Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Duka la Maziwa
DAIRY $
(Cefa Njombe Milk Factory; 026-278 2851; 7am-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun)
Fresh milk, yoghurt and cheese. It's just off the main road: turn in by the TFA building and
go down about two blocks. The shop is to the left.
INFORMATION
There's an internet connection at
Altek Computing Centre
(per hr Tsh1000; 8am-6pm)
, behind the TFA building along the main road. NBC and CRDB - both along the main
street at the southern end of town - have ATMs.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
The bus stand is on the west side of the main road, about 600m south of the large grey-
water tank.
Buses go daily to Songea (Tsh10,000 to Tsh12,000, four hours), Makambako (Tsh2500,
one hour), Iringa (Tsh8000 to Tsh9000) and Mbeya (Tsh8000 to Tsh9000, four hours), with
the first departures at 6.30am.
For hikers, there are daily vehicles to Bulongwa (departing Njombe about 10am) and Lude-
wa (departing by 8am), from where you can walk down to Matema and Lupingu, respect-
ively, both on the Lake Nyasa shoreline. You can also catch transport towards Bulongwa at
the start of the Makete Rd at the northern end of town, just downhill from the Chani Motel
turn-off. This road, which continues past Kitulo National Park (155km) and on to Isonjye
and the junction with the Tukuyu road (175km), is easily passable during the dry season,
somewhat slower during the rains. A small section near Makete is tarmac.
Kitulo National Park
This national park protects the flower-clad Kitulo Plateau, together with sections of the
former Livingstone Forest Reserve, which runs south from the plateau paralleling the Lake
Nyasa shoreline. The area, much of which lies between 2600m and 3000m in the highlands
northeast of Tukuyu, is beautiful, and a paradise for hikers. The park reaches its prime dur-
ing the rainy season from about December until April, when it explodes in a profusion of
colour, with orchids (over 40 species have been identified so far), irises, aloes, geraniums
and many more flowers carpeting its grassy expanses. Rising up from the plateau is Mt Mt-
orwi (2961m), which is 1m higher than Mt Rungwe and southern Tanzania's highest peak.
The best months for seeing the flowers are December to March, which is also when hiking
is at its muddiest. Orchids are at their peak in February.
