TPC Pools: Trip IV

Flamingos overhead!

About a half hour drive away from our house, the pools are the closest quality birding spot in Moshi (TPC I, TPC II, TPC III). This past weekend I was even more excited to go because Ana had brought her telescope back from Spain and I was keen to learn how to use it. She told me that it was best used for shore birds since they stay relatively still and are typically out of good view when using binoculars. We decided to pop out to the pools on Sunday afternoon and see what was around.

The last time we visited the pools were pretty low and we have a hard time understanding what causes the water level to fluctuate. It is the dry season now and we haven't had much rain, though we have been on holiday for most of July/August. The water seemed to be at a normal level and at first we saw our usual suspects.

However, at a seldom visited pool (there's probably 5-10 pools) we saw a mirage of pink. Was it a mirage? No, it was 475 flamingos! We had never even seen one flamingo here and although they are known to migrate quite a bit, we were still surprised to see such a great number. We enjoyed watching them from a distance with the telescope before something suddenly scared them. They all took off in unison and we watched at they circled around overhead. The day was very hot and the air was still so as the flamingos circled back and flew directly over us, the flapping of their wings crescendoed overhead. It was a truly spectacular moment!

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, though anything more than two hours in the hot sun can be too much. I did end up having a great tutorial with the telescope and now I'm excited to take it out again!

A black winged stilt takes off over the pools. 

Ana checking out some birds with a little dust tornado heading her way. 

Pools with the "blue mountains" in the background. 

Flamingos taking off. 

The cows don't bother. 

Setting up to look at some Wood Sandpipers across the way. 

TPC South Pools III

In the fields of sugar cane.

With the arrival of rainy season our weekend trips have become limited. Thus, the closest place we can go for a nice walk is the nearby sugar plantation, TPC. With a mix of farmed and fallow land the property has some great opportunities for hiking and birding and we typically mix the day with a river walk and a visit to the south pools (TPC I, TPC II). It's only about a half hour drive from our house, it's free, and there are no other people that are ever out there (aside from locals with their animals).

It helps that we enjoy birding as the size of the areas we like to frequent are not all that large but they are full of birds. They are also full of Masaai with their goats and cattle which can be a distraction when birding but nice to have a chat every once in a while. It's a very representative example of human/wildlife conflic which exists even on a vast private sugar plantation! We also see people gathering firewood and of course, workers going to and from their homes.

Overall it's a great way to spend a morning or afternoon and the views from the pools can be very beautiful. Especially during this time of the year when the grasses come up, there is a wonderful mix of browns and greens and when the sun is shining the reflections off the pools is like a mirror. 

On the river walk.

Pools!

Walking across the landscape.

Looking over the pools.

Dung beetle.

River walk gets disturbed by some goats.

An awesome grasshopper with a horn.

View of the mountains with some goats. Lots of goats.

Moving: New House IV

Front of the house. Ignore the chair on the railing, it was cleaning day!

Well, we recently moved to our fifth place in Tanzania (1,2,3,4). Although it's a lot of moves in just over two years, I think we've finally found a place we really like.

We moved about five minutes from our previous house which was ideal since we love our neighborhood. We love it for a few reasons, namely that it is out of town a bit (but not too far), has reliable water and electricity, and is quiet and small with a friendly vibe where you know the shopkeepers and neighbors.

The size of the house and arrangement is also near perfect. There is another house with a Tanzanian family that live in our compound and we share the backyard space. The mother does tailoring on her porch, chickens run around, kids play, and it generally feels relaxed and homey. It also helps to have people around since we are frequently out of town.

The house itself is a two bedroom (one en suite), with a storage room, split bathroom and sitting room. We also have covered parking and a covered porch. We joke because I call the extra room the studio since it's got a drum kit and Ana calls it the gymnasium since she does exercise there. Maybe it's a multi-purpose room?

Unlike our last place, which was massive, this place is easy to maintain and comfortable. We also have slowly acquired most all the furnishings of a house. We only need to buy a kitchen table and then we'll be good to go! For now, we take our meals on the porch!

