Even when we left Phoenix we weren’t sure what we wanted to do today morning before our flight. But there were two frontrunners, entering Arusha National Park and exploring on our own or trying to do a guided tour outside the park. The focus would have been to find colobus monkeys. In the end we decide the day before to try the guided tour and book one and in the morning are taken away via a small private car to a nearby village where we start walking. A bit surprising to us, where are the monkeys, here in the village?
The tour is not just nature it is also cultural. Here it excel with some great information about Tanzanian customs in the area. Like planting hedgerows of a specific plant that shows the boundaries between owned plots, if someone ever breaks or cuts them then something bad would befall them. In fact according to our guide even if someone builds an actual fence it is on his side of the property with the hedgerow being the actual boundary.
We then pass through multiple private gardens, something that we couldn’t have done on our own before we reach the first of many creek crossings. This one is an easy one, for beginners, so our spirits are lifted, we won’t take an unnecessary bath today.
Our guide also explains that the spring water here is pure and you can drink it if you want, which is for certain good for the village as the tap water is not always recommended. While we are now outside of the village proper we are still passing gardens and trees that have been planted like a Quininetree. And yes exactly as it sounds this is the tree that is used to produce quinine to protect against malaria. Or to make tonic water :).
Another interesting thing that we find out is that this a major avocado producing area. And that means that during avocado season people get sick of them as there are way too many produced to sell or to eat.
And then we get to the second water crossing and this one is more iffy. With a lot of care we make it across without falling in but our confidence is shattered, now we are scared about lies ahead. And the bulbul nearby see to be laughing at us especially when we see how confident the locals are crossing the river. But then the guide tells us that many still fall in the creek especially after a night of drinking so confidence is restored, we didn’t drink so we should not fall in…
Our major target in this patch of wood in the middle of a few Tanzanian villages is the colobus monkey or Mount Kilimanjaro Guereza. This is a species/subspecies of moneky restricted just to a small area near Mount Kilimanjaro and we really want to see it as it looks really smart. And soon after the water crossing our guide hears something and start looking around and there it is, our first colobus monkey! Well multiple ones as they activate in groups but still only one, the guard, stay behind to look at us for a while. Here we also find out that while the locals like the colobus monkey they do not like the Blue monkeys, that we also see here. That is because the Blue Monkeys really like the fruit and vegetables the locals are planting leading to conflicts.
In fact our guide has many stories of how smart the colobus monkeys are and how dumb the blue ones are, there is a clear preference here. In the middle he stops however to point at a tree, which he calls an Irontree. It is an African Blackwood tree, highly desirable due to the quality of the wood and highly protected. In fact he tells us how high the fees are and how the government maps all of the trees and even if someone gets the permit to cut one the government will do it for them to ensure they cut the right tree and only one tree. Quite restrictive but a nice protection for desirable trees that otherwise would have been cut down.
Next stop is at a small water processing area from which the tap water for the neighboring villages is coming. And where the guide has to go into the woods for a while.
While waiting for the guide to return we look for birds and see a beautiful Giant Kingfisher, we think it is a lifer but at home we find out that we have seen one earlier in the trip in much worse conditions. And then with the guide we see a Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, this one we know we have seen one in Lake Manyara but again it was much further away and in much worse lighting conditions.
The trail here looks like a forest trail, and of course it is, but the main reason for its existence is not to explore the woods. It is to link two villages and there is quite some traffic of people on the narrow path. That doesn’t keep the colobus monkeys away and our guide keeps pointing to them high in the trees as we try to make us many photos as we can before they leave.
We continue on on the trails following the guide past lakes and creeks always keeping an eye out for anything interesting. Unfortunately there aren’t any interesting birds on this stretch but still we enjoy the shade as it starts to get quite hot under direct sun.
And then we reach a huge tree that our guide tells us is a sacred tree from before Christianity. It even has a guardian that talks with our guide before we are allowed to get close to it. No matter whether it has magical properties or not it is clear that this is quite an old tree and we feel humbled being in its presence.
It is quite interesting how our guide does his best to contort Christianity and pagan beliefs into one so the tree is accepted also as a Christian spiritual object. However as we wander around we find some areas with graffiti from schools and such, it doesn’t appear that it is sacred for everyone. However based on stories that our guide is telling we wouldn’t want to be here at night when the tree shows its powers.
And then we reach another pond. This is quite beautiful and in a quiet area and here the guide decrees that we will have a break. Which we really like, it is welcome and the area is quite nice with some birds taking advantage of the edge location between forest and lake.
Besides birds there are also some dragonflies and damselflies and overall we enjoy just seeing what we can find in this oasis in the middle of the forest.
And then it is time to leave crossing a few other rivers on rickety paths. But with the help of our guide and some luck we never take an unwanted bath which would be a disaster before the flight. Here we see again something we notice previously, a levada similar to the ones in Madeira, it seems this area was using a similar system of irrigation as Madeira.
Soon we understand that we slowly are returning back towards the village as the trails become larger and more populated. Especially we find a young boy that starts to follow us around and that is quite annoying as you cannot stop to take photos.
We then reach a former ranch area which still has a functional pump house that now seems to help the whole village. However near it you can see the ruins of the former farm, likely some Britishers that were pushed out.
In this section our guide tries hard to provide us a good view of Mt Meru but unfortunately no matter where we stop there is a cloud covering the mountain. And staying out in the heat of the day is not something that we want to do for extended periods of time.
And then we are back in the village weaving between houses and passing through backyards. While the hike would have been possible without a guide there is no way we could have walked into people homes like this and likely we would not have been permitted. So as we reach the car we are happy that we did the guided hike and were able to see these beautiful monkey and learn so much about the culture. And now we have a few more hours to burn before our flight to Doha where we will spend one day exploring the capital of Qatar during a long layover.
