Gorongosa

Historically it is one of the first reserves to have been created in Africa and considered one of the conservation gems of the colonial days

But people who refer to it , refer to it in a forlone voice referring to glory days long gone. It was once a place where you could get out of your bungalow in the morning and watch the lions frolicking in forests nearby. The civil war days absolutely ruined this park and what remained at one time were just a few bulls and mebbe a few elephants.

I hope the above justifies the absolutely tanked levels of hope with which we approached our trip to this sanctuary. For fear of seeing absolutely nothing, we considered taking some dogs/goats with us so that we could get some pics to show our friends when we come back :))


The surprises started as soon as we passed the gate. We saw some warthogs and babbons on our way to the base camp itself. I now regret that I did not get a single shot of a babboon despite the multitudes that were present. However, that is not of any consequence as I intend to go back for a more organised visit soon.

To go on with the story, we were absolutely surprised by the amount of wildlife we saw in the park. I dunno whether this is a script reflecting the success of conservation or the hardiness of mother nature, but it sure was a movie worth watching and we had tons of fun. And the way the staff handled that place was a revelation to me though maybe not so much for my South African friend. The place was managed tastefully and whats more, had a great after taste

The night we spend there totally tired and dipped into the pool was as much fun as anything else. And do check out the snap of the bush fire which I took just outside the reserve.

Oh...yes....I really had a hard time selecting these pics....I might have got it wrong....I mean as to the best ones

You can see more of these snaps at

http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/renjithmdas/African%20Safari/

I loved them....So you may....

To Gabbon with hope :))

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Recently( as in , last month) ....I was able to hop on a trip to Gabon to attend a conference out there. Like most African journeys, this one was also a looong winded one as I travelled first to Maputo, then to Johannesburg, from there to Ethiopia and from there on to Liberville(the capital of Gabon).

As the plane landed into Johannesburg one passes over a large number of fields. Now we all know our fields, but these were exotic multicouloured one and designed as if to look good from the air....I just cant imagine how else people could grow anything in circles.....it was quite good.... Johannesburg airport has a great duty free shopping area where I bought an all weather cap, a mp3 player and a head phone while returning....but thats cutting the story short

Well....after a painful transit time there....we flew to Adisababa.....Adis seemed a grand city....as one of my co-travellers told me, Ethiopia is one of the few countries in Africa which have never been colonised....it is a grand city.....with clean and big roads and very well mannered people....and some interesting mixed cuisines

And then it was off to Liberville(my destination)....it was a city smaller than Maputo by size and population....but clearly much more expensive and affluent. The modest hotel rooms came at 200$ a night..... Thats roughly double of what a five star room costs in India, just for comparison.

After the conference was over, I stayed back to see the wonderful rain forests of that region which Gabbon shares with congo.....and Boy was it rewarding! The country has 95% forest cover(or shoult I say that it has 5% clearance)....

The forests are so thick that you cannot walk through them without a chain saw and the canopy so thick that you really cannot see the sky....... and logs which come out of these forests are HUGE....I cant touch the top of some of them....see the snap....wow(not world of women...the other less usual wow)

Adding to the fun was staying in the town without power and water...... withmy leather shoes soaked in mud....ofcourse I had no other footwear but my formal eather shoes as I had no idea that we were going to the forest....

And going forward I saw some really HUGE saw mills....must have been built over 1-2 hectares...amazing things

Anyways....thats that....will add to it after Gorongosa....which is where I plan to go this week end....is a wild life reserve