Kindoroko Forest Part III

View from the ride to the base village of Usangi. Lake Jipe straddles the border of Kenya and Tanzania to the east. 

We've taken two (one, two) trips to Kindoroko Forest before and we returned this past weekend determined to push as far as we can into the forest. The hike was pretty straightforward as we start in the north end of the forest and hike up to the Kindoroko Peak (2,113 m/6,932 ft.).  This takes about two to three hours though it's a brutal nearly vertical ascent.

From the peak we walked along the ridge-line for about another hour. It was sloping downhill and the trail was less worn than the way up. We realized there were several smaller trails that were bisecting the trial, which we deduced led down to neighboring villages. To the west of us we could see dense forest and to the east of us were small villages. We decided we wanted to explore the western part on our next trip, possibly entering from a different road or starting our hike from the south.

In the end the trip was a success and Kindoroko Forest remains one of my favorite places to go in Tanzania. We are slowly but surely charting out the trails with our GPS and hopefully we'll one day have a guide to the trails of Kindoroko!

View from our ascent to the hiking point. Sub-montane environment!

View inside the forest. 

The peak of Kindoroko Mountain was not very clear in the morning....

...but when we returned in the afternoon it was much clearer!

Lianas invade the trail. There is a section that is basically completely covered by lianas, very Lord of the Rings-esque.

View from the "trail head" which is really someones house. 

Local carwash

Car wash from the waiting area. 

One thing that I've found to be a recurring theme in developing countries is the emphasis on cleanliness. One of the most obvious signs of a foreigner is dirty shoes; locals tend to keep their shoes spotless and clean them daily. This habit also applies to vehicles. I know some taxi drivers that was their car TWICE A DAY. Although it's understandable to frequently wash your vehicle due to the dust from the unpaved roads, sometimes it's a bit overboard, especially considering how beat up many of their vehicles are. Still, there is a thriving "car washing" industry in Moshi.

There is a hotel near to my house though it appears that the car wash is the main attraction. In the front of the hotel there is a large space with a few pressure washers, a water pipe, and several young men eager to wash your vehicle. For motorcycles it is TZS 3,000 ($1.78) and cars are TZS 10,000 ($5.94). Many people will either have their domestic servant or children wash their car but these guys offer a very thorough car wash due to their pressure washers. It's become my Sunday routine to go to the car wash and wait the 1/2 hour while they clean my bike. If it's a clear day you can even see a view of Kilimanjaro while you wait!

Worker with a pressure washer. 

Drying off the bike. 

Usangi accomodation: Mhako Hostel and Restaurant

Main road in the morning. The cobbled road exists for the 20 ft in front of this building, otherwise it's dirt

One of my favorite nearby destinations is the small mountain town of Usangi, about an hour and half southeast of Moshi. The town acts as a great jumping off point for the forest reserves in the North Pare mountains, especially Kindoroko Forest, which I've written about twice (one, two) before. 

Usangi is nestled in the North Pare mountains and is a one road affair with a few small roads leading to nearby farms and houses. The lush green landscape is a stark contrast to the nearby savanna and the the farmland, although found on sloping hillsides, is rich. Overall it is a sleepy town with about two shops selling food (sometimes), a primary and secondary school, and a church and mosque. 

One of the most surprising features of Usangi is a guesthouse, especially one of decent quality. 

The Mhako Hostel has a handful of rooms and they range from a "VIP" room ($60/night) with a private sitting room, balcony and bathroom, to small windowless cubes ($12/night). There are two that have a private bathroom, otherwise the bathroom is shared. If it's busy it can get a little gross as the toilet has some problem leaking and some patrons have problems pissing directly in the toilet. However, they will heat water for bucket baths and for the basic rooms, the price is right. There is also a restaurant where local food is served, which is affordable and filling. The only reason I find this guesthouse notable is that most guesthouses I stay at in towns the size of Usangi are dated, derelict and dirty while Mhako was obviously built recently with good materials and thoughtful design. 

