TravelStream™ news feed for member nat_yeo on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/nat_yeo en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 12 Mar 2007 03:36:50 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1164927900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1164927900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1164927900/tpod.html Mon, 12 Mar 2007 03:36:50 -0400 Eastern & Southern Africa in 365 days.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Kampala, Uganda

I last left you on my way to Uganda with Mel. Melissa and I crossed the border on a rainy afternoon to Uganda. It was nice to be back in an English speaking country. After negotiating a fare with a special hire taxi, we traveled onward to our first stop, a place called Lake Bunyoni in the south of the country. What a stunning place! We stayed on the shores of the lake in a tented banda for two days then another two on Byoona Amagora Island in a small cottage that had a shower with a view over the lake. Outdoor showers are my favourite!

One first afternoon in the bar we were convinced somehow, to buy a printed t-shirt which has "Mzungu in the Mist" emblazed on it. I'm still not sure why I thought this a good idea. I think it was more entertainment than anything - I laughed so hard I cried when we received them - one of those little moments you probably have to be there for! Don't Mel and I look great in them though?! (see photos)

We spent our days dodging the rain clouds one minute whilst running for the sun in our swimsuits the next. It wasn't quite the weather for swimming but we did take a day trip on a small boat to the local market at Kyuvu. Mr Livingston our driver, kindly chaperoned us around the market to ensure we were not overcharged and helped with our negotiations. We purchased a couple of kangas for Melissa (she had been admiring mine for weeks now!) and I bought a scarf (only to give it to Mel a week later when I realised I would never wear it!) That makes two impromptu purchases - must be something in the air there! We spent most of our time at the market observing the locals although I have a hunch they had more fun observing us!

The other great pastime on Lake Bunyoni, (given that the name means 'the place of many little birds'), is of course bird watching. There is a magnificent variety of small, brightly coloured birds in the area. I spent hours just observing them from our little cottage balcony.

It would have been too easy to spend longer in this little paradise but instead we headed for the big smoke - Kampala - for a celebratory weekend to see Craig off back to the autumn skies of England.

Our bus ride there was a comfortable 6 hours although the 2 hours spent waiting for the bus to leave were painfully slow! I had an interesting conversation with my neighbor a young Somalian girl and her mother who suggested I might like to sponsor her given that they were living in a refugee camp in the south. I confess though, I lost interest in the conversation about the time we started discussing which mobile phone she wanted to upgrade to. Given that;

1.Both mother and daughter had a phone
2.They traveled to Kampala at least fortnightly to see her sister who is working there

I decided that my money could possibly be utilised more effectively elsewhere.

Upon arriving in Kampala and taking my first step off the bus, my pockets were fleeced by 2 eager sets of hands (only to come up with nothing). After announcing to the crowd in a loud voice that there was nothing in my pockets of interest, they left me to it. Next was our negotiation for a taxi to our hotel. We never quite managed to agree on a price before a driver I had been talking to, gallantly picked up my bag from the luggage hold for me and headed off down the street. At this point it was all Mel and I could do to scuffle after him as he was slowly being swallowed into the crowd :) Now that we were at the taxi, our leverage for negotiation disappeared so it wasn't long before we were inching our way through the Kampala traffic to the safe haven of the 'Blue Mango'.

The Blue Mango is essentially an overpriced guest house in the suburbs of Kampala. Its draw card is its chilled gardens, centered around a swimming pool and a well stocked bar. I was to spend almost 2 weeks at the Blue Mango before I freed myself from its clutches ;)

Anyone who has been to Kampala knows how hectic the streets can be here. People jostle continuously along the sidewalks and on the streets. Boda-bodas (motorbike taxis) swerve constantly through the thong of taxis (shared mini-buses that are also called matatus), that fill the streets around the clock. It is absolute chaos but it works! Amongst this add the street vendors, the beggars, the street markets and HUGE potholes (they call Uganda the land of potholes), and you have an incredibly rich fusion of sights and sounds to stimulate your mind. The city has a fantastic buzz. It is one of the only places I have been where I am not referred to commonly as Mzungu and one can comfortably walk the streets like any other resident without being stared at.

I spent the entire first week or so in Kampala hanging out with new friends and together checking out a number of restaurants serving international cuisine of which there are many. I had introduced Mel and Craig to Ethiopian Cuisine in Kigali so it was only fitting that I carry on the tradition in Kampala. We took a number of Ethiopian virgins, one being a young Essex girl who flatly refused to try anything. (thank goodness she was on an overland tour the next day! Her staple diet was pasta and salad(i.e that is all she ate),we were unsure how she would survive in Africa! Everyone else of course was suitably impressed with the food. It was still not as good as Gold's but it is hard to beat the best!

Through mutual friends, I met some local residents namely Debra & Heath and Comfort. Comfort kindly arranged for a group of us to see the sites of Kampala from the roof top of the Sheraton Hotel at sunset where we could observe the hustle and bustle below, including the President and his entourage returning home in the evening. Quite a show! We also spent an interesting evening at the local bowling alley which doubles as a karaoke bar. I've never played such a terrible game of ten-pin bowling however I quite happily blamed it on the exceptionally bad singing ;)

After a week or so most of my new friends went their separate ways and I headed out west to a place called Fort Portal near the Rwenzori Mountains. My first 2 nights I spent in a wonderful UCOTA (Uganda Community Tourism Assocation) run establishment at a place called Lake Nkuruba. The area is home to many beautiful crater lakes of varying sizes. For my first day I arranged a hike to a nearby waterfall. A 3-4 hour hike ahead, I set off with a couple of Greek women and a guide, walking through villages and schools to our destination - the Mahoma waterfall. On the way we were treated to a singing and dancing welcome by the students of the local school in the area which was beautiful to watch ;) We felt very privileged to be treated to such a display. The walk was slightly longer than planned - 20 km later we finally arrived back at camp. The beer was amazing at the end of the that day!

