Gorillas in Rwanda
Safari in Tanzania
Climbing Kili
Zanzibar
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Sunday, November 27, 2005
Toronto, Canada
I made it home in one piece, and so did all of my souvenirs. I've posted some pics up on kodakgallery.com:
Gorillas in Rwanda
Safari in Tanzania
Climbing Kili
Zanzibar
The site asks you to sign in, but there's a "View Photos without signing in" button that you can click on.
My favourites:
Gorillas in Rwanda
Safari in Tanzania
Climbing Kili
Zanzibar
The site asks you to sign in, but there's a "View Photos without signing in" button that you can click on.
My favourites:
Friday, November 25, 2005
Nairobi, Kenya
JP, Susan and I returned from Zanzibar and are spending our last few hours in Nairobi before our flights home late tonight. (Quick background: JP and his friend Susan traveled together on safari, similar to Marissa and I. Then JP and I met up to climb Kili, went on to Zanzibar where we met Susan). The three of us are killing the afternoon, buying souvenirs, avoiding the intermittent short rains, surfing the web...
JP and Susan fly on BA and I'm on KLM so I won't see them on the flights (nor on the seven hour layover in Amsterdam), but I have my big fat Dostoyevsky book to tide the time.
Zanzibar was VERY relaxing. Mostly it was spent at laying around the Nyota bungalows, listening to the ocean, reading books, staying out of the sun, waiting for the next meal (the seafood was amazing).
We got out diving once (on Thurdsay, every other day was fully-booked). Went on a double dive. The first one was rather uneventful, not many fishes or coral to look at. The second dive was better, we saw three big turtles, including one swimming, which I've never seen while diving, it was pretty cool. Overall I thought there was more to see in the Caribbean (plus the water's warmer there -- about 28C vs only 25C here). We did wear full wetsuits which was a first for me. But it was fun to be out diving again. I'd like to go on a diving vacation at some point, because the first dive is mostly wasted on getting my feet wet again (pardon the pun).
I'll be home shortly, and I'll post pictures from my trip. See you soon if you're in Toronto!
JP and Susan fly on BA and I'm on KLM so I won't see them on the flights (nor on the seven hour layover in Amsterdam), but I have my big fat Dostoyevsky book to tide the time.
Zanzibar was VERY relaxing. Mostly it was spent at laying around the Nyota bungalows, listening to the ocean, reading books, staying out of the sun, waiting for the next meal (the seafood was amazing).
We got out diving once (on Thurdsay, every other day was fully-booked). Went on a double dive. The first one was rather uneventful, not many fishes or coral to look at. The second dive was better, we saw three big turtles, including one swimming, which I've never seen while diving, it was pretty cool. Overall I thought there was more to see in the Caribbean (plus the water's warmer there -- about 28C vs only 25C here). We did wear full wetsuits which was a first for me. But it was fun to be out diving again. I'd like to go on a diving vacation at some point, because the first dive is mostly wasted on getting my feet wet again (pardon the pun).
I'll be home shortly, and I'll post pictures from my trip. See you soon if you're in Toronto!
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Stone Town, Zanzibar Island, Tanzania
JP and I are now on the "relaxing" part of our trips. We flew into Zanzibar Island yesterday, and got a hotel on Matemwe Beach, about an hour from Stone Town on the northeast side of the island.
We wanted to stay at a resort that is affiliated with a 5-star PADI Dive Centre, but the hotel was full. However, they recommended a new place (not even in the Lonely Planet yet), and it's really nice. It's the nicest bed I've slept in on this trip, and the food is the best I've had in east Africa. It's run by Patricia, an italian ex-pat, and it's very well done. Everything is quite simple, but it all works. Yesterday for lunch, JP had the best calamari I've ever tasted (I'm going to have that today). We're sticking with seafood for the rest of the trip here.
Unfortunately the Dive Centre is booked up today and possibly tomorrow, so we may only get diving in on Thursday.
The place we're staying at is very nice to relax and read. I traded one of the books I finished for a Dostoevsky (sp?) book, which will be some nice light reading for the long trip back.
Today we took a day trip into Stone Town, bought some souvenirs, took lotsa pictures, and have access to the web. The place we're at is so remote, the taxi driver had to continually ask people where it was, and there's no real roads around the place, just random sand roads.
The beach is amazing, very very fine white sand. The water's only 25C (lower than the 28C I'm used to diving in in the Caribbean). But there should be lots of little fishies to see.
We wanted to stay at a resort that is affiliated with a 5-star PADI Dive Centre, but the hotel was full. However, they recommended a new place (not even in the Lonely Planet yet), and it's really nice. It's the nicest bed I've slept in on this trip, and the food is the best I've had in east Africa. It's run by Patricia, an italian ex-pat, and it's very well done. Everything is quite simple, but it all works. Yesterday for lunch, JP had the best calamari I've ever tasted (I'm going to have that today). We're sticking with seafood for the rest of the trip here.
Unfortunately the Dive Centre is booked up today and possibly tomorrow, so we may only get diving in on Thursday.
The place we're staying at is very nice to relax and read. I traded one of the books I finished for a Dostoevsky (sp?) book, which will be some nice light reading for the long trip back.
Today we took a day trip into Stone Town, bought some souvenirs, took lotsa pictures, and have access to the web. The place we're at is so remote, the taxi driver had to continually ask people where it was, and there's no real roads around the place, just random sand roads.
The beach is amazing, very very fine white sand. The water's only 25C (lower than the 28C I'm used to diving in in the Caribbean). But there should be lots of little fishies to see.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Moshi, Tanzania
We made it! was all I could say to a group of amused Germans after JP and I returned to the Kibo huts from Uhuru, the peak of Kili.
...
We started the climb on Tuesday. We drove from Moshi to the Marangu gate, our guide (Emmanuel) went through the paperwork, and we were off by noon.
The first day we climbed from 1800m to 2700m, to the Mandara huts. The walk was first through rainforest, abruptly changing to heathers around 2300m (JP has a GPS, a neat little toy for a trip such as this). It took us 3.5 hours to cover the 8km.
