After a few days chilling by the pool at the resort in Kilwa and a travelling in a dhow to visit the ruins at Kilwa Kisiwani, we got the 6am bus to Mtwara which is close to the Mozambique border. By late afternoon we arrived at Mtwara, staying at a place by the sea run by the German Nanny McPhee and relaxed for a few days before starting our long journey across the southern highlands of Tanzania.
Mtwara to Masasi took 6 hours, then Masasi to Tunduru was another 7 hours including two bus breakdowns! We arrived in Tunduru expecting to stay only several hours before another 5am start to transit onward. However a fully booked bus postponed our plans by 24 hours and we had to spend another night at the ropey guest house by the bus station. Tunduru was described in the book as having a “wild west” feel which we quickly understood why and being the only Mzungu’s (white person) we were pointed and stared at whenever we left the guesthouse!
Tunduru to Songea, was another 5am start and 8 hours later we arrived at Songea, Another bus station guesthouse later and we where back on the bus at 6am, headed for Mbeya.
Sogea to Mbeya took us up into the mountains a through the coldest place in Tanzania, Njombe, a small town where I froze my knackers off, having set off in in shorts and vest! Mbeya, is quite a pleasant, chilled place to stay with everything on our doorstep. We did plan to have another early start to Matema, but we made a executive decision at 6am to stay in bed and have another night in Mbeya before heading to Matema and Lake Nyasa. I think the restaurant serving curry and spag bol as well as the Indian run shop selling cuppa soup and harribo, influenced our decision to stay an extra day!
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