After lunch the following day, I mustered up enough strength to walk an hour along dirt tracks to the main road where the plan was to pick up a matatu and stay the night in Kibale National Park. I never quite made it that far as no sooner had I gone 10 minutes from the camp a huge storm swept over and before long I was walking (or sliding somewhat), in the mud, trying my best not to slip over. Attempting my best impression of "Singing in the Rain", I made it to the main road. Solidly drenched to the bone (including everything in my bag), I was now on the other side of the thunderstorm only to find no transport! In the end I waded up to a local hotel just off the road whose manager took pity on me and gave me a room at a highly discounted rate. The sun came out and I was able to place all my possessions out to dry. It was not to be my last soaking this journey!

I set off early the next morning for the forest and enjoyed a 4 hour guided tour of the national park popular mainly for its primates and forest elephants but unfortunately I did not get to see any elephants. In the afternoon I planned to visit the wetland sanctuary 5kms down the road. No sooner had I set out on the back of a boda-boda than a huge rainstorm descended upon us and in 5 minutes I was again drenched through! The wetland walk took on an entirely different meaning about then!

The rain did not stop for another 7 hours in which I spend 2 and a half standing at the wetland centre watching it fall, before hitching a ride back to the forest. The other 4 and a half, I camped next to a charcoal stove trying to dry off as I had no change of clothes! A group of Danes joined me for dinner that evening. Other than us, there were no other guests staying in the forest so we settled in with a few beers and Danish schnapps to stay warm. It was a great evening and to top it off I was offered a lift back to Kampala the following day which I eagerly accepted.

On our way back we amused ourselves with a competition on who could capture on film the most unusual cargo/load carried by a boda-boda. I've seen some good ones along my travels! Off the top of my head I've spotted loads of sugarcane, steel rods, sacks of charcoal, 20 or so chickens strung over the bars, a pig, a door, a set of table and chairs, a car windscreen and even a fridge!

Once back in Kampala I set about looking for some voluntary work for a couple of weeks. This proved to be a little harder than expected given the limited time I had to work with but as it happened, I found I could assist my friend Debra with a small project in Kampala. I'd had enough of the Blue Mango by now and as we would be working together for the next week or so, Debra and Heath asked if I would like to stay at their home in Bunga. I jumped at the chance as it allowed me my own space, access to a kitchen and an opportunity to exercise by the shores of Lake Victoria, which has been fantastic ;)

The project we are working on is to raise awareness of women in Luzira prison in Kampala, most of which are on death row and many are HIV Positive. They are all victims of domestic violence and their representation in the courts and the evidence against them has been questionable. Their story was originally told on a television programme named "The Untold Story", which is run by a non governmental organisation who offers counseling to these women, amongst many others. The director of this is a woman called Betty Tibaleka and it was with her that we worked. (Betty visits the prisoners once a week for counseling).

The women make wonderful crafts in prison but have no access to markets. What we are trying to do is bring these crafts to the market where we sell on their behalf so that they can pay for their children to go to school. The children come to the prison for money - some even live there.

Debs and I painted banners, typed up and information pamphlet and set up a stall at the EASSI Women's conference which was a great success. We sold almost everything on the stall :)

EASSI stands for Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women. It is a collaboration between individuals, NGO's, coalitions and networks committed to the advancement of women. It monitors the implementation of commitments to the 'Platforms for Action', emanating from the World Conference for Women in 1995.

At the end of the two days the conference closed with a cocktail party around the hotel pool. The women let their hair down and everyone got "jiggy with it"! I had a fabulous time learning from the masters how to wiggle my butt like only African women know how ;) With the EASSI event over, I focused my attention once again on seeing this fantastic country.

Betty and Debra will be working together on future prospects moving forward.

Debs and I took a 3 day trip to Jinja and Mbale taking in the beautiful Sipi Falls. These are on the edge of the Mt Elgon National Park which is the border between Kenya and Uganda. I took a 5 hour hike to see each of the falls as they cascade over three different hills, and a cave filled with bats which my guide and I went hunting for crystals in :) Debs went to interview some women in a local village nearby. It was wonderful to be out in the fresh air after Kampala and I enjoyed the journey as I watched the colourful images slip past my window.

We stopped on the way back to Kampala at Jinja for the afternoon to see the Bujagali Falls - I am sure this would best be seen from the water! There are a number of companies that run white water rafting down the Nile but alas my budget is not stretching to activities such as this. Instead we enjoyed watching men with nothing more that a jerry can to keep them afloat, rushing down the huge and powerful rapids - very gutsy!!

The following week I booked myself on a 3 day tour to Murchison Falls National Park in the north-west of Uganda. Day 1 and 3 are generally spent driving to and from the camp which certainly didn't worry us on the way, as it rained until the moment we arrived - the entire 6 hours! On arrival we were amazed at the wart-hogs that calmly cruise around camp (although it is best not to get too close!), and at night were awakened in our tents by the sound of hippos munching the new grass roots around our tent. (It sounds like someone walking around in a pair of water filled wellies!!). My roommate Sjacco and I made a daring run to the ablution blocks, dodging hippos on the way (we just couldn't hold on any longer!), then woke up the rest of camp with our laughing once we had made it safely back to the tent. Very funny!

