Archive for August, 2009

Malawi – A peek at Lake Malawi and Travel Beyond consultant Pam Buttner

Posted August 27th, 2009 by Matt Bracken

Pam kayak sunset

Africa? What’s all the fuss?

Malawi? Where is that? Is that in South Africa?

Safe to say that traveling to Africa was never on my radar. I never had the urge to go, except, I’m a sucker for a good opportunity and rarely let one go by. Fast forward six years… I have been back to Africa four times and lived there for two years.

People aren’t kidding when they say that Africa gets under your skin!

Funny side bar, have you noticed how travel to Africa is commonly referred to as ‘Africa – the whole continent’ rather than the specific country that you’re visiting? I wonder why that is?

I digress.

“Life changing”, you hear that a lot too when you mention that you are going to Africa. Is it life changing? That depends on the traveler and the circumstances, but Africa does have this primal affect on the psyche that can change one’s perception on life – usually for the better.

So many times I have struggled to put the images, smells and sounds into words that accurately conveyed what I was experiencing. It is just something that must be experienced for yourself!

My first exposure to African travel was to Malawi, the wonderful little country that proudly boasts the tagline “The Warm Heart of Africa”. I ended up going back a few years after my initial visit and spent two years managing a beautiful eco-friendly camp on Mumbo Island on Lake Malawi.

There is most definitely truth to that tagline of theirs!

Another tagline that you will hear while in Malawi is the “Lake of Stars”. You’ll see the fishermen prepare their dugout canoes (mokoros) as you sit enjoying sundowners at the local watering hole along the beach. The fishermen are getting ready for a whole evening of fishing, they set up their dugouts with a plank of wood across the back that has these bright lanterns (four of them) fastened to it; the lanterns are fueled by a paraffin/diesel mixture and burn so incredibly bright, it hurts your eyes.

As the evening moves on, you look out towards the lake and all you see along the horizon are hundreds of these lights bobbing up and down. It is indeed, a “Lake of Stars”! The fishermen use the bright lights to attract the fish (kampango) and, as the full moon cycle evolves, you see less and less fishermen on the lake. The moon is just too bright and the lanterns aren’t effective.

“Lake of Stars” also refers to an annual music festival that is held in various locations along the shores of the lake (usually around the end of September/beginning of October). More on that in another post!

Here are a few facts about Lake Malawi:

Lake Malawi National Park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984
Forms part of the Great Rift Valley
Sometimes called “Calendar Lake” – 365 miles long and 52 miles wide
The third largest lake in Africa; 8th largest lake in the world.
The world’s 4^th deepest lake at just over 2,300 feet deep
Contains more species of fresh water fish than all of Europe and North America combined. Mostly famous for the species of cichlids that are wildly popular within the aquarium trade.

There’s no shortage of water activities on the lake! If you are at all curious about Scuba Diving, Malawi is a great place to learn and to earn your PADI certification; everything from Open Water to Master Diver courses are offered. There are some wicked dive sites including a deep wreck dive just off Thumbi Island in Cape Maclear; it’s an unbelievable dive site during a full moon!

If diving isn’t your thing, try snorkeling, where the only thing you’ll miss is the sting of salt water.

Some incredible kayaking can be had on this lake! I speak from experience as I paddled each and every day, anywhere from two to fifteen miles. It was fantastic! Most places/lodges along the Lake shore offer kayak rentals where you are free to explore the surrounding areas. If you are in Cape Maclear, paddle over to Thumbi Island or through the gap between Domwe Island and the mainland; take a book, packed lunch, some beverages, snorkel, mask and fins and find yourself a little beach to chill out on and have a snorkel.

Sailing? Yes, you can add that to the list as well! There’s the annual Lake Malawi Sailing Marathon (the world’s longest freshwater sailing race) that can feature some pretty hectic conditions as the lake can surprise you with waves produced by the Mwera (South) Winds. Not a sailor? Follow the race and meet the crews at locations along the way. You’re sure to have a good time!

Many mountain biking tours make their way from Lilongwe to the shores of Cape Maclear. Mountain biking combined with kayaking tours are also available to give a bit of diversity.

There’s a lot to do and explore in Malawi. I have only scratched the surface here. I hope to expand on these topics a little more and to delve into the cultural side of Malawi. So, stay tuned!

