A village hike

We had such a good night’s sleep and woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead. We had a 7.45am breakfast ahead of an 8.30am hike and village visit. Breakfast was African doughnuts with syrup and bananas – good for me, but Mark only had coffee!

At 8.30, our local guide, Steve, arrived to lead us on our walk. Only one of the group opted not to go. We had been told it would be 12 kilometres, and it had been described as a ‘mild hike’! In reality, it turned out to be 16.8 kilometres with lots of steep slopes to negotiate. We did it, but Mark was struggling with the pain in his leg. Had we known it was so long, we would probably have opted out. Having said that, it was enjoyable.

Steve proved to be a good guide, particularly when it came to the flora and fauna of the area. The Usambara Mountains are sometimes referred to as the ‘Galapagos of Africa’ because of the number of unique species found here. We certainly spotted a number of different chameleons that are not found anywhere else on earth. Steve was also very knowledgeable about the huge variety of trees we were seeing, both the indigenous ones and those introduced by colonials.

Historically, the Usambara Mountains were inhabited by Bantu, Shambaa, and Maasai people, but in the eighteenth century, a Shambaa kingdom was founded by Mbegha. The kingdom eventually fell apart after a succession struggle in 1862. German colonists settled in the area which was to become German East Africa, and after World War I, it became part of the British mandated territory of Tanganyika.

We hiked up to the Irente viewpoint, named after a German lady who lived in the area in the 1800s. She farmed 200 hectares in the mountains. When she died, she left the land to the Lutheran Church, who set up several schools in her name.

The views were spectacular!! I managed to fall over. Luckily, I fell to the right. Had I fallen to the left, I could have toppled off the cliff top and fallen 1500 metres to my certain death!!

We walked through stunning landscapes, where every square metre was planted with fruit and vegetables. Being a Sunday, we saw church services going on, as well as Muslim ceremonies and festivals. It was lovely to see the Christian ladies dressed in their Sunday best and the Muslim ladies in their colourful hijabs. The bright patterns contrasted perfectly with the vivid green foliage of the surroundings. We also walked through a pine forest that seemed incongruous compared to everywhere else. It was all very interesting.Read more