The following day we spent the morning on a game drive and after lunch a boat took us 2 hours up the river to the Murchison Falls, along the way being treated to some magnificent sights of hippos, crocodiles, kingfishers, waterbucks and elephants. What makes or breaks a tour like this are the people you are touring with. Luckily we had a very light hearted and fun group which made the whole journey very enjoyable :)

My last stop in Uganda was the Sesse Islands in Lake Victoria. Sjacco, my buddy from the Murchison Falls tour, was also heading that way so we met up on the ferry from Entebbe to visit the largest of the islands, Buggala Island. The place is definitely not a party town but is a fantastic spot for rest and relaxation (not that I need it terribly!). It was an enjoyable place to write my blog on Uganda and reflect on a fantastic 2 months. The forest meets the lake here and nature abounds.

My stay at Hornbill Campsite was magical. I had a cosy little bungalow that I shared with geckos, frogs, wasps and termites and from where I would listen to the nightly thunderstorms sweeping over the island. The breakfast table was set amongst trees that housed over 60 weaver birds who kept me constantly mesmerized with their song and at dusk the air was filled with the sounds of hundreds of frogs and swarming lake flies. Most afternoons were beautifully sunny so Sjacco and I frequented the sun beds by the lake and watched the fishermen bring in their catch for the day. I would then stroll back to have an open air shower in the rainforest at camp ;)

The weekend brought in a number of visitors to the island but by mid-week there was but a handful of people up and down the beach. I was the exclusive guest at Hornbill for most of the week :) All too quickly though my stay was over, a day earlier than planned due to the ferry service being suspended for 2 days for servicing. I was lucky to get off the island in time as there was no prior notice - just by chance did I hear I needed to leave early!

So for the final time, I'm back in Kampala to say goodbye to all the great people I have met. My stay in Uganda has been fantastic. I have learnt a load about myself, the people I've met and the places I have been and I hope that through this blog I have opened a little part of your mind that may:
a) help you decide to visit this wonderful country
b) prompt you to help in its development in some way

I have decided to run a note at the bottom of this page titled "What Can You Do?". I think this is pretty self explanatory but for anyone who would like to make a difference in some way, you may find a little inspiration in one of these. It is purely a list of people or organisations that I have come across along my travels that you may be able to offer your skills or information to. It's all up to you!


I have one more stop before Australia for Christmas - Cape Town!.....................

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

If you would like to know anything further about how you can help with any of the projects/community programmes I have mentioned, I have listed some contacts below. These are all small scale organisations which to me are more effective than the big giants (& without the hemouraging from foreign paycheques!)

Lake Bunyoni

Both of these organisations run cultural tourism / volunteer programmes

1. EDIRISA www.edirisa.org

2. Byoona Amagora Island Retreat - www.lakebunyoni.net

Kampala

1. EASSI - www.eassi.org

2. The Untold Story - www.theuntoldstory.org
Contact Betty Tibaleka - +256 (0) 7722 311 763

Sesse Islands

Help For Children Uganda - www.helpuganda.info
I met this woman (Liz). She is a one man band on the ground and support 9 orphans herself and feeds about 110 throught the islands. If you always wanted to sponsor a child but did not want to give to a large organisation you may like to check this out.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1173577560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1173577560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1173577560/tpod.html Sun, 11 Mar 2007 04:56:26 -0400 Eastern & Southern Africa in 365 days.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

London, United Kingdom

So now I'm back in London town to plant a tonne of trees to make up for my jet-setting year and set-up house again! It's early March, the daffodils are in full bloom and the cherry blossoms are brightening up the bare trees and I have had nothing but sunshine and blue skies for the past four days :) It has been an unbelievable 9 months with its fair share of ups and downs but I wouldn't take a single moment of it back. I've learnt many things over my time away, about myself, others and the world and had a fantastic time exploring it all. Now it's time for some hard work to set in motion those goals I have set myself over the past year.

For those in London I look forward to seeing you all very soon! For those that are not, remember you are welcome any time :)

Best wishes to all

Nat x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1173490920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1173490920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1173490920/tpod.html Sun, 11 Mar 2007 04:53:47 -0400 Eastern & Southern Africa in 365 days.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Sydney, Australia

With the help of my brother and a select group of wonderful friends, I planned a surprise journey back to Australia.

I landed in Perth on the 18th February - just in time for my father's birthday the following day. My brother arranged a family gathering that evening. My parents and sister were exceptionally surprised to see me and we celebrated with champagne. No-one was going to expect me back as I should have been on a flight to Uganda. I spent 4 wonderful days with my family before flying on to my next surprise destination Sydney.

After braving the "red eye" flight to Sydney which is a horrid three and a half hour flight departing at 00.15 and arriving at 05.30, in which it is impossible to sleep more than 2 hours before you start a full day. Bushy met me at the train station and I managed to steal a few more hours sleep on the couch at his hotel. Brad was in town to play on the Frantic Boat Party on Sydney Harbour on Saturday 24th February. Bushy had arranged to meet Brad in Bondi that afternoon. After a wonderful lunch involving a surprised Andy Mclennan (and me), we drove on to Bondi to surprise Brad. He really had no idea - it was fitting that it was Bushy that had brought me here as it was Brad that had brought Bushy to the Sunshine Coast for my surprise just last month ;)

Brad and I stayed in the heart of Bondi at Marty and Christina's place which is a hop skip and jump from the beach. We enjoyed a great catch up that night with plenty of gin & tonics and pizza. There were many friends that came from Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane to see Brad. We met up with a number of people on the Friday evening for drinks at a local bar and even managed to fall into bed at a reasonable hour.

