Day 139: Wonderful Lushoto, a great mountain hideaway.

"Into Africa" More than a Motorcycle Adventure
Howard Fairbank
Sat 21 Sep 2013 05:19

04:47.57S 38:17.27E

 

cid:image003.png@01CF0240.AF3AC2E0

 

 

Long ride today…. Got caught in a horrendous traffic jam just before Morogoro. In attempting to take shortcuts around the side of the stopped traffic, this bus didn’t see me coming up the left, with a deep culvit running right next to me on the left side. The bus started moving and slowly cutting me off forcing me closer and closer to the precipice and me trying to shout at him, with fear in my voice, through my helmut. My horn doesn’t work one of the casualties from my first fall at Sani Pass!  (Yeah, I should have fixed it, but I know it needs a whole new horn unit!0 Anyway, seconds before I”d accepted my fate of falling into the culvit,  one of the passenger alerted the driver to the situation, and he took corrective action just in time. On top of this it had started raining, so quite a challenging time. Never found out what the cause of the huge traffic standstill was, but I think it was just routine Tanzania roadblock control, on a busy public holiday. I was really like to be on the bike and weave my way through the vehicles that must have been delayed by many hours.

 

I finally got into Tanga province, and then the turn off to Leshoto brought a whole new world. Climbing a 30km mountain pass with tight switchbacks and lush green mountain country side around was a great change from the African savannah.

 

I stayed at Lawns Hotel. Had a great evening in the bar talking to a special couple Norman and Kirstin. Oilman, worked for some of the big companies, and they were now on a safari with Intrepid…. Hmmm, I’ll never do it that way, but these guys in their 70’s were having the best adventure they could…..

 

Then had a long chat with the owner of the hotel, and got his story of ‘vasbyt’ through East Africa’s challenging times.

 

 

 

24 September