Jambo Tanzania

Before we could start our safari proper we had to make the marathon 8 hour drive to Arusha in Tanzania. We had a very early start on Friday morning as we had to be ready for our pick up from Kenyan Adventures at 6am. The actual journey ended up taking 10 hours thanks to the additional 2 hours it took to negotiate the boarder crossing between Kenya and Tanzania. For some inexplicable reason land boarders are always more of a palaver than when you fly in.

For large parts of the journey the roads were really rough and made of pot holed loose gravel rather than tarmac. Giving us what the locals laughingly refer to as the African massage.

Once we crossed into Tanzania the road skirted around the base of Mt Kilimanjaro. We were able to catch the occasional glimpse of it's snow covered peak through the clouds over 5km above our heads. I would love to have a crack at the summit but the costs are just too high, the average 5 day trek costs about $2000!

The journey also gave us the opportunity to see police corruption at close hand when our driver got shook down by the Tanzanian fuzz for a bribe. Thankfully the policeman was happy with a brand new crisp 100 Kenyan shilling note (about 80p).

The hotel we stayed at in Arusha, Impala Hotel, gave us a great view of Mt Meru and an over-full stomach from their excellent Indian restaurant.