Sitting room.

Sitting room from another angle.

Split bathroom.

Main bedroom.

Ensuite bahtroom with a western toilet and shower.

Studio/gymnasium room.

Kitchen and backdoor with entry to store room.

Store room. Could be a third bedroom.

Kitchen from the store room angle.

Coffee tour on slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro

All the stages from plant to bean to cup.

My family recently came to visit and one of the activities I booked for us was a coffee tour. I was initially hesitant since many operators offer a coffee tour/waterfull excursion, which is really just passing through someone's house who happens to grow coffee in an area near to a popular waterfall. However, one of my favorite cafes in Moshi, the Union Cafe, is basically an income generating company for the Kilimanjaro Native Co-operative Union. They have an announcement offering coffee tours and since I enjoy their organization so much I figured it was worth trying.

We met at the cafe and took arranged transport up the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We made our way to a small village where we were welcomed with naturally, a cup of coffee. Our guide came and introduced himself as a small scale farmer from the area and we began our tour. Our guide was charismatic, knowledgeable and fun. Our first stop was to the selling area where the price per kilo was labeled on a chalk board and people were bringing bags to be weighed. I loved that we saw normal people in action as opposed to a staged setting.

We then made our way to a house and the guide explained they rotate who they have host the tour groups so everyone can benefit. He said they only have to have benches for people to sit, a mortar for demonstrations, and of course, must grow coffee. We then went to pick some fresh coffee and proceeded to follow all the steps until it was ground and mixed with hot water to produce the freshest cup of coffee I've ever had.

I can't say enough about how much I loved this coffee tour. Not only do you get to view a taste of village life on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the information given is very interesting and the hands on nature of the tour really makes it into an experience. I will recommend this trip to everyone that comes as a guest to Moshi, and even those whom reside here!

Weighing the bags of coffee.

Enjoying an explanation on the various stages of coffee.

Coffee left to be dried for days.

Finally, the roasting of the bean. Last step before grinding and drinking.

TPC II: South Pools

Checking out some birds.

We've visited TPC many times (see here) but usually when we're birding there is not much to blog about, unless you're particularly interested in a rare or infrequent species that we see. TPC mainly provides a nearby area (30-40 minutes drive) whereby one can walk undisturbed along various habitats, though virtually all the areas are small and surrounded by plots of sugar cane.

One of our favorite spots is back in the "south pools" an area that has water year round and therefore attracts various water birds. This time of the year is the "short rain" season, and thus the grass emerging from the dry ground is a picturesque sight.

It's a great Sunday morning activity for us and we usually finish up by going out to lunch in Moshi. We love to see the fluctuation in species, for example, in the last two trips (3 weeks apart), we saw about 35 species each time with 15 or so being different species. The only downside is that it gets awfully hot, but when you have a nice lunch to look forward to, it's not so bad!

One of the pools.

Checking the bird book for ID help.

Some more pools with new grass coming up.

One of the roads at TPC with massive flowering trees.

TPC: Birding in the area

Ana checking out some birds

Just south of Moshi is a massive sugar plantation, Tanganyika Planting Company, more commonly known as TPC. It has over 8,000 ha (20,000 acres) of sugar cane though the area of land it manages is so large that multiple villages are within the vast expanse. There are also fallow patches and a river that runs along the west border, which allows for some pretty decent birding and short hikes.

It only takes about a half hour to reach TPC and although it has taken us some time to identify the good spots for hikes and birdwatching, now that we know it is a very accessible "quick" place to get out of town for a bit. The staff of TPC seem to have no problem with people wandering around and the fallow areas have the typical dry acacia scrub found in the surrounding area.

TPC also has a "club" which as quite excellent food, a golf course, and a "river house", which can be rented. Many of the amenities are in place for foreign staff as it is far enough outside of town that people prefer it to be it's own little city. In fact, it runs almost like it's own country with a hospital and public services (electricity, water) funded through various projects to ensure the company has a positive impact on the surrounding communities.

