Peter Gostelow is pedaling his way through Africa and has recently arrived in Sierra Leone. He is making his way from London to Cape Town, raising money for the Against Malaria Foundation, and I've been following his progress for several months. Here's the latest update from his travels:
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Competition for land between man and beast is getting fiercer every year as Africa's population continues to grow. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has recently unveiled a "toolkit" to help farmers protect their crops from marauding wildlife and at the same time, protect wildlife from angry farmers. According to the FAO, the annual cost of elephant raids to crops ranges from $60 (Uganda) to $510 (Cameroon) per affected farmer.
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A walking safari is the ultimate way to experience the African bush, and South Luangwa National Park in Zambia is the place to do it. Robin Pope Safaris is offering a seven-night mobile camp walking safari for $4570 per person. I don't often single out a company offering specials (there are just too many) but this is one of those trips that I would love to do. This particular itinerary involves four days of walking from camp to camp (all very comfortable) following the Mupamadzi River. The walk is not strenuous, around 6 miles per day, and you tend to go slowly because the whole point of it is to enjoy what you see, smell and hear around you.
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There's no such thing as a quick flight to Africa from the US. There are only a handful of direct flights, all of them well over the eight hour mark. It just took me about 21 hours to get to Tanzania since I had to change planes in Amsterdam. And if you don't happen to live on the East coast, you're really out of luck.
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The annual Marrakech Popular Arts Festival starts this weekend, it's celebrating its 45th year. For a whole week, this already lively city will be filled with folk singers, dancers, fortune-tellers, acting troupes, snake charmers, fire-swallowers and more, from all over Morocco. Since 2000 the festival has also attracted many artists and entertainers from Europe and Asia. The main events take place in the ruins of the 16 century Badi Palace and the Djemma el-Fna (main town square). Not to be missed, outside the city walls at night, is the Fantasia. A horse-riding spectacle that includes hundreds of charging horsemen (and women) wearing traditional clothing.
...Two bombs were set off on Sunday night in Uganda's capital, Kampala. Normally a quiet city, the bombs went off unexpectedly and killed more than 20 people as well as injuring dozens more. The bombs were placed at the Kayadondo Rugby club, frequented by expatriates as well as a popular Ethiopian restaurant. Both spots were packed with people watching the World Cup final. The BBC reports that the Ugandan authorities believe the Somali militant group al-Shabab could be behind the attack.
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I went gorilla tracking in Rwanda last month. It was exhilarating, exciting and just a little frightening. I'll be posting more about the safari soon. In the meantime, check out a quick video I took. The black-back was not a happy chappy on the day we visited. So we tried to steer clear of him for the most part, difficult when the foliage is dense with stinging/burning nettles. As I had the camera on him, he turned around and thwacked me on the head with some bamboo. Let me know what you think by watching the video and then voting in the poll below.
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This radio is made entirely from beer bottle caps, a locally brewed beer can, scrap metal, wire and a resurrected radio antenna. It works perfectly and it looks great. This is just one of the many recycled items I picked up from a trip to South Africa. South African recycled arts and crafts are usually hand-made by people living in townships who earn their living from selling them. Each piece is unique. So when you buy these items you can be sure you're supporting a local artist, helping the environment, and bringing some color into your own home. Personally I think these souvenirs beat a sculpture of an elephant any day.
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