Times in Tanzania: Kindoroko Forest: Trip X

In the forest alongside a stream.

Our most recent trip to Kindoroko led us down a different path than our previous trips (Part I,Part II,Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VIII , Part IX). We had decided to enter the forest from a different point and try to possibly walk to another village over the mountain. We figured the worst thing that happens is that we walk for three hours and then turn around the way we came.

The forest reserves are delineated by now-massive eucalyptus trees. We try to climb as high and deep as we can with the motorcycle and then leave the motorcycle at a local resident's house before we find a footpath into the forest. Sometimes the trails are very short and only go to areas where local residents have cut down trees, so we often ask people if we can access the inside of the forest from the trails.

We were very happy with the new trail we found and it led us down to a stream. The stream was heavily wooded though the steepness of the sides allowed more light through than the rest of the well preserved forest. We found a cool spot under a giant rock to fill our water bottles and continued inside.

The days hike was very steep with a lot of ups and downs, as well as some detours on either disused trails or animal paths. One of our favorite parts of Kindoroko is how dramatic the forest can change depending on elevation and the direction of the slope. We hiked the entire day on trials we had never been on before so it was a real treat to experience the feel of that section of the forest.

After some hours we could see the trail become well-trodden and we felt we were closer to a village. We popped out in the back of a house overlooking a valley and we found a young guy washing some clothes at the house. We began to assault him with questions like, "what is the name of this village?", "where is the nearest main road?", etc. We wanted to find out where we were so we could perhaps tka the motorcycle to that point on another day and use it as a base for further exploration. The conversation was very confusing and we finally told him that we entered the forest from another place and we parked our motorcycle at a house. He then said, "Your motorcycle is here". At that point I thought that it was the Swahili I was not understanding but Ana confirmed and we peeked around the side of the house and sure enough, we were at the same spot that we started! I couldn't believe it as I am normally quite good with direction but sure enough, I had been completely turned around!

Luckily that meant we didn't have to hike hours back on the same trail, in fact, we turned around and headed back in to make use of the rest of the day exploring yet more trails!