Trip to Mahale

chimp in a tree

Most tourists who visit Mahale National Park comment on two things: the pristine nature of the park, and how difficult it is to access. The savvy traveler understands the correlation between the two.

Some say Mahale National Park is one of the most secluded forests in the world. There are no roads to reach it, and the park can only be accessed by boat, foot or a chartered flight. As a result, it tends to be a destination for the superrich and the superadventerous. Not fitting into either of those categories, I decided to give the Park a try anyway.

There are between 500 and 700 chimps in Mahale National Park, and more still in the surrounding areas. Given the park's size and the relatively low human population density in the ecosystem around the Park, conservationists have an exciting opportunity to protect the landscape and the species who dwell there before irreversible damage is done.

I love chimps, and it was important for me to trek chimps in this forest, and I did so without delay upon arrival. Hiking the forests of Mahale was an experience I shall never forget (especially my knees), and I soaked in the sights and sounds I found there - including warthogs, giant bees, flowering vines and a friendly lesbian couple I found in the middle of nowhere (they had a guide, but from what I could tell they were mostly telling him where to go).

But I have to say one of the most rewarding experiences at Mahale wasn't in Mahale at all, but rather in the shallow waters off its coast. I have been snorkeling in three other areas of Lake Tanganyika and have yet to find a place that isn't host to a variety of colorful and exciting fish of the "cichlid" variety. But off Mahale I saw fish unlike any I had seen before.

There were tiny blue and green and peach fish that followed me wherever I went (sensing my vegetarian doctrines, I assume), a fish with giraffe-patterned fins and bright blue lips, a darkly iridescent fish with bright yellow dots on the tip of fins that trail beneath it like bait on a fishing line, and to my shock two giant cichlids as long as my torso and nearly as wide.

The fish have funny habbits. Some of them rush up to rocks and "kiss" them, thereby eating the algae that grows there. Another was digging a hole by gulping-up sand and spitting it onto the rim of the nest it was building. Others were territorial and seemed to be fighting over property rights or females or rugby scores. It was incredible to be able to see fish doing all the things you expect fish to do: eat, swim, fight, build a nest. Little dramas seemed to be playing-out wherever I looked.

I had a great time in the lake and was thrilled to be able to share that afternoon with two colleagues from a partner NGO. It was truly an experience to remember, and one I intend to repeat.

a performance artist putting on a show

a vine wrapped around a tree