These endangered fella's are so cool. We also went and visited the chimps and other primates around the place. On the West coast is beautiful Lake Kivu. Sip beers there at sunset and the word 'heaven' comes to mind.

We even had a village to ourselves. The locals danced, sang and laughed with us. Most used to be poachers but now they get dosh from the likes of us... all good in the hood.

Rwanda we love you, we will be back. People spread the word... this is a jewel...

check ...
www.ecotours.com

Last chapter is Uganda...

written by  Paddy&Kavitha on January 20, 2009 from Kigali, Rwanda
from the travel blog: Africa United...
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A piss stop on route to Kenya was so hot when I walked out: there was an old man cycling up hill in this sweltering heat. Crazy to think we'd be in 4 degrees Dublin later on that day.

We packed our gear; wooden hippos and all and sat down to a small Christmas dinner [no Turkey] with the remainder of our group. A few Kenyan beers later we were off.
We're so close to the equator here.. We'd have to come back to cross it in 2009!

First stop London to Dublin. We drove through modern Nairobi and said farewell to Africa for a while.
The Mulligans were waiting!!!!!!!!

written by  Paddy&Kavitha on December 25, 2008 from Nairobi, Kenya
from the travel blog: Africa United...
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The herds of buffalo, zebra and wilderbeest were all settled on the Tanzanian side. One day on a game drive we witnessed a cheetah mother kill a reedbok [deer] and her and her 4 kids eat it in front of us for hour and a half. All this I caught on video!!

We saw lionesses sleeping in trees which is unique to these parts. The herds just dotted the flat landscapes and the sounds of wildlife just blew us away.
On Christmas Eve we entered the Crater to witness a lioness fighting off 3 hyena and jackals to finish off her wilderbeest breakfast.

Two giant male Lions came along and she ran off.

We came across another pride and their cubs sheltering from the sun in the long grass. On the side of the dirt road lay a half eaten buffalo. Two lionesses sheltered in the shade of our 4x4! My hand was inches from here fly infested fur. Christmas and we spent it with Lions.

Truely an amazing experience. Great to know that these animals will not be effected by the litter and destruction of their human neighbours.
Santa Claus didn't need to visit here.. but he would have loved it.

written by  Paddy&Kavitha on December 12, 2008 from Arusha, Tanzania
from the travel blog: Africa United...
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This place was to be a highlight. We entered Dar es Salaam and could see poverty in our face. Dar es Salaam means 'place of Harmony' ; this is dated..trust me.

Ignoring the litter this place offered a gateway to beautiful Zanzibar. A couple interesting ferry journeys we stayed 2 nights in Stone town [the birthplace of freddie mercury] and haggled with the dodgey locals on food; drink, directions & personal space.

Where slaves were sold to Arabia in the past now left a buzzing gluttered town behind.
We left it behind and headed for Zanzibar. The waters crystal blue; the seafood delicious and the stars Bright.

Two nights here and we savoured the white sands and peace of these East African islands.

Pushing onto Christmas week we left and headed for Wildlife Heaven: Serengeti & Ngorogoro Crater!
Zanzibar deserves a 3 month visit!

written by  Paddy&Kavitha on December 9, 2008 from Zanzibar, Tanzania
from the travel blog: Africa United...
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This freshwater lake takes up half the country and provides Malawi with its lifestlye. Snorkelling, swimming, drinking and chill'n was the draw of the day. We had dinner in a local village on Kande beach and danced one night away with singing children!

HIV and poverty are really evident here. We visited schools and clinics in Kande; a reality check really.

Mango season provided us with free refreshment from the heat. One afternoon of soccer with the locals was enough to see why they saw Malawi is one of the friendliest parts of Africa!

written by  Paddy&Kavitha on December 6, 2008 from Senga, Malawi
from the travel blog: Africa United...
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Next day when we calmed down we headed over to Zimbabwe and visited a Lion park and walked with cubs and witnessed the locals walking across the border to buy their bread and meal and milk. All this with their billion dollar Zimbabwian notes.

One of the natural wonders of the world exists here in the shape of Victoria Falls! Overall [heightxwidthxdepth] it is bigger than Niagara and the views are amazing!

Back to Zambia; sunsets in a pool by the Zambesi, we got ready for our next chapter: Malawi!

written by  Paddy&Kavitha on December 2, 2008 from Livingstone, Zambia
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We stocked up at Maun and headed into this Delta via mokoro The water is only a few metres deep. We are canoed in by polers through the reeds and camped in the Delta: no fences, no limits, just wild Africa!

We canoed around and saw hippo coming to their waterholes; and we had a few walks around looking for animals: unfortunately the land mammals were shy in the Delta so we decided we'd jump on a small plane and see them from the air. We rocked up and our Irish pilot flew us scarily low over this vast National Park and we saw all the Mammals in their glory, Elephant Hippo Giraffe were all visible. We got off the plane and camped overnight with the creppy crawlies of Africa

We moved on after that to see Chobe National Park We saw carcasses the river, crocs chill'n and new born impala all over the place. After an afternoon of R&R we cruised the Chobe River for one of the most spectacular sunsets of our lives. Sipping on beer you could see giraffe grazing; baboons messing, birds nesting, snakes swimming, hippos strolling and best of all Elephants crossing thee shallow waters right in front of us. This was a highlight for us. A must do for every person out there. Chobe we love

written by  Paddy&Kavitha on November 25, 2008 from Maun, Botswana
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We slept in the coolest of spots: deserts where beetles stand on their heads to drink the dew that drips down their bodies in the morning to foxes with ears bigger than dumbo and the cool german influenced beers and food. Not to mention the activities:
Desert walks; Dune climbing for sunset; ski diving; quad biking; camping; eating talking drinking. The excitement of the group and what was ahead was at full tilt at this stage. Nambia is a little jewel. Small population; great sites; cool landscapes and lots to do!

written by  Paddy&Kavitha on November 22, 2008 from Windhoek, Namibia
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xx

written by  Paddy&Kavitha on November 20, 2008 from Swakopmund, Namibia
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