Camping in Africa

Camping in Africa is awsome.

So many times we were so close to wildlife so I got really good at making sure I never had to pee in the night! We had herds of water buffalo in the camps..warthogs..lotsa monkeys! We could hear hippos munching around us and were warned by the guide to stay out of the lake so the hippos don't kill us!! He also mentioned that if we accidentally walked into one in the dark it would feel "soft" so take your headlamp!!  I got such a kick out of watching 30 baboons watch us baboons eat our lunch until the guide would point a sling shot at them or a park officer would chase them into the bushes with a rifle over his shoulder. All just to try and intimidate them of coarse..they always came back.

I remember wondering what to do when I came out of a drop toilet and had 3 warthogs corner me....kind of a weird feeling. I guess they are used to people lol.

The highs and lows of a Mzungu.

I am what Africans refer to as mzungu..which means aimless wanderer-foreignor-whitey. I am pretty  sure us mzungus stand out which for me is quite stressful when I am alone lol.

The children love seeing the mzungus. They run towards us and wave or say How wha yoo!!  Or Chocolat...chocolat..cholat..(I never get tired of seeing the kids)

I wish I could take more pictures of the locals and street scenes but I am not "ready,willing,or able" because I don't want to offend anybody and I do not want to have my camera stolen. The next picture is one of my favorite. After I took the girls photo her mom startled to call a man over..I thought I was in shit but they just wanted to see it and seemed proud.

I love watching the hard working people..the women with their baskets,bags,suit cases on their heads while they walk for miles. The weirdest things I seen balanced on a lady head were a door and a car battery! The men all ride bicycles and push them with hundreds of pounds of stuff. A lot of the men also ride motorcycles and hang out in big groups in the towns. The weirdest thing I seen on one was a wrapped corpse. They take a lot of pride in their motorcycles..always washing and polishing them from the red earth.

5895 m. Hakuna matada...sort of. part 2 (africa internet probs)

Three hours down.

So in short, I puke,I dry heave, I cuddle boulders,my feet and hands are ice,I shake,my head pounds..but I make it to the top,well the first top,there is still another 3 hours up top before I start to descend. I make it to the world famous sign that says, Yay you made it...get a quick shot on somebodys camera with puke in my hair,snot in my teeth. I cry. I hug Linda from Canada who convinced me I could do it and who has also been to base camp Everest. I did it..I made it  to the top. But can I get back down?

I make it to the bottom three hours later. I am still puking..head pounding,no water or food for 9 gruelling hours.

I crash for a bit,get up and eat some stew with the others who are all in agreement that it feels like we got abducted by aliens,everyone has their own stories of sickness and suffering. It all seems funny to us. What  the hell was that about? As the british say,It was horrific..dont ever do it!

We hike out again after stew. One of our guys had to be piggy backed by a porter and stretchered. He was all good in the end. Funny,he has no memory of making it to the top..but has pictures on his camera..too funny. Classic.

5895 m. Hakuna matada...sort of.

I climbed Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and although it is a bit of a blur I know I made it to the top!

I chose the Rongai route because it has the best chance of summit success,also because it is less crowded and you descend down a different route than you ascend.

I meet my gang of 11 others..mostly british and men but there are 4 of us gals. We drive to the park gate which takes about 4 hours...just what I needed,more driving in Africa!
We hike..it is about 35C.
I am how surprised how quickly it cools off,by the evening of day 2 I am getting cold and have to put long underwear on.
The morning of day 4 I wake up to a tent covered in ice. I get up with cold feet and hands and I am thinking...really?

Summit Day:
 hours down.
Starts at 630 am. We walk through a massive lunar desert saddle  between Mawensi peak and Kilimanjaro that takes 6 hours and is one of those optical illusions where you feel like you are not getting any closer. After we get to the base of Kilimanjaro we eat and rest because we have to summit at 1130 pm. So we eat tea and chocolate cookies(?) and head out in every item of clothing we have from base layers gloves etc...oh ya and head lamps. We walk in a chain gang line..slowly. I is so cold,I think about -15 with the wind. You can't warm up because they make you walk very slow and togethor. It is so hard to move your legs because the air is thin.
After about an hour and a half the mountain sickness hits me and after tapping my guide I puke and puke. I feel better immediately but do it again and again. Not good for strength or dehydration.

I remember looking up and seeing the rockface dotted with headlamps..they go forever and merge with the stars. Then I look back and see them below too..I am not alone.

I remember at times the guides taking me and others by the arm and putting us in shelter beside big bouldersand man does it feel good to lean onto a rock...comfy like a big bed.
I remember saying twice that I didn't think I could make it. I also remember a guide rubbing my hands,my back while I puked,big bear hugs that feel comforting and safe.
I remember a girl in my group saying that we could do it..only about another 2 hours steep slow climbing,3 hours at the top,and 3

a taste of gorillas

Gorillas in the Nest.

Well I give up on uploading the photo part of my blog but I am excited to tell my story.