The most shocking thing about the guesthouse is that it's been nearly at capacity every time I've visited. And it's been full of Tanzanians, which is even more puzzling given that it doesn't appear many are hitting the forest trails and Usangi is more of a village than a town. It's a place I'd assume people have family instead of staying at a guesthouse. Plus, it's not THAT far from Moshi if you're traveling somewhere it doesn't even have a through road. I asked the reception on my recent stay and he said that people come for tourism. Having never seen anyone in the forest (though there are several trails and forests), I still remain a skeptic. Looks like next time I'll have to be chummy with other patrons and just ask directly if I want to quench my curiosity. 

The main second floor seating area. 

Basic room. Pro tip: We always pack our mosquito net as only one room has one. 

A look from the "VIP room" balcony in the morning with clouds obscuring the mountains. 

Maasai village visit

Maasai performance

One of the most common "add ons" to a safari is a visit to a Maasai village. The Maasai are one of the most well known ethnic groups in Africa, known for their colorful clothe, "jumping" rituals, long skinny physique, and resistance to Westernization. The Maasai people are traditionally semi-nomadic and are most prevalent in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are pastoralists and have resisted and fought with the governments of Tanzanian and Kenya to maintain traditional grazing rights in national parks and other protected areas. I have reviewed a great book regarding the history of wildlife management and conflict with Maasai people, In the Dust of Kilimanjaro by David Western.

Although the Maasai have long rejected modernization, they are now quick to capitalize on the high levels of tourism, a seemingly strange contradiction between their fight for their pastoral and self sufficient lifestyle. One can't help but admire a culture for resisting the urge to be modernized with permanent houses, schools, the English language, and other culture brought from colonization, especially in light of what appears to be a unique culture. Still, as with most indigenous cultures around the world, there is a tendency to romanticize the culture, especially while viewing it through the lens of a short village visit between game drives.

My first interaction with a Maasai was through our bird club. As most of the members of our bird club are aspiring tourist guides, Lukas, our friend, was no different. He had grown up in the traditional Maasai lifestyle, migrated to a nearby village for work and was employed by an NGO as a security guard. For some reason, the Maasai's most common line of work is as a security guard, so Lukas's story is a common one. There he met a Dutch woman, they fell in love, and she sent him to college where he completed a degree in wildlife guiding. Again, not a totally uncommon line of events for this area. Now, Lukas joined our bird club and we thought he was going to be an awesome birder due to the mystique that surrounds the Maasai and their interactions with wildlife. Unfortunately, he was quite below average and even seemed to be a bit bored of birding when we were out.

Over the course of our trips I began to ask Lukas about Maasai life. I thought I was tactful in my inquiries about his culture and he was very open to sharing his experience. He told me that the earliest he went out to tend his familiy's cows alone was when he was eight years old. He spoke in depth about how much he loved to be alone and how easy it was for him to "cool his mind".

Later that week he called Ana and I and said he wanted to meet. We didn't know why but we agreed and met him at a local restaurant. In our previous interactions he was wearing western clothes but this time he was in full Maasai garb. He presented us with a brochure highlighting a local Maasai village and the way he presented himself to us really turned me off. I had thought we were friends and at least I had thought I had explained my desire to stay away from "non-authentic" villages so the fact that he dressed up and brought us a generic brochure was disappointing. Still, he presented us with his "thesis" that he made for school which was about Maasai culture and animals. They were somewhat crude handwritten books but we borrowed them to learn more. Either way, it was a revealing interaction.

My second interaction with Maasai is through a non-profit that Ana and I provide with pro-bono consulting. The organization works to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) among the Maasai, a mandatory coming of age practice for women. We assist them in writing proposals to gain funding and it is obviously a darker side of the culture than we are presented with in the village-tour brochures. I'll save the FGM for another post but needless to say, it gave us a new perspective on their culture, especially as it pertains to just how paternalistic their society is and how few rights women have.

