1st trip to West Kilimanjaro

The last weekend of February, I took my first trip out to West Kilimanjaro to see the KERCP Research Camp, where I will be living when I finally get all my ducks in a row. Of course, the camp, region, and actual logistics of the KERCP were waaayy different than I had imagined, but since you cannot google image search anything about the KERCP or the West Kili region, my imagination was all I had to go on. I went with Bariki, Kikoti's cook for the camp, (but cooking seems like the last thing he does, he's more like an over all assistant!) and Nurdin, a driver from the AWF. The trip took 3 hours...even though Nurdin was going 120km most of the time down dirt roads through small villages. I'm sure the trip will take me much longer when I'm driving! Traveling the road out there, you feel like you're driving through different worlds. We started on tar roads lined with people carrying 7gal. buckets of water, bundles of firewood, huge stalks of green bananas, bags of coal or maize balanced effortlessly on top of their heads. The roads are jammed with cars, daladalas and trucks exhausting huge black clouds of diesel fumes, passing each other so closely, you swear they are driving straight into oncoming traffic. A few kilometers out of Arusha the road clears up a bit and we are flying at 120km. You would have to pay me to walk along roads where trucks are whizzing by that fast. The concentration of buildings and people starts to dwindle and soon we are flying by farms and massive rows of greenhouses. Open spaces start to dominate the landscape, dotted with herds of cattle and goats, followed by children wielding large sticks. Dust devils are swirling over the fields, carrying the red dust and bits of grass. Soon the only signs of civilization are cattle and the empty looking shells of concrete cubes covered in corrugated tin. You would think that no one lives here, but they do. Houses are built so far from any village, shop, or water source that most people walk several miles without even thinking twice about it. Before long, the concentration of homes and people starts to increase again as we approach the turn to Sanya Ju. The turn for the road is about halfway between Arusha and Moshi and goes all the way around Mt. Kilimanjaro to the western side, where the camp is. Bariki made sure to point out the sign and told me to remember it. I thought, 'how could I miss it, it's the only turn for 30 miles, marked with a huge sign!?'. We turn down the road to Sanya Ju and the road becomes narrow and winding, again we whizz by small concrete cubes and cattle, women walking, wrapped in kangas, carrying heavy things on their heads. The environment changes rapidly, from flat grassy plains and farms to bush to desert to forest and back to open plains. This is why Tanzania is so amazing to me. The ecosystems vary so much, in one area you can have tropical-like forest, dry, dusty bush, and dense shady forest filled with long grasses.

Soon the tar road ends and we are speeding down the dusty road, kicking up a huge cloud in our wake. After driving for so long, you would think that you are past the point of civilization, there is no way anyone could live out here...then you come into another village. The next one is called Engare Nairobi, which means "black river" in KiMaasai. (literally "river black") This village is hours from the main road and every structure is made of wood. Timber is a big industry for that area, since tree cutting is allowed in the forests on the hills of Kilimanjaro. Ngare Nairobi looks like a town out of the old west..and I am clearly a rare sight. We stop to stretch and to grab a snack. I am told to wait at the car and when I get out to stretch, I understand why. When all 5'11" of me, with my blond hair and still extremely pale limbs, 2 women chopping wood stop to stare..a few kids appear out of nowhere, whispering to each other and burst into giggles when I wave. This is a common road for people going to climb the mountain, but I have a feeling most people just pass through. I am too cowardly to take any photos in plain sight, so I snap one from the back seat of the Land Cruiser while no one is watching.

Nurdin comes back to the truck with a greasy wrapped bundle of newspaper. He unwraps it and says "Liaanaa, karibuu!" Probably close to a pound of grilled chunks of beef are piled on Swahili newspapers, fat and all. I take a leaner looking piece, despite my recent attempts at vegetarianism and start chewing away. One piece on Nyamachoma probably lasts about 10 minutes..

As we drive further and further into the bush, the roads get rougher and the dusty dirt turns into rich, dark reddish brown soil. By the time we reach the camp, every inch of me, the car and everything in it is covered in a fine layer of dirt. If you try to wipe the sweat off your forehead, you just end up mixing it with the dust and smudging streaks of brown mud-sweat across your face.

Coming down the road to the KERCP, you would never assume there was an established research camp there. We pull in and stop in front of the pantry/storage building and at first glance it seems like there are only 2 or 3 small structures here. Small rock lined gravel paths go off in different directions and reveal more small buildings that are hiding in the dense bush. All the structures are a little spread out so there is privacy around all the tents. All in all, there is a large gazebo type concrete platform with a thatched roof for meetings and functions, a pantry house with a full refrigerator and coffin freezer, a kitchen with shelves full of pots, pans and dishes, complete with 2 fire pits for cooking, a row of 3 bathrooms with flush toilets and a large basin sink with a huge mirror, and an office building with 3 or 4 computers, a small library and internet access! Tents are scattered in between the concrete or wooden buildings, some under thatched roofs to protect them from the sun and rain. We unload our gear and check out the site where my tent will be set up. I get to pitch my tent under one of the thatched roofs since I will be there for 9 more months. My little home is out of the way under a huge tree that shades my whole campsite. I am near the office, Kikoti's tent and a washroom, but I have my own shower surrounded by thatched walls! We get to work right away to unpack my tent and set it up. We unroll all 10'x14' of the heavy canvas and I sort out all the poles. Soon after reading and re-reading the instructions I realize I am missing at least 4 poles, the stakes AND the rain fly!!! I start to get frustrated and angry that tent company sent me an incomplete kit and I start to get worried about having more pieces sent to Africa and the scathing email I am going to write to them!!! After complaining and cursing the tent company for my incomplete tent kit....something triggers my memory... I LEFT THE EXTRA POLES IN MY OTHER SUITCASE IN ARUSHA. When I was packing my 3 bags at home, I had to make sure the tent was under 70lbs and my other suitcases had to be under 50lbs. The tent weighed 74lbs in it's original package, so I had to unpack some poles and squeeze them in my other suitcase. Immediately, I am struck with my own stupidity and absent mind... We drove 3 hours out here so I could see the camp and set up my tent and I forgot the poles at home. I am a Rasmussen, 100%. No one else seems to mind as much as I do, these things happen and like they say, there's no hurry in Africa!

The rest of the weekend, we drove around the region, visiting the other KERCP camps and introducing myself to the Maasai Game scouts. (I say we because Bariki did all the talking and explaining for me, why this American girl is out here taking pictures of everything like a tourist! I can't even use what little Kiswhahili I know, cause all the guys speak Maa!) It rained on and off and we got stuck several times in the slippery mud, even in the Land Cruiser! It was fun sliding around, doing 360's in a huge truck on dirt roads and sliding into ditches and getting pushed out. When we got stuck, people just seem to appear out of nowhere to watch or help. Fortunately the roads dry up quickly in the hot sun and it's not long before we can get going again.

Hopefully by then end of this month, I will have all my permits and things straightened out so I can move out to the camp for good and start my project!! I have a lot of supplies to buy including a bed, desk, trunk for my clothes, wash buckets, etc. At least now I have a car so I can shop around and get everything I need!