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Sunday adventures, broken bridges, broken down Bajaji's, recommendations, fun stories, plants, roots, coffee and banana, lush green scenery, humidity, jungle tour and refreshing waterfall, coffee tour including singing and dancing, kind and happy locals full of gratitude and passion, flying the drone and tasting banana beer and banana wine.
What was supposed to be a 30 minute drive from Moshi turned out to be quite the adventure.
We got ourselves a Bajaji up to a certain point where we wanted to take a Dala Dala to go up the hill to the town of Materuni. You can read in this post about the different transportation opportunities in Tanzania. Unfortunately we didn't take into account that it was Sunday so the Dala Dala's didn't drive very frequently. Plus, it turned out that they actually start from a different point than where we were at. Apparently there was a broken bridge and cars couldn't pass anymore...
While Gina and I were on our phones to figure out accommodation for Zanzibar the next day, Grace tried to organise transportation for us. Grace was our amazing host in Kilimanjaro region, such a wonderful soul! You can read more about her and her projects right here.
So in the end, instead of waiting and searching for a Dala Dala, we managed to get a deal with a Bajaji to bring us to Materuni. And, he was actually able to cross the bridge. 😉
Little did we know, the journey up the mountain would be very challenging. It was very steep, the Bajaji broke down at least a dozen times and we had to walk a little part uphill otherwise we wouldn't have made it up that specific hill at all. Sure, it wasn't an easy road! We left the paved road long behind us and we were navigating only on dirt roads. Always uphill, on the foot of Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain of Africa.
We didn't think we would actually make it but we did end up reaching Materuni village. About a good hour after getting that Bajaji.
A little recommendation for you when you get there: Don't tell them that you want to do the waterfall AND coffee tour! Arriving into town, we paid an entrance fee for the waterfall of TSH 10,000 (about $5) each. The coffee tour would have been just as much but we heard that the coffee tour would be less expensive if you decide to add it during the tour or at the end.
Also, there will be guides there who will offer to take you to the waterfall. Yes you'd need to pay them BUT, I actually recommend taking one! We would have never found that waterfall without Flavian. 😳
Fun story: We found out later that during one of the Bajaji's break downs on the way up, a local talked to Grace about a guide he knows in Materuni who would be able to show us around. So when we arrived, she pretended to be our guide herself (so she didn't have to pay the entrance fee) and told everyone that Flavian was her student. Flavian was the guide who we were referred to. 😂
The hike to the waterfall was actually very nice! A bit hilly which obviously is normal when you're on the foot of Kilimanjaro. The climate is very humid and we had the feeling we were hiking through a jungle. Everything was very green, the colour only seemed to pop in contrast to the red soil. Flavian told us about different plants and roots of which I don't remember the names but sounded very interesting. 😅 I mean, they basically use everything they find there and it just fascinates me!
Everywhere you look you see coffee plants and banana trees. They have the perfect condition at this altitude with this climate. I really enjoyed the scenery, taking it all in.
Of course the waterfall was just as beautiful! Water has always been my remedy, I just love to be close to it or even in it. It connects me with nature, I'm totally calm and relaxed and it's the perfect spot to just let go. Watching water flow is something I could do endlessly. 😍
I don't know when and how it happened but Flavian suddenly was behind the waterfall and it looked epic! So epic in fact that we decided to do the same. The path was very rocky and slippery so we had to be very careful, I'm glad I kept on my shoes. 😉 The water was refreshing and even though I decided not to go into the water, I was still soaked from the water splashing and flying through the air. I loved it! 🥰
I also wanted to fly my drone there but unfortunately the GPS wouldn't update and she wouldn't fly higher than a few meters.
Also, don't ask me how and when but somewhere in between us being behind the waterfall and me trying to fly the drone an other guy joined us. He talked together with our guide to Grace which obviously neither Gina nor I noticed or understood. Turned out she was able to get us a deal for the coffee tour. Refer to what I said before, don't get everything in advance. Locals are usually open to discuss with you if they see that you'd be interested in the coffee tour. So instead of paying TSH 10,000 each, we paid this amount for the three of us!
Ah, isn't it good to have local friends? 😉 No kidding, make yourself some friends wherever you go! It's a win-win for everyone involved.
However, the tour didn't disappoint at all! We did have a blast with the guys during the coffee tour! Freddy, the coffee guide, was such a clown and so funny. The whole town has a huge coffee plantation but the work is done all manually. There's no machine at all. With a hand full of beans Freddy showed us, how they process the coffee in Materuni. I felt everything from incredulous, fascination and awe. They showed us every single step, including singing and dancing. I'm still not sure if this was only for show or if they really do it like this themselves too. 😅 Although it would only make sense because singing definitely makes mundane tasks much easier.
Of course we were also presented the opportunity to buy their own coffee for TSH 25,000 to bring back home. I'm all in for supporting locals like that but unfortunately we didn't have enough money with us to buy even one pack. Remember the ordeal with taking a Bajaji up there instead of getting a Dala Dala? Well, that cost us way more than we calculated beforehand and we never took all our money with us.
They offered us to make different sizes of the packages and asked us how much we would be able to pay. Considering all the expenses still to come on our way back home we offered TSH 5,000. Kindly enough, they still gave me about half of the pack! I was gonna write about them in my blog anyways but when I told them about it, you should have seen their smiles! So heartwarming.
I did finally end up flying my drone there which obviously they loved. It's not every day they get to see one. 🙂
On our way back down to town we stopped for some banana beer and banana wine. I've never had something like it and it tasted somewhat sweet, sour and bitter at the same time. Don't ask me how that works. 😅 Personally I preferred the wine, it was actually quite good! 😋
Flavian was kind enough to organise two Boda Boda's for TSH 10,000 so we could ride back to Moshi. Which definitely was much cheaper than we would have bargained for ourselves!
To sum it up, the whole day was surely an adventure but definitely worth it! We had an amazing time and had a blast with the guys! The locals themselves are all so welcoming and kind. As tourism got a huge hit because of Covid, they were so happy to at least see a hand full of foreigners. Their smiles said it all. 🥰
I'll definitely be back there soon!
Sabbu ❤️
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