Sun 14th. Was in no hurry to get going as I was to catch the coaster to Nane Nane stage from just around the corner. I had a terrible night’s sleep….head spinning with plans and worrying a bit about the journey ahead to Kyela. Drew money from DTB nearby. Had a tea which took ages to arrive. Said goodbye to a few people; and caught the coaster which took over half an hour to travel the 8kms or so to Nane Nane.
Immediately into a coaster to Kyela at a cost of 7,000Tsh (just over £2). The vehicle was very full initially but thinned out from about halfway. First half was marked by rolling hills countryside; cold; lots of low cloud; tea plantations. We passed the turn off to lake Ngosi volcanic crater lake which I climbed two years ago; I was reminded how far out from Mbeya it is.
The second half of the trip entailed us starting to go down from the range of hills and it started to get warmer. Tea estates. The hills were more interesting too, as we approached the Malawi border. In fact we stopped in Kasumulu which is the border town before we doubled back a few kilometres and turned onto the road to Kyela; I didn’t realise we would stop right at the border. It wasn’t more than half an hour to Kyela, so about 3 and a half hours for the whole trip from Mbeya.
As the bus stand is in town, all the hotels are nearby. I looked at a few and settled on King Solomon Htl for 25,000 (£) incl breakfast and AC. A nice room at the back so it was nice and quiet. I settled in, changed into my shorts and went looking for chai na mandazi. No luck with either. After 15 minutes walking I popped into a restaurant….hoping…but no luck there. But then an amazing coincidence happened…as I was leaving, the lady/owner passed behind me with a large bowl of matoke (bananas) in a soup. This triggered something that Terry said about eating a delicious banana in soup dish at the Half London pub. I went outside to look for the name of the restaurant and it was…Half London pub..!!! Incredible.
I found somewhere for a cup of tea.
In the meantime I had contacted Boniface…a ferry boat engineer who’s contact Terry gave me. I’m glad I met up with him because there were lots of things I wasn’t aware of. Firstly, Kyela is over 10kms from the Lake and port. Secondly, was told you actually have to go to Matema to board the ferry. Thirdly, due to all the rain, the port and roads are flooded and getting fuel to the ferry at the moment is impossible; the service hasn’t been running for a couple of weeks as a result.
Earlier I had followed a sign pointing to a sign publicising that day’s English football and kiti moto. The chef was thrilled by interest in both, and as a result I said I’d be back later. By later (4pm) I was back there. 2 TV screens were being set up…one for the Liverpool match and one for the Tz Yanga team. I paid my 1,000 viewing fee to sit on a bench. I sat on a separate table to eat my dinner. The pork was dry, no vegetables/sauce, so roasted meat. The meat was very tender and the whole dish with bananas and chilli and lemon dip was really delicious. I don’t know how to rate it because I think it’s the first dry kiti moto I’ve eaten without vegetables. I’d gone myself to buy 2 beers from the small shop around the corner.
After that I went to Kiteputepu to watch the Arsenal match and drink one beer over the period of one and a half hours…because I was so tired. I only had to go across the road to the hotel to my comfortable bed.
Mon 15th. A good night’s sleep; I’ve got some catching up to do. Breakfast was 2 chapatis, 2 doughnuts, 3 slices of casava and an omelette. Was also served with a thermos of black tea and a can of coffee and cocoa…I didn’t know what to do with the latter two as no milk was provided.
A quiet day. Went walkabout as I thought about options for travelling. Actually, had given up all hope of the ferry experience down the lake as it rained heavily in the night and the forecast was for more rain. I checked at the stand that there were no direct buses to Songea, so that decided it, I would have to return to Mbeya and then get a big bus to Songea. I’ll have to do the ferry another time. I took a couple of pics on my walk. Shop name..”Uncle Mwaki Spear Parts “…I assume they meant “Spare”. The other one was of a stall including popcorn and peanuts. A guy called out..Where’s the money?.. and I replied..”In my pocket and it’s staying there”.
I returned to my room and showered and got into my jeans. I told Boniface I was going to Half London and to meet me there if convenient…I never heard from him again. That African thing of not responding/communicating is so frustrating. But the place was lively…2 large chamas…committee meetings…made it very noisy. It was a partly sunny afternoon so I wondered if I’d made the right decision, but it then clouded over rather ominously. Had a nice chat with someone selling tent like covers then went to find some dinner.
