TRAVERSE 87
TRAVEL FEATURE - TANZANIA EMILIO SALVATORI & CHRISTINA ZOLI
IN THE SHADOW OF MOUNTAINS
It was the imposing profile of Kilimanjaro , with its 5895 metres , the highest mountain of the African continent , which welcomed as we stepped from the aircraft upon arrival in Arusha , a city that stretched out at the feet of the mountain . It ’ s where we would start our journey to discover the Maasai Steppe , the Land of the Masai .
Arusha is a typical African city ; chaotic , noisy , with a centre that is characterised by its markets . The only monument worthy of note is the clock tower which , according to popular legend , is positioned exactly between Cape Town and Cairo , more to the point , between the two extremes of what , until not so long ago , was the British colonial Empire in Africa . Arusha is now the place from which all safari trips depart to discover the most beautiful parks in Tanzania .
It is here that , in the suburbs , East Africa Motorcycles are located , the leading tour operator in motorcycle travel for this part of the world are located . Aboard their Royal Enfield Himlayans with just twentyfour horsepower , best suited the conditions of Tanzanian tracks , we discovered a new world .
Just a few kilometres of asphalt separate Arusha and our starting point from the beginning of the tracks , little time to become accustomed to the conditions as we quickly learned that we need to get used to the gravel that transmits a sense of precariousness , a sensation that remained throughout the entire journey .
The profile of Mount Meru , wrapped in the green of its forests , followed us during the first part of the journey . Having abandoned the asphalt of the A104 which continued towards Kenya , we began to ride on the dirt road up to the Simba Farm Lodge which , covered in luxuriant vegetation , stood out against the
TRAVERSE 87