As we had booked a big bus taking us all the way to Tanga, Tanzania, from Diani beach, the border crossing from Kenya into Tanzania was pretty easy, with the bus staff helping us get in the right queues for getting our visa on arrivals. We had already exchanged the last of our Kenyan shillings into dollars (no Tanzanian shillings available) in Diani, so figured we would hit up an atm in Tanga when we arrived. Jon and I walked to 6 different atms while Marieke watched our bags in a restaurant, and none of them worked. After 2 hours in Tanga, we finally resorted to exchanging some US dollars for Shillings, and headed off to Lushoto. 

After a very windy road heading further into the mountains and cooler air (a welcome respite after the oppressive humidity of Mombasa), we arrived in Lushoto just before sunset and grabbed motorbikes up to Irente Farm, where we had been recommended to stay. We managed to pitch our tents before dark and settled into a delicious, homemade dinner. There were even a few other travelers!

We spent the next couple of days hiking around the farm and up mountains and admiring the gorgeous views. And catching up on sleep in the blissfully cool nights in our tents, making use of sleeping bags again. The farm was really well set up and a magical place. Thanks to all my friends along the way who recommended it!

Ready to head back to the water to another highly recommended place, Mafia Island, we knew we had a long transport day (or two) ahead of us. We grabbed motorbikes into town at 6:45am for the first bus leaving at 7:30am to Dar Es Salaam, content when we reached there at 4pm. A girl we had met in Lushoto had spent 13 hours from Dar to Lushoto on the bus, so we felt fortunate to make it in 8.5, even if we had been told 6 hours by the driver.

The bus dropped us off northwest of the city at the big bus terminal, and we had to get to another terminal, 25km away, southeast of the city, towards Mafia island, to catch another bus. We finally agreed on a price with a tuk tuk, crammed into it and crawled through traffic, reaching the bus station at 5:30pm. We had heard the last bus left at 5pm, but we had to take our chances, as the ferry to Mafia island left at 3am, meaning we could hop off the bus before midnight, kill a couple of hours, and get right on the ferry. Making for an epically long travel day, of course.

We managed to get a bus that left at 6:30pm, and when it finally left, we stopped sweating from the humidity with a cool breeze coming in through the windows. Pretty soon it was dark and the bus seemed to be making good time. We figured if we arrived early enough we would pay for a guesthouse and get a few hours of sleep. We had been told that ferry tickets could sell out and foreigners were typically charged double the normal price, so I had texted a local guy, whose contact another traveler had given me, to secure tickets for us for a nominal surcharge. Unfortunately, the wifi had stopped working at the farm the night before we left, and we had forewent local sim cards, so we planned to borrow someone’s phone when we reached Nyamisati, the town the ferry left from.

The bus finally arrived at 11pm, slowing considerably on the very rough road the pavement had devolved into (I would not advise on this route in the wet season), and we were exhausted. Luckily, as soon as we stepped off the bus we were met by Shabeen, the local guy we had been texting (apparently he’s a teacher and helps tourists with the ferry as a side hustle). He immediately informed us that the ferry was not leaving at 3am, but was hopefully leaving at 10am. Apparently, busy season was over and the ferry only ran if enough people were paying for it. Locals seemingly just waited it out, sleeping at the bus station.

Shabeen directed us to a very clean and cheap guesthouse, with the most powerful ceiling fans ever. Not expecting any sleep, we were in heaven. After we cheersed with a warm beer to surviving the day of course.

The next morning we grabbed some chapatti and tea for breakfast and waited to see if the ferry would leave. At 11, Shabeen came and found us and said the ticket office was opened. He marched into the front of the line with our passports, secured our tickets and by 1pm we were on the ferry. 4 hours later we had finally made it to Mafia Island, where we set up camp at Afro Beach bungalows. Let the vacation begin.