Category: Africa

A trip to South Africa 36 years ago

On By Carol HenshawIn AfricaLeave a comment

In my final year of medical school we were given a two month period to carry out an elective project of your choice. I spent January and February 1984 in South Africa. I took my first long haul flight there to work at Mseleni Hospital in northern Kwa Zulu; only 60km from the Mozambique border. South Arica was still in the midst of apartheid then, so the medical staff were all missionaries and it was run by the African Evangelical Fellowship. It is now government-run. While I was a student, I had spent my holidays working at a local restaurant. The owner was a member of the local Rotary Club, so they gave me a donation to cover the cost of my flights and I was to give a lecture to them on my return. The hospital provided accommodation and food. A friend lent me his Pentax Spotmatic and I took slides for the lecture. It is only recently while in lockdown and packing up to move house that I found them again and scanned them. The Aberdeen flight shop had recommended Air Portugal to me. I flew from Heathrow to Lisbon. Unfortunately, the connecting flight was delayed so I had a night in Lisbon but only saw a hotel and the airport.

The following day after a refuelling stop in Brazzaville, I arrived in Durban. From there, a Mission Aviation Fellowship plane took me to Mseleni. They also provided transport to distant clinics and took seriously ill people down to the hospital in Durban.

I learned a lot at the hospital helping out with operations, ward reviews and several outlying clinics that we served.

Most of the local Zulus were too poor to own cattle and most of their diet consisted of mealies (corn) and vegetables with a few eggs. The children commonly suffered from Kwashiorkor. We had a unit for their treatment.

A New Zealand scientist was working on a way of increasing protein in the diet. He had tried bringing in guinea pigs from South America but they all died from a virus. He was then trying more successfully with goats. Hence, I added milking goats to my list of skills.

My project was focussed on exploring the reasons for non-compliance with tuberculosis treatment which was an issue in the area. In addition to clinics at places including Mabibi and Mbazwana Forest, I also visited some of the kraals in the area with the community health worker. I had learnt a little Zulu (I still have the phrasebook found in Foyles) but he acted as interpreter.

The hospital was close to Lake Sibhayi which was a pleasant walk to when we had some time off.  You can take a boat on it but hippos are dangerous and could attack it. I often watched the sunset down there and on one occasion acquired a tick bite which gave me tick bit fever which was treated with a tetracycline.

Towards the end of January, two cyclones: Domoima and Imboa crossed the Mozambique channel and travelled inland. The area had the most rain it had had for at least 100 years and there was extensive flooding

The hospital was on a hill with a spring for water, so we were OK although the air strip was out of action and many of the local roads were blocked. The nearby Pongolapoort Dam was at risk of overflowing or breaking so they had to open the flood gates.

We had to treat one man who had been struck by lightning and there were reports of Zulus having climbed up trees to escape the floods but not wanting to go into the rescue helicopters because they had never seen them before. The waters eventually receded and at the end of my time I flew down to Cape Town to visit some South African friends before heading home. It was my first visit to the city, so I took the cable car up Table Mountain for the fantastic views

My friends took me to Fishoek

And the Cape Peninsula

Where baboons regularly attacked cars.

All too soon it was time to return home, write my report, get back to my studies and give a talk to the Rotary Club.

 

 

Madagascar: Antananarivo to the rainforest

On By Carol HenshawIn Africa, birds & birdwatching, Flowers. plants & trees, Madagascar, walks1 Comment


The UK had TV programmes about Madagascar in the months before we left which could have left the impression that it is a green island with much wildlife. The latter is certainly true but flying over it reveals the Red Island with clear evidence of the deforestation that has happened since the first settlers arrived and the silted-up rivers in the dry season. We landed in sunshine and were taken to our hotel to meet up with our group. The island has been separated from Gondwanaland for millions of years and over 90% of the wildlife are endemic and not found anywhere else. It is the fourth largest island in world but also the fifth poorest nation. We left Antananarivo on a Sunday morning via RN 2 which was still busy with a lot of trucks as it is the main route to the port of Toamasina. There is also a railway line (narrow gauge and dating from the 1930s) which is only for freight. The most common form of transport for passengers is the taxi-brousse; a minibus with luggage piled on the roof.
Just outside the city centre brick making and laundry were being carried out by the River Ikopa: scenes which would be re-visited all over the highlands.


