Hiking the equatorial jungle

Kevin jumped out of the safari vehicle in order to be
"photoshopped" into the picture with this giraffe in Tarangire

We left Tarangire for the Nou Forest, knowing that it would be a long ride (6 hours) along a rough road, which was partially under construction, at least to Babeti.  However, Roberta acknowledged that the road was substantially improved over the last time she was on that road.  After Babeti the ride took us through many villages, lots of colorful sights, large open Sunday markets, and a climb to about 2000 meters altitude.  


When we left the main road, which was a well-constructed dirt road wide enough for two vehicles, we followed foot tracks, which, in some areas, were just wide enough for our 8-seater Land-Cruiser to pass.  We were all skeptical about the path that we were following, with Kevin questioning Charlie, our driver, how much longer and if he really was following the right path.  In the end and much to Kevin’s surprise, we arrived exactly at the camp after many curious turns, including a hard right at the black pig.

Chameleon living in the Nou forest

The Nou Forest offered Mom her first real night of camping; we had three 2-man tents (no concrete floors), two outside toilets, outside bush showers, and nothing else around except the forest and us.  Following our experiences at Tarangire, there was much expectation of leopards and hyenas visiting our camp during the night, given the feces identifications we had on our brief early evening hike.  The evening sky of Milky Way viewing was incomparable; the early night sky included Orion at our zenith, the Pleiades’, and a great viewing of the Magellenic clouds.  Enjoying the morning sunrise revealed that everyone had a deep night sleep and no stories of wild animal calls during the night.    

Karoli and Nana, but Karoli sure liked to say Kevin's name!

After breakfast Patrick, Roberta, Kevin and Bill followed Karoli off to the waterfalls, while Nana and Donna went with Charlie and Andreas to see Andreas’ house in the local village, where Andreas is the village chief.  Donna and Nana had a great time seeing Andreas’ house, family (son and granddaughter), farm and their cows and pigs.  Andrea took Nana and Donna over to see his Mom’s grave; she recently passed away after 87 years.    

Bill at Nou Forest Falls,  bat cave off to right

The trip to the waterfalls was a vigorous 6 km hike through the Nou Forest and was quite a challenge for all (except Karoli, who never seemed to break a sweat).  The ~100 foot waterfall was a welcomed sight and a refreshing foot relief.  There were lots of slippery rocks to crawl over, but the last few yards were worth it. 



Karoli beckoned us over to the main part of the falls to show us a cave.  Patrick and Kevin braved the scramble and followed Karoli deep into the cave.  Inside Karoli bounced up and down making pseudo baboon noises as Patrick and Kevin crawled in.  With a full jump up, Karoli stirred up the bats in the cave one hit Patrick on the way out, Kevin starts this big belly roll of a laugh, while outside the cave Roberta wonders, why are bats flying around in the daytime?  

Celebrating the days hike and victorious canasta card game.

An exhausted hiking crew and the village tour team spent the afternoon relaxing and later playing cards in the open-air mess tent.  It was a wonderful way to just enjoy the day and reflect on the travels of the last few days.