Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Zanzibar


Zanzibar

Time for a vaction within a vacation. I've been really enjoying sleeping in a bed, being clean and not cooking my own meals for 4 nights. Although clean is relative, since the showers are still salt water.  We negotiated a room for $60/night, which cost each of us $15. That included breakfast.

Zanzibar is beautiful. White sand beaches flecked with red coral pieces. There are barely any waves and the difference between high and low tide is drastic. At low tide you can walk out and grab red starfish from the water. But you need to be careful of the sea urchins everywhere. The beach itself is ringed by coral, which is covered by water at high tide.

For $10, you can have an amazing fish meal. My new favorite is dorado, althought I also tried kingfish and tuna. I haven't had a meal without seafood since I've been here. Curry is very abundant on the island, which I always thought predominantly indian.  I had a lovely calimari curry one night at a restaurant down the beach.

There is a strong italian influence on the island, due to a lot of italian tourists. Usually Masai speak english, but we met one named Fabiano that only spoke italian. There is pasta and pizza at most restaurants. I'd recommend the octopus pasta at Langi Langi if you ever visit.

My second day on the island I went on a snorkeling trip. $20 included snorkeling gear and lunch. We saw two pods of dolphins swimming on the way to the reef. The reef itself was filled with beautifully colored fish. There was a giant black and white angelfish, about the size of my forearm.  The reef was just off the shore of one of Bill Gate's private islands.

Zanzibar is known for its spices. We took a tour of one of the spice plantations and learned all about growing spices. The yellow turmeric root stained my hands a deep yellow.  The cinnamon trees had several uses. The park makes cinnamon powder, the branches cinnamon gum and the roots Vick's vaporub. What an awesome tree.  We were able to suck on raw coffee and cocoa beans. They are kind of sweet and sour.

One of the workers on the plantation climbed to the top of a coconut tree. The top of the tree had to be at least 50 feet off the ground, it was so tall. He shimmied up it like nothing. He has been climbing trees since he was 8. At the top he graced us with a song in swahili, Jambo... jambo, jambo. It was such a catchy tune, it's still stuck in my head.

The final part of the tour was being able to taste all sorts of weird fruit. Jackfruit is huge green and very bumpy looking. It tastes like a pineapple and a banana had a baby.  My favorite was the custard apple, a spiked green fruit. It has a soft, fall apart in your mouth texture and was very sweet. Kind of like sour sop. Packets of spice were available for 1000 shillings apiece (about 66 cents.)

For our last night we took a sunset cruise down the island ($10). It was beautiful watching the sun set over the ocean. The guys on the boat sang for us. It was a blast and a perfect way to end the Zanzibar experience.

I love Zanzibar. It's going to be hard to get back on the truck.

Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Park


Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater

Growing up with the discovery channel has blown my expectations for Tanzania's Serengeti up quite a bit, so I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype.  However, it did.

The land just before entering the national park is flat. It looks like an ocean of grass. Gazelles spot the landscape, but also Masai with their herds of cattle. It's incredably dry.  Apparently the gazelles can go 4 months without drinking. Quite a feat, and a much needed adaptation in this arid climate.  Jackals cross the road in front of us and howl for their kin.  A little farther in, large boulders spot the landscape. It appears they were dropped from the sky, they seem so out of place.

We arrived in the actual national park in the evening.  This first animals we spotted were leopards. Amazing, beautiful, strong looking cats. They were resting in trees and difficult to spot.

We were also lucky enough to have a serval cross our paths. It's a small spotted wild cat and not usually seen.

That evening we camped in the middle of the Serengeti, no fences, nothing keeping the animals out. As I was walking back from the bathroom after brushing my teeth, a hyena was about 15 feet from me. She had been drawn into camp by the smell of food. She seemed rather skittish and wary of me, keeping her distance.  That night a group managed to knock over a garbage can and you could hear them feasting on our scraps.

The next day we observed a lot of animals.  There was a pride of 17 lions chilling in the shade. One of the males gave us quite a show by walking right up to a truck.

We saw elephants herding zebras. Apparently they wanted the zebraas to go the water first to make sure it was safe.

There were tons of hippos lying in a small pond. Their heads are huge! We even saw one on land. They are really fat animals.

The highlight of my day, and perhaps my life, was finding a female cheetah with three cubs. They were about 8 months old.

