Monday 23 July 2012

On The Way to the Farm...

On the way to the Farm holiday (see previous blog below), we spent one night in Iringa to break the long journey. We stayed at the Rivervalley Campsite where we did our Swahili language school, back in 2009. It was strange to be back there- it felt so liberating to be there simply as overnight guests instead of conscientious students having to rush off to Swahili classes immediately after breakfast!
It was fun to be able to show Claire the campsite where we lived for 2 months at the start of our life in Tanzania. Dinner and breakfast were provided and were very tasty:

Just to get ready for the outdoor activities which would be part of our family holiday, the children made the most of the campsite facilities to warm up their muscle power- a spot of trampolining for Esther:
 ...some rock climbing for Ben:
 ...and trying out the swings for Joel:

 It was soon time to pack up those familiar family suitcases again, lug them down the hill from our campsite banda, load up the car and continue our journey to Fox's Farm...




At the Farm


 And so to Fox's Farm...!

 It was such a lovely holiday- a real break from Dodoma: it is everything that Dodoma isn't: hilly, cool weather, green, full of lakes and dams and water, mosquito-free, lots of opportunities for outdoor activity. In fact, it is a bit like going on holiday to Europe! It felt like a lovely change from everyday life. It was also a complete rest, as it is full-board, which means no market trips, shopping, cooking or cleaning up for me! :-)

The views outside our holiday cottage were stunning:

 Esther felt VERY grown up on this holiday, as she shared a chalet with Auntie Claire and lived next door to the "boys" (plus Mum!), whose cabin was situated a little further down the hill. The "girls" had a lovely, civilised chalet, free from toy cars, noisy toddler waking at night and smelly socks (all of which seem to go along with brothers!).

 The weather was so cold at night that we lit the log fire in our cabin in the evenings to keep nice and warm. A log fire is a real novelty for us- there is certainly no need for any kind of heating at any time of year in Dodoma! (You'll have to turn sideways to look at this photo- my computer is refusing to turn it the correct way up- sorry!!):

 In the cool mornings, we were treated to wonderful views of clouds of mist swirling between the hilltops in the valley below us:

There was time for lots of outdoor fun- walks across the farmland:

Horse-riding for Esther, Ben and Auntie Claire:


Afternoons spent canoeing on one of the beautiful, peaceful, unspoilt lakes on the farm, whilst Andrew also tried his hand at fly-fishing:


 Time to visit the farm animals, including the calves, smelly pigs and piglets (Joel was quite taken aback by the noisy, stinky pigs!!) and of course, the adorable lambs, who were extra-special fun for the children as they could bottle-feed them:


 There was even the opportunity for Claire and Andrew to play tennis on the farm's grass court - and for us as a family to attempt a game of croquet on the immaculately-kept croquet lawn- which was all great fun for Joel, even if he didn't quite get the point and thought it all a huge laugh to chase the balls!

 Being so near the tea-estates, it felt only right that we should enjoy several cups of tea each day- and what better place to enjoy a cuppa and cake than on the top of the hill by the croquet lawn??
                                  All in all, a lovely holiday- well worth the long journey each way!

Saturday 14 July 2012

On The Road Again

It is the children's long school holidays and 2 weeks ago, it was time for us to use this holiday to get away for  our family's annual leave.
This year's holiday was extra-special as Andrew's sister Claire joined us, at the end of her 2 years teaching work in Dodoma, before her return to the UK.
We had a wonderful holiday- but as with most holidays we take in Tanzania, going away involves LOOOOONG car journeys- and this trip was no exception. With a 2-day drive either side of the actual holiday destination, it seems only fair to treat the road travel as part of the holiday. So here are some pictures  from along the way, on our drives to and from the Highlands and tea-estates of the Mufindi area in southern Tanzania.

Fresh in Dodoma on the Monday morning, our chauffeur gets ready to drive us on the intrepid off-tar route on the first leg to to Iringa, whilst the children peer out of their windows, ready for the adventures ahead of us on The Road:

The Road is Long:

The Road is Stony:

The Road is Dusty- and we added to the clouds of red-earth dust as we sped along!

The Road is Winding (and at times a little scary!):

The Road is Dangerous:

The Road is Under Construction- and literally being built around us! Powerful machines provided fantastic distraction for Ben and even for Joel, who squealed in excitement as we made way for all sorts of wonderful diggers and bulldozers, graders and road-drilling machines! We even spotted a team of road-blasters laden with wires and dynamite, climbing up onto the rocky precipices above us as we drove slowly over the bumps and lumps of a road in the process of being made! Ben particularly enjoyed a little interlude on our outward journey as this digger cleared the cut-down wood off the road for us so that we could actually get through:

The Road is Blocked: this time on the return trip, by a large boulder and a busy bulldozer swinging its arm about as it worked. It seemed to take the driver a long time to notice us! We waited a while to be let past, but the arrival of the bus from the opposite direction brought his work to a standstill, as the bus seemed pretty determined to pass...

 ...despite getting stuck half way through the narrow gap and having to rely on a log stuck behind its back wheels by the bus driver's assistant, to lever the bus wheel off the dust and get the vehicle moving forward. It was all rather dramatic, since there was a nasty drop down the hillside on the left of this photo: one false move could have meant a disastrous outcome for all the passengers, who were idly watching the drama from their open windows. Alls well that ends well though and after this bus drove past, we passed through to the other side...

 The Road was not crowded by other traffic (who would be crazy enough to drive 6 hours each way on an off-tarr road under construction???), but the traffic that we did see was a little heavy at times- in the literal sense!


And finally...on Tuesday afternoon, after one night at a campsite in Iringa, The Road was no longer dry and stony, but was bordered with Green...

 ... which meant that we had arrived at Mufindi and could enjoy the beautiful scenery among the tea-estates:
We then drove the remaining short distance up into the hills and through the gates of "Fox's Farm": our holiday destination!

A spot of car trouble

Whilst Alison was still with us, we had some added excitement when we came up against some car trouble.

On Sunday morning, on our trip to Dodoma's cathedral, I allowed Joel to sit on my knee in the driver's seat and play in the front of the car whilst we sat and waited in a mini "traffic jam" to find a parking space. To his great delight, Joel discovered the lever for the headlights and had great fun flicking them on and off....When we eventually parked the car, I did not think to check whether we had switched the lights off again- and in the bright African sunlight, I would not notice if they had been left on.
We went into the service and then joined church friends afterwards for tea, coffee and cake in the courtyard at the side of the cathedral...and by the time we returned to the car, 2 hours had passed...and to my horror, I discovered that not only had we left the headlights on, but that the car battery was completely flat! That will teach me to allow small children near the controls of a car!
Since Andrew was still away on his South Africa trip, I was at a bit of a loss as to how to get the car started again- but it seems most ex-pats and missionaries who have lived in Africa a long time are very experienced at starting cars with flat batteries, so help was close at hand!
Under instruction from such experienced bodies, my children were strapped into the car, an older lady hopped into the driver's seat to steer the car and keep the clutch down and the rest of us were dispatched as the Work Party, using a bit of muscle to run around and around the cathedral car park until the engine thankfully sprang back into life!!


After all that exercise, we definitely enjoyed our lunch- and were grateful that we made it safely home across town in the revived car!!