Zanzibar

I am currently sitting in Stone Town, Zanzibar, after spending the last few days staying in a bungalow on the beach near Nungwi. It was the perfect place, with great weather, clear water and wonderful beaches (I have heard that it is very cold back home, so I spent some time in the hot sun for everyone). While on Zanzibar, I snorkelled, went on a tour of a spice plantation (it did smell very nice there, I must admit) and rode on a dhow for a sunset cruise. But best of all, I spent time off of the safari truck and slept in a real bed in a real room. The bungalows were right on the beach and were very nice, especially when you factor in that they only cost $15 a night (try going to Hawaii, which is similar to Zanzibar, for 5 days and only spending $65 on rooms and less on food and entertainment: a tropical vacation for less than $200, but do you have to get there first). Stone Town is a great little town, and may be one of my favorite spots to which I have ever been (right up there with Kinsale, Ireland and Queenstown, New Zealand). I head back to Dar es Salaam tomorrow, perhaps the most humid and hot place I have ever been, before heading for Malawi over the next few days.

The Serengeti and the Crater

Back in Arusha, Tanzania, after a few days in Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. What an experience it was. It was as close to the Discovery Channel as I could ever imagine being, and may have been more impressive than even seeing the mountain gorillas. In the Serengeti, there were thousands upon thousands of wildebeast, hartebeast, gazelles, zebras and buffalo. And since they were there, the big cats were there in large numbers as well. We spotted at least a dozen lions and 3 leopards. After we sighted an elephant, the Big 5 was complete in just under a week. And there was a leopard sighting that took an unexpected turn for the better. As we were trying to make out the leopard in the tree, we heard a young wildebeast bleating for its mother nearby. To say that the leopard took an interest is an understatement. In moments, the placid, sleepy cat in the tree was down in the grass, stalking the wildebeast. After a few careful steps, the chase was on. It was a quick chase, and the leopard made the kill in a hurry. Afterwards, the leopard picked up the wildebeast and carried him up a nearby tree. All of this happened within 200 feet of our safari truck, with most of the stalking, chase and kill happening within 50 feet. I took some amazing photos, and will hopefully post them soon. I even (somewhat guiltily) took a before picture of the wildebeast when it became apparent what was going on. Everyone was shaking for at least a half hour after the incident.

The following day we went into the Crater and spotted 2 cheetahs sunning themselves. Another great sighting. The Crater as a whole was gorgeous and a great experience, but after the leopard incident of the day before it was very ordinary.

Next stop will be the sandy beaches of Zanzibar for 4 or 5 days. This camping thing is going to be real tough...

Pictures

Some pictures:





The gorilla picture is a little dark, but we were forbidden from using a flash. It might upset the gorillas, and we didn't want that to happen.

Roughing it in Africa

Some thoughts on travelling in Africa:

• Camping isn't so bad. Most nights (to this point all but one, actually) have been spent at campsites that are well run, have running water (sometimes hot, sometimes not) and all have had a bar with cheap beer. So it isn't really roughing it.
• And it won't be all camping. In the next 4 weeks, I will spend 4 nights in a hotel on the beach in Zanzibar, 4 nights on a house boat in Zambia, some time at a resort on Lake Malawi and 4 nights in Victoria Falls.
• The roads are either good, bad, or not there at all. And surprisingly, when they are not there at all sometimes they are better than the bad roads.
• You accept the fact that your feet get dirty the instant you step outside, especially in the drier areas.
• The people are great. I have never seen more smiling faces, and when you see where they are living and smiling from, it reminds you that life is pretty good.

On Safari

I spent yesterday in Lake Nakuru National Park, near Nakuru, Kenya. I didn't have high hopes of seeing all of the animals, given how few animals I saw on safari in India. That all changed within the first hour of the first game drive of the day. Within minutes we had seen zebra, rhinos, water buffalo, gazelle, warthogs and more flamingos and pelicans than imaginable. The park was just teeming with life. The first lion siting was brief, with two lionesses disappearing into the brush as soon as we came upon them. A little further on we came upon some giraffes, which are by far the most graceful animals I have seen so far.

At lunch we had some unwelcome guests in the form of a dozen or so baboons. They came right up to where we were and stole a loaf of bread and a bag of rolls. The guide tried to chase them off (he actually punched one in the back of the head twice, which had no effect), and eventually they gave up and left. Luckily we had enough food left so we were able to eat, too.

The second game drive was nice, but we didn't come across any of the "desirable" animals to view. After we set up our tents (we spent the night in the park, with no fences between us and the animals), we went out for the final drive of the day. Jack pot. We came across 5 lions, 1 younger male, 3 females and 1 cub. They put on a good show, stretching, yawning, licking each other and making threatening gestures at us. It was great.

I was able to take a ton of great pictures during the day. Connection speeds are still way to slow at the moment to upload any pictures at this point. Hopefully I will be able to soon.

We are making our way back to Nairobi, then on to Tanzania and Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. I hopefully will be able to complete the Big 5 in the next week or so.

Mountain Gorillas

I am currently Jinja, Uganda, making my way back to Kenya after travelling to the far reaches of south western Uganda to track the mountain gorillas. We camped in Kisoro, which is near the borders with Congo and Rwanda, and was the site of the refugee camp for the Rwandans that fled during the acts of genocide in the late 90's.

The group of gorillas that we tracked was the Nkuringo group, located in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The hike to get to the gorillas was not that difficult: it was an hour and a half walk, all downhill, with a few wet areas that were slick. The group is lead by a guide and 2 armed guards (to protect you from other people, not the gorillas) who escort you through the jungle. Ahead of the group are the trackers, who called the guide on the radio when they found the group of gorillas. When we came upon the gorillas, it was the most amazing and magical feeling. They were only about 15 to 20 feet away, and there were 6 gorillas just lazing about. There were 3 younger gorillas that were climbing trees, through fruit at the older ones and just having a good time. You are only allowed to visit the gorillas for an hour, and it was looking like we were not going to get a look at one of the silverbacks. After about 50 minutes, however, one of the silverbacks (there are 2 in the Nkuringo group), emerged rather hastily from the tall grasses. There are a few rules when the silverback happens upon the scene: (1) don't stare him in the eyes, (2) no sudden movements, (3) no loud noises and (4) if he charges you stand still and act casual. So when he came out, our whole group got very anxious, hoping not to upset him and provoke a charge. We must have made him comfortable, as he just sat there and occasionally looked at us, keeping us in line. The entire experience was amazing, and I was able to get some great pictures. The climb up, however, was brutal as it was during the heat of the day. I slept well that night, to say the least.

Yesterday was an equally good day. Our group volunteered at a school in the Jinja area, helping to clean out a classroom and begin to paint the walls. The effort was coordinated by Soft Power Education, which relies on the donations and volunteers from the safari trucks that pass through Jinja to make a difference. It was a really great day.

Today we head back to Kenya. We visit a few national parks on our way back to Nairobi. It should be a relaxing few days, since we only have a few hundred kilometers to cover in 5 days.