Pothole (Africa)

Pothole (Africa) - Hitching a ride on a truck through central Africa, you witness some very good natural scenery however presumably ought to expertise what should be the worst roads within the world. With potholes massive enough to swallow a bull elephant, the trucks support one another with tows to confirm passage through these treacherous roads.


Sadly, this photo is taken not an extended means from Goma, in east Congo, that has created the news for all the incorrect reasons. Civil war once more is killing and starving individuals during this most majestic mountainous space.


Your body gets battered and bruised however the possibility to expertise Africa's greatest travel wonders makes it all value whereas, although it takes a good few days to hide solely a brief distance.

A Real Voodoo Experience (near Ouidah, Benin)

A Real Voodoo Experience (near Ouidah, Benin) - The truck driver said that it had been solely [*fr1] a kilometre down this rough dirt track. Distance was typically a imprecise concept during this a part of Africa and that i may solely hope that he was correct. it had been solely 9 within the morning and already a searing day. As we tend to walked, discussion was robust on whether or not this one in every of our a lot of stupid ideas or a visit highlight.

In the main town of Ouidah, this little village came strongly counseled as an honest place to check an authentic voodoo ceremony. the general public questioned thought it a wierd request and checked out us oddly, however the story perceived to explore fairly consistently.

After an hour of walking (well beyond the estimated [*fr1] kilometre), shirts drenched in sweat and legs caked in mud, we tend to ventured apprehensively into the village and asked for the village elder. we tend to gave him some eggs and vegetables as gifts bought at the native market in nearby Ouidah and were invited to remain and look at the ceremony. Disappointingly, there was to be fully no photography (something to try and do with the spirits) however the welcome was overwhelmingly friendly. Though being the sole westerners, it appeared the chief’s blessing created the whole village open and friendly.

The mere mention of voodoo back home conjured up pictures of the occult, black magic, juju men, pins being stuck into dolls and human and animal sacrifice. i suppose there have been little parts of a number of these aspects, however voodoo appeared so much deeper and a lot of non secular. The Ouidah markets were filled with fetishes for sale together with animal foetuses and skeletons of native wild animals. The sight of crocodile or monkey skulls obvious back was upsetting however remains a lively ingredient into the population’s life.

Locally, they known as it vodoun, being a political candidate faith of Benin and Togo. An estimated sixty to seventy % of the population follow some variant of vodoun. With the slave trade, this faith migrated to Haiti, Cuba, alternative Caribbean islands and elements of USA and Brazil. Somehow, it had been renamed to voodoo throughout the migration.

Directed to some elegantly woven straw mats, we tend to sat spellbound as offerings of food, chickens and blood to appease the spirits were created. These spirits ruled the villager’s life, providing sustenance, smart weather, protection and well-being. The vodoun ceremonies gave the impression to serve multiple functions from celebrating the birth of a baby, a wedding, important dates, successful crops and to beat back unhealthy omens.

After the offerings, the ladies began to dance to the rhythmic beating of drums. Slowly 1st, mud sprayed from the rapid-fire steps and swaying of the bodies, the dance growing ever a lot of energetic and vibrant. The dance culminated with the ladies shaking uncontrollably, consumed by the spirits. Arms flailing helplessly, they lost management of their bodies before being guided into a non secular hut.

Several women went through this same experience as the sun sank lower in the sky. Thanking the chief before returning to Ouidah, priests had prepared some potions for us (for a modest fee!), their benefits hidden by a deep-throated French explanation. We paid him and departed, somewhat alarmed at the thoughts of what could be inside these wrapped leaves.

We never rubbed the strange ashen offering into our skins nor kept the tiny objects, but left uplifted and bewildered by this complex spiritual experience.

There was almost no conversation on the road back to Ouidah, both lost in our own worlds having lived a day in a completely different world.

Encrusted with chipped paint, salt, sweat and misery, the walls lead to a tiny door – the door of no return. Stepping onto the beach, captives were led across the scorching sands onto ships sailing for the Americas and the Caribbean. Elmina Castle is a powerful reminder of the abhorrent history of slavery.

Approaching the tiny beachside town of Elmina, a grand white castle perches proudly over the Ghanaian coastline. Fringed by palms and with the echoes of fishermen selling their wares from handcrafted wooden boats, it appears as a resort that has seen its best days. From the outside, this castle hides its hellish past as a slave castle for 300 years where hundreds of thousands of natives were held before being shipped away.