So on our safari we knew the guide would suggest visiting a Maasai village. Ana and I were not thrilled at the prospect but her parents wanted to go. We paid $20 a person to view a village. We were told that we should take as many pictures as we want. I found this interesting since the Maasai had previously fought this practice claiming that it "takes their blood" yet apparently either they changed their beliefs or were content being compensated for it. There was one English speaking guide and he introduced us to the village and a group of men did a "welcome dance" with much less than $20 of enthusiasm. They even paused mid-dance when they thought another safari vehicle was coming but alas, it was just turning around.

We were then herded inside of their "village" and crafts lined the walls of the interior. We were told that the women made the crafts and the proceeds would go towards the women's group. The guide said to pick what we liked and we'd negotiate a price in the end. I was somewhat skeptical of the existence of a women's group knowing the culture of the Maasai though it's not unheard of in some villages that have worked with NGOs and other development organizations.

Outside of the village area. 

The tourists look on, obviously one is not very pleased. 

The tour was already pretty uncomfortable for me but the last part of the tour really made me furious. We were given a tour of the "school", a place where children had gathered and gave a cute though contrived and forced welcome to us. The "school" was a small hut with a donation box in the middle and a chalkboard with permanent writing with the ABCs. The students sang us a song and the guide told us they come here to learn. I was furious at this because it was clear the children did not receive regular schooling and I can't imagine how many people came before us and stuffed the donation box, yet the "school" remained a hut which I can only imagine was unoccupied when tourists weren't there.

In the end Ana's family enjoyed the tour as it was a peak inside the culture of a group they had recently become familiar with. For us, it was a disappointing shallow interaction with a group that had successfully commodified themselves. I think cultural tours are an excellent way for local people to benefit from tourism but I was furious and disappointed that they manipulated tourists emotions regarding the women and the school to extract more money from tourists. I think a fair and accurate presentation of culture should be presented, or perhaps I think those who view these cultures in a brief moment of time should take the responsibility to learning more after they leave. However, I do understand that most people are on vacation and simply want a picture with a group of cute kids jumping in the air.

The "school". 

Performance. 

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a 8,300 square kilometer (3,200 square miles) park adjacent to the Serengeti to the north, with the centerpiece being the Ngorongoro crater. The Ngorongoro Conservation area also contains some famous archaeological sites, such as the Olduvai Gorge, which has produced fossil evidence of earlier ancestors of modern humans.

The areas that surround the crater are a continuation of the grasslands of the Serengeti. The landscape then slowly morphs from the plains as the elevation around the crater rises and gives way to a lush, dense, sub-montane forest habitat. This landscape surrounds the crater rim and the change from the endless plains is dramatic.

The Ngorongoro crater is the world's largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera. The crater, which formed when a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago, is 610 meters (2,000 feet) deep and its floor covers 260 square kilometers (100 square miles). Awesome vistas are available from a viewpoint passing through but the real action is inside the crater.

Approaching from the north. 

A Masaai village to the north of the crater. 

View of inside the crater from a look out.  

The road down into the crater is very steep and the panorama of the crater walls surrounding a flat plain is stunning. The crater is about 19km (11 miles) across so you can see the crater walls in the distance in every direction you look. It's large enough that you can't see landmarks like lakes and hills from all points, but small enough that you feel like you can drive around the entire area. The abundance of wildlife in the area is shocking, with the only notable absences being gazelles, leopards and giraffes. Other game is extremely habituated and we even saw two lions mating!

Ngorongoro was my favorite park/conservation area that I've visited in Tanzania. Even excluding the animals, the landscape is so unique and the surrounding high altitude forest area is vastly different from the surrounding plains. There is certainly much more traffic inside the crater than other parks, at one point I counted 35 safari cars surrounding a lioness and her cubs, but this does not take away from the beauty of the area. Rightfully so, it's popular for a reason.

