Sunday November 30
Sunday is a special day for STO teams (Short Term Outreach). It’s the Day of the Lord and we always thoroughly enjoy attending church! (more to come about that in the next blog).
On this trip, it was also a great afternoon because we had the pleasure of visiting Nyungwe National Park. This involved a car ride west for 1.5 hrs in order to reach the park. It’s primarily a tropical rainforest that receives > 2,000 mm of rain per year. It’s very hilly and moderately mountainous, with altitudes ranging from 1,480 metres to 3,000 metres above sea level. Because of the altitude, the temperature remains moderate - so it’s cooler than what might be expected at the equator. So we definitely brought our raincoats and sweaters with us.
Nyungwe is part of the greater East-Central African Rift system. When viewed from Google Maps (see Map Link - switch to satellite view) it’s easy to see this heavily forested region existing as an oasis amongst the more populated landscape. This area is one of the largest, and best preserved, forests of this type in East & Central Africa. The diverse landscape supports over 1,400 plant species, including many that can only be found here. There are also 13 different primate species, 300+ birds, and a rich mammal and butterfly diversity. Overall, this is one of Africa’s most biodiverse montane forests!
Now that you have an idea of this beautiful place, I’ll just briefly share that we did a nice walk through the forest. It wasn’t a long trek, but it gave us time to enjoy the sights and sounds of the jungle. It also gave the World Relief staff some time to do the ziplines! They laughed and screamed as the ziplines flew them across the deep valleys. Then we met them further downhill where we began crossing the Canopy Walk suspension bridges. There are three bridges, making a span of 170 metres across the canopy. The largest bridge being 70 metres above the ground. It’s not for those afraid of heights as the bridge sways and moves… prompting fear in the stoutest of hearts.
Overall, the pictures tell the story. So I will try to post more of the team photos as the internet allows.
written by Adam Minke
