Travel

BEAUTIFULNOW EXPERIENCES A CHIMP PARADISE NOW

Young chimpanzees. Photo by Shira P. White.

One of our most beautiful experiences in Africa just now, was an up close and personal family reunion, of sorts -- an intimate visit with our closest animal relatives, the incredibly fascinating chimpanzees.

The prop jet landed in a cloud of hot dust, depositing us on the beach, as a bevy of little children stood in watch -- their mamas keeping a gentle eye on us all, as they carried bushel baskets of vegetables and pails of water on their heads -- waiting to catch their only glimpse of evidence that another world existed beyond their cluster of mud huts. We waved hello and smiled at each other, then waved goodbye.

A rough wooden boat bobbed in the gentle ripples at the edge of the lake, waiting to carry us away to a new adventure. We waved goodbye to the little faces and pushed off.

Lake Tanganyika, the world’s longest, and second largest body of fresh water, is shared by Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Burundi. We traveled an hour and a half, through its crystal clear turquoise waters, gazing at the 8,000 foot high Mahale mountains rising up from the shores along the way.

We entered the Mahale Mountains National Park, in the Kigoma Region, one of only two protected areas for chimpanzees in the country. (The other is nearby Gombe Stream National Park, where Jane Goodall conducted her famous research).

At about 700 in number, there are more chimpanzees at Mahale, flourishing due to the area’s size and remoteness. It also the only place where chimpanzees and lions co-exist.

There are no roads. You must travel only by foot or boat. We thought about the chimps climbing up and down these forested slopes, carrying on the business of life in the jungle -- and we couldn’t wait to meet them.

And then, a little paradise came into view as we quietly approached the crescent of sugar-sand beach, tucked, like a little dimple, set in thick tropical foliage.

As if designed for a fairy tale, “Big Bird,” a giant pelican, stood in front of a curvaceous thatched roofed “mess” banda, welcoming us to Greystoke Mahale, a tiny rustic camp that was to be our new wild home for five glorious days.

Big Bird, was an orphan, taken in by the camp’s staff. So far, they managed to teach him to fly, but not yet how to fish. And, like a beloved pet, this pelican followed us everywhere, nibbling for affection and hoping for a fish treat.

We were led down the beach to our private banda, a simple, yet magnificent open structure, nestled in a thicket of palms and salty shrubs.

A cathedral ceiling, topped with thatch, rose high on wooden poles, to offer shelter to our bed, which was surrounded by only a wispy mosquito net -- no walls to protect us from the feral fray that carried on around us. There are only 6 of these bandas here at camp, so it is quite an intimate experience.

The rustic interior furniture, sinks, and shower were all fashioned from seasoned timber harvested from old dhows, local sailboats. We had little more than what nature provided for us… and it was all that we needed… all that we wanted.

Well, that’s not all, really… Amidst the creatures we totally appreciated some creature comforts, like a hand-crafted gin on the hand-chipped rocks with the squashed half of a large local lime, on our afternoon boat ride/fishing expedition.

One night we feasted on a sashimi of yellow belly that had been swimming less than an hour earlier. Another night, we grilled our catch of the day.

Our mornings began just after dawn’s rosy fingers nudged our eyelids. One of the staff brought a tray of the richest Tanzanian coffee and set it on the little table on our banda’s front deck. I liked to drink my first mug in bed, watching the morning colors begin to bloom, listening to the changing of the animal guard, new twitters and chirps emerging as night sounds faded to quiet.

We met up with our friends at the main mess banda for breakfast, then set off in search of chimps.

Sometimes you can find them within a 15-minute hike up the mountain, sometimes you have to take a boat ride to a more strategic place before your hike, and sometimes, you have to spend hours, climbing higher to reach their latest playground. We got lucky -- we found the chimps before too long.

Each day, each hike treated us to another delight, as we pressed through a new path. The chimps discovered this too, of course, which is why they tend to move around the mountains to different spots.

One day they feast on wild lemons (their citrus scent hangs in the moist jungle air), woody mahogany fruits, and soft figs, -- another day they chow down on some baby colobus monkeys, termites, and jackfruits.

We, on the other hand, are not allowed to eat or drink anything, and we must wear surgical masks when we are within 50 yards of the chimps. This is to help ensure that we will not transmit any human germs to our ape cousins.

Because we share about 98.6% of the same DNA, diseases can more easily cross between species, wreaking huge havoc.

We hear the rhythmic hooting and the howling start to build and grow, louder and louder, faster and faster, until the chimps reach a frenzy... then they charge down a conga line on the narrow path right towards us... Then right past us, brushing against us as they pass.

The first time was a bit scary...until we realized, they weren't really interested in us at all. The show they were putting on was for each other.

Beyond the chimps, and Big Bird, Mahale has plenty more wild creatures to check out. There's big game here, including hippo, elephant, giraffe, buffalo, and lion. We saw leopard droppings and footprints in the sand just outside our banda.

Red-tailed colobus monkeys, wide-eyed bush babies, and assorted birds freely shared our space inside our banda. Their noises we're a bit startling, at first, but once we realized we were safe, I welcomed the exotic company.

Lake Tanganyika contains more than 250 species of fish found nowhere else on Earth, including sherbet-colored cichlids, many of which can be viewed by snorkelling in the shallows.

After each day of jungle thrills, nothing is more perfect than to lounge at the edge of the lake and watch the world turn slowly, as it dips into dusk, and rolls into a starry sky, with the Southern Cross stretched out across the inky span. We hold these precious wild moments close to our hearts, tucking them deeply into the pockets of our souls.

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PHOTO CREDITS:

Photo: Courtesy of Daigle Tours. Chimps at Mahale.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Plane landing at Mahale.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Dhow boat at Lake Tanganyika.
Photo: by Ogrebot. Lake Tanganyika from above.
Photo: Courtesy of of the National Science Foundation. Lake Tanganyika.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Chimpanzee at Mahale.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Chimpanzee at Mahale.
Photo: Courtesy of Amani Afrika. Kayaking at Greystoke Mahale.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Big Bird the pelican.
Photo: Courtesy of Nomad-Tanzania. Greystoke Mahale banda.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Banda interior at Greystoke Mahale.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Banda interior at Greystoke Mahale.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Fishing on Lake Tanganyika. With Big Bird the pelican.
Photo: Courtesy of Nomad-Tanzania. Relaxing in the banda at Greystoke Mahale.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Chimpanzee at play at Mahale.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Chimpanzees scrambling up to breakfast at Mahale.
Photo: Courtesy of Gherkins & Tomatoes. Chimpanzee eating a fruit.
Photo: by Shira P. White. Chimpanzees on the path at Mahale.
Photo: Courtesy of Rainbow Tours. Chimps charging at Mahale.
Photo: by Shira P. White. A chimpanzee ponders his day at Mahale.
Photo: By Joachim S. Müeller. Bush Baby (Galago Moholi).
Photo: by Shira P. White. Dhow entering mouth of Malagarasi River. Mahale, Tanzania.
Photo: by Shira P. White. White. Greystoke Mahale beach on Lake Tangayika, Tanzania.
Photo: Courtesy of Journeys by Design. Accommodations at Greystoke Mahale.