Actually I knew exactly where I was headed. I’d seen a kiti moto sign just a few shops from my hotel. It seemed as though it could be good, and a price of 5,000 compared to 7,000 the night before, it was certainly worth a try. Literally around the corner was a little drinks outlet from where I bought a small Hunter’s Choice and Pepsi. There were also tables and chairs there at which I could eat my dinner. The kiti moto was superb…better than the previous night. Again, it was a dry roast but everything was better …the banans, the chilli sauce and the meat was marginally better. Loved it. I think if I stayed around here for a number of weeks, I would go there every night. I bought a small bottle of Zanzi from across the road and went to my room.
Actually Boniface did phone, but from a different number so he hadn’t seen my previous message. Why swap and change numbers ?? He asked if I still wanted to meet, but I declined as it was gone 8:30pm and I was already in my room. Pity, as it would’ve been good to see him again. So that was my Kyela visit. A good plan to catch the ferry down the lake to Mbamba Bay but scuppered by the heavy rain.
Tues 16th. Power cut early morning but enough light to pack and shower. Early Bfast….by 07:30…nicer than the previous day. So, after 08:00 I was at the Stand. Was first on the coaster so I took the front seat.
We stopped briefly at Kasumulu the border town , then straight through to Nane Nane stand outside Mbeya. About a 3 hour journey so perfectly bearable. A painfully slow dala ride into the city which necessitated changing dalas for that short 10km journey. But at least it passed almost outside the hotel, so within minutes I’d checked in.
As it was very warm I changed into my shorts and flip flops and walked down to the main Bus station. I booked my ticket to Songea for the following day for 35,000 ..only £11 for 460kms. I passed a place doing lunches so I had a beans and rice…but that included some vegs, banana and avocado…very filling. I found a shortcut to Peace of Mind and used their WiFi in return for a couple of beers. Again, I passed on Mark’s salaams. It was getting cold so went back to the hotel to change into jeans.
Then back down to Peace of Mind for my second FB post of the day. Back to my hotel for a KVant that I took my time over. I like the atmosphere of the Mbeya Continental Rest/Bar. Finally, up to bed relatively early as I had to be up well before 05:00 for my bus to Songea.
Wed 17th. An early start to get to the bus for 05:30. Glad I was a bit early because they had been trying to contact me ( but against wrong number) to say they were ready to leave. So there’s a good reason for taking your number on booking…
There was a major argument between 2 people near me and the bus crew, resulting in the 2 people being thrown off. It turned out they were thieves. Glad I kept my mouth shut..!!
Well, the journey to Makambako and on to Njombe was tediously slow…stop start, stop start…like a normal local inter town service…very annoying.
At Njombe 4 of us were transferred to a different bus…Super Feo…because ours wasn’t going on until later that afternoon. Super Feo was super fast, but the journey in total was still 12 hours. My stomach was totally empty…no food and just a couple of sips of water. Otherwise you just switch off….close your eyes or watch the passing scenery.
We got to the bus stand which is still 15kms from Songea centre. It’s that annoying trend where new bus stands are so far from town. I got a front seat for my 800Tsh fare. The 15kms took over 30 minutes. At least the Ugabe hotel is right next to the Central stage; I’ve only ever stayed at Ugabe and this is the fifth time.
I checked in quickly…paid my 25,000 incl breakfast (£8)…and dashed over to the Jordan River. The light was fading so it must’ve been approaching 7pm. I immediately went to the kitchen, checked they still had food, and placed my order for kiti moto. I put my phone on to charge and had a couple of beers whilst waiting for my food. They had no bananas, but ugali instead. Then I remembered it was there that I’ve had the best ugali…so smooth. The kiti moto ( with chillies and lemons) was delicious, not so flavoursome but the meat was really tender. A very relaxing end .to a day that involved over 12 hours of travelling.
I found the bar Terry recommended; it wasn’t difficult as it was almost directly opposite my hotel. I had one of those small plastic bottles of spirit…this time gin…mixed with water, and went back to my room. I had to decide if I stayed another day or go on to Mbamba Bay.