Lake Duluti: Trip V

Baby monitor lizard

We didn't realize it, but we hadn't visited Lake Duluti in nearly a year (Trip I, Trip II, Trip III, Trip IV). The last time we were there we took two friends of ours on an "intro to birding" type trip, though I didn't blog about it here for some reason. I think Duluti got put in the back of our minds as a result of us always pushing for longer and further away trips. Duluti always seems like an easy day trip since it takes about an hour to get there and non birders will probably finish up before lunch time. We also love it for the fact that it provides a nice walk, with a well trodden trail circumventing the crater lake in a sliver of forest.

We arrived to Duluti at about 10am and did our usual walk along the crater rim. There is a short trail that leads to an area that has been informally colonized by a religious group. There is a nice little walk and views of the plains on one side, and the lake and Mt. Meru on the other. The religious group has a somewhat permanent presence there but we discovered on Sunday it was even more busy. We cut our walk a bit short to avoid a man that was pacing around half attempting to speak in tongues and half preaching.

We had a coffee and a snack down at the lake where there is a very adequate picnic area. The long grasses to the north of the lake were cut back, which is odd as we've always seen it high and full of Taveta Golden Weavers. We saw a very happy tourist coming off a canoe trip, said hi, and then carried on to the walk around the lake.

The most notable thing of the trip was the presence of many tiny monitor lizards. The monitor lizards here are of the same family as the more notorious "Komodo Dragon" and they grow up to a meter (3-4 ft) long. The juvenile monitors looked more like the everyday lizards but still retained their distinct crocodile like gait and unique shape. They weren't as skittish as the adults at the lake and we enjoyed a mini photo shoot with some.

We promised ourselves to return to Duluti sooner than one year! As always, the walk was enjoyable and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Lake Jipe: Trip II

A small inlet for the local fishermen to access the lake

We had gone to Lake Jipe once before (Trip I) and we've always talked about it having great potential for 'bush camping' but for whatever reason we haven't returned in nearly nine months. We decided to try to return and scout a few things. First, since the lake is surrounded by high reeds that prevent you from actually seeing the lake, we wanted to see if we could find an entry point and get an idea on how much it would cost to go out with one of the fishermen. Next, we wanted to scout the area for bush camping, basically, a place with nothing and no one around. And third, we wanted to get a realistic idea of how long it would take us to reach there, since when we bird we often move at a very slow pace. In the end, we only go the answer to one of these questions!

We left Moshi at around 8am and reached the road to Lake Jipe by about 930am. The winds around the north end of the Pare Mountains and as a result, the weather is extremely difficult to read. There were massive storm clouds that were coming from the north but it was hard to tell what was staying on Mt. Kilimanjaro, what was coming at us, and what was going around the other side of the mountain.

The way to the lake took us five hours at a birding pace, and we also ran into one brief, though powerful storm. We reached the lake so late that we didn't have time to scout for bush camping and the only guys around to question about boats were drunk. We didn't spend much time at the lake since you can't see much anyways.

On the way back we hit a huge storm and the road kind of wove around the edges of the storm. It was a pretty surreal experience as we were getting blasted by rain, then we were in light rain in the sunshine with a huge rainbow, then in the clear, and then back to sheets of rain. I snapped a pretty cool picture of a massive double rainbow that we could see from end to end but unfortunately it was raining so hard that I couldn't get a picture to justify it. Still, it has been many months since we experienced a hard rain and the drive through the rivers and puddles was a lot of fun! Plus, we got the answer to our question; what took us five hours to drive birding only took us one hour driving straight through the rain!

Checking out the lake

This boat had holes in it and was full of water

You could see the red dust that was kicked up by the storm coming. It looked very disconcerting!

Insane double rainbow.

The goats were trying to get shelter. It looked as if a magnet had attracted the goats to the side of the house.

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Local fishing net.

This was the first storm that came, and it hit us hard.

After the first rain a layer of clouds surrounded the top of the North Pares.

The North Pares provided a beautiful backdrop.

Ana sees that a storm is coming. Even though we were headed that direction, we didn't hit that storm.

Lake Chala: Trip V

Taking in the view with the clouds passing by

This weekend we headed to Lake Chala (Trip I, Trip II, Trip III, Trip IV) to celebrate our three year anniversary in Tanzania! We haven't gone much since the introduction of a $20 government fee at the gate and a corresponding hike in prices the lodge charges, which is a shame because this weekend we were reminded why it's such a great area to visit.

