WOOP! talking to you from Arusha, Tanzania. We are at the Impala Hotel where our guide, Joseph dropped us off after our Safari in Tanzania, but I suppose I should start at the beginning from when I last posted.
From Uganda to Kenya - an awful journey from Kampala to Nairobi by bus, the roads in Kenya are absolutely terrible, my teeth were grinding the entire time and often it felt like we were on a boat rocking from side to side. this was the only vehicle I had been in where they actually advised us to wear seat belts - well, the only one where seat belts were an option! haha. We arrived in Nairobi after about 15 hours on the bus and caught a taxi to the back packers - it was a pretty cool place with friendly staff and you could swap a book for one in the book case to take with you, unfortunately most were in another language so we didn't bother.
We were picked up at 7:30AM by David our safari guide for the Kenyan side - Amboseli National Park (where you can see Mt Kilimanjaro dominate the plains. We weren't half an hour out of Nairobi - the capital, when we saw two giraffe in the bush on the side of the highway.
We arrived at our first campsite (Kibo) and were blown away - these were permanent tents that were more like 5 star hotel rooms -so much for budget camping safaris!
anyway, in Amboseli we saw hundreds of elephants and their babies, a hyena family, a glimpse of a cheetah and some blue balled monkeys (black faced vervots) we saw some lions but not as cool as in the other parks.
Im not going to have time to go into a lot of detail, but after two days at Amboseli with David, we crossed the border to Kenya and met our Tanzanian guide, Joseph, he was a lovely, funny old man (Babu - means old man) we drove to Arusha and met our cook, Asifali or Sifa for short, he was sweet, always looked worried and asked if everything was ok, his cooking was 5 star quality, his soup was outstanding - we found out his secret ingredient too... chicken stock!
Anyways, we went to Lake Manyara, saw hippos and baboons and blue monkeys and zebra and wilderbeast and buffalo, elephants, warthogs etc. highlight - blue monkeys playing
from there to Serengeti where we saw some lions up close lazing around in the grass. we also saw leopards lazing in trees! banded mongoose, rock hyrax and dikdiks (small deer) on the way to Ngorongoro we saw Hyena rampaging into a flock of vultures and stealing the body of a gazelle that had been hit by a car - so cool!
from there to Ngorongoro which was freezing cold at night! we came from there today and saw some AWESOME lioness action - one stalking some zebra but failed! and saw rhinos too.
anyway by for now!
xx
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Next stop, Kenya!
We are nearing our last days in Uganda now, our last day at Home Sweet orphanage was relaxing, we played with the children and helped to pump some water from the well. The day before (Tuesday) Westy and I bought 20 mosquito nets and rope to put them up in the dormitory. we spent the good part of a day constructing a network of ropes in order to hang the nets, and the children were very happy. I think what they loved most was having the plastic bags that the nets came in to tie around their feet and use as gumboots to stamp around in the mud.
On Tuesday night Robert took us to his friends property in Sennyange (a suburb of Masaka) to find some chameleons, we found two and they were pretty cool, with their eyes swiveling around all over the place.
Today we have been spending time with Bree and the others on their project with Anaweza (a community centre for youth) they had organised a big sports day with soccer and netball tournaments for all the youth in the community and to give them an information session on drug use. apparently sniffing a petrol dipped rag is common practice around here to get high.
at lunch time we went to Betty's place (she lives near Anaweza and is a part of the organisation) and she fed us well! (for the third time since we have been here) it was delicious.
Tomorrow we will be spending the day at Anaweza again, this time for a big farewell party which we have all put money in to buy food and things for. the kids are going to perform a dance that they have been practicing wearing their brand new costumes, it should be a good day.
After the Anaweza party we will be travelling by mini bus to Kampala to stay the night before travelling to Nairobi, Kenya to begin our SAFARI! so excited. we are going to 4 national parks over 7 days - Amboseli (the one right under mt Kilimanjaro) Lake My... something I cant remember, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. We will also be visiting a Massai Village which should be very interesting.
we then travel back to Kamapala, Uganda on the 22nd and there until we fly out on 25th. So there you go! now you all know where we'll be!
