Udzungwa Mountains (Monday, August 3)

We left Tan-Swiss bright and early (well, not bright, since when we left at 5:30 am it was definitely still dark out) to get on the road to Udzungwa Mountain National Park. We stopped at the park headquarters, where we saw yellow baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, and Iringa red colobus monkeys, which are endemic to the Udzungwa region. After a short introduction from the park ecologist, we went on a hike up to the top of Sanje Falls.

Trail sign for our hike to the top of the falls

Sanje Falls

It was a beautiful hike, stopping at different levels of the falls to see the pools and take pictures. On the way back down, we took a detour down to the very bottom of the falls, and we were able to swim in the icy pool at the bottom and dive off the rocks.

Me diving into the pool at the base of the falls

It was only probably 8 km or so round trip, but pretty steep in parts, with stairs and bridges built out of stick slats that really didn't look like they would hold some of the larger members of our group. It was much more what I expected from this trip, and I was again surprised by how little actual physical activity we've done since we've been here--especially since I can't exactly go for a run once the day is over in most of the places we've been staying, whether because of the danger from wildlife or humans.

Panorama view from the falls over the area around Udzungwa

Porter carrying camping supplies up to the campsite on the falls

After a late post-hike lunch, we got back in the coaster and drove on to Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), in Morogoro, where we're staying for the next three nights. The vet school at SUA is one of the critical partners with UC Davis for the HALI project and for Envirovet itself, so we're spending a couple days here to see the school and learn more about the veterinary program and some of the challenges of veterinary medicine in Tanzania.