Blogs from Africa

Hello, Everyone, Sorry it has been so long, but I have been busy having adventures! My sister Nicki is here and we are at this very moment driving from Swakopmund on the coast to Etosha National Park! It is the big, famous park. The whole center is Etosha Pan which is a dry lake, but it sometimes fills with water if the rains are good. They were not good this year, so everything is very dry. Rachel, my roommate and I left school on April 25th. We were picked up at 5:00 a.m. and in Windhoek by 3:00 p.m. We had two days of in-service in Windhoek at the same backpackers hostel as January. It felt like home! Then I flew to Cape Town where Nicki and Cathy were waiting for me right outside customs. Cathy ... read more

Today was my first day of first aid training - I looked forward to it as always. I have 13 delegates a 14th turned up halfway through the morning but I had to advise him that he had missed too much and must leave. I have a know it all in the class who came in sporting a " I am a first aider badge" and flashed his Id card every time he spoke - however when he screwed up resus he soon shut up and listened - if I hear but the Red Cross says one more time I'm gonna scream - apparently the Red Cross said its ok for him to keep medication in the workplace first aid kit - please know that it is not ok to do that and it is not ... read more

OK well now that we are finally on the road this should the start of many blogs to come. This will depend greatly on wifi and Internet availability as we go through various countries. But first things first...we started off in Auckland with an early rise on Saturday morning to head to the airport and had an uneventful flight through to Johannesburg. The flight from Sydney through was 14 hours which we spent snoozing and watching the latest movies compliments of Qantas. Arrival at Johannesburg at about 4pm on the same day and we have made our way to the Garden Court Hotel safe and sound. To catch up on jet lag it was an early night into bed and today we plan to have a relaxing day around the hotel to catch up with a ... read more

Did someone say gorilla trekking? Well, if I must… We drove to our campsite on the shore of Lake Bunyoni in Uganda, set up our tents and went for a swim in the lake. Next to the platform where you can dive from is a tree with a rickety platform at the top, maybe four metres high. Clemens, the only German on the trip, somehow managed to convince me that climbing and jumping from said platform would be a sensible idea. I put my bravado down to there being girls in swimwear present, or perhaps the general excitement of being in Africa, but it was the one and only time that I jumped from it. Looking back at the platform after my jump, as someone else climbed it, I was witness to the tree shaking like ... read more

Dear All, How are you all and has the summer arrived yet? We apologise for the lack of any contact for a while but Masanga has the most appalling reception and Internet so connecting with the outside world is a constant difficulty. Contacting relatives to reassure them of our health is difficult enough, let alone trying to conduct a professional relationship with the rest of the world. It's a frustrating process and this is short account just to let you know what we are up to.....and for you to appreciate any cold weather you are having! Below is a small account of where we are up to so far written by Jo. Well we have done 3 weeks of work now and we feel completely immersed into the Sierra Leonean life at the hospital. Because of ... read more

To set the scene: its a calm evening, mid thirties with a gentle breeze hitting our skin. We are on the edge of the Black Desert and in the near distance, pyramid like orange sand dunes stand high and proud. We mount our ride. These animals are Dromedary's given the fact they have one hump and not two like true camels. Leanne is on the crazy lead camel called Bob Marley whilst Mick is given the quieter second camel Jimi Hendrix. Our trekking guide is a lovely older Moroccan named Hassan who's years of experience has perfected his tourist humour. Our multinational caravan is also made up of a lovely Italian couple with whom we share a few non verbal laughs, some French, Chinese, Spanish and a couple of Czech's to top it off! Language, as ... read more

Right – I am getting busier and this is getting harder so very sorry for the brief updates. Perhaps I can do 2 in 1 to play catch up! Monday another day in Freetown and I spent the day working. In the evening was another night at the Hash, again I stayed behind as my foot was still giving me grief, but I chatted to the Mismanagement committee while everyone was out on the run – I really need to suss out the Hash in London and get involved there. There are a couple of runners coming out from the Hash in London so maybe that is my lead in. When we got back we heard the horrific news about the Boston Marathon. Very sad story and just a week before London. One of our security ... read more