday and uneventful 3 hour drive to the campsite which I must confess to having noticed little about owing to spending the entire time on the computer catching up with various reports. I became then headed into Iringa for some minor resupplies and a necessary bank visit.

There then passed an aware after about 1.5 hours of my small world becoming decidedly less stable and concluded we’d left the tarmac. Until our arrival in camp the rest of the journey was all Times New Roman and spell checking!

24 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Tanqala campsite, 20km outside Ruaha National Park

GPS: S07 80.114 E035 05.619
Total Distance: 14750km

Author: Kiko Matthews

Weather: Grey in morning with rain (very localised) then clear, sunny and hot in later afternoon (thunder in distant)

Daily travel (route, road conditions): We remained at the same campsite but drove in the day around the Ruaha National Park. The Doc, Chrissy and I went in the defender (me driving because the other 2 weren’t really up to it) and Ben and Col went up front in the disco.

Team (Dynamics, health): As Chris mentioned yesterday, there was a bit of a stomach outbreak in the camp. Today, Woody remained at the campsite on a tent mattress with sleeping bag, 1000’s of litres of water (doc said if he didn’t drink it he’d put a drip in his backside – some incentive I suppose!) and some bread and fruit. The Doc and Chrissy braved it so as not to miss out on what is supposed to be one of Africa’s best NP’s. Woody was cared for by the Momma of the campsite who very kindly kept bringing him food (some lemon flavoured porridgy slop) and checking on him. Ben, Col and I were all fine so the source of the outbreak still remains a mystery especially since Ben and I both ate the chicken curry the following night. Who knows, but the other culprit could be the beef which the two patients ate a huge amount of compared to the rest of us! I blame the chef (who spent the day on the mattress!)
For me, the drive was a little quite since the others were not feeling their best but the scenery made up for it. By lunch time the Doc was back to his usual self but Chrissy moved to the disco where there was a little more room for her to spread out. I don’t think the lunch helped her stomach too much!

Camping and Living:
6am risers club and I think we were at the park by about 8.30. I reckon that this was the best yet, green, wild and totally unspoilt with the added bonus of there being no cars unlike in the Serengeti where we got stuck in a traffic jam! We didn’t see lion, leopard or cheetah but Eland, fox and some cat kind of thing which we still haven’t identified. The other animals we did see, elephant (almost charged me in the defender), zebra, warthog, giraffe, buffalo, gazelles and kurdu, however, just seemed to be more beautiful than those we have previously seen – perhaps because of the green, wet backdrop they were living in. The park was full of big boulders, trees and over growth set amongst rambling hills and a large, semi-dried river. They too are still awaiting rains but in actual fact this only has a momentary effect on the river level. The rains further up river (I’m afraid I can’t remember which country – perhaps Zambia) are responsible for the long term levels. Every animal we saw took some spotting which kind of made it more rewarding as apposed to in the Serengeti where you looked for a vehicle and then went over to see what had been spotted.
At lunchtime, we had kindly been invited to the Fox’s for lunch at their lodge, set on the banks of the river. We were treated to a cold buffet lunch, dessert and coffee and then we headed off around 3.30 out of the park via the river route. A great day as far as activities go. Actually a great day all around.
When we returned to the camp, Woody seemed much perkier having been cared for by Momma all day. Col and Chrissy got on with the routine, whilst everyone else just sat around doing their thing. At 9pm, when the electricity was turned off, I have to admit; I found myself walking in circles in the dark for about 30 minutes waiting for Col to finish, so that we could get on and eat leftovers (chicken curry and tuna pasta!) Computer was being used by the doc, my torch had broken and the thought of struggling to find an alternative to allow me to start Great Expectations, didn’t really appeal. I just sampled the dinner one more time, and another, and another and another and one last time until Chrissy and Col were done at about 10pm!!

25 February 2006 12:00:00

Location: Kisolanza, Old Farmhouse Lodge, 51km south east of Iringa, Tanzania

GPS: S08’08.763 E035’24.776
Total Distance: 14,942km

Author: Chrissy Prydun

Weather: Cloudy with patches of sun on the drive from Ruaha to Iringa. Cooler than the day before and overcast in Kisolanza

Daily travel (route, road conditions): Today was a day of backtracking along the clay dusted roads from Ruaha to Iringa with it’s complementary purple hazed hilly backdrop and then from Iringa to Kisolanza it was a speedy drive along tarmac roads. I loved the fact we could backtrack as on the way up to Ruaha I had driven and could only torment my co-pilot Woody with so many rounds of can you take a photo of that…Today I jumped atop of Beryl with my camera ready to photograph all the shots I had planned along the way. It’s great too because since the box has been fitted to the roof it’s much safer as there is a lot more to hold onto and the box really wedges you into a nice and cosy seat.