Initially built as a Portuguese trading post for gold, ivory and tropical foods, human labour became a more valued commodity. Inside the reminders of this trade in human cargo abound. The main courtyard contains a cast-iron cannonball and chain. Slaves who disobeyed orders were chained up and left to die in the baking African sun.

The courtyard is surrounded by tiny darkened cells, stifling from the warm air, where shackled prisoners in their hundreds and thousands awaited their fate. Locked in one of these cells for only a few minutes is upsetting. Kept here for months and years, the privations and fear of the African captives are inconceivable. Larger bare storerooms stained with algae with only a couple tiny slits for air held the women prisoners in large numbers. They often remained here for two years awaiting shipment, barely surviving on the meagre rations, torture, cruel treatment and indignities.

The opulent governor’s quarters overlooked the women’s prison where his officers could select women they deemed suitable to sleep with. Those who refused were chained up in the courtyard while those who fell pregnant were moved to the town and freed.


To help maintain order, the most rebellious of prisoners were led through a door with an ominous skull and cross bones over the doorway to be killed.

Hauntingly, over half the captives who entered the slave castle never survived the imprisonment. A further half died on board the ships where conditions were equally harsh for the long journey across the oceans.

The most chilling aspect of the tour is left till last. Down a set of stairs and along a corridor to a small room with only a tiny doorway – the door of no return – only wide enough for one person to squeeze through. By this time, several on the guided tour are openly weeping. While the stories are difficult to emotionally handle, the images of this castle with its external palm-fringed beauty but cruel, inhuman interior, will stay with me forever.

Matobo National Park in central Zimbabwe is a wild rock-strewn travel wonder. With small areas of dry grasslands, the park is a remarkable mix of natural gravity-defying rock formations, ancient cave art and a game park for a broad variety of African animals including the endangered white and black rhinoceros.

A local ranger guided three of us around this superb park for a single day some years ago. The boulder-strewn area is rich in small caves and hollows. The morning commenced exploring a couple of these caves where the San Bushman left impressive ochre cave drawings estimated to be around 1,600 years old. Giraffe, zebras and antelope are distinct in the delicate artwork. The floor of the areas around the caves supposedly contains ashes that have been dated to over 10,000 years old.

However, the most striking elements of the park are the eerie formations, with huge rocks balancing precariously upon each other. Though appearing to be stacked by giants, they are purely a result of erosion and time. Softer volcanic rock is eaten away leaving the harder granite, the normal weathering process separating the rocks from each other. Stunning formations result including the popular symbol of the park, the “Madonna and Child” and the fascinating “Rock Arch” with its centre rock looking like falling at any moment.


The View of the World marks a majestic view over a panoramic moonscape of rounded boulders and harsh rugged grasslands. The view so struck Cecil Rhodes, the founder of de Beers diamond company and whom Rhodesia is named after (Zimbabwe is south Rhodesia) that he asked to be buried there. Some large boulders and a generous plaque inlaid into the large granite platform mark his final wishes and memory. The setting over the dusty plains is strangely serene and harmonious.


Littered throughout the park, strange rainbow coloured lizards sun themselves in the cruel summer rays. With blue heads and green, yellow and red bodies, their rainbow bodies meld elegantly into the lichen stained rocks that form their home.

Full from lunch, the afternoon is reserved for a walking safari. Unarmed, the trusty ranger tracks us through thin grasslands with various antelope and a small herd of zebras nervously eating, their heads regularly bobbing for any signs of danger.

With a sense of nervous excitement, the small group slowly sneak towards a couple of white rhino until we are only ten metres away. They appeared undisturbed continuing to graze leisurely on the scant food supply before lying down for rest. The guide reassures us that rhinos have poor eyesight and hearing so if you approach downwind, the rhinos are likely to remain unaware of your presence. Fortunately, the wind stayed gently blowing in the one direction. Black rhino are less friendly and the only one we spy is kept at a respectable distance.

While Zimbabwe struggles through its modern political challenges, Matobo National Park offers a peaceful haven in the centre of the country. It is best described by Cecil Rhodes himself - “The peacefulness of it all: the chaotic grandeur of it: it creates a feeling of awe and brings home to one how very small we all are.”

