Blogs from Africa - page 9
May 11th 2012
Prior to beginning this blog I have a couple of corrections from previous blogs and status updates: My apologies, it is the buffalo which is found in Africa, the water buffalo is in Asia. Sorry Worthingtons!As previously updated we camped by the banks of the Ovkavango river. I feel I should confess that we didn’t actually camp that night. In Etosha I was beginning to get sick and grumpy so we made the tough decision to upgrade to a lodge room for $25 for a good shower and good nights sleep required to maintain our sanity -- this may not have been the last time we took the comfy option either, more on that later! I would also ... read more
May 10th 2012
Another day with no diving or ocean safaris…..most of the group are learning to dive today, which leaves four of us with nothing to do, Marcel, Pieter, Ben and I. Our coordinators from All Out Africa had to leave to renew visas and so nothing has been scheduled for us, but we have been notified that tomorrow we will be on an ocean safari (which is out on the boat looking for whale sharks). Yay! Hopefully I’ll be able to post whale shark photos tomorrow! So I was up at 715a.m. (can’t sleep late here), had peanut butter and toast for breakfast, then decided to go and check out the beach. Marcel came along. I’d like to fix my daughter up with Marcel, he is a sweetheart. How many 23 year olds want to hang out ... read more
Tuberculosis in Kruger
Published: May 10th 2012Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park
May 10th 2012
Hearing stories from both sides of the fence about Kruger we were very keen to see what this internationally renowned park was all about and we can easily say that it was a great deal more amazing than we were thinking. Arriving in the gate at 6am we planned to do a decent loop on the way to our camp Letaba for the first night, it is in the first 30 minutes that we had seen enough animals for last our five days including the leopard picture above. That leopard by far was the highlight of our time in this park and getting so close to this magnificent animal by ourselves (other than the time when we were on foot and it was two meters from us) was pure ass and to be by ourselves made ... read more
May 9th 2012
Nador, it did not look too encouraging from the boat as we approached the harbour, a long sprawl of concrete apartment blocks and cheap hotels. The place had only been built after independence to provide Morocco with an alternative port to Spanish controlled Melilla a few kilometres to the north and the place had the look and feel of a town that had been thrown up in a hurry. After several manoeuvres the captain slotted the boat into the docking berth and powered down the engines. We felt the clunk and thud of heavy machinery and the opening of doors beneath our feet as we waiting to be allowed to return to our vehicles. This was it, we would soon be on African soil. We emerged from the bowels of the ship blinking as our eyes ... read more
May 9th 2012
We are in our rainy season here in Tanzania. It runs from March to early June and this year, I am told, we are not getting as much rain as years before. That said, there is still an abundant of mosquitos... and where there are mosquitos, there are chances of malaria. Our friends at The World Health Organization tells us that malaria is "caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells. Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs. In many parts of the world, ... read more
May 9th 2012
The volunteer organizers have been out of town since I’ve been here, so the other divers and I have had quite a bit of free time. Most of the group are just learning to dive, and spent the day in a classroom doing dive tables. I have been learning my fish….the fish surveys involve butterflyfish, rock cods (groupers), parrots and surgeonfish. So I learn 60 fishes for doing the surveys. I think I’ve just about got them, though. After I looked at the fish, I decided to go over to Casa Barry, the lodge where the Foundation for the Protection of Marine Megafauna is located. I was so interested to come to Tofo because of Dr Andrea Marshall and Dr Simon Pierce, manta and whale shark researchers I saw on National Geographic. Andrea Marshall came to ... read more
May 8th 2012
Heading from Kimberly we had one plan for the day which was to get past Johannesburg before the sun was setting so we could easily find a nice place to pitch for the night. One big problem was that was out of our hands was the traffic and which made this day one which should have been a fairly relaxing day, turning into a day where we were thinking of sleeping in the car and ending up with the most random luck we have had since finishing hitching. Things were going along smoothly until we just reached the outskirts of Johannesburg and all of a sudden we were in a traffic jam which was going know where fast. Suddenly we felt quite unsafe and we locked all the car doors and closed all the windows, and ... read more
May 8th 2012
Blog entry Tuesday May 7 LONG day, but certainly eventful. It started very early with a 6a.m. wake up call and a ride to OR Tambo airport at 730p. The flight from Joburg to Inhambane was late, and I have a feeling that is not unusual. I met fellow travelers, most of whom are probably Alexandra’s and Wesley’s age. I am a little disappointed about that, I admit. I know Lexi (the girl I contacted through Flickr who did this trip) had women in their forties on her trip. League of nations here: Marcel, Jasmine, Lesley from Switzerland, Felix and Suzanne from London, Patty, Tam and Melissa from the states, and Daniella and Elke from Germany. There may be one or two who are close to 30. They are looking at me in panic, I know, ... read more
Rumo ao topo das Montanhas, e nao passava nem alfinete!!!
Published: May 12th 2012Africa » Morocco » Souss-Massa-Draâ » El Kelaa M'Gouna
May 8th 2012
A ideia era de atravessar as montanhas, passar a noite num vilarejo e seguir em direcao a Azilal, onde tem uma cachoeira linda. Primeira missao, achar o onibus em Kelaa M Gouna. Onibus achado, lugar reservado e espera de 3 horas. Na verdade era para esperarmos 2 horas apenas, mas em tempo Marroquino sempre se tem que adicionar uns minutos, ou horas. Na verdade nao eh um onibus, e sim um micro onde colocaram assentos na parte de traz e umas grades em cima para poder carregar com varios tipos de coisas. No onibus que pegamos, tinha de tudo, ateh ovelha viva, talvez porque elas queriam apreciar a paisagem. Dentro, as moscas tiveram que descer para dar espaco a tanta gente. Teve gente que foi em peh. Tinha ateh uma ovelha filhote dentro do onibus. Parecia ... read more
Africa Mercy Volunteer (Detention Ctr and School for the Deaf)
Published: May 8th 2012Africa » Togo » Lome
May 8th 2012
Last night I went to a school for the deaf. There were about thirty kids who live too far to go home every night, so only go on the weekends. We were in a large court yard for our activities. It had a gazebo type shelter with wooden tables and chairs. The kids know American Sign Language. I learned to sign a few words. We read a story, “I’m Going on a Lion Hunt” and helped them make lion masks. Two crew kids and their mom were with us. Our boys played soccer with them. The school kids were very excited about having them there. We played games and communicated as best we could. This morning I went with two Mercy Ships men from Lome to a detention center for teens. The police/guards were not in ... read more
