Day 7: Fang Log October 9 6AM

We are up early for a 6AM start from Mbeya to Lusaka, probably nine hours. We do not want to arrive in the dark!!

Our hotel last night lovely with a rousing pool side drinks session and good chow. What a contrast from Malawi to see stop lights, banks and the modern world again. 

Laurie is stellar, driving a good rhythm, donning her mechanics overalls for Fang inspections and administering to the sick as well.

Actually we left from Chipata this morning. I am fairly sure we were in Mbeya recently though. Rallys distort space time, sleep patterns, appetites, relationships and focus in strange and wondrous  ways. We navigate, not by road maps, but distance checkpoints. Five kilometers to a Puma fuel station, straight on to a police barrier, turn left at the third roundabout, 36.74 km IPONGO mark, and today’s favorite, 4.17 km Large Chicken in Middle.

Our passage through east Africa forms a slide show more than a movie. We rush onward in our separate space capsules, some fast and sleek, others slow and steady. Then we were shelter together, join in triumph and tragedy, pass the wine and sympathy, bless our cars, our stomachs, and pray for sleep and clean laundry.

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Leaving Chipata

Chipata to Lusaka today

Luangwe Bridge - Why?

On the road to Lusaka

"Large Chicken In Middle" rally navigation point

Be sure to check the Beastly Fang to see if there might be a more current log.

Day 6: Fang Log October 8 6AM

Laurie has now earned both her truck and night driving badges. She attained the first on her thousandth successful petroleum tanker pass during our eleven hour run toward the Malawi border. We traveled through pleasant landscape punctuated by hundreds of roadside villages teaming with young people, motorbikes, petal bikes, foot traffic, HUGE trucks, merchandise and opportunist traffic cops all too eager to extract shillings.

After our safari we collected our cars and pointed south, enjoyed a cool morning run, stopping for a group picnic at a farm.As is often necessary, the rally group overnights in different hotels. While some lounge by pools, others get less of the advertised luxury. We just chalked up the Vamos Hotel in Iringa to catagory B and requested staff bring us a light bulb. 

In Mbeya half the group were hauled in vans to an “adjoining” lodge after checking in to control at rally central. Nice place, unfortunately our driver did not know it’s location. Ninety minutes of darkness, bouncing on quite bumpy dirt roads, fuel gauge on empty.  Laurie and I, weary travelers, now thirteen hours on the road, collapsed In our bungalow and requested another light bulb.

Good run to the Malawi border, then words fail me. 
“Utter chaos” seems too frivolous to describe the next four hours. The film “King of Hearts” comes to mind. 

Malawi. Good roads, few trucks and police. A very big lake. Young people walk. Boys ride bikes. Villages highly social, not much technology, a few satellite dishes per village, less material wealth. Pigs, goats. A stunning mountain pass on a rough road. 

Delayed by our border games, we made the last kilometers in darkness, uncomfortably aware the road was shared with unlit children and animals. The Grand Palace Hotel lives up to its billing and we are all reunited, even friends who were towed 90km to join us.

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Let’s torque tires.

Friends discussing borrowing fuel from Fang.

Mustang thought they were out of fuel. 

Actually line frayed through. Fixed now.

We formed a Fangio team, The Juanderers.

Jock and knob hills Malawi

Field Trip

Malawi. Good roads, few trucks and police, boys ride bikes.

About to pass one of the thousand petroleum tankers during

our eleven hour run toward the Malawi border

Wonderful locals in Zambia!  As seen in the Rally Round Blog!

Be sure to check the Beastly Fang to see if there might be a more current log. 

Day 5: Our Fangio team, The Juanderers, leaving Tanzania into Malawi

More soon!
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Day 3: Thursday 5:53AM Serena Mivumo River Lodge

8AM yesterday, our hearty gang loaded into safari trucks with high spirits and packed lunches for a long and ambitious day. Simon, our driver/guide handled the Land Rover with skill and flair, leading the pack on a brisk, chilly run onto game rich plains. At first we see nothing, then animals everywhere. Encountering lilac breasted rollers and Giraffe nurseries with half a dozen little ones guarded by matrons, were special treats.

