The Sights of the Southern Highlands

And we're back..

The Southern Highlands of Tanzania are a gorgeous collection of waterfalls, mountains and even some beaches, so taking the advice of a everyone we have met, Monica and I have spent our weekends checking out some of the scenery.

This weekend our trip was to Matema Beach, located on Lake Nyasa. After finishing up a village training session on Friday, we took a short bus ride to Kyela before trying to find transport to Matema.
Now, there are many different ways to get to the beach: bus, car, bike, but sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and pile on a motorcycle and hope you get there in one piece. Almost instantly an otherwise long and bumpy drive (there were roads in better condition during the height of the Roman Empire) turned into an off-road adventure. Flooded roads, more turned over vehicles and a lack of helmets all contributed to the experience. We arrived in record time and with another mode of transportation checked off in our “100 Ways to See Tanzania” book that Monica and I will eventually get to writing.

The weekend was spent swimming, relaxing on the beach, and playing some football. The beach itself is surrounded by mountains, making it one of the most unique and beautiful places we have seen thus far. The lake itself is almost home to numerous Cichlids species which made for some excellent snorkelling. Monica fell victim to the waves and now gets to take home a nice bruise courtesy of one of the many sharp rocks in the shallow water.

Our ride home was just as adventurous as one of our motorcycles broke down on the way to pick us up so Monica and I got to squeeze in on one bike for about half of the trip. It would be advised that VWB limit the size of future program participants as travelling with anyone over 6 feet tall + the gear he needs for a little weekend trip, makes him a very awkward travelling partner when squished on single bike.

This week will be filled with some teaching at Ilima Secondary School as well as some additional training sessions with our “teacher” groups of farmers..Should be a good one.

Cheers,

Adam and Monica