Mandela Museum

In the upgraded houses of Orlando west in the South Western Townships (Soweto) in South Africa stands a humble little house that Nelson Mandela once called home.  The tiny match box house No. 8115, was Mandela’s first home.  He moved there with his first wife Evelyn Ntoko Mase in 1946.The couple broke up in 1957 after 13 years, divorcing under the multiple strains of his constant absences, devotion to revolutionary agitation, and the fact she was a Jehovah's Witness, a religion which requires political neutrality. Evelyn Mase died in 2004.  Just around the corner from the Mandela family house is the Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum named after a boy killed during the Soweto schools uprising of 1976 and which is constructed at the place where he actually fall.  A stone throw away along the vilakozi street, is where  is where the outspoken struggle icon and Nobel Laureate, Bishop Desmond Tutu, once lived.  Soweto is the only place in the world to produce two Nobel laureates.

‘If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.’

- Nelson Mandela

The brown painted Mandela Museum is full of authentic history evoking the untold private and public life of the Mandela family.  The focal point of the small sitting room is a huge painting called Tears of Freedom.  A boxing belt from sugar Ray Leonard also hangs on the wall of the sitting room next to a photo of Mandela.  The original carpet and sofa upholstery provide a suitable backdrop for the collection of honorary doctorates bestowed on Mandela.  In the bedroom, small in size a a large bed is covered with a brown jackal skin, a symbol of Mandela’s royal roots in Transkai 

Born 18 July 1918)  served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela served 27 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island. Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela led his party in the negotiations that led to multi-racial democracy in 1994. As president from 1994 to 1999, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation.

In South Africa, Mandela is often known as uTata Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan.

Mandela has received more than 250 awards over four decades, including the 1993 Nobel peace prize.

THE NILE UGANDA

Uganda described as the pearl of Africa , a country of shimmering lakes, lofty mountains that brook mysterious forests Bujagali Falls is one of the mot spectacular sights in the country.  It is about eight kilometers away from Jinja Town and is a spectacular scenic spot with a kilometer of raging rapids, forested islands in the Nile and lots of bird life.  The falls appear like a mountain of water.  The sound, sight of the mighty water rushing down gives you a refreshing feeling.  It is like the water is washing over you and it really can wash over you if you like.  It is at this point that most white-water rafting expeditions on the Nile start.

Source of Nile

 

Rafting on the Nile

Local boys who have grown around the area have mastered the art of rafting, so to speak and have found a way of earning.  Surrounding the point known as the source of the Nile are beautiful picnic and camping grounds.  It is a major tourist attraction and a wall endowed site for family outings on weekends and public holidays.  There is no beach on the river but one can take a boat ride with a guide.  There also crafts creative works of local artists that you can buy as souvenirs and gifts.  White water rafting is the height of adventure, if you desire a natural high, then this is the perfect thing to try.  Rafting expeditions on the Nile , starting at different points can be organized.  The one day trip goes through five huge rapids on the river.  If you daring you can row, flip and exaggeratingly go wild jumping over the Nile .  The area around Bujagali Falls has accommodation option to suit all budgets.

MAKINDU SIKH TEMPLE

The Makindu sikh temple has existed since 1926.  It is located on the Mombasa –

Nairobi Highway

.  From the main road, the Sikh temple looks like a Hindu or Islam mosque.  It origins stem from the early 1900s when many Sikhs come to Kenya to build the railway from Mombasa to Port Florence (Kisumu).

The Makindu Gurdwara  is one of the most beautiful outside India and the envy of many outside Kenya.  Opened 24 hours a day, it offers accommodation for approximately 350 people in full capacity, but only for a maximum of two nights.  They also offer food and drinks and wastage is frowned upon.  The place is run by 10 priests and 50 local people who assist in cooking and cleaning.  Located 200kms from Nairobi the Gurdwara is supported by donations.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday are prayer days.  The 1430 page Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Bible is read throughout the three days in shifts by the priests.

Unlike most religious texts the Granth is exclusively poetic.  Anyone interested in attending the prayer sessions can as long as the person follows their rules.   Shoes are not allowed in the prayer room and everyone has to cover their heads with a scarf, which is available on request.  Sikhchism preaches a message of devotion and remembrance of God at all times, truthful living, equality of mankind, social justice and denounces superstitions and blind rituals.

TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK

Some pleasures have no comparison,  No equal.  The Tsavo West National Park is one such place.  It has its own identity, a place of great contrasts.  You will see dome palms, expanses of rich ochre earth Savannah stretching to the distant horizon, vast plains, brush, and oases of acacia trees, scrub land, and lava basins and in the near distance the Chyulu range

Nestled within a surprisingly lush patch of emerald green acacia trees and centered on a clear spring fed pool is the Finch Hattons Safari camp. Named after the aristocrat who introduced royalty to the bush, Finch Hattons Tented Lodge is largely considered one of the classiest and most accomplished of Kenya's tented camps:  The camp lies amidst a woody, thorny acacia corpse blending in with the lava rock strewn surroundings.  The dining terrace overlooks grassy green grounds and a pool where hippos wallow by day and night.  Take a late afternoon game drive in one of the camps comfy land rovers.  On one of the river banks you will definitely see crocodiles laying basking.  Their unblinking cold reptilian eyes visibly assessing the possibility of a meal.  You will see small herds of antelope, zebra and gazelles.  Elephants drenched in the scarlet ochre dust toss over each other in an effort to keep cool in the searing sun.  Warthog families pass with their tails high in defense against the flies.

Terrace at Finch Hatton

 

In the early evening drive, for the summit known as poacher’s look out, where finch Hattons sets up wine and canopies sundowner for the guest.  The vast panorama of Tsavo is spread below, reaching as far as Mt. Kilimanjaro to the distance, the Mawenzi and Kibo peaks clearly visible.You will feel at loss having left behind, a rich enchantment, and modest but impeccable taste, the harmony of the nature that so deeply pleases the eye and frees the soul.

AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

Amboseli is a place of stark contrast, in dry season volcanic dust churns into spectacular whirlwinds.  It is a park romanticized by travelers the world over as Kilimanjaro’s royal court.  Despite its sometimes dry and dusty appearance, it has an endless water supply filtered by thousands of feet of volcanic rock from Kilimanjaro’s ice cap.  These underground streams converge into two clear water springs in the heart of the park.  The park owes its magic to glistening glaciers of Kilimanjaro which melt and flow through parallel volcanic rocks to gush out pure and clean water in the Amboseli swamps

 

Because Amboseli’s swamps are the only permanent source of water in the basin, they are the nucleus of this relatively and ecosystem and the drinking pot for man, cattle and wild animals during the dry season.  Wild animals like cattle remain an integral part of the Maasai solid process and now bring in foreign currency.

 

In the wet season, wild animals make onto the drier and higher areas, which are inhibited by the Maasai.  It is little wonder that since the 80’s Amboseli has been designated as a ‘man and biosphere reserve’.  The ecosystem interlinked, that conservation here has been achieved through a history of sustainable land use practices.

 

It is also in this area that income generating projects such as Kimana wildlife sanctuary and community run campsites are located.  The park is vast, the expanse only interrupted by the occasional trumpeting of elephants.

 

 

MT. KENYA

Africa’s second highest mountain, after Mt. Kilimanjaro .  This extinct volcano is estimated to be 2.5 million years old, while Kilimanjaro is 75, 000 years old.  Time has taken its toll on the former reducing the peak from 6,500 metres to 5199 metres today, while nature’s untiring eroding agents long ago eroded the crater.

Mt. Kenya is located 180 kilometres North of Nairobi within the Mount Kenya National Park.  The park, a protected area 3,200 metres above sea level was established in 1949 and covers an area of 715 sq km.  Surrounded by the Mt. Kenya National Reserve, the park is simultaneously a world heritage site and international biosphere reserve.

Mt.  Kenya is considered more <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-9770610857642756"

     crossorigin="anonymous"></script> technically challenging than the higher Mt. Kilimanjaro (5894m) but those who make it to the top experience some of Africa ’s finest rock and ice climbing.  Halford Mackinder planned and led the first expedition on record to reach the summit in 1899.  His trip was successful and they discovered many animal and plant species then unknown in Europe .  A new species of eagle owl was first recorded by these climbers and subsequently named after Mackinder.