Zebras graze the grass. 

Two lions, mating like crazy.  

A hyena stalks for prey. 

A lioness seeks shade. 

Lake Magadi, a relative oasis in the crater. 

Lake Magadi from another angle. 

A lioness and her cubs. We could hear them "roaring" (more like squeaking) from our car. 

Ostrich! 

Solitary wildebeest. 

Not so solitary wildebeests. 

Beautiful view and quaint lodge. They even had an old wood fueled stove in the room as it quite very chilly in the night. 

Lot's of condensation due to the elevation. 

An elephant wandered through camp and blocked our way to the car.

Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park is likely the most famous national park in the entire world and for good reason. I was worried that my expectations were too high, especially given my recent binge on BBC and National Geographic nature documentaries. However, my two days in Serengeti were as unforgettable as any in my life and the landscapes and animals were unique an.

A view to the south at the park gate. 

A look into the iconic and dry Serengeti plains. 

Serengeti is Tanzania's largest national park at 14,763 square kilometers (5,700 square miles or half the size of West Virginia). It lays adjacent to Ngorogoro Conservation Area to the south, Lake Victoria to the west, and Maasai Mara Game Reserve in the north. It's best known for the insane numbers of wildabeest and zebra that migrate during the change of seasons and also for the iconic plains in the south of the park. The name comes from the Masaai word “siringet” which means “endless plain”. However, the main attraction is the wildlife, more specifically, predators. Lions, hyenas, cheetahs, leopards, and birds of prey can all be spotted with one of the highest densities of predators of any park in Africa. 

The drive in from the south was startling for it's barren nature. The landscape was flat for as far as you could see with brown grasses covering the seemingly desolate landscape. Hard to imagine that when the rains come the landscape would be transformed to green with millions of grazing animals. For now, only a few solitary ostriches roamed about. 

The rains started about two weeks ago so the landscape became a bit greener with huge packs of zebras and gazelles grazing. We saw a few different prides of lions that were lazing about. It was pretty cool because the zebras would form a large semi-circle around the lions while grazing, always on alert. The highlight came in this area when we saw a cheetah stalking a gazelle. The cheetah crouched in a low position and moved slowly, stalking the gazelle with an intensity that I could feel. The gazelle caught on and for a moment both animals were frozen. Suddenly the cheetah flinched and and the gazelle shot off like a rocket. Unreal!

We made our way to the center of the park which was a bit more hilly and had some rivers and marshy areas. The wildlife sightings continued to be numerous with several lions, giraffes, gazelles, wildebeests, hippos, zebras, and ostriches. Less commonly seen were hyenas, jackals, and elephants. We drove through the park all day and in the central area the changing landscapes were mesmerizing even when there were no big animals to view.

We spent the night at a luxury lodge in the center of the park and saw hippos, baboons, rock hyrax and warthogs pass through. We then got up early for a game drive at 6AM and then another game drive after breakfast till we exited the park in the afternoon. We took our time as we exited and we passed through the same southern route as when we came in. So much of the park was left unexplored but there is always next time!

A cheetah positions itself for a hunt. 

Zebra!

This lioness had a radio collar, likely part of a research effort. 

A solitary lion basks in the sun. 

An agama lizard. Even the reptiles are more awesome in Serengeti. 

Zebras graze the endless plains. 

A lion seeks refuge under an Acacia tree. 

Iconic landscape. 

Ana and I good to go on the morning Safari. We spent most of our term standing on our seats with our heads popped out the front hatch. 

Cross-roads in the park. 

This lion was not shy. 

This was a rock called "Lion Rock", which was unsurprisingly colonized by lions. There were at least five that we saw with cubs taboot. 

Lion cubs sleeping in the shade. 

View from the hotel. 

You can't imagine how much chlorine was in that pool (I did not swim). Looks nice though!