Going out of Mutinondo we saw that there are proteas growing here. Some were in flower. I love them; they look so exotic.
Arrived at Kundalila “campsite” at lunch time. The caretaker wanted $15 each for camping, plus the same again to visit the falls, and $5 for the vehicle. Far too expensive. We explained that at Chishimba Falls the $15 covers entry and camping combined. Once the caretaker had seen our receipt he agreed that we could pay that rate instead. All seems a bit dodgy and B was sure that he is on the make. Never mind. There was a level area for camping, horrible loos and no showers. Thank goodness for our facilities. B got the generator out and heated water so we cold have hot showers in the truck.
The falls themselves are absolutely spectacular. The viewpoint at the top is a bit precarious but luckily a railing has been erected. The water cascades first gently over a sort of staircase and then tumbles suddenly down where the rock strata are at a steep diagonal angle. The rocks split the water into many separate flows that merge and split again in different places. White water over black rocks.
To get to the bottom of the falls we took a sandy track that soon turned into a steep path embedded with quartz chips and fool’s gold. Then towards the bottom we were placing our feet between tree roots as the path got even steeper. At the bottom you couldn’t see the main falls well but there was a pool and lots of spray, and you could see the water still tumbling over rocks downstream. We spotted what seemed to be a huge caterpillar inside a casing of leaf fragments. It was either dragging itself up a rock or eating its way up on the lichen; we couldn’t decide.
After the caretaker left at 3.30, it was just us and the sound of the waterfall, plus an occasional white-necked raven coming to check us out. Some boys kept shouting “How are you?” but we never saw them. As B had the generator out, we microwaved one of the chillis we had cooked back in Arusha. It was delicious.
Arrived at Kundalila “campsite” at lunch time. The caretaker wanted $15 each for camping, plus the same again to visit the falls, and $5 for the vehicle. Far too expensive. We explained that at Chishimba Falls the $15 covers entry and camping combined. Once the caretaker had seen our receipt he agreed that we could pay that rate instead. All seems a bit dodgy and B was sure that he is on the make. Never mind. There was a level area for camping, horrible loos and no showers. Thank goodness for our facilities. B got the generator out and heated water so we cold have hot showers in the truck.
The falls themselves are absolutely spectacular. The viewpoint at the top is a bit precarious but luckily a railing has been erected. The water cascades first gently over a sort of staircase and then tumbles suddenly down where the rock strata are at a steep diagonal angle. The rocks split the water into many separate flows that merge and split again in different places. White water over black rocks.
To get to the bottom of the falls we took a sandy track that soon turned into a steep path embedded with quartz chips and fool’s gold. Then towards the bottom we were placing our feet between tree roots as the path got even steeper. At the bottom you couldn’t see the main falls well but there was a pool and lots of spray, and you could see the water still tumbling over rocks downstream. We spotted what seemed to be a huge caterpillar inside a casing of leaf fragments. It was either dragging itself up a rock or eating its way up on the lichen; we couldn’t decide.
After the caretaker left at 3.30, it was just us and the sound of the waterfall, plus an occasional white-necked raven coming to check us out. Some boys kept shouting “How are you?” but we never saw them. As B had the generator out, we microwaved one of the chillis we had cooked back in Arusha. It was delicious.