Cycle Tanzania Part 1 (Kilimanjaro Circumnavigation)
January 2020, I did a cycling trip across northeast Tanzania, starting near Kilimanjaro in the town of Moshi. We circumnavigated the volcano, then headed west through Arusha and ending at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the Crater Highlands. It took 9 days total to cycle approximately 550 kilometres.
This is the approximate route. Some roads near the Kenya border and along the western aspect of Kilimanjaro are not appearing on Google Maps. Google says only 15 hours of driving! I find that very hard to believe considering how rustic and beat up the roads were in some sections. We had a support vehicle carrying the camping gear, food, and other resupplies that would meet us at checkpoints throughout the day.
Day 1 - Moshi to Marungu
Marangu is a bustling town at the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro. We rode tarmac roads busy with traffic from Moshi, passings several schools and businesses along the way. The infamous Managu Gate (at 1990m elevation) is one of the major access routes up Kili, nicknamed 'Coca Cola' since the accommodations include huts rather than tenting. Marangu is also the only route that allows mountain bikes. The majority of the locals here are part of the Chagga tribe, who have built an industry sharing history and ancient traditions through guided tours. Nearby there is also a worthwhile detour to hike to the base of the Ndoro waterfall. This time of year fruit like mangos, avocados, and bananas are being sold at the side of the road in plentiful amounts (4 mangos for 1000 Tz / 50 cents)! We camped at the backyard of the vacant Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort.
The bustling town of Marangu
The major road junction between Moshi and Marngu
Fresh roadside mangos - what a treat
Porters weighing their packs at the Marangu Gate before starting their climb. The National Park Service now regulates how much weight a porter is allowed to carry. Historically and unfortunately these people have been taken advantage of since the tourism demand is healthy and many people want jobs, driving prices and minimum wages down. The maximum allowance of weight per person is 25 kilograms (5 kg personal gear, 20 kg group gear).
Ndoro Waterfall
Day 2. Marangu to Lake Challa
It was still raining as we packed up tents and ate breakfast. The ride was wet and misty as we pedalled uphill out of the Marangu heading east through farmland of the Chagga people. The tarmac road ended in the town Mwika, at which point we had a fast 8 mile descent to the dryer lower elevation Savannah country. It was pretty incredible how fast the terrain changed in a matter of less than 30 minutes and suddenly all my clothes were all dry again. This area apparently has the driest climate around Kilimanjaro. We stopped at a major road junction, which would have been easy to miss considering how rustic the surroundings were. South lead into Kenya and north was the direction we were going to ride tomorrow. Another few kilometres east of road brought us to the Lake Chala Safari Lodge & Campsite.
I talked to the manager at Lake Chala for a while who was an elderly man of German descent and wrote down some pieces from our conversation:
- Lake Chala formed from the ground breaking from Kilimanjaro after eruption
- The Kenya / Tanzania border crosses through the lake and is 80% in Tanzania
- The Tanzanian government has a strict no swimming rule since most people never learned how to swim and there have been many cases of people drowning. This is a bummer for tourists since many of the fresh water lakes in Africa are dangerous with the presence of parasites and crocodiles, etc. However in Kenya there aren't any rules regarding swimming, so you just have to hike for a couple hours to the border and jump in there ;)
- The lake primarily consists of ground water (95%) and loses 1-2 metres every year which then gets refilled by the rain (5%)
- Until 2017 the area was a wildlife route between Kilimanjaro and Tsavo National Park in Kenya. Animals would travel to higher elevation during dry periods. People continued building houses created conflict with the wild animals and eventually a 50 kilometre electric fence was installed which has deterred lots of the wildlife. Apparently baboons are abundant and well adapted to humans so you have to be careful leaving things around your tent
George looking back through the daily dose of morning rain. This continued throughout the trip. Jan-Feb in Tanzania is known as the "short dry season" but for the 3 weeks of my travels, there wasn't really anything dry about it, except for a couple days at low elevation. Temperatures were warm (15-30 degrees), therefore I didn't miss the Canadian winter
The town Mwika
A fast 8 mile descent from the tarmac roads of the wet highlands to the dirt roads of the dry Savannah country
Wildlife corridor
No swimming allowed since most Tanzanians never learned how to swim and there have been many deaths. However there are no rules against swimming on the Kenya side of the lake ;)
Dry riverbed
My backpack at the deteriorating Kenya / Tanzania border monument
Paul always keeping his bike looking 'spiffy'
Day 3. Lake Chala to Rongai Forest
A long uphill day on bumpy dirt roads. Fortunately we had cool temperatures to support a usually long and tough section in the heat. I took lots of pictures today, probably looking for excuses to take breaks and get off of the bike saddle. Lesson learned: a gradual uphill on bumpy roads makes your hands and butt very sore. We were heading anti clockwise around the volcano and covering more ground today (64 kilometres). The eastern side of Kilimanjaro lacked infrastructure until reaching the town Tareka, which is directly on the Tanzania / Kenya border. In many cases, the road was essentially the border; if you pull over for a bathroom break in the trees on your right, make sure to bring your passport because that would be Kenya. Passing the Masaii villages are good places to buy mangos. I had already consumed over 10 mangos by the third day and started just eating them like apples; biting right through the skin rather than cutting them properly. The delicious roadside local fruit was one of the highlights of this whole bike ride (more on this later). After several hours of pedalling, the roads turned to a tarmac surface near the beginning of the Rongai Forest. There was still much more uphill but at least we were on a smooth surface. We passed a sign pointing towards the Rongai Gate which serves as the only route up Kilimanjaro from the northern aspect of the volcano. A steep road with lots of switchbacks brought us up to the mountain, over the Nalemuru River, and we finished at Snow Cape Cottages. As we pitched the tents, the place was lively with staff from a local school celebrating someone's birthday.