For the first time ever, I managed to go to a boat party without a hangover. I was very proud of myself! Brad, Steve and I headed down to the boat at 08.30 to help set up. By 10.30 we were picking the party up from Darling Harbour including many old friends including many we didn't know were coming, and headed out on the harbour for one hell of a party ;)

We docked in the late afternoon and headed straight for the after party which was held in a bar that's outdoor area looked out upon a shopping mall thoroughfare. Very strange, especially with a huge number of smashed people running around! Everyone had a great time - Marty, Tim, Steve and Brad played and there was much reminiscing about a time around 8 years ago in London when none of them mixed but each had aspirations to do so. The boys thoroughly enjoyed mixing together. After that it was back to Steve's house for some further partying, before we finally let the neighbours get some sleep around 3am. What a fantastic day ;)

Brad was flying back to the Sunshine Coast the following afternoon so we had a fine day at Steve and Kat's jumping from steam room, to pool to spa and chilling out on the couch. We dropped Brad off at the airport which was a very sad goodbye and went back to chilling on the couch. Bushy was still in town until Tuesday so we hung out whilst Steve and Kat were at work. My flight back to London was booked for 18.05 that day, but keeping with the tradition of the journey till now, I changed my plans last minute after a call from Brad and 5 hours later found myself at Maroochydore airport!

I spent 8 magnificent days with the man of my dreams in which we had a huge night at a gig of Steve Hill and Technikal's in Brisbane, babysat his niece little Beth and pretty much just chilled out. On Wednesday the 7th March I boarded a plane bound for Sydney, connecting with a flight to London.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1171812120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1171812120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1171812120/tpod.html Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:04:16 -0500 Eastern & Southern Africa in 365 days.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Johannesburg, South Africa

Whilst I was busy touring Uganda, my mother and father managed to put together an incredibly busy itinerary for us! Our tour involved many air miles and shuttled us around the highlights of South Africa and Zimbabwe. A 10hr flight took us to Johannesburg where we were collected by a business associate of Dad's in Australia who was kind enough to show us around Pretoria for a day whilst we tried to adjust to our new time zone. We visited the Boortrekker Monument - a national icon for Afrikaan South African's as a reminder of the "courage, determination and persistence of the Voortrekkers" after the victory of the Boers over the Zulu Kingdom at Blood River. More impressive was the Union Building - the residence of the presidency. The South African Parliament sits here in winter and moves to Cape Town in the summer.

After a few sleepless nights fighting with mosquitoes and listening to the village bell chime each hour throughout the evening, we flew to Victoria Falls on the great Zambeze River. Stupidly I used my British passport and was stung by a US$55 entry compared with everyone else paying $30. They sure don't like the Brits there! A few light comments were passed between the customs officials and I (they found it worth a giggle), and with that we were stamped into Zimbabwe.

From here on in it was pretty much organised touring, which took the guess work out of all travel arrangements and meant there were no hair-raising adventures with crazy taxi drivers or the like. There was nothing to do but enjoy your surroundings and be pestered by your dummer than dum fellow tourists who have no brain or awareness of other cultures between them. Fortunately we only met 3 such people traveling together, who amazed us with questions such as:-
1. What is the population here (being Vic Falls) followed by;
2. What is the population of the whole country of Africa?!!!!!!
I won't mention where they were from on the grounds it may incriminate me. I can say however they had no respect for anyone or anything. If the sea swallowed these people up tomorrow the world would be a better place. Hmmmm. Besides these wonderful fellow tourists, Victoria Falls was a beautiful place.

We stayed at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge which is in the National Park overlooking a waterhole. In the evening you could kick back with a gin & tonic in hand and watch the animals gather for their own kind of sundowner. From our balconies you could watch the whole valley awaken as long as you were cautious to keep a lookout for Vervet Monkeys whose room ransacking could be hugely annoying if they managed to sneak in unnoticed.

Musi oa Tunya (better known as Victoria Falls), were a delight. I am sure no one has ever visited the falls only to be disappointed. It is always spectacular to view the falls (this being my third time), and this was no exception. Although you can see he falls from both the Zambian and Zimbabwe sides, from Zimbabwe you can walk out in front of the falls. When the water is high, you see nothing but a huge wall of spray before you.

At night we were entertained by artists, storytellers and drummers at The Boma restaurant. The restaurant staff were encouraging us to try a Mopani worm (or Masimbi in the local language). Apparently it is a local delicacy. The only thing delicate about this was our stomachs after eating the awful little grubs! As it seems with most insects, they are dried and/or deep fried in oil so that the only flavour of these insects is the oil itself. Best to be using top quality oil!! A large glass of wine later we managed to finish the remainder of our meals which were great for meat eaters if game is your thing. You could try out Buffalo, Warthog or Impala.

Next on the itinerary was Chapunga Lodge in Thorny Bush Game Reserve, which is close to Kruger National Park. We spent three days driving early morning and late afternoon in search of animals to view. We had amazing interactions with leopards, elephants and lions, unfortunately missing a lion kill by only 10 minutes. In the early afternoons we made the most of our luxury accommodation, soaking ourselves in our
outside, private bath tubs. Looking out into the wilderness from the bath was exquisite although it would have been very nice to share it ;)

We joined a flight to Port Elizabeth to visit River Lodge, on Kariega Game Reserve. What a beautiful place! Our accommodation was on the river with our own private jetty and swimming pool. The morning game drive began with a 15 minute cruise up the river to the 4WD. Down river we were able to visit the beach for a swim at Trenton-on-Sea. Although the game were not as plentiful as at Thorny Bush due to the young age of the reserve, we made up for it in excitement on two occasions. One in which the male lion mock charged the vehicle (a heart throbbing experience!), and again with the lions as we ended up on 3 wheels and were at real risk of rolling the car. Not a happy thought with a lion watching on!

