Today was Alison and Steve’s last day and we had decided to visit Materuni village and do a walk to the nearby waterfall, have a local lunch and then do a coffee tour.
We left Moshi at 9 and it was about a half hour drive up into the hills to reach the village. On arrival we were met by Oscar and his daughter Karen. Oscar and his family were our hosts for the day. We did the short walk to his house where we met his wife who was preparing our dinner and various other members of his family who were all involved in the coffee business.
Oscar then introduced us to Jerry who would be our guide for our walk to the waterfall. The walk was great and we got some really good views and saw a variety of different plants, including white trumpet flowers and avocados.
After about an hour we got our first views of the waterfall. We also saw a small chameleon and a skink on our walk.
Then as we walked on we got even better views of the waterfall.
After spending a little while admiring the waterfall we then walked back to the village for our lunch cooked by Oscar’s wife. She had cooked boiled rice, pilau, beef stew, greens and banana stew. This was the first time Alison and Steve had had banana stew but they seemed to enjoy it.
After lunch Jerry’s grandmother showed me how she was sharpening a machete that she was going to then tie onto a long pole and that she would use to cut down some branches that were overhanging their house.
After this Jerry then explained to us how coffee is made. It is a 15 stage process starting from when you pick the beans and ending up with the perfect cup of coffee. We actually got involved in some of the stages.
We found the whole process/tour very interesting. Jerry, our guide for the day was good fun and at the end we all sat and enjoyed a very nice cup of coffee made from the ground roast coffee that we had made.
Of course we then bought some coffee beans from them which were a bit more expensive than those we got the day before from Union but we were happy to support a small family business especially as we had had a really good day.
We then drove back to More Than A Drop and Alison and Steve finished their packing and said goodbye to the staff. Robert picked them up about 6.30pm and took them to the airport. Peter and I enjoyed a quiet evening and an early night. It had been great that Alison and Steve made time to visit us in Moshi and we had had a great couple of days with them showing them some of the reasons we keep coming back. Before they left they said they had had a great time in Tanzania and has also really enjoyed being in Moshi and seeing a side of Tanzania away from the tourists. They hope to come back to Tanzania next year and will again plan to spend some time in Moshi.
We left Moshi at 9 and it was about a half hour drive up into the hills to reach the village. On arrival we were met by Oscar and his daughter Karen. Oscar and his family were our hosts for the day. We did the short walk to his house where we met his wife who was preparing our dinner and various other members of his family who were all involved in the coffee business.
Oscar then introduced us to Jerry who would be our guide for our walk to the waterfall. The walk was great and we got some really good views and saw a variety of different plants, including white trumpet flowers and avocados.
The path was quite muddy and went up and down a fair bit so walking boots were a must.
We also saw coffee bushes and passion fruit,
As well as some lovely butterflies and several groups of large ants on the move.
After about an hour we got our first views of the waterfall. We also saw a small chameleon and a skink on our walk.
Then as we walked on we got even better views of the waterfall.
After spending a little while admiring the waterfall we then walked back to the village for our lunch cooked by Oscar’s wife. She had cooked boiled rice, pilau, beef stew, greens and banana stew. This was the first time Alison and Steve had had banana stew but they seemed to enjoy it.
After lunch Jerry’s grandmother showed me how she was sharpening a machete that she was going to then tie onto a long pole and that she would use to cut down some branches that were overhanging their house.
And of course there was some singing....see the video below!! Anyone who has been to Tanzania will recognise this song. It is sung to tourists wherever you go. Usually on our trips we don’t encounter this type of “experience” but today there was no escaping it!!
We found the whole process/tour very interesting. Jerry, our guide for the day was good fun and at the end we all sat and enjoyed a very nice cup of coffee made from the ground roast coffee that we had made.
Of course we then bought some coffee beans from them which were a bit more expensive than those we got the day before from Union but we were happy to support a small family business especially as we had had a really good day.
We then drove back to More Than A Drop and Alison and Steve finished their packing and said goodbye to the staff. Robert picked them up about 6.30pm and took them to the airport. Peter and I enjoyed a quiet evening and an early night. It had been great that Alison and Steve made time to visit us in Moshi and we had had a great couple of days with them showing them some of the reasons we keep coming back. Before they left they said they had had a great time in Tanzania and has also really enjoyed being in Moshi and seeing a side of Tanzania away from the tourists. They hope to come back to Tanzania next year and will again plan to spend some time in Moshi.
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