Westy and I send our love! hope Australia is going well! see you all soon
xoxox
Meg
On Tuesday night Robert took us to his friends property in Sennyange (a suburb of Masaka) to find some chameleons, we found two and they were pretty cool, with their eyes swiveling around all over the place.
Today we have been spending time with Bree and the others on their project with Anaweza (a community centre for youth) they had organised a big sports day with soccer and netball tournaments for all the youth in the community and to give them an information session on drug use. apparently sniffing a petrol dipped rag is common practice around here to get high.
at lunch time we went to Betty's place (she lives near Anaweza and is a part of the organisation) and she fed us well! (for the third time since we have been here) it was delicious.
Tomorrow we will be spending the day at Anaweza again, this time for a big farewell party which we have all put money in to buy food and things for. the kids are going to perform a dance that they have been practicing wearing their brand new costumes, it should be a good day.
After the Anaweza party we will be travelling by mini bus to Kampala to stay the night before travelling to Nairobi, Kenya to begin our SAFARI! so excited. we are going to 4 national parks over 7 days - Amboseli (the one right under mt Kilimanjaro) Lake My... something I cant remember, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. We will also be visiting a Massai Village which should be very interesting.
we then travel back to Kamapala, Uganda on the 22nd and there until we fly out on 25th. So there you go! now you all know where we'll be!
Westy and I send our love! hope Australia is going well! see you all soon
xoxox
Meg
Monday, January 9, 2012
we are still alive!
Wow we've been here for 9 days already! It actually doesn't feel like that long, we've had some ups and downs, I've been a little bit home sick but we are still enjoying it.
Yesterday I had a bit of a scare, was up and down all night with a fever, massive stomach cramps and diarrhea (pleasant) I was a little worried that I had contracted malaria, because apparently despite the doxy tablets, the insect spray and mozzie nets it can still happen! but thankfully I woke up today feeling fine - I don't think I'll eat fish again.
So we have been out at the orphanage most days, playing with the kids and teaching them games and helping them with washing pumping water from the well. today we plan to order some mosquito nets for them, which will help. one of the children was taken to the hospital with malaria the other day.
We went out to the best night club in Masaka the other night haha - Ambience Discoteque. it was off the hook! as we walked in we were told to have no cameras and we were patted down for any weapons etc. also had to walk through metal detectors. inside it was pretty big and there were coloured lights and chrome hand rails and poles every where. the carpet was like something from a bowling ally.
We were partying with some Ugandan guys from Kampala that the others had met on NYE and it was pretty fun - but as we do, Westy and I headed home before 2am and left the others to it.
we are living on carbs here, the food is so bland and I'm sick of it haha, all potatoes, breads, beans and rice. one place we go (Bananah Chick) has some nice samosas so we often have them for breakfast and dinner. there are some good pop corn vendors too.
running out of time now, Robert went shopping in Kampala and bought a lot of stuff for the kids including tooth brushes, books, shampoo (though none of them have hair now!) and food as well as school books etc. which is great :D
any way bye for now!
Yesterday I had a bit of a scare, was up and down all night with a fever, massive stomach cramps and diarrhea (pleasant) I was a little worried that I had contracted malaria, because apparently despite the doxy tablets, the insect spray and mozzie nets it can still happen! but thankfully I woke up today feeling fine - I don't think I'll eat fish again.
So we have been out at the orphanage most days, playing with the kids and teaching them games and helping them with washing pumping water from the well. today we plan to order some mosquito nets for them, which will help. one of the children was taken to the hospital with malaria the other day.
We went out to the best night club in Masaka the other night haha - Ambience Discoteque. it was off the hook! as we walked in we were told to have no cameras and we were patted down for any weapons etc. also had to walk through metal detectors. inside it was pretty big and there were coloured lights and chrome hand rails and poles every where. the carpet was like something from a bowling ally.
