Safari Notes

The Great Barrier Reef How long can one of the world's most striking, most remarkable, most wonderful and most unique natural wonders survive the destructive carelessness and neglect of Man? Australia's Great Barrier Reef is rapidly dwindling in size and may completely disappear. Several factors are conspiring to degrade the reef: tropical cyclones, attacks from the coral predator the crown-of-thorns starfish, and rising water temperatures. Incredibly, all these destructive forces are apparently, mainly, caused by human activity and impact. The cyclones and the rising water temperatures affecting the Great Barrier Reef and most other parts of the world, are related to man-caused global warming. More intensive farming along the coast and inland, adjacent to the Reef; and urban runoff, are feeding the predatory Crown of Thorns Starfish , which is the Reef's most aggressive destructive force. Very few living creatures can reproduce so many as this starfish: each female

"The history of Kampala, like that of many other cities in the world, derives from both folklore and historical fact. According to folklore, much of the area where present-day Kampala stands was dominated by wetlands and rolling hills. This made it an ideal habitat for the Impala and other members of the antelope family. They grazed on the slopes of the hills and came down to the wetlands for water. The palace of the Kabaka (king) of Buganda, located on one of the hills, overlooked this landscape rich in Impala. He turned it into his hunting grounds. Folklore merged with history when the British Empire builders arrived at the end of the 19th century. "Impala" was the English name for that particular antelope family. So the British referred to the area as the "hill of the Impala". The Baganda, eager to adopt foreign words into the local language, translated "hill of the Impala" into Luganda as "kasozi k'Impala" (pronounced "ka Impala

Zack writes fine posts; his posts on Uganda are always very informative and have very useful facts. His last post on evolution got me in to thinking and contemplating life and being, much more than I usually do. Here is my comment for that post: "I never bought the 'Evolution' theory right from the beginning. Like you Zack, I used to wonder at why the other apes or Man were not 'evolving' any more and there was no recorded history of that happening at all. But, you see, some people like such far fetched, dubious ideas. Like 'Marxism' or 'Existentialism' some people just believed/believe in that even if/when they are simply not concrete and do not make sense. For many, believing in the senseless is so easy and makes sense to them. For many, believing in the sensible (the Creator), is not possible. For me, it has always been much easier in believing in God. I don't and can't see GOD. But living proof all around me, proves to ONLY that: A SUP

East Africa has to unite. Africa has to unite. Qaddafi's dream for an immediate African unity, may be too difficult for Africa to achieve. But, East Africa can easily unite. The obstacles and challenges to achieving that - may seem enormous; but, by not uniting and acting united - Africa and Africans will face only more difficulty. Museveni, as always, a visionary - can see that : “Some leaders are talking of United States of Africa. Do not under-estimate this view. Eventually, small countries of West Africa have found out, from the experience of the last 50 years of independence that without unity they cannot manage. It is a good movement; it needs to be harnessed carefully.” “Fifty years after independence, all African countries except South Africa, are still third world countries regardless of whether they have had a violent history or not.” “African leaders, past and present are responsible primarily for the misfortunes of Africa.” He also remarked that after independence Afric

The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park is, by volume, the largest tree in the world: an incredible 103 feet in circumference around its base and over 270 feet tall; it aslo holds the record of being the most massive living thing on Earth. It is over 2,000 years old and is named after Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman . The tree and other trees around it, have protection from the US government park system. More on General Sherman: nps.gov , Think Quest , werc.usgs , the Examiner , Hikes Peak , Virtual Travel ,  Trip Advisor , Via Magazine , Facts General Sherman Googled: Books , Video

SAIDA KAROLI was born on the 4th of April 1976 in the Northern part of Tanzania within a small region called Bukoba. As a singer, composer, dancer and drummer, and within a short period of time, Saida has become a much sought after female artist all over East and Central Africa. She has staged live shows in almost all parts of Tanzania, and has been on ~everal successful tours in Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Uganda, Kenya and Zanzibar. Her artistic musical talent, which is filled with tradition, has captivated the diverse cultural audiences and her mellow singing voice continues to earn her a place the hearts of people of all ages and cultural backgrounds. As a child, Saida lived in the small village of Rwongwe in Bukoba. Her culture did not permit girls to sing or play drums but her mother, who was also a musical figure in the village, encouraged her and taught her the essentials of music. Due to lack of support from her drunken father, Saida only managed to attend school up to grade 5. At

"Potentially a holiday paradise with picture-postcard beaches, the Comoros islands are trying to consolidate political stability amid tensions between semi-autonomous islands and the central government." TheBBC "The Comoros islands are wrapped in a fragrant blend of ylang-ylang oil, Arabic aesthetics, African warmth and French chic. Not only this, but they have a colourful history of sultans and soothsayers, plantation owners and eloping princesses." Lonely Planet "Comorian residents call their Country Masiwa, "the islands," or refer to the individual name of each island. Zisiwa za Komor is a translation of the French words for the country. "Comoro" comes from the Arabic qumr, "the moon" or qamar "whiteness". Although Comorians practice Sunni Islam of the Chafeite rite, their social organization is matrilineal and residency is matrilocal. Social life is characterized by a widespread system of exchange, which, in tur