15 September 2007
29 July 2007
Arrowtown is about half an hour from Queenstown. It dates back to the 1860's when gold was discovered in the Arrow River. Along the river with tall thick forest, it is a ghostly feeling, a bit creepy. The town itself has retained most of the old cottages, and has arty shops all over.
On the way to Queenstown, we finally saw snow! not much, but enough to coat bushes and trees.
28 July 2007
Lake Tekapo is on the way to Queenstown, a picturesque 6 hour drive with mountain ranges, lots and lots of sheep, lots of country settings. We stopped at Lake Tekapo and had a look at this rather famous Church of the Good Shepherd (one of the top 10 places to get married!) with fabulous views over the turquoise glacier lake.
Okay, I really liked this alley! The colours were amazing. It was nice to wander around Christchurch - it reminded me of Vancouver (but maybe the drizzly grey weather had more to do with it than anything else....)
20 March 2007
Baxter Creek waterfall
Went for a short hike on Sunday, in the Blackall Ranges, west of the Sunshine Coast. This one was about half an hour down a steep hill with switchbacks, over a small suspension bridge, another 100m to a waterfall. If you look really carefully, you can see Shane in the picture! It was a very enjoyable walk, except the water at the bottom was very murky and brown, I certainly wouldn't recommend drinking it!
17 March 2007
Inline skating at Lake Kawana
We just discovered that a new area on the Sunshine Coast, Lake Kawana, (it used to be swampland and now is a big lake where rowing regattas are held,) has some wonderful wide tracks along the water: perfect for inline skating. It's great to be on skates again!
15 March 2007
Swimming pool on a beach?
Went for a run this morning at the beach, in a swimming pool. This is the new pool right on Kings Beach, it is saltwater and fantastic - the beach is in the background.
As my introduction to running 7 weeks ago resulted in agonising, long-lasting painful shin splints, I am now running in the pool. Much more gentle.
13 March 2007
Climbing Mount Beerwah
Picture a beautiful sunny day. Imagine very high humidity and around 30C+ degrees. 7 of us decided to hike up Mount Beerwah, a 556m high member of the Glass House Mountains on the Sunshine Coast. Shane and I, Lee (our personal trainer), his girlfriend Laurie, Sal (fellow bootcamp participant) and her husband Cam, and Nat (fellow bootcamp-ee and upcoming NZ ski trip buddy for me!) embarked on this very scary journey. Well, very scary for the girls, the guys enjoyed it mostly.
We began around 7am, bushwalking up a stone step track for about 700m and coming to quite a sheer rock face, which we had to climb. Nat clambered up with no problem, followed by Shane and Lee. Then, me, Laurie and Sal. It was a struggle, hanging on by my bare fingertips, cramps in my calves....couldn't come back down, had to keep perservering up. It was terrifying - I slipped - and almost knocked Laurie down. I was wearing clunky hiking boots (sneakers would have served me better) and couldn't find any toe holds or feel the rock with my toes. There was nowhere to have a break. I was stuck! Lee and Shane couldn't help, as they had no place to secure themselves and give me hand up. My adrenaline was really kicking in - and fear.
Along came a friendly stranger, Dennis, a guy in his 50's, he instilled calm and confidence in me and helped me up a bit. (he does this track 3-4 times a week). He was like a mountain goat, and he saved me! Everyone said, this was the hardest part. Guess what, it wasn't. It continued for another 200 metres. The crevices were slippery and moist from recent rain, unfortunately they were also the best places to climb up! Looking back now, I know that had I kept my momentum going, it would have been heaps easier. As it was I got about 3/4 way up and was so fatigued I had to stop there. All I could think about was, I have to come down at some point!! I found a spot of shade and jammed my feet into some rocks and just hung out there for about an hour - I sent the others on, they perservered and got to the summit.
The way down was MUCH easier but still quite difficult, especially near the very end, we really had a team effort to help us get down. The exposed rocks were on fire -burning hot, almost blistering my palms. It was almost 12noon. A quick visit to the pub in Beerwah for a drink (me: water, Shane: beer, Lee: soft drink - does that tell you something??) and off home to lick my wounds - cuts and scrapes on my hands, bruises and cuts on my knees and legs. At least I wasn't sunburnt - next weekend let's go somewhere a bit tamer.
And after all that, I barely took any photos....Next time.
We began around 7am, bushwalking up a stone step track for about 700m and coming to quite a sheer rock face, which we had to climb. Nat clambered up with no problem, followed by Shane and Lee. Then, me, Laurie and Sal. It was a struggle, hanging on by my bare fingertips, cramps in my calves....couldn't come back down, had to keep perservering up. It was terrifying - I slipped - and almost knocked Laurie down. I was wearing clunky hiking boots (sneakers would have served me better) and couldn't find any toe holds or feel the rock with my toes. There was nowhere to have a break. I was stuck! Lee and Shane couldn't help, as they had no place to secure themselves and give me hand up. My adrenaline was really kicking in - and fear.
Along came a friendly stranger, Dennis, a guy in his 50's, he instilled calm and confidence in me and helped me up a bit. (he does this track 3-4 times a week). He was like a mountain goat, and he saved me! Everyone said, this was the hardest part. Guess what, it wasn't. It continued for another 200 metres. The crevices were slippery and moist from recent rain, unfortunately they were also the best places to climb up! Looking back now, I know that had I kept my momentum going, it would have been heaps easier. As it was I got about 3/4 way up and was so fatigued I had to stop there. All I could think about was, I have to come down at some point!! I found a spot of shade and jammed my feet into some rocks and just hung out there for about an hour - I sent the others on, they perservered and got to the summit.
The way down was MUCH easier but still quite difficult, especially near the very end, we really had a team effort to help us get down. The exposed rocks were on fire -burning hot, almost blistering my palms. It was almost 12noon. A quick visit to the pub in Beerwah for a drink (me: water, Shane: beer, Lee: soft drink - does that tell you something??) and off home to lick my wounds - cuts and scrapes on my hands, bruises and cuts on my knees and legs. At least I wasn't sunburnt - next weekend let's go somewhere a bit tamer.
And after all that, I barely took any photos....Next time.
18 February 2007
Dubs by the Pub 2007
We spent all morning at the Ettamogah Pub, looking at Kombis and Bugs at 'Dubs by the Pub 2007', it was fantastic. Such a huge crowd despite the rainy weather, and such fabulous Kombis including our favorite, Splitties (split windows). Spoke to a re-spray guy from the Gold Coast and it looks like Daisy can go in and get sandblasted, a total re-spray with new seals, removing all the rust spots and painted a fabulous metallic bright red......it will take a month in total so we will probably wait until winter, in August maybe, when beach weather isn't so great, and put her in then........but how we will live without her even for just a month??????????
16 February 2007
Puppies at Shelly Beach
My favorite 7-year old puppies in the whole wide world, enjoying an afternoon romp at Shelly Beach. Mitchell 'Deep Sea Diver' (can hold his breath for many minutes when concentrating on something like a big rock - too big to pick up but can be rolled underwater) and Kimberley 'Supermodel' (gazing off into the horizon), pondering life.
11 February 2007
Kombi Dogs
Finally managed to get a photo of Kimberley in the Kombi, she hates being in there. I am going to start putting peppermint oil on her collar, this seems to help a bit. Mitchell, however, is the true 'Kombi Dog', he loves being up front with his dad, looking out the front windscreen, sometimes even resting his chin on the dashboard. We all went swimming this morning, council regulations on this beach mean that we have to keep the dogs on the lead right until we hit the water, after that, we let them off.
05 February 2007
Daily beach run
Went out this morning for our daily drive around the beaches: Bulcock Beach, Happy Valley, Kings Beach, Shelly Beach, Moffat Beach. The ocean was churned up today, it looked a bit angry. Happy Valley is great for surfing on a calmer day. (We call it 'Nappy Valley' as the area is a popular picnic spot for families.) Daisy is fantastic, the dogs quite enjoy the fact that they can walk up to the front between the seats and be reeeeaaaaaaally close to us!
My apologies for having such crappy quality photos - it's me taking the photos now, on my Canon Ixus 400 camera. No skill, no talent, no photoshop. I may have to get Shane to do some nice ones on the beach on a good day....so stay tuned!