We were partying with some Ugandan guys from Kampala that the others had met on NYE and it was pretty fun - but as we do, Westy and I headed home before 2am and left the others to it.
we are living on carbs here, the food is so bland and I'm sick of it haha, all potatoes, breads, beans and rice. one place we go (Bananah Chick) has some nice samosas so we often have them for breakfast and dinner. there are some good pop corn vendors too.
running out of time now, Robert went shopping in Kampala and bought a lot of stuff for the kids including tooth brushes, books, shampoo (though none of them have hair now!) and food as well as school books etc. which is great :D
any way bye for now!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Day 4
There isn't much happening here in Masaka, not a lot to do unless you have something to do like go to the orphanage, but Robert has been in Kampala doing his drivers licenses for the past 2 days. So yesterday we tagged along with Bree and the other med students to some meetings about where to donate microscopes. it was interesting to see how their hospitals work.
We were invited to eat lunch at a woman's house (she works with the foundation that Bree's group has been working with) her name was Betty and she cooked us some amazing food! (well compared to what we've had)
the avocados and pineapples here are delicious!
We've been spending evenings at our local, a bar about 200m from our house. the owner, John, challenged Westy to a game of pool (best of 3) we all got a free round of beers from Westy's win (Nile Special) yay!
We wash our clothes in tubs of water - old school way, I don't think we are doing a very good job of it though.
not much to report any way, we might search for some chameleons later, they are apparently around and very pretty. oh also! there are these gigantic storks that hang around the city eating rubbish and perched in trees, some of the trees have 6 or 7 nests in them. they are really creepy and look like vultures.
thats all for now, jump on Facebook if you want to see photos! I've put a few up but can only do one at a time so it takes ages.
bye for now!
PS. here they call us Mzungu (white people) a man walked past the other day and said "how are you mzungu?"
We were invited to eat lunch at a woman's house (she works with the foundation that Bree's group has been working with) her name was Betty and she cooked us some amazing food! (well compared to what we've had)
the avocados and pineapples here are delicious!
We've been spending evenings at our local, a bar about 200m from our house. the owner, John, challenged Westy to a game of pool (best of 3) we all got a free round of beers from Westy's win (Nile Special) yay!
We wash our clothes in tubs of water - old school way, I don't think we are doing a very good job of it though.
not much to report any way, we might search for some chameleons later, they are apparently around and very pretty. oh also! there are these gigantic storks that hang around the city eating rubbish and perched in trees, some of the trees have 6 or 7 nests in them. they are really creepy and look like vultures.
thats all for now, jump on Facebook if you want to see photos! I've put a few up but can only do one at a time so it takes ages.
bye for now!
PS. here they call us Mzungu (white people) a man walked past the other day and said "how are you mzungu?"
Monday, January 2, 2012
We made it!
So after 24 hours travel time (ish) we have made it to Masaka, Uganda. As you can imagine, the flight was long, and we didn't get a lot of sleep, it was good we were sitting infront of the toilets so didn't have to worry about knees in the back when we put our seats down to sleep.
As we took of from Melbourne Airport at around 12:05 we could see the fireworks display for New Years Eve as well as heaps of other lots of fireworks going off at almost every second block below us, it was pretty cool!
The first leg was around 13 hours and we had an old woman next to us asking a lot of the same questions over and over, and kept asking Westy what was happening in the movie he was trying to watch until he helped her to put on Finding Nemo for herself and she fell asleep :D
we arrived at Doha at 6am their time (2PM Australian) on New Years Day as we were flying in we watched the sun rise (mum you were telling me about it and yes it was very cool to watch from a plane) We met a girl in the lounge for the Doha-Entebbe plane who was going to work at an orphanage in Jinja, Uganda, and she was from Maryborough. She also knew a friend who helped raise money for the people we are staying with in Masaka. small world!
flew into Entebbe 21 hours after Melbourne take off to a warm - but not gross hot town, got our Visa and met Bree and Katie at the exit. it was so good that they came to get us because we would have had no hope finding our way to Masaka. We caught a car and 2 busses from Entebbe to Kampala (capital) then to Masaka.
We had some Matoke (weird green banana paste) beans and rice for dinner, it was bland and boring and apparently the norm every night, yay.
Today we spent the day at Home Sweet orphange, the kids were so excited and loved all the toys we bought them, we taught them to kick a footy, how to play downball (4 square) and we helped them with their laundry. we ate jackfruit for a snack, was an odd taste but okay, very sticky!
I'm about to run out of time so better stop there. I'll be in touch!
Love Meg!