The second day we climbed to Homboro, at 3700m, about 11km from Mandara. This took us about 4 hours, and we had now cleared the treeline and the walk was through beautiful moorlands. I felt quite sick that evening, with headaches, and was worried about altitude sickness. A couple Tylenol cleared that up, and I now suspect it was caused by sun exposure rather than altitude, because I did not have any problems the rest of the way.
The third day was a planned rest day, in order to help acclimatization. We had a short day-trip to about 4100m, (it's better to sleep below the high point of the day), from which we had an excellent view of the remaining walk.
The fourth day we walked to the Kibo huts, at 4700m. The normal 6-day Marangu climb involves walking to Kibo on Day 4, and then getting up at 11pm to ascend to the summit by 6am and returning back to Horombo on Day 5, and then back to the gate on Day 6. However, we covered the 9km to the Kibo huts in 3.5 hours, and our guide asked us if we wanted to climb to the summit that afternoon! -- the benefit being that it was about 10C at the summit dayside, and -15C nightside. We got all excited, and quickly had some lunch, and by 12:15 pm we were off! (JP and I, plus Emmanuel and a assistant guide -- so that there was one guide per climber).
The climb from Kibo huts to Gilman's point is a 1000m ascent, at about a 45* incline. We covered the first 500m quite quickly, and then took a break. I had a Snickers bar (packed with peanuts, I found it really satisfying), and an "energy tablet" from Emmanuel, which I think was just a citrus candy. That gave me a boost, and we started on the remaining 500m to Gilman's. The terrain was now steeper and just loose gravel and sand. Not the easiest thing to walk up.
We made it to 200m remaining and took another break. I didn't have a headache, which surprised me, but at over 5000m it was tough going. My heart was beating as fast as I have ever heard it, and I just couldn't get a full breath of air because it was so thin. We psyched ourselves up, thinking only 200m to go, we can do that! But I kept on looking up every couple minutes and it wasn't getting much closer.
Finally we reached the top of Gilman's, at roughly 5700m, after 3.5 hours. Almost there! From Gilman's there was a great view into the crater, and it was cool to see clouds wisping up the mountain, breaking into streaks that dove into the crater and then up the other side.
I had another Snickers bar and Emmanuel's energy tablet.
Our true goal was another 200m up, around the rim of the crater, to Uhuru. Fortunately, this was an easier walk, although we started by going down 10m, and all I could think was that we'd pay for that by having to ascend 10m later on.
The walk to Uhuru took about 1 hour, and this was the only part that was really cold. Finally in the approachable distance, we could see the signs announcing Uhuru!
JP reached the peak first with his guide, and shortly after (local time 5pm, Toronto time 10am Friday), I reached there. The guides hugged us and congratulated us.
(This next part is slightly fuzzy, and mostly is recounted from stories JP and I told over beers back down at the hotel. The lack of oxygen at that height 5896m, affected our thinking, in that we weren't really thinking at all)
I looked around, not clear on what to do next. Our guide took pictures of us with our cameras. I had enough wits to take a 360 panaroma. I don't remember feeling elated or happy or anything. I was just on autopilot.
We walked back to Gilman's (about 30 minutes), and then began descending the gravel. This was fun, although really exhausting. We took giant moonsteps down, each foot sinking and sliding about 5m before stopping. It was like skiing moguls, and JP and I could only keep it going for 10 seconds at a time, before our legs gave up. The descent down to Kibo huts took about an hour, finishing just as darkness fell on the mountain. That's when I entered the hut, and showed up in front of the Germans in the dining room, telling them that we had made it.
I was drenched in sweat, and took off most of the layers of clothing. We could only have soup for dinner, solid food seemed like too much work. I tried to sleep, but my body was too pumped from the last 11 hours of walking up 2200m and back down 1200m, over 18km. My brain still wasn't really thinking.
Everyone else at Kibo woke up at 11pm to begin their night ascent, and JP and I both wished everyone luck. Finally around midnight I fell asleep.
on Day 5, we walked all the way back from Kibo to the Marangu gates, a drop of 3000m over 30km. This was the most physically exhausting part of the climb. Passing down through 4000m, I was surprised that I was thinking again, and realized that I hadn't had much thoughts over the last little while. Amazing what oxygen does for the brain. The air became gradually thicker, and it was very noticeable.
We got back to the hotel by 5pm, and showered for the first time in 5 days. Over that time, I had had no alcohol or caffeine (to help prevent altitude sickness), the cook was good but had some kind of aversion to salt, walking 10km a day in clean air -- in short, it's probably the healthiest my body has been in a while.
A few beers at the hotel fixed that problem, with JP, and Gary and Ricky, two other guys we had met on the climb (Gary was also on my safari). It was then that much of the stories of the ascent to Uhuru were pieced together. I hadn't realized the effect of thin oxygen on thinking until that point!
Many people say it's the hardest thing they've done in their lives. For me, it was physically exhausting, but no more so than say playing hockey with only 2 guys on the bench. Mentally, I find it harder to wake up for my early morning meetings on Wednesdays. It was physically and mentally exhausting, but not that bad. (For the record, I found learning to roll a kayak the hardest thing I've done. I was on a kayak course in Nepal, and didn't have to learn to roll -- but I wanted to, and spent many extra hours in the glacial (ie darned cold) waters of the Kali Gandaki before I finally got it. Climbing Kili, I had to reach the peak, or there was no point to it.)
JP and I are relaxing today (getting our laundry done, sending emails, etc), and tomorrow we fly to Zanzibar.
Later!
...
We started the climb on Tuesday. We drove from Moshi to the Marangu gate, our guide (Emmanuel) went through the paperwork, and we were off by noon.
The first day we climbed from 1800m to 2700m, to the Mandara huts. The walk was first through rainforest, abruptly changing to heathers around 2300m (JP has a GPS, a neat little toy for a trip such as this). It took us 3.5 hours to cover the 8km.
The second day we climbed to Homboro, at 3700m, about 11km from Mandara. This took us about 4 hours, and we had now cleared the treeline and the walk was through beautiful moorlands. I felt quite sick that evening, with headaches, and was worried about altitude sickness. A couple Tylenol cleared that up, and I now suspect it was caused by sun exposure rather than altitude, because I did not have any problems the rest of the way.
