Day 121: Irente View Cliff Lodge & Campsite

What a great decision to take a guided hike here. Joseph is a wonderful guide.

We learn which bananas are best for cooking, which are green but still ripe, and which are turning yellow – but will we be able to recapitulate that at the market? Incidentally, there are also wild bananas (bush bananas), although they are inedible.

The African violet was native here, but due to intensive cultivation and deforestation, it has been eradicated in the western Usambara Mountains. We only see one in the garden of the Irente Farmhouse – planted for tourists. In the eastern Usambara Mountains, however, it has been extensively renaturalized.

Joseph is a phenomenon when it comes to chameleon sightings. Without him, we would never have spotted them: a large male two-horned Usambara chameleon, a female (with only one horn), and a young male. We're allowed to let the female climb onto our hands – a funny feeling, those little, slightly sticky feet.

Vanilla, if it's found at all in the Usambara Mountains, is only found in the eastern part – there are more farms on Kilimanjaro. So we won't see this orchid again.

Almost everything else thrives in the fertile soil here: corn, tomatoes, various beans, potatoes, cassava, peaches, apples, plums, papaya, avocados, tree-sized poinsettias… Most of it goes to lodges or to the markets in Arusha, Moshi, and Dar es Salaam. The rest is for the own consumption.

Chiefdoms have been abolished in Tanzania; the government regulates everything. And it's aware of the importance of tourism. If something happens, Joseph assures us, it's dealt with quickly. Which reminds us of the cards with the phone number we received at the first border. If we're not feeling well...

Here in the region, people don't seem to have such bad memories of the German colonial era, but rather focus on the progress in infrastructure, from which we still benefit today. Furthermore, tourism and fundraising projects bring a lot of employment and support to the country.

We spend about four entertaining and enjoyable hours on the trail; the route isn't difficult. It's nice that we can walk relaxed in the villages. Joseph, as busy as he is, is probably well-known and communicates everywhere. We simply walk along, are greeted, high-fived by some children, and not begged for food or money.

One highlight of the hike is the viewpoint. Another is the lunch break at the Irente Farm – a superb snack.

We spend the afternoon at our spectacular spot, listening to the sound of a local soccer semi-final.

A great day.