I woke up early feeling very fresh despite the grunts from the baboons keeping me awake last night. I packed up quickly and expected a long day ahead of me so my first target was to find some decent breakfast.
I arrived at the first small village that looked like they sold food. If you see smoke then you know a fire's burning and if a fire's burning then that pretty much means you can get food, or a smouldering pile of rubbish. I asked around for a restaurant as "restaurant" is written on all the signs, even the shabbiest of sheds. The locals looked confused but my eating actions prompted them to point me towards a lady who was cooking some chapattis.
I managed to successfully order and pay for 3 chapattis and just had to endure the constant supervision from 5 glaring locals that just stared and watched me eat. This place didn't seem like the sort of place anybody other than a local person would come to eat but it seemed the only place, and I was too hungry to be choosey.
The chapattis were good so I was happy but I would've rather had something a bit healthier like rice. I cycled 300m down the road only to find a long line of restaurants all serving rice etc. Why does that always happen?! I sat cooped up with 5 mutes that looked at me as if I wasn't human whereas if i had just carried on a little, i could've had maybe a choice of two meals and I could've actually had a "conversation."
Ah well, I was happy for the feed nevertheless and I stocked up on water as I had the feeling that this would be the last village for a while. The next 25miles or so I cycled up and down rolling hills at the base of the valley. There were the odd flat section but for the majority of the time I was either enjoying the challenge of the climb or enjoying the wind through my ever growing locks on the descends.
I then came to one climb that I was warned of and it didn't seem like it would go down again for a while, it was a climb to the top of the valley. My cycle section neglected me for the 8km of steep uphill road. I passed a lot of broken down trucks that were just stuck on the road with bricks behind them, there were no rest areas at all. The climb took me nearly an hour and luckily the traffic count decreased so I didn't have too much trouble with other drivers. I prefer the climbs as the trucks coming up aren't going much faster than I am, so avoiding collisions is alot easier.
As I got about 1km from the top, I looked up to see a white man cycle touring down. I had to take a double take, I haven't seen another cycle tourer in ages! Hugo was an older guy from Belgium and its fair to say on first impressions he was absolutely bonkers. In the short time I spoke to him I could tell he was the sort of guy that didn't care what he said and would do whatever he wanted. He had started at Victoria Falls and took the same route up that i will be taking down. He gave me some great information and filled me with so much excitement with regards to how good (and safe) Malawi and Zambia are to cycle through.
I've been so lucky to meet other cycle tourers, what's more, they all seem to be so particular and informative on routes and mileages etc. I'm terrible! He asked me where the nearest village was and I didn't have a clue! I told him there wasn't one for miles so I couldn't really repay him with the good news he gave me about having a cycle section all the way to Malawi.
After Hugo, I had a very short climb until I was back into rolling hills and pure scenic beauty. Small villages and towns were more regular and I bet the locals would've had more chance winning the lottery than seeing two mazungo cycle tourers in the same day. I lost count of how many hills I had to climb but it really didn't matter, the road was amazing, the scenery stunning, and Nigel was in full flow as I teared up the Tanzanian tarmac. 5 minutes after Hugo I remembered there was one town that I passed about halfway through, ah well I thought, it'll be a nice surprise for him!
I arrived at my proposed destination of Iringa at 3 O'clock. Iringa's city centre was 2km up a steep climb just off the main road. I couldn't be bothered to go to the town so I asked the locals if there was a camp site nearby just off the main road. One man said "yes, Kisolenza, about 40km away" I thought he must've meant 14km, Tanzanians very rarely know distances, they rarely know about things further than 3 villages away either, so the chances of this man knowing of a campsite 40km away was pretty unheard of.
I cycled on a bit further and stopped for a sugar boost. A guy there said the same place, and told me it was about 35km. I was hoping more 5km than 35 but I was enjoying myself so much I figured I would just continue cycling, and if I saw a nice motel then I would stop there. I was pleased that after almost 7 months away and 6 of those cycling almost everyday, I was still actually enjoying life on the bike. Not for the first time, in true Forrest Gump style, I just kept on cycling. The next thing I know I'm over 100 miles down and still haven't found a place to stay.
I stopped for some chocolate biscuits that I told myself would be my final boost before just wild camping. It's amazing how efficiently the body uses food and doing this ride has really helped to show me the effect of different foods on my body and for how long they last.
After 106 miles and just under 9 and a half hours at the handlebars I eventually came to a rocky road that led to this special campsite that people knew of from over 40km away. As i pushed Nigel towards the gated site I had a very strong feeling that my wallet was not going to like this place. I was spot on, and annoyed. I could've bought some water and wild camped just outside but instead I had no water and was forced to pay three times as much for water at the site. The site was overpriced for what it offered compared to others I've been to. It seems the Germans have cashed in on running tourist campsites and although I'm sure the prices are reasonable for other German/American tourists, I'd rather stick with African places if I'm going stay on budget.
First thing was first though, I needed a hot shower and thankfully this site provided that. It was that late in the day that i entered the shower block in daylight and left it in darkness, the sun really does set that quickly in Tanzania! This meant that I ended up cooking my noodles by torchlight but I didn't mind, it was a great way to end a long but very enjoyable day.
To cap it all off, I laid down outside my tent for a while and took in the night sky. Simply breathtaking! There were so many stars that I was going to get my sleeping bag outside but I didn't want to wake up with my face covered in mozzy bites. Instead, I left it to the two shooting stars that streaked across almost the entire sky to wish me goodnight before I zipped myself away.
Great day, great end, let's hope the legs still feel a part of me tomorrow!
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