Samina wanted to find something nice for me to do during the
Easter break to take my mind off work for a while. She recommended the Arusha
Water falls. At 10am sharp, Jordan, a part-time FutureSense employee who was to
be my guide, turned up and we left. I took sun screen with me today because last time
I went hiking I got sunburnt and only felt it in the shower! *gasp*
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| Jordan |
It was only 10am but it was already boiling hot in Arusha!
The cool breeze that made hiking bearable last weekend was nowhere to be found
in these parts of Arusha and within 10 minutes of walking uphill I was sweating
like a pig. The climb upwards was even more challenging due to the heat, and at
this stage I have decided Kilimanjaro is going to absolutely MURDER me! Nonetheless,
I took it easy and we walked steady, engaging in conversation (which probably
slowed me down more than anything as I was quickly out of breath). This is
definitely great practice for Kilimanjaro because I need to train my breathing
when going uphill, and obviously talk less to save energy. Also, I’m going to
need loads of water because my throat tends to dry really quickly here
especially when I start breathing through my mouth because my nose is just too small
(you’re lucky, Samantha Mudimu and Joseph Butawo :P)
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| teeny-tiny waterfall |
We got to the edge and I realised we were meant to go down
muddy “steps” into a valley-like place. It was absolutely beautiful beyond
words! The whole place, the clean air, the birds chirping, not a single bug in
sight (or so I thought)… this was like HEAVEN to me. We started to descend and
I was terrified of sliding, but Jordan made a joke about it saying that’s the
whole point of an adventure! Yeah, walking around with mud all over my body
sounded like a great adventure indeed! About 10 minutes later we made it to the
bottom and I was mesmerised. I took my shoes off quickly because I just couldn’t
wait to get my feet into the cool, rushing water and feel the pebbles with my
toes and just absolutely go ape. It was awesome.
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| keen much?! |
We walked barefoot all the way to the actual waterfall, and
Jordan helped me up slippery boulders and stuff. There was one point where I stopped
and asked how on earth we were going to get to the other side. It looked so
dangerous! But Jordan, all 5ft4 and tiny body, literally lifted me up between
two massive boulders! Poor thing, I thought I was going to break him lol (Ok,
maybe not… I’m not that heavy, I know). We carried on, with me chattering away
as usual, and then I felt a tiny little thing in my mouth and I flipping
swallowed it! I swallowed a bug!!! Highlight of my day I’d say. Just great!
 |
| We had to miraculously make our way up these boulders... Jordan lifted me somehow from the top |
Anyway, the waterfall was so noisy and there was vapour
everywhere! It was the coolest thing ever! Where the water reached the ground,
there was some sort of “rainbow” effect because of the sun. It looked really
cool. I entered the water and tried to get to the waterfall but the water was
raging and it looked so dangerous but I was relentless. Within seconds I was
soaking wet and fell onto my bum in the water as I lost balance. I decided not
to go any further then but I was like a meter away from the waterfall! Would
have been so cool to just get hit by the water on my back, I reckon it’s
therapeutic. Free massage you know…
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| THE waterfall |
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| yeah... that's as far as I could go! |
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| all soaked! |
We
stayed there for a good 20 minutes just looking at the waterfall, playing with
water and taking pictures. Then I decided it was time to get home now as I was
starting to feel the chill. We walked back safely and just as we were about to
come out of the water, I fell over all the way into the water! The first thing
I thought about was my camera and my phone which were in my bag! I quickly lifted
it up to Jordan who was trying to save me and cried “My camera!” Ha-ha! It was
hilarious. Thank goodness I wasn’t hurt and the water flowing beneath me wasn’t
strong enough to wash me away.
On our way back we passed by a group of guys eating ugali (sadza)
and fresh kapenta and they gave us a dish to wash our hands. It tasted lush! I
only had one bite and we left started walking back home. It was so hot that by
the time I got back to the volunteer house, I was completely dry, with just patches
of mud dried onto my jeans. Overall, it was an awesome day and now I’m going to
finish watching Vampire Diaries season 1 before making plans for tomorrow! I
have a feeling my feet are going to be so sore and hurt like crazy tomorrow; I
can already feel it now. Until then,
Ciao
xx
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