31 May, Friday: Chipogoro -> Iringa

We woke up before dawn after having gone to bed before 9 pm. The stars were still up and we watched the sun kissing the earth a bright orange. Mom discovered what these big boxes were hanging in the baobabs. She climbed up one on some pikes sticking out and a smarm of bees buzzed out! Once the kraals all came to life again, we were on the saddle. There was luckily no wind this morning and the air was so still and warm. After 21 km we stopped for breakfast which consisted of local street pawpaw and muslei. We continued along through all the baobabs. We crossed a large dam, the Mtera Reservoir, with the biggest dam wall where we stopped for a picture.

Watching the sunrise

Mom climbing a baobab

But first, let me take a selfie

The temperature had now reached about 30 degrees and not a slight breeze in the air, the road got longer and longer. Mom found the only shady tree, just before we felt like giving up and a good lunch to refuel our bodies. We were'nt quite sure of where we sleeping tonight so it was hard to judge how many kilometres we had left. In the distance we could see a mountain coming up and by the time we neared it, at 89 km already done for the day, we were still feeling fit and troopered on up the mountain. Eventually at 101 over 5:47 hours in the saddle we called it a day. We drove the last 70 km to Iringa where we booked at the Rivervalley Campsite. A beautiful campsite situated along the Little Ruaha River under shady acacia trees where we set up camp on the green lawn. Once we arrived, the fire for the donkey was lit in attempt for a hot shower. The temperature dropped significantly and we were in longs and warm jerseys tucked tightly into our cosy tents.

Triumphantly cheering the hill challenge

Cycled: 101 km

Time: 5:47 hrs

Ave speed: 17.5 km/hr

Ascent: 800 m