04 February 2007
Outdoor area...
Our generous neighbours, Chris and Tash, did most of the work on our front yard. The dodgy concrete patchy driveway was ripped out (plenty of junk underneath: bits of wire, chunks of concrete, broken steel rods....). Railway sleeper were used to box around the poinciana trees and paths were put together. Decomposed granite was used for the driveway surface as well as the paths and outdoor area next to the house. We dug the birds nest ferns out from all over the place, and really made a showpiece, and added Liriope and Zanzibar plants to liven the area up. The big rock bowl we dug out of another part of the garden as well, Chris and Shane hoiked it all the way over, it weighed a ton! We still have work to do, put a concrete pad under the BBQ area and fill in the beds near the fence with happy trees.
Daisy comes home!
Well, today we introduced Kimberley and Mitchell to Daisy, our new Kombi. Mitchell was keen straight away, he jumped in, jumped onto the back seat and over the back into the very back and settled in. Kimberley took a bit longer to get settled, but after we took them for a spin 'round the block she was okay. She does seem to get car-sick, so we'll have to be careful. For future reference, Michell has the blue collar, Kimberley has the red collar, and Shane is wearing a T-shirt.
03 February 2007
Our new Kombi: 'Daisy'
We have just bought a 1971 low-light, bay window Volkswagen Kombi. Her name is Daisy. The reasons for buying her are many: we need a car to put the surfboards in. We need a car to take Kimberley and Mitchell to the beach. We want to go camping again - and this time, take the dogs. We want to go away occasionally overnight or all weekend. Plus, we have fond memories of our last Kombi, Daffodil, who burned down on that fateful Easter Monday in Darwin so many years ago.....apart from that, Daffodil was a great vehicle, took us around Australia in great Kombi style.
Scott, a friend of my Lee's (my personal trainer) was selling his, he brought it up to the Coast so we could look her over, and we thought she was great! The price was right, so away we go. She arrives tomorrow! I will post some pics then.
Scott, a friend of my Lee's (my personal trainer) was selling his, he brought it up to the Coast so we could look her over, and we thought she was great! The price was right, so away we go. She arrives tomorrow! I will post some pics then.
25 January 2006
18 January 2006: The Long Journey Home
**warning*** Some of you may find this post incredibly boring, especially since we didn't take photos after leaving Zanzibar, but it's my blog and I can do what I want!!!!
Left the wonderful Zanzibar Serena hotel around 10.30am, after a quick good bye to Mum (better that way...less tears!). The courtesy bus took us to the airport, which was PACKED with Italian tourists...and this was just outside the terminal- the check-in counters are actually outside on the footpath. Seems like there is a giant Italian airplane arriving soon to take them all home. So, keep in mind it is about 34 degrees, very muggy, and there is plenty of chaos and loud people all over the place. We manage to check in, and enter the airport (note: no air conditioning). Then we have to pick a booth to line up in front of, to pay our departure tax of $25USD each. The booths are unmarked, in English at least, so we decided to pick the left hand one. The wrong one, as it turns out. We have to then line up for the other one, and end up paying only $5USD each. Who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth??
We finally get through security into the main airport. The seats are all full. There are a million more Italians in here. The women are dressed very 'designer' with lots of gold jewellery, big hair, and amazing makeup. The men are dressed pretty well too! I feel somewhat daggy in my safari clothes and no makeup or jewellery (but I get over it pretty quick as I am roasting like a pig). Luckily Shane has a big sleeve on his shirt that I use often to mop my face! (thanks baby!)
We are totally grossed out by a giant obese Italian man who has chosen to walk around sans shirt. So there is basically a giant belly prancing around, covered in sweat. Wish I hadn't eaten breakfast....
We find a doorway, open to the outside, where it is somewhat cooler. We meet the security guard, a young woman in a head scarf, we have a chat with her, her English is as good as our Swahili, so you can imagine the great conversation! she teaches us the word for 'husband' and 'wife' and we find out she has a 2yr old son at home with her mother. She would like to see Australia some day, but says she could never earn or save that much money (and knowing that the average wage here is around $50USD PER MONTH!! you can imagine it's true). Anyway, we enjoy passing the time with her.
We do start to become concerned when there is no sight of our plane to Dar es Salaam, only the jumbo Italian jet. But we meet several others who are waiting as we are. We meet a British woman, late 60's, who has just been trekking in Ethiopia with her husband. Now, they look like travellers!
Our plane finally arrives, we get on and 20 minutes later, arrive at Dar es Salaam, an airport which is also mainly outside! We are too early to check in with South African Airlines, so we use up the rest of our Tanzanian shillings to grab a hamburger, chips and Coke at the cafe (they have Maasai people as the doormen). After all that chaos, heat and noise in Zanzibar, it's nice to have a break.
Around 1pm we get on the flight to Johannesburg, it is a 4 hour flight only, but we are happy it's so short! By the time we land and get a shuttle to the hotel, it's dinnertime and we are tired and hungry. We have been travelling all day. The hotel is actually attached to a big casino (Palace Casino) and not to a shopping centre, as we were led to believe. Since neither of us are big casino type people, the revelation did not really excite us. But we checked in, and then Shane went for a look around, and found a restaurant for dinner: Tribes African Grill. They sold him a couple of Castle beers to have in our room first (remember, we have been having Happy Hour drinks every night for the last 2 weeks!) and after we drained those, and showered, we had the BEST steaks in the world. It was a great meal, including HOT FRESH bread (never had that in Kenya or Tanzania). Caught up on the CNN channel later in the room, which wasn't too interesting, I must admit - I haven't missed TV at all.
Had a lazy morning and then headed back to the airport, where we were delayed 1.5 hours because there was some kind of problem with our e-tickets. Luckily they gave us meal/drink vouchers though, so we enjoyed a bite to eat during all the drama.
We made it on the plane! but unfortunately missed the great shops in the airport. Not like we needed to spend money though......
A very long 14 hour flight (babies, children, sneezing adults, Chinese gabbling, people wearing masks, the woman next to me sleeping on my shoulder --- NOT conducive to sleep or rest!) later we arrived in Hong Kong. The airport was SPOTLESS (at least one cleaner in every toilet, cleaning and mopping constantly) (This was a big change from Africa: something I'll never forget is all the garbage in Africa: blue plastic bags all over the place.) and well signed in English. Plus, everyone we asked for information was friendly, efficient, and spoke English very well. We organised a half-day tour of Hong Kong, then went to have a coffee and tea before the tour left. We felt pretty horrible, tired and whatnot, but didn't want to spend our whole 17-hour layover in HK in the airport!
It was a grey and dreary drizzly day in Hong Kong, but we still enjoyed the tour, we saw the longest suspension bridge in the world, the walk of the stars, the HK skyline, a Buddhist temple filled with incense smoke, antique markets. I would like to go back someday for a proper look around. In HK they speak mainly Cantonese, and in mainland China it's mainly Mandarin. So Willy (our guide) was teaching me a few words in Cantonese. I wish I remembered it better, but we were close to collapsing of exhaustion by the early afternoon. The tour ended, we were going to shop a bit but gave up - had lunch out instead, and then took the very quick electric rail back to the airport.
Returned to the airport around 3pm and found the Travellers Lounge - this is a great concept: we got a $60AUD package each. This included: a 2hr nap in an Asian inspired 'resting room' with futons on the floor in small divided rooms, total peace and quiet, and a wake-up call, a shower (heaven!), free food and drinks, tea/coffee, free internet, magazines, newspapers, and plush comfy armchairs, for 10 hours. So we lounged and relaxed until out flight at almost midnight. We felt wonderful, tired, but wonderful.
Only an 8.5 hour flight this time, and then finally back to Brisbane, another hour's drive, and home again. Kimberly and Mitchell were thrilled to see us, almost as much as we were to see them!
So, the end of our wonderful trip, but not the last one - especially not to Africa. We are already planning our next trip.............................
