On our return visit to Iringa we discovered a fantastic new eatery, the Neema Craft Shop which serves delicious snacks and light refreshments, and sells wonderful handmade jewellery, woven fabrics and bags, and recycled paper products.  Neema Crafts was started in October 2003 by the Diocese of Ruaha. Its purpose is to provide handicraft training and employment for deaf and physically disabled people in Iringa region.It really is well worth a visit.

The New Acropol Hotel The Trans-Swiss Hotel The Slipway complex Oyster Bay Accidents are numerous in Tanzania and Zambia Elephant Motel, Same Msimbazi Inn, Kutara The Ngorongoro crater The spectacular annual migration of Wildebest to Kenya The poor Hilux Serengeti Stop Over chalet Lake Victoria Lawns Hote, Lushoto

Morogoro more July 6 and 7, 21 and 22 Sadly the road from Iringa to Morogoro is breaking up in parts, but that doesn't detract from the magnificent scenery as we get further into the tropics. We were once again made welcome at the New Acropol Hotel by Michelle and the lovely doggies. The rooms at the Acropol are truly comfortable and very reasonably priced at TZS55 000 a night including breakfast. The restaurant serves delicious meals and lot of time can be spent in the bar area looking at all the African artefacts and memorabilia. Anne took advantage of a new service and had a relaxing and inexpensive hour-long massage by beauty therapist Agnes. Stopping over on the way back to Zambia we had lunch at the Hotel Oasis, which is hidden away in a back street and serves a variety of Chinese, Indian and European food at reasonably prices. Driving back to Iringa we stopped at a new hotel - the Tan-Swiss Hotel and Restaurant just a few kilometres south of  Mikumi National Park. Run by a Swiss national, and only a few months old, the hotel has spacious rooms with an en suite and private patio which cost TZS40 000 a night including breakfast, and an extensive menu in the well-appointed restaurant. We put it on our 'must stay there' list for next year. Dar es Salaam more July 8 and 9 It's only 190-kilometres from Morogoro to Dar es Salaam, but it took us four hours, mainly due to all the small villages in between the two centres and the huge amount of traffic we had to negotiate through to get to the suburb of Oyster Bay and the Slipway. This year we were unable to get into the actual Slipway complex,but we managed to rent one of their serviced apartments just across the road. For US$90 a night we got a two-bedroom, fully equipped spacious unit with kitchen facilities, satelite television and air conditioning. Again, we ate at the Pizza Restaurant situated on the waterfront which serves excellent and reasonably-priced meals. Tip: Wherever you stay in Dar es Salaam check with management whether or not the water is going to be turned off, if so, when! The complex is excellent with great accomodation and many boutiques and souvenir shops. The One Way boutique has a large variety of  resort-type clothing, but the markets on the waterfront sell sandals, kangas, colourful scarves and shawls, along with jewellery at about half the price charged in the complex boutiques. The best laid plans of men and mice ...... Keith left in the early hours of the morning to take the Hilux to the Toyota head office where it had been booked in to replace the 'temporary' ignition. They didn't have the part!! Oh well, that's Africa! The traffic in the city, and the outskirts, is horrendous. At morning peak hour vehicles are backed up for several kilometres, so much so that some of the outgoing lanes are turned into ingoing lanes in an effort to ease the congestion. Same July 10 and 18 We finally managed to ease our way out of Dar es Salaam and headed off along the Moshi road to Same and the Elephant Motel. Happily the rate of TZS40 000 a room, including breakfast, had not increased from last year and is good value. The room was spacious as was the en suite. The meals in the restaurant are basic, but better than nothing as there's nowhere else to eat!! Same is not exactly a thriving town! On our return we couldn't get our usual room so we were placed in the older section of the motel where the rooms are TZS25 000 including breakfast. Kutara July 11 and 17 The drive to Moshi and Arusha is scenic, but the section of road from Sigara to Momba is breaking up badly, as is the section from the Arusha turnoff to Mto Wa Mbu. We had hoped to stay at Mto Wa Mbu but could not get accommodation so travelled the 25-kilometres to Kutara and the Ngorongoro Safari Lodge where we were ripped off for US$140 - the tarrif