We spent the night on the edge of the Ngorongoro crater. The views into the crater at sunset were stunning. It was also really cold where we were camping, and we had to bundle up. The chef for our trip made us an appetizer of popcorn, which he placed outside our circle of tents on a metal table.  We munched for a bit, leaving some on the plate.  We weren't aware there was a lone bull elephant in the area.  He helped himself to our popcorn, knocking over the table, making a mess and leaving elephant slime on the plate. Our chef came back and thought we had knocked over the table, and we explained that "The elephant did it!" Best excuse ever.

The next day we headed into the Ngorongoro crater. The volcano that created it erupted 500 mya.  The makeup of the fauna was similar to the Serengeti: zebras, antelopes, hippos, lions, etc. We saw a pride of lions attempt to break up and chase down a herd of zebras. Sadly there was no kill.

Overall, a very successful safari. The leopards rounded out the big five: lions, rhinos, buffalo, elephants and leopards

Impressions of Africa: Kenya


Impressions of Africa: Kenya

Kenya has beautiful mountains.  The valleys are much wider than those I observed in Uganda.

Kenya is more arid than Uganda, and flatter.  The rice patties and banana trees have been replaced with cornfields.  The chicken sticks replaced by roasted ears of corn.

Acacia trees are present everywhere. It is the landscape I picture when I think about Africa.

I bought a bag of native oranges to snack on. They were green, like a lime, but still orange on the inside.  They were tarter than orange oranges and had lots of seeds. Not my favorite, but not bad.

I was able to try traditional Kenyan food.  There is a plate of chicken, one of lamb, chapati, ugali and greens.  Chapati taste and looks a lot like thick flour tortillas.  Ugali, the white squares, taste like corn tortillas.  We ate the meal with our hands, dipping the breads into the sauce. It was delicious.

Fun facts about Kenya:

Kenya produces something like 70% of the worlds cut roses.  There are flower farms everywhere.

The best Kenyan runners come from Eldoret.  They think the high elevation, cool temperatures and that children in the area grow up running 6 to 12 miles every day to school and back may have something to do with it.  I saw Kenyans running along the steep roads.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

The Masai


Just outside of the gate to the Masai Mara is a village of Masai.  These are the natives of the area and they still maintain their lifestyle.  The shoulders of the men walking about ar wrapped with red blankets.  We were given a tour of the village.  The village was surrounded by a fence made of sticks.

The warriors of the village greetd us with a welcome dance, which involved lots of jumping and running around.  There were covered in beads and small metal discs that caught the light.

The women's welcome dance was less energetic and consisted of clapping hands and singing. Their ears are huge holes in them. The lobes were completely stretched out.

The warriors showd us how they start fires by rubbing sticks together.  I gave it a try, but wasn't as successful.

The houses are small and made of cow dung, they last 6 years.  They are very cozy on the inside.

The Masai eat only what they get from their cattle, milk, meat and blood.  There were no gardens because that would attract elephants.  When they want to marry they used to kill a lion to prove their strength. Killing lions is no longer allowed, so they pay a dowry of 10 cows.  It's a polygamist society, a man can buy as many wives as he pleases.  I imagine that would cause a lot of headache

Masai Mara


The Masai Mara is the Kenyan side of the Serengeti. It is beautiful, with broad stretches of savannah, peppered with acacia trees and grey termite mounds.

The herds of animals stretched forever, it was amazing.  There were many different kinds of antelopes, gazelles, impala, topi.  Wildebeest were there in the thousands, as well as buffalo and zebras. We had two drives through the park, one in the afternoon and one at dawn the next day.

Afternoon

As we entered the park, there was a small group of elephants. One of the females trumpeted and within seconds a baby elephant, not more than a few months old, came running out of the brush.  His ears were waving, his little legs going a mile a minute, with his trunk in the air.  Adorable.  Once he reached her, she sent him right back with another trumpet.  When he reached the brush, he turned around and let out a tiny trumpet to let her know he made it.  It was the cutest thing ever.

The diversity of animals in Masai Mara is amazing, but what I think is the coolest is how close you can get to the animals.  I was 5 feet away from a full grown adult lion.  Mind you, I wasn't separated by glass.  i was in a truck with completely open windows.  If he had wanted, he could've jumped right in.

