The next morning we packed up the Rav4 and started to make our way back to Arusha.
It was Sunday, so driving out of Dar Es Salaam was much easier than when we arrived. This ended up being our longest day driving, but still there were lots of interesting sights to be seen along the road.
Every town we would drive through no matter how big or small would have men waiting on their motorcycles. They are a type of taxi called boda bodas.
This is how they cut the grass along the roads. The men are using machetes.
Small towns that do not have a gas station sell gas in plastic water and soda bottles.
We knew the drive would be long, but we didn’t think it would be 8+ hours! There were 2 large roadside rest stops along this route where we stopped for a quick break.
After we turned off the main highway to get to Lushoto it took us 1 more hour of driving on a steep dirt winding road. The scenery was very pretty!
We ended up spending the night at the Lawn’s Hotel in Lushoto. By the time we arrived at Lawn’s we were exhausted.
We chose their newer room for $60.00.
We had not eaten lunch and it was too early for their fixed menu dinner, so we ordered some ham and cheese sandwiches, and they were delicious and filling. Lawn’s was very nice and we wished we would have had more time to explore the area.
When we were leaving Lawn’s one of their employees told us that we had a low tire. He told us where the nearest gas station was to have it looked at before we continued. At the gas station and upon inspection, we were told that the tire had 4 slow leaks. For $15.00 they patched the 4 holes and off we went.
We drove about 4 hours to the city of Moshi. This time for lunch we pulled off the road along the way. We got out our gas burner and boiled water and fixed a freeze dried package of lasagna. We don’t know why we didn’t do that the day before.
In Moshi we stayed at the Parkview Inn for $85.00.It was a good place to stay with secure parking. There were other tourists staying there that looked like they were getting ready to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. It was fun to see them so excited and getting ready to start their exciting adventure!
On our way back into Arusha we drove past Mount Kilimanjaro. We were disappointed because it was so cloudy, we could not see it at all. When we arrived in Arusha we drove through town and went on the main road towards the National Parks we had visited at the beginning of our trip.
We had found a great grocery store with a bakery and deli. When we were there before, they had an apple strudel that looked similar to one we had in Namibia 4 years ago. We wanted to get it and share with the employees at the Giraffe Lodge. When we arrived, they were all out of the strudels. What a bummer!
Our last night in Arusha we had dinner at Khan’s barbeque, chicken on the bonnet. We think this is one of the best choices for dinner in Arusha! First of all if you go there, DO NOT DRIVE YOURSELF! The traffic is incredibly difficult and then trying to find a parking space is pretty much impossible!
During the day Khan sells auto parts. At night in front of his business he transforms it into an amazing barbeque that attracts locals and tourists alike. We arrived about one hour early, so we sat and watched in amazement everything that was going on to prepare for the feast.
Everything from men fanning the charcol, to filling a large container with steaming hot water for people to wash their hands, to setting up tables and chairs across the street on the sidewalk. Khan said he can seat 80 people. Khan suggested that since it was our first time eating there that we order the combination dinner. With the combination you get some of everything he offers.
He has a salad bar with cabbage salads, pasta, lentils, potatoes & egg plants, spicy carrots and different sauces.
Next there were chips (french fries), plain and garlic naan, Zanzibar pizza, chicken, beef, lamb, and dessert. All that food and 2 sodas was $16.00. Everything was so good, but we especially enjoyed all of his salads, the Zanzibar pizza, and the chicken! We had a couple sit with us at our table from Kenya and we had a great time talking to them. It was a fantastic way to spend our last evening in Arusha. Someday when we return to Arusha, we will definitely go back to Khan!
On our last day in Arusha we went to their Culture Museum. They had some very nice art work.
We drove over to our other favorite grocery store. We ordered a pizza for lunch. We were starting to feel like locals, because the man making the pizzas remembered us from the start of our journey 3 1/2 weeks earlier. He knew exactly what kind of pizza we wanted.
Then we returned the car to Tanzania Roadtrip. This is always one of Drew’s favorite days when we are traveling. Returning the rental car without any problems.
Our flight didn’t leave until 9:00 pm. We went back to the Giraffe Lodge and finished packing. We wanted to take showers before our flight, but we did not have any water pressure or hot water. We had to remember this is Africa, not home. Everything was finally worked out after they got their water pump going and turned on the switch for the hot water.
On the way out to the airport we could see Mount Kilimanjaro. Romwald, the manager of Arusha Giraffe Lodge, was driving us to the airport, he even pulled off the road twice so we could get a few pictures. Our cameras were all packed away so we were only able to get the pictures with our cameras on our phones. Seeing Mount Kilimanjaro was a very nice way to end our trip!
Our trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar was amazing! We had a great time and we hope to return. On our next trip we would like to stay longer and explore more of the Serengeti.
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“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It’s lethal” Paul Coelho
We are already working on an epic adventure for next summer! It is something like we have never done before! More information will be coming!