TAN: Udzungwa Rainforest

I am up at the usual 5:30 a.m. to get the day started. Get some photo editing done before I get Gabriel up. We gather up our gear and put it aboard the minibus to be set over to Vuma Hills where we will be spending the night. Have a quick bite to eat. We are not quite quick enough and arrive at the pickup truck for today�s outing to the Udzungwa Mountain National Park, to find the really grumpy Danish couple we are to be traveling with, yelling at Tim. We have a sinking feeling that today is going to have a touch of unpleasantness to it.

The two and a half hour trip over to Udzungwa is lovely but a little long for our bladders over the dirt road at the end. We pass through some spectacular villages and see loads of folks decked out in their Sunday best.

A kiln for for bricks to build houses from.

We overshoot the trailhead for our days hike to register at the Park entrance. The registration is a bit on the long side with the ranger writing down the serial number for every bill of foreign currency. By this point, the Danes are really grumpy and insist that we meet back at the trailhead by three or they will leave without us.

Back at the trailhead there is some argument about the availability of vegetarian lunches. It seems to get sorted out even though there ends up not being any vegetarian meals at all. Our warning from Tim the previous evening to get a separate guide seems to be a great idea. Benedict, our guide, is great. He negotiates to have us head up first with a fifteen minute lead. It is tough going up the steep slope in the heat. We are all drenched in perspiration before we have gone twenty paces. We redistribute some of the gear to lighten the load on Chantal.
The tight timetable has got us all a little worried so we hurry up the winding trail. Benedict stops periodically to point out things of interest. The only game we find evidence of are the omni-present cicadas whose deafening drone provides a sonic backdrop for the entire hike. We also spot a few lizards, numerous butterflies, and some wild looking red spiders that have great big horns sticking out of their backs.

Our guide Benedict looking me over and a look at our destination.

Lots of vegetation climbing over its neighbors trying to get closer to the sun

The middle falls and the spectacular upper falls.

We pass up the middle falls in search of the uppermost ones. Our efforts are well rewarded with a stunning falls and a good-sized pool. The water is brisk and the fine mist off the falls provides a nice contrast to the coating of sweat we all accumulated on our ascent. Chantal and I take a bunch of photos and shot video while Gabriel goes for a swim with Benedict. We all tuck into our sack lunches with great vigor.
Just as we are finishing up our meal, the Danes arrive. They mill about for a few moments, then announce that they are going down. We gather ourselves together quickly and make our way down to the lower falls. Although a group lounging at the top of the falls mars the scene, we take some more photos and hurry on our way. We manage to pass the Danes less than a third of the way back down. Almost all the way back to the bottom, we stop and Benedict tells us about the park history and sings us a couple of songs he has penned.

The view out over the plain from the lower falls. Our little group marring the scenery.

Back at our departure area, the Danes are reluctant to ferry the guides back to the park entrance some 10 kilometers further up the road. Eventually they acquiesce, but decide to hang out in Sanje Village instead of making the 20 km roundtrip. We are sticking with them, so we stay as well. They amble off to a shop for refreshments while we plunk down on someone’s porch to entertain and be entertained by some of the children in the village. I am not sure who has more fun. We are even able to coax a couple of songs out of the group.

The kids in Sanje village having a great time.

The car shows up again a while later and we headed back toward Mikumi. Not five minutes into the trip it started pouring rain. I am glad that some of the dust will be settled, but the others are looking a bit miserable.
As we get back onto the pavement, the sky opens up and there are magnificent views of thunder cells all around. I spend most of the trip back snapping pictures of them.

As we get near Vuma Hills we ask to be let off. Fortunately, Netta, the camp host, was on her way down to the road for some reason. We are happy to find all our gear safely arrived from Safari Camp. Tents are available for us this time. We settled in and then head over to the dinning area to get set up for some more filming. The lighting kit we brought is a little underpowered for the size of the dinning hall. We fuss with the lights for so long that we almost miss the shots we need of the other guests coming in to be seated. We wrap up our gear just as the buffet is served.