A big cut root.

Moshi Rice Fields

Rice. Water. Sky. A tree.

We had been hearing of some rice fields to the east and south of Moshi for some time, though no one seemed to know exactly how to get there. I once received advice to cut through Rau Forest, but that trip was not very successful due to the road being impassable with our vehicle.

We finally cleared a Sunday to try to reach the fields. We didn't know exactly where to go but we guessed on the highest possibility of rice fields from satellite images on GoogleMaps.

After some very dusty roads we did finally reach the rice fields. The area was very scenic with a much different feel than the dry and arid savanna that dominates the landscape around Moshi. Palm trees dotted the landscape and the vibrant green of the rice mixed with the waters reflection of the sky created a calming landscape. The area appeared to be using naturally fed water (the fields were along the Rau River, which ultimately receives its water from Mt. Kilimanjaro) and it also bordered the Rau Forest, which provided a nice backdrop.

Although it was hot, we still go out for a short walk and there were numerous birds, not such a variety of species but many fish loving birds such as egrets and herons. We walked a bit to the border of the forest and there seemed to be a network of trails, likely used for non-timber (or timber) forest product extraction.

There were a few workers in the fields and others that were collecting water in jars. We saw a young guy with no shoes and rather rough looking with a slingshot and we asked him if he was hunting. He said that he used it to scare off the monkeys when they were raiding the crops, which is a believable excuse. Ana thought he was hunting birds and we both felt a bit better after the conversation. However, later we ran into him again and he was definitely shooting rocks at Crowned Hornbills. I called over to him and told him that he lied to me and he came over to chat. I asked him if he was eating them or if he sold them also. He said he hunted them because he was hungry and he would eat them himself. He begged me for some money, which I politely declined.

It was an interesting interaction and one that has happened to me many times before in developing countries. It's obvious that many of the inhabitants from the surrounding areas of forests and protected areas rely on the forests with little alternative. I feel for the guy and as I write out the story I realize how cold I might sound by not giving him money. It's something I learned a while ago; money isn't food, money is convertible. It also doesn't change behavior, at least how one might intend. If I would have given him money he could have spent it on food, or beer. He could have gone home or he could have seen another hornbill shortly after and killed it. He could be content or he could pick up the bad habit of begging. I think throwing some money at him would have assuaged some type of guilt of sympathy but it doesn't solve the real problem, which is frustrating because I am not directly involved in the types of things that need to be done but as with every social ill, I have to pick my battles I fight directly and just make sure I contemplate my decisions and their indirect effects to ensure I minimize the inevitable guilt that I would feel every time I am confronted with the striking imbalance of people's lives in the world.

Reflection of the sky.

A pretty cool dragon fly.

More water/sky action.

Rau Forest in the background.

Moving: New House III

We moved to our fourth place in Tanzania (1,2,3). Since we recently moved three months ago, we weren't looking forward to moving again, though it is a massive upgrade. The three bedroom house has a guesthouse with two rooms, as well as two servants quarters and outdoor bathroom and kitchen. There is a small outside area with fruit trees and also a small garage. The whole place is a bit less than $100 a month, so it's quite a deal. In fact, it's far too big for us but since our previous place was somewhat deteriorating with an alcoholic landlord on premise, too big was much better than our previous arrangement. 

Our place is further outside of town than our previous places but still only about ten minutes from "downtown" Moshi (see my custom map). It's about 1km (half mile) from the main Arusha highway and in a much less densely developed area than in our previous places. The biggest thing we are happy about is that now we can host many guests, so please, you are welcome!

Front of the house with my new bbq hidden behind the pillar. 

View of the back of the house, the guesthouse, and the garage. 

Servants quarters and garage. Our car JUST barely fits so we'll only put it in when necessary. 

Outdoor kitchen, bathroom, and backyard. 

Front room. 

Dining area. 

Kitchen. 

Split bathroom. 

Master bedroom. 

There's two other bedrooms and one has my new drumset!