Our journey thus far has been epic. Fears that Wendy and Gillian had been kidnapped/robbed/abducted by aliens consumed our thoughts on the first night. An agonising fifteen hours later they turned up safe and sound just as we were about to alert the British Embassy. The source of the confusion was a simple hotel booking error which caused widespread panic. The girls had slept through the entire drama, safely tucked up in their hotel beds while we couldn’t sleep for thinking the worst.

Content that our biggest problems were behind us, we set off for Bounty land (a taste of paradise) known locally as Kipepeo Beach. En route we were only involved in two car crashes; one almost resulting in a road-side punch-up between our driver Emmanuel , the two motorcyclists who had been thrown through the air and the driver of the bus who was actually fleeing the scene of the first smash when the second one occured.

By the time we finally reached the beach we were all in need of a cold Ndovu, one of Tanzania’s popular national beers. Whilst there, we were protected by four Masai warriors, infamous for their fearless tussles with lions. We had a brief chat with one, Thomas, the conversation stunted by our still very basic grasp of Swahili. This is something we are working on every day. ‘Mambo? ‘ ‘Poa.’ (‘How you doin?’ ‘Cool.’)

Following a colourful and chaotic 15-hour bus trip from Dar, we finally arrived in Songea on Saturday evening, to be welcomed by Baraka and Ntimba and ferried to the village of Peramiho where our host, Conrada (Mama Milinga) was waiting to greet us all with a much-needed cuddle, some hot water and a feast fit for a king. We had a great laugh but Gillian and Wendy felt quite guilty when Conrada revealed she and her family had endured a sleepless night, praying for our safe return on the night they had apparently gone missing!

This latest post has been written by Lorna and Wendy: a new blogging duo who are a bit like the Mitchell and Webb of Eastern Africa. Well kinda. Not anything like them actually…..