Mngazi

From rainy Morogoro I take the road east into Uluguru Mountains which turns out to be hell on earth with all the holes and bumps. A car killer.

At higher altitude the atmosphere gets uncomfortable, not only due to clouds, rain and mud but also because the people make a rather ignorant and distanced, sceptic impression on me. Strange and unexpected. I stop once and buy tomatoes in order to show them that I am neither a monster nor Jesus.

The second half of the road leads out of the hills and down into the vast plains of Nyerere National Park. From one moment to the other the world feels like being cut with a knife. Clouds open, the sun burns and the people down here smile at me again. And everybody is riding bicycles! In the first village I see many shops with refurbished wire donkeys (Drahtesels) and spare parts. Looks like being the main economy driver here!

Just in time for dusk I drive some 100 m up the steep hillside ridge to get a beautiful evening view and camp next to road between stumps of cut trees. Nearby, Masai are bringing their cattle back home for the night.Read more