The lions gave us a real show, as it was apparently mating season.  Most of us couldn't stop giggling.

Dawn

We found the pair of mating lions again and the rest of their pride, 3 lionesses.  The girls swatted at each other and rolled in the grass before heading off down the road.

A group of spotted hyenas.  Family groups are led by a female

Cheetahs! These are two male cheetahs, resting in the shade.

We found a lioness enjoying a wildebeest. I could hear her jaws cracking and crunching the bones.

There was this very large crazy looking bird walking amongst the herds.  It looked like a pokemon.

We found a troop of banded mongoose moving across the grasses.


What an amazing safari. I can't wait to see what the Serengeti has to offer.

That night we camped inside the park, surrounded by a barb wire fence (not electrified). There were so many more stars than usual. It was stunning. I fell asleep that night to the sound of hyenas in the distance.

Lake Naivasha


John, the awesome tour guide from Hell's Gate, took us on a guided boat tour of Lake Naivasha.  We took off at the dock in the fish eagle camp.  Water hyacinth and papyrus were thick along every edge.  Both plants float on the surface of the water.  The goal of the trip was to find hippos and we weren't diappointed.  They were everywhere! 

There are about 1000 hippos in the lake and they live along the surface.  Their skin will burn in the sun, so they stay under the water as much as they can. Each territory will have one group of hippos, anywhere from 20 to 50 individuals.  The group is led by a single male, all the rest are females.  A female will leave the area to give birth just in case she has a male, because the dominant male will try to kill him, even though he sired him.

Hippos are aggressive and the number one killer of people in Africa.  They go onto land at night to graze and if disturbed will attack.  They can reach speeds of 38 km/hr.  They will also attack boats in the water.  When we were too close to a group, the male gave a warning bellow.  I'm glad he gave us time to get away.

Watching the hippos (from a distance) was a blast.  They kept popping their heads above the water and blowing air out their nostrils.  They can hold their breath for six minutes.

On the way back, John called two fishing eagles towards our boat.  It was an almost perfect mimic of their call.  He tossed a fish in the water and we got to watch the eagles feed. So cool.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Hell's Gate National Park


Another early morning start.  The six of us had to select bikes for today's adventure.  The front brakes of my bike were on the right (normally the back), which made me worry if I had to stop quickly and act out of instinct, I'd flip over the handlebars.  The group road 5 km to the park down the main road. No one wears helmets, so it was a little disconcerting, but it was worth it.

The landscape of Hell's Gate was the inspiration for the pridelands in The Lion King.  It was a beautiful expanse.  There were towering rock faces of various oranges and brown on each side.  The grasslands were filled with warthogs, zebras, giraffes and antelope. None of them cared as we road by.

We biked about 7 km to the gorge at the middle of the park.  Laying our bikes against a tree, we followed John for a guided hike.  Rather than just walk along a path, we went directly into the gorge.  We were splashing in the water, our sneakers covered in mud.  We climbed, slipped and made slow progress through the gorge. It was so much fun! I've spent the last few years doing similar acrobatic excursions in Red River Gorge in Kentucky and it's my favorite type of hiking.

The gorge was the setting for Tomb Raider 2, pretty cool.  You could see where the rushing water had left behind indentations in the rocks. There was obsidian, a volcanic rock, everywhere.  It was black, shiney and very hard.  It was also very sharp and has been used for arrowheads.

There were hot springs in the gorge with dark green algae growing in the water.

I was able to stand on pride rock, which had the most beautiful view of the gorge.

This was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I'd highly recommend the bike tour for anyone coming to visit.

Our guide for this trip was awesome.  He grew up in a village in Hell's Gate.  Since the age of 8 he's had free range of the park and knows every square inch.  His aunt was also a guide, he followed in her footsteps. He told me in order to become a guide you need to take biology in school. He remembered his lessons well and pretty much knew everything.

Born Free


On the shores of Lake Naivasha is Elsamere, the home of Joy Adamson, the author of Born Free.  Her house and grounds have been turned into a museum, describing her life.  People can visit the museum, watch a video about her life, tour the grounds and have a high tea.

Joy Adamson was a remarkable woman who lived an amazing life. She was a naturalist, artist and author.  She is best known for her the book, Born Free, which details the life of Elsa the lioness.  Elsa was only a cub when she was rescued and then raised by Joy.  She acted like an overgrown housecat, but still managed to survive in the wild.  Joy was a scientific illustrator. She painted native Kenyans as well as  flowers and animals, which were featured in books about Kenya.  Her paintings are all over the walls at Elsamere and are beautiful.

