In the mid 1980’s, Bob Geldof brought Ethiopia to the worlds stage with his Live Aid concerts and Band Aid record. But when it comes to Ethiopia the list of things that now make it famous are endless. This is a country where the east African rift carved the country in two, creating beautiful mountains, high plateaus and highly active volcanoes in its wake.
Month: January 2020
KENYA CALLING
I spent the evening at a camp site at Explorers, full of young student adventure seekers, hanging on the bar trying to look cool until it dawned on them that I am probably older than their fathers. Funny thing age…you definitely don’t feel the way you are portrayed the mirror.
RUMINATIONS OF A TRAVELLING NOMAD
I have had a dream of doing a trip like this ever since I read about Euart Grogans exploits back in the colonial times, when trips like this were funded by the National Geographical Society. In fact 2 of my dogs are named Shackelton and Nimrod.
7 tips for the Inca Trail
It’s easy to get confused when you talk about the Inca Trail, as the Incas built an advanced network of nearly 40,000 thousand kilometers of trails to connect the distant corners of their vast empire from Ecuador to Santiago and Mendoza in Argentina. The classic Inca Trail starts at a place called Km82 (so called because it is located 82 kilometers along the railway line between Cusco and Machu Picchu).
PROCESSED FOR CLEARANCE
When I arrived I was very apprehensive about riding in the city with its insane traffic and mayhem on the roads, however by now I had got the feel of it and decided, if I can't beat em, join em. Kampala traffic is now a breeze!
THE PEARL OF AFRICA
There is a beautiful Ugandan proverb that says…”Caution is not cowardice; even ants march armed, and this was certainly the case when it came to the next 10 days.
LAND OF A THOUSAND HILLS
This incredible lake is like a magical scene from the Italian Lake Como combined with Nepalese terraced hills. The shoreline meanders like a weaving snake through little inlets and encircles a total of 29 islands. One of these islands has a bizarre history, that of Akampene, or “Punishment Island” as it is where unwed mothers were banished to live out their days in starvation.
BATTERY POWER AND PILI PILI
On arrival into Kigali, I suddenly noticed that Glenn was no longer visible in my rear view mirrors so I did a quick double back. Sure enough, Glenn’s bike had died, right in the thick of the traffic
Kilimanjaro – are the glaciers vanishing?
When I first climbed Kilimanjaro with my Dad in 2002, we were told that by 2020, all of the glaciers will be gone. It struck me this morning on my morning run, that we are now IN 2020 and the question is, have all of the glaciers gone.
AFRICAS GREAT LAKES
Rwanda is known as The Land of a Thousand Hills for good reason. It is home to massive national parks, three volcanoes, a landscape awash with green hills and the famous and endangered, Mountain Gorilla.