Then we hit the jackpot. Simon spotted a pride of lions
lounging under trees. With great skill he maneuvered our truck through and over brush to follow lion social interactions for an hour. He radioed the other trucks to join the fun.  

After a picnic lunch we drove around the lake to see great birds and hippos out of the water. Boats were waiting by the river to ferry us back to camp for more hippo and croc encounters along the way.

To top off a superb day, a family of elephants crossed the river in front of us,  trunks and tails splashing merrily. Babies wrapped their little trunk around mom’s neck and held on for the ride. Lodge personnel declared they had never seen elephants cross before, and our boatman, who is on the river every day, has only seen elephants cross four times in seven years. Lucky us. The elephants celebrated their passage by eating a bush.

We headed for cold beer.
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Serena Mivumo River Lodge and Huts

lilac Breasted Rollers © Susan Tryon

Giraffe nurseries with half a dozen little ones guarded by matrons.

Impala lunch and some lion social interactions

Lions getting a drink

African Fish Eagle

Hippo © Susan Tryon

Swimming Hippos 

Crocodile

Family of elephants crossed the river in front of us, trunks and tails splashing merrily. Babies wrapped their little trunk around mom’s neck and held on for the ride. 
Extremely rare to see according to our guides.

The elephants celebrated their passage by eating a bush.

Day 2: Log Entry Wednesday 5AM from Selous Game Reserve.

Our driver got little sleep yet valiantly slid behind Fang’s wheel for our 7:04 AM start. Dignitaries, jumping Masai Warriors, an inflated START arch and a lively crowd cheered us out of the parking lot and on our way east to Morogoro. 
  
Even the heavy rush hour traffic here is at the mercy of Policewomen who command intersection passage in an unfathomable system that seems to omit only us. Fifteen minutes, no problem. Then a 30km crawl eastward. Fang’s trunk monkey must have caught the eye of a motorcycle cop. He signaled us out of line to enjoy 20km of VIP escort service right down the middle of the formerly two lane highway, siren howling. Rushing toward massive oncoming trucks that gave way at the last moment, wedging  between buses, flying free. Now that was fun.
 
Rally cars abandoned in a hotel parking lot, a quick Tucker’s beer, another bus, an airplane ride over mountains to our two night stay in the enormous Selous  Game Reserve. 
Bumping and jolting our way toward camp we passed thru sparse scrub which was control burned to increase new growth. This unpromising landscape yielded animals and glorious birds at every turn. Boar, zebra, giraffes, eland, baboon, even Cape Buffalo. We felt truly on safari. 
 
Then an evening boat ride amongst hippos aplenty, masses of crocs and kingfishers (in a flock), fish eagles, on and on.
Our accommodations are enviable, the drinks included, and laundry is free. Now 5AM Thursday as we head out with packed lunches for another day amongst nature.
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Day 1: Log entry Tuesday AM

An action packed forty eight hours indeed. After two days of lounging by the pool between spa visits we were startled into gear. A caravan of eager crews and support vehicles launched  toward our awaiting rally cars through 22 km of impressive and varied Dar es Salaam traffic.  We were overjoyed to fire up Fang, clear away two vision holes on the dirt covered windshield and head to a gas station.
A quick hand wash by enterprising gentleman at the hotel parking lot put things right and got Laurie in the mood to bleed Fang’s brakes. Then time for a quick, if poisonous, meal at the hotel before safety inspection, signing in and a two hour briefing. Now to organize and pack the car, revisit ATMs, check documents and car prep, all before the dire effects of lunch keep many crew members and the rally doctor up all night quite ill. 
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Day 01 Stats: Dar es Salaam to Morogoro/Selous, 198km/123mi in Tanzania