Other African Posts
Gorillas in the Mist (Congo)
The Great Congo River Journey (Congo)
Lake of Stars (Malawi)
The Pink Pageant (Kenya)
Real Africa? (Central African Republic)
African Top Ten Travel Wonders

Our group had been trekking for three and a half hours through thick forest, the thorns catching our clothing and our feet sloshing through the muddy grounds. Deep into the Congan rain forest, it was well over 30°C (86°F) and 100% humidity and getting hotter. The six of us were getting a little agitated, being drained of fluid and having started the early morning with such anticipation. The glint off the guard’s rifle caught my eye as he macheted away more branches. There is something unnerving about guns, especially when carried by two guys who didn't seem old enough to be out of school. They walked intently with a clear direction in mind, though there were no obvious paths to follow.

The rear guard pointed right to show piles of neatly matted leaves and branches in the trees. Though I couldn’t hear him, it had been the gorilla’s bedroom of last evening.

There was a disturbance to our left followed by a crack of timber. Our guards told us to crouch down as I spotted a ball of black fluff tumble clumsily down a branch. Suddenly as our eyes strained through the dim light of deep green-black of the forest, more balls of black fluff appeared and we had finally reached our goal – the elusive and endangered mountain gorillas.

We settled down onto the damp undergrowth to watch the gorilla group, about 15 in number. The mothers and older gorillas contentedly munched on bamboo and grass, the youngsters leaping around with boundless energy, staging mock fights and using the older gorillas as diving platforms. They seemed undisturbed by our group, though well aware that we were there with occasional glances towards us.

In the back, there was a pervading sense of piercing eyes surveying the area as the largest of the gorillas, a silver sheen on his deeply bent back from the dappled sunshine, kept a watchful patrol over his family group. The silverback, the largest adult male with his insatiable hunger broke trunks of bamboo from the surrounding trees as if snapping a toothpick.

Suddenly he stood and wacked his chest, producing a hollow thudding sound. Our group sat a little lower sinking into the surrounding foliage. There was no doubt who is boss. The silverback settled back down again as I feel a strange feeling on my right leg, always uneasy with the creepy-crawlies of the rain forest floor. I was about to swat it away when I saw it was one of the baby gorillas coming for a closer look. I glanced nervously towards the silverback but he seemed relaxed, carefully picking the greenest shoots from a moist grassy plant. Satisfied at what he’d found, the baby gorilla leapt away and back to the low branches to swing some more.

Today, there are estimated to be only around 700 of these magnificent primates left in the wild. They live in a small area of the Virunga mountains of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. Rwanda and Uganda run regular tours and have a number of habituated groups with reports of gorilla tours starting again in Congo.

A few minutes later (actually an hour) we were being hustled away by the guards. We pleaded for more time with these mesmerising primates but I think they’d heard it all before – “but we’ve travelled so far”, “we won’t ever get another chance like this”, “we’ll tip you more” – and soon we were back trekking out everyone chattering at once. The mountain gorillas could be left in peace for another day and a few hours later we were back at our camp.

Though expensive, it was reassuring to find that the money paid to trek helps fund the guards and the efforts to preserve both the gorillas and their habitat, making the gorillas more valuable alive than dead, reducing the value of bushmeat or the illegal animal trade.

Trekking to see the mountain gorillas is one of the greatest travel wonders available and is truly the greatest single wildlife experience of my life.

Notes

It was quite an effort to trek to the gorillas so a reasonable level of fitness was important. In some ways, it seemed a lot of work for one hour but everyone would have done it all again without question. Some days the gorillas are apparently easy to find and some days, people trek for hours unsuccessfully (though this is quite rare). Leave a spare day just in case if you possibly can.

The forest area was generally dark and flash photography is not permitted and may antagonise the gorillas. Use a higher ISO (400 or 800) on your camera to get clearer photos. Don’t forget to stop photographing for a decent period of time and just enjoy sharing time with the king of primates and the antics of the youngsters.

The cruel deceit of the Sahara Desert lies in its ability to suggest water is nearby. The mirage is simply a reflection of the sky caused by the incredibly hot afternoon sand temperatures and light refraction, leaving such a realistic suggestion of a refreshing lake.

