Mahale Mountains National Park

A hidden treasure in deepest Africa

Mahale is a special place. Very special.

The bad news first: it is hard to get there and it is expensive. It is also not well suited for people who cannot or are not comfortable with a fair bit of scrambling along steep and slippery paths.

But the good news is that you have never seen a place like it. First you have Lake Tanganyika, then a small strip of white sand, and then, steeply rising mountains covered with dense and lush rain forest.

The fabulous scenery alone would make Mahale special. But we have not introduced the main attraction yet. Mahale is home to the world's largest habituated chimp population - the M Group alone is about 60 chimps strong.

And don't understand the word habituated wrong; the Mahale chimps are not tame in any sense of the word: they are wild creatures but they just don't mind people. We are part of the scenery for them. We get the privilege of observing them from up close and learning about the chimps, and, in the process, about ourselves. It is impossible not to feel a close kinship with the chimps – and one does get the feeling that there is something of a similar recognition in them, as well.

A bit about the practicalities. We flew in from Dar es Salaam with a scheduled Air Precision flight to Kigali where a four-seater Cessna met us and flew us to a tiny airstrip a little outside of the park. There we were met by Greystoke Mahale (our camp) staff with boats. The weather being rather windy, the boat ride was a 45 minute thrill ride with plenty of water sprays and liver-banging jumps and bumps.

The camp itself consisted of 7 separate bandas built from driftwood and other recycled local materials. The bandas were quite private and very comfy. There was no electricity apart from small night lights powered by a generator. Our banda was perhaps 40 yards from the lake shore and had (as did all the others, I would imagine) an unobstructed view of the lake and the beach. The banda featured a porch, a very large and comfy bed, a dressing area, and an open air toilet and shower. The banda also had a small attic with lounge chairs that one could slumber in and watch the lake from.

Meals were mainly served in a central building that was a good-sized thatch and timber affair. Food was aplenty and easily on par with any other luxury bush lodge. The dinners were mainly memorable for the eclectic mixture of people and their tales from the bush (and urban jungles) from all over the world. Mahale being remote and expensive, there appear to be few bush dilettantes there - we had a lively mix of people from South Africa, Australia, UK, France, the US, and Finland (us being of northern persuasion).

The hosts at the time, Ed and Annabel, were a delight. Annabel was a UK-born ex radio journalist who had spent a long time making radio programmes in e.g. Uganda. She kept the camp running and had a vast practical knowledge about Sub-Saharan Africa. Ed was the son of a famous local artist who was an unending source of tales and anecdotes and wit - the sort of eccentric Englishman one migh have encountered in books about the bush.

The guides Raphael and were a fabulous bunch of guys. Young Tanzanian guys mainly in their 20's. They were expert, fun, inquisitive, and relaxed. They led us through the forest after the chimps (with able assistance from the park staff), took us on snorkelling trips, fished with us, played soccer with us, and even painted with us.

We staid a full week at Mahale and felt it was not one second too long. While chimp observation is the obvious main attraction of Mahale, Greystoke is also magical in many other respects and should be high on the list of anyone wishing to see some of the best things Africa has to offer in a lovely setting and amidst plenty of bush comfort.