Raiders of the Lost…?
No, well not quite. The Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania are undoubtedly full of many species unknown to Science, but I must draw the line at long forgotten Crusader knights standing vigil over sacred relics.
It has been an exciting time here at African Space HQ, not just because the 145 mile challenge of Walking For Itete approaches (still time to sponsor us folks: check out the Walking For Itete Just Giving team page), but also because I have got a taste for the mountains again. A quick trip up Sanje Falls and one night surrounded by the rasp of calling tree hyrax made me want to go adventuring again. Roy, our main man in Tanzania, sensing a weakness/opportunity, waited until the first cool beer of the evening had washed away the dust of a long afternoon before mentioning, ‘You know, there’s a lot of mountains in Tanzania that you are yet to see’. So began a conversation that ranged throughout the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania, those Galapagos of Africa, before settling on a new trip itinerary – the best way to start 2012, we decided.
My African love affair began with a walk into a forest and sometimes I suspect I was only allowed out on license, so strong is the compulsion to return. Time spent in the forest is tough: the gradients are steep, thorns are remorseless and safari ants wait to bite at the most inopportune moments, so why on earth should one wish to spend time there? Well, I think it has something to do with the feeling of entering a distinct world, one in which not all can survive. If I am being fanciful, it is a place of secrets, of young knowledge hard earned. It is also a place of beauty, where Seamus Heaney’s massive and diaphanous co-exist without conflict. Michele Menegon’s photos illustrate this quality far better than I can explain.
Then there is the camaraderie. The forest team exists in a temporary state of equality. Ignore the fact that some issue orders, while others follow them, or some hail from Sutton Coldfield and others Songea; all of the team are being tested physically and mentally; everyone is vulnerable to a twisted ankle or ant infestation; each member recognises the more serious threat of getting lost or snakebite. The team works together, sharing the rations carried, chivvying each other along, bearing a load when someone weakens. Together you take constant slow steps up steel inclines, cross streams in flood and scramble through dense foliage. Hearts roar and chests heave, but all is forgotten as the ridge top approaches. The man in front quickens as he senses the light grow and you follow, no longer leaden footed, just eager to experience life on top of the world.
For that is what it is. In the Usambaras, the Udzungwas, the Ulugurus and the Ngurus, to name but a few, the ridge tops provide the ultimate elevation. Below you the mountains fall in forest folds to the plains below, stripped and marked by human activity; above you the sky changes, endlessly. First the group gathers in silence, then smiles break and breath deepens. It is a while before anyone speaks.
Of course, endless vistas aren’t for everyone; others are after moths, butterflies, birds, primates or exciting botanical discoveries. For them, these mountains are a mortal heaven and the hardest thing is getting them out.
So, from 2 to 17 January 2012, Roy and I will be completing a recce of new trails in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and if you like the idea of trying a bit of mountain life, we are taking a few friends with, so get in touch.