See Lake Malawi for part one of this story.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of this area is a day trip to one of several rocky islands off Cape Maclear. Guided by young locals, small fishing canoes ferry visitors to a nearby island. On the way, our small group stopped at an island with giant monitor lizards distinctly annoyed at having been disturbed from their basking slumber. With huge heads that look like they could bite your foot off in one chomp, the canoes soon made their way to a more peaceful sandy beach.

While snorkelling among the colourful sealife, the local lads (with biblical names of Moses and Isaac) fried some superbly fresh fish over an open fire, along with rice, a spicy tomato sauce and a sticky maize with a consistency more suited to filling cracks in walls. Laid out on the beach, it is simply a matter of scooping up some of the sticky maize and rice in your fingers with a chunk of fish and the zesty sauce and popping it into your mouth. It is difficult to imagine a better setting than a deserted beach on a sunny day eating fresh fish while surrounded by glistening waters. Scratching the putty-like maize from our fingers bought the mbuna rushing to the waters edge.

Moses showed a clever trick where he could take this putty, splash his hand in the water and catch one of the brightly coloured mbuna. Naturally enough, it was a well-developed skill and despite a fair effort, none of the visitors managed a single catch.

Heading back towards Point Otter and Cape Maclear, the canoe slowed. Isaac let out a piercing whistle and tossed a chunk of fish over the side. One of two African Fish Eagles (both with names) swept from a nearby tree and in one fluent motion, carefully plucked the fish from the lake’s surface as it just started to sink. This was repeated a few times as the group tried to snap photos precariously rocking the canoe.

Eager cormorants sat on anchored fishing boats, eyes peeled for any morsels missed by the fish eagles, but looking generally fearful of getting too close to the eagle's domain.

Lake Malawi is a beautiful and restful lake offering a chance to escape the efforts of African travel for a few days. Whether keen to canoe, kayak, dive, walk and snorkel or simply read a book on the palm-fringed beaches, the Lake of Stars is likely to leave an impression on you long after you have left its sandy shores.

Other African Posts
The Great Congo River Journey (Congo)
Real Africa? (Central African Republic)
Living on Stilts (Benin)
African Top Ten Travel Wonders

More than any country on Earth, Malawi’s character is predominantly defined by its major travel wonder, a large freshwater lake that runs almost the entire length (over 500 kilometres) of its eastern border and represents around 20 percent of its total area. The lake is extremely deep, sitting in a rift in the continental shelf.

Nicknamed the Lake of Stars, this majestic lake sets a photogenic scene. Sparkling in the bright sunny days, the sandy, palm-fringed beaches, towering baobab trees and small African villages of grass and mud huts contrast on a background of Mozambique’s mountains. Long tables of small fish bake dry in the sun outside the huts.

Most backpackers head for the southern end of the lake and Cape Maclear. With regular matola (trucks or vans with open backs piled high with up to fifteen or twenty people, the occasional chicken and bags of belongings) plying the route along a rough dirt tract, the cape is an idyllic beach location. With the hostels integrated into the local village and some places managed by Malawians, Cape Maclear has a more comfortable feeling of supporting and working with the local population.

UNESCO-listed, this area of the lake is a National Marine Park. Walking a short way around to a rocky outcrop called Otter Point, the water is teeming with mbuna. Snorkelling reveals a dazzling display of blues, yellows and oranges as hundreds of these friendly small cichlids swarm, nibbling bread from your hand. Relaxing on the shore, otters can be seen floating on their back feasting on their quarry of shellfish.

The mbuna are a freaky fish. Attracted to the brightest coloured male, the female lays her eggs and stores them in her mouth. On the male releasing his sperm, the female swoops through the water fertilising her eggs. The eggs stay in her mouth even after birth when the small fish stay inside this protective environment till large enough to fend for themselves.

In this anniversary year of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, the mbuna are also a lesson in evolution. Scientists have found that in different parts of the lake, the fish have evolved to suit their eating. Some have sharpened angular teeth to scrape algae off rocks while others have flat mouths to filter small marine life from the sandy lake bottom. Various others have adapted for their chosen diet of snails, fish or water plants, each with suitably evolved mouths and teeth.

