An invisible boundary seems to exist in Tanzania, separating the gin-and-tonic-drinking, land-cruising safari goers of the north, and the far more rugged, relatively untouched centre of the country. Both areas have their merits, but one is certainly far less appropriate for travel by bicycle.

Colourful Tanzania.

The central ‘highway’.

In a quite significant route selection error on our part, we found ourselves day-upon-day battling sand and gravel tracks, as our futile search for the new tarmac road through central Tanzania rattled our bikes to within an inch of submission (sand incidentally, being second only to ice as the surface you’d want to avoid on a bike). The days were long and slow going, and one even delivered our slowest average speed for the trip; a truly pedestrian (yet exhausting) 10.8 km/hr, beating our previous low set in the winds of Kazakhstan – a record we were certain would never fall.  However, once we’d stopped feeling too sorry for ourselves, it became apparent that we were in fact riding through a pretty authentic slice of this continent; with its friendly locals, enormous baobab trees and red dusty roads cutting through the lush rolling green hills. If we could have conjured up an image of what cycling down Africa might be like before embarking on this trip, then this was it. What a joy.

Both parties equally entertained.

The Africa we had imagined.

Negotiating a camp spot with the locals….

…successfully.

Fellow rider.

All that being said though, given that the final 50 km into the commercial centre of Dodoma was a corrugated and rocky cycling nightmare, we were very pleased to once again see tarmac, before a much needed rest day.

Gently does it…

Africa has provided a mainly carbohydrate diet.

Waiting for Tanzania’s signature dish: the chip omelette.

Given the nature of this trip, our primary objective on any given day is to keep our wheels turning and (crucially) pointing in the right direction, so as a general rule of thumb we seldom deviate more than 10km from our route for any sight or attraction. However, on account of our first wedding anniversary we made an exception to this rule, for what turned out to be a pretty exceptional place.

The Ngorongoro Crater provides a focal point of the Tanzanian highlands and was formed from the collapse of a gigantic volcano, leaving behind the expansive caldera which exists today; and so it already confidently ticks the boxes of unique and impressive place on earth. The fact it is now teeming with African wildlife, who share the nutrient-rich crater floor with Maasai tribes protecting their grazing herds, makes for an environment we’re unlikely to experience again anytime soon. This quite unbelievable setting, coupled with lodging and service from & Beyond – at a standard which was difficult to imagine could have in any way been bettered – made for ample justification of the New Year detour.

Sunrise over the Crater.

Early morning game drive.

Beats our usual breakfast offering of oats and instant coffee.

Fran looking for the Crater…. it’s over there Dear.