Left the wonderful Zanzibar Serena hotel around 10.30am, after a quick good bye to Mum (better that way...less tears!). The courtesy bus took us to the airport, which was PACKED with Italian tourists...and this was just outside the terminal- the check-in counters are actually outside on the footpath. Seems like there is a giant Italian airplane arriving soon to take them all home. So, keep in mind it is about 34 degrees, very muggy, and there is plenty of chaos and loud people all over the place. We manage to check in, and enter the airport (note: no air conditioning). Then we have to pick a booth to line up in front of, to pay our departure tax of $25USD each. The booths are unmarked, in English at least, so we decided to pick the left hand one. The wrong one, as it turns out. We have to then line up for the other one, and end up paying only $5USD each. Who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth??
We finally get through security into the main airport. The seats are all full. There are a million more Italians in here. The women are dressed very 'designer' with lots of gold jewellery, big hair, and amazing makeup. The men are dressed pretty well too! I feel somewhat daggy in my safari clothes and no makeup or jewellery (but I get over it pretty quick as I am roasting like a pig). Luckily Shane has a big sleeve on his shirt that I use often to mop my face! (thanks baby!)
We are totally grossed out by a giant obese Italian man who has chosen to walk around sans shirt. So there is basically a giant belly prancing around, covered in sweat. Wish I hadn't eaten breakfast....
We find a doorway, open to the outside, where it is somewhat cooler. We meet the security guard, a young woman in a head scarf, we have a chat with her, her English is as good as our Swahili, so you can imagine the great conversation! she teaches us the word for 'husband' and 'wife' and we find out she has a 2yr old son at home with her mother. She would like to see Australia some day, but says she could never earn or save that much money (and knowing that the average wage here is around $50USD PER MONTH!! you can imagine it's true). Anyway, we enjoy passing the time with her.
We do start to become concerned when there is no sight of our plane to Dar es Salaam, only the jumbo Italian jet. But we meet several others who are waiting as we are. We meet a British woman, late 60's, who has just been trekking in Ethiopia with her husband. Now, they look like travellers!
Our plane finally arrives, we get on and 20 minutes later, arrive at Dar es Salaam, an airport which is also mainly outside! We are too early to check in with South African Airlines, so we use up the rest of our Tanzanian shillings to grab a hamburger, chips and Coke at the cafe (they have Maasai people as the doormen). After all that chaos, heat and noise in Zanzibar, it's nice to have a break.
Around 1pm we get on the flight to Johannesburg, it is a 4 hour flight only, but we are happy it's so short! By the time we land and get a shuttle to the hotel, it's dinnertime and we are tired and hungry. We have been travelling all day. The hotel is actually attached to a big casino (Palace Casino) and not to a shopping centre, as we were led to believe. Since neither of us are big casino type people, the revelation did not really excite us. But we checked in, and then Shane went for a look around, and found a restaurant for dinner: Tribes African Grill. They sold him a couple of Castle beers to have in our room first (remember, we have been having Happy Hour drinks every night for the last 2 weeks!) and after we drained those, and showered, we had the BEST steaks in the world. It was a great meal, including HOT FRESH bread (never had that in Kenya or Tanzania). Caught up on the CNN channel later in the room, which wasn't too interesting, I must admit - I haven't missed TV at all.
Had a lazy morning and then headed back to the airport, where we were delayed 1.5 hours because there was some kind of problem with our e-tickets. Luckily they gave us meal/drink vouchers though, so we enjoyed a bite to eat during all the drama.
We made it on the plane! but unfortunately missed the great shops in the airport. Not like we needed to spend money though......
A very long 14 hour flight (babies, children, sneezing adults, Chinese gabbling, people wearing masks, the woman next to me sleeping on my shoulder --- NOT conducive to sleep or rest!) later we arrived in Hong Kong. The airport was SPOTLESS (at least one cleaner in every toilet, cleaning and mopping constantly) (This was a big change from Africa: something I'll never forget is all the garbage in Africa: blue plastic bags all over the place.) and well signed in English. Plus, everyone we asked for information was friendly, efficient, and spoke English very well. We organised a half-day tour of Hong Kong, then went to have a coffee and tea before the tour left. We felt pretty horrible, tired and whatnot, but didn't want to spend our whole 17-hour layover in HK in the airport!
It was a grey and dreary drizzly day in Hong Kong, but we still enjoyed the tour, we saw the longest suspension bridge in the world, the walk of the stars, the HK skyline, a Buddhist temple filled with incense smoke, antique markets. I would like to go back someday for a proper look around. In HK they speak mainly Cantonese, and in mainland China it's mainly Mandarin. So Willy (our guide) was teaching me a few words in Cantonese. I wish I remembered it better, but we were close to collapsing of exhaustion by the early afternoon. The tour ended, we were going to shop a bit but gave up - had lunch out instead, and then took the very quick electric rail back to the airport.
Returned to the airport around 3pm and found the Travellers Lounge - this is a great concept: we got a $60AUD package each. This included: a 2hr nap in an Asian inspired 'resting room' with futons on the floor in small divided rooms, total peace and quiet, and a wake-up call, a shower (heaven!), free food and drinks, tea/coffee, free internet, magazines, newspapers, and plush comfy armchairs, for 10 hours. So we lounged and relaxed until out flight at almost midnight. We felt wonderful, tired, but wonderful.
Only an 8.5 hour flight this time, and then finally back to Brisbane, another hour's drive, and home again. Kimberly and Mitchell were thrilled to see us, almost as much as we were to see them!
So, the end of our wonderful trip, but not the last one - especially not to Africa. We are already planning our next trip.............................
18 January 2006
17 january: *****celebrity sighting******
So we're enjoying the afternoon at the Zanzibar Serena Inn (small luxury hotel of only 51 rooms in Stonetown) and Shane is swimming in the pool with a little girl and what seemed like her nanny/au pair. Shane is playing 'sharky' games with the little girl, she is having fun.
Then, 'dad and mum' arrive and the little girl runs to them. The dad is Paul McCartney! I could hardly believe it, and the mum was his wife, Heather. They hung around the pool for a while and then went off to their rooms. I didn't say anything to Mum because I thought she'd laugh me off, and she thought the same thing. So there you go. Although Shane had his camera there, we thought it would be kind of tacky to play 'paparazzi' and photograph them on holiday. So, no photos today, sorry!
Then, 'dad and mum' arrive and the little girl runs to them. The dad is Paul McCartney! I could hardly believe it, and the mum was his wife, Heather. They hung around the pool for a while and then went off to their rooms. I didn't say anything to Mum because I thought she'd laugh me off, and she thought the same thing. So there you go. Although Shane had his camera there, we thought it would be kind of tacky to play 'paparazzi' and photograph them on holiday. So, no photos today, sorry!
16 January 2006
16-17 January: Zanzibar, Tanzania
Images by Shane Craswell Photography: Red colobus monkeys only found on Zanzibar Island (Jozani Forest). Doorways in Stonetown, carved wood.
Zanzibar is an island which is part of Tanzania, in theory. In reality, it is like it's own little country. Very different from the mainland. The temp is 34 degrees and very very muggy and humid, it hit us like a ton of bricks, after the safari being a comfy 27 degrees and quite dry most of the time. The religion is predominantly Muslem, so women are advised to cover up when out in public. This is not as bad as it seems: all they want is the women to have covered shoulders (t-shirts okay) and not wear short shorts or skirts. Not much to ask, I believe, but I saw many girls/young women wearing very skimpy clothing all over the place, not much cultural sensitivity there at all!!
Today we went on a Spice Tour on the island: we saw where all kinds of spices come from, what they are used for etc: cinnamon, cardamon, lemon grass, pepper, cloves and much more. It was really quite fascinating and we really enjoyed it - Shane actually scored most of the points (our guide made us guess what each plant was, and he got it right most of the time while Mum and I were still thinking!)
Stopped at Mtone Marine, a little beachside restaurant for lunch: pizza and Kilimanjaro beer. The atmosphere was very relaxing and we enjoyed the break. Later we did a tour of Stonetown, a World Heritage listed area. Long narrow lanes, rundown crumbling buildings, very Moroccan looking. The wiring on the buildings was incredible: it is so old that there is hardly any electricity inside the buildings, so outside on the walls, there are tangled messes of wires all over the place - an electrician's nightmare, not to mention the fire department, I'm sure!
