Posted on: June 21, 2023 Posted by: kivuli Comments: 6

A busy week in Moshi

Karibu! This week at The Watering Hole...

Hello everyone and thanks for following along! I love and appreciate all the support from back home, and I’m glad you guys have been keeping updated on my adventures in Tanzania. This has been a busy week, full of many small projects and preparations. I’ve now had about two full weeks here at The Watering Hole and I feel like I’m really settling in and getting a feel for Moshi. This past week I set my focus on learning my surroundings, working on the website, and getting our hotels and properties set up on Airbnb.com to increase exposure, as well as a few other small projects. Last Friday, Fredi and Peter took me around the city,  a sugarcane plantation, and even Kilimanjaro’s Mweka Gate. 

The sugarcane plantation is called TPC and is a massive plantation extending nearly to the border of the Manyara region, known for its wilderness, national parks, and pastoralist tribes such as the Maasai. They produce a massive amount of sugarcane which is refined into granular sugar on-site. Chances are, if you’ve had sugar of any variety in Moshi, it came from TPC! After visiting the massive operations there, we continued on to Mweka gate in the foothills of Kilimanjaro. This gate is used by all travellers when they descend from the mountain but still stands above the city of Denver in altitude! On the way up, we drove by the famous Kilimanjaro Coffee plantations which are known all around the world for the delicious coffee beans they grow. We also drove through the bustling market of Mbuyuni (which is significantly less hectic than walking through it.) Markets in Tanzania are mostly outdoor and somewhat resemble farmers markets in the States, except they’re an everyday affair and are super busy! Goods of all varieties are sold here, I even bought a pair of sandals here last week!

I’ve included some pictures below of some typical Tanzanian city scenery, I hope it will give you a greater idea of the life of people who reside in cities as well as a greater idea of the Tanzanian environment. 

Methali of the Week

Atangaye sana na jua hujuwa

“He who wanders around by day knows much” 

This Methali is talking about learning through experience and getting to know your surroundings and the people and places within. This last week was important for me to get to know Moshi town and its vibe. Driving around with Fredi and  Peter and having them show me Moshi and the surrounding areas was really cool. I also did some independent exploration by way of the local transportation called Bajajis and BodaBodas to see the city for myself. I really like Moshi, it feels like a “small”-big city, and I’m happy to call it home!

More on Tanzania's Inner-city Transport

Bajajis are small, three wheeled vehicles that seat a driver and up to three passengers, they are seen everywhere in town. The other mode of transportation commonly used in cities are Bodabodas which are basically motorcyclists-for-hire, to drive you to your destination. Daladalas are also common for longer distances. These are buses which transport from suburb to suburb and are usually packed over capacity with people oftentimes hanging out of them just to get some air!

That's all for now! Check out our Youtube Channel for Daily Vlogs coming soon!

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6 People reacted on this

  1. Harrison,
    I love reading your blog and seeing the pictures from your adventures in Moshi! Looking forward to the YouTube Vlogs.

  2. Harrison – I look forward to your blog and learning more about TZ. Thanks for including pictures – I’ll not get there in my lifetime, so it is so good to see pictures, so that I can be reminded to pray for you and the people you are serving while there.

  3. Thank you for sharing your life in words and photos each week. I am enjoying keeping up with you each week. Be safe. Enjoy your adventure.

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