Safari Notes

Spectacular Selous Game Reserve As a child, I and my family spent some years in Iringa, Tanzania and areas around it - Iringa is a town with beautiful surroundings and an excellent climate. Not far - South East of Iringa, is one of the most breathtaking, wonderful and pristine wilderness and game reserves in the world: the Selous Game Reserve. Selous ( pronounced Seloo , is named after Englishman, Frederick Courtney Selous - conservationist, hunter, explorer and author)   is the largest g ame reserve in Tanzania and due to its uniqueness, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reserve is approximately 55,000 square kilometers - about 21,236 square miles (that is four times the size of the Serengeti, more than three times the size of Swaziland and more than twice the size of Rwanda; almost five times the size of Qatar; larger than Costa Rica or Netherlands or Denmark or  Bhutan or Switzerland; and more than twice the sizes of  Massachusetts or Vermont or New Hamps...

The wildebeests are back. " A dust storm of migrating wildebeests pounds through Zambia's Liuwa Plain National Park. Photographer Chris Johns calls the little-visited park a 'rival of the Serengeti.. .' is how the National Geographic magazine describes the sight in Zambia, back in 1997. Many may have heard of the Liuwa Plains , but very few tourists indeed, have been to the almost 3,700 square kilometers remote, vast national park - in Western Zambia. Though the plains has a variety of many birds and other animals, and a spectacular display of golden grassland - the biggest and most fascinating attraction is the awesome migration of wildebeests; blue wildebeests. Every year, running through November and December - the second largest wildebeest migration on earth of tens of thousands of wildebeests, cross over from Angola to Zambia. Only the wildebeest migration of the Masai Mara-Serengeti, offers a much more spectacular sight. Due to the long civil war in Angola, ma...

Moshi. Means smoke in Kiswahili. Situated on the lower slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, it must have been named so - due to the clouds and fog that surround the majestic mountain. Serene and with a stunning beautiful scenery surrounding the town of almost 200,000 people and a cool climate, Moshi is a great place to be in. Most visitors and tourists to the Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania, prefer staying in nearby Arusha and not the smaller Moshi; few even visit Moshi. They don't know what they are missing. Moshi's star attraction is the spectacular view of Mount Kilimanjaro, and many who trek to the top of the mountain, start their trip from the town. It's sad and unfortunate, that the ice on top of the highest mountain in Africa - is melting fast . The view of the mountain from Moshi, is not what it was twenty years ago; and certainly - furthest from what it was hundreds of years ago when the place was named Moshi . Those naming it never realized that, due to what wou...

Writing about the Luos yesterday, got me into thinking about Kisumu ; the third largest urban center in Kenya and the largest city of the Luos. In the late sixties and early seventies, Kisumu, was the cleanest and tidiest city in Kenya; and vibrant, pleasant, peaceful and the urban center with the lowest rate of violent crime in the country. It had an excellent infrastructure and an efficient municipal system. In Kenya it was, then, only rivaled by Nakuru in the Kenyan Rift Valley. And in East Africa, Mbale on the foothills of the Elgon in Uganda; and Arusha, near the Kilimanjaro - were comparable. Nakuru, has since the death of the Late President Jomo Kenyatta, which the city was a favorite retreat for, degraded; and so has Mbale in Uganda, which too, has degraded and decayed since the early seventies. And, Kisumu has since the late seventies continued to degrade, decay and become a sleepy, slumbering place with pot-holed streets and roads, and with a collapsing economy, an inefficie...

