We spent the 11th driving between Dar es Salaam and Iringa. I was worried that the approximately 8 hour drive was going to be a little dull, but that was not the case. The scenery between Dar and Iringa is beautiful!
The road between Dar and Iringa is the major road for truck transportation to Malawi (land locked country west of Tanzania), so it has a lot of truck traffic and is relatively well maintained. As we drove, we saw many a road side market selling a wonderful assortment of tomatoes, potatoes, onions, etc. A picture of one of the markets is above.
Along the way, we took a rest stop and got a Coke and some fresh cashews at a small town called Chalinze. It was a wonderful little stop with a small roadside market selling carvings and other hand made items. Don't worry, no one bought anything. Also along the road, we saw people selling an amazing assortment of hand woven rugs and baskets. We had to hold Sandy in the van, or we may have filled it with baskets.
After Chalinze, we drove through Mikumi National Park. Without leaving the main road, we saw numerous gazelles, baboons, giraffe, and elephants. A picture of some of the elephants is below.
After the Mikumi National Park we drove up into the mountains. Beautiful hilly terrain. We drove through one valley that was filled with Boabob trees - they look like they are upside down, roots in the air. We also saw a cactus like tree that we named a Candelabra tree. No idea what it is really called.
We arrived in Iringa a little before sunset and were able to take a quick walk through town before the sun went below the horizon and the town got pretty dark. Below is a picture of where we stayed at the Iringa Lutheran Centre.
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