Today we managed 53 kilometers that took about  7 hours of paddling time.

We are pleased with our achievement for the day. It was hard work, but tonight we know we  only have 30 km left to Kigoma where we will meet up with Brent Wibberley for the last leg of the trip. 

We paddled past the Malagarasi delta. The Malagarasi - Muyovozi area is a Ramsar site. We moved from crystal clear  to dark brownish water for about 10 km. There are a lot of reeds in the area and we had to row around it. The Tanzanian government is working on a project  to build a bridge across the river.

On the angling side we are not doing that well. We still have not caught anything yet. The only exciting thing that happened was when Morne had to  dive into the water to save one of the artificial lures that got stuck behind a big rock.

We do now have cell phone contact up until Monday when we will start with the last leg to Bujumbura in Burundi.    

Sorry for not reporting last night. It was overcast the whole day and the phone batteries were very low. Sorry to Marilise and Corlia, our dear wives,  we do understand you  are worried. The batteries are still not quite there. The report is therefore very brief.

Yesterday we covered 48 km and today a further 41 km bringing the total distance to date to 493 km.

Last night we had a problem with flies from the lake, but it seems a lot better today. Fish that we bought from the locals was enjoyed for dinner tonight.

We are still on track for Kigoma by Friday where we will relax for a day or two and watch the rugby on Saturday.

I had no contact with Louis and Morne today. May be a problem with the phone connection?       -    BS

  

This morning we had a five hour hike through the forest. We did not see any chimpanzees but were fortunate to see the yellow baboon, the red colobus, the red tail monkey, a few antelope, many birds like the fish eagle, palm-nut vulture, kingfishers  etc. All though this is the dry period of the year,  the vegetation is still beautiful.

Tonight we had dinner with a young couple, Hannah and Zak, who runs the Flycatcher Adventure business and we were treated to a nice piece of steak. This was a welcome change to a standard backpacker's dinner.

We are leaving early tomorrow morning. In the park area you pay 80 USD per person per day for every 24 hour cycle. We entered the park area before 10h00 on 8/2/2008. There is still about 10 km tomorrow before before we leave the park.

The focus is now  on Kigoma and we should arrive there on Friday. We  will meet up with Brent Wibberley from Sand Dolar Kayaking Safaris who will accompany us  up to Bujumbura in Burundi. You can read about him on  our  web site MADventure, under crew.

 

This morning  we went out with a guide to look for chimpanzees. It was not successful. Later we went out again and  met a group of five chimpanzees, three adults, a todler and a month old baby. They came down to us from a nearby tree and we spent over an hour with them. They quite casually went about doing their daily chores, like, grooming ,playing, eating leaves , and sleeping.  They are almost human in their behaviour. We got some good video footage and still photos.

This afternoon we went about doing essential chores like washing clothes and enjoying a few drinks with other visitors at a nearby camp. Tonight we are the only people in this camp as two Canadians left this morning.

Most visitors to the area come by boat or fly in to a an airstrip about 10 km away.

Our satelllite phone, an iridium 9505. has the facility to receive sms's. You are welcome to send us a sms by going onto the Iridium Website and then type in a message with the number 881631552444. We will not be able to respond though.

Morne and Louis

 

  

Distance covered  52 km   Total  404 km   Time 4.5 hrs.

Tonight  we feel great because we have crossed the halfway mark. We settled for  government bandas just north of Greystone Mahale which is a bit costly for the average South African. 30 USD per night compared to close on 1000 USD. We do have basic rooms with communal facilities. Greystoke is a beautiful place, after all it is named after the character Tarzan, the lord of the apes. Remember the comic strip?.

The area is awesome, with crystal clear water and amazing steep mountains. It is understandable  why  chimpanzees chooses to live here?.

As we move further north the swells seem to get higher, must be close to two meters. We learned a lot during  the last 10 days. The kayak is stable, spirits are high and we are looking forward to the next two days wandering around chimpanzee territory. 

We took it easy and managed  33 km. for the day. We are just south of the Mahale National Park and   tomorrow we will do +- 30 km to a point where we will spend the next two days. We are looking forward to see the chimpanzees in the park.

We had to stop on our way today for Louis to do an interview with the SABC Afrikaans channel, RSG. Thanks to our sponsor for the satellite phone. This will be broadcasted tomorrow, Saturday the 2nd  between 10h00 and 11h00. 

Getting the kayak out on the water and  back to shore proved to be quite difficult because of the huge waves. It is almost like being at sea.

Tonight we  will enjoy a quiet evening with nobody in sight in a very remote spot. 

Please read the article on the effect of global warming on the lake.

This Google image gives some idea of the waves we encounter along the way. This is very close to where we are sleeping tonight.

Distance covered 52 km . Total distance  319 km. Paddling time 6h45m.

From Karema we tried to cut across a big bay, but after twenty minutes a strong wind came up and we were forced to get closer to the shore.The waves on the lake can get huge. About 20 km out of Karema, we came across a beautifull stretch of sand and decided to stop for a mid morning snack.  Close by is a small fisherman's village. It is only used during a "sardine run" called  Kapenta. All the huts are constructed of grass. During this season the men will go out with their boats in a circle with nets in between. They will start splashing the water to get the fish closer to the nets.  This ritual  starts late afternoon and will continue until the early hours of the morning..

Lunch was enjoyed a little further at another village.  We went to a small restaurant where we had something like a pancake and tea. The cost, R12, was obviously  paid in Tanzanian shilling. 

We are now an hour away from Isonga and very proud of our performance for the day. 

 

  

 A new record was set  for the day. We covered 46 km but it was not all plain 'paddling'. The wind changed direction from the east to the west and it was pretty rough. But, in the back of our minds we still think of the people who would benefit from the Dare to Dream   project.

 We covered about 30 km before we had lunch. Late afternoon we saw a number of people on a stretch of beach who waved us to join them. They pulled us from the water and the dynamics that took place was tremendous. They saw us as one of them because we arrived in a human powered boat. They would not accept any numeration for the fish and pap (mealie meal/corn porridge) that was offered to us.  They are very poor people,but, willing to share what they have. This is another lesson from life, from the people of Karema.

Tonight we are on  a small stretch of sand, enjoying a tot of Famous Grouse. A small luxury we promised ourselves for every 35 km completed during any day.

We made a mistake in our report last night as we were at Utinta and not Kabwa. The distance covered  though, is correct

We had a late start from Kipili this morning for three reasons. 1. We conducted a few interviews. 2. We went through our dried food supplies and dumped about a third of it because it got wet.
 3. We got to bed (sleeping bags) at about two this morning, after celebrating Chris Horsfall's birthday.

Our focus now is on the stretch to Mahale. After departing Kipili we had a gentle row, wind from behind with slow swells. We managed to stay on these swells most of the way. Exactly what the doctor ordered after last night.

Before leaving Kipili we bought  smoked fish from the locals and enjoyed it with bread. Utintwa is a small village 30 km north of Kipili. We rowed for 3 hours and 50 minutes.  The total distance covered  to date is 221 km.

We chatted to a few fisherman at Utinta.They use mostly handlines and nets to fish. In general they are well dressed, Adidas T shirts, and they look healthy. 

If any of you have any specific questions, please log it under comments on the blog or e-mail the blog scribe, barend_smit@absamail.co.za , and we will  get back to you through this blog.

Louis and Morne.