The long journey!

Today we had to return to Dar in order to be ready for our visit to the Zanzibar projects on Thursday. Flights were all booked. We were therefore anticipating a leisurely breakfast followed by a return journey of an hour or so to the airport and an easy flight back to base. However, when we got back to the hotel yesterday evening, we were greeted with the news that all Wednesday flights to/from Mbozi had been cancelled. Remember, this is Africa - no spare cash to charter replacement aircraft when something goes wrong! So, our journey planners had managed to book us onto a regional flight from Iringa.

Check the map. It looks like a straightforward run on what is a major trunk route. Why then were we being warned to be ready to leave at 7am as we had a 7 hour road journey ahead of us? Well, that's because most of it was off-road! The Government is repairing and strengthening this ageing highway, in what seems like a strangely uncoordinated fashion. For every few yards of lovely new tarmacadam surface, there are several miles of bumpy dirt track on, and on and on..... Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does!

Nevertheless we made it to Iringa in time. A tiny airport with a grass runway, but with heavy, armed, security on the entrance gate. However, the experience in the 12-seater light aircraft which took us back to Dar made up for all the off-roading. And of course we had seen more of the country than would otherwise have been the case!



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