Mt.  Kenya lies on the equator; you will find snow, ice and even glaciers on it.  However, a century since Mackinder’s conquest, the number of glaciers has dropped from 18 to only seven today.  Lewis glacier, the largest is at 4,600m.  The continued retreat of the glaciers is expected to affect downstream ecosystems and the mountain scenic appeal.  Mt. Kenya is the source of River Tana and was formerly regarded as an inexhaustible water fountain.  Not any more thanks to loss of glaciers and forest cover.  How to save the forest encircling Mount Kenya has long engaged environmentalist Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel peace prize winner, who was born on the mountains lower slopes.

NORFOLK HOTEL KENYA

What does the former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan have in common with the emperor of Japan, the British Royal Family, former U.S.A president Teddy Roosevelt, Mick Jagger, Denzel Washington, Harry Belafonte and Ernest Hemingway?  Well the answer is simple.  They all at one point in the last 100 years stayed at the famous Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi.  Also on that list is Hollywood Star Ralph Fiennes and his crew who recently shot the movie constant Garderner.

Since Christmas Day in 1904, in the new vast and arid lands of Kenya, the Norfolk Hotel, with its cool resting rooms and hot and cold running water, had been civilization in the bush.  With nothing in front of it except the Papyrus Swamp full of frogs and barren open land behind it, the white railings of hotel’s perimeter spelt civilization and comfort for those early arrivals.  One of the most memorable Patrons, former U.S President Teddy Roosevelt launched his first great safari at the Norfolk in 1909.   Legend has it he stepped off the front steps of the hotel and into marshy swamp, where he and his passé stuck for hours. 

The Norfolk has come of age and is opposite the famous Kenya National Theatre, University of Nairobi and Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.  It is a few minutes walk to the city centre, the museum and the famous Maasai Market.  With the metropolitan setting the menu is sprinkled with international foods.   The Norfolk is one of the few places in the world that has cheated time and remained for over a century to host another generation of Hollywood stars, presidents, music legends, royalty and authors.

NORFORK AFTER RENOVATIONS

Serengeti shall never Die

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is located between the Serengeti and Lake Manyara within Tanzania's famed Northern Safari Circuit. It is home to the famous volcanic Ngorongoro Crater, which is the largest unbroken caldera in the world. The Crater (610 metres deep and 260 km squared) is a microcosm of Tanzania's safari scenery, big game viewing and the world famous flamingos in Ngorongoro.

Ngorongoro, an 8,300 sq km stretch that boasts a wonderful blend of landscape, wildlife, people and archaeological sites.  With magical setting and abundant wildlife, the Ngorongoro crater is a spectacle to behold.

 There are more than 30,000 animals and 350 bird species.  Lions, black rhinos, wild beasts, elephants, hyenas and jackals comb the wild as hippos and pink flamingoes take the pride of place in the countless parks and small lakes.  On the floor of the crater more than 100 bird species reside and hippos graze gracefully around the soda lake.  The visit cannot be complete without a visit to the grave of Michael Grzimck whose plane crashed in the crater in January 1959.  On the fateful day, Michael had been flying alone when he struck a vulture in mid flight With the ailerons and flaps jammed, the plane went into a dive. He was buried on the lip of the crater.  The epitaph on his gravestone reads “11.4.1934 to 10.1.1959 "He gave all he possessed for the wild animals of Africa, including his life." 

LEGENDS OF WASINI ISLANDS KENYA

The islands of Wasini Stands like an open book on the waters.  From the islands one can see the faint outline of the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania.  History has it, that five centuries ago the Shirazi sailed across the Red Sea in Seven dhows led by Hassan Bin Ali from Persia today known as Iran.  Some sailed further north to Lamu while others sailed to Zanzibar and one dhow sailed to Mombasa.

Mkwiro means “the stick that beat the drum” and there’s a legend to it.  On the dhow that docked at Mombasa was a king’s daughter who settled in the Diani., Msambweni area on the south coast.  All this is documented in a mosque near the village of  Tumbe.  Later the Shirazi moved along the Coast and reached Wasini Island.  However the Vumbe were jealous of their new neighbors, who were master drum beaters and possessed magical drum beats.

The Vumbe decided to attack the Shirazi and steal their drums.  The best attack plan was to marry a Shirazi girl and used  her to “cry wolf”.  Mwauzi Tumbe agreed to this plan and on the first day she screamed war! War! And the Shirazi came out but nothing.  Second time she tried it the Shirazi came out but nothing.  On the third time however the Vumbe did indeed attack the Shirazi carrying away the drums.  The story goes on to say that Mwauzi Tumbe was ostracized by both tribes and died making the gods unhappy.

