Nyumba ya Mungu: Trip VIII, north end

Boats back from a days fishing.

One of our favorite spots relatively close is Nyumba ya Mungu, a large lake created from a dam (Trip I, II, III, IV, V & VI, VII). We usually go to the same spot on the lake due to accessibility but occasionally we'll visit other parts. This weekend we somewhat by accident visited a portion in the far north.

Our friend had "discovered" the area during the week and thought it was a different lake than Nyumba ya Mungu. We met up with the locals he had gone out with and we followed them until we reached a small river. I was slightly concerned with the river since the opposite shore was quite steep, almost like a small curb the car would have to jump. I started in and hit the step and promptly rolled back into an unseen hole. Bam, stuck. Luckily the vehicle that had escorted us had yet to leave so they went to town to look for a tow rope. They returned with a gigantic roll of twine which didn't look like much at first, but after doubling it back about 100 times, well, not sure it looked much better but it was all that we had.

At the moment we got stuck, a herd of cows just happened to come by and check us out.

Taking shade under a tree while we waited for the rope.

The rope was strong, in the end.

We did manage to get the car out and our spirits were not dampened as we tried to cross again, this time with success. We waved our friends goodbye and they told us to just call them if we got stuck on the way back and they'd come help us out if we got stuck.

The rest of the route was a very peculiar landscape, kind of an acacia plain with evidence of extreme flooding. We eventually arrived to the lake and set up shop to watch some birds and chat with some fishermen. We had gotten out quite late in the day so we had to turn back around 6pm with about an hour of daylight left.

Unfortunately, I had been a bit overzealous with how close I drove us to the water and upon entering the car we realized all the tires were slipping. We didn't dig ourselves in and I quickly hurried back to the fishermen's camp to recruit some help. I was worried because it was late and I had only seen a few older people there and if we couldn't get unstuck it would be a very long walk (probably 2 hours?) back to the nearest village, and I doubt there would be a vehicle there AND even if there was, they would probably chide me for being a moron driving too close to the sticky mud and they likely wouldn't want to drive their vehicle on the surface.


Morale was low when I returned with a young teenage boy, probably 13 years old. However, I did acquire a plank of wood, though it had fish guts all over it that I promptly covered myself with. So, here I was, with a 13 year old, car slipping on the mud, smelling like fish guts. I was not happy to say the least.

Still, we persevered and with enough rocks, the plank of wood, and serious pushing, we got the car out and moving. However, our journey wasn't over since we still had to find our way back. The road was somewhat clear to a point but there was a certain junction where motorcycles and bicycles (99% of local traffic) carried on while larger vehicles had to take a turn to reach the river we previously crossed. Luckily we crossed paths with a motorcycle coming from another part of the lake and he led us to the road we needed to reach. I didn't even realize how lost we likely would have gotten had he not led us, but I was even more pleased since we somehow found a different road that had a proper bridge over the river.

Overall it was certainly more of an adventure than we bargained for, especially for a, "short afternoon bird trip", but the landscape was lovely and there is ALWAYS room for adversity!

Pare Mountains in the background.

Watching some water birds.

Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background.