Enjoying the Udzungwa Mountains Ecology

Departing Dar by Safari Landrover is always a satisfying experience. One you have left the suburbs behind the plains open up in front of you and you begin to remember why you are here. There is a very satisfying feeling of the size of the wilderness into which you are heading.

Rounding the Uluguru Mountians outside Morogoro I stared hard at the wispy cloud covering the peaks. Most of the forest was gone on the Morogoro side, used for firewood no doubt.

The next exciting part of the journey was through Mikumi National Park. Elephants, buffalo, giraffe, baboons, eland and impala were all seen from the window as we passed through the park. The TANZAM highway passes through this park and there are a number of speed bumps to prevent roadkill incidents. This does not seem to work that well as the buses hurtle through at 120km per hour!

After stopping for a superb lunch of pizza and chips at kikoboga wildlife lodge we continued on into the Kilombero Valley. This valley is the largest seasonal wetland in East Africa and is the main regulator of the Rufiji River and hence the Selous ecosystem.

The tarmac gave way to dust road and progress became slower despite our sturdy land rover and accomplished driver. On one side we passed the huge sugar plantations of the Kilombero. These vast mono-cultures make lots of money for a few individuals and provide subsistance level living for many others. They also are like a desert in terms of biodiviersity.

The udzungwas reared shear on our left as we crossed the Great Ruaha River via an old box girder type bridge. We immediately saw a sign for the Udzungwa Mountain National Park. We continued for another 35km along the dirt road and arrived at the Park Head quaters in Mangula. here we paid our entrance fees, picked up a guide before returning back to sart our climb up Sanje Falls.

We started walking through Miombo woodland which slowly gave way to lowland tropical forest. It was hot until we got under the majestic canopy of these giant trees. Many had huge buttress roots creating natural sanctuaries for lizards, frogs and snakes.

Another thing that struck us was the large number of species of butterflies found in the forest at varying altitudes. This combined with the birds really made it clear that Udzungwa is one of the most diverse parks in Tanzania.

We became aware of a mixed troop of black and white and red colobus up ahead - they stay together for mutual defence as they do not compete with one another as the former eats old leaves and the later new.

The name 'colobus' comes from the Greek 'colobe'meaning cripple - this is a misnomer as they are incredibly agile relishing the aboreal existance. The only time you see them afraid is when an eagle comes overhead, this causes them to descend fast from their dizzy heights.

On reaching the top of the falls we went for a swim in the plunge pool of a higher waterfall this was simply amazingg, cool fresh water washing away the sweat and grime of the climb. We found endemic african violets growing on the side of the fall in the spray zone. This was a very pleasant discovery.

As the sun set we sat by a cracklng fire ad enjoyed a superb dinner. We shone torches around the vegitationa by camp and discovered many pygmy chamelons and treefrogs. We drifted to sleep to the sound of rushing water and the chitter of tree hyraxes.

Dawn found us sitting on the rocks above the 180m falls. Here we we watched the sun burn through the haze, a firey orb emerging to flood the plains with light.
After breakfast we descende the train again looking for primates. We were treated to som guenons and vervet monkeys as well as black and white colobus. Udzungwa is a beautiful place with a lot to be said for it - I am looking forward to my next visit.

For more information on visiting Tanzania Tanzania safari with Wild Things

For more information on climbing kilimanjaro or visiting Tanzania's mountains contact Climb Kilimanjaro with Mountain Kingdom Safaris

For more information on visiting Tanzania Tanzania safari with Wild Things

For more information on climbing kilimanjaro or visiting Tanzania's mountains contact Climb Kilimanjaro with Mountain Kingdom Safaris