Getting a Glimpse of Christmas

It does not feel like Christmas here. It is hot and we are on a campsite in the middle of the bush, where there are no decorations, no sounds of Christmas Carols, no mince pies or Christmas trees with pretty fairy-lights.
However, tonight we have been treated to the most beautiful Christmas lights I have ever seen, and they are 100% natural! Esther and Ben found a host of sparkling, twinkling fireflies, lighting up the darkness of the African night with a wonderful, flashing show. When we eventually dragged ourselves away and wandered back up the hill and through the trees to our wooden banda for bedtime, the stars provided another welcome sight; the night air is crystal clear and the glittering stars stand out against the blackness of the night sky. It was better than the Christmas lights on London's Oxford Street!
As for Andrew, he feels as though Christmas has come early, since our new-to-us car arrived last night from Dar-es-Salaam and we now have our own transport! Early this morning, we piled into our Tanzanian car and Andrew drove us into town. After 3 weeks on the campsite, except for one trip out last Saturday, it was an exciting excursion! The track out of the campsite is dusty, bumpy and hilly- but nothing Andrew couldn't handle! Andrew enjoyed putting the car through its paces and experimenting with all the new gadgets- 4 wheel drive, ABS breaks, windscreen wipers (on a hot, dry day!) etc etc! The best Christmas present Andrew could wish for!
The arrival of the car is perfect timing, as we can now drive home when we leave for Dodoma at the end of next week. When we arrived in Iringa over 3 weeks ago, we were hugely thankful to be able to join a MAF flight that just happened to be coming to Iringa from Dodoma at 1pm and just happened to have spare seats for us! The fight took an incredible 35 minutes, rather than the 8 hour road trip! The other option would have been an 8+ hour bus trip. What an amazing difference!! But that was a one-off, and so we are very happy that we now have our own transport and can do the road trip on our own timetable, stopping where we need to, rather than on a long, crowded bus journey. Definitely an early Christmas gift for all 4 of us!
(photos to follow when we can get a good enough internet connection!)