A day of hiking with the "Bushmen"

A child's soccer ball: multiple layers
of plastic bags tied together

We had managed to sleep in a little (7:30 am) but the sleep was rather restless due to the monkeys that kept chattering in the night.

Our security guard

First thing we did this morning—swim!! then enjoyed the great breakfast made for us by our cook. After breakfast we started packing up our gear, getting ready to leave. We didn't realise that our guides had more in store for us.

Our security guard (who apparently had been awake all night, tending the fire and yelling at the monkeys) was ready to take us on a guided walk of the area. We ended up walking for about 3 hours. During that time, our guard would occasionaly disappear into the underbrush and then peek his head back out, beckoning us to follow him. He was definately a wealth of knowledege about local plants, animals and farming practises and was quite happy to share his knowledge and anwer our questions.

First stop...a local cave where locals had found and killed a leopard that had been killing their livestock. To get to the cave we had to cut through the property and gardens of one of the locals.

Another side path took us to an amazing waterfall were we sat and took pictures. During the walk we passed rows and rows of gardens, all of them tilled, planted and weeded by hand. Plants that were growing at that time were rice, onions and tomatoes.

rice

workers in the field

Cathy and Erick crossing the bridge

At one point we were guided across a small suspension bridge made from ropes, wires and wooden boards. It was the first time we had ever traversed such a flimsy bridge—fun,yet stressful.

 
Crossing over the bridge we happened upon a small hydro electric plant. It was quite a surprise to see something like that there. It was generating power for some of the local homes; homes that were dilapidated, dirty and many times without glass (or screens) in their windows.

Homes near the electric plant that were
using the electricity.



Rick hamming it up with the children in the village

At one point our security guard brought us to an area where crocadiles are known to live. We saw the nose of one, peaking out of the water, after it had rushed in to hide. We never did see a full one (thankfully) but it certainly wasn't for lack of trying. We were constantly crawling through bushes, grass tunnels and under trees looking for crocs.
We had planned to end our day in Arusha, however communictions were mixed up, so we ended up deciding to go back to the Haria Hote in Moshi.  A quick couple of phone calls and the $35/per night "suite" was booked and our safari operator—Judith at Ajabu Adventures—had been contacted and she was willing to have us picked up in Moshi instead of Arusha.

Before dropping us off at the hotel, we made a pit stop at the Bushmen Expeditions main office in Moshi. We really wern't sure why we were being brought to the office...we had paid the fee, we were extremely happy with the service and our experience... Turns out the owner wanted to meet us, say hello and ask us about our experience. It was a truly personal touch that we wern't expecting and a most pleasant surprise.