Few places on Earth, can match Uganda's natural beauty. From the flat savanna lands of the North, to the dry, but still strikingly beautiful, dry lands of the North East; to the rolling hills and mountains of the East and West - Uganda is a feast for the eyes. Mount Elgon is as unforgettable as Bwindi . One of the most unforgettable sceneries one can see, is driving from Kampala towards the West - through Masaka, Mabarara, Fort Portal, Kabale and the Queen Elizabeth National Park; or from Kampala towards the east through Kigumba, Murchison Falls and on to Gulu and Lira; or through Tororo and on to the stunning slopes of Mount Elgon at Mbale. For those intending to visit the Lake Albert area, there are very good facilities at the Lake Albert Safari Lodge . And the scenery around, is just breathtaking. And for those visiting Kampala, there is the fine Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel right by Lake Victoria - offering excellent facilities. Except for malaria, which can be deadly, most...

The Apollo images of the Earth 'coming up' - rising - over the moon were staggering. We have always been used to the Sun or the Moon rising; but the Earth rising? Till the Apollo expeditions, 30 years ago, gave us those images! And now, the Japanese lunar probe - Kaguya - have given us more spectacular images of the Earth rising over the moon. The Kaguya or Selene spacecraft, has been orbiting 100 kilometers above the moon since late last year. The image was taken by the spacecraft's high definition camera (HDTV). Another image of the Earth setting over the moon, was also taken. Amazing images!

For the last few weeks and months, I haven't had much time for the Internet. Most of my time, I have spent taking care of family matters. Nothing is as important as the Family; and at times, personal matters and issues - over whelm and one has to take time and completely focus on them. And that's what I have been doing. I do thank all friends who have posted comments of concern and encouragement; in particular: Jane , Zack and Joshua . Do all have a happy holiday season and New Year!

I have had Friends! Few, but friends. And I still have a few. Friends whom, I can rely on no matter what. And at any time. I have had friends as a child and when growing; I have had friends during my teens and early manhood. It's not easy having friends; it's even more difficult maintaining friendship. A change took place once I started having children; though I still have other friends, my children have gradually but surely become my closest friends and confindants. From my first daughter, whom I had in the early eighties to my last born son, who is about nine. I am friends too to all my nine siblings; and apart from being my mentor and first teacher, I shared a lot of adventures with my late Dad; as for my Mom, she has been the friend I have had longest. And I am still very good friends with my first wife just as I am with my present one. Which brings me to music. I like music. Just as I love reading! My taste in music is varied and ranges from the classic to pop; from the ol...

I have always associated places I live in or have lived in, or even - just visited, with scents! Natural scents! Trees, flowers, the earth, rivers, the sea - all have their own unique scents. Whenever I see frangipani flowers, Nairobi would immediately come in to mind; the scent of frangipani, reminds me of no where else - but Nairobi! And my daughters! It seems, wherever one is in Nairobi, there would always be frangipani flowers close by; and their sweet scent would be in the air! While the sea and its unique 'scent' would always remind me of Mukalla! Mukalla, with its pure, deep blue sea! And the sea and its 'scent' would remind me of my sons! How about dates? Date palms and dates would always remind me of times I spent in the deep valleys and deserts of Hadhramout! And my first daughter! Who is also my first born! Date palms would always bring wonderful memories, of time spent with her, when still very young: playing, running and chasing each other! Times, that I w...

A very wise African proverb! Water , the essence of life, 'cannot be washed'. There is water and water ! And yet it is said 'more than one billion people have no access to clean water'! And the statistics on water are alarming! And very saddening! The way fresh water sources are being depleted and polluted, gives very little hope. More so in Africa ; same in Yemen . I still remember way back in the sixties and seventies, when I was growing up in East Africa: there were only pristine rivers and lakes. Not a single plastic bottle or bag in the waters, then. No more! Chemicals, garbage and all kinds of pollutants are now being dumped in to the rivers and lakes; just as is happening in other parts of the world. Unlike other parts of the world, where water pollution went hand in hand with economic development - Africa hasn't had much economic improvement. The fourth World Water Forum has just finished in Mexico. As always, much talk and discussions, but very little wi...

