Minja Forest Reserve

A local duka (shop) with the clouds coming in from the east. This shot was taken along the main road in the North Pare mountains. 

A view of the savanna looking to the west as we climb up the mountains. 

The North Pare mountains are one of our favorite places to go on a hike and we recently got a little more adventurous by visiting a forest reserve that was a bit harder to get to than our previous trips to the area. Instead of a Lonely Planet guide book, we have relied more on academic studies that have investigated the biodiversity in the North Pare mountains. We've found some great research studies that have not only done a good job with their primary motive (biodiversity studies) but also explaining where different forest reserves are and their current health. Our previous trips have focused exclusively on Kindoroko Forest (1,2,3), which is a more frequently visited area, though it's all relative since we haven't ever seen anyone else in the forest. We wanted to venture out to the smaller forest reserves and take advantage of the fact that we have a motorcycle that can navigate the terrain.

A map depicting the Eastern Arc Mountains. The red bits are the Eastern Arc while the yellow bits are other volcanic mountains which are not geologically related.

This is a more detailed map of the forest reserves found in the North Pare mountains. 

After some research we decided we would conduct a scouting mission to the Minja Forest Reserve. As you can see on the map above, it's not as large as Kindoroko Forest Reserve but it is dense and green enough to be enticing. The real challenge was trying to figure out how to get inside the forest as the area is obviously mountainous and without much tourism we figured we would have to just see when we got there. This is made more challenging by the fact that we prefer to hike without a local guide; if we hired a local guide (if they exist) it would probably make things much clearer, though some sense of adventure may be lost and certainly the solitary sense of forest hiking would be diminished. In the end we prefer to study the maps available, load up our GPS, and head into the forest. If we fail to find an entry point, we can always come crawling back and enlist some local guiding.

Ana enjoying the view. 

Lake Jipe in the background. 

The eastern edge of the mountains. 

The trail along the eastern side. 

More mountain views. 

The first part of our journey went very smooth. We had to leave the main road and traverse through several villages on our way to the last village on the map before Minja Forest Reserve. I was afraid the road would be in poor condition and perhaps there would be some ambiguous turns but it was all very straightforward and whenever we were in doubt we simply asked someone and they pointed us in the right direction. The scenery was absolutely stunning as we wound through the mountains with a mix of forested and cultivated areas.

When we finally reached the last village on the map we could see Minja Forest Reserve towering in the nearby distance. The area was much steeper than I had imagined and I was beginning to feel a little discouraged about finding the way in. While Kindoroko Forest Reserve had somewhat decent trails and evidence of occasional tourism, I was afraid that Minja Forest Reserve wouldn't have such clearly marked paths though we had read that there was exploitation of non-timber forest products so we hoped there would be at least some game trails or bush paths. And considering it took us a half day to find an entrance to Kindoroko (which still is definitely not meant to be the main entrance), the situation appeared grim.

We basically kept following the road as it got skinnier and skinnier until it literally turned into a footpath with boulders jutting up which prevented even the most intrepid motorcyclist to pass. We saw a sign that marked one of the boundaries of the reserve and it appeared they had planted Eucalyptus trees to delineate the border. This made it very clear to follow and I thought it was a clever idea to prevent encroachment. The road continued on past the signpost so we decided to walk along it, partially to mark it with the GPS so we could see where it led later, and partially to get a view from the side of the mountain overlooking the savanna. Scenic vistas are few and far between inside the forest so the view was welcome.

We were now on the eastern side of the mountains and the view was spectacular overlooking the Kenyan savanna and Lake Jipe. We were hiking on a very gradual downward slope and we met a few people long the path whom were going to their shamba (farm) or their house on the side of the mountain. It appeared the path slowly wound down the side of the mountain and perhaps there was a footpath linking with the road along the east of the mountain range. We walked for about a 1/2 hour before we decided to double back to the forest reserve sign that we had seen.

Deep in the forest. 

There was an awesome river with some great trees.

The Eucalyptus trees on the left were planted every few meters to form the boundary. 

A view from one of the houses directly outside the forest reserve. 

Taking a rest inside the forest. 

Next to the forest reserve sign and eucalyptus trees there was a small house. We went up to the house and an old woman greeted us, along with a group of five or so small children. We explained to her that we wanted to go hiking and she said we could take a trail from her house up to the main trail. She said there were several areas to go walking but if it was our first time we should be careful to not get lost. We thanked her for her advice and we left at about 11:00AM.