I tracked the beautiful mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. There are 700 mountain gorillas left in the world...and I got to see 7 of them.

First of all Rwanda is a beautiful country. The first thing we notice is it is not only lush and green but clean too. Plastic bags are illegal here,you have one you go to jail! I am ok with making this concept universal fyi. We also see that there are traffic lights and the motor cyclists are wearing helmuts and vests with a regristration number. No litter at all.

My day starts early and me and a group of 6 others drive to the park entrance where we wait awhile,read some gorilla facts and have a
coffee. There are other tourists,the first real group I have seen since I arrived in Africa.

We hike past villages,farm land and then up into lush rainforest. It is amazing. Our guide is "Ignateous"(some pretty cool names here) There are also porters that can help the group. After 2 and half hours we are told to drop our stuff becausethe gorillas are near. We track again through stinging nestles that go through clothes and just when I think to myself, God dam it why can't I just stay at home and scrap book! We see the gorillas,in the long sharp grass,in a big nest.

Ignateous tells me where to squat and as soon as I get my camera ready he pulls on my arm and says Get up there! I am starting to think Ignateous is just Ignoramous but then I see I had a gorilla walking past me..I just see his back and I have the quick shot to proove it.


We have an hour to observe them and we are the only 8 people they will see that day. Click click click.....

When we get back I see the other people in my tour are showered and bored. Apparently the guides put people in groups according to cabability appearance. I am just lucky it didn't take 5 hours one way to find them. I realize the old guys in our tour seen their family of gorillas after only 40 minutes AND also they got full frontal shots of silver backs eating. I feel annoyed....anyone feel sorry for me? Hey,I did my research and I believed and still believe I am Dian Fossey.

I have a long day after and do not lay my head until after midnight.
I seen the fricken mountain gorillas and the genocide memorial in Rwanda...I am a lucky girl. Gorillas in the nest is still good.

Timid Traveller.

Elephants are just like really big deer.

Seeing elephants in the wild is well.....you can imagine.

I went on a 2 hour boat safari also.

Uganda

Border crossing into Uganda takes the trucks up to a week and all the food goes bad.

Uganda market scene.

Me and Haily from L.A. go on a guided village walk with Victor. Victor is a good educated man that is starting a business called peace and quiet safaris. He takes us on a 3 hour walk through tea and banana plantations,we walk through peoples yards and see hard working women in the fields. We go past lakes,we see farm ctitters,monkeys and children. I am going to put his web link on my fb to help him out.

Ape and the apes.

We cross the border into Uganda. I notice the soil turns red and it is more hilly. At the border the freight trucks wait because the goods are checked manually..one truck at a time. We stop counting them in the two hundreds. The guide says last time he was there it was 400. It can take up to a week to get through and one million dollars in food is lost,it goes bad. We ask why they don't fricken fix their system and our guide says T.I.A. This Is Africa.

I went chimp tracking in Kibale Forest and loved it! At first I thought I was only going to see their dark shapes high up in the trees but then they come down and do their loud monkey sound, and the consevation officers say ,come this way lets follow them. I go all Jane Goodal and shit i fricken love it!

African critters

Lake Nakuru Park,Kenya

Still in Kenya but into the country side now. The garbage in the ditch thins and I see my first zebra on side of the highway and I gasp. Little did I know that I was heading to a full blown safari! We get to our camp ground,get set up and then head out for an evening drive. The first animal we see is a male lion! I can't stop saying holy shit over and over. He walks right on front of the truck. The guide says it is very rare that we are very lucky. It is still Christmas day and I think it is the best gift.
Shortly after I stand in a savana surounded by hundreds of animals. I see water buffalo,zebra,rhinos,pink flamingos,pelicans,deer,giraffes....it is absolutely unbelievable. I drink it ALL in..I am here,this is real! I chose this,it is what I want and I feel so happy!
Sounds like bullshit eh? Well I have all the photos......which you will see..as soon as Africa lets me.

So This is Christmas.

After meeting with my overlanding tour we set off to Saidea Childrens Project which is on the outskirts of Nairobi.
When we walk in the kids are well behaved and sitting. They sing and dance christmas type songs and then after run towards us and grab our hands. They want to show us their home.  They show us their beds, their chicken and rabbit. The men play soccer with the boys and the women hold tiny hands and rock babies that hug us back. The manager is a lovely lady that tells of the hope she has for every child. She says they stay until they are self sufficient. There are teens that have been raised and educated there since they were very young and can get teaching and nursing degrees if they can raise enough money.

We give the manager rice and flour and she tells us we are welcome back any time if we want to volunteer. She is overwelmed that we took time to visit on Christmas day.
The kids love seeing their picture and once while scrolling back to show them I accidentally go to far and they see Mindy. At first I don't think they know what it was,then the laugh.

Other kids from the town come because they are curious. They are dressed up in their best because it is Christmas day of course!

This is me with Agnes and Mary. They were so gentle and sweet and followed me around like I was Cinderella at Disneyland!