Western Tanzania - Tanzania - page 516

( 0787-275164; www.matemabeachview.com ; camping Tsh3000, d/tr/q Tsh25,000/
35,000/ 30,000, d/q without bathroom Tsh10,000/20,000; ) Rooms at this place - in
brick bandas on or close to the beach - are no frills and rather faded these days, although
the local ambience is amenable. Rooms with lake views are more expensive. Meals are
available with advance order, and cooking is allowed for campers. Prices for rooms without
bathrooms don't include breakfast. It's about 700m west of Matema hospital and the village
centre.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
BOAT
Schedules are highly variable these days, but there is usually at least one boat weekly -
either the MV Iringa ( Click here ) or the MV Songea - which stops at Matema on its way
from Itungi port down the eastern lake shore to Mbamba Bay. The boat stop for Matema is
actually at Lyulilo village, about 25 minutes on foot from the main Matema junction. Just
follow the main 'road' going southeast from the junction, paralleling the lake shore, and
ask for the 'bandari'.
BUS
From Tukuyu, pick-ups to Ipinda leave around 8am most mornings from the roundabout
by NBC bank (Tsh2000, two hours). Although drivers sometimes say they are going all
the way to Matema, generally they go only as far as Ipinda. Once in Ipinda, pick-ups run
sporadically to Matema (Tsh2000, 35km), departing around 2pm, which means you'll need
to wait around in Ipinda for a while. Returning from Matema, departures are in the morn-
ing. Chances are better on weekends for finding a lift between Matema and Ipinda with a
private vehicle. If you get stuck in Ipinda, there are several basic guesthouses.
From Kyela, there are several vehicles daily to Ipinda (Tsh1000), a few of which continue
on to Matema (Tsh3000 Kyela to Matema, three hours, departures from Kyela from about
1pm onwards, departures from Matema back to Kyela in the morning). From Kyela, it's
also fairly easy to hire a vehicle to drop you off at Matema (from about Tsh60,000).
From Mbeya, a bus departs by about 1pm to Matema via Kyela (Tsh7000, five hours
Mbeya to Matema). Departures from Matema direct to Mbeya are daily at 5am. All trans-
port in Matema departs from the main junction near the hospital.
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
From Kyela, the signposted turn-off to Ipinda and Matema is about 3km north of the town
centre. From here, it's about 14km to Ipinda, and another 25km to Matema along a read-
ily passable but rough road. Allow one to 1½ hours for the 40km stretch. There's also a
shorter, scenic, slightly less rough route directly from Tukuyu to Ipinda. About 20km out of