Arusha to Lushoto, Tanzania
Day 27: 24 August 2002 4:00 pm
The group erect their tents on precarious terraces on the side of a mountain. Let’s hope no one sleep walks in the night.
After our “tourist trap” Maasai experience of two days ago, we leapt at the
chance of doing an early morning Maasai village walk with an excellent guide
named Lotti for Tsh 3000.
The village was wealthier than the one we had seen before and we could tell
this from the superior construction of the huts. In some places, proper
planks of wood had been used, and in some respects this made the village
seem less authentic than the one we had seen in Ngorongoro.
Village Chief’s wife
The village housed one extended family, the head of which was 80 years old
with 10 wives and 50 children. The wealthier the man, the more wives he
has; each subsequent wife costs 10 cattle.
Our guide told us that the Maasai originated from Ethiopia over 100 years
ago, when they trekked up to Kenya and Tanzania, searching for pasture for
their cattle. Their diet consists of milk and blood and occasionally meat
during ceremonies and family gatherings. A man can become a Maasai warrior
at the age of 15, when he is circumcised and learns how to survive in the
bush. Maasai warriors can no longer kill lion before they are allowed to
marry – it has been outlawed by the Government to preserve the lion
population.
The heavy earrings and beaded jewellery are not symbolic – just for
decoration. This is the same as the face markings, where cuts are made on
each cheek and forehead and dirt rubbed into them to leave scars.
We were shown inside two huts that again had separate cooking, sleeping and
goat areas. Milk is kept fresh for up to four days, without the aid of a
fridge, in gourds hollowed out of the fruit of the sausage tree. It was
fascinating and informative. I now understand why the Maasai wear blankets
as it is so flipping cold and the wind whips across the plains.
After purchasing my bright red Maasai blanket for Tsh 4000, we left Arusha
for the Usambara Mountains, part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, in north
eastern Tanzania. After reaching Lushoto, it was a further 11km on a
treacherous single lane track up the mountain to View Point camp site and
what a view greeted us. Terraces for tents have been carved out of the
mountainside overlooking a spectacular panorama. Clouds cascaded and
flowed over the mountain tops into the valley. In fact the other truck have
gone directly to Dar Es Salaam today, because their truck is slightly larger
and would not be able to negotiate the narrow track – hooray!
The camp site was primitive and after three days on safari we really needed
a bit of normality. I guess that’s the trade off for the spectacular
setting. The long drops with a view were filthy and the shower is just a
tap above your head with water carried up in jerry cans on the heads of
local women. I definitely wasn’t planning to have a shower here and washing
clothes would be impossible. We had accumulated a stock of dirty clothes
from the safari and Tom has so few spare clothes that we were desperate
to do some laundry. I’m not sure I can ever remember being this dirty
before in my life, but we will have to wait until Zanzibar.
Positives: Panoramic views over the valley framed by cascading clouds over
the tops of the mountains.
Negatives: So dirty, but a primitive campsite with no chance of doing any
laundry.
