THOUGHT FOR FOOD
One of our main concerns we had before leaving home was whether we would be able to find food and other daily necessities which we would recognise and which wouldn't require too much adaptation by our stomachs, minds or other delicate sections of anatomy.
Looking back, we fell rather foolish and wonder about our naivety. Almost everything you require (bar a 24 mm socket or ring spanner) is readily available in most of the larger towns and we have seldom struggled - a relative term depending on what you are used to! - the things we require.
Yummies
In most of the larger towns, in all the countries we've travelled through so far, there are supermarkets carrying western goods. In some cities, these supermarkets are instantly recognisable, especially to Seffricans, as supermarkets. Namibia (throughout), Zambia (Livingstone, Lusaka), Botswana (bigger towns), Malawi (Lilongwe, Blantyre) and Tanzania (Dar es Salaam) all have Shoprite, OK Foods and occasionally Woolworths stores while there is generally a good selection of local supermarket chains.
These stores may not carry the specific brand you want and the costs may be significantly higher than you are used to, but if you're that fussy, stay home!
Certainly for fresh vegetables and staples, virtually every village has what you need. Vegetables and fruit are cheaper from the local markets and are available everywhere. Buying them this way also gets you out of your vehicle and interacting with the local people. Travelling in your own vehicle can result in you remaining isolated from the local people and this is a mistake - they are great people and their hospitality and helpfulness is humbling and educational.
Also available in every village is bread, Blue Band or Tan Bond margarine (which doesn't need to be refrigerated), soft drinks (you will have to pay a deposit for the bottles if you want to take the drinks away), beer (try the local brews in each country as they are good), cigarettes, powdered and long life milk, sugar, tea and coffee, washing powder, salt, soap and staples such as rice and maize meal (under different names in different places.
Meat is a different matter. Most villages have open air butcheries and while the meat might be fine, its appearance often turns our sensitive western stomachs. We have opted for fresh meat in larger towns where established butcheries exist or tinned meat, especially corned beef.
We've found that in most countries in southern Africa Zimbabwean goods are readily available and are among the cheapest on the shelves. The price doesn't reflect the quality generally and we've got into the habit of seeking out the Zimbabwean products, especially Meadows corned meat and Lobels biscuits (a very more-ish treat).
Wash day
Local soap is available everywhere but the larger towns sell cakes in familiar packaging rather than bright yellow sticks of it half a metre long. Likewise, shampoos are readily available in most larger towns, as is conditioner.
Sanitaryware is the one area where you might want to carry sufficient supplies for two months to guard against not finding what you need in time.
Toothpaste is also available universally and toothbrushes are not hard to find, so don't go out and buy a gross of them before you leave.
Mosquito repellants and other creams are found in larger towns.
Spare solutions
Spare parts for Land Rovers, Toyota Hiluxes and Land Cruisers are available almost universally and although they may not be genuine parts, they will at least do the job until you can get to a major town with a brand dealership. For other makes of vehicle, you may need to look for larger towns but we have seen Mitsubishi Colts and Pajeros, Ford Couriers and Rangers and Nissan Patrol and 1-Tonners in local use so parts shouldn't be too hard to find.
One aspect that takes a while to get used to is that many of the shops stock only filters or engine parts or lubricants and you may have to go to 4 or 5 different shops in order to get what you need. But the shop owners will point you to the next shop to try so you seldom have to hunt to hard to find shops. You may walk a lot but you will always be given lots of help and advice.
Yes, you can bargain over prices in some places and you can usually get a significant reduction if you don't need a receipt - then they don't have to pay tax. And a receipt is useless if you're going to be a 1 000 km away when the part breaks in two weeks time!
Books and maps
There are bookshops in most larger towns but the selection is aimed at the local market and is usually heavily biased in favour of educational books. Finding specific books is not easy and it would be advisable to bring a good selection with you before you leave - if you can find them at home.
When we did find the standard work on East Africa's birds (Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania), the equivalent of the Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, the shop wanted £47 for it! Collins issues a selection of good books on mammals, birds, insects and trees for East Africa as well as a combination volume for Africa, although this only covers the more common birds and is irritating for more interested birders. These are available up here.
Roberts and the other standard bird books, as well as the standard mammal guides, available in Seffrica are useful in East Africa as many of the birds are common up here although the distribution maps are useless.