Occasionally, it looked as if all the fabrics in a home including curtains and carpets were being washed. Our guide told us that when someone has died, all the fabrics in the home are washed to remove the evil spirits/death. This tradition is less frequently practised now. We had a distant view of Tana with the Queen’s Palace and the first church on the hill.

Further on near Moramanga was this sign:

The Malagasy Uprising was a nationalist rebellion against French colonial rule in Madagascar and lasted from March 1947 to February 1949. Political efforts to achieve independence for Madagascar had failed and spurred on radicalised elements of the Malagasy population, including the leaders of some militant nationalist secret societies. On the evening of 29 March 1947, coordinated surprise attacks were launched by Malagasy nationalists, armed mainly with spears, against military bases and French-owned plantations in the eastern part of the island concentrated around Moramanga and Manakara. In May 1947 the the French began to counter the nationalists. They increased the number of troops on the island to 18,000, mostly by transferring soldiers from French colonies elsewhere in Africa. The French military forces carried out mass execution, torture, war rape, torching of entire villages, collective punishment and other atrocities such as throwing live Malagasy prisoners out of an airplane (death flights). The mausoleum is on the site where more than 120 nationalists were executed. Before we reached Andasibe, we stopped at Peyrieras Reserve which cares for amphibians and reptiles. They have Nile Crocodiles and a number of lizards and geckos I am in the process of identifying.


Later in our trip, we saw some of them in the wild. After a night in Andasibe, we hiked around four miles in the nearby National Park which preserves some of the 1% of the original forest that remains. In the rainforest it rained, heavily at times, leading to some of the park guides saying that this did not usually happen until November. October is usually dry and hot. We saw the five species of lemur in the park but I did not get photographs of them all.

The Indri is the largest and its call can be heard 2km away.

We also saw several species of birds, most of which flew around too quickly to photograph. One notable tree is the Travellers’ Palm which acquired its name due to the collection of water where each leaf meets the stem, providing a drink in hot weather.

In the afternoon we visited Vakona Reserve which comprises Lemur Island and a crocodile reserve. It is owned by a French national who came to work in the now defunct graphite mine. He then set up the reserves which provide rescue for lemurs sold as pets (hence they are habituated to humans) and has one lodge in operation and another being built.

We returned to our hotel as we had an early start the next morning.

A short time in Johannesburg

On By Carol HenshawIn Africa, South Africa2 Comments

En route to Madagascar we decided to have a brief stopover in Johannesburg. It was one city in South Africa that I had never visited. In 1984 I spent my medical school elective in a rural hospital in northern KwaZulu, passing through Durban on the way and spending a few days in Cape Town visiting friends before returning home. In 1993, we spent longer in Cape Town visiting friends who were working there for a while and drove along the Garden Route via Franschhoek to Port Elizabeth. We arrived in sunshine and driving into the city was a similar experience to driving into many North American cities: Johannesburg was founded in 1886 after gold was discovered. Our hotel in Braamfontein had a view over the city from the 24th floor. The circular building is the council office and there is a statue of three miners looking towards where the gold was found.

We took a short walk downtown. There are various colleges nearby and one of the universities so there is a lot of student accommodation, fast food outlets and students wandering around. There was some street art.

We walked onto Nelson Mandela Bridge which was completed in 2003.

It overlooks the station where there were many carriages which looked abandoned.

Chatting to some of the locals we learned that the current weather is cooler than it should be and that they have had less rain than usual. We finished our day at the roof-top bar in our hotel watching the sun go down.

