24 June, Day 11: Field repairs

Well, imagine that. I reckon in a twisted way the malaria pills, bee sting and adrenalin super-fun-time shot really cured him! Mattie was all singing and dancing all smiles this morning, and fit as a fiddle. Good times. Since he is feeling much better and we don’t have to hang around here for another day, we’ve decide to carry on with the original plan of heading back up to Isilinga, and then hand a right towards the Ruaha National Reserve. There are quite a few camp sites and lodges off the same breakaway road, so we’ll check when we get there. We got a good tip about a brand new site so that would be our 1^st port of call. I perform the morning checks, pump the Bullets rear tires (there even more flat than usual today) and check all the other bits, like oil and the fridge battery. Start up the Bullet for a few minutes to get everything ready to go.

Lots of traffic on the way as we leave just past 09:00. Busses and road works... it’s a little slow going at first, little meandering road through a town (I forget the name) but before long we break into the small road dirt road to the park.

Quick anecdote: Tanzania, as the rest of Africa smells dusty. Very much like South Africa. The only difference is the presence of soot and smoke from numerous fires (cooking, heat or garbage disposal) in towns and cities. And of course, lots of smog from trucks and taxis, cars.

The dirt road is the worst we’ve had since. It’s very, very bumpy peppered with deep potholes (hitting them at 80 km/h is a little frightening) and dust! The DUST! Everywhere! Also have to negotiate tight spots with other trucks and busses going the other way, including various breakdowns that parked right smack bam in the middle of it all. Lots of little villages along the way.

At noon we roll into the Chogela Lodge and camp site. We’re covered in a fine, red dust. Everything. No matter how smart you think the cabins closed vent circulation system is, dust can and will get in. The site is very nice, lots of big thorn trees and a cute little restaurant (not working yet). Facilities include hot water (bonus!) but no electricity. We setup shop near a fire pit, just beyond the non functioning (but very pretty) restaurant and break for afternoon lunch and teas . We were told that the best time to view the animals in the reserve was dusk and dawn, and obviously closest to a river or watering hole. So we hang around till about 14:30 and head out, onto that bumpy, pothole ridden, deceptively brutal dirt road.

We do stop once next to part of the river, and catch a glimpse of some wild life. Took a few pics and spied through my brand new binoculars. Stoked I decided to buy them!

Round about high noon we arrive at the gate to the Ruaha reserve, which has a little parking lot, a bridge crossing over the river into the reserve and a gentlemen glad in camo's with a very beautiful and no doubt loaded AK-47. He does smile though, which I guess should be a comfort. Into the office for negations, but we soon realise that this is a government owner reserve. Well, basically, anything that says “Public” or “Reserve” is government owned and run. As such, we only get the pre-canned response and there is absolutely no budging on price. And it’s a stinker: $30 per person, $40 per vehicle, and the park closes at 18:00. So each vehicle would have to cough up $100 for 3 hours and most of that time would be spent just getting to a nice spot. If you’re still in the reserve by 18:00, expect to pay another $100 fine per vehicle and an escort of smiling gentlemen armed with loaded AK-47’s. So we’ll give it a skip, it’s not worth it for 1 hour, effectively (say, 1 hour drive, 1 hour checking wildlife IF we’re lucky, 1 hour chasing for the gate to be out by 18:00). I did grab a few pics of two Elephants, 2 Hippos, a few fishing birds and a croc lazing in the river. Heading back to camp, but not before checking out the Hilltop lodge which we saw perched on the side of the hill. A nice cold beer with that view should go and a treat. And it did! Full square kilometres of trees, as far as the eye can see. You can clearly spot the numerous Bilbao trees jutting out from the landscape

Head back to camp, at about 17:00. Mattie, believing his GPS, ends up driving almost 80 km’s BACK to Isilinga! Whereas the Chogela camp was a mere 3 km's away! Hahahahah. Very funny. He eventually returns about an hour and a half later. We only notice that he and Johan are strangely absent 10 minutes earlier, and hailed him on the 2 way (he happened to be in the 3 km range at that stage.) Drinking and driving does that to you, I guess...

Annelie has a headache and goes to the tent for a lay down. She’s been feeling a bit shitty the last day or two, worried that she may be coming down with something. The bumpy, dusty roads didn’t help. I take her some aspirin and a cold cloth for her eyes.

Check up on the tires again and decide that enough is enough: I’m gonna fix them! Grab the jack, tire iron and some water and get to work (in my best clothes, I might add... Annelie wasn’t stoked, when she eventually woke up...). Started with the right rear, pumped up the tire and wet it to try and spot the leak. Eureka! I find one, tiny little cut, opposite the valve. I reckon I should check the rest of the tire while I’m at it. I stop counting at 8 leaks... Little, super tiny slow punctures. This tire is a write off, so I grab the spare from the roof. They’re steel radials, and not the same rim as the existing tire. But the steel radials are new: one on the bullets roof and one on the Fords. All done, move on the other side!

Spot the leak almost instantly: big bolt, 3 cm’s long stuck in the tire. Easily fixed. Check the rest of the tire, all good. Good times

The puncture repair kit consists of a round rasp, which you use to clean the hole and make it large enough to fit the repair patch. Once you do that, you thread the patch (looks like a 10 cm stick of tobacco, but sticky) through a big needle, apply some rubber cement and force it into the hole. Next, just pull some of it back out, creating a seal. Cut of the excess and voila! One fixed tire, which will now be a spare, since we’re putting the other steel radial on the left rear to match the right. Pump it back up with the compressor and check just to be sure. Perfect.

All done by about 21:00. The Bullet looks mighty damn fine with his new dancing shoes! And just a little meaner too (if that was possible), since the rear tires are wider that the old ones. Cleanup, re-seat the busted and fixed tire on the roof of the two vehicles and have dinner. Steaks, chops, beer bread (with added yoghurt, YUM! Have some apricot jam and Lurpack butter on it) and salad.

And that’s it for today. Quite hard work, I feel smattered. But it was quite rewarding.

Sleepy time.

Highlights: First pics of wildlife!

Fixing the Bullet

[G & A], out

Hakuna matata