Team (Dynamics, health): I was back to singing annoying morning jingles about the Doc to the Doc as he dressed Col’s burns; The Doc was back to entertaining the Disco Boys with stories from his youth, cigarette in one hand, bushy beard disguising a big grin and Woody was back to hoarding the fridge for scraps of food and repeatedly chanting the word MEAT!! Yep inspite of the fact that Woody hadn’t consumed the required amount of Dioralyte the Doc had left him with yesterday and we kept trying to frighten him with talk of anal drips, it seemed that we had all recovered from our bout of food poisoning or what have you. Everyone was back in top form and a samosa/cappuccino run in en route Iringa along with a trip to the internet café their seemed to brighten everyones spirits. Well…except for the fact that there were two episodes of power failures in the internet café marked with the unanimous sigh of all the interneters followed by a loud bellow from the Doc who was on the concluding paragraph of his unsaved epic email.

Camping and Living: After the drive to Iringa where we had a refuel and lunch break the team split up. Ben went to do some food shopping with Col and headed back to the Gaui’s beautiful camping retreat in Kisolanza (thank you Nikki for the waiver of camping fees!) to set up the Disco tents and the rest of us interneted before heading back to join them. The Doc continued his marathon training and headed for a run, Col finished off his KPO report on the computer, a hungry Woody boiled eggs trying to load Col up on protein, I boiled Col’s dressing bandages in bleach and Ben helped me wash a load of clothes for Col and I. Kikes and Woody then cooked us a tasty vegetable stir-fry before they headed up to the bar with the Doc to go and mingle with overlanders. Today the big match between Scotland and England was taking place. An hour or later upon hearing the sound of Woody’s broken rafting shoes stomping along the ground it wasn’t difficult to guess who had won. Since Scotland’s victory, the Doc repeatedly asks Woody to remind him of the score: Scotland’s 18 to 12 win. I’ve never seen the Doc so happy in the mornings!

General Interest: Apparently Col was voted the Worst Dressed Award at Harper Adams Ag College. This explains why he was quick to take a liking to Garry (Gazza) the photographer’s big and baggy eighties style skater shorts. Gary had kindly parted with his beloved garbs and left them with Col as a present upon leaving us. It was today as I washed them ready for their maiden wearing and also took the time to read the little message Gazza had left us on the Disco’s roof box that I wanted to add a little thanks of my own:

Cheers gazza! Even though you stole my bed so I had to sleep outside with ravenous mosquitoes you did take some good quality artsy photos which put Ben and I too shame. Not only did you leave us with decent music (Bedoin Sound Clash remains one of our favourites) and your favourite daggy baggy shorts. Not only did you let us call you Gazza and make fun of you immediately after meeting you and take it really well but for those few days you were one of the team, the seventh member with a great sense of humour and generosity which made our time in Moshi and Arusha very enjoyable, far from dull! We all sincerely hope that if we need to be photographed in the future that you will be the one to do it and we might even stop laughing at your nerdy trivia and self portrait photo!

26 February 2006 12:00:00

Arriving into Zambia - added 9th March

Date: 26th February 2006
Location: Kings Highway Lodge/campsite, Kaluga, Zambia
GPS: S09 40.880 E032 42.816
Distance travelled: 15379km
Weather: Cloudy in morning/afternoon then big rain and thunder in late afternoon, then damp in evening.
Author: Kiko Matthews

Daily Travel: Setting off from our final Tanzanian campsite, we travelled for 400km along tar roads, towards the border of Zambia. All the other overland trucks we had met the previous evening were all heading towards Malawi, so obviously this wasn’t the usual route to take. There was some more great scenery, green and lush due to the recent much needed rains. After the border crossing we headed 50km south to a campsite we had been told of, the only one for quite a while so much choice really. Zambia, at this point seemed quite deserted, a few mud hut villages, not much traffic, few people hiding in the long grass waving and smiling at us and sporadic mobile reception (Tanzania’s mobile network was very well developed). At the campsite, we have a little excitement…! We had been shown where the kitchen hut was and told by the owner that we could drive around, so, because it was very wet we thought this would be a good idea. I was the only one who knew where it was so for some reason Col and Ben decide to head off in the Disco in front of us in the defender. I thought I’d play a little joke and just let them go round the campsite rather than telling them where it was. They eventually realised, when they were back where we had started, having driven all the way around, that perhaps they should pull over and let us show the way!! Now, these tracks that had been made had only been compacted for the width of 1 vehicle so when Col pulled over, he actually pulled of the compacted mud track, into wet soggy mud.!! Bad idea! To Woody’s utter joy, Col had got stuck, in a campsite just off a track!! The next 30 minutes was spent teasing Col, feeling very embarrassed that we were in the process of trashing the owners track (and water supply, since Col had stopped right on top of it) and trying to pull him out. Being the joker that he is, when Ben Woody and I tried to hand pull him out, Col decided to put the car in reverse, so there we were tugging with all our strength, to try and get the disco, that was in reverse, out of the mud! Anyway, we eventually managed it, said our apologies and decided to leave the vehicles back in the car park! Woody was so pleased now that the jokes about him getting stuck in the sand in Sudan were now going to be exchanged for jokes about Col getting stuck in a campsite!

