Mbozi Meteorite – Weighing in at a cool 12 tons, the irregularly shaped Mbozi Meteorite – which lies on the southwestern slope of Marengi Hill, 70 kilometres west of Mbeya Town, off the road to Tunduma – is the world’s eighth largest known.

The meteorite is a fragment of interplanetary matter that was large enough to avoid being completely burned up when entering earth’s atmosphere.

To reveal the whole meteorite, the hillside around it was dug away, leaving a pillar of soil under the meteorite, which was then reinforced with concrete to serve as a plinth. The irregular notches on the pointed end were caused by souvenir hunters hacking out chunks – no easy task given the strength of the nickel-iron of which it has made.

Most meteorites consist of silicates or stony irons, so Mbozi meteorite is uncommon in that it’s composed mainly of iron -90.45 percent and nickel – 8.69 percent, with negligible amounts of copper, sulphur, and phosphorus.

A visit to the Meteorite Site is always fascinating especially if you are in a group and you travel using public transport as a means of getting a better taste of the countryside and face some adventures.