The breathtakingly beautiful Usambara Mountains, which lie between Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Indian Ocean It’s been a cold, grey and drizzly day today which is a pity, as I so wanted to take some photo’s out in my garden and to try and get a few of Kilimanjaro or Mt Meru (both of which are visible from our house) to post on my blog. But – it was not to be. So I’ve decided instead, to share a photo which was taken in a bright, sunny part of Tanzania earlier this year. (We can return to my surroundings on another, sunnier day if you’d like ?).
This photo was taken of the Usambara mountains, which run parallel to the north eastern border with Kenya and rise to an altitude of around 2440 m (8000 ft). One of the richest plant and animal communities in Africa can be found here, with over 250 forest tree species recorded, as well as unique bird species. It is a fertile tea growing area, and the breathtaking beauty of the Usambara’s have been said by some to be like “the Alps without the snow”.
In the foreground of the photo, you can see traditional African mud huts, and above them you can see the endless African sky. It stretches on forever, with no pollution , electric or telephone cables to mar it’s vastness - there’s nothing quite like an African sky !
I took this photo in January this year, when we were traveling back to the farm from Dar es Salaam – a bustling city on Tanzania’s coastline. We stopped a couple of times along the road to buy bucketfuls of mangoes and oranges from young boys, sitting in the shade of the old trees growing along the edge of the road, eager to sell their goods. Other than the beautiful scenery, the journey was long and tedious.
It was hot, sticky and humid and thankfully we had a cooler box filled with ice cold drinks and bottled water with us in the car (not to mention aircon !). With no shops/fridges for miles around in these remote areas, you have to be prepared when you travel here, and pack enough food and water (and sometimes – depending on where you are headed – diesel, too) for the entire trip – there are many times when I would’ve given anything to see a large roadside restaurant/toilet/rest area looming up ahead !
I just wanted to share this photo – and a bit of Tanzanian sunshine – with you today, as I snuggle back in to my fleecy jacket with a hot cup of tea and watch the rain pouring down outside my window. I’ll be back tomorrow … that’s if I haven’t been washed away yet ;)
This photo was taken of the Usambara mountains, which run parallel to the north eastern border with Kenya and rise to an altitude of around 2440 m (8000 ft). One of the richest plant and animal communities in Africa can be found here, with over 250 forest tree species recorded, as well as unique bird species. It is a fertile tea growing area, and the breathtaking beauty of the Usambara’s have been said by some to be like “the Alps without the snow”.
In the foreground of the photo, you can see traditional African mud huts, and above them you can see the endless African sky. It stretches on forever, with no pollution , electric or telephone cables to mar it’s vastness - there’s nothing quite like an African sky !
I took this photo in January this year, when we were traveling back to the farm from Dar es Salaam – a bustling city on Tanzania’s coastline. We stopped a couple of times along the road to buy bucketfuls of mangoes and oranges from young boys, sitting in the shade of the old trees growing along the edge of the road, eager to sell their goods. Other than the beautiful scenery, the journey was long and tedious.
It was hot, sticky and humid and thankfully we had a cooler box filled with ice cold drinks and bottled water with us in the car (not to mention aircon !). With no shops/fridges for miles around in these remote areas, you have to be prepared when you travel here, and pack enough food and water (and sometimes – depending on where you are headed – diesel, too) for the entire trip – there are many times when I would’ve given anything to see a large roadside restaurant/toilet/rest area looming up ahead !
I just wanted to share this photo – and a bit of Tanzanian sunshine – with you today, as I snuggle back in to my fleecy jacket with a hot cup of tea and watch the rain pouring down outside my window. I’ll be back tomorrow … that’s if I haven’t been washed away yet ;)
