Pangani, Tanzania

I finally made it to the coast! Leaving Amani was much easier than getting there. I hopped on the back of a motorbike for a short 5 minute ride to the nearest village where I transitioned to a dala dala. After a short wait we were off to Muheza. Then Muheza to Tanga and from Tanga south to Pangani (a small town on the northeast coast of Tanzania). I stayed at a cheap, local guesthouse that had soccer on the tiny, box TV 24/7. I spent the days interacting with the locals and exploring the entire length of the beach.

I spent two nights in Pangani before heading off to Zanzibar. The morning was a perfect day for a four hour boat ride between the mainland and the island. And it is a good thing because the boat was not built for anything less than perfect weather (and neither am I).

Click here for more photos of Pangani.

Amani Nature Reserve

In my opinion, Amani Nature Reserve is a hidden gem in northeastern Tanzania. I wish I would have planned for more time there. It is not an easy destination to get to, but it is well worth the trip.

Amani is about 30 km from Muheza and there is no regularly scheduled public transport. Having arrived in the afternoon, I had two options... 1) immediate departure via piki piki on a muddy, bumpy road with all my things on my back, or 2) undetermined departure time on a dala dala (there's no guarantee that one would be going to Amani that day or the next day for that matter). I chose the cheaper route and to chance my luck and headed to the bus stop for Amani. At the bus stop there were quite a few other people waiting to go in the same direction. That was a plus. It meant that there hadn't been a bus in a while and that when one arrived we would fill it and leave rather immediately. So, I plopped down on the ground next to some locals and waited. And waited. And waited. No bus. Just as I was about to give up and ask a piki piki driver to take me to Amani, a large "cargo" truck screeches to a halt about 100 ft up the road and everyone who I was just sitting next to runs to it and jumps in the back. I look around and think, "What the heck?" It's better than waiting and even if it doesn't take me where I want to go it will be an adventure. I catch up, throw my stuff on, and climb in back. I can see right away that this truck was recently used to transport livestock (cows I would guess). It's a little gross, but nobody else seems to care so I guess I don't either. I try to sit on my backpack, but the road is so bumpy I can't stay in one spot. Opting to not end up with cow crap all over me, I stand in direct sunlight for the majority of the ride. By the way, a couple women next to me slept for the entire drive; their bodies and heads flopping about with every bump. Amazing!

The ride was rough, but a little over an hour later the truck stopped at the Amani Nature Reserve entrance gate. Everyone stared at me. When I didn't move, they grabbed my stuff, placed it on the ground, and pointed for me to get off, so that's what I did. The truck and all the others continued through the gate (no fee required for Tanzanians) and up the road. I was a little confused as to what to do next. There was a "guard" in the shack by the gate and a small building on the opposite side of the road that looked like it may be park offices, but other than that there was nothing. I stood there for a few minutes looking around in all directions. Did I miss the town? Do I have to walk down the road a little to find the town? Am I supposed to pay the fee now? I thought I was being dropped off in the town of Amani. The plan was to find a guesthouse and then to see the reserve the next day. TIA... nothing goes as planned.

I cautiously walked past the entrance gate to the building. The gate guard couldn't have cared less. I walked up to the nearest door and peeked in the building. A man came up to the door and greeted me. He said he had a small guesthouse there, but it was completely full for the night. I would have to go 8 miles up the hill to the research center and get a room there. I had just been forced to get off the truck that was supposed to take me up the hill. Now I'm being told that I could sit and hope for another vehicle to come by to take me there or I could walk for 8 miles. Normally I'm up for a good walk, but I was NOT walking. The roads were wet and muddy and did I mention it was 8 miles.

I paid the guesthouse owner my entrance and guide fee for the following day. (Why it didn't go to the guard at the gate I don't know). Then, I sat down on the step, chatted with the man, and waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually, the group that was staying at the guesthouse (an Indian family that lived in Tanga, Tanzania) came down the hill in a pickup truck. They had been on a morning hike and were now grabbing what they needed to go swimming at the waterfalls. They graciously offered me a free ride to the research center. One long day (this was the same day I left Mtae/Lushoto on the 4am-turned-into-6am bus) can only be followed by one long, restful night.

Amani Nature Reserve is quiet, peaceful, stunning. A nature-lover's dream...

Click here to see more photos of Amani Nature Reserve.

Usambara Mountains

With limited time left in Africa, I decided to forgo southern and western Tanzania (I'll have to do them next time I return) and headed towards the coast. Next stop, the Usambara Mountains. I woke early in the morning to catch a 5am bus from Mwanza to Arusha. The only perk to getting up this early was the sunrise.

This was my first long-distance bus experience I had had in Africa. There were over 700km to cover and the bus driver knew it. Once we got past the police checkpoint outside Mwanza (losing a passenger and his so-called "suspicious bag" in the process), we sped along the open road. And we didn't slow for anything. I had a front row seat for the whole thing.

Slower vehicles in front of us... just keep truckin', switch into the oncoming lane without proper visibility, and pass the sucker. We're the bigger vehicle and even if someone is coming in the other direction we apparently have the right-of-way.

Oh look, the pavement is ending and becoming an incredibly unkept, bumpy, dirt road... so what? Since there are no seatbelts, hope you brought your helmet!

Livestock in the road... hakuna matata. Anyone want beef roadkill for dinner?

Bicyclers or pedestrians on the shoulder... minor inconvenience. Just honk the horn about a gazillion times to let them know you're coming so they can bail into the roadside ditch.

Oncoming semi-truck in our lane, quickly approaching... no biggie. A friendly game of "Chicken" anyone?

We stopped once for 10 minutes for food and the bathroom and that was it. The bus reached Arusha around 5pm and since I had already spent all day on a bus, what's an extra 2 hours to Moshi? I stayed the night in Moshi and then got up early again so I could reach Lushoto and the Usambara Mountains by midday.

With the bus experience of the previous day, I thought I knew what to expect and so was better prepared. I sat further back so I couldn't see what we could or could not crash into and I picked a window seat so I could better control the temperature. (Buses don't have a/c and Africans don't like wind or fresh air meaning bus rides are always hot and stinky). We had only been driving for about 10 minutes when I realized there were still things that I wasn't prepared for. We stopped on the side of the road to pick up a mother and her two kids. The bus was already overflowing with all seats filled and people standing in the aisle. The mother walked as far back as she could, picked up her kid, reached over the man sitting on the aisle next to me, and set her younger child on my lap. Then she proceeded to set her older child on the man's lap and off we went. Nothing strange about that, right?

I was up in the mountains in Lushoto by 1:30pm. I found a guide to take me on a two-day, two-night hike through the area. Then, I picked out a cheap guesthouse for the night. I had heard good things about Lushoto and went out exploring. Typically, the higher you go, the better the view. So, I started walking up, passing through the village and some nice scenery on the way.

I didn't stop until I reached the end of the road and Irente View Cliff Lodge. Worth every uphill step!

The next morning, I met with Philipo and off we went from Lushoto to Langwi.

I stayed the night with the nuns at a Catholic convent in Langwi.

Day 2 we walked from Langwi to Mtae.

Mtae is an amazing little town built on top of the cliffs.

 I took in the sunset at the World Viewpoint.

I woke up extra early (4:15am) to catch the first and only regularly scheduled bus from Mtae back past Lushoto and out of the Usambara mountains. Little did I (or the bus driver or any of the other passengers) know that the lone police officer in town had decided today was the first day that buses couldn't drive this route in the dark. TIA... This is Africa. Not much makes sense. Suffice it to say, at 6am we finally left Mtae.

Click here to see more photos of the Usambara Mountains.