Monkey Forest Bike Tour

Friday night, a few girls asked me if I was interested in joining them on a biking tour the next morning.  Liking spontaneous fun adventures, I responded "I'm in!"  It was a great way to see some new parts of the surrounding areas, get out end enjoy the beautiful weather, and spend time with friends.  I'm going to have trouble sitting for a few days, but it was well worth it!

The tour started at a little cafe in town.  Our guide had the bikes and helmets all ready to go.

We had our feet on the pedals and started off shortly after 9 AM.  We carefully made our way through town and then got out on more open roads going south of town.  The first part of the ride took us through a sugar cane plantation, the 2nd largest in the country.  It was interesting to learn about some of the process and see some of the operations.

The group - our great TZ guide, two Danish neurologists,
a German ophthalmologist, and me

We came to a village with an adventurous bridge, which of course we had to cross just for fun :)

She wasn't so sure this was a good idea

I'm sure those cables are strong

After a little leg stretch, we hopped back on the bikes and headed out of the sugar cane plantation towards a new developing village.

Since the sugar cane plantation employs thousands of workers, new villages are popping up nearby.  We came across this brick making spot.  Very interesting to see how the bricks are formed, fired, and then made ready for building.

The start of a new tower of bricks to be fired

A tower that has been fired

The well used for getting water to make the bricks

Awesome baobab tree in the background

We rode through a number of villages, which was always interesting.  White girls on bikes make for quite the spectacle!  But everyone is very nice, especially the kids calling out many different greetings all along the way.

Next we went through some rice fields.  Growing rice is no easy task.

Then into the Rau Forest (also known as the Monkey Forest).

We were very excited to spot
colobus monkeys right away

They are funny little monkeys...

Huge trees!

After going through the forest for a bit, a path took us out into another field where our guide knew some men who would get drinking coconuts for us.  It was a dream come true for me!  I miss drinking fresh coconuts from when I lived in Pohnpei!  And let me tell you, these were fresh from the tree!

Fields for growing root plants like taro and greens

Apparently also good for growing coconut palm trees

Hanging out at the farmers' hut and cooking area

Looking back at the forest

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
We were so nervous watching him!

He made it!

And then knocked them down with his feet

I was one happy biker!  What a sweet treat!

And we even had natural straws from the forest

Cheers!

After feeling totally refreshed and hydrated by the coconut, we biked back into the forest to our picnic area for lunch, which was also the sight of a 200 year old tree.

Hot lunch boxes delivered by piki-piki (motorcycle)

Very generous lunch box provided - fried chicken,
samosas, sandwich, boiled egg, vegetables,
watermelon, apple, banana, cake, yogurt, and juice!
I guess they thought we'd be extra hungry after all
that biking.

We actually did manage to reach all the way around the massive tree by all 6 of us (lunch delivery guy included) joining hands and giving it a huge hug.

Then it was back on the bikes for more monkey sightings.  It was interesting to notice how the birds alerted the monkeys that we were coming.  Then the monkeys would sound their alarm.

But once they saw it was just us harmless humans, they would stop. It was almost like they told each other, "False alarm!  Continue climbing and jumping as usual."

We didn't want to leave the forest, but it was time to head back to town.  So back on the bikes we went to follow the train tracks back to town through villages and one small water crossing.

Before we knew it, we were back at our town train station.  Now I know how close I am to a monkey forest!  The things you learn on exploring adventures.

No, the trains don't actually run here ;)

We did it!

What a day!  We got back to the cafe around 4:30 PM.  We put about 45-50 km on the bikes.  Hence, we needed cushions to sit on the pews at church this morning.  Haha!

I would highly recommend this to those who like biking adventures, and would definitely recommend our guide for any of his outdoor adventure options.  We hope to do another sometime soon!