I always find it very interesting to read, listen or watch the news; especially, about world events. I read much over the Internet; but it is watching news on the TV that I find most interesting, and at times - frustrating! One moment, I would be watching Aljazeera and the next - CNN , or the BBC or Euronews . Most times, they would have similar headlines and stories - but all presented differently. Some times, so much conflicting - that it is hard to know who to believe in; through the years, I find Aljazeera and Euronews more trustful. The BBC is most informative and has more depth, but at times, they are subjective too. CNN , used to be my most favorite, but gradually - I realized how they would twist and spin stories; in recent years, that has been more so. CNN uses terms like: the 'International community', 'regime' and 'government', 'democracy' and 'democratic', and 'terrorism' - with a twist. The 'International community...

Giraffes near the Kilimanjaro "Africa, is one of those places, that you either love or hate, there is no in-between. There is the equatorial sun and humidity of Kampala, the deserts of northern Kenya, the tribal flare ups and wars that take place without a moments notice, the corruption, lawlessness, the impending doom of disease such as malaria and AIDS, inadequate hospitals, horrible traffic that would drive anyone insane, poverty, slums, living conditions one cannot imagine and yet. Then there is Mother Africa, a continent filled with the most awesome beauty anywhere in the world. The majestic Rift Valley, endless Lake Victoria, the Nile River moving eternally to the sea, the terraced gardens on the mountain sides of Rwanda, the Maasai Mara in Kenya with all of its wildlife. The history of a people with ancient cultures and customs that are still being practiced in many areas. The endless horizon, a heaven that seems higher than here in North America, thunderstorms over Lake Vi...

1968. I was about eleven years old then. I had, this very deadly, close call, with hippos. I was, then, living in central, Northern Uganda - fifty miles south of Lira. About seven miles from our home, there was a very large swamp, almost a lake - which was about two miles wide and stretched for miles and miles to lake Kyoga; the swamp, was full of papyrus reeds and water lilies; and hippos. A few kilometers further, on dry land - elephants and buffaloes could be found too. That was then, 1968; I understand most of the animals have gone deeper into the forests, now. I knew there were hippos in the swamp, but I had never seen a live hippo before, then; I had only seen the ones killed by the locals who liked hippo meat. The rains had just fallen heavily and for a longer period - causing the swamp to flood a large part of its banks. Everyone was talking at how easy it was to catch fish in the shallow banks, especially at nights. One of my maternal uncles joined in the fishing, at nig...

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body" G.M. Trevelyan "Education..has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading" Sir Richard Steele I like reading; really love reading. I know, what I like reading is not what some one else might like. And with time, my reading menu - keeps changing too. Some of what I used to love reading years back, I now find disgusting! For instance: during my teens - my favorite novels were those by James Hadley Chase (ever heard of him!) and Harold Robins; Nick Carter, Sidney Sheldon and Jacqueline Sussan, came close by! Now, I find it impossible to even think that I used to read such books! And considering, while I was reading these 'books' I was reading Shakespeare and Penguin classics at times! But, well, I did read these books; one after the other! As I was doing extremely well in Literature in school, my teachers tried in vain to get me to stop reading these books ; but...

Out Of Kilamanjaro I grew up around the Great Lakes of East Africa: in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Plenty of rivers and lakes; butterflies and birds; flowers and reeds; wildebeest and zebras; hippoes and buffaloes; cranes and flamingoes. These were, my, main images while growing up. But, I have always longed for the mountains, most: Elgon, Ruwenzori and most of all - Kilimanjaro! Will I ever see them again?

Besides humans, the ten most intelligent animals are the following: The ten most intelligent animals are the following: 1. Chimpanzee (two species) 2. Gorilla 3. Orangutan 4. Baboon (seven species, including drill and mandrill) 5. Gibbon (seven species) 6. Monkey (many species, especially the macaques, the patas, and the Celebes black ape) 7. Smaller-toothed whale (several species, especially killer whale) 8. Dolphin (many of the approximately eighty species) 9. Elephant (two species) 10. Pig For more, go to: Google Answers