Posted in Africa, Malawi, Southern Africa | 6 Comments »

Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu & Peru, a trip report from Bob Schminkey

Posted August 19th, 2009 by Matt Bracken

Sue,

Many, many thanks for a GREAT trip! I don’t know where to start in telling you about it, but I’ll try…

The Galapagos… well, simply incredible! We could not have been happier with Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic. The boat was wonderful and we loved our very comfortable little room on a lower deck… (much less rocky than the more expensive cabins!). The staff did everything possible to make us feel comfortable and at home while on board. And the naturalists were simply outstanding. As a part time tour leader myself, I was tremendously impressed by their breath of knowledge about the islands AND their skill in challenging/encouraging us to take full advantage of the experience. After being told over and over that the wildlife would be amazing, we could not believe how close we could come to a wide range of animals. We never imagined that we would go snorkeling, that we would enjoy it so much, and that we would find ourselves swimming along with sea lions while watching boobies dive for lunch. It was just an amazing week… Oh, and BTW, we both read a biography on Darwin and Kurt Vonnegut’s book Galapagos before we left and we highly recommend both to Galapagos travelers.

As for Peru… Also wonderful, but I’ll give you the bad news first. It was a very difficult trip for us both, physically speaking, in part because of the schedule we have been on and in part because of the altitude. We were VERY tired by the time we hit Machu Picchu, and while we had a great time, we were really beat. I spent much of our Cusco time on Oxygen, and Sara picked up a bug somewhere, but we still had a great time.

Our hotels in Peru were fabulous! The Casa Andina Private Collection chain is excellent and we especially liked their hotel in Arequipa. They were all wonderful however, and we were quite pleased with our choices. The hotel in Aquas Caliente was a nice place to stay, but nothing special. I would probably stay there again, but… Well, the only reason to stay there is to get yourself to Machu Picchu early the second morning…

The Ramada Inn at the Lima airport was comfortable the first time we were there… But we stayed there a second time as well. The day we left Peru Sara became very ill. We went to the airport Ramada to let her rest for our six hour layover, and they did some emergency laundry for us AND got a doctor in to see her. Without their service we’d still be there. They were a lifesaver for us.

Ceiba Tops was a great experience. While not as luxurious as we might have been expecting, it was very professionally managed and our stay there was an experience of a lifetime. We will never forget the canopy walk, and the birdwatching there was also great. We loved traveling on the river, fishing and the hikes we took. Thanks for recommending this spot.

This is of course where we got in trouble with the airlines… We had booked a 9 PM flight from Iquitos to Lima, and we left the lodge at 3 to start the journey. Explorama had very professionally booked us into a hotel in town for our four hour wait for a flight, but they helped us change our flight to depart around 5:30 instead. That’s why we were listed as “no-shows” for the original flight, and why we had trouble the rest of the way. In fact, for the rest of our flights we had trouble with check in everytime, and we never got the seats we expected to have, although they did get us sitting together each time. (Otherwise, LAN was really quite good and we would recommend them.)

Condor/Avanti Tours were great. The tour guides were terrific and we always knew we were in good hands as they met us every step of the way. If there was any problem with them, it was that they were SO good that we didn’t have to speak Spanish very much! As tired as we were for much of the time in Peru, we were very grateful to have booked them and would highly recommend them to anyone traveling in the region.

We would highly recommend the Colca Canyon tour to anyone going to Peru. Arequipa is a great little city, not nearly as commercial as Cusco, and we would have liked to have had more time there. The two day tour to the canyon (the deepest canyon in the world!) was very difficult, as we went up to 15,000 feet just getting to our overnight in Chivay. The next morning at the canyon was extraordinary as we saw 18 condors in flight, making the trip well worth our time. Another day in Arequipa would have helped us adjust to the altitude and given us a day to rest a bit more too.

Machu Picchu was all that was advertised. A great way to end the trip. Our tour of the site was excellent, but the second morning when we got there before the “day-trippers” was the highlight. Just a spectacular site…

The whole trip was spectacular and it is difficult to describe without overusing superlatives. You made it possible for us and for that we are both extremely grateful. Your assistance in planning, your knowledge of the region and the opportunities, your helping us to keep to our budget (more or less!) and your help with the airlines during our trip, all made this experience as easy as possible for us. Thank you VERY much for all of your help.

