I entered Kabanga border on February 16th and stayed at Gara that day. Gara is almost 40 kms away from the border. It wasn’t possible for me to exchange dollars in banks at Gara since they didn’t have any dollar account. But fortunately I got help from a lady working at the immigration office, Ms. Sophia. I am really thankful to her for such a great help. After getting my money exchanged, I pedaled through Nyakahora, Rusahonga, Yakanazi, Vere, Bwanga, Geita and finally reached Mwanza city, which is also Tanzania’s second largest city. Mwanza populary known for the Bismarck rocks just at bay in Lake Victoria which where the city gets its title as “the Rock City”. If you look at the rocks, it seems like they were stacked up by man but actually the formation occurred naturally.

Lake Victoria touches three countries Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and it is the source for the river White Nile too. I have viewed the lake from all three different sides but I think the view from Mwanza is the best one. Along with the rocks dotting the lake, you can even see houses that are built as if they are sandwiched between rocks. It took almost 8 days for me to arrive at Mwanza and I reached there in the evening of 24th February.

The journey was sound as I did not have to face any difficulties. Though there were forests on the way, I didn’t have any problem riding. I didn’t even need to camp anywhere because there were hotels everywhere I stopped.

Though I had my eye infected from the 24th, I however managed to reach Serengeti on the 25th. So I gave a short halt to my bicycle and went to Mwanza for the treatment of my eye. I pedaled 531 kilometers in total until I reached Serengeti National Park on the afternoon of Feb 27.

I’m always discovering what my limits are, as well as my abilities. As minor as the eye infection was, it made me realize how vulnerable our human body is. Tanzania is a beautiful country and has done well to safeguard her natural beauty. I look forward to tell you more about the National Park Serengaeti in the upcoming article and will continue to post about the interesting Nepalese I meet.

Peace and Harmony, Furtemba Sherpa