Africa: Ruaha to Mufindi in Four and a Half Hours

Up at the crack of dawn so as to not miss any early morning lions. We had a small and much quieter vehicle today. More of the same animals. The highlights were a nearly fearless family of warthogs that were quite close to the road. We also had a great time at the hippo and croc pool. This was the first time we had seen hippos out of the water. They were quite impressive in their slow lumbering gait. As we were going about our documenting, one outsider hippo approached a larger group at the shore. A hippo in the group took offense and charged the outsider with loud bellows and bared teeth. This sent about half the group splashing into the pool. As soon as the commotion had started, it was over and the hippos on land froze. A while later the outsider hippo was chased to the far end of the pool.

We might have had better luck tuning into the “Big Game” station.

After a quick spot of lunch, we packed up and bid our farewells. We were hoping to make it to Mufindi before nightfall. The fork of the road that we opted not to take on the way in was supposed to be quicker by at least an hour. It had the ominous title of “The Neverending Road.” Hanif seemed determined to shave even more time off the journey. As we hurtled down the dirt road we came around a bend to find another car hurtling toward us. We spent the several white-knuckle moments slaloming down the road. Alex happened to glance up at the Clinometer and noticed at one point that we were three degrees shy of rolling the vehicle.

Maina and Mwanga testing for cellular signal. Both are hooked on SMS (Short Message Service.)

We blasted through Iringa.

The local Bockbuster looks like a happening place.

The rest of the trip was a 160 KPH white knuckle ride from Iringa through Mafinga and on to the Fox Family Farm in Mufindi. The farm is in the southern highlands of Tanzania. We have been warned that it is quite cold. I am not convinced that it will be that bad as it is only 5000 feet in elevation. It is a bit chilly and I am glad I have my windbreaker. As we climb up, we begin to see pine trees and eventually come into the tea plantations the region is famous for.

We manage to pull into the farm just before dark. All of us are quite glad to have made it safe and sound. We get settled into our rooms and get our battery chargers plugged in before heading over to the main lodge for dinner.

Can’t get enough of that electricity.

We finally get to meet the Fox family patriarch, Jeff along with the only son in the family business we had not yet met, Bruce. Jeff has been trying to retire for a while but has gotten dragged back into action with managing the Farm. Bruce has recently returned from the UK where he was working on promoting the Fox Family camps and lodges to British adventure tour companies. We are excited to chat with Bruce about the DVD we have been working on. Dinner is a rather noisy affair as the lodge is completely full. We are all excited to get some sleep and tuck in after dinner.