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SHAKE, RATTLE AND (BARELY) ROLL
Bukoba, 8 January 2002
Beware the smooth road in western Tanzania - it usually presages a very badly rutted section which you hit unawares and fast enough to bounce your head through the roof (we've now got two neat dimples in the roof and flat spots on our heads), rearrange your luggage somewhat unceremoniously and leave you wondering what else has fallen off the vehicle.
Being brave and foolish, we decided to head straight from Ngorongoro to Bukoba, on the western side of Lake Victoria and just south of the Ugandan border, so that we did not have to do a "there and back" trip in Uganda.
The trip took three full days - 33 and a half hours of driving and another six hours of repair work - to cover 1035 km, with about 300 km of that being on good tarred roads.
We were blighted by only one puncture during the trip but the bonnet catch broke twice - the first time because all the jolting wore right through the metal and the second time because the roads cracked the welding on the replacement - and shredded, literally, a new centre bearing on the propshaft.
We should have been warned about the road conditions by a couple who worked near Bukoba and said they travelled via Uganda and Kenya when they needed to go to Dar es Salaam. We didn't listen.
Some fellow travellers travelled over much of the same route in a single day and locals we've met in Bukoba say the trip to Dar takes them two days but I'd hate to see how much damage their vehicle must sustain and how jarring their journeys must be.
We left Karatu, 25 km south of the Ngorongoro gate, at 8 am, thinking we'd arrive in Singida early in the afternoon. Ho, ho, bloody ho! After jouncing our way along for most of the day over roads so bad some of the potholes had developed their own population of corrugations, we finally reached Singida at 7.30 pm, taking refuge at the Catholic mission's Social Training Centre.
The room cost us about $7 and the hot showers were extremely welcome. Even more welcome was the assistance the staff gave us the next morning when we set about repairing the damage the truck had sustained.
We were given access to the mission's vehicle workshops, where we were able to make a new bonnet catch and have one of the staff weld it in place, and were taken into town to repair the puncture - local help helps to ensure you aren't charged Mzungu prices - and find a new centre bearing. Fortunately, spares for our old Toyota Hilux have been available almost everywhere in Africa.
While in town a policeman decided to fine us for not wearing a seatbelt - a difficult procedure with three people wedged into two bucket seats. There was no intimation of a bribe but he started to get rather cross when I was unable to supply him with the name of my tribe!
After instructing us to follow him to the police station, he and his colleague drove off on their 125 cc scooter, leaving us to find our own way. When we arrived, a gentleman in civilian clothes welcomed us and waited expectantly. When he asked how he could help I responded that I needed to pay a fine. As we walked to the charge office with him, it slowly dawned on me that he was the police chief. After much discussion between chief and officer we were released with a warning.
Leaving Singida at 2 pm, it was another long, slow, punishing drive to Igunga where we were stopped by another policeman who refused to let us leave the town as it was after dark. He said he couldn't let us pass because we did not have a gun and there might be bandits on the road! After much persuasion, he reluctantly let us pass but sternly advised us to turn back if we saw rocks across the road as this was a favourite bandit tactic.
We bushcamped that night and were greeted by locals in the morning. It is really frustrating not being able to speak Swahili and to communicate with people who are so unashamedly inquisitive and eager to talk to you. The truck drivers and taxi operators - taxis in this part of the world being ancient Land Rovers with standing room only - were equally friendly and every time we stopped for tea and a rest, any driver who passed would enquire if we needed assistance.
After reaching the tarred road near Nzega, the trip was fairly uneventful apart from sections where the tar has subsided, resulting in a real rollercoaster ride and some airborne moments if you are caught napping.
Turning north towards Biharamulo, where another police checkpoint inquired whether we would like an escort for the trip, and Bukoba the recently graded, and therefore only marginally potholed, road passes through two nature reserves. The birdlife flitting across the road is spectacular, as it is all the way along this western shoreline of Lake Victoria.
Arriving at the Lake Hotel in Bukoba - with guidance from a Bukoba resident who led us here from the centre of town - was a welcome relief at 9.30 pm. Waking the following morning to the sight of the lake and it's birdlife - with pink-banked pelicans soaring overhead - was a real treat after three punishing days.
Our average speed for the first 600 km of the trip was a paltry 27 km/h!
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