The tiny island of Kisite where no one lives but happens to be the largest breeding colony of Terns the two Mpunguti Islands are also uninhabited.  Not far from Wasini is the Islands of  Funzi island with turtle nestling beaches.

The Aberdares Kenya

Aberdare ranges named by adventurer and explore Joseph Thomson after Lord Aberdare in 1884, the then president of the Royal Geographical Society.  Aberdares gives you spectacular scenery, especially waterfalls, and is ideal for wilderness tracking with clear tumbling streams and beautiful vegetation.  The main waterfalls in the park include Guro, perhaps the most precipitous in Kenya, cascading some 300m downstream into some impenetrable ravine.  There is also the Karura Falls, which spectacularly falls into three awesome steps and the Chania Falls.  Both Guru and Karuru were portrayed in the Oscar-winning movie out of Africa, starring Meryl Streap and Robert Red Ford.

Karura falls

Wildlife?  Aberdare has an array of large mammals, including black rhinos and elephants.  Rhinos are rare to see but elephants are occasionally seen especially at the salt lakes near the lodges.  Other unique animals include the giant forest hog, the bongo and Sykes monkeys.  Prominent people associated with Aberdares include Winston Churchill who camped by Chania Falls on a safari in 1907, and the founder of scouts movement, Robert Baden Powel. Aberdare also houses the famous tree house, Treetops.  In 1952 Princess Elizabeth ascended to her bedroom a princess and descended the next morning as Queen. The hotel is still alive and is a landmark in the Aberdares The late freedom fighter; Dedan Kimathi also led his resistance against the colonialist from these ranges.  There are several self catering facilities like the fishing lodge, ideally located at the center of its moorland, and offering fantastic views privacy and real wilderness taste.  This and others can be booked through Kenya Wildlife Service.

JADE SEA KENYA

Lake Turkana is also known as Jade Sea and the surroundings area as the ‘Cradle of Mankind’.  With its blue – green waters, bleak stony shores, and crocodile inhabited volcanic isles. Lake Turkana is  in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. The renowned paleontologist Richard Leakey was led to conclude it was here that man first trod openly on earth.  The million year old skull of Homo Erectus found at Koobi Fora on the lakes eastern coast vindicated Leakey’s famous guess.

The lake was named Lake Rudolf (in honor of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria) by Count Sámuel Teleki de Szék and his second-in-command Lieutenant Ludwig Ritter Von Höhnel, a Hungarian and an Austrian , in 1888. They were its first European discoverers, “finding” it on safari across East Africa on March 6, 1888. It is the largest permanent desert lake in the world also the largest alkaline lake in the world.

The lake’s parched shores are now home to the Turkana, a tribe of fiercely independent cattle-herding, cattle stealing warriors who have vehemently defied all authorities for the last hundred years.  A tad more neighborly are the El molo, said to be numerically the world’s smallest tribe, they once lived by hunting and the now protected hippo and Nile crocodile.  East of Lake Turkana is the Chalbi desert. Geographically cracked and unrelentingly flat it throws up mirages where its long flat horizons shimmer hotly with the sky.  The camel caravans and herds of goats that ply this wasteland are driven by the Boran and Gabbra, moving from one oasis to the next.

A drive from one of the oasis will take you to the outskirts of a lush rain forest.  This is Marsabit.  Marsabit itself is a national park. It has a market town, lots of wildlife and high volcanic lakes.  Such a lake paradise.  It is certainly a paradise for game.  Elephants and buffaloes emerge from the forest to take their evening drink.  

CRATER LAKE : NAIVASHA KENYA

At one point during the climb one would want to give up.  Just spur on and garner your last reserve.  When you get up there you just collapse at the top of the rim and it takes one about two minutes to recover your breath only for a while.  As you get to your feet the view takes your breath away!

 

The rim surrounds on emerald – green volcanic lake at the bottom of an extinct volcano and you can see miles and miles around you.  Its breath taking, exhilarating and awesome.  One understands the feeling of being “on top of the world” that people get when they reach the peak of a mountain, and why mountain climbing is so addictive. It’s a feeling like no other.