We spent the rest of the day hiking through the forest, some of the paths clearly marked while some of them were not so clear. We ended up making a nice loop and found a few entry points next to people's houses, much like the entry point that we came in from. The forest had an excellent mix of sub-montane forest and some spots of secondary growth. The forest had been well preserved and we even saw a fleeting glimpse of a small mammal, possibly a duiker. There was a small stream that ran through the forest and around it was quintessential rainforest. The hike was steep, but not as steep as Kindorko forest with more trails and routes; especially excellent was the presence of a circular route (Kindoroko you have to double back or you come out quite far from other entry points).

We ended up seeing a lot of the forest though when we plugged in the GPS points we saw there was a lot more of the forest to see! We can't wait to get back out and try to climb up the north side of the forest to experience the depth of Minja Forest Reserve!

Map of our hike. We hope to push north to the deeper forest on our next trip!

Fruit season: Pineapple and Mango

One of my absolute favorite things about living in the tropics is the presence of tropical fruit. Not only are there exotic fresh fruits available year round but there you also feel the rhythm of the seasons. As a result of living in a medium sized hub city, most of the fruits are available year round though if they are out of season they are costly in comparison to seasonal fruit. So every once in a while I'll buy a pineapple out of season but the chances that it is low quality, along with the price, discourage such practices to become regular.

Some fruits are available pretty much year round, like papaya and bananas. However, most are seasonal like oranges, pineapple, mangoes, watermelon, and passion fruit. At the peak of the seasons the fruits are ridiculously cheap. For example, out of season a single orange may cost 300 TZS ($0.17). But during peak season most vendors won't even sell individual oranges, though if they do they are 100 TZS ($0.06). Most will persuade you to buy in bulk and if you buy around 20 you will get them for 1000 TZS ($0.60). These seasons have a lot of overlap in the calendar year and there always seems to be something available.

Another sign of the season is the presence of fruit carts on the streets as well as mobile vendors. Oranges and pineapples are particularly popular items to sell like this. Customers can either buy in bulk, buy individually, and even have pre-cut pieces available for sale. The carts seem to be ubiquitous so you don't have to look hard to find a juicy piece of pineapple.

Pineapple cart. The plastic bin contains already sliced pineapple. 

More fruit carts. 

Now we are enjoying a boon in pineapple. From about the beginning of November for another month or so pineapples will be cheap and delicious. As stated earlier, the biggest risk with buying out of season is that you will get a piece of fruit that has been ripened off the vine and probably came from another region in Tanzania. The vast majority of locals find purchasing fruit out of season to be a huge waste of money and impractical so vendors often face longer turnover. But now in the height of the season I can be nearly guaranteed I will get a great pineapple!

Unfortunately the markets here don't seem to have a whole lot of variety of pineapples. There are maybe three or four different types that I see but what lacks in diversity is made up in quality. Being a fruit I haven't grown up with, it's taken some years to learn how to identify a pineapple ripe, one ready for tomorrow, or one that needs to sit for some days. It's also taken a while to get the cutting technique down though if you're inexperienced you can always buy pre-cut pieces. The "lazy mans" method is cutting the pineapple in half and just scooping it with a spoon.

Awesome fruit cart with a variety of mangoes, pineapple, watermelon, papaya, oranges and bananas. 

Bounty from the market, including a papaya bigger than your head. 

Fruit vendor at a bus rest stop. 

Book Review: The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley

I recently read a very interesting book called The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley.

"In an open cart Elspeth Huxley set off with her parents to travel to Thika in Kenya. As pioneering settlers, they built a house of grass, ate off a damask cloth spread over packing cases, and discovered—the hard way—the world of the African. With an extraordinary gift for detail and a keen sense of humor, Huxley recalls her childhood on the small farm at a time when Europeans waged their fortunes on a land that was as harsh as it was beautiful. For a young girl, it was a time of adventure and freedom, and Huxley paints an unforgettable portrait of growing up among the Masai and Kikuyu people, discovering both the beauty and the terrors of the jungle, and enduring the rugged realities of the pioneer life."

The book takes place in early 20th century colonial Kenya, with a variety of interesting European families settling the area and making attempts at farming the land. The local tribes of the Kikuyu and Masai interact with the settlers as local labor and the insights into their culture are presented through the lens of the child narrator. The perspective of the book is through the eyes of a little girl, which helps to reduce the amount of colonial supremacy and prejudice  in exchange for a more innocent and honest interpretation of events.

I found the book to not only be an interesting collection of stories but also a valuable history lesson about colonial Africa. I'm not sure I ever received much education about the settlement of east Africa or the pioneering white settlers to Africa. My unfamiliarity with the early 20th century also helped to make the book quite informative when it came to technology of the day and agriculture industries that were popular. I absolutely loved the mix of childish observation with mature adult reflection. I thought the book would be difficult to narrate but I found it to be a very believable and engaging narration. Highly recommended! 