With only a day left in the city we decided to take a tour. It tuned out that we were the only people on it. Johannesburg is the biggest city in Africa and also the greenest as it has so many trees. Our tour took us up to Sandton which is the most expensive square mile in Africa with middle class housing, businesses, hotels and retail centres. What will be the tallest building in Africa is currently under construction and is almost finished. We then were driven through Rosemount to Houghton and Twelfth Avenue where Nelson Mandela’s house is. It is now occupied by his widow and children.

Outside are several squares of painted rocks with RIP and ‘Thank you’ messages from all over the world.

From Upper Houghton we had a view over the northern suburbs.

There was a mosque as in the 19th century the British brought workers from the Indian Subcontinent to work on the sugar cane farms. At one point I thought I was back when I saw a road sign to Carse O’Gowrie. Driving from downtown to Hillbrow we saw several abandoned buildings. Our guide told us that unemployment was 27% here and mostly among young people. The next stop was Constitutional Hill. It is the site of the Old Fort built in 1892 and which became a prison. The buildings were very similar to those at Fort George near Inverness which we had visited earlier in the year. Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were prisoners here.

It ceased to be a prison in 1987 and now houses the Constitutional Court. The interior has sculptures and other artworks and there was also a photographic exhibition.
Outside is the Flame of Democracy which was lit on December 10 2011 when South Africa celebrated the 15th anniversary of the signing of the constitution.

The next stop was Soweto, originally established to house mine workers in hostels. Others moved there in 1904 to avoid a plague outbreak in Sophiatown. Our guide said that many visitors assume it is a shanty town whereas in fact there is a variety of housing including some affluent middle-class homes, commuter trains and buses and a large shopping mall. There are still some residual hand-built shacks with herds of goats and illegally tapped electricity. Soweto did not get electricity until 1986. We saw Nelson Mandela’s home where he lived from 1940. Desmond Tutu’s home is also here. We had lunch at a restaurant in Vilakazi Street which since the 1990as has grown to contain shops, restaurants and bars for tourists. We were serenaded by a Tswana tribe band. The Orlando Towers are cooling towers from a decommissioned power station. Covered in murals you can bungee and base jump from them.

Local taxis (minibuses) in Johannesburg are hailed by standing at the roadside and giving a hand signal. One finger raised means you want to go downtown. Near Newton we saw lots of buses with huge trailers. Our guide told us that many people from Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique come to shop in Johannesburg. The Carlton Centre in Newton opened in 1974 and has been the tallest building in Africa but is about to be superseded by the one in Sandton. Our last stop was the very powerful Apartheid Museum. Photography is not allowed inside. Afterwards it was time to return to our hotel and prepare for an early departure the next morning. There is so much to see in and around the city and our visit was very much a taster.

Back to Dar and home

On By Carol HenshawIn Africa, roads, TanzaniaLeave a comment

Mikumi to Dar 2
Time to head back to Dar es Salaam on Thursday. I had a quick look at the snake museum next to the hotel before the departure. The warden woke some of them up by poking them with a long stick. The queues at the weigh bridge were quite amazing. Many of the lorries are second-hand and from the UK. It is quite strange to see familiar hauliers’ names in East Africa. We passed the sisal plantations we saw on the outward journey and there was very little traffic compared with that first journey. We had to squeeze past an accident where those involved were having a vociferous argument. Back at the Dar hotel, there was a conference in full swing on globalisation and sustainability. Not sure how they square that circle. The hippy count is much higher than the average medical conference and there were lots of people in the bar staring at their laptops. There was Ibiza-style music from the bar until 11pm. On our last day we took a trip to Mbudya Island and had a relaxing time on the beach and wandering around the island which is a nature island. It was low tide so we had to wade out to the boat. The water near the shore was quite brown and cloudy but cleared to brilliant blue further out. Once on the island I did some beach combing. Lunch arrived (freshly caught fish) and later reappeared as fish and chips.
Dar Island trip 2
Back on dry land we had dinner with Elwyin who was leaving at 4am the next morning to drive back to Malawi. Our nightcap was on the pier. We were turfed out of our rooms fairly early the next morning by the cleaners so sat in the cool reception awaiting our taxi. The booked one failed to appear so we spotted the driver who had picked us up at the start of the trip. He got us to the airport in time via some back roads in much less time than expected. Once we were airborne, we flew over Zanzibar as I listened to music. As the sun set we left the Indian Ocean to fly over Somalia and then on to Dubai. After three hours between flights, I had discovered a paper without a sport section. Now we are back home with the washing machine on overtime and trying to settle back into the world of work and planning the next trip.
Evening

