Weekend at Mufindi

After spending almost an hour writing a blog on Wed and then losing it, I’ve decided to start on Word and do the old cut and paste thing.... so I’ll once again try to relate some of our experiences from last weekend (w/o being too wordy!)
Jan, Sharmala and I piled into S’s 1991 4x4 Toyota PU last Sat AM and headed up the highway for a weekend at one of the Foxes lodges hidden away in the Mufindi Highlands of SW Tanzania. What we thought was going to be a 3 hour trip took almost 6 hours! We were stopped numerous times by the police along the paved highway (the tarmac) at the police check points --- this is not unusual!
Once off the tarmac and onto the red clay secondary roads, we were plagued by rough washboard roads, washed out low areas, and potholes that would easily beat any found in Moncton! We had intermittent showers to insure that the roads were kept slippery for us but S’s Toyota was up to the challenge. We passed through reforested areas, villages, and lime-green tea plantations. Unfortunately, about half way along the 30km distance to the lodge, we made a wrong turn and ended up going about 14 km before realizing that we were on the wrong track. Backtracking over these bumpy roads was not appealing but we had no choice. Finally, signs to the Foxes’ lodge appeared.... letting us know we were going to arrive soon . . . but not so. Within about 5 km of our destination we were waylaid for another 30 minutes or so because of a large transit truck loaded with lumber which was stuck and blocking our way on this narrow lane-like road.
We did arrive of course, and were blessed with a gorgeous pastoral setting high in the hills of Mufindi. The final approach to the lodge was along a road lined on both sides with Jacaranda trees arching over our heads! If you want pictures, check out Foxes Safari Camps on-line (www.tanzaniasafaris.info) and you’ll see some of the log cabins we stayed in (we stayed in two, each with 2 single beds and full bath --- the hot water was provided by a gravity-fed line heated with charcoal fire just up the slope from each cabin). We ate our meals in the main lodge, meeting a few of the other visitors (it’s low season so the place was not full). Two young people from Finland were here to write articles/photos for magazines back home and the other ‘visitor’ was a Dr. Leena (a Finnish) paediatrican who lives & provides a medical clinic mid-way between Mbeya and Mufindi. She comes to this highland area every month to visit the villagers in their homes and give them care. Geoff and Vicki Fox, one of their four sons and his young son joined us for our first meal and we learned a bit about this operation.
G. Fox has been in this area for over 50 years, working for tea plantations and then developing his own place. The local people gave him much land and he now owns 2000 acres of land which is used for a variety of things : tea, forestry, cattle, sheep, and horses and the lodge, of course. His wife has trained the shepherds to work the 3 border collies who work hard keeping those sheep in order! We got to see them going through their paces. Most recently though, this family has put their energies into an NGO –Foxes Community and Wildlife Trust and they’re working with a number of other organizations to help this area “towards a brighter future”. Tanzania has been hit very hard by the HIV-AID epidemic and this is one of the hardest hit areas in the country (this area includes Mbeya). Large numbers of children are orphaned because their parents succumb to the disease (or else are too weak to care for their families). It has devastated whole villages and areas of the countryside.
So here we were, in one of the most beautiful settings, surrounded by gardens over flowing with flowers (cosmos, lilies, roses, orchids, petunias, begonias of all sorts, etc); a view of lush rolling hills; sheep and cattle grazing in the distance and then the contrast . . . the poverty and deprivation of the local people. We were invited to visit the 4 orphan houses built since 2005 just over the hills from the lodge and our cabins. Sharmala went by horseback and Jan & I trudged along the road/trail down into a valley and up to the newly built homes. At 6000 ft, we noticed we needed to use a bit more effort on the hills (and the heat of the day was upon us – although not at all oppressive). We had to stop and admire the numerous ground orchids, proteus, and songbirds along the way (the sunbird is a frequent visitor as well as the long-tailed whydah . . . both so different than any Canadian birds).
Once at the homes, we were greeted by Americans Jen, her husband Jeff, and their new 3 month-old daughter. Jen first came to this area a number of years ago as a Peace Corps volunteer and has now committed herself to helping these people get on their feet so that they can help themselves. She and Jeff explained to us in detail all the work that has gone on these past 4 – 5 years --- their aims are “to provided shelter, sustenance, education, and medical care for orphans and foster families in the Mufindi District of Tan., to curtail the spread of HIV-AIDS, to teach life skills (language, fiscal, vocational, self-sufficiency), and to create hope and opportunities for future generations.” You can read in more detail about them at www.wildorphans.org and see pictures of what has gone on. We were so impressed by the work done here and how the main focus is to help these people become self-sufficient in time. We met several of the house mothers and some of the children. Medical care as been the key to helping these people and families. They’ve also been working with other organizations such as Equip Canada, Solar Aid, African Children’s Book Box Society (this was started by two woman from Victoria , BC --- to provide African books for children in African countries & to help African authors and publishers.... more at www.africanbookbox.org. )
I said I’d keep this short . . . . and am near the end of page two! We thoroughly enjoyed this break away from the routine of life in Mbeya and we did get safely home with a few more adventures along the way. I will post more later.... (hey, I never mentioned the food! So unlike me!)