Bus trips to Dar es Salaam and Nairobi

I recently had to renew my passport and renew my visa (long story). My passport is not only full, but also expiring early next year. Many countries require at least six months of validity on your passport and I had delayed getting a new passport for too long considering it would take two trips to Dar es Salaam; one to apply and one to pick up. I finally had to bite the bullet and took two quick trips to Dar es Salaam.

Nice sized Dar Express bus. 

The bus trips to Dar es Salaam were painfully long at 10 hours one way. On consecutive weeks, I got on a bus Sunday, rode all day, went to the embassy in the morning, got on a bus and rode ten hours back. That's twenty hours of bus riding in just over in 48 hours if you're counting.  It's only 560 km (350 miles) and exactly one hour by flight, but I had to opt for the cheaper option as the flight times did not line up with my schedule and are obviously a bit more expensive than the bus. The bus is about $30 and flights average $150 round trip though the taxi costs to the airport put flights at around $200.

My bus trips to Dar es Salaam were somewhat uneventful though there was some excitement on my first return trip to Moshi. There's a variety of different buses you can take to Dar es Salaam, all varying by size, comfort, speed, reliability, and pretty much every bus/travel related factor you can think of. The most reputable company is called "Dar Express" and they have decent sized buses that have one TV in the front that play plays movies and they even give you a soda and biscuit. The bus stops one time about four hours in for a small pit stop where you can buy food and go to the bathroom. It's known to be both comfortable and reliable.

Baby on board! There are not many safety regulations other than the fact that people standing in the aisles is frowned upon, though traffic officers can look past this for a small fee. 

I had never been to Dar es Salaam before but I had heard the hype to take Dar Express. I took them on the way down but on my return trip they didn't have any buses running. I had to take a different bus company with a similar bus. I figured it wasn't so bad, in fact, they seemed to have the exact same movie selection as the first bus. From what I could gather the driver has a USB drive that he sticks into the stereo and it plays a mix of music videos, action movies, and local east African movies. I deduced the first bus had it on shuffle since we watched a four part Tanzanian movie out of order and I only realized this was not an artistic effect about midway through. I also had viewings of the action classics Rambo and Commando, as well as multiple "Fast and Furious" installments, which are great movies to watch when you can't exactly understand the dialog over the creaking of the bus.

Stopping for a fruit plate. Mixed of watermelon, papaya, apple and orange was about a dollar. 

All seemed to be going well on my return journey until about eight hours in, two hours from home, the bus broke down. It was dark and I was tired. The bus driver gave me very few details on the bus saying only that it was broken and they were going to try to fix it. I asked some other passengers and they seemed to think the bus was broken and not going to be fixed so we would have to wait for another bus. Great, just what I wanted, jockying with 50 other people for standing room spots on an already crowded bus. Luckily I've had a lot of experience and after about a half hour a bus came. I elbowed and pushed my way to the front and got a standing room only spot, leaving some disappointed and dejected passengers to wait for the next bus.

When I took my second trip to Dar I thought I was back in the comfort and reliability by taking the Dar Express. Turns out this bus didn't have any windshield wipers and the windows were leaky. I wouldn't have noticed this had it not been a torrential downpour for nearly the entire bus ride. In lieu of the windshield wipers, the drivers assistant crumpled up some newspaper and wiped of the fog from the interior of the window and frequently discussed (hopefully encouraged?) with the driver about how poor the conditions were. The driver must have had a sixth sense for "vision in the rain" because I was in the seat directly behind him and at points I couldn't see more than 5m in front of us. In addition to this, the windows were leaking in a way I thought defied physics by somehow accumulating water in the base and projecting it upward and into my face. I eventually stuffed it with some of the newspaper I borrowed from the driver's assistant and it did the trick.

Aside from those two tidbits, the trip was relatively painless and straightforward. I found there is typically less "excitement" on well-traveled routes and one can only hope for entertaining movies, an old school traveling salesmen giving speeches to the passengers, or just plain old fashioned taking in the landscape!

Nice mountains. 

More iconic landscape. 

Random Pictures: Volume III

See the little dot int he upper right hand corner? 

Zoom in and it's one of the many house lizards. 

Sometimes a bench can be a back seat of a van. 

This taxi driver had a very large rearview mirror that was not pointed at the rear. I later found out it was a TV showing movies that he could watch while driving. 

Tiny baby female Kilimanjaro Two-Horned Chameleon (kinyongia tavetana)

Tiny baby female Kilimanjaro Two-Horned Chameleon (kinyongia tavetana). Unfortunately the females lack the horns. 

Phone services here are pre-paid and companies are always trying to get you to sign up for various deals like bundles of txts and calls. Sometimes they are trying to push other services like "awesomely told stories". What does that even mean?