Stonetown is quite dangerous at night, the lighting is bad, and tourists are recommended not to wander around there. There are some hotels which have been renovated and done up to resemble the original style, and they look fantastic. The government is receiving funding to continue renovating the area, and tourism is quite new here as well.
14 January 2006
14-15 January: Lake Manyara/Arusha/Zanzibar
******note: images coming soon!********
We left the hotel this morning to drive to Lake Manyara, and did an afternoon game drive. It was a lovely park: Masai giraffes, elephants with their babies, vervet monkeys, some more different birds. Shane and Mum get all excited about the different birds, but I must confess that I can never remember them as well. But some of them are quite beautiful, I’ll give them that!
We arranged an early dinner so we could do an option extra: night game drive. It was very expensive, but well worth it. We hadn’t done a night one before, so it was quite fun. We had a big open sided jeep, and our driver, a spotter (who sat on the bonnet) and also the park ranger accompanied us, for safety reasons. We saw some of the animals we see during the day! Which really surprised us, for example, we saw elephants, eating leaves and destroying trees, like they do in the daytime. Apparently they only sleep 2-3 hours a day, the rest of the time, they eat. Also saw zebra and wildebeest, doing the same things they do during the day. I had expected all the animals to be asleep, so this was somewhat of a shock!! Also saw a hare, porcupines, mongoose, genets, bush babies (teeny tiny little monkeys), and the most hilarious, hippos out of the water. Hippos are huge, fat and have squat little legs, but let me tell you, when they want to run, they really go! That surprised me too. I know that they are the most dangerous animal in Africa, but I wasn’t expecting them to actually run! It was very entertaining to watch.
On Sunday we left the lovely hotel and drove to Arusha to catch our flight to Zanzibar. That’s when all the trouble began……we were met by our tour rep ‘Jame’ who seemed friendly at first, but she screwed up our flight arrangements and put us on different flights. She was also extremely unhelpful in my quest to have my borrowed (thanks Gary!) video mono-pod returned to me. It had been left behind around 9 days ago in Samburu National Park, and it was discovered by the hotel, who then sent it on to the tour company’s head office in Nairobi, who then sat on it for all that time, knowing full well that they were supposed to send it to meet me in Arusha……anyway, suffice it to say, I am very PISSED OFF at the tour company, and will be drafting a letter as soon as I return home. My feeling is that when you have a tour rep, they are supposed to assist you in every way possible in terms of your travel arrangements. Jame was rude, obnoxious, and not interested.
Anyway, we’ll leave all that anger and frustration behind, because at first glance, Stonetown is gorgeous – lots of narrow laneways, fabulous old doors, interesting architecture and buildings. Our hotel (http://slh.com/tanzania/zanzibar/hotel_zanzan.html) states very clearly NOT to walk around Stonetown at night, so we’ll have to explore by day. We had dinner on the Terrace at the hotel: a lovely seafood dinner. The Terrace is a small rooftop restaurant right over the beach, overlooking the gorgeous Indian Ocean. They do eat late here, we notice, we didn’t finish to almost 11pm and by that time we were stuffed!
The hotel is just gorgeous - it used to be 2 old houses in Stonetown, fully renovated. The rooms are quite small but very luxurious. The staff is excellent (thank you Wahid and Faouz from the Excursions Desk for their fantastic service!) and it was a lovely place to relax - we spent every afternoon lounging by the pool, overlooking the ocean, having drinks before dinner (Mum, Shane and I: white Bacardi & Coke - sometimes Shane would have a 'Kili' beer). Because the hotel is so small (only 51 rooms) you never felt crowded.
We left the hotel this morning to drive to Lake Manyara, and did an afternoon game drive. It was a lovely park: Masai giraffes, elephants with their babies, vervet monkeys, some more different birds. Shane and Mum get all excited about the different birds, but I must confess that I can never remember them as well. But some of them are quite beautiful, I’ll give them that!
We arranged an early dinner so we could do an option extra: night game drive. It was very expensive, but well worth it. We hadn’t done a night one before, so it was quite fun. We had a big open sided jeep, and our driver, a spotter (who sat on the bonnet) and also the park ranger accompanied us, for safety reasons. We saw some of the animals we see during the day! Which really surprised us, for example, we saw elephants, eating leaves and destroying trees, like they do in the daytime. Apparently they only sleep 2-3 hours a day, the rest of the time, they eat. Also saw zebra and wildebeest, doing the same things they do during the day. I had expected all the animals to be asleep, so this was somewhat of a shock!! Also saw a hare, porcupines, mongoose, genets, bush babies (teeny tiny little monkeys), and the most hilarious, hippos out of the water. Hippos are huge, fat and have squat little legs, but let me tell you, when they want to run, they really go! That surprised me too. I know that they are the most dangerous animal in Africa, but I wasn’t expecting them to actually run! It was very entertaining to watch.
On Sunday we left the lovely hotel and drove to Arusha to catch our flight to Zanzibar. That’s when all the trouble began……we were met by our tour rep ‘Jame’ who seemed friendly at first, but she screwed up our flight arrangements and put us on different flights. She was also extremely unhelpful in my quest to have my borrowed (thanks Gary!) video mono-pod returned to me. It had been left behind around 9 days ago in Samburu National Park, and it was discovered by the hotel, who then sent it on to the tour company’s head office in Nairobi, who then sat on it for all that time, knowing full well that they were supposed to send it to meet me in Arusha……anyway, suffice it to say, I am very PISSED OFF at the tour company, and will be drafting a letter as soon as I return home. My feeling is that when you have a tour rep, they are supposed to assist you in every way possible in terms of your travel arrangements. Jame was rude, obnoxious, and not interested.
Anyway, we’ll leave all that anger and frustration behind, because at first glance, Stonetown is gorgeous – lots of narrow laneways, fabulous old doors, interesting architecture and buildings. Our hotel (http://slh.com/tanzania/zanzibar/hotel_zanzan.html) states very clearly NOT to walk around Stonetown at night, so we’ll have to explore by day. We had dinner on the Terrace at the hotel: a lovely seafood dinner. The Terrace is a small rooftop restaurant right over the beach, overlooking the gorgeous Indian Ocean. They do eat late here, we notice, we didn’t finish to almost 11pm and by that time we were stuffed!
The hotel is just gorgeous - it used to be 2 old houses in Stonetown, fully renovated. The rooms are quite small but very luxurious. The staff is excellent (thank you Wahid and Faouz from the Excursions Desk for their fantastic service!) and it was a lovely place to relax - we spent every afternoon lounging by the pool, overlooking the ocean, having drinks before dinner (Mum, Shane and I: white Bacardi & Coke - sometimes Shane would have a 'Kili' beer). Because the hotel is so small (only 51 rooms) you never felt crowded.
13 January 2006
12-13 January 2006: Serengeti to Ngoro Ngoro Crater
(Image by Shane Craswell Photography. Serengeti landscape.)
Going back to our room alone last night (http://www.serenahotels.com/tanzania/serengeti/home.htm), I was told to get security to accompany me there. My western thinking: there are bad men lurking around. African reality: there are lions and buffalo roaming the hotel grounds and can be extremely dangerous!! Shane and I got bumped up to the honeymoon suite, it was fantastic!
In the morning, we did a short nature walk. It was really lovely to go for a walk in the bush, however, it was a guided walk and we had to be accompanied by an armed guard with an AK47, again, for protection against wild animals attacking. My foot handled the walk okay, but I borrowed a walking stick, which really helped.
There were 3 huge buffalo watching us, which made me a bit nervous, but we got through it okay!! (very different, seeing the animal's eyes when you are out of the vehicle and somewhat vulnerable...)
Today was a bit of a wash-out. We had car trouble, and so our driver/guide, Abdul, had to bring us to the Serengeti Airstrip. We then waited about an hour and a half for another tour company to drop off their clients to fly away. The guide from the other company, Candy, then drove us to our next destination, Ngorongoro Crater, which took about 4 hours. We just managed to make it to the hotel (http://www.serenahotels.com/tanzania/ngorongoro/home.htm) to catch lunch, and then spent the afternoon relaxing, napping and watching the great view from our balcony. The hotel is perched high on the crater rim, and the views are stupendous. It looks very ‘Jurassic Park’, misty, cloudy and green down in the crater. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a dinosaur down there!!!