The third day was a planned rest day, in order to help acclimatization. We had a short day-trip to about 4100m, (it's better to sleep below the high point of the day), from which we had an excellent view of the remaining walk.
The fourth day we walked to the Kibo huts, at 4700m. The normal 6-day Marangu climb involves walking to Kibo on Day 4, and then getting up at 11pm to ascend to the summit by 6am and returning back to Horombo on Day 5, and then back to the gate on Day 6. However, we covered the 9km to the Kibo huts in 3.5 hours, and our guide asked us if we wanted to climb to the summit that afternoon! -- the benefit being that it was about 10C at the summit dayside, and -15C nightside. We got all excited, and quickly had some lunch, and by 12:15 pm we were off! (JP and I, plus Emmanuel and a assistant guide -- so that there was one guide per climber).
The climb from Kibo huts to Gilman's point is a 1000m ascent, at about a 45* incline. We covered the first 500m quite quickly, and then took a break. I had a Snickers bar (packed with peanuts, I found it really satisfying), and an "energy tablet" from Emmanuel, which I think was just a citrus candy. That gave me a boost, and we started on the remaining 500m to Gilman's. The terrain was now steeper and just loose gravel and sand. Not the easiest thing to walk up.
We made it to 200m remaining and took another break. I didn't have a headache, which surprised me, but at over 5000m it was tough going. My heart was beating as fast as I have ever heard it, and I just couldn't get a full breath of air because it was so thin. We psyched ourselves up, thinking only 200m to go, we can do that! But I kept on looking up every couple minutes and it wasn't getting much closer.
Finally we reached the top of Gilman's, at roughly 5700m, after 3.5 hours. Almost there! From Gilman's there was a great view into the crater, and it was cool to see clouds wisping up the mountain, breaking into streaks that dove into the crater and then up the other side.
I had another Snickers bar and Emmanuel's energy tablet.
Our true goal was another 200m up, around the rim of the crater, to Uhuru. Fortunately, this was an easier walk, although we started by going down 10m, and all I could think was that we'd pay for that by having to ascend 10m later on.
The walk to Uhuru took about 1 hour, and this was the only part that was really cold. Finally in the approachable distance, we could see the signs announcing Uhuru!
JP reached the peak first with his guide, and shortly after (local time 5pm, Toronto time 10am Friday), I reached there. The guides hugged us and congratulated us.
(This next part is slightly fuzzy, and mostly is recounted from stories JP and I told over beers back down at the hotel. The lack of oxygen at that height 5896m, affected our thinking, in that we weren't really thinking at all)
I looked around, not clear on what to do next. Our guide took pictures of us with our cameras. I had enough wits to take a 360 panaroma. I don't remember feeling elated or happy or anything. I was just on autopilot.
We walked back to Gilman's (about 30 minutes), and then began descending the gravel. This was fun, although really exhausting. We took giant moonsteps down, each foot sinking and sliding about 5m before stopping. It was like skiing moguls, and JP and I could only keep it going for 10 seconds at a time, before our legs gave up. The descent down to Kibo huts took about an hour, finishing just as darkness fell on the mountain. That's when I entered the hut, and showed up in front of the Germans in the dining room, telling them that we had made it.
I was drenched in sweat, and took off most of the layers of clothing. We could only have soup for dinner, solid food seemed like too much work. I tried to sleep, but my body was too pumped from the last 11 hours of walking up 2200m and back down 1200m, over 18km. My brain still wasn't really thinking.
Everyone else at Kibo woke up at 11pm to begin their night ascent, and JP and I both wished everyone luck. Finally around midnight I fell asleep.
on Day 5, we walked all the way back from Kibo to the Marangu gates, a drop of 3000m over 30km. This was the most physically exhausting part of the climb. Passing down through 4000m, I was surprised that I was thinking again, and realized that I hadn't had much thoughts over the last little while. Amazing what oxygen does for the brain. The air became gradually thicker, and it was very noticeable.
We got back to the hotel by 5pm, and showered for the first time in 5 days. Over that time, I had had no alcohol or caffeine (to help prevent altitude sickness), the cook was good but had some kind of aversion to salt, walking 10km a day in clean air -- in short, it's probably the healthiest my body has been in a while.
A few beers at the hotel fixed that problem, with JP, and Gary and Ricky, two other guys we had met on the climb (Gary was also on my safari). It was then that much of the stories of the ascent to Uhuru were pieced together. I hadn't realized the effect of thin oxygen on thinking until that point!
Many people say it's the hardest thing they've done in their lives. For me, it was physically exhausting, but no more so than say playing hockey with only 2 guys on the bench. Mentally, I find it harder to wake up for my early morning meetings on Wednesdays. It was physically and mentally exhausting, but not that bad. (For the record, I found learning to roll a kayak the hardest thing I've done. I was on a kayak course in Nepal, and didn't have to learn to roll -- but I wanted to, and spent many extra hours in the glacial (ie darned cold) waters of the Kali Gandaki before I finally got it. Climbing Kili, I had to reach the peak, or there was no point to it.)
JP and I are relaxing today (getting our laundry done, sending emails, etc), and tomorrow we fly to Zanzibar.
Later!
Monday, November 14, 2005
Moshi, Tanzania
The last couple days of the safari were uneventful, as there were no more game drives. We were able to upgrade to lodges the last two nights, and so finished the safari in relative comfort.
Overall the safari was much what I had hoped for, my favourite game drive was the last morning in the Serengeti, the scale of the view just blew me away. The animals were very close to us, which was also really nice (for those of us without huge zooms on our cameras!). The group of people were really fun to be with, and our guides and cook were excellent. Overall two thumbs up!
I'm now in Moshi waiting to start the Kili climb tomorrow morning. I was dropped off by the safari at the Springlands Hotel yesterday early morning. Said goodbye to everyone on the safari, including Marissa who carried on back to Nairobi to fly home. Having traveled a bit, it wasn't that weird for me to become really close to people and then say goodbye, but I think for other people it would be odd. Usually this happens every couple of days when backpacking!
The Springlands Hotel is a resort-type place that you don't really need to leave. They did all my laundry at reasonable prices (60 cents for a pair of pants!), they sell water, have internet access, and will cash traveller's cheques. The hotel is on the outskirts of Moshi, and they have a shuttle to and from the town every 30 minutes.