The sunrises and sunsets in this area are quite spectacular. Avoiding the heat of the day, sunset is a time of high activity. Local fishermen in dugout canoes cast nets while the women wash clothes and children at the water’s edge.

Lake of Stars continues.

Other African Posts
Real Africa? (Central African Republic)
The Great Congo River Journey (Congo)
Living on Stilts (Benin)
A Real Voodoo Experience (Benin)
African Top Ten Travel Wonders

A small town in East Congo, not a long way away from Goma and the mountain gorillas, bustles with lively activity in the food markets. Though taken over a decade ago, I still enjoy the contrast of the colourful women's outfits and vibe of the market with the drab grey exteriors of the sad surrounding buildings and their corrugated iron roofs.

To me, cheetahs make the most elegant and regal of all the African cats. They are superbly designed for speed with their long sleek body and lengthy tail used like a rudder. Paired with his brother and ever alert, this young male cheetah surveys the Masai Mara bushland.

Other Wildlife Photos of the Week
Mountain Gorilla
Brown Bear
Osprey
Toucan
Hoary Marmot

With scant and imprecise records, it remains somewhat of a mystery as to how developed in the science of medicine and health some of the advanced ancient civilizations were around the world. One such mystery lies in the elegant travel wonder, the Temple of Kom Ombo, built on a bend in the Nile just over two thousand years ago.


Most visitors to Egypt split their time between the seething pandemonium of Cairo with its world-famous Pyramids, Sphinx and museum and enjoying a few days cruising the snaking Nile between Luxor and Aswan (or vice versa). Between restful scenes of farm and rural life along the banks and the gentle flutter of white sails on the feluccas as they exploit the subtle breezes, the cruises stop off at various temples. These remarkable feats of engineering on an immense scale are richly inscribed and delicately decorated in hieroglyphics detailing the deep sense of the importance of religion and culture in Egyptian life at the time.

Strolling around the dual temple at Kom Ombo, unusually dedicated to both Sobek (the crocodile-headed god of creation and fertility) and Horus the Elder (the falcon-headed god of protection) there is a sense of familiarity with the towering symmetric columns of the hypostyle halls and the remains of the various rooms, halls, chambers and sanctuaries. The flecks of paint that have survived the test of time serve as a reminder of what an extraordinary sight these striking structures must have been in full vivid colour back in ancient times. A small crypt off to one side houses a handful of mummified crocodiles.

However, along the back wall in among the hieroglyphics is a surprise. The wall contains engravings of scalpels, forceps, small bottles, scissors, scales, hooks, probes, dilators and various other pieces of medical supplies – the first known depictions of surgical equipment and surely an indicator of advanced medical expertise. Despite the ancient Egyptian’s remarkable skills in dealing with mummies, is it feasible that such medical practices were available over two thousand years ago and numerous centuries before most of these procedures are generally accepted to have been performed?

Another wall shows what appears to be a stethoscope complete with its two cords for the ears and cup for placing against the patient’s chest. Yet, the invention for this instrument is credited to a Frenchman, René Laennec around twenty centuries later in 1816. While opinion among Egyptologists vary as to whether this is a stethoscope, it is difficult to come up with another sensible view on what we may be.

As the small boats paddle for home silhouetted by the reds and oranges of the setting sun painted on the Nile and the floodlights start to dominate the Ptolemaic temple, it is interesting to contemplate on whether Kom Ombo will ever yield its medical secrets to the modern world. Irrespective, it is interesting to hear the stories of the guides around the Egyptian travel wonders and to speculate on the skills of this extraordinary ancient civilisation.

Today being the equinox – one of the two times in a year that the sun sits directly above the equator – it seems appropriate to post an article on the equator. This magic line passes through 14 countries around the globe and I am sure that most countries mark it with monuments, painted lines, road signs and special symbols. Ecuador even takes its name from this famous line that divides our planet in two – named after a French/Spanish scientific expedition in the early 1700s to measure the curvature of the Earth.

Only a few miles north of Ecuador’s capital Quito, the grandly named Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) has a museum with a planetarium, a bit of history, a model of old Quito and a few displays. It also includes the most elaborate equatorial statue that I have seen (right) and an area with a number of the world’s flags. A different Ecuadorian road highlights the hemispheres with a giant sculptured globe (top photo).