So, we have lost Abdul, he had to limp back to his home base in Arusha to get the vehicle fixed. We get a new guide and vehicle, to arrive tomorrow morning sometime.
Friday:
Met our new driver/guide, Juma. He arrived at 8 am and off we went down into the crater to spend the day game driving. We were somewhat disappointed with the amount of game we saw, as all reports led us to believe it is a huge concentration of animals, but anyway, we spotted about half a dozen new birds we hadn’t seen before, and all the types of jackals, plus hyenas very close up. It’s quite a big crater, and we spent until about 4pm down there. Juma had a long day, he had to come here from Arusha this morning, he left at 6am, so he was pretty tired. We did managed to spot the elusive black rhino, but only through binoculars, as it was miles away (we don’t consider it a real spotting unless we can comfortably see and photograph the animal). Black rhinos are very rare, in the crater there are only 22 of them.
So, next trip here, we must look further for the black rhino!!
Late in the day we spotted a few lions, but they were very full from a recent kill and eating frenzy, and were lazy and tired, not doing too much.
Our safari is almost over, and it’s too bad!! We are having so much fun.
Here’s some Swahili I have learned:
Jambo/hello
Lala salama/ good night
Asante/thank you
Asanta sana/ thank you very much
Nina fereho, te menua chui!!/ I am happy, I have seen a leopard! (this one I tried out on the bar staff at the last hotel, they were very impressed!)
Ndia/yes
Apana/no
Going back to our room alone last night (http://www.serenahotels.com/tanzania/serengeti/home.htm), I was told to get security to accompany me there. My western thinking: there are bad men lurking around. African reality: there are lions and buffalo roaming the hotel grounds and can be extremely dangerous!! Shane and I got bumped up to the honeymoon suite, it was fantastic!
In the morning, we did a short nature walk. It was really lovely to go for a walk in the bush, however, it was a guided walk and we had to be accompanied by an armed guard with an AK47, again, for protection against wild animals attacking. My foot handled the walk okay, but I borrowed a walking stick, which really helped.
There were 3 huge buffalo watching us, which made me a bit nervous, but we got through it okay!! (very different, seeing the animal's eyes when you are out of the vehicle and somewhat vulnerable...)
Today was a bit of a wash-out. We had car trouble, and so our driver/guide, Abdul, had to bring us to the Serengeti Airstrip. We then waited about an hour and a half for another tour company to drop off their clients to fly away. The guide from the other company, Candy, then drove us to our next destination, Ngorongoro Crater, which took about 4 hours. We just managed to make it to the hotel (http://www.serenahotels.com/tanzania/ngorongoro/home.htm) to catch lunch, and then spent the afternoon relaxing, napping and watching the great view from our balcony. The hotel is perched high on the crater rim, and the views are stupendous. It looks very ‘Jurassic Park’, misty, cloudy and green down in the crater. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a dinosaur down there!!!
So, we have lost Abdul, he had to limp back to his home base in Arusha to get the vehicle fixed. We get a new guide and vehicle, to arrive tomorrow morning sometime.
Friday:
Met our new driver/guide, Juma. He arrived at 8 am and off we went down into the crater to spend the day game driving. We were somewhat disappointed with the amount of game we saw, as all reports led us to believe it is a huge concentration of animals, but anyway, we spotted about half a dozen new birds we hadn’t seen before, and all the types of jackals, plus hyenas very close up. It’s quite a big crater, and we spent until about 4pm down there. Juma had a long day, he had to come here from Arusha this morning, he left at 6am, so he was pretty tired. We did managed to spot the elusive black rhino, but only through binoculars, as it was miles away (we don’t consider it a real spotting unless we can comfortably see and photograph the animal). Black rhinos are very rare, in the crater there are only 22 of them.
So, next trip here, we must look further for the black rhino!!
Late in the day we spotted a few lions, but they were very full from a recent kill and eating frenzy, and were lazy and tired, not doing too much.
Our safari is almost over, and it’s too bad!! We are having so much fun.
Here’s some Swahili I have learned:
Jambo/hello
Lala salama/ good night
Asante/thank you
Asanta sana/ thank you very much
Nina fereho, te menua chui!!/ I am happy, I have seen a leopard! (this one I tried out on the bar staff at the last hotel, they were very impressed!)
Ndia/yes
Apana/no
12 January 2006
10-11 january 2006: Kenya to Tanzania/Serengeti
Images by Shane Craswell Photography: (1) lion eating his kill (2) Serengeti with rain clouds (3&4) cheetah with kill (5) 
leopard asleep in tree.
We departed from our tented lodge bright and early, we had to meet up with 2 other passengers on the road somewhere. However, on the way, things kept happening animal-wise, and we were almost an hour late!
We came across a big cheetah enjoying his kill, and were so close to him that we could hear him ripping the flesh etc. I’m not usually in favour of killing animals or anything, but here it is a giant circle of life. It’s incredible how everything in nature works so well together. For instance, you will often seen zebra and wildebeest together, and this is because 1)zebra are more intuitive (smart??) and will notice predators (lions etc) a lot quicker than the wildebeest can and 2)zebra eat the top layer of grass, and the wildebeest eat the next layer down, they don’t eat grass as high as the zebra.
We then saw a lion with his morning kill, he was a mean guy and wasn’t appreciative of our snapping photos and coming close. He dragged his kill away a few times until we drove off.
Our guide has been amazing, we hope to return to Africa and hire him on our own. If anyone wants recommendations re: Africa, we would be happy to give them our thoughts.
We picked up the 2 new people and went off the Izebania crossing between Kenya and Tanzania. It is utter chaos there! Trucks, people peddling goods, etc. We crossed over into Tanzania without much ado, and discovered that…… Tanzania has roads!! And they are driveable! They are good! They actually spend money on them! What a huge difference. In Kenya the roads are abysmal, if they are dirt, they are extremely bumpy and horrible (reminding us of the Kimberley roads in WA) and if they are paved, you can’t even drive on the paved part due to huge potholes every, say, 2 metres. No joke, they are terrible.
We are so lucky again – the 2 passengers we picked up were only going as far as the border crossing with us, they had their own tour vehicle to pick them up on the other side! So we are alone again for this tour.
Also, the scenery has changed, much greener. It actually rained during the drive. Lots of agriculture and farmlands. Lots of kopjes (big piles of rock) and hills. The people look more ‘African’ to me, what I mean is when I imagine Africa I see women wearing scarves around their heads and bright coloured cloth dresses. Here, they look like that! All the women carry stuff on their heads: water, wood, big bags of stuff.
Note to Shane’s fellow photographers: Shane has now taken 58Gb of images on this safari alone…….every night it takes him a couple of hours to download them onto our laptop and burn to DVD. It’s a pain in the ass. Especially as I need the laptop as well, to make blog notes to later upload to my blog site (whenever I can get internet access that works!!). Maybe we should have brought 2 laptops with satellite wireless internet connections…..ha ha……
Afternoon game drive in the Serengeti – we saw hippos, hyenas, lioness and lion, giraffes, elephants, buffalo, the list goes on an on. Excellent afternoon, and we checked into the Serena Serengeti Resort, which is just gorgeous. They have internet here! And it works! Although at home our internet is about 10 times faster, so it took about an hour to upload all the blog stuff from when we left Nairobi. The internet has been really annoying, but really, we’re having so much fun, it doesn’t really matter. It cost us $5US for 15 minutes of internet time, extremely slow too. We are going to take advantage of it while we are here!!!!
Wednesday morning……………went on a spectacular game drive with Abdul, our new driver (he is from Arusha/Kilimanjaro, 4-months newlywed, and quite young. His English is not as good as Magic’s unfortunately)………………….the drive started off slow, but then we spotted a lioness with her kill ( a zebra). We watched her for ages, she was absolutely stuffed, after the chase and kill, and dragging the zebra to a safer spot, she was exhausted. We watched her for about half an hour. Eventually it got too hot and sunny for her, and she went into the bushes to lie down, meanwhile still having a close view of the kill.