I relaxed yesterday, catching up on my reading and keying in my safari blog entries.
This morning, JP arrived at the hotel (JP is my friend from Toronto, who is in east Africa at the same time, and we're doing the climb together). JP booked the trip over here, and thanks to the internet we were able to organize meeting etc, even though we were on separate safaris. That still amazes me.
This morning we booked a flight to Zanzibar, returning to Nairobi. It was also very painless to my surprise. We walked into the travel agency, and walked out 10 minutes later with tickets in hand!
Tomorrow JP and I start walking up Kili. We're doing the Marangu route, which has huts the whole way. If all goes well, I'll be at the top (5896m) on Friday night just before midnight Toronto-time. I'm not expecting internet access along the way, so this may be it for another week.
I was expecting more internet places to cut CDs from digital camera cards. However, I've only seen them in Nairobi. My card was full, and yesterday I walked all around Moshi looking for a place to cut a CD, but got only blank stares. However, JP rescued me because he was able to download my pics to his iPod, and lent me an extra 1GB card. Thank goodness, or else I would have had to delete some more pictures. I bought the largest card at the time (256MB) when I bought my camera, but I definitely need to upgrade that to a 1GB card.
Well, I'm off to have an afternoon nap!
Overall the safari was much what I had hoped for, my favourite game drive was the last morning in the Serengeti, the scale of the view just blew me away. The animals were very close to us, which was also really nice (for those of us without huge zooms on our cameras!). The group of people were really fun to be with, and our guides and cook were excellent. Overall two thumbs up!
I'm now in Moshi waiting to start the Kili climb tomorrow morning. I was dropped off by the safari at the Springlands Hotel yesterday early morning. Said goodbye to everyone on the safari, including Marissa who carried on back to Nairobi to fly home. Having traveled a bit, it wasn't that weird for me to become really close to people and then say goodbye, but I think for other people it would be odd. Usually this happens every couple of days when backpacking!
The Springlands Hotel is a resort-type place that you don't really need to leave. They did all my laundry at reasonable prices (60 cents for a pair of pants!), they sell water, have internet access, and will cash traveller's cheques. The hotel is on the outskirts of Moshi, and they have a shuttle to and from the town every 30 minutes.
I relaxed yesterday, catching up on my reading and keying in my safari blog entries.
This morning, JP arrived at the hotel (JP is my friend from Toronto, who is in east Africa at the same time, and we're doing the climb together). JP booked the trip over here, and thanks to the internet we were able to organize meeting etc, even though we were on separate safaris. That still amazes me.
This morning we booked a flight to Zanzibar, returning to Nairobi. It was also very painless to my surprise. We walked into the travel agency, and walked out 10 minutes later with tickets in hand!
Tomorrow JP and I start walking up Kili. We're doing the Marangu route, which has huts the whole way. If all goes well, I'll be at the top (5896m) on Friday night just before midnight Toronto-time. I'm not expecting internet access along the way, so this may be it for another week.
I was expecting more internet places to cut CDs from digital camera cards. However, I've only seen them in Nairobi. My card was full, and yesterday I walked all around Moshi looking for a place to cut a CD, but got only blank stares. However, JP rescued me because he was able to download my pics to his iPod, and lent me an extra 1GB card. Thank goodness, or else I would have had to delete some more pictures. I bought the largest card at the time (256MB) when I bought my camera, but I definitely need to upgrade that to a 1GB card.
Well, I'm off to have an afternoon nap!
Friday, November 11, 2005
Karatu, Tanzania
We were up and packed by 6:30am for breakfast, and headed into the crater by 7am. It was quite a drive to get to the bottom (almost an hour!) and looked nothing like I had envisioned. I had pictured jungles with barely enough room to drive the Land Rover, with trees all around us as in Lake Manyara NP. Instead it was mostly a big grassland plain, with occasional trees at the edges and salt pans. At first I thought we could see all the animals from the entry point. But as I found, there were little crevices and water holes where different animals hid or stayed. As well, the crater is 22km in diameter, so it's quite difficult to see animals across the entire crater.
I was disappointed near the end of the drive, because this was our last game drive and best opportunity to see a rhino, the last of the Big Five for me. But, as we were at the toilet facilities just near the exit drive from the crater, one of our guides spotted a rhino in the distance! It wasn't possible to take a picture at that distance, but still, it was a rhino!!!
Saw: Guinea fowl, Thomspon gazelle, ostrich, maribou, spotted hyena, buffalo, monkey, elephant, baboon, waterbuck, zebra, hartebeest, warthog, Grant's gazelle, blackstriped jackal, goldenbacked jackal, hippo, flamingo, cheetah, rhino
We also had stopped at a hippo pool where there were maybe 30 hippos, and got a picture of one yawning! As well, there were hundreds (maybe thousands?) of flamingos in one of the bigger salt lakes, and they were flying around in formation, turning pink or black or white depending on the angle they were flying.
We drove back to camp for lunch, packed the Land Rovers, and headed for our next campsite.
I forgot to mention, our guide had amazing eyesight, and was constantly impressing us with spotting animals. There were six tourists in the LandRover, and all we had to do was look for animals. He had to watch the road for potholes, watch the sides for overhanging acacia branches that might hit us on the roof, and look for animals. He still found most of the animals well before we did.
At this campsite (outside of Karatu), it was possible to upgrade to a lodge for $20 per person. Marissa and I did, and it was one of the nicer places we have stayed at so far, (not including the Kivu Sun!) I had a hot shower and shaved, and then caught up in my diary (I was keeping notes on paper, to be typed into my blog when I got access to the web), sitting at a nice wooden desk in the room.
I was surprised at how tanned my face was. This was the first time in six days that I'd seen myself in a mirror!
I was disappointed near the end of the drive, because this was our last game drive and best opportunity to see a rhino, the last of the Big Five for me. But, as we were at the toilet facilities just near the exit drive from the crater, one of our guides spotted a rhino in the distance! It wasn't possible to take a picture at that distance, but still, it was a rhino!!!