In addition to Elsa the lioness, she raised and then observed Pippa the cheetah and Penny the leopard.  She documented intimate details of their lives, which helped scientists start to understand the biology of big cats.  She donated many royalties from her books to wildlife conservation charities. Her book, Born Free was made into a movie, which I definitely need to watch now.

I found her an inspiration. I loved that her life was so different from the norm, especially for a woman of her time. It was amazing to see the influence she had.  There was a time in my life where I wanted to be a naturalist like her.  Joy's example makes me think this may not be an impossible dream.

Now, onto the high tea.  There were plates and plates of cookies and cakes, along with tea, coffee and lemonade.  The cakes were amazing, and we ate until bursting.  It was the first time we'd had sweets since entering Africa. Kenyans don't have dessert. Isn't that terrible?

Monday, October 15, 2012

Lake Nakuru National Park


Time for my first safari!!!  We were up at 5am and after a quick breakfast on the road by 6am.

The truck we're going to tour the park in is really cool.  The top pops up, forming a covered viewing area.

At the center of this park is Lake Nakuru, which is home to the most bird species in Kenya (according to our driver).  The first big mammals we see upon entering the park are water buffalo, zebras and impala, a type of antelope. Then our bus got stuck in the mud.  After a helpful tow from some park officials we waved down we were back on our way.  It was chilly in the morning and clouds ringed a lot of the area around the lake.  The lake usually takes up about 44 sq km of the approximately 250 sq km park.  Due to recent heavy rains, the lake has stretched to cover close to 77 sq km.

Family groups of baboons sat in the trees surrounding the lake.

Guinea hens along the sides of the road

Another type of antelope, a water buck, was grazing closer to the water.  The horns have beautiful rings on them.

Giraffes were grazing in the trees.  Their golden coloration stood out brightly against the dark bark of the trees. The only giraffe species present in Nakuru is the Rothschild giraffe, which has three horns. The giraffes can grow up to 20 feet tall and one kick can kill a lion.  They also have a unique gait.  Rather than alternate legs as they walk, they step forward with both on a side, placing all their weight to one side each time they take a step.

The were also pumpaa, warthogs.  Their tails stuck straight up in the air as they ran.

Gazelle were present in the grasslands, smaller than the impala with thick black stripes on it sides.  They were grazing alongside a herd of white rhinos. White rhinos, as compared to black rhinos, live in herds and are found in grasslands.

The lake was filled with hundreds of flamingos and thousands of pelicans.  There are two types of flamingos in the lake.  The greater flamingo has a white body with hot pink legs and beak.  When it flies, it's wings are also bright pink.  The lesser flamingos are smaller and completely pink.

Suddenly, our driver picks up speed and starts whipping the truck around corners and down treacherous muddy dirt roads. A group had found lions and was sounding out on the radio!  They were along an airplane runway.  At first, they were laying lazily around, but then they started to move.  There were 6 lions in total.  They acted like cats as they paced along the runway, stretching and rolling around on their backs.  Later we found a male perched on a rock, sleeping in the sun. His own pride rock.

Lions hunt at night and the females (lioness) does the hunting. However,  the lazy males eat first (how typical).  There are about 50 lions in the park and each pride has anywhere from 5 to 8 individuals.  The antelopes in the area were very skittish, but there were two water buffalo that showed no fear.  Apparently it would take a minimum of 5 lions (2 males and 3 females) to bring down one of the big male water buffalo, so they were in the clear.

Further into the park we came across some black rhinos.  They had gigantic horns!! Black rhinos don't move in herds.  However, we were lucky enough to come across two females, each with a calf.  One was 9-12 months old, the other one not more than a month or two.

At the lookout, which was stunning, there were colonies of hyrax, which looked a bit like guinea pigs.

The day was made perfect by spotting three hippos out in the water.  The only animal we failed to see were the leopards.

It was a perfect animal viewing day.

Nakuru Kenya


Nakuru is in the rift valley.  It is a flat expanse surrounded by mountains.  There is a lake that is home to the Lake Nakuru National Park.