Uganda marks the Equator only a few miles south of their capital, Kampala, with a horseshoe-styled statue while one of the Kenyan markers on the road between Nairobi and Samburu National Park is little more than a road sign.

Apart from the usual trite gift shops, a favourite sight at the equator locations is a demonstration of the Coriolis Effect. In simple terms, this is the idea that water drains from a basin or down a toilet in an anti-clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere and in a clockwise direction south of the Equator. The effect is stronger the further you move from the equator.

For a small fee, someone will pour water in a tub or basin with a hole in it. Standing a few metres north of the Equator and dramatically dropping a match, twig or flower into the water, the item will spin counter clockwise. Moving a few metres the other side of the Equator, this same item will rotate in the opposite direction. Finally when standing astride of the Equator, the item will stay almost motionless as the water drains away.

To get an idea of the demonstration, a number of videos on Youtube exist (simply search on “coriolis” and “equator’).

Sorry to be a spoil-sport but this demonstration is faked. The Coriolis Effect is real but standing only a few metres either side of the Equator will not show up such a weak force – it has much more to do with how the water is poured and released. In fact, somewhat bizarrely, the Kenyan demonstration that I witnessed got the two directions the wrong way around with the water draining in the opposite direction to that which would be expected.

But it does provide a lot of chatter and interest among visitors and absorbs many with all kind of queries flowing to the anointed smiling and animated science teacher. It certainly adds to the entertainment of a short break in the journey to take a few happy snaps standing astride of the Equator or climbing upon the marker.

Enjoy the equinox as the north moves into spring and the south moves out of its summer. I trust that your travels will take you past the equator at least once in your life.

Many years ago I overlanded, hitched, trucked, boated and hiked through Africa, the planet's most adventurous continent. Of the numerous countries travelled, Congo and Central African Republic somehow stole my heart as the real dark continent. Ironically rich in valuable minerals, both are tragically war-torn, underdeveloped and with little semblance of a controlling central government. Regional lords often hold a loose control over a province or area of the country. Poverty and corruption abounds and they are risky to travel to with strong travel advisories from most western countries.

Yet the two countries are full of some of the most stunning wildlife and natural treasures. Magnificent verdant rainforest, untamed rivers, gushing waterfalls and rich and colourful tribal cultures abound. Friendly villagers with beaming smiles and generosity of character hide the harshness of their existence.

This is all encapsulated in the village of Kembé (in the very south of the Central African Republic) and the neighbouring twin Kembé Falls. Stereotypical village life continues on in this simple community of mud huts and grass roofs with the women grinding grain, sorting beans, supervising kids, cooking or cleaning while the men attend to house repairs or organising the village affairs. The odd goat or chicken scavenge for a few tasty morsels among the scrubby bushes and tussocks of grass.

Each afternoon, Kembe Falls provide a haven from the steamy heat of central Africa. Swimming dangerously close to where the falls tumble through a rocky gorge, the children exhilarate as they are swept by the strong current towards the falls before emerging on the shoreline as you imagine they are about to be consumed by the thunderous chutes. The mothers appear relaxed as they complete their washing duties further up stream, as generations of children have undoubtedly diced with pending doom in this stunning location.

Everyone in the village seems neatly coiffured. The local barber with illustrations of their services clip, cut and shear their share of villagers while catching up with gossip and goings-on. As excitable chatter in a mix of French and the tribal dialect filled the air over the rollicking rhythmic music crackling from the radio, there seems more gossiping than cutting with most appearing pretty tidy before any hair was cut. Being rather shaggy, I decided to test the local haircutting service though none of the styles appear very suited to someone with straight, light-coloured hair. To the amusement of several villages, the barber chopped and cut his way through my tangled thatch making me feel much better and neater. Rampaging children dived for locks of hair as they floated to the dusty ground, like I was some kind of rock star.

The late afternoon floated away in the gentle currents of the upper river as the sky turned a vibrant orange in the dusty environment and the luminescent stars quickly dominated the pitch-black environment. This truly is real Africa.

Two favourite photos taken outside my hotel late at night-time with a family of elephants digging at the salt-pan with their tusks and eating the mud. The photo was on a very slow exposure, hence the somewhat ghost-like qualities of some of the elephants because they just simply wouldn't keep still for me.