Road trip on Tanzania's TanRoad A7

Travel date: June 4'14

Route: Dar Es Salaam (Dar in short) to Morogoro

Tanroad: A7

Distance: 194 km

Goggle Map: Click here to see a map of the route

Travel Time: 2.5 h according to Goggle Maps, however, it takes almost five hours. 

Introduction:

In early June'14, I was a participant at an international meetings for Africa's indigenous people at Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. After the first meeting at Dar Es Salaam, our delegation travelled by bus to Morogoro, 200 km to the west, to meet with Parakuiyo Maasi. As a result, the objective of this post is to provide glimpses of Tanzanian life along Tanroad A7.  

The Swahili coast of East Africa:
When I was a boy, I had seen and enjoyed names of Africa on maps. My first image of Africa came from Tarzan movies. They gripped me in wonder but terrified me too!

Thus, Dar Es Salaam was so exciting and exotic to me! Yet, most visitors today rush past it on their way to Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti.

The equator is 750 km to the north of Dar Es Salaam, the same distance Hazelton, BC, is from Vancouver. For Americans, it is equal to the air distance from Dallas to Kansas City. 

Energy from the sun is near maximum here. Hot surface waters of the Indian Ocean quickly saturates the atmosphere. Thus, humid, tropical air blankets the thin band of coastal lowlands and Dar Es Salaam.  

It was early June. The dry season was just beginning. Yet, mid-day felt like hot humid air spilling from my open kitchen oven filled with baking bread. 

Madagascar was not that far away. The blue water and white sands of Zanzibar beaches were just a two-hour ferry ride from Dar. Sails of dhows billow at the Dar harbour like they have done for countless centuries along the East African Swahili coast! 

The Serengeti was the crown jewel for me. It was so close! I could hardly wait to visit it! 

Land grabs threaten Maasi:

The international meeting of indigenous peoples of Africa at the Peacock Hotel had finished. The next phase of our work required that we travel to the inland city called Morogoro. We were to visit Maasi pastoralists near Morogoro. We were to learn more about their harsh, current reality in Tanzania. For land grabs threaten the cultural survival of the Maasi and even the Serengeti itself!

The road trip:

For us, the road trip by a small private bus to Morogoro began at the Peacock Hotel. Few traffic lights ease traffic flow through the narrow city streets of Dar. Endless streams of pedestrians made their way along narrow side walks. Traffic congestion in the city heightened my sense of heat and claustrophobia. Yet, I saw no anger on the streets and in the traffic. There was no road rage. 

The air conditioning in the bus felt chilly. I sat beside the black window of the bus. Then I gazed in wonder at the street scene as we left the city. 

The memory of my first taxi ride at Dar came back to me as I people-watched. During my taxi ride from Julius Nyerere International Airport to the Peacock Hotel I rode in the front bucket seat beside the driver. We talked during the one-hour trip to my hotel in the city. At one point during our conversation I made the observation that I saw few police. My driver calmly lifted the carpet beside him to show me where he hid a long machete!

Traffic tie-ups can last for hours in Dar Es Salaam. Street construction caused traffic slow downs and back ups too. So it was slow going for our bus as it left the city. 

Miracle Trailer:

Near the edge of Dar, an amazing scene unfolded to me. A tractor trailer was parked at the edge of the A7. It had a large load of rebar, long steel rods for strengthening concrete. A red sign at the rear of the trailer had the message, "Miracle Trailer."

Two young men lifted 5 meter long, u-shaped rebar from the trailer deck. They held six rebar in each hand. Then they ran down a steep, narrow gang plank to ground level carrying the rebar! Their ability to run down the steep plank with an extremely heavy load of rebar in sandals was truly incredible. This was the miracle! 

Near Morogoro: 

Heavy vehicle traffic, road construction and large numbers of pedestrians lined the road. Thus, our small charter bus travelled at 50 km/h all the way from Dar to Morogoro. 

Morogoro (~316,000 population in 2012 census, Wikipedia) is situated within the northern part of Mikumi National Park. This park provides the easiest and lowest cost way for travellers to experience wildlife near Dar Es Salaam. 

As we travelled I tried to place Tanzania in perspective. My experience of West Java, Indonesia became a bench mark for me. The quality of housing along Tanroad A7 was lower than the Bogor area of West Java. However, housing and shops in towns at West Java were more densely constructed, an indicator of greater population density. Fewer shops and mosques were along the A7. What is more, we had no wildlife encounters between Dar and Morogoro.

LJ

Photo Album: all photos by Larry Joseph

Street scene near the Peacock Hotel in Dar Es Salaam.

Typical shop on the A7.

Housing conditions at the edge of Dar shocked me!

Miracle Trailer!