It's a beautiful area and is the sight of several films: Out of Africa, The Constant Gardener and The Fifth Horseman.

Our camp site is in a wildlife conservancy, Karibuni Pundi Milias.  It is reminiscent of Jurassic Park as it is surrounded by a 10 foot tall electric fence.  You can hear buffalo and zebra from beyond the fence. The showers are amazing, scalding hot and open to fruiting banana trees.

We finally get our truck! The Land Rover has been replaced with a large overlanding truck. We also have two more passengers, girls from Sweden and England.

There's a very friendly black cat that likes to hang out with us. e named her Panther.

It poured rain the second night and all I could think about was the rainy night during Jurassic Park when the electric fence failed and the dinosaurs got out of their cages. Hopefully there won't be lions outside my tent in the morning.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Jinja Uganda - The Nile source


Some of the hostels/campsites I stay in are gorgeous.  My favorite so far is Adrift in Jinja Uganda.  There is bungee jumping available (no way!) and whitewater rafting (too expensive). The bar is on the side of a cliff that overlooks the Nile, the longest river in the world.  You can see cormorants diving and monitor lizards swimming in the waters.  For $15, we took a guided boat tour and saw tons of beautiful birds, several species of kingfishers and herons, along with giant fishing eagles and ibis with their hooked beaks.  There were also three spotted necked otters!  Monkeys are all over the campsite, black-faced vervets.  They eat from the garbage cans and tried to steal my banana from right next to me!  The males have blue testicles, haha.

For $2, Alene and I took a motorbike into town to do some shopping and to just look around.  There are stores that make your clothes for you and several supermarkets.  It is definitely a bustling city center.  Small children would yell, "Mzungu" when they saw us.  (white person) We finished off the experience with a delicious vanilla milkshake from a local restaurant.

The beer of choice here is Nile Special.  The bar also has a kayak that is flipped upside down on the rafters.  You're supposed to climb into it to take a shot.  I saw some people try and fail miserably.  I chose not to attempt it. I was sure any alcohol would go straight up my nose or dribble uselessly to the floor below.

Impressions of Africa: Uganda


I get to see a lot of interesting things along the road while we drive.  This is a summary of my favorite observations about Uganda. I was there for about a week.  I don't have pictures of everything. It seems rude to be hanging outside the car flashing my camera in people's faces.

Uganda is very green and lush.  There are banana trees all over the place.  The mountains are gorgeous.  They are very steep and round.  A lot of farming is done on these steep slopes.  There are several fresh water lakes where tilapia inhabit.  I was able to visit several of these: Lake Bunyonyi and Lake Nabugabo.  Lake Bunyonyi is known for its otters that swim in its waters.

The symbol of Uganda are crested cranes.  They are printed on their money and on the country's flag. They are lovely birds with beautiful feather crowns atop their heads.  I've only seen them in pairs, perusing the grass in fields along the sides of the roads.

There are GIGANTIC birds called Maribu storks.  They stand atleast 6 feet high.  I'm sure this is where the story delivering babies myth came about as they could totally carry a baby a far distance.

All the school kids wear uniforms in really bright colors. Hot pink, bright purple, sunny yellow and royal blue.  Everyone, both girls and boys, have shorn heads.  To tell them apart: Girls always wear skirts and boys wear pants.  Apparently it's expensive to maintain hair, so most kids have it shaved.  Braids are present, but not very prevalent.  I'd say only about half of the kids wear shoes.

Troops of baboons are along the side of the road.  I had the window rolled down and one male walked up very purposefully. I quickly rolled it back up. They are very intimidating creatures.

Along the sides of the roads there are markets centers where fruits and veggies are sold.  We pulled up to one to buy some chicken.  A man sold me a piece of chicken on a stick for less than $1. It was delicious and didn't make me sick.  Henry says it is good to support these roadside markets to give the young men the opportunity to make an honest living.  Roasted bananas were also available. We were able to purchase enough fresh veggies for four days for four people for under $5. The venders thought Jordan's toes, which were painted pink, were hilarious.

There is a lot of livestock, goats, cows and chickens.  The cows have horns so big, I'm surprised they can hold their heads up.