Posted in Client Blogs, Galapagos Islands, Lindblad Expeditions, Peru | 1 Comment »

Gorilla Trek: Rwanda

Posted August 12th, 2009 by Matt Bracken

Rwanda Journal Entry: Matt Bracken

young female mountain gorilla

Rwanda, population about 10 million, genocide in 1994 rocked this place, about 1,000,000 people dead in 100 days, see it on the faces, a slight lack of confidence but fabulously friendly with deep smiles. The Kigali Memorial Centre (Genocide Memorial) in the capital city of Kigali is a must see – very well done, informative, peaceful and thought provoking. Rwanda has healed well and is now one of Africa’s safest and cleanest places. The last Saturday of every month is known as national clean-up day when everyone goes out and cleans their neighborhood; and Rwanda has banned plastic bags, so be sure not to bring any into the country. Rwanda is called the “land of a thousand hills”; the three hour drive from Kigali to the Virunga Mountains where the mountain gorillas live proves the tagline. It’s green and lush with rich red soil planted in squares all the way to the tops of the hills with sweet potatoes, beans, bananas, plantains, corn, cassava, tea and coffee. 90% of Rwandans are subsistence farmers. The road is the social gathering place for the people, they all walk carrying various goods to market and we wave at each other, the scenery is magnificent.

After about a 2.5 hour drive from Kigali I arrived at The Jack Hanna House located on the grounds of the Mountain Gorillas Nest Hotel. The house has a wonderful wrap-around porch with views out over the golf course and the Virunga Mountains. The staff is fantastic, the meals very tasty and the big fireplace in the livingroom is the perfect place to gather with a cup of tea when the sun goes down and the temperature gets cold.

The morning of the gorilla trek starts with an early breakfast and a drive of about fifteen minutes to the Volcanoes National Park (Parc National des Volcans). The Minister of Tourism puts everyone in a group of eight people to go see one of the seven groups of habituated gorillas. If there are people who cannot physically hike 3 or 4 hours, the Minister will try to pair these people with a gorilla group that is further down the mountain that day. I was put in the human group to go see the Susa gorilla group and hiked about 2.5 hours through bamboo forest and thick vegetation; best to bring a pair of gardening gloves for protection against the stinging nettles. There are trackers who’s job it is to stay with the gorillas and monitor their wellbeing, as well as their location, these trackers radio the gorillas’ location to the head guide, this ensures that visitors will see the gorillas on their trek.

The hike was slow paced and anytime there was a slippery incline the porters were there to assist. Porters are available to hire at the start of the trek for $5, they will carry your backpack, but their real value is helping to make the hike as comfortable as possible, they do a great job, I highly recommend hiring a porter.

Layers of clothing are a good idea, the cool morning gave way to hot humidity as the sun came out, but then just as quickly, a rain shower passed over, definitely a good idea to have a rain jacket or poncho ready at all times. The anticipation was at a peak when our guide halted us, we could hear the gorillas, we set everything down except our cameras and took a few more steps, and there surrounding us were 36 mountain gorillas, so peaceful and beautiful, we all stood in awe, the gorillas paid no attention to us at all but just went about their day; the silverback walked within 6 inches of me and the rest of the group followed, I couldn’t even focus my camera, just stared in amazement and felt completely in the moment. There are only 700 mountain gorillas left in the world, they all live in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; it is an extremely humbling experience to see such a peaceful and gorgeous animal so similar to me that is in such grave danger of extinction.

Visitors are allowed just one hour with the gorillas, an appropriate amount of time to observe and not disturb. We watched the gorillas interacting with the babies, playing, eating and just lounging, a truly magical and intense hour coming face to face with something so familiar yet so uniquely different. Our human group hiked back down to the vehicles arriving around 2:00 in theafternoon. My mind was racing with thoughts of conservation and deep respect, I had just witnessed such a peaceful, highly intelligent and beautiful animal that might disappear before our eyes. I hope this hour that we pay for and get to spend with them helps in their survival. back at the vehicles, certificates of trekking which include the name of the gorilla group we visited were handed out and we gave pens to the children who had gathered. The trek was surreal, it was the most intimate and emotional wildlife experience of my life. My driver-guide Theo picked me up and we drove the 2.5 hours back to Kigali.

Posted in Africa, Eastern Africa, Rwanda | 3 Comments »