Cape Town was last on our shared itinerary. We stayed at a fabulous 2 bedroom apartment in the waterfront complex where I could work out at the gym every day. Over 4 days we took in the delectable sights of Cape Town including Table Mountain, Green Market Square, Hout Bay and Chapmans Peak, Cape Point, Kalk Bay and Constantia, Camps Bay and Seapoint. After such a hectic couple of weeks traveling we tried to keep
the time in Cape Town relatively relaxed and chilled so it was nice to take it easy and enjoy the chilled atmosphere of Cape Town in the summer. We briefly caught up with Sebs and Cinds after a divine dinner at home and ate at some wonderful restaurants around town.

Before long though our wonderful holiday together was over and on a fine Saturday morning we flew to Johannesburg where Mum and Dad caught a connecting flight back to Perth. It was a very sad goodbye - Thanks Mum and Dad for such an amazing time! I look forward to seeing you in 2008 for Adam's wedding.

As I waved goodbye to Mum and Dad, my friend James appeared, so we waved together and then they were gone. James and I continued back to his place where I was to stay a couple of nights.....

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1171704420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1171704420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1171704420/tpod.html Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:32:43 -0500 Eastern & Southern Africa in 365 days.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Umthatha, South Africa

I stayed at the resort that is Sarah and James' house in the suburbs of Jo'burg. We had a fantastic Tapas dinner with a friend of there's Mario. I can't remember too much about the food but the margaritas were fabulous ;) At this point I had to rethink my travel plans and wanted to hold off going to Ethiopia until my friend arrived at the end of February. I made a plan to go and visit Dave and Rejane in the Eastern Cape. They run a fabulous lodge called Bulungula on a beautiful part of coastline. If you are ever down this way I suggest you put it on your places to visit list.

www.bulungula.com

There I spent 9 blissful days walking along the beach each morning to the Xhora River and catching up on my reading and writing. It was nice to see old friends and meet some new. I certainly enjoyed my time with Penny and Liesl who made me feel like one of the family whilst I was there. Penny and I embarked on a mission to deliver the first local newspaper in Xhosa to the printers on time. I'm yet to hear how the final print looked but I'm sure the locals would have enjoyed reading it!

On my final night around the fire, I came up with an idea that would change the rest of the year somewhat. It was just unexpected enough to work! The following day I said a fond farewell to all and whilst I sat for 7 hours at the Umthatha Shell Ultra City waiting for my overnight bus to Jo'burg to arrive I started to put that in to action.

My final two nights again were spent with Sarah and James who as always were wonderfully hospitable. Thanks to Sarah for running me around and helping me to arrange my next tour and James for making the best cocktails (and Indian cauliflower dish), around ;) My flight back to Uganda was booked for Sunday 18th February. I never quite arrived........
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1169047080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1169047080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1169047080/tpod.html Sun, 04 Mar 2007 20:42:08 -0500 Eastern & Southern Africa in 365 days.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Mooloolabah, Australia

The past 6 months seemed like a lifetime as I arrived at Brisbane airport, then suddenly I was standing in the luggage collection with Brad in my arms! Man it felt good :)

Brad's family live in a town called Buderim near Mooloolabah on the Sunshine Coast. It's about 1 hour drive north of Brisbane. We spent our first evening chilling out on the beach consuming champagne and fish & chips. I met the parents for the first time and we unwrapped presents I had brought from Cinds & Sebs in Cape Town. It was like Christmas all over :)

I was shown around Mooloolabah and its surrounds the following days which included a drive to see the Big Pineapple and other amazing sights ;) before picking up a surprise visitor from Nambour. What a surprise when we bumped into Bushy and Alison in the local McDonalds car park!! I had no idea! Thanks again guys - it was almost as huge as Cindy's birthday surprise in London :) The four of us continued on to share a delicious Thai dinner by the waterfront. The following day we took the car north to Noosa where we had a fine breakfast followed by a long walk through the national park and chilled out on the beach.

The following day Bushy and Alison headed back south. Brad and I headed for Fraser Island where we spent the following five days in pure camping bliss, far away from the crowds, at a little site in the north of the island. Fraser Island is the longest sand island in the world. An island filled with pristine freshwater lakes and streams, and 4-Wheel-Drivers paradise. As most of the driving is on sand, a normal car would become bogged immediately and so are not permitted on the island. If you ever have the opportunity to go......do it!! Here is a sneak preview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx5ECuhlvjc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJHGqggQD0M
With our 80's tent and a huge range of equipment (including a kitchen sink), we had a fantastic time camping and a wonderfully fun time together as we explored the beaches and sand dunes ;) It was the perfect getaway.

On our final day together, back in Buderim, we decided to visit Australia Zoo, famous as the home of Steve Irwin and family. "Crikey Mate its huge!" We were stunned by the stereotype banter used in the live performance, marveled at the beautiful animals, and to top it off went home with a $250 stained glass mirror with a picture of the whole Irwin family on it (Only Joking) Crikey Mate! It's the tackiest thing I've ever seen - the gift store was full of them! Anyway, jokes aside it was a great fun day at a very well run zoo.

What a fantastic 10 days :) Thanks to Brad and his family for making me feel so welcome and thanks to Bushy and Alison for taking to the time out to come visit!

I flew back to Perth on the 17th January where I spent one day on final preparations for my return to Africa and finished it off with a wonderful family dinner at my brothers house. We had something extra to celebrate - the engagement of Adam and Toni! Congratulations guys - you have managed to secure my next visit to Oz before I have even departed.

A huge thank you to my wonderful family for accommodating me, yet again. I love you all very much.

