The Sunday after Jenny's birthday we were invited by another MAF family, The Parkers, to what is known as 'Flamingo Lake' but actually no-one seems to know it's real name (click on the link to see exactly where it is on Google Maps)!
Andrew is a MAF pilot based here in Dodoma and had recently flown over the salt lake and spotted what he thought would be a good spot for a picnic/BBQ while transporting evangelists and medical workers to work in remote areas. So after church we headed off in convoy to find it! For us it was really exciting because it was the first time in the four months we've been here that we've actually left Dodoma ... it's only a 45 minute drive but it felt good! About 10 minutes into the adventure Abigail even asked 'Are we still in Africa?'!!!!
Here were a few of the sights on the way ...
Although we were travelling together, just in case we lost the other family, the instructions were keep driving until you see the dried up lake and then turn right following the dirt track with the 'lake' running along the lefthand side! As you can see from the photo below, the lake has been dry for so long that there are big trees growing in it. The lake should be right next to the road on the left ... but it just doesn't exist anymore!
A few more twists and turns later, a dry riverbed or two and we were almost there! We laughed to ourselves that you would pay to go off-roading like that back at home in the UK ... for us it's just part of going on a picnic!!
The adventure of getting there was totally worth it. We found a great spot to 'set-up camp' for a few hours and surprisingly, were pretty much undisturbed the whole time we were there!
While the Daddy's were busy setting up things ... including the BBQ, the rest of us (two mummy's and four of the five children!) took a walk towards the lake and the flamingo's, who didn't really seem to notice us being there.
The kids had a blast in the muddy dirt at the edge of the salt lake ... probably mixed in with a ton of flamingo poo too! Abigail even took a tumble. It definitely became a shoes off experience for them all!
The location was amazing, the company was lots of fun, the BBQ was delicious and the big rocks were fun to climb. It was a really great way to spend a Sunday lunch/afternoon!
We had such a good time that the Parkers have put out another invitation to a lot of our friends here for another trip to Flamingo Lake again this weekend. The convoy will be a bit bigger this time round but we've no doubt it will be just as much fun!
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