Saw: Guinea fowl, Thomspon gazelle, ostrich, maribou, spotted hyena, buffalo, monkey, elephant, baboon, waterbuck, zebra, hartebeest, warthog, Grant's gazelle, blackstriped jackal, goldenbacked jackal, hippo, flamingo, cheetah, rhino
We also had stopped at a hippo pool where there were maybe 30 hippos, and got a picture of one yawning! As well, there were hundreds (maybe thousands?) of flamingos in one of the bigger salt lakes, and they were flying around in formation, turning pink or black or white depending on the angle they were flying.
We drove back to camp for lunch, packed the Land Rovers, and headed for our next campsite.
I forgot to mention, our guide had amazing eyesight, and was constantly impressing us with spotting animals. There were six tourists in the LandRover, and all we had to do was look for animals. He had to watch the road for potholes, watch the sides for overhanging acacia branches that might hit us on the roof, and look for animals. He still found most of the animals well before we did.
At this campsite (outside of Karatu), it was possible to upgrade to a lodge for $20 per person. Marissa and I did, and it was one of the nicer places we have stayed at so far, (not including the Kivu Sun!) I had a hot shower and shaved, and then caught up in my diary (I was keeping notes on paper, to be typed into my blog when I got access to the web), sitting at a nice wooden desk in the room.
I was surprised at how tanned my face was. This was the first time in six days that I'd seen myself in a mirror!
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
We were on the road again by 6am for our 5th and last game drive in the Serengeti. We saw huge herds of zebra and wildebeest, with all sorts of other ungulates thrown in here and there. We were near the top of a giant sloping plain, and could see thousands of animals all about. We even saw a pride of lions, 7 in total, that looked like they were on a hunt, but just walked from tree shade to tree shade. It was a very relaxing ride, I just sat up on top of the Land Rover the whole time and enjoyed it. We didn't see any more animals to tick off our list, but it was very scenic.
Saw: giraffes, spotted hyenas, impalas, black-crested eagle, topi, gazelles, wildebeest, zebras, cheetah, lions, buffalos, guinea fowl, warthogs, hartebeest, ostrich, dik diks
Back to camp for brunch, and then we packed up and headed for the Ngorongoro crater. (I had washed my tshirt before brunch, and 45 minutes later, it was dry!) It was a bit of a drive (4 1/2 hours), although we did make a number of stops.
Saw a few more lions along the way, including a large male (we'd seen mostly female). Got to the campsite on the lip of the crater with about 30 minutes of daylight remaining. We quickly pitched our tents, and I took a (cold) shower at the camp facilities. (The Serengeti campsite also had showers, but no water at this time of year). We had stopped to pick up firewood along the drive, and again had a nice campfire. We had dinner by the fire, and then sat drinking wine until the fire burnt out (10pm).
Saw: giraffes, spotted hyenas, impalas, black-crested eagle, topi, gazelles, wildebeest, zebras, cheetah, lions, buffalos, guinea fowl, warthogs, hartebeest, ostrich, dik diks
Back to camp for brunch, and then we packed up and headed for the Ngorongoro crater. (I had washed my tshirt before brunch, and 45 minutes later, it was dry!) It was a bit of a drive (4 1/2 hours), although we did make a number of stops.
Saw a few more lions along the way, including a large male (we'd seen mostly female). Got to the campsite on the lip of the crater with about 30 minutes of daylight remaining. We quickly pitched our tents, and I took a (cold) shower at the camp facilities. (The Serengeti campsite also had showers, but no water at this time of year). We had stopped to pick up firewood along the drive, and again had a nice campfire. We had dinner by the fire, and then sat drinking wine until the fire burnt out (10pm).
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Serengeti NP, Tanzania
This campsite was much more what I had thought the trip would be like. Right in the Serengeti, no fences around the perimeter... Up and on the road for the morning game drive by 6am. The Serengeti is pretty much a big plain, so there wasn't the same surprises as Lake Manyara NP.
Saw: giraffes, lions (male and female), cheetah, ground sqirrel, hyraxes, zebras, spotted hyenas, hippos, crocodiles, egyptian geese, maribou, egrets, vultures.
Back for breakfast, then back out for the mid-day game drive. Saw a leopard! (#4 of the Big 5 list), and a migration of zebra and wildebeest (which are led by zebras!). An ostrich appeared to lead at points as well. We spent about two hours in the one spot, watching the leopard on one side, and the migration on the other.
Saw: leopards, zebras, wildebeest, ostriches, springbok, bustard, red-backed deer, hippos, lilac-breasted roller.
Returned for lunch, then lounged about in the shade. The 3rd game drive started at 4pm. It started out innocuously enough, until a lone zebra keeled over as we drove by. Jennifer got all excited, asking Is it giving pregnant? which the rest of us heard as Is it getting pregnant which obviously it was not, all alone. It turned out it was giving birth! A few minutes later, out came a baby zebra! Luckily no predators were around. Another zebra, (we think the father), came in from the distance, said something and then took off. We watched the baby try to stand on its own, a few minutes later helped by the mother who was now back on her feet. Within 15 minutes the baby was standing! We left to continue on safari. On the way back (about an hour later), we saw the mother and baby zebra again. The baby had now learned how to nurse. A couple of jackals and a vulture circled around for the placenta and there was a brief tussle over it. Eventually the mother and baby zebra walked off, and left for camp.
Saw: starlets, guinea fowl, impalas, topi, buffalo, vervet monkeys, zebras, maribous, baboons, dik diks, wildebeest, ostrich, Thompson gazelles, secretary birds, silver-backed jackals, waterbucks
Earlier in the afternoon we had gathered up loose dead wood for a fire, and after dinner we had a nice camp fire in the Serengeti listening to the animals all around us.
Saw: giraffes, lions (male and female), cheetah, ground sqirrel, hyraxes, zebras, spotted hyenas, hippos, crocodiles, egyptian geese, maribou, egrets, vultures.
Back for breakfast, then back out for the mid-day game drive. Saw a leopard! (#4 of the Big 5 list), and a migration of zebra and wildebeest (which are led by zebras!). An ostrich appeared to lead at points as well. We spent about two hours in the one spot, watching the leopard on one side, and the migration on the other.
Saw: leopards, zebras, wildebeest, ostriches, springbok, bustard, red-backed deer, hippos, lilac-breasted roller.