And with that a month in Oz was over and I returned to South Africa with my parents in tow....

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1168096500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1168096500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1168096500/tpod.html Sun, 04 Mar 2007 19:53:34 -0500 Eastern & Southern Africa in 365 days.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Perth, Australia

I arrived in Perth just a few short days before Christmas with a bag full of gifts from Africa, and was finally able to embrace the pre-Christmas bustle as mum put me to work on wrapping shortbread biscuits for the local retirement village. She has already planned next year's gifts! (and people wonder why I'm so organised ;))

Christmas day was hot! So hot our decorative candles on the table melted! Lucky we don't have an issue with storage space in our fridges - the Aussies have that problem beat by having a separate fridge purely for the beer :) There was no relying on the cool weather to chill drinks this year. I started the day with the obligatory beach run and swim in the ocean, followed by champagne, before settling down for our late afternoon lunch. The family completed the day sipping on glasses of port and resting our fat bellies on the pillows in the lounge. It was nice to be back and chilling out with everyone. We saw the other half of the family on Boxing Day. I spent some time dragging my nieces and nephews around the pool on blow-up pool toys which they found very amusing, and meeting my cousins' new additions to the family.

In true New Years Eve fashion, we left our planning until last minute. Chooni, Sereena and Birgit happened to be in town, so the four of us and another two wonderful couples (Birgit and I made a fantastic couple as the Cowgirl & the Queen of Hearts), went to a pub in Subiaco for dinner where we dressed up as "When I grow up I want to be...." followed by a DJ to lead us into the new year. We had a sleepover at my folks after a long train journey home in which the Queen lost her crown and fell into bed in the early hours of the morning.

2007 started in a drunken blur, much as it had started with champagne and strawberries, followed by a big breakfast fry up care of Mum and Dad. The party broke up, Mum, Dad and I moved on to my brothers for a New Year's Day party around the pool. That proved to be a lifesaver when my hangover kicked in. It was a baddy!! I even sneaked a quick kip before my brother so kindly dragged me back out of bed to rejoin the party.

With the start of the New Year and my impending departure not far off, I set about visiting all the friends and family for the final time. In between I visited the beach or the local pool regularly, trying to rid myself of the love handles I had gained in Uganda!

I had a great evening of sundowners in Kings Park where Chooni and Sereena friends Kate and Ben Raggett. Ben serenaded us with an acoustic guitar set whilst we sampled a couple of Margaret River wines. The ducks were suitably impressed. Before long we had a small crowd of birds gather for the free concert.

Of course I also made time for an Ethiopian meal at a new restaurant in Northbridge with 10 or so friends which included a few surprise faces from around the globe. Yana & Phil, Anne-Marie, Jes, Justin & Liz, Damo & Leanne, Birgit and Jo joined me for a beautiful meal. Always fantastic to see you all guys!!!

After a drunken Friday lunch with friends and pizza with the family for dinner, I packed my bags and headed to the East Coast of Oz to catch up with the most stunning man ever, Mr Brad Thatcher!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1167145920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1167145920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1167145920/tpod.html Sun, 04 Mar 2007 06:46:52 -0500 Eastern & Southern Africa in 365 days.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cape Town, South Africa

The great wait for my journey to Cape Town had arrived. It felt fantastic to be back around friends again ;) Cindy picked me up from the airport and once back at the flat we immediately opened a bottle of champagne. Ahhh!! It was great to be back in the world of affordable wine! The two of us managed to get through two bottles of champagne before Sebs arrived home so we stated a third about then. We managed to enjoy dinner at Camps Bay with Sebs work colleagues before calling it a day.

As Cindy had to work, Sebs and I went shopping to "Fruit & Veg" (a wholesale supermarket). What a treat! Such an array of fresh produce (and cheap), I could hardly contain my excitement. Christmas had come early it seemed! After completely going overboard with the shopping, we headed to the beach to dive into the icy Atlantic Ocean waters. Yow! It's cold but what a zingy feeling on your skin afterwards!

Our friend Sarah who has been living in the Eastern Cape for a year, was heading back to Cape Town for a brief party before returning to UK for Christmas. Cindy and I had arranged I would arrive earlier than expected thus surprising Sarah when we picked her up from the bus station at 2.30am. She had no idea ;) It was fantastic to catch up and exchange stories!

We spent the next few days shopping for Christmas presents and went for one last blast at a club called Liquid on the Saturday evening. We must be out of practice - Cinds and I called it quits at 4am! We laughed hard as we were looked upon strangely by a group of young boys for talking to one of their mates (They probably thought we were chatting him up) - I think we just found ourselves placed in the "too old" category ;)!

I was fortunate to be able to catch up with a couple of friends that I had met in Zanzibar, Kowie and Bill who live on the outskirts of Cape Town. We enjoyed a fantastic evening at a winery in Constantia where I bored them with photos and stories of my travels. I later caught up with Kowie for a drive around to Hout Bay and along the fabulous Chapmans Peak drive which has been closed every time I have visited Cape Town for the past 5 years. I had heard so much about Chapmans Peak, I was happy to finally be able to see it first hand. Thank you to Kowie and Bill for taking time to show me such magnificent Cape Town hospitality :)


The following Monday we drove Sarah to the airport and bid her farewell. She is off to spend Christmas in Guernsey with her folks. Cinds and I turned our focus back to a healthy lifestyle, spending every morning at the local pool at Seapoint. It is an Olympic size, salt water pool, right on the seashore with commanding views over the ocean. I could have spent hours there everyday however, being school holidays, by late morning you could no longer swim in a straight line - too many bodies to dodge. Towards the end of the week we finally started planning our costumes for the MCQP (Mother City Queer Project Festival). The theme this year was 'Comic Strip' (you have to dress up to gain entry). After much discussion we finally settled as a group on dressing as 'Pinky and the Brain', a cartoon about two mice of which one has a very large brain and wants to "Take Over The World"!

