Uluguru Mountains

Towering over the city of Morogoro (about 3 hrs away from Dar), are the Uluguru Mountains. We took the long weekend to embark on what ended up to be a rather grueling hike, complete with scratches and scrambling up the mountainside. We used a local tour company called Afriroots, which provided a guide, porters and camping equipment. In total, there were ten of us who hiked four hours on Friday, six on Saturday and another four on Sunday. We encountered some villagers on our way up the mountain who were brewing their own local beer, which looked and smelled like dirt. The Saturday hike took us to the top of Bondwa Peak, where it was so high that we could not see anything down below. The whole weekend was lovely though. We set up camp in front of an old abandoned house, where the Afriroots people now use as a kitchen and for storage. It gave such a nice character to a place that already had a magnificent view. Our guide led us through these very narrow paths. It was so humbling to see the local Tanzanian women ambling barefooted down the mountain with a fruit basket on her head, firewoood strapped to her side, a child clinging to her back, while I am sweating and struggling to walk up in my expensive hiking boots and MEC gear. Hahahahaha, what a crazy experience. We came across a party on the last day and joined in for an impromptu dance to the beat of the drums. I think they were celebrating the coming of age of some of the village girls.

ZAMBIA!

What a wonderful vacation! Five days in Livingstone, Zambia to see Victoria Falls. Despite my unfortunate stomach bug, which left me full of Cipro and no ability to drink on my birthday or Christmas, I had a fabulous time!

Our first day at Victoria Falls, and what we thought would be a 15 min gander over to Livingstone Island ended up being a 5 hr trek through slippery rocks and swamp in our bare feet. At one point, the guides had us swim across the river by cutting through the current so that we "wouldn't fall over the edge". That's how close we were to the edge of Vic Falls. At last, we arrived at Devil's Pool, a 3 metre deep natural pool at the very edge of Victoria Falls. We held onto the edge for dear life as we peered our heads over the Falls. Notice that our guides were hanging onto our feet :)



Some of the girls went white water rafting while I slowly recovered from my flu. We spent Christmas at a local orphanage where we had lunch with the kids and they performed some dances for us. On Boxing Day, I went on my first Gorge Swing. Some of you may have seen it showcased on the Amazing Race. I was strapped to a piece of rope that was tied to the middle of the Zambezi Gorge and then asked to jump from the ledge. I had a moment of hesitation, then free fell to the gorge below. Personally, I think the Gorge Swing is a better alternative from the bungee jumping. First, you get to swing upright. Second, you get to have a beautiful zen-like moment of dangling high above the Zambezi River with nothing but the sound of your body swinging back and forth.

All in all, two thumbs up for Livingstone, Zambia. I recommend staying at JollyBoys Backpackers in Livingstone. I also recommend the 5 hr trek to Devil's Pool, though you ought to bring flip flops if you want it to be 2 hrs long instead.