As we took of from Melbourne Airport at around 12:05 we could see the fireworks display for New Years Eve as well as heaps of other lots of fireworks going off at almost every second block below us, it was pretty cool!
The first leg was around 13 hours and we had an old woman next to us asking a lot of the same questions over and over, and kept asking Westy what was happening in the movie he was trying to watch until he helped her to put on Finding Nemo for herself and she fell asleep :D
we arrived at Doha at 6am their time (2PM Australian) on New Years Day as we were flying in we watched the sun rise (mum you were telling me about it and yes it was very cool to watch from a plane) We met a girl in the lounge for the Doha-Entebbe plane who was going to work at an orphanage in Jinja, Uganda, and she was from Maryborough. She also knew a friend who helped raise money for the people we are staying with in Masaka. small world!
flew into Entebbe 21 hours after Melbourne take off to a warm - but not gross hot town, got our Visa and met Bree and Katie at the exit. it was so good that they came to get us because we would have had no hope finding our way to Masaka. We caught a car and 2 busses from Entebbe to Kampala (capital) then to Masaka.
We had some Matoke (weird green banana paste) beans and rice for dinner, it was bland and boring and apparently the norm every night, yay.
Today we spent the day at Home Sweet orphange, the kids were so excited and loved all the toys we bought them, we taught them to kick a footy, how to play downball (4 square) and we helped them with their laundry. we ate jackfruit for a snack, was an odd taste but okay, very sticky!
I'm about to run out of time so better stop there. I'll be in touch!
Love Meg!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
We are going to Africa!
So most of you know now that Westy and I are headed to Africa on New Years Eve at midnight!
That means only 8 more sleeps and I am getting excited and nervous, I know it is going to be so different.
Any way I thought a blog might be the best way to stay in touch and keep every body updated with what we are doing over there - provided there is some internet available. So if I don't end up posting when I get over there, don't assume the worst because there's probably just no internet. Mum and Dad will be contacted so they'll know if we're okay :D
So for those who may not know, we are flying with Qatar Airways, with 21 hours travel time and a 1hr 45min stop over in Doha (Qatar) we are sure to be sore and tired when we finally reach Entebbe airport in Uganda.
We are then setting off on a 3.5 hour journey by a transportation yet to be decided (bus or taxi) South-west to Masaka.
Hopefully once we reach Masaka we will be able to meet up with Bree (my BFF for those who don't know) who is over there already doing some medical volunteer work in the town. So far the plan is that we will be staying with her and the other med students in a ginormous house which they are renting.
We will be working with Robert at Home Sweet Orphanage, helping with gardening duties and other things, we are not sure yet!
We will stay in Masaka for around 8-10 days before heading off on our Safaris and East Africa adventures for the next 15 days, these 15 days have not yet been planned, we are winging it! hopefully Bree will have sussed out what we can do in the time she is spending there now.
So there you go, check back in for more posts as we travel :D
That means only 8 more sleeps and I am getting excited and nervous, I know it is going to be so different.
Any way I thought a blog might be the best way to stay in touch and keep every body updated with what we are doing over there - provided there is some internet available. So if I don't end up posting when I get over there, don't assume the worst because there's probably just no internet. Mum and Dad will be contacted so they'll know if we're okay :D
So for those who may not know, we are flying with Qatar Airways, with 21 hours travel time and a 1hr 45min stop over in Doha (Qatar) we are sure to be sore and tired when we finally reach Entebbe airport in Uganda.
We are then setting off on a 3.5 hour journey by a transportation yet to be decided (bus or taxi) South-west to Masaka.
Hopefully once we reach Masaka we will be able to meet up with Bree (my BFF for those who don't know) who is over there already doing some medical volunteer work in the town. So far the plan is that we will be staying with her and the other med students in a ginormous house which they are renting.
We will be working with Robert at Home Sweet Orphanage, helping with gardening duties and other things, we are not sure yet!
We will stay in Masaka for around 8-10 days before heading off on our Safaris and East Africa adventures for the next 15 days, these 15 days have not yet been planned, we are winging it! hopefully Bree will have sussed out what we can do in the time she is spending there now.
So there you go, check back in for more posts as we travel :D
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