Our Waterfall Hike

On Sunday we did a 14 km trek through a village and the rain forest to see a beautiful waterfall.  These pictures don't do it justice.  The trek up the mountain was very very steep!  It was a workout  x infinity for me, but worth it.  Thanks to Tracey Wilson who did the trek in November who warned me about that it would be a challenging hike.  I took heed to her warning and started to do some walking to prepare myself.  I didn't do enough, but I was much better prepared than I would have been without the warning

This is the view down the road before we entered the rainforest.  The town in the distance just ahead of the mountain is Arusha.  Our volunteer house is located in a suburb of Arusha, called Sekina

This is Emma and I just prior to leaving the road and going onto the very muddy, narrow trail to the river.

One of the guides' helpers, aged 8 setting his machete aside before we made out way down the path. 

This picture gives you some idea of the steepness.  These young boys helped us along the way.  They might have weighed 45 pounds soaking wet.  They would direct you, pull you up.  Incredibly strong kids.  They understand responsibility and take it seriously.

They had placed a log across the river to make it easier.  The young boys, were there to help.  Of course the log was like a balance beam for Emma.  No problem at all.

I know this just looks like two young boys helping an old lady across a wet area.  Which is partially true, but the water was moving quite swiftly.  Did I mention that these kids were doing the hike in flip flops.

We walked quite a long way along the river.  Lots of beauty along the way.

Emma and I at the bottom of the falls.  It doesn't look as breath taking in a photo as it is in person.  It is 150 metres in length.  

 On the hike there was about 14 of us.  We were like a Mzungu parade. (Mzungu is the swahili word for white person)

 The children is this village seem to be intrigued by the Mzungus.

We shared the road with all sorts of people and animals on our hike.

Trying to give you some idea of the steepness of the road.

The people in this area farm to sustain themselves.  They do it on the side of the hill to use any available space.  In the distance you can see the areas being cultivated.  It is planting season.

All is going well.  We have had 3 days volunteering at the Women's Christian Orphanage.  We both are enjoying the kids so much.   We will be back in touch soon!

***I am not going back to read what we typed in earlier posts because the internet can be slow and we can lose power randomly.  (We had a three day stretch without power when we arrived)****