NYUNGWE RAINFOREST

About an hour and a half up the road from where I live is a huge rainforest – which is the final set of mountains that make up the Rift valley that starts in Kenya. I went for a 6 hour trek through these the other day, clambering along mahogany lined paths, negotiating our way past wide waterfalls and over little bridges made by strapping skinny tree trunks together, and spying upon cheeky monkeys dangling from enormously tall trees. There are chimpanzees in the rainforest too, though you have to be up early to see them – we saw a chimp nest, their hiding places and some chimp poo too, presented neatly on the path. It reminded me of a certain story involving my little brother Dessie...(he can explain)

The views were stunning – at one point, you saw ten, twenty mountain peaks stretching out before Lake Kivu, with the Congo peeking out from behind – and five minutes later, having navigated your way around the curve of the slope, you see the elegant mountain slopes of Burundi, standing tall. Both Burundi and the Congo are strictly off-bounds for VSO volunteers for safety reasons, so it was nice to allow our eyes to break the rule and gaze away!

---

Be one of the first to try Windows Live Mail.