11th July. Peponi Beach Tasnzania

We left Nairobi in the early afternoon after having the damaged tyre re-vulcanised. They didn’t have the same size tyre as on the vehicle but have made a good job even if used as just a spare.
Road works for the first 100kms slowed us down: they do a long stretch of road reconstruction at a time, the detour is made up then left. After the rains and continuous traffic it becomes as bad as some of the worst roads we have driven on, they don’t put a grader over it once. Anyhow, come dark we were still a long way from Mombasa and looking for a place to stop the night. We pulled in to one of the gates at the Tsavo NP but the quoted price of $50 shocked us.. That just to stop inside the gate for security, with no services. I hate driving at night in these countries especially when there are zebras on the side of the road, not sure how traffic conscious they are. Made it to Voi on the far side of the NP and stopped in the Shell servo for a security charge of $3. Much more realistic.
On to Mombasa then south to the border on a good road. The last time we came into Tanzania from Rwanda we were asked top pay a road toll of $6 per 100kms. Even with a revised kilometre count it came to $150. We managed to get it down to $100 but were shocked at that rip off. This time we were apprehensive the same thing would occur but it seemed to be a standard fee of $25 this post. The road south from the border was gravel but not too bad. That was to Tanga and a further 30 kms on to Peponi Beach where we are now ensconced. The last time we saw the sea was the Red Sea in Egypt. Prices are cheapish here in Tanzania. A nice meal with a glass of wine last night set us back $9 total. Still haven’t had a nice steak on this trip, it’s usually so tough.