for a double room one could hardly move in, but it did include breakfast!! Needless to say, we didn't stay there on our way back as we walked around this small backwater and found a B&B, the Msimbazi Inn (phone 0272534098) with secure parking, television and hot water (when there's power) for TZS20 000, including breakfast! On our return, the inn had no power (but they had a gas cooker so we were able to have a meal) and had not had same for three days. We also experienced another small earth tremor, which sent residents and children screaming into the streets! Thankfully we found Mushi Bros, a motor vehicle repair workshop, located on the outskirts of Kutara whose mechanics were able to repair our vehicle, badly damaged on the return drive through the Serengeti. And the repair cost was a quarter of what we had to pay in Mwanza. The Serengeti National Park more July 12 and 17 Another early start as we planned to drive the approximate 360-kilometres through the Ngorongoro Conservation area and the Serengeti National Park to Serengeti Stopover lodge, just one kilometre from the park's western gate. Unfortunately, there was thick low cloud all the way  from the Conservation area's entrance gate to Nabi Hill,the entrance to the Serengeti, so we couldn't see the Crater on the way over, but we did manage to photograph it on the way back. The whole 360-kilometre stretch of road is absolutely horrendous, especially through Ngorongoro - you don't really have to see the crater, as you drive through heaps of them!! The gate fee is now US$140 ($US$40 for the vehicle plus US$50 a person - each way). If you wish to go down into the crater it now costs you US$200, then you pay another US$140 to go through the Serengeti. Going over we 'did' two shock absorbers and a stabiliser bar bolt, then did another two shocks on the way back, plus  the spare tyre rack on the back of the rear canopy was shaken off - we were lucky not to lose the spare. It took us eight hours to travel the 360-kilometres. All in all it was a very expensive 720-kilometre drive!! The only good thing about the whole exercise was witnessing the annual migration of 100s of 1000s of  wildebest and zebra up into Kenya - a really amazing spectacular. Arriving at Serengeti Stop Over after a seven hour drive the Hilux suddenly died. Miraculously the staff at the lodge were able to find two young 'fundis' (experts) at a small village a few kilometres away, who diagnosed a dead alternator - two-and-a-half hours later it was fixed. We've stayed here many times and at TZS60 000 a chalet, including breakfast it's pretty good value. The meals are basic but, again, there's nowhere else to eat! Tip: If you aare thinking of taking your vehicle through the park, don't! Use someone else's! Mwanza more July 13, 14 and 15 More bad news awaited us on arriving in Mwanza when we took the vehicle in for new shock absorbers as there was much more damage. Six hours and several hundred dollars later we booked into the New Mwanza Hotel. There are a couple of brand new hotels in Mwanza, plus seceral newly-renovated ones, but the central location of the New Mwanza suits us and at TZS80 000 a room, including breakfast, it's reasonable value and the meals are excellent. Another decent place to eat is at the Chinese restaurant situated on the edge of  the lake and a short distance from the main ferry terminal. We also had drinks at the Casino, adjacent to the hotel. It was disappointing to find that the fast ferries from Mwanza to Bukoba (on the other side of Lake Victoria) which we had planned to travel on were out of action, as was one of the slow ferries, MV Victoria. Only the ferry MV Serengeti was in action, but this was fully booked out. Lushoto more July 19 and 20 A short drive from Same and we were in the magnificent Usambara Mountains  heading to Lawns Hotel. Run by Greek national Tony, the hotel at TZS45 000 a night including breakfast is reasonably priced. The dinner menu is sparse, but adequate. A lot of work has ben carried out on the exterior and also the bar and lounge area. Hopefully some work will start on the rooms which are badly in need of some TLC, but whatever the rooms lack, the gardens and views make up for them. We also drove further into the mountains to the Irente View lookout - truly spectacular and should not be missed.

The Border
Again, it was pure bedlam at the order, but it only took one hour as we didn't have to go through the long paper trail like we did to enter the country. David was also there to help us out.
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