Ngorogoro - Kilimanjaro & Dar Es Salaam (640km)

(Stage 25)

Tanzania - arriving from Ngorogoro on the 13th May 2004 through Arusha to Moshi at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro then to Dar Es Salaam

Rallye mail

Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro stands on the East African plateau, on the Tanzanian side of the Kenya border, next to Mount Meru which is smaller. Both are extinct volcanoes, with Kilimanjaro actually being the agglomeration of three distinct volcanoes, whose violent creation is geologically associated with the creation of the Great Rift Valley, 100km to the West.

The name is from the Swahili words Kilima Njaro meaning shining mountain; Kilimanjaro is over 5,800 metres high. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest Free Standing Mountain on Earth. Kilimanjaro is the largest of an east-west belt of about 20 volcanoes near the southern end of the East African Rift Valley.

The two mountains create a micro-climate around themselves and the rain-shadow created to their South and East supplies the beautiful and superbly fertile land in which the towns of Moshi and Arusha are situated, full of banana groves and coffee plantations.

Kilimanjaro is also the highest 'walkable' mountain in the world and is very popular with hikers and trekkers; some of whom are raising funds for good causes.

Dar Es Salaam

Dar es Salaam is a fascinating tropical port and a good stopping off point for other destinations including the spice island of Zanzibar, game parks, the islands of Pemba and Mafia. Dodoma is now the new capital of Tanzania, but Dar Es Salaam is the real capital, a busy port that straddles some of the most important sea routes on earth.

The city is a mix of Swahili, German, Asian and British architecture. Sultan Majid bin Said, sultan of Zanzibar, saw the potential of Dar as a deepwater port because of its strategic position at the centre of the East African coast. In 1866, he began work on his palace, built of coral blocks hewn on an island off Zanzibar and gave the port its name “Haven of Peace”. He died before it was completed and the palace fell into ruin. Later, German colonialists revived the plan.

Life revolves around the huge harbour, with the business district fanning out from here in a series of side and main streets. You can while away a few hours at the water's edge, watching dhows, as traditionally rigged as they have been for centuries, slipping under the bows of huge cruise liners and cargo ships navigating the waters of the port. There is a busy fish market at the north of the harbour where dhows offload the night's catch at dawn. In the Indian District you'll find some of the best restaurants in East Africa.

The rallyists ascended to the summit on foot (well part of the way up) and took tea when they returned to their cars for the run to Dar Es Salaam for a week's rest stop on the Indian Ocean and a special trip northwards to the Kwale District Eye Centre in Kenya to visit Dr Helen Roberts.

Leave on May 23rd for Kenya and the Eye Centre near Mombasa.