Then, we came across another leopard!! This time lying in the branch of a tree. We, and about another dozen tour vehicles, were enthralled. We ended up staying over 2 hours, just watching and observing. Got some great shots, both images and with my video camera. It was very enjoyable game viewing!!!
Abdul is teaching us words in Swahili, and then we are wowing the bar and restaurant staff with our knowledge. They really appreciate our efforts, amidst much laughter. Most of the guests in this hotel are what you would call, snooty, for lack of a better word. So most of the guest don't even try to communicate with the staff, only to ask/demand for drinks/towels/etc. Leopard in Swahili is ‘chui’.
In the arvo we left for another game drive, to see the hippos (they were fun, but noisy). It absolutely POURED with rain along the drive, it was fantastic. They love the rain here. Except later we saw rather bedraggled birds and animals, they looked very cute.
Tomorrow onto NgoroNgoro Crater, with a huge concentration of animals in the crater. Should be fun!!
leopard asleep in tree.
We departed from our tented lodge bright and early, we had to meet up with 2 other passengers on the road somewhere. However, on the way, things kept happening animal-wise, and we were almost an hour late!
We came across a big cheetah enjoying his kill, and were so close to him that we could hear him ripping the flesh etc. I’m not usually in favour of killing animals or anything, but here it is a giant circle of life. It’s incredible how everything in nature works so well together. For instance, you will often seen zebra and wildebeest together, and this is because 1)zebra are more intuitive (smart??) and will notice predators (lions etc) a lot quicker than the wildebeest can and 2)zebra eat the top layer of grass, and the wildebeest eat the next layer down, they don’t eat grass as high as the zebra.
We then saw a lion with his morning kill, he was a mean guy and wasn’t appreciative of our snapping photos and coming close. He dragged his kill away a few times until we drove off.
Our guide has been amazing, we hope to return to Africa and hire him on our own. If anyone wants recommendations re: Africa, we would be happy to give them our thoughts.
We picked up the 2 new people and went off the Izebania crossing between Kenya and Tanzania. It is utter chaos there! Trucks, people peddling goods, etc. We crossed over into Tanzania without much ado, and discovered that…… Tanzania has roads!! And they are driveable! They are good! They actually spend money on them! What a huge difference. In Kenya the roads are abysmal, if they are dirt, they are extremely bumpy and horrible (reminding us of the Kimberley roads in WA) and if they are paved, you can’t even drive on the paved part due to huge potholes every, say, 2 metres. No joke, they are terrible.
We are so lucky again – the 2 passengers we picked up were only going as far as the border crossing with us, they had their own tour vehicle to pick them up on the other side! So we are alone again for this tour.
Also, the scenery has changed, much greener. It actually rained during the drive. Lots of agriculture and farmlands. Lots of kopjes (big piles of rock) and hills. The people look more ‘African’ to me, what I mean is when I imagine Africa I see women wearing scarves around their heads and bright coloured cloth dresses. Here, they look like that! All the women carry stuff on their heads: water, wood, big bags of stuff.
Note to Shane’s fellow photographers: Shane has now taken 58Gb of images on this safari alone…….every night it takes him a couple of hours to download them onto our laptop and burn to DVD. It’s a pain in the ass. Especially as I need the laptop as well, to make blog notes to later upload to my blog site (whenever I can get internet access that works!!). Maybe we should have brought 2 laptops with satellite wireless internet connections…..ha ha……
Afternoon game drive in the Serengeti – we saw hippos, hyenas, lioness and lion, giraffes, elephants, buffalo, the list goes on an on. Excellent afternoon, and we checked into the Serena Serengeti Resort, which is just gorgeous. They have internet here! And it works! Although at home our internet is about 10 times faster, so it took about an hour to upload all the blog stuff from when we left Nairobi. The internet has been really annoying, but really, we’re having so much fun, it doesn’t really matter. It cost us $5US for 15 minutes of internet time, extremely slow too. We are going to take advantage of it while we are here!!!!
Wednesday morning……………went on a spectacular game drive with Abdul, our new driver (he is from Arusha/Kilimanjaro, 4-months newlywed, and quite young. His English is not as good as Magic’s unfortunately)………………….the drive started off slow, but then we spotted a lioness with her kill ( a zebra). We watched her for ages, she was absolutely stuffed, after the chase and kill, and dragging the zebra to a safer spot, she was exhausted. We watched her for about half an hour. Eventually it got too hot and sunny for her, and she went into the bushes to lie down, meanwhile still having a close view of the kill.
Then, we came across another leopard!! This time lying in the branch of a tree. We, and about another dozen tour vehicles, were enthralled. We ended up staying over 2 hours, just watching and observing. Got some great shots, both images and with my video camera. It was very enjoyable game viewing!!!
Abdul is teaching us words in Swahili, and then we are wowing the bar and restaurant staff with our knowledge. They really appreciate our efforts, amidst much laughter. Most of the guests in this hotel are what you would call, snooty, for lack of a better word. So most of the guest don't even try to communicate with the staff, only to ask/demand for drinks/towels/etc. Leopard in Swahili is ‘chui’.
In the arvo we left for another game drive, to see the hippos (they were fun, but noisy). It absolutely POURED with rain along the drive, it was fantastic. They love the rain here. Except later we saw rather bedraggled birds and animals, they looked very cute.
Tomorrow onto NgoroNgoro Crater, with a huge concentration of animals in the crater. Should be fun!!
09 January 2006
9 january 2006: Visit to a Maasai village
Today we visited a Maasai village, it was certainly an experience! Our guide arrange for us to pay around $10USD each to the village chief and then we were invited into the village to meet everyone and take photos and video. The Maasai are very striking looking, very dark black skinned, and they often wear bright red 'kangas' (blankets) which they reckon keep the lions away. Plus heaps of beautiful jewellery, bead necklaces, bracelets, earrings (they notch their ears and have huge holes in the lobes). They tend goats and cattle, this is what they do all day - the children do it as well (if they're not in school). They basically walk around all day with the herd to make sure they have food to eat, and water to drink. Their animals are everything to them: they are considered 'rich' and 'wealthy' if they have lots of healthy animals.The village is surrounded by sticks and twigs making a strong fence to contain the village, and keep out wild animals. The villagers keep their cattle inside at night, this means that the whole area is based on cow dung. Lots and lots of cow dung. Luckily for Shane, he was wearing boots. Mum and I were wearing sandals...... we enjoyed a hot shower with copious amounts of soap later that day though...
The boys showed Shane how to light a fire without matches, using hard and soft wood and dried....you guessed it....cow dung. This is 'The Man's Job' every morning. After he lights the fire, the women from each hut come and get some fire to light their own fires inside their huts. The huts are made of twigs, branches, and....yes....cow dung! (they love the stuff! it's very useful!) and they are quite spacious inside, even though they look small. You have to hunch over to enter them and they generally have several separate rooms inside: first, an entrance way, then a small area for the woman (and husband, if he is there), they sleep on animal hides on the floor. Sometimes there is a small area for a goat (so they can milk it first thing in the morning) and then another room for the kids. This is a polygamous society, the men are allowed as many wives as they wish, and they take advantage of this, as you would, I suppose! if you were a man, that is..... anyway, the man gets to choose where he sleeps every night.
Another thing I noticed: the whole village looks after the children as a group, it's not just left up to the individual parents to do all the work. Actually, the whole village works as a community, they have few material possessions and all the money they earn (from selling jewellery etc) goes to benefit the whole village, not just the single person. The Maasai have overcome so much, and yet they remain relatively 'untouched' by Western culture. They are not drunks, they don't smoke, they don't eat junk food. They survive mainly on goat blood, milk and meat. They don't eat any 'bush' type food.
We noticed their awesome sandals; made entirely of car tires, except for a few tiny nails holding the soles together. They also seem to like wrist watches, especially the digital kind (although I don't think they know how to tell time, most watches I saw them with didn't even work). The children adored my video camera, because I could film them and then play it back on the screen, they couldn't get enough of that! This society is a big believer in circumcision, both for boys and girls. However, with the boys it is a big celebration and a festival atmosphere, the circumcision is done in front of the whole village with much frivolity and whatnot; whereas the girls are circumcised in their individual family huts, only the family attending. Hmmmmmm....what does this mean? well, in this society, men are KING and women are second class - even though they do most of the work. (Just like western society, haha). The Maasai do send their kids to school, although it it difficult for them because often they have to send the kids away to boarding school, which they have to pay for, not to mention books, school supplies and uniforms.