Returned for lunch, then lounged about in the shade. The 3rd game drive started at 4pm. It started out innocuously enough, until a lone zebra keeled over as we drove by. Jennifer got all excited, asking Is it giving pregnant? which the rest of us heard as Is it getting pregnant which obviously it was not, all alone. It turned out it was giving birth! A few minutes later, out came a baby zebra! Luckily no predators were around. Another zebra, (we think the father), came in from the distance, said something and then took off. We watched the baby try to stand on its own, a few minutes later helped by the mother who was now back on her feet. Within 15 minutes the baby was standing! We left to continue on safari. On the way back (about an hour later), we saw the mother and baby zebra again. The baby had now learned how to nurse. A couple of jackals and a vulture circled around for the placenta and there was a brief tussle over it. Eventually the mother and baby zebra walked off, and left for camp.
Saw: starlets, guinea fowl, impalas, topi, buffalo, vervet monkeys, zebras, maribous, baboons, dik diks, wildebeest, ostrich, Thompson gazelles, secretary birds, silver-backed jackals, waterbucks
Earlier in the afternoon we had gathered up loose dead wood for a fire, and after dinner we had a nice camp fire in the Serengeti listening to the animals all around us.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Serengeti NP, Tanzania
Woke up at 5:45am to have a shower, pack up, and ready for breakfast by 7am. Long day of driving with many stops. I had been taking Tylenol 3-4 times a day for the last few days, and every time I stopped I felt worse. Felt progressively worse through the day. Stopped at viewpoint of Ngorongoro crater, (caused by volcano, not meteorite as I had always thought). It was also rather sparse, mostly grasslands, to my surprise. Made it to Serengeti NP by 4pm, and spent a bit of the drive to our campsite as a "game drive".
Saw: Thompson gazelles, Grant gazelles, topi, giraffes, widlebeest, zebras, elephants, lions.
I was pretty sick so decided to start taking antibiotics. Slept till dinner, ate, and then went straight back to bed.
Saw: Thompson gazelles, Grant gazelles, topi, giraffes, widlebeest, zebras, elephants, lions.
I was pretty sick so decided to start taking antibiotics. Slept till dinner, ate, and then went straight back to bed.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Lake Manyara NP, Tanzania
Woke up at 6am feeling pretty good. Went to wash up and realized the showers were available, so back to the tent, grabbed soap/shampoo/towel, and showered. Not bad for a campsite. Breakfast was scrambled eggs & beans. I ate quite a bit, the most I've had in a few days. Packed up (actually the guides and cook did most of that). Lucky so far that it hasn't rained.
Drove to our next campsite just outside Lake Manyara NP. At first we looked like the only tourists, but then lots of overlanders showed up. Towards the evening we went on our first game drive. It was excellent -- saw all three of the Big 5 that were in this park (elephant, lion, buffalo), up really close! The safari trail was through big trees most of the time, occasionally at water holes.
Saw: lions, giraffes, elephants, baboons, buffalo, zebras, hyenas, jackals, guinea fowl, dik diks, impalas.
Back to the campsite, dinner, then saw a live performance. I bought a CD from them for $5.
Drove to our next campsite just outside Lake Manyara NP. At first we looked like the only tourists, but then lots of overlanders showed up. Towards the evening we went on our first game drive. It was excellent -- saw all three of the Big 5 that were in this park (elephant, lion, buffalo), up really close! The safari trail was through big trees most of the time, occasionally at water holes.
Saw: lions, giraffes, elephants, baboons, buffalo, zebras, hyenas, jackals, guinea fowl, dik diks, impalas.
Back to the campsite, dinner, then saw a live performance. I bought a CD from them for $5.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Arusha, Tanzania
Our flight from Kigali arrived in Nairobi without any problems. We got our luggage, and cashed a bunch of travellers cheques to USD (losing about 10% in the process). (We needed $200 per person for the local payment for the safari tour (used for park fees etc), plus money for extras along the way). Went to a different hotel in Nairobi, to the hotel where the tour was starting the next morning.
Was up at 6am to be ready for the briefing at 7am in the hotel. It was rather dragging, an they had two different groups in the same meeting, so there was no sense in remembering names. There were 6 on our tour, and we joined up with 6 who had done the Kenyan safari first, and were now doing the Tanzanian safari. After much waiting and organizing, we were on our way by 9:30am. In our van were Carey (US), Jennifer (US), Emmeline & Paul (UK), and Marissa and I; in the other van were Yvonne & Vegar (Norway), Tom & Jean (US), Gary (UK) and Mariam (Australian).
It took us 2 1/2 hours to reach the border, and we went through the Kenyan exit and Tanzanian entry without much fanfare. I was disappointed with the lack of stamping by the Tanzanian official (just a single stamp over the visa), seeing as they requested three blank pages just to get the visa. We also transferred to our safari vehicles (Land Rovers), and met our guides/drivers (Revocatus) and cook (Alfa). Two hours to Arusha, then errand hopping (ATM, money exchange, grocery store -- bought 15L of water for myself). We were told we wouldn't have access to electricity (no recharging of camera batteries), no showers and no stores for six days! (This turned out to be incorrect).
Got to our campsite (Snake Park) on the outskirts of Arusha by 4pm, sorted out tents. I was feeling sick still, and a couple Tylenol fixed that (I'm whipping through my bottle...) Our group is mostly older, 30s - 40s. We went to a Snake Zoo, the irony of going all the way to Africa on safari and then going to a zoo was not lost on us.
There were five other large groups at the campsite in huge overlanders -- they looked like the big snow landers in the Empire Strikes Back. It made the campsite pretty crowded.
Dinner was at 7pm, beef and macaroni, and peppery soup. I still didn't have much of an appetite from being sick. After went to the bar so Marissa could charge her camera battery. Five Kili beers later, (500ml, 5%, 1500Tsh) called it a night.
Was up at 6am to be ready for the briefing at 7am in the hotel. It was rather dragging, an they had two different groups in the same meeting, so there was no sense in remembering names. There were 6 on our tour, and we joined up with 6 who had done the Kenyan safari first, and were now doing the Tanzanian safari. After much waiting and organizing, we were on our way by 9:30am. In our van were Carey (US), Jennifer (US), Emmeline & Paul (UK), and Marissa and I; in the other van were Yvonne & Vegar (Norway), Tom & Jean (US), Gary (UK) and Mariam (Australian).