 

On the shores of the volcanic lake is Crater Lake camp, an up market, personally managed permanent tented camp with 23 beds in double and twin bedded tents, including a honeymoon suite with a double Jacuzzi bath.  History is everywhere at Crater Lake .  The private 10,000 acre sanctuary on which the camp is situated houses the famous hill top graves of Happy Valley tragic heroine, Lady Delamere and her last two husbands Gilbert Calville and Thomas Delamere.  For the truly courageous, there are the mysterious “Caves of God” in the golden wheat fields of Ndabibi reputed to be one of the inspirations of Rider Haggard’s Allan Quartermain.  Crater Lake offers classic escapes for special interest groups, including painting and astrology weekends as well as ornithological outings with local experts.

 

 

CALENDER LAKE MALAWI

David Livingstone started it off with lake of stars.  When it was realized that the giant stretch of water was approximately 365 miles from north to south and 52 miles wide, it became the calendar lake.  For the visitor it is quite simply the jewel in the crown of all Malawi has to offer the visitor.  The lake fills that yawning gash in the lands of eastern Africa, the Great Rift Valley .  Its deepest point plunges 700 meters.

Such a vast expanse of warm fresh water and an absence of tides is temptation enough but surrounding the lake are great stretches of gold and silver sand beaches separated by enticing rocky caves and promontories.  The beaches are clean and quite frequently completely empty.  A feeling of ownership comes over the sunbathes or beach comber. Venture into the water, its warm enough to swim all year round, and you join the fish life which is the lake’s treasure.  Lake Malawi is home to what is probably the largest number of fish species of any lake in the world.  No wonder the lake is a Mecca for snorkelers and scuba divers.  There’s even the world’s first fresh water national park at cape Maclear .

Sailing has long been popular on the lake. The best known manifestation of this sport is the famous Lake Malawi International sailing marathon.  This has been an annual convent since 1980s and always attracts a good field.  The race is over five or six legs and takes a considerable portion of the lake.

The Valley of the Aristocratic fugitives

HAPPY VALLEY:  KENYA

 

The ridge between the Western side of Aberdare range and Kipipiri is a picturesque setting for what was once clubbed as ‘The Happy Valley’.  The Valley of the aristocratic fugitives of the early 1900s set out in a jalopy through the rain soaked muddy roads leading through the forest reserve bordering Aberdare National park to see the old houses that hold the stories of the actors of that time.  The first house was built in 1901 and sits close to the foothills of the Aberdares.  The Cedar house still stands but is unkempt, but the manager’s house is more interesting, scandal wise.  The stuff that makes the paparazzi wild.  The manager as the story goes was a play boy who had prostitutes driven to the house.

 

Years will roll past as you drive on catch the novels written about this period such as Happy Valley and white mischief both of which were made into movies.  The houses that you will drive past are portrayed in the novels.  Alice de Janze’s and clouds which belonged to Idina and Joss Errol the stars of happy valley era are included in the novels.

 

The period of the three As – adultery, alcohol and attitude came to an abrupt and in 1941 when the body of the play boy loss Errol, (Lord Errol) was found slumped in his car on the roadside in Nairobi.   

MOMBASA

The ambiance in Mombasa assaults your sense with one message.  Here things are different slow sultry, exotic.  The first rule is to move slowly.  If you do not the sweltering heat soon slows you down.  However, once you get to your hotel you quickly recover a sense of near normalcy.  Very few rooms are without overhead fans and many have air conditioning.

Put the real boon is the almost perpetual onshore breeze.  No matter has hot it gets, so long as you wear loose, light and comfortable clothing, the heat remains bearable.  So you have arrived.  What do you do?  You could just laze away by the sea with a good book, or engage in a whole range of water sports form angling to skiing.

Kenya is blessed with the finest coral reefs to be found anywhere in the world and the hotels and resorts to the north and south of Mombasa are well equipped to cater for everyone from the humble”goggler” to the experienced scuba diver.

The beach resort are so self contained that the visitors normally do not venture out.  It is advisable to visit the city centre, though, if for nothing else, to experience the slightly insolent, relaxed atmosphere compared to, say, Nairobi.  The coastal city represents laid – back elements lacking upcountry.  Mombasa’s Old Town, with its maze of lanes, mosques and cramped ancient houses sloping gently down to the once busy dhow harbor, gives a feel of the past.  It is well worth a visit!