Current health and team dynamics: Everyone has now fully recovered from the little stomach incident (still not sure of the cause). Col’s burns continue to heal slowly.

Camping and Living: Until the incident of getting stuck, it had been quite an uneventful day. The border crossing was fine as usual. We are still waiting for something to happen but they seem to be so easy (touch wood). If you arrive in the afternoon when they all want to go home, it seems to be a good trick because then they don’t mess around. This crossing probably took 1 ½ hrs to exit Tanzania and then enter Zambia.
The boys cooked a really good beef stew while Col did his routine and the Doc settled down to write his book about the trip. At around 11pm we are settled down to bed in our dormitory lodge (a treat because it was too wet to set up the tents) – the first time we all slept together!

27 February 2006 12:00:00

Shiwa Ngandu - added 9th March

Date: 27th February 2006
Location: Hot Springs, Shiwa Ngandu, (aka Africa House), Zambia
GPS: S11 10.169 E031 36.001
Distance travelled: 15649km
Weather: The usual (being warm, cloudy, sunny spells and thunder and rain)
Author: Kiko Matthews

Daily Travel: A damp grey start at 8am and set off at around 9.30. The first half of the day was the same as the day before. Long green grass along the side of the road, small mud hut villages (I noticed that the mud huts are actually a bit more advanced and less dilapidated than the Tanzanian and Kenyan huts). We then took a right turn down a mud/dust track towards our final destination – Shiwa Ngandu. I had arranged with Mark and Mel Harvey, a contact given to me by a friend at home and also by a contact we had made in Tanzania that we could camp for free at their campsite which was very kind of them and helpful for us. We travelled for about 23 km down the track through some amazing scenery, forest, farm clearings and rushing clear water rivers scattered throughout the drive. You kind of expected to see some game but apparently it has long gone from locals killing it. Mark did say that he wanted to get some in, antelope and a few zebras.

Current health and team dynamics: All good. I still can’t get over how I can go from feeling so low to then feeling so high. There seems to be no apparent reason for it. There is very little to take your mind off things so any little incident is totally exaggerated. Back home nothing really bothers me and if does, it never lasts more than a couple of minutes. I manage, as does everyone else, to control the effect that these little moods/quiet times/feeling low times, so as not to effect the team dynamics, which is important to maintain the happy feeling that our team has.

Camping and Living: We rocked up at about 3pm to this delightful setting at the Harvey’s. They have an old farm building converted into a lodge area for their clients with a fast flowing river at the bottom of the garden. They were also very fortunate to have a natural hot spring off to one side. The spring is actually devoid of all minerals so useless for bottling but it made a great place to have a relax and wash! In the middle of the spring, there were bubbling vents which apparently went down 7 km! You could sit amongst these vents without being sucked down because of rocks underneath.
We treated ourselves to dinner around the table with Mel and Mark and a small family group of Swiss. It was very nice to get to hear about Zambia and its people from first hand experience.
After a delicious meal and a few beers, it was bedtime for all except the Doc who, as per usual, stayed up at the bar chatting and helping fuel the local economy!!

General Interest: 83% of employable Zambians are actually unemployed but as Mark rightly pointed out, if you are really poor in UK, the quality of life is terrible but in Zambia, as I assume in many African countries, the quality of life isn’t so bad. There may not be the money in the bank but they all have food and water and somewhere to live. Because being poor in the sense of having little money, is a way of life and not detrimental to their survival, there doesn’t seem to be such an issue of going out to find work. For so many years, these people have survived like this and they know no difference so why change the habit of a life time? The mentality of these people is so different from that of a person from a 1st world country, that it is almost impossible trying to change anything. Death is a way of life as is birth, spending the majority of your day fetching water, washing, chilling out, cooking and farming, works, and trying to change it is almost pointless.
Mark is trying to help the locals by firstly, seeing what can be grown in the climate and then teaching them how to grow it so that they are not all sustenance farmers of maize. His lodge, farm and the big house (Shiwa House) that is set amongst the grounds, indirectly has an effect on 2000 local people so he feels a great pressure and reliance on them. He is hoping to dilute this by encouraging them to grow crops which can be traded or sold so as to help themselves make a small amount of money.