Riverside Campsite & Iringa

Two hours later I arrive at Riverside. It is an idyllic place. There’s fresh green grass and Godwin, the care taker, leads me to my stone banda. I have a four-pole double bed, a bunk bed and a single bed to choose from! Besides having to scoop out the frogs before using the toilet, this place is so relaxing!! I spend the week learning Swahili with Ishmael. He is a great teacher, apparently with the “purest of Swahili accents” as he comes from Zanzibar. Fortunately a lovely Kiwi-Australian lady, Ruth, is also starting from scratch so we can study together. Ruth is an amazing woman. She’s left her life in Brisbane behind to come to Tanzania to work on a voluntary basis at SIL. During the week other interesting passers-by join us for meals. People driving, walking and cycling all the way across Africa, many from Europe to Cape Town. Four Americans raising awareness about the social benefits of sport in the build-up to the World Cup; a Scotsman and a South African, both recently retired, with marvellous stories from the rough roads and how incredibly unequipped young travellers are; and families from other parts of the world. Dad sends me cliff-hanger text message updates on the post-election scene back home. Ruth and I stay away from the TV room as what could have been a black mamba has recently been spotted there...! Instead we go on lovely walks by the riverside with gorgeous black Labrador, Polly, crossing coffee plantations, and fields of Echinacea and African tulip trees. We go to Iringa with other students for dinner a couple of times. It is a welcoming town, cooler and cleaner than Dodoma. I buy a beautiful lamp from Neema Crafts, a crafts centre run by deaf and disabled people. What a lovely place!