It took us 2 1/2 hours to reach the border, and we went through the Kenyan exit and Tanzanian entry without much fanfare. I was disappointed with the lack of stamping by the Tanzanian official (just a single stamp over the visa), seeing as they requested three blank pages just to get the visa. We also transferred to our safari vehicles (Land Rovers), and met our guides/drivers (Revocatus) and cook (Alfa). Two hours to Arusha, then errand hopping (ATM, money exchange, grocery store -- bought 15L of water for myself). We were told we wouldn't have access to electricity (no recharging of camera batteries), no showers and no stores for six days! (This turned out to be incorrect).
Got to our campsite (Snake Park) on the outskirts of Arusha by 4pm, sorted out tents. I was feeling sick still, and a couple Tylenol fixed that (I'm whipping through my bottle...) Our group is mostly older, 30s - 40s. We went to a Snake Zoo, the irony of going all the way to Africa on safari and then going to a zoo was not lost on us.
There were five other large groups at the campsite in huge overlanders -- they looked like the big snow landers in the Empire Strikes Back. It made the campsite pretty crowded.
Dinner was at 7pm, beef and macaroni, and peppery soup. I still didn't have much of an appetite from being sick. After went to the bar so Marissa could charge her camera battery. Five Kili beers later, (500ml, 5%, 1500Tsh) called it a night.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Kigali, Rwanda
We're just about to catch our plane back to Nairobi, and tomorrow we'll start the GAP Adventure safari through Tanzania, so I may not be able to update my blog for a while.
I got a bit of a cold in Gisenyi, I think the same thing everyone had in Toronto before I left. I thought I had had it in Toronto too, and beaten it, but maybe the lack of sleep from the jetlag let it come back. Anyways, slept most of the last day in Gisenyi while Marissa hung out on the beach.
Yesterday we took a three-hour bus ride back to Kigali. We got here early enough to go see the Genocide Memorial. It was very well done, it's shocking how many people died, and how many people were complicit.
Last night was Friday night, and our hotel's bar is quite the hopping place on Fridays. They had live music, and lots of (mostly) men came by to have drinks. We think it's an upscale place because most people were drinking imported beer (Heineken). Marissa and I split a large Primus (the local beer) (the beer here comes in large bottles, shared the same way as pitchers in Canada) (72cl, 5%, $3US). Marissa had most of it, I just had a little bit so she wasn't drinking alone.
I crashed early, trying to sleep away this cold. I'm still not 100%, but should be okay for the safari.
We really liked Rwanda, the people here are really friendly. I don't think there's a flat spot in the country, there are hills everywhere. Because it's rainy season, everything is really green too. There aren't very many tourists here (I think because of the reputation leftover from the genocide), but that will probably change as more people hear about how nice it is now.
I got a bit of a cold in Gisenyi, I think the same thing everyone had in Toronto before I left. I thought I had had it in Toronto too, and beaten it, but maybe the lack of sleep from the jetlag let it come back. Anyways, slept most of the last day in Gisenyi while Marissa hung out on the beach.
Yesterday we took a three-hour bus ride back to Kigali. We got here early enough to go see the Genocide Memorial. It was very well done, it's shocking how many people died, and how many people were complicit.
Last night was Friday night, and our hotel's bar is quite the hopping place on Fridays. They had live music, and lots of (mostly) men came by to have drinks. We think it's an upscale place because most people were drinking imported beer (Heineken). Marissa and I split a large Primus (the local beer) (the beer here comes in large bottles, shared the same way as pitchers in Canada) (72cl, 5%, $3US). Marissa had most of it, I just had a little bit so she wasn't drinking alone.
I crashed early, trying to sleep away this cold. I'm still not 100%, but should be okay for the safari.
We really liked Rwanda, the people here are really friendly. I don't think there's a flat spot in the country, there are hills everywhere. Because it's rainy season, everything is really green too. There aren't very many tourists here (I think because of the reputation leftover from the genocide), but that will probably change as more people hear about how nice it is now.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Gisenyi, Rwanda
Today is our first day to relax on the trip. I finally am over my jetlag and slept through the night, getting up in time for the buffet breakfast. It's off-season, so we have almost the whole resort to ourselves.
The bus ride from Ruhengeri to Gisenyi was quite interesting. First, we had to get a taxi ride from the Gorilla Nest resort to the bus station in Ruhengeri. As we were driving into town, the driver saw a bus (which are actually minivans converted to hold four rows of passengers, holding three people comfortably per row, or four if you squish in) on its way to Gisenyi. So he flagged it down, u-turned and dropped us off. The bus was already full, but the bus ticket guy (there's usually a driver and a money guy on each bus) reorganized all the passengers so that Marissa and I could sit together.
The other passengers on the bus spoke only Swahili, so our english and limited french weren't very good. The other passengers all talked to each other, even if they were strangers (it reminded me of taking the T in Boston, where random people would just start talking about how the Red Sox were doing). Sometimes they were talking about us and then the whole bus would laugh.
...
There really isn't much to Gisenyi except for the beach. Marissa and I walked around this morning looking for bottled water (it's $2 in the resort for a 500ml bottle), and walked quite a bit before finally finding a little store ($1 for a 1.5L bottle). Otherwise the town is full of schools and offices. I think the only internet place is in the hotel too (at least it's cheap, $1 per hour).
We're just off to the beach...
The bus ride from Ruhengeri to Gisenyi was quite interesting. First, we had to get a taxi ride from the Gorilla Nest resort to the bus station in Ruhengeri. As we were driving into town, the driver saw a bus (which are actually minivans converted to hold four rows of passengers, holding three people comfortably per row, or four if you squish in) on its way to Gisenyi. So he flagged it down, u-turned and dropped us off. The bus was already full, but the bus ticket guy (there's usually a driver and a money guy on each bus) reorganized all the passengers so that Marissa and I could sit together.
The other passengers on the bus spoke only Swahili, so our english and limited french weren't very good. The other passengers all talked to each other, even if they were strangers (it reminded me of taking the T in Boston, where random people would just start talking about how the Red Sox were doing). Sometimes they were talking about us and then the whole bus would laugh.