Sunflower oil is an expensive and rare commodity in Tanzania
One of the Maasai villages
Roadside mango resupply
Taking a much needed break as the dirt road comes to an end
Passing through the town Tarakea
These shops were abundant throughout Tanzania and I never understood why. Tigo and Wakala are the major cellular mobile networks in the area that sell sim cards. Perhaps people purchase them in small pre paid quantities? But in my opinion the sim cards were extremely cheap relative to the rest of the world. I purchased 30 days of data (10GB was the smallest amount) including calls/text for less than $20 USA. It was time consuming and a hassle buying the sim card without a Tanzanian passport. Many places wouldn't sell them to foreigners and each networks also seemed to be localized.
A steep winding highway through the Rongai Forest
Kilimanjaro's northern aspect route (Rongai)
Walking the last kilometre as we finished one of our tougher days
Fooooood is inside!
Day 4. Rongai Forest to Simba Farm
Crossing Kilimanjaro's northern ridge at 1920 metres (6300 feet) would be our highest point on this bike tour. My father and I had previously spent 6 days climbing the volcano and the magnitude for high how the summit actually is dawned on me as Kibo's crater starting coming into view. It was great to circumnavigate Kilimanjaro on a bike to see the volcano from different perspectives. Our days spent yesterday and today traversing the northern aspects were much more remote than the touristy southern aspects. Villages we passed through were not used to seeing tourists - especially a blue eyed guy struggling to carry a mountain bike on his shoulders through the rain and mud (more on this later!). This was the toughest day mentally. As we left the tarmac roads after the town Kamwanga, the mud slowed everything down exponentially. The dirt roads were drenched and the mud was clogging up in our tires. Riding was definitely not an option so we were walking the bikes. I remember consistently having to stop every 10 metres to scrape off the mud off the tires with a stick. When a group of cows walked passed us, I thought to myself "Where are we / this isn't good / middle of nowhere in Africa / stuck in the mud / even cows are traveling faster than us." As we passed through a Masaii village making extremely slow process, the locals who were not used to seeing tourists, were yelling, calling out at me, pointing, and I didn't understand what was going on. It was loud and mentally exhausting. I got really frustrated when the stick I had been carrying to scrape off the mud with broke. I ended up just picking up the bike, resting the frame on my shoulders, and walking out of the village and get away from the commotion. I started feeling better after eating a couple chocolate bars and we were finally able to ride again during some of the downhills. The bikes didn't have fenders, but I don't think they would have helped things anyway; taking up space in areas where clearance is required. I can't emphasize how much mud there actually was and how it kept sticking to the bikes, definitely wasn't anything I was used to experiencing in Canada. George and Paul didn't once complain about how bad the conditions were. We all knew it; and in hindsight, their modeling of staying calm and sticking to the plan helped things out overall. A commercial truck was stuck on an uphill, blocking both directions of traffic. Nearby people had gathered around and everyone was working to get the truck mobile again. We stayed for over an hour and although the truck could not drive forward, at least it was moved off the road. By 14:30, the road improved, the climate felt drier, and we were making good progress again! Storm clouds continued to loom overhead throughout the day, but the worst of the rain was over. We made it to our campsite at Simba Farm lodge later in the day. Many hiking groups were driving past us as we turned on the access road. 11 more kilometres from the highway would bring you to the Lemosho Gate in Kilimanjaro National Park, which is the climbing route on the western aspect of the volcano.
Kibo's Crater with Uhuru Peak still in the clouds
The town when the tarmac road ended and the muddy slog began
Walk 10 metres, scrape off mud, repeat
Our pace was slower than the cows
A truck blocking traffic in both directions
George stoked to be gaining ground quickly on dry roads
Rain clouds looming overhead throughout he day
Camping at Simba Farm Lodge
People enjoying their travel mobility in luxury, while ignoring the carbon footprint
Day 5. Simba Farm to Olpopongi
Our circumnavigation around Kilimanjaro is almost complete, yet the bike ride continues. We were leaving the green western aspect of Kilimanjaro along the access road to the Lemosho Gate and heading towards the more arid open plains and acadia woodlands of the low elevation Savanah country. The change in altitude and terrain also brought warmer weather. We were able to cycle at a leisurely pace and enjoy the surroundings; quite the contrast to yesterday! While the Chagga tribe inhabits the slopes of Kilimanjaro, the nomadic Maasai people dominate these plains. We stayed at the Olpopongi Maasai Cultural Village (https://goo.gl/maps/W28j4tMV9cMa1baT6). It was going to be our first night sleeping off the ground! As we peddled into the complex, we were greeted with a traditional dance and delicious food. Unfortunately I immediately got the vibe that the place was being run as a business. Regardless, I would still highly recommend staying here as the Savanah country is unique, supporting a variety of wildlife and having great views being situated between Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru.
Leaving Kilimanjaro from the Lemosho access road for the low elevation Savanah
The change in altitude and terrain also brought the warm climate I was hoping for. It felt like 'Africa' again. While January and February is known as the 'short dry season' the weather around Kilimanjaro is always variable and unpredictable. My weather window was not good overall. I had spent 11 days total in the vicinity of Kilimanjaro National Park (6 days climbing the volcano / 5 days cycling around it), and it rained 9 of them. Hey, no complaints no regrets.
Continuing through the Masaii Lands
A traditional dance
Local goods (AYCE!)
A much needed and enjoyable outdoor shower
Cycle Tanzania Part 2 (Arusha to Ngorongoro)
https://www.ascendandwander.ca/2020/01/cycle-tanzania-part-2-arusha-to.html