Road Trip in Tanzania - Part 3

Hike up Mt. Meru (2nd highest mountain in Tanzania)

Feb 16th we started our 4 day trek to the peak of Mt. Meru (4,566m, 14,976 ft). We drove from Arusha and as soon as we ventered into the Arusha National Park we saw a giraffe at the main gate into the park. After a quick lunch at the park’s office at the Momela Gate and sorted out the porters we started our hike to the first hut with our guides and a ranger from the park service. The ranger is required to accompany each group through the park and up the mountain. This includes a gun that he carries to protect hikers from the dangerous wildlife J
We saw water buffalo, zebras and giraffes at the base of the mountain. What a great way to start a hike I Africa! It was a short day of 3 hrs through a beautiful forest with moss dripping off the trees. For the entire hike we could see the incredible and gorgeous mountain Mt. Meru. The 1st night we stayed at the Miriakamba Hut which was recently built and where an unexpected surprise as they were really nice. There is also a dining hut that has a balcony to view Mt. Kilimanjaro. However today the mountain was hidden behind the clouds, but there was a nice rainbow visible where Kili should have been seen.

Feb 17th and the mountain is out! Mt. Kilimanjaro was in full view this morning. It is quite an impressive mountain rising above valley and clouds. The main peak of Kilimanjaro, Kibo, is huge and very visible from this distance. We also had great views of Kili throughout the day hiking 4 hour to reach the 2nd hut – Saddle Hut (11483 ft). We reached the hut early in the afternoon, so after lunch another hiker, Cathy & I hiked up t the top of Little Meru (12,529 ft) to help acclimatize for tonight’s hike up to the peak of Mt. Meru.

Feb 18th up at 1am and on the trail at 2am after some tea and biscuits. It was very dark and cold. The stars were brilliant since it was a new moon and no artificial lights, except that coming from our headlamps. My hiking buddies for today were Cathy, Matthew, (both Americans working in Dar for the CDC) and Sam & Nick (English and Australian traveling about the world) whom Gabie and I had met along the way. Gabie was not able to do this day of hiking as she was having some difficulties with the altitude, which was a shame because today was her birthday. However as we hiked I in dark and cold, she was still sleeping in the warm hut and hike to Rhino Point for sunrise views of Kilimanjaro.

Our little hiking group started out together with the various guides and rangers on the path to Mt. Meru. The trail ascended gradually on a good path to Rhino Point. Once we passed this point the trail changed and we had to scramble up and over rocks, all the while in the dark. It was challenging because we could not see the surroundings of what exactly we were walking along - every once in a while the light from my headlamp caught the emptiness of what I determined to be a steep drop off on one side, and at some sections both sides of the trail. One of the guides, Safi, was singing Tanzanian songs the whole way up which made the tiring hike a little more bearable J Just about sunrise we reached the peak for amazing views all around!

Start of our hike with Mt. Meru in the background:


Cathy & I took a short hike to the top of Little Meru to help acclimatize. However it was too cloudy for good views, so no good photos from the top...except us:


Sunrise view of Mt. Kilimanjaro:


Sitting on the Peak of Mt. Meru


The hike down:


Me & Kilimanjaro:


The Crater Cone, the valley and Mt. Kilimanjaro:


The Crater Cone and Mt. Meru:


Another stellar view of Kilimanjaro:





On the last day of the hike, as we were coming back down the mountain, we saw the very furry Black and White Colobus Monkey

Road Trip in Tanzania - Part 2

Tarangeri Park:

After we hiked Mt. Hanang we continued on towards Arusha via Tarangeri Park via Babati. We experienced more fun roads that tested our driving skills learned on the road from Dodoma the previous week :)

We camped just outside of the Tarangeri Park entrance and were able to get an early start into the park the following day. This park is slightly out of the way from the main tourist route and does not receive as many visitors as the Serengeti.

Since we had our own vehicle, we were able to drive through the park by ourselves and stay and when we came across wildlife we were able to stay and watch as long as we liked…it was a nice way to do a safari and we saw lots of wildlife and my favorite – baobab trees! The roads in the park were still wet and impassable from the rains, so we were only able to drive the main roads, however, there was so much to see on the route I do not think it made any difference.

On our safari we saw…
Elephants

Giraffes

Ostriches
Olive Baboons


Impala


Birds:

And, here is my favorite out of my selection of baobab trees:

Road Trip in Tanzania - Part 1

Tanzania - The 1st week:

After a successful completion of my VSO placement at Mzuzu University (I built a database for the University), I was ready to unwind and enjoy a “stress-free” holiday in Tanzania. However, with the long list of things to do and see in this fabulous country, there was not much time for relaxation.

I started off on Sun. Feb 4th from Mzuzu with a fellow volunteer Gabie in her truck, a Toyota Hilux 4x4. We crossed the border at Mwandenga and headed towards Tukuyu for our first night in Tanzania. We camped at the Landmark Hotel, which had a great little garden to pitch our tents. This area gets a lot of rainfall throughout the year so the mountains are very green and thick with vegetation.

Mon. Feb 5th - There is a VSO volunteer here in Tukuyu that has worked in setting up cultural tours in the area Rungwe Tea Tours, so we decided to take one through the area.

Banana Market Day:

Local Medicine Man and his stock of medicinal herbs:

What to do when you forget your raincoat?

God’s Bridge over Kiwira River

Tues. Feb 6th – We hiked to Ngosi Crater Lake in the morning before driving to Iringa.


Wed. Feb 7th - Feb 8th – Driving to Dodoma via Morogoro the road passes through the Mikumi National Park and we saw giraffes fro the road! However, they were too far away for photos. (see Part 2 for the return drive through the park and good photos were taken) The road also took us through the very beautiful Uluguru Mountains.Things got interesting on the road from Dodoma to Kolo as it was in really bad shape due to the rains. We passed by many buses and trucks that we completely stuck. For some, the only hope of getting out was to be pulled by a tractor. Luckily we had this awesome truck that would go through ANYTHING.
The Road to Kolo:

If you look closely you will see me looking for the way through the muck:

There are rock paintings in the hills surrounding Kolo that are said to date back to 28,000 to 4,000 BC and include many different styles.
Rock paintings in Kolo:


We drove past many baobab trees and sunflowers that are used to produce sunflower oil.


Fri Feb 9th - Feb 10th - We finally arrived in Haydom and stayed with a Dutch doctor that is a friend of Gabie’s from Holland. It was so good to take a break from driving, especially after the difficult roads of the last 2 days. We stayed there for 2 days and took a short hike up Mt. Harar, a mountain just outside of town and had a picnic on the top. From the top there are good views of Lake Eyasi.
Gabie, Tore and me enjoying our lunch:

Gabie, Tore, Janine, me enjoying beers after the hike. From this patio behind Janine’s, you have good views of Mt. Hanang, which Gabie and I will climb in few days.

Sun Feb 11th – Drove to Katesh and climbed Mt. Hanang (3417m, 11,207ft) and is the 4th highest mountain in Tanzania. The permit office was shut that morning so we had to do without a guide…however, a local along the path quickly appointed himself as our guide. He was great and showed us the way up and we were happy to have him along. The day started out clear and sunny, but by the time we arrived at the top, the clouds had come in and the weather had turned.

And we had more bad roads on the way to Babati and Arusha...

Part 2 will include a safari in Tarangeri Park...