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July 4, 2007
In the Footsteps of Man Eaters
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Introduction
by Clarissa Hughes
Well, I’ve just returned from an amazing trip in Kenya - walking across East & West Tsavo National Parks, infamous for its man eating lions … and much more. Getting down and dirty (figuratively speaking) with wildlife, on foot, is more about the experience than the taking of photographs. Your heightened senses detect smells, hear sounds and feel tactile details that you would never experience from a vehicle. The life and death issues of the bush are all around you: a hornbill eating a grasshopper, a lion on a kill, a herd of elephant watering their calves and a lost baby vervet monkey. Urban life and its problems seems to pale by comparison.
This was only my second visit to Kenya and I was impressed by the people. There was a pervasive atmosphere of sensible optimism. Certainly there are problems but I had the impression that Kenyans have come-of-age and realize that solving them is up to themselves. As a hard working nation I have no doubt they will do so in their own way. Having just read Wangari Maathai ’s biography “Unbowed” perhaps my judgment was a little coloured. Nevertheless, it’s hard not to feel positive when one reads about this extraordinary woman.
Mount Kenya, Africa’s second highest peak, attracts climbers who set out to achieve personal challenges and dreams. Our 14 day Great Escape offers the most spectacular trekking in Africa through seldom trodden valleys and gorges, mountain lakes, prehistoric alpine vegetation, and dense equatorial rain forest, all rich in mammal life.
For a taste of Swahili culture a visit to Lamu is a must. A World Heritage Site, Lamu’s streets are so narrow that no vehicles are allowed on the island. Hang out in kikois and enjoy a beach holiday here after your safari.
While I was in Kenya the National Budget was announced and in major good news a hefty excise tax has been levied on plastic bags. As mentioned in a previous newsletter this proved to be a highly effective way of reducing litter in South Africa. The idea seems to be sweeping Africa with Uganda also recently announcing a similar constraint.
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The Great Walk
Tracking wildlife on foot in the wilderness called Tsavo
There’s something about Africa and there’s something about meeting her on foot. Call it an archetypal memory of a time when this was how we lived; tracking and pursuing big game for nourishment of the body. Nowadays, it is food for the soul.
Following the Tsavo and then the Galana Rivers through this 12,000 square kilometer national park we encountered elephant, buffalo, lion, hippo and numerous smaller, but no less impressive, mammals. Well looked after by very experienced guides, no single walk was longer than 15kms. The pace and rhythm were hypnotic at times.
Camping in Kenya-style walk-in tents with beds, the attention to detail was perfect. From the mirror, the wash-basin and even a box of tissues, nothing was overdone … but just right. Comfort without ostentation is positively my thing.
And then there was the food! Oh my, each day held a delectable surprise. Fresh produce was always available (don’t ask me how they did it) and served up as delicious salads and quiches. We ate traditional Kenyan food as well as cakes & pastries and even a roast turkey. Wines at dinner came from South Africa and Chile and then, of course, there was the Tusker beer.
Tsavo’s history is interesting. Oromo burial cairns dot the landscape where these pastoralists once roamed. Along the Tsavo River remnants of WW1 forts attest to the British defence of their lifeline railway to the interior at the Tsavo Bridge. It was during this same bridge’s construction, in the late 19thC that 130 workers lost their lives to two infamous lions. They finally got their comeuppance when Colonel Patterson, an engineer for the so-named, Lunatic Express, tracked them down and shot them. In his book recounting the saga, he claims to have found their “den”, a cave in a dry river bed; a visit to which was a feature of our trip. Vestiges of another adventurer’s life were found further downstream at Denys Finch Hatton’s camp on the Galana. Sitting there sipping wine of the banks of the river, I had no difficulty in imagining his and Karen Blixen’s romantic trysts in this paradise.
For a fuller account of this fascinating area read Rick Ridgeway’s “In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro”. Not only does this 14-day walk offer the opportunity to salute Africa in all her glory but it also meets all our standards of an ecotourism product.
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Ban On Ivory Trade Extended
Good news for elephants from CITES
After days of dispute at the CITES convention in The Hague a compromise was reached. Ministers agreed to extend the ban of ivory trade for another 9 years, although one-off sales of government ivory stockpiles will be permitted for 4 southern African nations.
The deal highlights what is known as “The Elephant Issue” where in some countries rising elephant numbers are impacting people and their crops and even degrading ecosystems to an extent that puts other wild species at risk. Yet, in other countries where poaching is rife elephants are on the verge extinction. The debate on whether to cull or not to cull has been raging in Botswana for decades. The country has an estimated 120,000 elephant and, to its credit, the Government of Botswana has held off from implementing the extreme remedy.
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A contentious issue
This is something we’ll be talking about on our soon-to-be-launched blog and we’d like your help in choosing a name for it. Suggestions so far are:
The Bongo Drum
Nature Watch
The Rhino Horn
Vote online or send us your suggestion.
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And in further good news for the environment
Ugandan plan for forest suspended
You may remember from a previous newsletter the controversy over the Mabira Forest in Uganda. The Government had announced plans to give thousands of acres of rainforest to an Asian-owned sugar company. The plan has now been suspended due to intense criticism and a violent protest in Kampala last month, when three people died after police fired live bullets into the crowd.
Unfortunately, a recurrent theme through history is that that those in power often only change their stance when lives are lost. It takes something extreme for the powers-that-be to realize that power is ultimately accountable. The winds of change are but a breeze in Africa right now. But I’m pretty confident we’ll be seeing more governance by-the- people-for- the-people sweeping through the continent in the medium term.
Uganda is renowned for some of the best wildlife viewing in Africa. From mountains to savannah it has it all, and a visit to this wonderful country is easy to book.
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Not all is well in Zambia
Suspected poachers have killed one of the two surviving white rhinos in the heavily guarded Mosi-O-Tunya National Park in Livingstone. The male surviving white rhino is critically wounded. The dead female white rhino, whose horn was removed, is one out of six that were brought to Zambia from South Africa in 1993. In a statement, the Wildlife and Environmental Conservation Society said that it is difficult to understand how the animal was shot dead with armed game scouts guarding it 24 hours everyday.
Elsewhere in Zambia wildlife fares better and a visit to the famous South Luangwa should be on every wildlife enthusiasts list.
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Once again adventurers take to the hills for a good cause
Imagine a hike that is walked only once each year, a route that attempts to follow where elephants once roamed. Last year Clarissa & Ralph participated in the inaugural hike … and survived to tell the tale!
We’re really happy to announce that it was such a success that another is being planned for this year. The full route (380 kms over 19 days) is a challenge that uplifts the spirits. Shorter sections are available if you don’t have the time or inclination to do the entire hike.
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Travellers Feedback
Jeff Jakonczuk (USA) - June 2007
Our host, William, was phenomenal. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and took great care of us 24/7. And he was a good cook. I'd recommend the trip to everyone...and I've already started doing that.
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ecoSpecials
Enjoy a fabulous sailing in the Seychelles
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ecoTravel Tip
Minimise personal care products
Minimise your use of personal care products and detergents to wash linen, and reuse your hotel towels and bed-linen. Dispose of sanitary waste properly. Don't flush cotton buds, condoms, tampons and plastics down the toilet - or you might just find them on the beach next time you visit.
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ecoAfrica Newsletter © 2007 eocAfrica Travel.
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