...
There really isn't much to Gisenyi except for the beach. Marissa and I walked around this morning looking for bottled water (it's $2 in the resort for a 500ml bottle), and walked quite a bit before finally finding a little store ($1 for a 1.5L bottle). Otherwise the town is full of schools and offices. I think the only internet place is in the hotel too (at least it's cheap, $1 per hour).
We're just off to the beach...
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Gisenyi, Rwanda
Today we saw the mountain gorillas, and it was pretty amazing! There's only 700 or so left in the world, between Uganda and Rwanda. The mountain gorillas are the main attraction in Rwanda, and the reason Marissa and I came here.
...
Yesterday from Kigali, we took a short two-hour bus ride north to Ruhengeri. To my surprise, the bus left and arrived on time and only took on as many passengers as seats! (This is not normal in developing countries). I'd heard about a nice hotel called Mountain Gorillas Nest, not listed in the Lonely Planet, so we asked around. It turned out to be in a nearby town, Kinigi Village, about 10 km north. We took a taxi, but the road was one of the worst I've been on in all my travels, and it took about 45 minutes to get there! (I've been amazed over the last few trips at how paved roads to tourist destination are now the norm, compared to say 10 years ago).
Gorillas Nest is a beautiful resort. The rooms all had decks facing the wilderness, the grounds were really well-kept with flowers and birds all around. We booked a driver for the visit to the gorillas, and then took a nap (still slightly jetlagged).
Today we got up early, in order to be at the ORTPN office in Parque National Volcans by 7am. We checked in with the permits we had purchased in Kigali. We were then assigned into groups of 6 to 8 with the 20 other tourists seeing the gorillas, to see specific groups of gorillas.
We took an hour to drive over more bad roads to get to the starting point for the trek. The trek was really cool, through bamboo forests and then directly up a hill, at a 60* incline! I've never walked through such dense growth! We were accompanied by a guide, a lead (with a machete to clear the way), and two armed guards (in case of poachers). After 90 minutes, we were close to the group of gorillas. We were given more instructions on how to behave (no closer than 7 metres, no direct eye contact with the silverback (the head of the group), no pointing, no flash photography). Then we cut through more undergrowth, and the gorillas were right there! This particular group had 13 members, including an 8-month old that was recently named, although I forget the name. We spent an hour watching the group go about their normal life, eating bamboo shoots, playing, sitting around. The silverback was enormous, about 6' tall and 400 pounds.
I took a lot of pictures, and when I find an internet place where I can upload pictures I'll put some up.
Overall it was a pretty cool experience. It was pretty expensive (the permit itself is $375 US, plus the flight from Nairobi to Kigali put the side trip at about $1000), but worth it. Ranked against other side trips in the same price range, I'd say it's in 3rd, behind Easter Island and the Galapagos Island.
After the trek, we returned to the hotel, and then caught a bus to Gisenyi.
Gisenyi is a resort town on the beaches of Lake Kivu. We ended up in a very nice hotel, Kivu Sun, (again, not found in the Lonely Planet). We had dinner and then crashed, tired from the trek and the early start to the day.
We plan to stay here for 2-3 nights, just relaxing before heading back to Nairobi to begin the safari. There's also a free tour of the local brewery (Primus) nearby that we want to check out.
I've found Rwanda to be a very friendly country, without much of the hassling that is normal in poorer countries. Definitely my favourite country in Africa so far.
That's it for now!
...
Yesterday from Kigali, we took a short two-hour bus ride north to Ruhengeri. To my surprise, the bus left and arrived on time and only took on as many passengers as seats! (This is not normal in developing countries). I'd heard about a nice hotel called Mountain Gorillas Nest, not listed in the Lonely Planet, so we asked around. It turned out to be in a nearby town, Kinigi Village, about 10 km north. We took a taxi, but the road was one of the worst I've been on in all my travels, and it took about 45 minutes to get there! (I've been amazed over the last few trips at how paved roads to tourist destination are now the norm, compared to say 10 years ago).
Gorillas Nest is a beautiful resort. The rooms all had decks facing the wilderness, the grounds were really well-kept with flowers and birds all around. We booked a driver for the visit to the gorillas, and then took a nap (still slightly jetlagged).
Today we got up early, in order to be at the ORTPN office in Parque National Volcans by 7am. We checked in with the permits we had purchased in Kigali. We were then assigned into groups of 6 to 8 with the 20 other tourists seeing the gorillas, to see specific groups of gorillas.
We took an hour to drive over more bad roads to get to the starting point for the trek. The trek was really cool, through bamboo forests and then directly up a hill, at a 60* incline! I've never walked through such dense growth! We were accompanied by a guide, a lead (with a machete to clear the way), and two armed guards (in case of poachers). After 90 minutes, we were close to the group of gorillas. We were given more instructions on how to behave (no closer than 7 metres, no direct eye contact with the silverback (the head of the group), no pointing, no flash photography). Then we cut through more undergrowth, and the gorillas were right there! This particular group had 13 members, including an 8-month old that was recently named, although I forget the name. We spent an hour watching the group go about their normal life, eating bamboo shoots, playing, sitting around. The silverback was enormous, about 6' tall and 400 pounds.
I took a lot of pictures, and when I find an internet place where I can upload pictures I'll put some up.
Overall it was a pretty cool experience. It was pretty expensive (the permit itself is $375 US, plus the flight from Nairobi to Kigali put the side trip at about $1000), but worth it. Ranked against other side trips in the same price range, I'd say it's in 3rd, behind Easter Island and the Galapagos Island.
After the trek, we returned to the hotel, and then caught a bus to Gisenyi.
Gisenyi is a resort town on the beaches of Lake Kivu. We ended up in a very nice hotel, Kivu Sun, (again, not found in the Lonely Planet). We had dinner and then crashed, tired from the trek and the early start to the day.
We plan to stay here for 2-3 nights, just relaxing before heading back to Nairobi to begin the safari. There's also a free tour of the local brewery (Primus) nearby that we want to check out.
I've found Rwanda to be a very friendly country, without much of the hassling that is normal in poorer countries. Definitely my favourite country in Africa so far.
That's it for now!
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