http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Kim309/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Kim309 en-us Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:40:06 +0000 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:40:06 +0000 I had been having a difficult time in Tanzania. To the point that I considered cancelling the safari that I had booked onto. It was only because Donna who runs Maasai Wanderings the company I had chosen because they support local communities had been so helpful that I even got as far as Arusha. After 18 hours on a bus that went from Musoma via Nairobi a border crossing at 4am is never fun http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/North/Serengeti-National-Park/blog-387223.html It may not be everyone's idea of fun but my birthday this year was perfect ... for meWe had asked at the taxi park the previous day about the frequency of minibuses to get to Budong Central Forest Reserve as we wanted to walk 'The Royal Mile' which is supposed to be excellent bird watching. Why did we believe people who were keen not to disappoint In the end having explored different optio http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Northern-Region/blog-382774.html En route from Burundi we stopped for one night in Kigali. The following morning was when I went to the Memorial Centre and then had lunch alone feeling like chopped liver New York slang. We then arranged a lift back to Kabale in Uganda with Milton who delivers Ugandan newspapers to Kigali daily. For an additional fee he took us straight to the Overland Camp at Lake Bunyoni. A gorgeous http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Northern-Region/Murchison-Falls-NP/blog-382771.html When I first planned to travel in East Africa on my way home from Ethiopia I thought I might go to Burundi. Then various people and the security warnings in my admittedly old guide book put me off. However Barry was heading there and as we were both enjoying the company I decided to go too. Like Rwanda Burundi is very green but imediately seemed less cultivated.Burundi was a real surpris http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Burundi/West/Bujumbura/blog-382437.html This chapter is a bitter part of our lives but one we must remember for those we lost and for the sake of the future.Quote from the Kigali Memorial CentreSadly the main thing that most people associate with Rwanda is the 1994 genocide. Rwanda is a beautiful country with a sense of healing and worth a visit. Much of the countryside is cultivated which is to be expected in a country with one http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Rwanda/Ville-de-Kigali/Kigali/blog-381836.html Ruboni Community Camp nestles in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains in Western Uganda. The patio outside my banda gave beautiful views towards the mountain range. Ruboni is the starting point for trekking in the Rwenzoris an activity I never had any intention of doing. All profits from the camp go to help support the community. It was therefore bad for the community but good for me http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Western-Region/Rwenzori-Mountains/blog-375477.html My first glimpse of mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park made the high prices and the journey to get here so worthwhile.Irsquod left Masaka a week earlier by Post Bus having failed twice to see Shoebills. The Post Buses literally carry post and passengers between post offices along a route. Unusually or so I was told the bus I was waiting for was over 2 hours late due to a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Western-Region/Kabale/blog-374543.html Leaving Kampala I stopped off in Entebbe for a couple of nights. Entebbe feels and looks like a seaside town but with Maribou Storks drifting overhead rather than gulls. During the afternoon I walked around the botanical gardens and visited the Wildlife Centre better than most zoos I have visited where all the animals have been rescued. The following afternoon I took the ferry to the Sses http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Central-Region/Masaka/blog-369893.html Inevitably having flown from Addis Ababa to Kampala I am making comparisons. The main differences seem to be things that are missing Fewer beggars fewer shoe shines and definitely less hassle. Kampala is a lovely place small and compact. Finding my way around was helped however by the fact that Fiona and Steffen friends I am staying with gave me an orientation tour the day after I a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Central-Region/blog-368018.html My final week in Ethiopia was a busy one. It started with a party held at my house which was mainly in order to celebrate Hannah's VSO from Robe birthday. I had hired a band which turned out to be a man with a mixer desk. But the music was good which was the main thing. At least until the power went off The 2 hours were filled by Jeremy playing the guitar and volunteers singing. The http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Addis-Ababa-Region/Addis-Ababa/blog-367874.html Day 1 23 December Gonder to Sankober 6kmGelada Baboons Before LunchHaving breakfasted at our hotel Julian Hailye Judy and I piled into the car to head to Debark to sign into the Simien Mountains National Park and to collect Abera our guide and Jemberu our scout. Park rules require an armed scout but strangely not a guide.Just past the Simien Mountain Lodge we got out of the car to http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/blog-359569.html The atmosphere in Lalibela was incredible with the population of the sleepy village swelled by an estimated 20000 pilgrims who were visiting one of the major Christian sites in Ethiopia for Christmas.On the afternoon of Christmas Eve I went for a walk to the market and ended up walking past the major church of Bet Maryam where people were securing a sleeping space for the night. As darkness f http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Lalibela/blog-362944.html I travelled to Axum in the north of Ethiopia as part of my final travels before leaving Ethiopia. I was met at Axum airport by a VSO volunteer friend and spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool at a local hotel.The following day we started being tourists sidestepping round the camels we headed for the stelae fields. We decided not to buy a ticket which turned out to be a mistake later whe http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Axum/blog-362934.html One of the many nice things about living in Addis Ababa is how easy it is to get out to the surrounding countryside which is especially easy when invited to go camping for the weekend by someone with access to a car.Two hours after leaving home having circumnavigated Addis on the ring road and driven out through Sebeta we were driving up a rough track into Menagesha Forest. The first bit of th http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Oromia-Region/blog-350259.html Sunday 16th November 2008 Although I had suggested that we organise a first Ethiopian Remembrance Day as part of my VSO placement in the National Road Safety Coordination Office in Addis Ababa I had had no involvement in its organisation after a first working group meeting. I wasnrsquot sure what would happen on the day but I was very impressed by the whole event.The event had started 30 minu http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Addis-Ababa-Region/Addis-Ababa/blog-346464.html Having swallowed bitter disappointment at the cancellation of a planned trip to Ankobar at the last minute I returned home to formulate lsquoPlan Brsquo over a cup of coffee. I had stayed overnight with a couple of VSO volunteers in preparation for a 6.30am departure. By 7.30 I was at home deciding whether to spend the day moping or whether to do something anything more constructive. T http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Addis-Ababa-Region/Addis-Ababa/blog-343163.html The sun shone ants bit and the lone hyena out in the daylight skulked in undergrowth.The first stop on the Wildlife Society trip to Weliso was the lsquoNational Fishery and Other Aquatic Life Research Centrersquo at Sebeta. Apparently the halfempty pool covered with green algae is where Emperor Haile Selassie used to come to bathe. The fishery tanks didnrsquot seem particularly cared f http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Oromia-Region/blog-327065.html This was my second trip to the north of Ethiopia with the National Road Safety Coordination Office we went last summer to see what was happening with a pedestrian campaign in Amhara Region. The main purpose this time was to observe a childrenrsquos pedestrian training scheme that is being trialled by a local NGO called JeCCDO.We had to be there for the session on Thursday morning so we decid http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Bahir-Dar/blog-326721.html I have always been a little ambivalent about tourism that involves going to see local people in traditional dress but the trip to the Omo Valley in the south of Ethiopia was amazing. The expectation on both sides that tourists pay for photos made the whole experience seem less voyeuristic and less stressful too. The downside was that it was difficult to take unposed photos and sometimes indi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Southern-Nations-Region/blog-300466.html The bureaucracy at the College is quite amazing I had to undergo lsquointernal clearancersquo before theywould write the clearance letters that I need for when I leave Ethiopia. This involves 32 different people each signing seven times to say that I have nothing belonging to the College and am free to leave. Most of the 32 have had nothing to do with my work here Luckily one of the o http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Oromia-Region/Robe/blog-290684.html