Mikumi National Park

On By Carol HenshawIn Africa, birds & birdwatching, TanzaniaLeave a comment

Mikumi Lion 1
Mikumi National Park is a grassland plateau studded with trees and surrounded by mountains. There are vast herds of impala and wildebeest (and lots of tsetse flies). Having seen lionesses the previous evening, we were keen to see more lions but did not expect to find a male lion sitting on the road very soon after we entered the park. There were Cape Buffalo, water buck, jackals, more hippos, crocodiles and mongooses. Maribou storks were feeding among the impalas and we also saw a number of ground hornbills and heard their curious calls. Bright red bishop birds flitted among the bushes and trees. After leaving the park and heading back to the hotel along the road that bisects it, we wondered why a van was parked by the side of the road. James glanced at it as we passed and shouted ‘lion cubs!’. There were four, about 3-4 months old with no mother in sight, playing on the grass verge. In the late afternoon we did another circuit and spotted a large number of birds. I will be checking my list against the Tanzania Bird Atlas in case I can add a location for any birds that they are monitoring. Spent the evening packing up for our return to Dar the next morning.
Mikumi Crocodile 2

Mikumi lion cubs 7

Udzungwa to Mikumi

On By Carol HenshawIn Africa, TanzaniaLeave a comment

Ruaha Baboon14
The drive back to Mikumi took only two hours as there was far less traffic than on the outward journey and Elwyin had got used to dodging the potholes. We fed the remaining sandwiches from yesterday’s lunch to the local baboons who were very appreciative. We checked into the Genesis Motel again and after a short rest went out for our first foray into Mikumi National Park. It is a grassland plateau surrounded by mountains and studded with trees. Impala and wildebeest abound and are often in much larger herds than we saw at Ruaha. We also spotted Cape Buffalo, water buck and troops of baboons. Maribou Storks were among the impalas, feeding on grasshoppers disturbed by their grazing in the long grass. There were crocodiles and hippos in the pool and groups of ground hornbills with their curious calls. We had turned round and were heading towards the exit and leave the park when we suddenly spotted a pair of lionesses in a tree close to the park headquarters. They were alert and listening to the staff trying to dissuade an elephant from entering the area. They eventually had to fire a shot in the air. We took some photographs and then headed back to the hotel for dinner, hoping to see more lions the next day.
Mikumi lionesses in tree 2

Udzungwa

On By Carol HenshawIn Africa, Tanzania, walksLeave a comment

We could not pick up our guide at the Park HQ until 8am and there was then a 10 kilometre drive to the trailhead for the Sanje Falls. So it was around 9am when we started to walk and getting pretty hot and humid. The trail was steep uphill in zigzags and before I had gone too far, felt quite light-headed. This was a bit surprising, as I have done plenty of trekking in hot and humid conditions. Everyone said I looked quite grey so I plodded slowly to the first picnic table and rested while the others went on to the pool at the foot and right up to the top of the falls. Although swimming is allowed, they decided the water was too cold. I sat and had a great view of the falls and two Egyptian Vultures who flew past me. The others came back down for lunch with me and we then descended and drove back to the hotel for a siesta. It soon became apparent that I had a viral infection so other than packing for the next days journey, I rested.