On the eve of the MCQP we gathered at Proc's house for champagne and dress ups before heading off to the big party at Ratanga Junction Theme Park, where the party was kicking into full swing. It is quite a thing to arrive at the party. Each group crosses over a catwalk and is announced as they arrive with cameras clicking and video cameras recording - you really want to ensure you have put enough effort into your costumes! The atmosphere was fantastic, the crowd very friendly and the music was rocking! We had a great night partying hard until the early hours before sunrise when we made a brief visit back to Cinds and Sebs for a quick shower and change, then off to another party!

The other party was an outdoor trance party held in a secret location around Hout Bay. The venue had moved in the middle of the night which made it hard to find - especially in our wobbly state! Soon enough though we were kicking up a dust storm at breakfast time, sipping on red wine and having the ongoing debate on what is trance and what is house (depending on what country you live in people define them differently). We had a load of fun - I made some new friends and met some old and even had a call from UK friends cracking on back home whilst I walked through the surrounding forest. We called it quits around lunch time for some much needed sleep - a fantastic way to end 2 weeks in Cape Town.

And with that, my visit was over and I'm back in Perth to enjoy a chilled Christmas with my family.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1162810440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1162810440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1162810440/tpod.html Fri, 17 Nov 2006 05:09:30 -0500 Eastern & Southern Africa in 365 days.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Kigali, Rwanda

I arrived in Rwanda on Friday 29th September on a small aircraft from Kilimanjaro. What stuck me as I flew over the country to Kigali was just how much of the land is utilised. I have never seen anything like it - every single inch of land used. Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa with a little over 8 million people. Its people are mainly farmers - hence the terraced hills up and down the country.

It was only a brief visit but as Rwanda is a small country you can see a large proportion of it in a small time. Public transport is well organised and the distances between places of interest relatively short.

My first morning in Rwanda, I was walking around the town centre looking for breakfast. Saturdays are "cleaning" days so nothing opens before 11am. It didn't help that I had forgotten to adjust my watch so was wandering the streets at 7.30am! I met some of the local money changers in town who upon hearing what I was looking for took it upon themselves to find me somewhere to eat. We ended up in some hidden restaurant behind a shop (which to find they had to jump a wall), and settled in for breakfast communicating in a mixture of broken English/Kiswahili and French - quite an interesting mix!

I managed to book myself to see the Gorillas in Parque National de Volcanes on the Tuesday which is the park in which Diana Fossey first habituated a gorilla group. I trekked the Susa group, which "Digit" who was part of the first group of Diana Fossey's originally belonged. It is now the time of the short rains here so we were lucky not to be caught in the rains on the mountain. We were even luckier to spend the full hour with the Gorillas (a max of 1hr is the absolute limit to keep the stress on the animals to a minimum). We stood about 4m from the group as the juveniles chased each other around a tree and bashed each other gently as they played. It was so beautiful to watch :) I had a fantastic day up there but came down with malaria whilst on the mountain so I struggled a little not to pass out. A quick trip to the local clinic after the trek confirmed my condition so I decided I needed somewhere to rest up for a few days.

I moved myself to Gisenyi on Lake Kivu, a small but beautiful resort town which borders Democratic Republic of Congo and stayed at a great place overlooking the freshwater lake. From here it is a mere 2km to the border town of Goma which was the site of a lava flow in 2002, which cut a 50m wide hole in the town. During the 90's it was home to thousands of Hutu refugees and genocidaires of the Hutu Power Regime. Today Goma is a thriving central trading zone and a makeshift headquarters for the UN.

In Gisenyi I met a fellow traveller called Melissa who is also touring by herself. The proximity of Congo and our combined curiosity got the better of us so we decided to cross the border for the afternoon. We took a special hire taxi into Goma with 2 makeshift Rwandan guides (we did suggest they might like to make a business out of such journeys). They were great fun and especially helpful dealing with money changers and the like. The height of excitement for the afternoon was our departure from the market - a child, no more than 12, threatened to smash a large rock he was holding though our window as he wasn't happy with the money he was given by our driver to watch the car. We all agreed it was a fair price but then again, with 2 mzungus in the car, he probably thought he could get a better deal! In the end we reached an agreement unscathed and headed back to the sanctuary of Rwanda for a quiet beer. We were glad we took the plunge. It was a fantastic afternoon ;)

Back in Kigali, I visited the genocide memorial - a brilliantly arranged and informative museum on the grounds of one of many mass burial sites of the genocide victims. More disturbing than that was a visit I paid with Melissa and another new mate Craig to see the church memorial at Nyamata. The church has been left as it was; bullet holes in the roof, blood stained altar, brain stained walls where they threw the children against and a room full of clothes piled high to the ceiling of clothes taken from the hundreds of bodies slain there. The sculls and bones of the victims are laid out in underground crofts. Looking at them you can see crushed areas from machete or bullet wounds. It was so very distressing - you cannot begin to imagine the horror of the genocide.

If you ever read any of the books on the Rwandan genocide you can walk around the centre of Kigali and pick out certain buildings of "interest" during that time. The most famous for you all would be the Hotel des Milles Collines which was the "Hotel Rwanda", a movie certainly worth seeing if you have not done so already. I sat in the grounds beside the swimming pool and imagined people taking their drinking water from the pool when the water was cut from the property. Interhamwe were camped outside, waiting for an opportunity to slaughter the "cockroaches" inside.