It is interesting to watch the people. Closer to the city centers like Kampala you see women in more modern dresses. My favorite was a young women standing next to the dusty road in a black satin evening dress with black heels.  She looked like she would be right at home in a high society cocktail party.  In more rural areas like Kisoro, women wear more traditional clothing, such as skirts with bright colors and patterns.  Women everywhere carry all manner of things on their heads. I've seen teapots, bales of grass, bowls of fruit, bags of potatoes.  It's really amazing the strength the poise these women have.  They walk for miles to get to markets.  It makes me thankful I can move around so easily.

Men treat their bikes like beasts of burden.  They are continuously overloaded with bananas, grass, shoe sand other clothing to sell. When I say overloaded, picture loads that would completely fill up the insid of a 4 door car.  Once I saw one with about 75 2 liter bottles attached to the back.  In many of these cases, the men are pushing the bikes.

Children of Uganda


The Little Angels Orphanage
I was given the opportunity to visit the Little Angels orphanage at Lake Binyonyi in Uganda.  The children were so sweet and very well behaved.  They had a lesson and I was asked to teach them something.  I tried to teach them about insects, but my lesson tanked.  The New Zealanders with me taught them hello and good bye in Maori, which went much better.  Afterwards the children sang songs for us and some of the girls braided my hair.  Their fingers were so fast!  We were also able to play with them and I got to do the hokey pokey for about 50 kids.  They already knew it, so it wasn't too difficult.  Then it was lunch time and each child was given a small cup of porridge.  It didn't look like nearly enough food for growing children.

There is a program that allows you to sponser a child for $50/month.  This provides food, clothes, teachers. All the children that have sponsers are wearing blue and white striped uniforms.

We took a boat back to camp rather than hike.

Kisoro
At the hostel in Kisoro Uganda we were given a real treat.  A group of children performed traditional songs and dances for us.  We watched a welcome dance, a wedding dance and a farewell dance.  They were amazing! The teenage girls had bells on their bare feet which they were pounding into the rocks without any apparent discomfort.  The marriage dance was my favorite, it involved intense jumping with shoulder shaking, and head bobbing.  We got to join in, and it was so tiring!  I have a lot of respect for the dancers.

African Entomology Part 1


I've called this part 1, as I'm sure there will be many posts summarizing the cool creatures I've found.  In Africa, the large mammals get all the press, but there are some really interesting insects and other creepy crawlers.

Lake Nabugabu
A night exploration of the lake shores yielded the largest dragonfly (Libellulidae) nymphs I've ever seen.   They were crawling out of the water onto the surrounding vegetation and boats to emerge.  There were also some smaller, more normal sized nymphs.

I didn't see any emerge, my headlamp bothered them, but I think these may be the adults.

A cool millipede. (Potito in Swahilli)

Safari ants
Similar to army ants I encountered in Costa Rica, these ants have a caste system.  There are smaller workers and soldiers with HUGE mandibles.  They were in the sandy soil around the lake.  I made the mistake of stepping too close to their path in my sandals.  A soldier was immediately upon my foot and I narrowly avoided disaster my quickly tearing my foot from my sandal.  The ant latched onto the foam and would not let go, like a perfect solder.  I had to pop its body from its head to remove it.  I like the ants back home that don't bite.

Lake Binyonyi
Fungus termites
A termite alate flew into my drink.  Luckily there was a game ranger from Botswana nearby to tell me all about it.  In summary: the termites farm fungus.  The fungus and the termites have a symbiotic interaction and the fungus helps the termites in digesting cellulose and other difficult to breakdown plant products in their diet.  When the female leaves the nest to start her own colony, she takes a piece of the fungus with her. The piece of fungus was floating in my drink. Delicious.

Another millipede

The source of the Nile, Jinja Uganda
As I was eating dinner I was bombarded by these tiny tiny white flies, or so I thought. I looked a little closer and they were the smallest mayflies I had ever seen.  The heads were the size of periods.  I couldn't get a good picture because of their small size.

Kisoro, Uganda
Kisoro Uganda has some of the best honey in the area according to Henry, our driver.  I saw a few co-ops for beekeepers and even saw a hive on the side of the road. They look like grey barrels covered in straw, very interesting.  Sadly I was not able to try any of this famous honey. The man who was going to deliver some to us never showed up at the meeting spot.  The downside of doing business in Africa.