We left Saturday morning and we were somewhat alarmed at the signs of rain as soon as we turned off the highway. Higher elevations on Kilimanjaro have started to get rains but in Moshi it has been very sparse. Reaching Chala involves gaining some elevation and there was not only signs of rain but large mud puddles. We even saw ominous rainclouds coming off the mountain and wondered if it was a bad time of year to come.

Fortunately, by the time we reached the campsite around 11am, it looked like it would just be a cloudy day. Which was quite fortunate considering the heat at Chala is usually oppressive and a day hike is a true test of character! We set up camp and then proceeded on our usual circuit of the dry river, crater, and then open savanna.

We were shocked to see the river was flowing, which was something we've never seen before. Usually it is dried up with a few stagnant pools of water. Now the river was flowing and actually had a waterfall at a point! It was obviously more difficult to walk along the river bed so we modified our usual route and spent more time in the open savanna.

We enjoyed sightings of bushbuck and eland, which are particularly exciting in the thick acacia scrub because they are usually very close by the time you can actually spot them. Despite the clouds, it was still very hot so we made our way back to camp around 5pm.

The night was when things really started to get interesting. The moon was 95% illuminated and the light was so bright we did not need to walk with flashlights. We heard non-nocturnal birds periodically call out and the highlight came as we heard elephants grazing about 200m from our tent! We tried to get a closer look but due to the thickness of the acacias, we had to turn back before we could see them. Typically the elephants would be more scared of you than them, especially in areas like Chala which are surrounded by humans. Still, you never know what they will do if you surprise them, or, even worse, if you get between a mother and her calf. The next morning we went to where we thought they were and sure enough, lots of broken branches and eaten tree tops! We also agreed the area was very thick and we made the right decision in turning back when we did. It may SOUND like an easy and safe choice, but it's easy to get carried away when you think elephants are around! 

Taking care while crossing the river

There is another much smaller crater that we like to hike to

View of the lake from afar

Our campsite with a near full moon rising

Me, taking a swim!

Nyumba ya Mungu: Trip XIII

I'm sure their mothers' hearts melted when they saw this pic

 We returned to our most visited and one of our favorites spots this weekend (Trip I, II, III, IV, V & VI, VII, Trip VIII, Trip IX, Trip X, Trip XI, Trip XII). Although we recently went a few weeks ago, we decided to invite two 13 year olds that accompanied us on the Big Bird Day. They had never been to Nyumba ya Mungu and each bird day we talked about taking them, so we finally followed through on our promise!

We thought it was a great time since we went two weeks ago and saw a ton of birds. The water level this time of year is quite low so you can get closer to a larger variety of birds. As usual, the landscape was breathtaking!

The day was a pretty normal Nyumba ya Mungu day, though we left around 9am which made for a fewer birds than usual on the way there. It was, as usual, extremely hot when we arrived at the reservoir, but we spent more time then usual since there were so many birds! The boys really had a great time and they were good listeners when we told them to drink water and put on sunscreen. We were all very tired, dusty, and sun-beaten when we arrived back to Moshi around 6pm; it was truly a full day!

The river coming into the reservoir, which is usually wide and flooded.

Flood plain.

North Pares in the background.

Some cloud cover gives some cool lighting.

West Kilimanjaro Famstead: Trip IV

Fallow fields with a beautiful view looking west.

We always enjoy our trips to the farmstead on the west side of Mt. Kilimanjaro  (Trip I, Trip II, Trip III) and although it is very dry this time of the year, we thought it might be a good time of year to see birds of prey since many of the farmers till their fields now.

Of course we always enjoy the drive up, which provides excellent bird watching and although things were a bit quiet this time of the year, we still saw some interesting things. We also noticed that nearly all the farms had been tilling their land so we were hopeful that birds of prey would be out.

There were more visitors than we have ever seen at the farm (probably three groups for a total of about 10 people) though the property is designed in a way to not feel over crowded.

We did our usual circuit of the farm and enjoyed our wonderful dinner in the evening. The food is, what I think, the best food in Tanzania! Fresh and original with tastes that we often don't have. The next morning we had a very nice walk by the river and then set off back home. The ride back was notable as we saw two eagles that had killed a hare and we stumbled on them just as they were chasing off some interested vultures. We watched them from about 10m away as they devoured the hare. A very National Geographic moment!

Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background. The peak is obscured by clouds.

Ana looking out as the sun sets.

Two Tawney Eagles perched with a delicious meal of a hare below.

