Dubai - more dollars than sense

Water buffalo – Aberdare National Park

Kenya

Tiwi Beach – near Mombasa

Coral Cove Cottages - Tiwi Beach

With Wangari at Tiwi Beach

Fort Jesus - Mombasa

Bahrain – Forumla 1 circuit

Bahrain – Persian Gulf

Bahrain - Formula 1 circuit

 

IPC9

More African squirts

Mud bricks

Kumbali ablution block – toilet left, shower right

Classroom # 3

Lake Malawi

Tea plantation – Malawi

Black market diesel

Classroom # 2

The worlds first bong

Cast & Crew of African Permaculture Survivor 2009

A raft of hippos

Kiln made of the mud bricks to be fired

Stampede

Classroom #1

Giraffe – South Luangwa

South Luangwa

Leopard and her cub - look to left and squint

Leopard - South Luangwa

Elephants - South Luangwa

The boys that scored Jett's teenage mutant ninja turtles

The platform Colette & I inhabited for a night

Zambia

African squirtsStampede # 2

Andy and a fun guy

Crossed the border from Malawi to Zambia on Sunday night. I had overstayed my visa by 7 days – the immigration dude gave me two choices – prison or a US$12 bribe. I went with option 2.

Went to South Luangwa National Park on Monday. Took two game drives and saw a parade of elephants, a tower of giraffes, a raft of hippos and a dazzle of zebras AND three leopards and two cubs. Twas very very cool. Camped on a platform in a tree. Had to walk around a hippo to go from the bar to the tree at night! Dad you would have loved it – riddled with birdies, got a photo of the Africa bush chook for you (Guinea fowl).

Made our way down through Lusaka arrived in Livingstone yesterday and went to Vic Falls today where I left the group I’d been with for the last three weeks. They are off to Zimbabwe for another week. Its the end of the dry season and the falls were not pumping but were still spectacular. I’ll check it out again in a month or so.

Last night we played black jack with Zambian Kwacha – making bets with 50 kwacha notes. US$1 = ZK 4500. So the bank in total had about 50 cents, and 30 notes.

Heading for Mwandi tomorrow, awaiting my ride. Staying tonight in a funky little backpackers. Finally flying solo!

Will get photos up tomorrow maybe.

Have just arrived in Blantyre, southern Malawi having just spent 5 nights travelling south along the shore of Lake Malawi at Karonga, Kande Beach and then Monkey Bay. It was as if we stepped out of Africa and into Bali. Beautiful. You can swim in the lake but not near the reeds because of some liver infesting worm (bilharzia?) and you don’t swim at night because of hunting crocodiles (someone spotted 4 this morning a bit after 5am). Apart from that it’s as safe as houses.

We have visited permaculture sights at four ‘normal’ schools and an orphans school. The first school we went to had 1057 students “AGAINST” 8 teachers – CRAZY. The other schools had a similar ratio of at least 100 students per teacher. As you can imagine the kids were totally out of control. They behaved like a school of fish – if you stay still they gradually came closer to investigate you but any quick movement sent them scrambling and falling over each other. They were none the less gorgeous though and I got some great photos. It was a pretty amazing experience. And it was impressive to see what the schools were achieving in such crappy circumstances.

We have also seen a permaculture garden at a hotel and at a home in Monkey Bay, where we stayed the night. The people on the trip are awesome – a really mixed bag that functions beautifully as a unit.

Tomorrow (Monday) we head for Chipata on the border between Zambia and Malawi then onto South Luangwa National Park where we (apparently) have a good chance of seeing a leopard. Should be arriving in Livingstone on Thursday with a bit of luck.

Am near Lilongwe, Malawi at Kimbali Lodge for the 9th International Permaculture Convergence. It started on Monday 2nd but I was a day late thanks to being stuck in Bahrain for 2 extra days. Am sharing a thatch-roofed  mud-hut with 3 yanks. Showers are outside and toilet is long drop. No power, only kero lanterns. But living conditions are significantly better than the caravan. Think I’ll just stay here.  Food is delux, local, organic. Many interesting/stimulating workshops and conversations.

After the conference, about 15 people are doing a Permaculture site tour in a safari bus that will go through Malawi then onto Zambia and Zimbabwe. I’m thinking about joining and disembarking at Livingstone which will put me about 150km away from Mwandi on about Nov 17th.

I’ve been absolutely hammered by mossies but so far no malaria…and all is good.

Mombasa Ra-ha = there is fun in Mombasa.

I spent 4 days last week at Coral Cove Cottages on Tiwi Beach about 25km south of Mombasa. The beach was quiet and clean. It was a nice break from Nairobi and reminded me alot of Bali. We travelled there by bus, taking about 7 hours at night. I will never ever complain about the state of roads in South Australia ever again after that experience. My coccyx hurt. The cottage was one of 5 well spaced out in a luch tropical garden. The lady that runs the cottages is a bit…eccentric and keeps a ‘troop’ of blue-testicled monkeys who took it upon themselves to enter the cottage kitchen while the door was open and relieve us of 4 bananas and a bag of cashew nuts. Locals came by the cottage daily to sell fresh seafood and fruit and veg. We ate well. And I swam in the Indian Ocean for the first time in my life. We relied on tides to provide us with deep enough water to swim in at the beach but when the tide was out we walked around the point to a rock pool that is the shape of the map of Africa and even includes Madagascar. Checked out Fort Jesus and had a few more Matatu experiences.

Heading for Lilongwe, Malawi on Sunday.

So after a 10km ride in a matatu (minibus) that seats 15 but easily fits 35 I have accessed the internet. It’s costing a little less than $1 per minute. Get this…for someone to clean your house and wash your clothes for about 4 hours will cost you $4. And to have a live in maid costs $50 per month. Don’t worry Kathy, I’ve already packed one.

Have been in Nairobi for one week – just did one day trip to Nyeri about 200km away where a 1/4 acre costs $8,000. It was very beautiful, highland tropics where most of the food for Nairobi comes from. Went to the pub in Nyeri where there was a butcher shop literally inside the pub and while your throwing back beers you have them roast meat (Nyama Choma) for you for afternoon smoko. But its not a leg or a shoulder, its the ribs so everybody gets to gnaw on the bone – brilliant idea. I will suggest it to the Pier.

So, I expected Nairobi to have poverty, rubbish and traffic. And it does.
What I didn’t expect was to be going into areas where you are the only Mzungo (white skin person) thats been there for weeks/months/years. And they love to practice their english…”Hey Mzungo, I love you, buy me spaghetti”. And the kids get excited. “Mzungo, Mzungo” they yell from inside the school fence.

The food is beautiful – ugali, meat, meat, meat, veg, chipati. Not spicy but very tasty. Most people have just two meals a day – breaky and dinner.

Am heading tonight to Mombasa on the bus. Will be there for 4 days.

Sawa sawa (ok ok). Hakuna matata (no problems). Hakuna matako (no buttocks).
Seeya.

Depart Adelaide Sunday October 11th. Blog to follow.

www.mwandiovc.com