Chasing Gorillas


Now entering Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.  It's called impenetrable for good reason, as I soon found out.  After a short briefing about the gorillas, we started the hike.  The views were beautiful as we hiked straight up the mountain and it was very hard work.  The altitude (and probably because I've been at a desk writing for months) made it difficult to traverse.  It was a good hour of hiking before we even crossed into the national park.  The park is 331 square km.


There are 340 mountain gorillas in Uganda.  The rest of the population lives in Rwanda and the DR Congo, approximately 400.  Uganda has 15 family groups. Each is led by a silverback, a huge male.

It took 4 hours of hiking through the junge to find them.  We were actually chasing them up and down the mountain peaks.  Keep in mind, gorillas do not use paths, so for about 2.5 hours we were bushwhacking with machetes through some of the densest vegetation I've ever encountered.  No poison ivy though, a plus.

Was it worth it? Completely.  There were two trackers ahead of us following the group and keeping in contact with our group leader using a radio.  The gorillas finally stopped to rest, and we overtook them.  The male, in all his glory, was about 15 feet away from me.  He weighed about 150 kg and was 34 years old.  Silverbacks can range from 200-300 kg and live well into their 40s.  There was a female and an adorable little 8 month old male baby.  He gave us quite a show and kept coming closer.  The mother would grab him by the hand and lead him back, but he would always escape, smiling and heading back to our group.  We spent an hour with them.  They started to move and we followed them through the jungle, tromping along in our loud human way.  They soon disappeared into the mists. Amazing. Words can't describe just how beautiful they were.

The fun wasn't over yet. On our 2.5 hour hike back we encountered forest elephants, which are very dangerous.  We had a man with an AK47 with us, whose sole purpose was to protect everyone from the elephants.  There are only 44 in the park, and they are very rare to encounter.  Lucky us.  The trees started to shake about 20 feet off the group and there was loud cracking as the elephant broke some tree branches, warning us away.  You know the sound a thick branch breaking makes? That's what we heard.  The look on our escorts' faces let us know the situation was very bad.  They quickly hearded us together as the elephant continued to crack the trees.  We bushwhacked around the area while the guard with the gun kept watch.  It was a scary moment.  We made it back to base with no further mishap. Phew.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The road to Ugandan gorillas


Time to head out!

The first stop is to see the gorillas in Uganda. It turns out that the three of us are the only ones heading to the gorillas, so rather than take the giant truck we get to take a land rover.  There will be no extra cost and Henry, our guide, said we will be able to move faster and see more.  I definitely feel like an overprivledged white girl riding around in a personal vehicle.

My first impressions of Kenya: The people are very nice to you.  They are also very well dressed. All the men are wearing collared shirts and the women are wearing beautiful dresses. Even while they are walking down the dusty roads.

We saw rift valley. What an expanse!

We also crossed the equator.

And had our first wild-life siting. Zebras! Just hanging out along the side of the road.

The camp site we stayed in was really nice. It had a bar which looked like a safari themed ski lodge.  The beer of choice is Tusker, which has an elephant on the label. Awesome.

Elephant Orphanage


Elephant orphanage - Nairobi, Kenya.

David Sheldrick wildlife trust's orphans project

The cost to enter the elephant orphanage was $7.  All elephants housed in the facility were orphaned by poaching and disease.  There are about 20 baby elephants present with ages ranging from 6 months to 2.5 years.  The ultimate goal of the project is to release the elephants back into the wild.  They continuously introduce the orphans to wild elephants to see if any groups will accept them.  Each elephant is named after the area they were found.  The group is non-profit and works completely on donation.  It costs $900/month to maintain an elephant.

The caretakers walked the elephants into a circle ringed with tourists.  We were allowed to pet them as they walked by and watched as they were fed their bottles.  They are given a special vegetarian based formula.  They were really cute.

The plan

It's actually happening. I'm finally on my way!
I'm solo for the first leg of my trip.  Once I reach London I'll meet up with my travel buddies, Jordan and Alene.  This trip is their idea, I'm just lucky enough to tag along. Jordan and Alene are keeping their own blogs, Journeys by Jordan and Alene's Adventure. Gotta love the alliteration.

Journeysbyjordan.blogspot.com
Alenesadventure.blogspot.com

I will be spending the next 2.5 months in Africa then fly into Southeast Asia. The first stop is Nairobi Kenya where I meet up with the tour group, African Trails.

Countries to be visited are Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

Wish me luck!