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Hello!
What an eventful few weeks so lots to catch up on...
My last two weeks in iringa were jam packed with bits and bobs, mostly importantly the 'Physio Day', which went suprisingly well. Around 30 adults and children attended and all participated brilliantly. There was a lot of great feedback afterwards and plans are afoot to do more on a regular basis, which would be fantastic!
Outside of work I spent a lot of my time catchin up with friends and visitng sites such as Isimila Stone Age Site, where there are fantastic rock formations with clearly defined layers in the yellow and red rocks. I also climed the hill at the back of our house, which wasn't so much as a stroll than a full on limbing event! At one point I was on a near vertical rock holding on to just a flimsy tree to stop me from falling - pretty scary! Alfayo and I made it to the top and were rewarded with fantastic views across Iringa, putting my daily routines into perspective :) I spent parts of my last week cooking English treats for people, including an English breakfast (although with no knife and forks it was amusing to eat!) and english pancakes. Both went down a storm and I left recipes for them to have a go at :)
The couple of days leading up to my deparure were strange as my friend's Mum and nephew were both admitted to hospital so I went to visit them and am pleased to hear they are both fine now and back home. I was invited over to judith's house with her family (Mussa's Aunt) and was treated with a traditional goodbye of lots of dancing, pilau and they gave me to khangas. It was so sweet of all them all and I was really touched by it. The day I left I felt a little numb - I was so excited about traveling around Africa, but also really sad to say goodbye and not know when I'll next return.
The two day trip to nairobi went smoothly. I met Alfayo in Dar Es Sallam and he had kindly arranged my ongoing bus ticket and somewhere for me to stay that night. We wondered into town for dinner before an early night. The bus to Nairobi was pretty nice, but I was sat next to a man at least four times my size so it was all a little cramped! I made it and by 9pm I was settled into the 'Bush House Camp' with a tasty meal in front of me. My time there was spent enjoying the relaxing place and catching up on some much needed sleep before starting the tour.
I'm now over half way through the tour taking me through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and back. It's been fantastic and I can now put up the tent on my own! I must confess that I'm feeling more than a little grubby most of the time and my clothes are pretty gruesome, but it's worth it to see all the amazing places.
We've visited Lake Nakuru where I went on my first game drive seeing hundreds of flamingoes on the lake, impalas, giraffe, baboons, lions, buffalo and white and black rhino, among others! I couldn't believe it - truely spectacular to see all these anilmals in the wild and pretty close up too. Having seen the delights of Nakuru we headed onto Uganda via Eldoret. We set up camp on the outskirts of Queen Elizabeth National Park having got the truck stuck in the mud a few times! It was a great camp as it really felt we were in the wild; I'd clamber into my tent and at various points i the night I'd hear the grunts of hippos and growls of lions. We were all told not to walk around at night and if really desperate to pee straight outside the tent instead of walking to the toilet due to the lions and hippos walking around! My full day at the Natioanl Park was spent on game drive in the morning, which wasn't all that spectactular, then a boat cruise up the Kazinga Channel. The latter was fantastic! We chugged along the water's edge seeing countless elephants, hippos, buffalo and so many birds all happily living side by side. We even saw babies of all of them and some of the hippos were out of the water, which is really rare to see as they only come out during the night ususally.
From there we headed into Rwanda for the highlight of the trip - gorilla treking. What an experience and well worth the money! We set off early in the torrential rain praying that it wouls subside by the time it came to the trek! We were put into groups and then into 4x4s, which still got stuck in the mud so had to be abandoned! Unbelievably the rain had dwindled out so we headed off into the jungle filled with vines, stingin nettles, and lots of mud! The guide hacked a track throught the undergrwoth as he went and we tried to keep up while trippng over vines and sliding on the mud. We sloed down after 2 hours of walking and I heard a gorilla pound it's chest! My heart jumped into my mouth and I was stupidly excited. We met the trackers and left our bags and sticks in a clearing before heading on a further 5 mins. We rounded a corner and caught our first glimpse of a gorilla perched ont he top of a large bush / small tree. It was a wonderful sight. During our time with the gorillas we saw an adult and a one year old baby. The adult was the baby's brother who was apprently babysitting (!) and they were so gentle with one another giving cuddles and even kisses! We rounded another corner to see the baby's mother having her lunch, then the dominant silverback appeared from behind her. He was enormous and the shear power of his muscles was clearly visable - photos really don't do him justice! We watched the baby show off dangling from branches, muching away, sheltering under leaves and many more little tricks including a few stumbles as well! He was the cutest thing I've ever seen - a complete fuzz ball with gorgeous eyes. Beofre long our time was up, but just before we left we rounded another corner to see another silverback who looked like an old man - arms folded the whole time and a grumpy expression on his face that only changed when he raised one eyebrow as we made our way to leave!
Seeing the gorialls is the clear highlight of my travels in Africa and I would love to repeat the experience. Amazing!
The rest of our time in Rwanda was spent exploring the local towns and accidentally seeing the Rwandan President! He was driving through town and kept stopping to wave to the gorwing crowds! It was fatastic to see all the locals so happy and so proud of their President - an unexpected experience! We also visited the Massacre Museum in Kigale, which brought me to tears. It's so upsetting to think that something so tragic happened. That experience will saty with me forever.
We spent last night in Kampala and now we're staying in Jinja for the next 3 nights, which is the adventure capital of Africa so who knows what we'll get up to! The tour is nearing it's end now and i'm really looking forward to seeing my family at last. I just hope I don't smell too much for them after two months of bucket showers and three weeks of camping!
Well, that's everything caught up on I believe. All that's left is Lake Naivasha, Ngorogoro, Serengeti and finally Zanzibar. There's lots to pack in, but the 4th of July will be a very happy day indeed with a wonderful reunion I'm unbelieveably excited about!
All my love to you as always and can't wait for many catch ups when I return. Keep the news and messages coming :)
Isey
xxx
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