Planning - Tanga to

**GlenW** · 2014/08/22, 10:28 PM

Hi,

We are looking at a journey from Tanga to Capetown, and are requesting some help in the planning of the Tanzania section.

Basically we pick up the vehicle in Tanga, head up to Arusha, I pick up the family and we trek up Kili.

During the week at Kili my overland partner will head off and visit friends.

once down from Kili we head off with the overland vehicle and we have to find a rental for the family (only 2 seats in the ovelander) - for the crater and then Serengetti.

It would be nice to find a tented camp, as the family suffered a little after 3 weeks in Bots last year (I have to finish the report and post it on here).

After some days we will head up to Mwanza, where the family will head for Zanzibar and we start heading south (ish).

Looking to head over to Kigorma for a look at Lake Tangyanika, then head south towards Katavi, then over towards Malawi.

Current planning is done on T4A on Garmin Basecamp.

Having recieved enormous help on the SA / Bots / Zim trip, I hope that I will be able to get some help here on the Tanzania part.

Basically looking for campsites, routes and places to avoid.

A list of workshops would be nice if we happen to get a breakdown we cannot fix.

We want to take our time and not stress, unless we are just moving from area to area, during our trips in Bots we really under estimated the distances and had to push hard to make the campsites each day even though we thought we had good time.

Wow a long post, we havent set any time limits yet, being we are now going to bring a vehicle rather then rent, this will be a new ball game for us.

The overview map - note we havent based on taking the Kokongo to Busisi ferry, I havent found much info on fares and schedules.

And the northern part of the planning map so far.

Any help we could get would be appreciated.

Thanks

Glen

**botswanadreams** · 2014/08/25, 10:06 PM

Hi Glen

What time of the year are you planing this trip?

Lake Tanganyika
Near Kigoma Jakobsen Beach should be a nice place recommended from other African traveler.
Lake Shore Lodge, Kipili, is very nice too. We were there in 2013.

Katavi
The Hippos in the dry season are incredible.

I miss one of the nicest parks in Africa on your trip - Ruaha. To me it is a must to see for a few days.

If you like take a look at our trip report and the pics from Oktober/ November 2013 on www.botswanadreams.de. There is a translater.

Christa

**GlenW** · 2014/08/26, 02:02 AM

Hi Christa,

We are looking to travel early march 2016 earliest, I will look at the suggestions, the itinerary, is open, so all suggestions are welcome.

I will look at your trip report too.

Thanks

Glen

**tomxtom** · 2014/09/17, 12:45 AM

Hi Glen,

For some info on the road conditions in the North of Tanzania see my trip report posted two days ago. Only answers a limited part of your questions but I hope it give some insights on at least the road conditions in the first part of your trip.

Regards,

Tom

**GlenW** · 2014/10/04, 02:15 AM

Sorry for the late reply, ive been extremely busy the last weeks recovering a 300 Tdi Discovery, stripping down a Rover V8 and trying to service a 90 with a friend.

What LPG gas bottles are available in Tanazania ? we had Cadac bottles in SA and Bots, it would be nice to use LPG while camping, I have a coleman petrol stove plus multifuel Primus or Optimus paraffin as an alternatives.

As we plan to get the vehicle to arrive at Tanga, we would have to source bottles and maybe regulators their.

Any suggestion where to look ? google is not my friend, only showing BOC site.

I would prefer to have 1 type of gas bottle for the entire trip naturally, if not then I will have to run the coleman on petrol if white gas is not available.

Thanks

Glen

**donjolley** · 2014/10/12, 09:24 PM

Hi Glen
I filled our cadac in Arusha. had to leave it over night as i took it in the afternoon. point is they didnt do it straight away

**GlenW** · 2014/10/14, 03:33 AM

Thanks for the reply, do you know if they sell bottles or just fill them ?

In scandinavia we dont really own the bottles we just exchange them, and our regulators are totally different.

Our regulated pressure is 30 millibar.

Thanks
Glen

**choob** · 2014/10/23, 10:47 PM

You can buy bottles. You can get small 6kg cylinder with a screw on burner and a sort of support for cooking pots.

You have to pay a refundable deposit for the cylinder and when it runs out you exchange it - you don't wait to refill a specific cylinder.

Like this:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...252520pics.jpg

Available at any petrol station.

Two years ago the roads in West Tz were all dirt and can be very bad in the rains but they were tarring them. Question is how far have they tarred now.

I only know a couple of bush mechanics in the area. If I were a foreigner and had an emergency I'd contact Lakeshore in Kipili - it's run by very helpful people.

In Mbeya I recommend Utengule Coffee Farm. It's a fancy place but they let you camp on their helipad if you don't want to pay and you still have access to the dining room.

Sumbawanga is a decent town with a few clean hotels.

Mpanda is awful but the hotel was cheap and clean; can't for the life of me remember the name.