Tanzania
Area
945,087 sq km
Population
39,639 thousand
Capital
Dodoma
Languages
Swahili, English
Religion
Traditional animist 42%, Muslim 31%, Christian 25%
Currency
Tanzania shilling
945,087 sq km
Population
39,639 thousand
Capital
Dodoma
Languages
Swahili, English
Religion
Traditional animist 42%, Muslim 31%, Christian 25%
Currency
Tanzania shilling
Border Crossing - North to Mbeya
The formalities to exit Malawi were straight forward and included a good deal more vicious stamping. On the Tazanian side it took us around 30 minutes or more to get through their border. Immigration provided visas (at US$50 each, including receipts) on the spot. Then followed a haphazard visit around various sheds for a foreign vehicle registration (US$20); road tax (US$5); police registration and a chat with the gate guards. The ever-present hawkers were not so bad, as by this time we were taking a no non-sense refusal towards their demands and attempts to catch one's eye.
The road north was reasonable, and we headed towards Mbeya, the local provincial town for the district that has a reputation for being somewhat lawless. Passing through the tea plantations of the beautiful Livingstone and Kipengere Mountains, the people did not stand and stare as we passed, they just got on with their business - such a relief. No one was demanding sweets or money and people appeared well fed and dressed. Tanzania is a relatively poor country, but the mountain soil appeared well irrigated and rich and the plantations appeared well maintained.
By-passing Mbeya, we took the Iringa road on our way to Kisolanza Campsite. En-route we passed pine forests and a paper mill. The site was excellent, with clean loos, hot water and a Farm Shop that sold us a kilo of beef fillet and various large bags of vegetables for less than US$12 (this amount included camping costs). Tanzania appeared to us to be more wealthy in resource management than Malawi.
Iringa
Iringa is situated on the edge of a steep escarpment and plateau - a strategic factor identified by the German administration when establishing Iringa as the southern Capital. The guidebooks describe Iringa as possessing an 'air of a dilapidated Bavarian market town', which we thought a fair assessment. It also displays the vestiges of a distinctly African town. There was a wide variety of good looking products displayed in the market, through which we were able to walk without being hassled or irritated by hawkers. Just south of the town is one of the most significant archaeological sites within Africa - Isimila. It is here they have found stone tools (hand axes, cleavers and hammers) among bones dating back to 60,000 years ago.
We travelled onto Dar es Salaam (interestingly no longer the capital, as this is now Dodoma in the centre of the country) stopping at Mikumi, at Baobab campsite, a region literally covered with stunning baobab trees. The Rufiji River is the major feature running through the area, collecting the water from the surrounding area and transporting it to the Indian Ocean, passing through the oldest and largest of Africa's Game Reserve - Selous GR, that sadly we did not have time to visit. 
The road on to Dar has deteriorated quite badly - there are numerous potholes due to weathering and the worst vestiges of African driving (the large lorries and matatus) and this made for a fraught transition to Dar. The main highway runs through Mikumi National Park, where they insist upon a speed limit of 70 KPH, yet due to the numerous speed humps, 40-50 kph was about all we could manage. Once again we noted evidence of foreign aid assisting infrastructure development - this time the Japanese were funding a new road. 