This is a semi-nomadic society: they stay in one place for about 8 years, that's when the pile of cow dung in the village gets too high, they've got to move on!!! (no, I'm serious!)
I also noticed their ears: they 'notch' them, cut them with a sharp stone or a sharp knife, for decoration. Their jewellery is really beautiful and they are a very proud and majestic people. What a incredibly humbling experience - you couldn't learn anything about this in school, that's for sure.
08 January 2006
7-8 january 2006: Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara
Long drive for most of the day, arriving at Lake Nakuru late afternoon. On our fabulous game drive we spotted a white rhino!!! Actually, several rhinos. So, the ‘Big 5’ is now complete – but don’t get me wrong, there are heaps of other animals and birds to be seen. We also saw lots of baboons and baboon babies, and a jackal, and or course, a gazillion (yes, it’s true, I counted) pink and white flamingoes, which Lake Nakuru is famous for. The lake is a giant soda/salt lake and it attracts the flamingoes. It looks very spectacular from a distance.Spent the night at the Shaba Lion Hill Lodge, which was nice, except again, no internet access. (Since we left Nairobi it has been impossible to get any internet access so all my blogging is done on the laptop, hopefully soon we will be able to upload stuff. Even in Nairobi it was so slow that it took me one hour to upload 7 small images…..) But, if that’s the price you have to pay to be here, I gladly pay it!!!!!!!!
Unfortunately Shane was violently ill during the night, and I was sick as well. Today we are feeling better, JUST. I hope it’s not Mum’s turn next!
Today, Sunday, was a very long driving day as well. We also had a fan belt break, and this involved us hopping onto another minibus with our French friends Bertran and Mirienne. They are on another tour but we are sort of traveling together in a way. Then we also hopped onto another minibus, and then our driver caught up with us, having had the fan belt fixed in a small town. We arrived at the Sarova Mara Tented Camp: it’s gorgeous! We are in a big tent with a wood floor, ensuite attached and so on. Even a little deck out front. It’s very luxurious.
Afternoon game drive around the Masai Mara: saw a cheetah with his kill! And a lion with his kill! And Mara Giraffes, topis, elephants, wildebeest, hartebeest, buffalo, the list goes on. Another awesome day.
06 January 2006
5-6 january 2006: Samburu NP & Samburu village
Well, we stayed up all night at The Ark, but unfortunately missed out on seeing any big game. We did see, however, hyenas, mongoose, genets (look like small cats) and lots of birds, as well as big buffalo.
After brekky we headed back to the Aberdare Country Club, ran into the GM again and showed him our leopard images, he thought they were spectacular!
Drove to Samburu National Park and did an afternoon game drive: saw oryx, giraffes (on came so close to the vehicle!), Grant’s gazelles, impalas, dikdiks, klipspringers etc. All of these animals are so camouflaged! I am getting Shane to photograph all the animal bums (see zebra, above), I think they are so cute!!!
We also saw a whole heap of birds. The scenery is much like the Kimberley we remember in WA. Lots of volcanic lava (from Mt Kenya). We also visited the site of Survivor: Africa, which was great (although it’s just an empty space in the land, nothing left of the huts or whatever).
Checked into the Shaba Lodge, a gorgeous lodge on the edge of the Samburu River. Monkeys in the trees, crocs in the river, the odd Samburu tribesman wandering around the grounds.
We were all very tired so had an early night.
Excellent day!
The next day we left early for a game drive and saw 2 elephant families right close to the vehicle, a few baby elephants too. They destroy a lot of the vegetation by stomping around and ripping branches off trees. They are fantastic to see.
We also came within 10 feet (yes!!! truly!!) of a big sleeping lion!! He was absolutely fabulous to watch, and he was sleeping like a baby. His pride of about 5 lionesses were nearby, relaxing in the shade. We were stoked to see the lion, this means now was have seen 4 of the ‘Big 5’ animals (buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion) and only the rhino left to see, which we will see at Lake Nakuru tomorrow.
Excellent games driving!!
In the arvo we spent time at a Samburu village near the hotel. This is not a ‘tourist’ village, rather, a real tribal village. Our guide is friends with the tribe, and occasionally brings his groups to get a real taste of life in the village. The people welcomed us with song, and accepted us to go into their village. They are so colourful (somewhat like the Maasai that are more well-known. Lots of red colours, lots of bead necklaces, and the men have quite intricate head things on, the more colourful they are, the more wives they want. It is a polygamous society.
Had an incredible afternoon there, the people are so friendly and welcoming. It was a real education to see how they live. They mainly survive on goats: they drink the blood, the milk, and eat the meat. Their whole lives exist of keeping their goats fed and watered, so they are a semi-nomadic people.
Later we had a long chat with Magic about the people, and the problems they encounter, trying to live in a modern world. I feel so privileged to see this.
Note: my foot is getting better every day, I am now able to walk, albeit with a limp. However, I have also come down with some bad gastro problems, so I am still a bit weak (haven’t eaten much in the last day). But, who cares! It’s not stopping me from enjoying this incredible land.
05 January 2006
4 january 2006: The Leopard
We had pretty much finished the game drive, packed up our cameras, and were heading for The Ark, when the elusive leopard ran across the road about 500 metres in front of the vehicle. It was so exciting! We advanced oh so slowly, and were privileged to see the leopard stop in a tree very close to us. He actually stopped and looked us over for a good minute (enough time for Shane and Mum to snap him, and me to video him!). It was the most exciting thing to happen, our guide said we were very lucky because it is quite rare to see leopards, even though there are plenty around.
And it’s only Day 1 of the safari! We are loving being here, spending heaps of money, but at this point we are out for a good time, no matter what. Money can’t get in the way of us now!!! We are spending heaps on 1) tipping and 1) buying bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth, etc etc. We haven’t worked out which is costing more…..
01 January 2006
Au revoir Canada.......Africa, here we come!!!
Today, it is -14 degrees, but with the wind chill it feels like -25. Translation: VERY COLD. One more sleep, then we're on our way to Africa. Shane celebrates his 42nd birthday today!
31 December 2005
4 january 2006: Aberdare National Reserve & The Ark Lodge
Started our safari this morning. My foot is so painful I can’t put any weight on it at all. The hotel found me a wheelchair, which made my breakfast a little easier. The service in the hotel is top notch, the staff was very helpful and worried. It feels like the staff to guest ratio is incredibly high, and so is the security – there are security guards at the front lobby, and on each floor in front of the lifts. Unfortunately, though, this makes tipping extremely complicated, as there are so many people who help you, and you are supposed to tip them all (about $1.50USD each person, each time).
We met our guide for the Kenya portion of the tour, his name is Amarjit ‘just call me Magic’. His grandfather was an Indian and his grandmother a Maasai, which is an interesting mix. He speaks 14 languages and considers himself Kenyan, since he was born and bred here. We filled an esky with ice and since we are the only 3 people on our tour (how lucky is that! A private tour!) there is plenty of room in the mini bus for me to stretch out my bad leg and ice it. (there are actually seats for 7 in the back).
We drove for about 3 hours on very below average roads, full of potholes and bad drivers. Actually I must say that the drivers here are all friendly and non-road rage types, they seem to handle things well. The roundabouts are a bit scary, 2 or 3 lanes without marked lines. Absolute chaos at rush hour. We did notice traffic police at the roundabouts, directing traffic at busy times. Another interesting experience is the police checkpoints all over the place. They block off the road with strips of nail spikes and randomly stop cars. The police are armed with machine guns. We were never stopped, and they always waved with a friendly ‘Jambo’ (hello) when we passed by. Apparently they check cars randomly for licenses and car infractions and cargo between villages. They also check matatus all the time, these are mini bus type vehicles, privately owned, and used as taxis, sort of. They have seats for 12 but we are told they will take upwards of 18 people – and this is when they get fined!
