The majority of our time spent in Tanzania was during the rainy season. 2020 was an especially rainy year and after a dangerous ride in the Ulugurus we decided the rest of our birding endeavors in the country could wait. We would move on with our trip and come back when the roads weren’t a soupy mess. But then COVID hit and we spent the remainder of our year sequestered back in the USA. When we finally got a chance to return, it was exactly one year later and thus we went back to Tanzania during the rainy season! Thankfully the rainy season of 2021 wasn’t nearly as bad as the year prior and we managed to reach nearly all of our destinations with no trouble. Except The Udzungwa Scarp Forest, that is. We were told the road to the village at the outskirts of the forest was impassable so we decided to move forward with our trip and come back at a later date. Flash forward to July of 2021. We came back and this time during the dry season.
First up, Iringa for a much needed day of rest after a full month in Uganda followed by an intense trip through remote northwestern Tanzania. I laugh because my “rest” day included laundry, cleaning and organizing the entire truck, a trip to the mechanic, and plenty of blog editing! Perhaps some might not think of a busy day such as this as rest but good food was involved and that’s really what we needed. I typically gloss over our accommodations as they are irrelevant to much of our travel, but Mama Iringa’s in Iringa deserves special mention because the pizza and homemade gelato in that establishment is among the best we’ve ever had! Run by an Italian ex-pat I would expect nothing less! In just a day and a half we spent a total of $80 on various lunches, dinners and desserts, hopefully making up for the last two weeks of heavy exertion and no calories! If you are ever in the Iringa area, I highly recommend a visit!
After resting we came to The Udzungwa Scarp Forest and the hike in felt like a joke compared to what we had been doing. It’s nice to leave the best for last some times. Oddly the forest was particularly quiet and species diversity very much lacking. We came in search of several ground-dwelling targets, and while we managed all of them, we didn’t see much else nor did Ross manage many photos of these secretive birds aside from a poor shot of Rufous-winged Sunbird, and a somewhat passable shot of Iringa Akalat. Thankfully those were the two most important. It was odd to know that our time in Tanzania, the country we had spent the longest time in, was coming to an end.
How welcoming is Tanzania compared to Uganda?