Activities on offer include farm walks, swimming and fishing on a nearby lake, visits to the colonial town of Iringa and trips to Isimila Stone Age Site- Tanzania’s “Stonehenge”. There are useful maps of the farm to guide the uninitiated
On the first night we camped at a site complete with a Boma, electricity, water and a working area
and within minutes of us starting to make camp we had a little welcomer (- called “Carrots”)
The toilets and showers were about 300 meters away through a well worn path
showers and toilets were each in their own separate building
The night was extremely cold
We both did not really have a good night – Jules was cold, uncomfortable and starting to cough , also Barry was still battling tick bite fever headaches.
So next day we upgraded to the stables (Stable #2)
It was really cute with two single beds and nets and own en-suite shower/toilet wash basin.
We soon settled in and got power to Bru’ster as she parked just outside the stables.
Our new little companion came around often to check if we had settled in ok and maybe also to sample some more of that cat food that came up all the way from Cape Town.
On Tuesday (8 June) Barry left Jules to stay tucked up in bed and drove the 59km to Toyota in Iringa for the 100 000 (99 914km) service. We had travelled 8405 km since leaving Cape Town on 15 April.
The service at Toyota Iringa was superb Mr Seif Rashied – Customer Service Manager was gracious and kind – walking me up to the Absa ATM to cash money and helping me with shopping in the Iringa market place. Also met the owner and Dealer Principal Mr Rahim Chegamila. Their contact details are +255 26 2702643. Full details are the Toyota Dealer Network site http://www.toyota.co.tz/dealer-network/
The next few days were spent in Kisolanza – it was lovey to stop and just catch up with ourselves after Zambia and the roads. Jules also started recovering nicely – we were not sure if it was COVID , a cold, flu or bronchitis – the best strategy was to stop , rest, stay warm, sleep and stable #2 was the best place for that.
Kisolanza has centralized their wifi station in clever way – satellite communications bring the signal in and there is a seprate boma type room with work stations and power and lots of wifi signal. there are also meeting tables in the shade of the trees.
By Thursday morning Julie had recovered was strong enough to accompany Barry on the 25km drive back to Mafinga to cash some money at the CRDB Bank. We bought lots of fresh veggies at the farm shop, had a walk and then cooked the veggies
Some cows met on the walk:
other scenery on the walk
This is where the shop and cafe are housed
Jules doing some cooking of the veggies, for the freezer, under the trees on the gas stove while Barry braaied
So after some great discussions and planning sessions with Nicky we packed Bru’ster and left Stable Room #2 – with plans to return on our homeward journey.
Our next steps were to drive East and then in Iringa head north to Dodoma in the centre of Tanzania (Capital City) and see how far we could get heading toward Lake Victoria.