| Trip Distance | 676 km (420 m) | Total Distance | 19063 km (11848 m) |
| Road Condition | 100% tar | ||
| Time to travel | 11.5 hrs | ||
| Cost of diesel | TSH1570 (£0.75) | ||
| Stopover Singida | Aqua Vitea Resort | S4 48.306 E34 44.202 | TSH20000 (US$15) - Clean en suite hot shower & flushing loo. Ceiling fans, DSTV, mozzie nets, secure parking. Price for a double room for 2 people including breakfast. |
We set off really early this morning after a good breakfast of toast and coffee (watched on by the local herdsman through the fence!) and continued to head south (ish) for Singida. Our first stop was the border crossing into Tanzania which, being so early, was over in less than 1 hour. So far this border crossing has been the most memorable one for the fantastic views of the Rusumu Falls as you cross the bridge into Tanzania.
We still had loads of Rwandan Francs to change and under normal circumstances would change them with the black market changers that mill around the border crossings. We have been lucky throughout all our travels and have managed to negotiate a good (or at least an ok) rate with most of them. We weren't so lucky this time. There was only 1 changer around at this time of the morning and he quoted us half the exchange rate that you would normally get. I was furious. With a load to change it would mean that we would lose 50% of our money in the exchange and this amounted to over £40. Not a chance. Although he knew that he was it and with no other choice we drove off having changed nothing. 2kms down the road we decided that this would mean we would have no local currency so we turned around and drove back to the Tanzanian side in the hope that these would be someone else to negotiate with. No such luck our "friend" was still the only one there. We changed equivalent to £20 and went on our way with the rest still stored away. We still haven't managed to change it....... bummer. We'll hold on to it until we can find a bank or travellers moving northwards that might need it.
We set off again maintaining a heading for Nzega. When we got there it was too early to stop so we headed for Kizaga and again when we got there, carried on to Singida. We found the Aqua Vitea resort but with camping (including electricity and breakfast) the same price as a room - the room cheap but camping expensive - we took a room for a couple of days with a view to having a rest after our long drive.
After a hot shower and a quick relax, we headed over to the restaurant, ordered and ate the most amazing chicken curry, had a couple of beers and a chat with some local guys and headed off for bed for a lie-in the next day.