Stopping at a souvenir shop, I wasn’t able to walk around and I kind of missed out on the shopping experience, but Shane and Mum made up for it. Mum bought a woven bag and Shane bought us a gorgeous carved ebony giraffe, it is really incredible.
Arriving at the Aberdare Country Club, we checked in (we actually stay at The Ark tonight, more about that later) and relaxed in the grounds. They organized a couple of nice strong staff members to fireman’s lift me to the lunch area (somewhat embarrassing, but they had no wheelchairs or easy access to the restaurant). The grounds were beautifully kept up and manicured. Shane was interested in the golf course, with baboons on it. On the grounds were baboons, peacocks and warthogs, which are so ugly you have to love them!!!
During lunch we met the GM of the hotel, who was a typical British/Scottish Colonial gentleman. He arranged for us better located rooms at The Ark (because of my foot) and also our own private game tour vehicle when we decided to book the optional extra game drive in the arvo. We met our guide George, and embarked on 3 hours of fun, exciting game viewing, including the Reticulated Giraffe, Zebras, Elands, Colubus monkeys, elephants with huge tusks, buffalo and a hyena.
READ THE NEXT POSTING FOR MORE EXCITING NEWS ABOUT SPOTTING GAME.
Arrived at The Ark Lodge (shaped like you would imagine Noah’s Ark to be like) around 6pm, we saw our rooms (rustic and tiny) and downloaded the day’s images onto the laptop, had a few drinks and endured a delicious dinner spoiled by a horrid Yank woman at our table. (why are so many of them so irritating???)
After dinner we grabbed blankets off our beds and settled in for the night in viewing galley D, which is the ground level in front of the lit waterhole.
The Ark borders a large waterhole which is lit up all night. Inside has 4 levels, each with large viewing areas, and big windows. Gallery D also has a hide next to it, where you can take photos easier.
There are notices everywhere that you are NOT to leave the building at all, as we are surrounded by wild game. We are so tired! But happy to be here…..
We met our guide for the Kenya portion of the tour, his name is Amarjit ‘just call me Magic’. His grandfather was an Indian and his grandmother a Maasai, which is an interesting mix. He speaks 14 languages and considers himself Kenyan, since he was born and bred here. We filled an esky with ice and since we are the only 3 people on our tour (how lucky is that! A private tour!) there is plenty of room in the mini bus for me to stretch out my bad leg and ice it. (there are actually seats for 7 in the back).
We drove for about 3 hours on very below average roads, full of potholes and bad drivers. Actually I must say that the drivers here are all friendly and non-road rage types, they seem to handle things well. The roundabouts are a bit scary, 2 or 3 lanes without marked lines. Absolute chaos at rush hour. We did notice traffic police at the roundabouts, directing traffic at busy times. Another interesting experience is the police checkpoints all over the place. They block off the road with strips of nail spikes and randomly stop cars. The police are armed with machine guns. We were never stopped, and they always waved with a friendly ‘Jambo’ (hello) when we passed by. Apparently they check cars randomly for licenses and car infractions and cargo between villages. They also check matatus all the time, these are mini bus type vehicles, privately owned, and used as taxis, sort of. They have seats for 12 but we are told they will take upwards of 18 people – and this is when they get fined!
Stopping at a souvenir shop, I wasn’t able to walk around and I kind of missed out on the shopping experience, but Shane and Mum made up for it. Mum bought a woven bag and Shane bought us a gorgeous carved ebony giraffe, it is really incredible.
Arriving at the Aberdare Country Club, we checked in (we actually stay at The Ark tonight, more about that later) and relaxed in the grounds. They organized a couple of nice strong staff members to fireman’s lift me to the lunch area (somewhat embarrassing, but they had no wheelchairs or easy access to the restaurant). The grounds were beautifully kept up and manicured. Shane was interested in the golf course, with baboons on it. On the grounds were baboons, peacocks and warthogs, which are so ugly you have to love them!!!
During lunch we met the GM of the hotel, who was a typical British/Scottish Colonial gentleman. He arranged for us better located rooms at The Ark (because of my foot) and also our own private game tour vehicle when we decided to book the optional extra game drive in the arvo. We met our guide George, and embarked on 3 hours of fun, exciting game viewing, including the Reticulated Giraffe, Zebras, Elands, Colubus monkeys, elephants with huge tusks, buffalo and a hyena.
READ THE NEXT POSTING FOR MORE EXCITING NEWS ABOUT SPOTTING GAME.
Arrived at The Ark Lodge (shaped like you would imagine Noah’s Ark to be like) around 6pm, we saw our rooms (rustic and tiny) and downloaded the day’s images onto the laptop, had a few drinks and endured a delicious dinner spoiled by a horrid Yank woman at our table. (why are so many of them so irritating???)
After dinner we grabbed blankets off our beds and settled in for the night in viewing galley D, which is the ground level in front of the lit waterhole.
The Ark borders a large waterhole which is lit up all night. Inside has 4 levels, each with large viewing areas, and big windows. Gallery D also has a hide next to it, where you can take photos easier.
There are notices everywhere that you are NOT to leave the building at all, as we are surrounded by wild game. We are so tired! But happy to be here…..
3 January 2006: Nairobi, Kenya
As I am typing this into the laptop, I am on the bed, with my right foot up on a pillow, covered with ice. I fell down the hotel (http://www.summithotels.com/hotel_horizontal.cfm?id=17025) stairs after dinner (no, I was NOT drinking!! Only water!) and badly twisted my ankle. Anyway, I think it’s just a sprain so I am trying not to worry about it….We had an excellent day today. We hired a private driver/guide for the day, for the 3 of us. Douglas picked us up and drove us out to David Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage (http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/), which is in the Nairobi National Park. They take in orphaned elephants (mainly caused by poaching or starvation of the mothers) and nurse them for an indefinite period of time, the keepers even sleep next to the babies every night for months! Then they accompany them to Tsavo National Park, where they stay with the babies until they can find them a herd of elephants who will take them in. Every morning for an hour, the keepers take the babies out in the orphanage, so people can see them, touch them, and learn about them. It was fantastic, their skin is actually quite hard with spiky hair all over it. (Baby animals of any kind are so wonderful to see.) Shane adds this: It was also interesting to note that there still existed a form of hierarchy amongst the orphaned elephants, especially as they were all orphaned at such a young age of only a couple of months. The male babies stay with their mothers, under normal circumstances, for 15 years, and the baby girls will stay with their mothers forever.
After that, we drove out to Giraffe Manor where they take in orphaned Rothschild’s Giraffes and rear them as well (www.gcci.org/afew/afew.html). We hand-fed them and took heaps of photos. Around the giraffes were a bunch of warthogs as well. The tongue on a giraffe is 45cm long and a bluey grey colour. They stick it right thru the fence to get the food pellets. Excellent experience! Except after hand feeding them, you almost need a shower to clean up!!
Then off to Kazuri (http://www.kazuribeads.co.uk/), a bead making cooperative. This is a successful bead and pottery factory, hiring over 100 Kenyan women and older girls, to give them jobs and a way to support themselves. It was very interesting to see the factory and the workers, beautiful products.
Later that afternoon, our guide drove us around Naroibi, pointing out significant buildings and areas, and we also saw Marabou storks (huge carnivorous birds who defecate on their own legs to keep warm in colder times, and have a wingspan of 2.5 metres- don’t you just love Lonely Planet guidebooks??). Shane took photos (from a distance) of Kibera, a huge slum containing over 300 000 people in tin rooved shacks (featured in ‘The Constant Gardener’ recently).
All in all, an excellent day, and we felt very safe with our guide. Tomorrow, onto the Ark Lodge for some game viewing. Our safari begins!
Note: the money is a bit of a pain. Here we use both Kenyan shillings, and American dollars. So we need to memorise the exchange rate for these, compared to both Canadian (for Mum) and Australian (for us) dollars. Slightly confusing!! Maybe I should have a drink after all….. Actually earlier I tried a Tusker beer, very tasty. Although we managed to get wireless internet in our room for our laptop, the connection is VERY slow, it took me almost an hour to upload 7 images onto my blog…..I think it may only get worse as we get away from the major centres…..so keep your fingers crossed.
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