Compare this same tree (slightly different angle) to this picture I took in the rainy season last April.

Nyumba ya Mungu: Trip XII

Pares in the background to the east.

Ana and I have been having to work some weekends lately and one of our favorite "one day trips" is going to Nyumba ya Mungu (Trip I, II, III, IV, V & VI, VII, Trip VIII, Trip IX, Trip X, Trip XI). A large lake caused by a dam, the reservoir is around 1 1/2-2 hours from Moshi. The road winds through Masaai villages and barren dry acacia scrub before suddenly transforming around the lake's edge. The Pare Mountains are usually visible in the background to the east while the "Blue Mountains" (as they're locally known) are in the west.

This time of the year the water level is very low. It is also very hot, which makes for a long day, especially if we are birding! We took the car this time and we left a little later than usual, leaving Moshi around 830am. Since we stopped frequently to bird watch, we arrived at the lake around 130pm. We were tired from all the sun but rejuvenated by the low water and thus high bird visibility. We saw some very rare birds for us including about 10 Greater Painter Snipes, a usually solitary and shy bird.

Nyumba ya Mungu is always a great, though tiring trip. When we returned at 5pm we didn't have much energy to do anything and I think we both suffer from a "too much sun" hangover on Monday!

Without the dam, much of the landscape would just be flat and dry.

Ana checking out a cool bird called a Godwit.

Time for the cows to come in. They stirred up the water and a bunch of birds came to feed.

More cow crossing.

Ana doing some birding surrounded by cows.

Amani Forest Reserve: Trip II

Great viewpoint!

On October 14th there is a national holiday called Nyerere Day, the commemoration of the death anniversary of Julius Nyerere, the highly revered "father" of the nation. This year it fell on a Friday, which allowed us to have a three day weekend and take a trip a bit outside the usual radius of weekend trips. We decided to go to Amani Forest Reserve, which we'd only gone to once before (Trip I) about two and a half years ago.

One of the things we liked most about our trip was the accommodation at the gate of the park. Typically people either stay another 20 minute drive up the road at the main Amani Park headquarters (and small village) or at a upscale "eco" lodge even further in. The accommodation at the park gate, called Zigi Resthouse, had its pros and cons.

Negatives: It is located a bit far from the best preserved parts of the forest. It is located next to the main road where there is a gate and cars/trucks have to stop, which makes for a bit of noise at times. It is very basic.

Positives: It has good value food and a varied menu can be arranged with the manager/cook. It's very rare for people to stay there so you usually have it to yourself. There are paths extremely close where you can go for a walk in the forest. There is a river behind the main building and the sound of the river is a constant backdrop. It is very basic.

I also must say the staff are very responsive via email and text. Their website is basic but the contact page has up to date contacts. Because of the infrequency of visitors, it is probably recommended to call ahead since they will likely not be prepared for drop ins!

Aside from the accommodation, we once again enjoyed the well established and easily accessible trail network. There are not many places in Tanzania you can freely walk that aren't heavily impacted by human resource extraction or have exorbitant conservation fees. Although the impact of logging and agriculture are quite noticeable, there are corridors and patches of forest and it's relatively easy to find a trail where you don't have to worried about getting lost.

The first day we arrived and did a short hike in the area by Zigi Guesthouse. It was originally part of the botanical gardens the Germans established there in the early 20th century so there are a few non-native and very interesting plants there. In the afternoon we drove up to the main gate and did a hike to a view point, which was beautiful in the afternoon sun.

The next day we bit the bullet and hired a bird guide since the area is a hot spot for birding. There are several birds that are only found in the Amani area and since last time we didn't see many of them, we decided it would be wise for a professional to help us out.

I was a bit skeptical about getting a guide since many guides around Moshi can have what I feel is a disingenuous and contrived "act" that panders to tourists expectations and romanticism of Africa. Our guide, Martin, was totally the opposite. He was originally from the area but had spent time working for a big company in Arusha before coming back to Amani. He was excellent with the birds and knew a lot of great spots, including a part of the reserve that was nearly an hour away from the main gate.

Overall we had another great experience at the Amani Nature Reserve. Although the area doesn't have as pristine of forests as some other mountains in the Eastern Arc, it is still worth the visit!

We saw this innovative covering for a motorcycle taxi.

River walk by Zigi Guesthouse.

We unfortunately did not have a picnic to go with the table. But we did enjoy the views.

Ana checking out the other side.

Inside the forest.

Hiking off the trail.