Udzungwa Sanje Waterfall

Mikumi to Udzungwa

On By Carol HenshawIn Africa, TanzaniaLeave a comment

Udzungwa Mountains

On Saturday I awoke in the banda before the alarm. I had heard hippo noises and hyenas laughing in the night. Wandering over to the river, I could see five hippos including two youngsters on the island and the male circling around the island to protect them from crocodiles. After breakfast we said goodbye to the local staff and after dropping the empty beer bottles at the shop for reuse, headed off back towards Iringa. At one ford we saw the local ambulance being washed and many local people were selling firewood by the road. The Greek Orthodox Church seems to be quite a presence in this area with several churches as we neared Iringa. We just made it before the bank closed as Elwyin had to change some dollars. So far, the only felines seen have been two domestic cats. One was hunting over the road from the café and having failed to catch her prey, wandered over to scrounge from us. Fortified with samosas and a quick trip to the market for essentials, we set off for Mikumi, described in the guidebook as having ‘the air of a truck stop’. The road descended through a gorge and into a valley where many crops are grown and the roadside stalls are piled high with onions, tomatoes and charcoal. Wood left over from the forestry industry is being made into boxes to transport the produce. About 75km from Mikumi, the exhaust developed an alarming rattle. Elwyin checked it (he was a mechanic in a previous life) and said we could proceed and he hoped to get it fixed in Mikumi. On the way out we had thought that some of the stalls were selling salt as they had sacks of a crystalline white substance for sale. These turned out to be quartz, used decoratively in gardens. Closer to Mikumi, the road surface deteriorated with huge ruts made by overweight HGVs. It was being repaired. Our motel was the other side of town and felt a bit like being in a service station close to a busy motorway due to the sound of trucks passing. The courtyards were filled with tropical plants and there was a welcome fan in the room that made up for this. James was happy as there was a TV and some crucial football match was on. Elwyin managed to find someone to weld the split in the exhaust. On Sunday morning we decided to go the 10am service at the local Anglican church. One of the hotel staff took us in his car. The congregation was very friendly but the service was in Swahili so I contented myself with humming along with the hymns. Morning worship took two hours so we were somewhat relieved that it was not communion. A quick change back at the motel and we were on the road south to the Udzungwa Mountains. The first part is paved but the last 23km is a heavily rutted road that took a considerable time to navigate. The area is noted for sugarcane growing and there were stalls selling it and also bananas. At one spot baboons were doing their best to steal the produce but were being dissuaded by small children with sticks. We did buy some corn on the cob (mealies) and enjoyed that. Other children were asking for mia (money) every time we had to slow down to negotiate a pot hole. We arrived at our hotel and asked for a late lunch, which was finally eaten at about 4pm. A short walk to the village we stocked up on provisions for our lunch the next day and then checked at the National Park HQ that a guide would be available for our hike the next day as you cannot go without one. In the grounds we saw a Black and White Colobus, the Iringa Red Colobus only found in these parts and a Sykes monkey.
Udzungwa Sykes Velvet Monkey

Iringa to Ruaha

On By Carol HenshawIn Africa, TanzaniaLeave a comment

 

Ruaha Elephants 2

After the food shopping was completed at the market, a coffee stop and some purchases at Neema Crafts (a workshop, shop and café run by people with disabilities) we were on our way to the Ruaha Game Park. Very soon the tarmac gave out and the red, sandy road stretched ahead for miles. At every hill, there was more road to be seen with blue mountains in the background. We were entering Maasai country and at one point, a herdsman with his cows and goats crossed in front of us. It was clear, that in the rainy season, large amounts of water would come down this road and there were run-offs into the forest. We began to see glimpses of wildlife, including red-billed hornbills, a vervet monkey and copious amounts of elephant dung. Suddenly, there were several giraffes in the road in front of us. Once in the National Park there were impala, giraffe and elephants easily visible from the road.

