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This morning we
were up by 6.15 am, and away to breakfast for 7.30. This was to be the
morning of our walk up into the Udzwunga Mountains to the spectacular
Sanje Falls. Having reserved their right to change to an easier walk,
some opted out, leaving 5 of us to take on the walk, Lucy, Ron, Helene
(aka "The Duchess" courtesy of Ron) Nancy and myself. The Udzwungas
promised to be one of the highlights of the trip. Described as "The
Galapagos of Africa." these ancient mountain rainforests are some of the
oldest in the world, with a 500 mile arc stretching south from the |
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Kenyan border. With
a chain of rainforest islands, the moist air of the Indian Ocean has
helped to create a biodiversity that is unique. We travelled a short
distance to the Park Office to pick up Benedict, our guide
for the day. It was here also that we hired two porters between
the group, to carry our daypacks containing our packed lunches, and
three litres of water each. Close to the office we saw an Iringa Red
Colobus monkey, only found here. It differs from its cousin in that the
red only extends down the back of its head, as opposed to the length of
its back. Soon, we were |
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climbing. We were
pleased that we were walking in the shade of the trees, and
Benedict was taking us up at a relatively comfortable pace, stopping
fairly frequently to point out various trees, many with medicinal
properties, both modern and traditional. We could hear monkeys in the
canopy of the trees, but sightings were difficult. We were anticipating
that the walk to the falls would take between 2 and 3 hours, which
proved to be about right. Our first sighting was as we arrived at the
lower, first level of the falls, where we stopped briefly, before
continuing upwards, through the second level and on to the small lake at
the base of the |
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main fall. Despite the dry
spell of weather that Tanzania had been experiencing, the falls were
still quite spectacular. We took off our boots and socks, and cooled off
as we had our packed lunch. Collectively, we gave some of our food to
our porters, Jackson and Peter, and by the end I think they had more
than us - and they tucked into chicken, cheese and tomato sandwiches,
hard-boiled eggs and bananas with relish. These guys were always
grateful at the opportunity of earning a little extra cash - with a
suggested "tip" of 3 - 5,000 shillings (£1.50 to £2.50) this was good
money for them |
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where daily wages can be just $1 a
day. Whilst we chose simply to cool our feet, Lucy and Ron decided to
take a dip in the cool mountain waters, followed later by Helene. As
Lucy swam, she tried hard, but could not disguise the "coolness" of the
water. My GPS indicated a height of 759 metres, and after a
relaxing hour or so, it was time to head down. Benedict took us back via
a shorter route - though the path was much rougher. This took us to a
break in the trees, which gave us a superb view of the full height of
the falls. We could only guess at what a spectacle these falls must
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present when in full flow. As we made
our way down, having negotiated the most difficult sections of the steep
path, Nancy took a tumble, as she reached into her pocket for a tissue.
She quickly regained her feet, and almost instantly, Ron also took a
tumble. He got himself up, dusted himself down, cursing
"......... damn monkey sperm !!!" This was one of his "Ronisms," little
Canadian/Americanised phrases that had the group in stitches from time
to time. Wherever Ron was, you could be sure of a laugh or two. We
continued down, taking time to stop for a cool drink at |
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the bottom, where Steve, our driver
had arranged for a local to bring a crate of soft drinks. This guy, on
our departure "tried it on" as he claimed Nancy had not paid for our
drinks. Intentional or by mistake we were not to know, but gladly, the
matter was resolved with the intervention of Steve. We departed with an
amiable wave, returned by the guy in question. We made our way back to
our lodges, meeting the other members of the group setting out on a
walk. By this time the sun was at full strength, and we were glad to get
back - needless to say - for a cool "Kili." |
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Following dinner that evening, Lucy
had arranged for a troop of local village dancers to put on a display.
This went on for well over an hour - which, given the amount of energy
they put into their dancing was quite amazing. Towards the end, the
local children joined in. A member of a German group at the lodge was
taking video - and the youngsters were only too pleased to dance for him
- swarming around the camera like flies around a jam pot. These children
too were full of energy - with an inherent rhythm built into their
dancing. Some of our girls joined in - but they didn't have the |
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staying power of the villagers !! A
quite enjoyable evening. When Lucy had been organising the dancing
display earlier that day - she had approached the tour leader of the
German group to see if they would split the cost of the display. He came
back later to say that they had declined !! As it was, the bill was
settled by the lodge itself - so it was with some satisfaction later,
that when the basket came around our table for tips for the dancers, and
we all made our contributions, I took the basket across to the Germans'
table and plonked it in the middle. I took great pleasure watching them
embarrassingly, digging into their pockets. Basil Fawlty would
have had a field day!!!
An excellent end to an excellent day - Off to bed !! |
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Other
Photographs of The Day |
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