Written on Friday 27 September

It’s only  been a week since I left home yet reality feels like a lifetime away. I’ve settled in to truck life and am enjoying the overlanding experience.

I love being on the road. The new sights, sounds and smells enthral me. The different, much simpler, way of life is both fascinating and thought provoking. Many Tanzanian people have so little in the way of material possessions yet they appear so content. They don’t throw away and buy new, if something breaks they fix it, clothes are to wear rather than be fashionable and ancient tribal life continues much as it would have done centuries ago. Being in these less developed parts of the world always makes me think that there is so much the western world could learn about what is truly valuable.

I love just to look out of the window as the truck drives through town after town taking in as much as possible of this fabulous continent. Daily life is is so different, you see women selling fruits sat on plastic tubs atop dirt pavements. In the countryside Maasai men graze their cattle on pastures that appear to be devoid of grass, yet everyone smiles and greets us as we pass.

I try never to travel with expectations of how a place will be, but Africa has surprised me. I feel much more relaxed than I expected. Hassle is minimal, people are friendly and generally you don’t feel as though anyone is out to rip you off.

Truck life is good. The group are getting on well, there is a good mix of people and no immediate evidence of personality clashes. Having my own tent is a treat and I have even mastered putting it up without assistance! I expected to feel a little vulnerable but instead I am luxuriating in the excessive space.

I sit here writing this in a beautiful garden just below the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. This morning Kili poked its head out from the clouds to afford us a rare glimpse of the towering edifice.

We are in a place called Marangu which is the base for most climbs up Kili. We are not climbing Kili, and were told in advance not to expect to glimpse the mountain as usually it is overcast and obscured by clouds. But today’s early morning clear sky offered us the view many were looking for within yards of where a truck breakfast was being served.

The rest of the day has been stunning sunshine, fantastic weather for a walk to the local village accompanied by two local guides who explained some of the local fauna.

The landscape here is so different to what I have seen so far in Tanzania. On the safari circuit the landscape was very dry, miles of plains covered in brown grass stretched endlessly into the distance. Trees had few leaves. Flowers were scarce, but it was still stunning.

We drove around 150km to Marangu and as we neared the area the landscape became lush and green suddenly it felt like being in the tropics. And all thanks to the microclimate the area enjoys thanks to the humidity that radiates from Kili.

The walk took us through the luscious greenery, past local houses, everything from wooden shacks to brick built constructions, and past many local people going about their daily business. Women carried goods on their heads; school children hung around outside the school gates, men could be seen working in the fields. In the village centres shop keepers tended their stores and others sat quietly outside their houses.

By the time we reached the steep incline to Ndoro falls (I could have the name completely wrong, I copied it from the chairs at the top of the waterfall!) we were all feeling the searing heat. The waterfall was beautiful, surrounded by tropical greenery. It felt like being back at some of the incredible waterfalls we swam in in the Phillipeans. Many of us made our way into the cooling waters for a dip.

Our next stop were the Chagga caves. A tunnel system that housed the Chagga people when they were under attack from enemy tribes. The people, and their cattle, first took to the caves around 350  years ago. The caves and the warriors who protected them foiled many attempts to wipe out the people housed below ground.

Our guide explained that enemies tried to flood the caves during the wet season, but the Chugga people dug the caves so they drained at the river. When the enemy stopped filling the caves with water they waited a week looking for signs of life and entered. But the Chugga warriors were waiting for them. The enemies were killed and at midnight their bodies taken to the river where they were chopped up and flushed down stream. Like the chorus of a song the story of bodies being chopped up and flushed down the river punctuated each tale the guide told us of attempted attacks on the Chugga people.

We also had a look around a traditional house which a man and woman shared with their cow and sheep. The space was tiny with two beds a fire area and a separate small pen for the animals, but was all that was needed for a couple with no children.

Our final stop, after a walk along a dusty gravel road, was lunch. A huge meal of chicken and chips with fruit. After stuffing ourselves with food we were all glad to see it was a downhill stroll back to camp.

Tomorrow we move on to a bush camp…