We settled into our bandas on the banks of the Greater Ruaha River and that same evening the park staff had to frighten away two elephants trying to enter the site. The next two days were spent on driving around the park or sitting in the gazebos outside watching the birds and animals. On the first drive out we saw an elephant family trying to cross the river with the adults holding up the baby when they came to a deeper part. There are innumerable giraffes, zebras, impalas and elephants, plus we have seen baboons and monkeys, jackals, mongooses, Grants gazelles, water buck, kudu, crocodiles, warthogs and the birdlife is amazing. No big cats as yet. So far, we have seen one other group staying at the bandas but otherwise we have the place to our guide and ourselves. Many of the animals are easy to see at close hand so despite discovering on the second day of the trip that my 13 year old telephoto lens is not working, I still have some good shots. Tomorrow we leave for Mikumi via Iringa and then on to the Udzungwa Mountains where the biodiversity is even greater. Settling down to sleep now with the hippos grunting down at the river.

Ruaha Hippo 1

Dar to Iringa

On By Carol HenshawIn Africa, TanzaniaLeave a comment

Flat tyre on Dar to Morogoro HighwayTuesday saw us up before sunrise to finish packing, have breakfast and get on the road by 7am. This did not entirely go to plan. We did finish breakfast in time, entertained by Indian House Crows stealing sugar packets from the tables. When we went to check out, the reception clerk had difficulty deciding what our bill should be (three dinners and a few drinks, not to complicated we thought). Once that was sorted out, we squeezed our bags into the back of Elwyin’s Toyota Landcruiser on top of all his camping stuff and set off into very heavy traffic. A few miles later I realised I had left my camera at the hotel so we backtracked and there it was to my intense relief. It took until 10am to get out of Dar due to heavy traffic and road works. We took the road to Morogoro that was plagued by dangerous drivers including HGVs, motorcyclists and cars over-taking on blind bends and summits. We saw numerous accidents, fortunately non requiring medical assistance so we remained off duty. At one point Elwyin was pulled over by the police and accused of speeding, which we knew he had not been doing. I suspect this was because he was driving a Malawi registered car. Eventually, after intense negotiation and us wondering whether intervening would help or hinder, he was let off. Continuing, we saw our first Vervet (or Tantalus) Monkey, Pied Crows and White-Rumped Swifts. Then: the flat tyre. Fortunately the spare on the Land Cruiser is under the vehicle, not in the boot so we did not need to unload. Elwyin quickly changed the tyre and as we had stopped opposite a local fruit stall, bought some small Ladies’ Finger bananas and some oranges. In Morogoro we got a new inner tube into the tyre and back on the car. As were behind schedule, we grabbed some supplies from a supermarket and munched as we drove on. The fields alongside the road had corn and sunflowers growing which was a reminder of Route 66 last September when they were our companions for many miles. In Mikumi National Park we saw several troops of baboons hanging around by the road hoping to be fed by passers by, giraffe, zebras, antelope and glimpses of elephants. As we are returning here for a stay on our way back to Dar we continued on into the upland forests and the Baobab Valley, towards Iringa. It was late afternoon by now and the blue of the mountains ahead and baobabs silhouetted against them would have made some great photographs but we did not really have time to stop for long. Nearer to Iringa we passed small communities selling red onions neatly stacked by the road and sacks of rock salt. After easing past slow lorries on the last climb, we neared the town but turned off a few miles before to our campsite. It was now dark and there seemed to be some confusion as to whether we were camping or in a banda. As non-one fancied erecting the tent in the dark, we opted to pay a few dollars more and have a little luxury as we are camping for the next three nights. Breakfast this morning was not at 7pm as advertised but eventually arrived. We were all packed up only to find that the car was difficult to start. We got up the dirt road and found the necessary part at a garage on the way into Iringa. Have picked up food from the market in Iringa and now are en route to Ruaha for three days then the Udzungwa Mountains so will be offline for a while.