There certainly is a strange vibe in Rwanda, but given all that has happened the country seems in reasonable shape (It is certainly one of the cleanest countries I have had the pleasure of visiting). I hope Rwanda will be a peaceful place for many years to come! I met many wonderful people there - most understandably under 25 years. There are many Rwandans who were born in the refugee camps of Uganda, Tanzania, Zaire and Burundi in the 70's and 80's that returned after the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front), seized control of the country. Together they make up the new Rwanda - let us hope it can grow and prosper into a great nation eventually free from the suffering of its past.

Ten days and a shed load of money later, Melissa and I headed for our next country on-route Uganda. Despite the issues of the north, I had heard many great things about Uganda, another small, landlocked country on the shores of the great Lake Victoria...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1161162720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1161162720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nat_yeo/africa-2005/1161162720/tpod.html Fri, 17 Nov 2006 05:07:16 -0500 Eastern & Southern Africa in 365 days.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Zanzibar, Tanzania

Three weeks ago I arrived on the beautiful island of Unguja (local name for Zanzibar), in the Zanzibar Archipelago. This includes the island of Pemba and numerous other small islands, which together make up the "Spice Islands".

I arrived with the Greenforce team on a ferry from Dar in the early evening. We had been looking forward to swimming in the beautiful Indian Ocean for what seemed like the entire 10 weeks. The first evening we stayed in Stone Town before heading to the beautiful beach of Kendwa on the north-coast. White sand, palm trees, turquoise water, and a bar on the beach. You get the picture ;) We took one day out for a snorkeling trip on a dhow, to a coral island just off the Unguja coast. The chef was dropped on the beach and while we viewed (what was left of), some fine coral and an unbelievable abundance of tropical fish, our chefs cooked up a huge tuna BBQ with local spices. The afternoon we spend under sail, relaxing on desk as the island sights drifted past. The remainder of our final 3 days with Greenforce, we chilled out - most of the group were hoping to go back to England with a tan (what for I am not sure considering they would have had to cover up as soon as they arrived back considering Autumn has arrived!), and once gone it was just Liz and I left on the island.

Liz stayed on for another two days so we frequented cafes and watched the sunset from the favourite Mzungu hangout of Africa House Hotel. Once she had gone I set about finding a teacher of Kiswahili. I arranged for daily lessons of 2 hours with my teacher Mwanampate at $4/hr and spent the following 2 weeks immersed in study.

Kiswahili lessons have been challenging to say the least ;) My grammar is fantastic, just my vocabulary is still less than desirable. I was extremely fortunate to be introduced to a local Musical student who took some time to show me Stone Town and its people. I spent many an evening drinking kahawa (coffee) with his friends who all tried their best to help me with my Kiswahili. Most of the time I just sat and listened and from time to time I would understand something of what they were discussing. We would then walk back through the streets of Stone Town and observe the locals out and about playing boa or as Ramadan began, often on their way to the local mosque for prayer. Mahsin also introduced me to Taarab music which combines African, Arabic and Indian influences. As the music academy to which he attends held their graduation concert at the Old For (an open air theatre for music and dance), I was able to attend the concert and see some of the best performers in Zanzibar. Some of them are highly accomplished musicians that teach at the academy and often tour in Europe.

As a study break, I spent a relaxing weekend on the east coast of the island at a place called Bwejuu. The palm fringed beach is amazing; ruined only where the villagers come to dump their rubbish on the beach. Yes....straight down to the water and into the ocean. Refuse is a major issue on the island. There does not seem to be any effective collection, made worse by the lack of education of the local people on this issue. I did meet a gentleman who is in the process of creating a refuse / recycle business to deal with such an issue. It does not seem like a sound idea to wait for the local municipality to deal with the problems!

Stone Town itself has been declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. There are some challenges the Stone Town residents face. To understand this I have to tell you a little history.....

Zanzibar gained its independence in 1963 and in 1964 there was a revolution whereby Abeid Kaume assumed power. His government nationalised most of the housing and many of the clove plantations of the day. This caused many of the merchants and landowners to move to the mainland. So many left that the population of Stone Town actually declined by 15% up to 2002. Today 50% of the urban housing is state owned and divided in to multi-family dwellings and densely occupied, often with entire families living in a single room.

Overcrowding in these building leads o problems further degradation of the buildings. Low revenue on rent (tenants pay around $3/ month), ensures that there is no money for repairs. Rental contracts offer very little security (often only a few months). All this ensures that no one invests in the buildings, which has lead to the decay and collapse of many. Repairs are often of poor quality and use inferior building products so do more damage than good. Over 80% of 1709 buildings are of poor or deteriorating condition, 85 of these collapsed between 1982 and 1992. There are a number of programmes and organisations working to solve these problems:

·Zanzibar Stone Town Heritage Society - NGO Project
·Conservation Centre
·Urban Village Project - working to improve living conditions through design of buildings.
·Tenant Project - Landowners and tenants have joint signatory accounts, 30% of the rent must go back to maintenance of the property.
·Media Resource Centre
·Training

I hope that the combined determination of peoples obtain the results required to save Stone Town from deteriorating much further.

On a typically beautiful Tuesday morning in Stone Town, I left for the mainland with a head full of questions on what I could do to improve the island should I one day have the opportunity to return. It really is a fantastic place!

I leave you with a couple of typical Swahili sayings direct from the back of a kanga...

"Usisafire nyota ya mwenzio"
Don't set sail using somebody else's star

"Mama nipe radhi kuishi ana watu kazi"
Mother, give me your blessings; living with people is really tough

"Hasidi Itana Sababu"
An envious person requires no reason to practice envy
]]>