Tanzania Day 6: To Iringa!

Now that I am settled in Iringa, I finally have the chance to write a proper blog post! The last few days have been a rough introduction to the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. Over the last few days, we have trekked up to Iringa from Dar, explored our new home of Iringa, and begun to settle in at the University. Below is a photo of our entire trip from Dar to Iringa. (No, it did not take 6h30m--Google maps is totally wrong)

Our Journey (Credit: Google Maps)

To start, we left Dar Es Salaam early on Thursday morning. Our director, Justin, warned us that the drive would take up to 11 hours and so we mentally prepared for a long drive. Although most of us were exhausted at 6:30 AM, our bus driver, Frank, eagerly loaded up the roof rack on the bus as well as the back of the bus, with all of our luggage. The result, as you can see below, looks like something faintly out of a comedic film.

Our Chariot to Iringa...

After a quick breakfast, we all hopped on the bus and began our great trek at...a snail's pace. Although we tried to leave before the morning rush, we still managed to get stuck in the infamous Dar traffic. As we crawled our way outside of the city, I started to wonder if we would make it to Iringa at all! As an aside, Dar's traffic woes seem to underscore the difficulty of policy-making in a rapidly developing country. Durable, sustainable infrastructure projects are expensive and time-consuming in developed countries such as the United States and the UK, but they must be even more challenging in a country like Tanzania, with fewer resources and rapidly increasing demand. (Did you know that 44% of Tanzania's population is under 15?) Given my current interest in transportation policy, expect to hear more about my thoughts on Tanzanian infrastructure projects in the coming weeks. Anyway, Dar's traffic was difficult, but we slowly wound our way out of the city and into the open country. For the first few hours, we passed through rolling countryside. It was utterly beautiful. Below is a photo from this portion of the journey.

Looking out at the African Brush

After a brief stop around 11, we pushed on, this time starting to see mountains majestically rising from the plans. They reminded me somewhat of the Rocky Mountains/Sangre De Cristo Mountains as they rise up out of the Great Plains. It was really quite a sight. I've included a picture below.

The Beginning of the Mountains

The final portion of our drive (before lunch!) was through Mikumi National Park, one of Tanzania's giant national parks. This piece might have been the best part of the whole drive. As we drove along, we had our first glimpses of giraffes, baboons, and zebras! I managed to snag a picture of the baboons, although not the others. However, I will go on safari later in the trip, so hopefully I will have even better photos then!

Baboons!

Just before we pulled off for lunch, our bus was stopped in its tracks by a herd of cattle! It was quite a sight to see, especially given that this highway is one of the main trunk roads in Tanzania (that didn't stop the herders from driving their cattle straight across it!)

Cattle!

Finally, we pulled into our lunch spot--a small restaurant called Tan-Swiss. Incredibly, in the middle of Tanzania, a Swiss couple decided to set up a restaurant and serve Swiss food. I ordered a traditional Swiss dish (the name of which I cannot recall), which was utterly scrumptious. That said, anything would have tasted good after 6 hours on a bus. We enjoyed a relatively leisurely meal at the restaurant, which further lengthened the time of our journey. Yet, it seemed like no time at all before we had to pile back into the bus.

My delicious Swiss (?!) food in Tanzania

The Crocodile!

Before we drove very far, we also took the opportunity to visit a snake park near to the restaurant. Unlike many US animal parks, this park seemed to have a more relaxed attitude towards safety. (Don't worry, it was still perfectly safe!) Regardless, it was still odd to see all the (very) deadly African snakes in close proximity. I've included a picture below of one of the snakes and a crocodile at the park (which we got very close to!).

One of the (many) snakes!

 After a pleasant visit to the zoo, it was time to face the inevitable--the second half of our journey. Not long after leaving the snake park, we began to climb into the mountains. This part was utterly spectacular--I had no idea that Tanzania had such beautiful mountains. Below, you can see a photo from this section of the drive.

Heading into the mountains!

Winding our way to Iringa!

Although the mountains were beautiful, they seemed to stretch on forever. At this point, I felt like I was never going to get off the bus. As darkness fell, I think our entire group's mood turned to grim determination in our drive to get to Iringa. Finally, after 12 hours on the road (including stops), we finally arrived on the outskirts of Iringa. I don't think I've been so glad to see a place in recent memory! As we pulled into Iringa, I could already tell how different it was from the hustle and bustle of Dar Es Salaam--Iringa had a more relaxed, peaceful feeling.

After unloading the bus, checking into our lodgings for the night (we weren't moving to the University just yet!), and grabbing a quick bite to eat, I finally collapsed into bed and fell asleep. It was a grueling, but necessary day. I was glad it was over--I was ready to explore Iringa! In the coming days, I will have another post up about my first days here. Usiku mwema! (Good night!)