Kakamega Rainforest #1

 Kakamega Forest (pronounced Kak-a-may-ga)

Kamukuywe to Kakamega is about a 90 minute drive. The road from Kakamega to the forest (about 15 Kms) is all gravel. It is in reasonable condition but there are many pedestrians and bikes on both sides of the road. We see signs to our destination but none of them tell us which way to go at the cross-roads or T intersections. With an iPhone navigator and a bit of luck we make it with only one wrong turn.
 

 
There were tea plantations developed around the edge of the forest to limit encroachment. Some remain but some have been cleared and re-planted with rainforest trees.
The forest used to spread across central Africa but climate change and settlement has reduced it to 240 square kilometres in this Kenyan section.

It is a biodiversity hot-spot for Kenya, and the last remaining equatorial rainforest in the country. There are plants, butterflies and bats that exist nowhere else in Kenya or the world. The forest is renowned for monkeys, butterflies and birds, and we hope to see many of them. There are also some unusual occupants (which may be too elusive to see). These include the African palm civet (large cat-like animal), the suni, a small forest antelope, and the tree pangolin - a reptile with protective scale-like plates over its body. Also an anomalore or flying squirrel. Endemic birds include the hairy-breasted barbet, white-tailed ant thrush and blue-headed bee eater.

These mountains are not high, only reaching 1740m. They are part of the Nile catchment - water goes into Lake Victoria. Kenya contains only 5% of Lake Victoria but provides 75% of the water. The furthest tributary of the Nile is supposed to be SW of here in Burundi or Rwanda - no one is quite sure. In an agreement with Egypt, western Kenya does not irrigate or dam. Egypt provides Kenya with funding as a result. Egypt wants the Nile as full as possible.    

A local conservancy group has been established to help protect the rainforest . They have a number of projects operating, including:
- native tree nursery
- tourist accommodation and bush walks
- adopt-a-tree project
- trees on farms program (farms are so small that farmers resist planting trees, although they are starting to understand the benefits in terms of soil conservation and shade).
- re-planting on the forest edges
- school visits about conservation and forests
- Aids education for locals

Our accommodation is runs by the conservancy. We are staying in a Banda - a mud hut covered in whitewash with tall vertical timbers framing the roof, and coming to a point in the middle. The roof must be at least 7m high. The timber is covered with thick thatch, tightly bound together and, I am told, completely water-proof. The only problem is when monkeys chase lizards on the thatch. The lizard slips between the thatch and the monkey tears a big hole in the thatch to get to the lizard - to what degree of success I do not know.

The Banda has two bedrooms, each with two single beds. There is one small ante room. There are no other facilities. Another Banda, open on the sides, is used as a dining room and lounge. There is a separate shower and toilet block, although quite basic. The Banda has electric light when the generator is running. The setting resembles a clearing in the jungle. There are 8 bandas, 5 are for accommodation, one is a dining room, one is a residence and kitchen and a small one is an administrative room.

Our host is Solomon, a typical Kenyan - tall, friendly, healthy looking and of strong build. His English is very good and he is a welcoming host. In fact, "welcome" is his favourite word.
All meals can be provided, but we have brought our own breakfast and lunch. Most days we will be walking at lunch time anyway. Dinner costs 600 shillings each ($AU7 ) and on the first night we receive large amounts of beautifully cooked white rice, a beef stew, boiled cabbage and green banana. The green banana is cooked and tastes very much like mashed potato. There is just a hint of banana in the after-taste.
The afternoon of day two we are told we are having chicken for dinner. An hour later we see everyone out trying to corner a chicken that has escaped the cook's clutches. We are fairly sure that it will soon be on a plate in front of us. This is indeed what happens. Cooked in a broth. Imagine the oldest, toughest chicken that could possibly be served up - then increase the toughness scale by a factor of three. A rubber chicken from a joke shop would have been much more tender.

The evenings are wonderful; very still, no car or motor noises until the generator is started. The birds are chattering in the trees and we can hear the cicadas. If we close our eyes it is just like a mild summer evening in Australia. The exception is the various conversations, in Kiswahili, by the staff. I have noticed that Kenyans speak very quietly in English, but when they chat in Kiswahili they become quite loud and animated.

More about our adventures in the forest later!