Mto wa Mbu

We arrived at our camp for the night in Mto wa Mbu (meaning ‘mosquito river’ in Swahili!) at around 1.15pm. The supply truck hadn’t arrived, so we decided to upgrade rather than wait for our tents to arrive. The truck was there, so we could sort our bags out ready for the end of the trip tomorrow. We paid US$60 for the room, and immediately went for a shower. We were absolutely filthy!! I had to wash my hair twice! We sorted our stuff out and put quite a bit aside that we don’t want to carry any further. This included a pair of shoes each, as well as all our camping gear. We’ll leave it for the staff here to use, sell, or throw away.

At 4pm, we met up with our local guides, Bruno and Steve, to do a village walk. It was still very hot when we set off, and we kept looking for shade when we stopped to learn about all the local trees. I particularly liked the flamboyant tree. Village children use the seed pods as percussion instruments. We also saw the yellow-barked acacia. Bruno told us that there are more than 100 varieties of acacia found in Tanzania.

We then walked through paddy fields to visit a woodcarving workshop manned by members of the Makonde tribe from Mozambique. They came to the area in 1975 to escape the civil war that was raging in their home country. Initially, they were housed in refugee camps. When the war in Mozambique ended in 1997, the Makonde people were given the choice to stay in Tanzania or to go home. Those who stayed made a living from woodcarving. The men we met today are all second or third generation craftsmen from Mozambique. They use mahogany, rosewood, ebony, and teak to create their items. Some of our group shopped. We didn’t 😀.

I don't know what Heidi bought, but they packaged it up in an interesting way! 😂Read more