Karma Chameleon

Chameleons are my new favourite animal!

We have driven up a very long bumpy track into the Eastern Usambara mountains, which make up the view from our house.

Flashbacks to being forced out on fabulous adventures by my mother, with us all dragging our heels wanting just to stay at home and read. Total empathy....no interest from my passengers about all the information I wanted to share about the Amani Nature Reserve where we have woken up this morning (some of the best rainforest in the world, with hundreds of species not found anywhere else, home of the African violet, and an impressive old German medical research centre looking at the jungle plants). My sisters will all groan knowingly! 

I would love to be here with my grandfather Ioan for all his botanical knowledge. You could really get engrossed here.

Chameleons saved the day...the ultimate reason for trekking up here...and the lure to our little fish. A begrudging hike up to a view point...highlight being attacked by Safari ants....wow they really hurt.....especially when you're ignoring one in your bra to come to the aid of your shrieking daughter with one embedding itself in her finger! View point itself out over endless treetops, peaceful between the raucous cries of birds. 

The piece de resistance, our night walk to find the prized chameleon. Our guide thoughtfully tracked a few down for us in advance, saving us a longer hunt. The creatures themselves are so captivating: eyes that swivel independently, bodies that change shape to mimic the leaves around them, careful paws gripping so tightly to the thinnest of stems, and of course their colour changing ability. We all now envy Rapunzel in Tangled with her little friend Pascal.

We enjoyed our venture into the pitch black of the forest, busy with night noises. Our guide's headtorch picked out chameleons that I wouldn't have spotted if I stood there all night. We were mesmerized by a lone firefly, or perhaps a forest fairy tempting us to follow deeper into the trees.
I have woken before the girls, though the dawn chorus here is so much quieter than muheza. 

The day ahead promises butterflies, a waterfall and a tea plantation