Back in Kampala, where the puddles are all the colour of ochre, the everpresent African dust saturating both them and your lungs. The only wildlife I see here are Maribou storks. They would almost be pretty if they didnt have enormous sagging neck pouches covered in naked pink skin. The road system does remind me of the savanna in some ways; the boda-boda (motorcycles) weaving inbetween traffic on the wrong side of the road or pavement like maniacal kob with a death-wish, and the matatus (buses) moving like herds of buffalo or schools of fish, one forces an opening in the congested roads and others swarm behind to wedge the gap open. Crossing the roads can take time.
Getting back to Kampala wasn't quite as straight forward as the journey to Semliki. The camp vehicle had broken down, the cause remaining a mystery. So I hired a taxi driver called Monday, the same guy who brought me from Fort Portal to Semliki a few months ago, to come pick me up. It turned out to be the only morning since Ive been here when we've had torrential rains. The result was a ranger, Alimosi, riding shotgun in the taxi shouting directions "LEFT!, RIGHT!, LEFT!" to Monday in order to navigate around the giant mud baths that were forming in the savanna roads. Monday had to keep travelling as fast as possible, 40-60mph, because once the car slowed it sank. At one point we stopped to try and help another car that had got stuck and as a result we sank too. So a team of 4 had to push us out of the mud and then run to catch up to the car and jump in while it moved. It definitely felt like being in a rally.
Now just killing time in Kampala before my flight tomorrow. Getting to follow the chimpanzees for the last 9 weeks has been fantastic and unforgettable. It's clear that the chimps here need further study, they dissappear for days on end and we have no sure idea where they go. More tracks in the forest and especially the savanna would go a long way towards helping. I hope to get a chance to go back in the future!
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Last Post from Semliki
Time has gone by so quickly. I thought because I'd be in one place the entire time that the time would go slowly, maybe even drag on a bit, but it hasn't. Maggie, the other researcher just left for a 2 week holiday in Ethiopia so I'll be the only researcher for my last 2 weeks here. Fortunately we put the two tables in the dining area, which used to be one for researchers one for camp workers and rangers, together a few weeks ago so I won't be eating solo.
The camp will also be shrinking from having 12 people to 6. We've had carpenters and grass cutters here working to build/repair and thatch platforms for tents. So it's been busy in camp the last few weeks. We had a party last evening with 16 guests to celebrate the end of construction (just scraping the barrel for excuses to celebrate I think). It involved butchering a goat, which turned out to provide more meat than I thought possible for such a small animal. Then for music to dance to we played cassettes using the car speakers. It was great to have everyone together from different parts of Semliki. Patrick the gate-keeper in the park seemed especially moved to be invited, as it seems he doesn't get much appreciation for doing his lonely job at the gate, so me and Maggie felt slightly vindicated in killing a small mammal for the occasion.
It's been up and down with the chimps over the last week, they seemed to have vanished completely into another part of their 62km square home range. Finally we think we have located some of them, eating from small fig trees on the escarpment, one of the only food sources left to them in the area at the moment. Still, we have only seen small family units of females and juveniles in these trees, no adult males have been sighted for at least a week. We suspect they may be in Wassa, a nearby riverine forest where they have been heard calling by staff at the nearby safari lodge.
I'll be sad to leave this place, the work is really interesting and the atmosphere in the camp is great, so it's hard to decide which is more enjoyable, the days in the forest or the evenings in camp, playing African card games, trying to figure out how to gracefully use your hands to eat millet and bean soup, and then trying to watch half a movie on a laptop until the solar charger runs out of power and we have to use kerosene lamps to illuminate the place. Though sometimes it's better not to bring light into the kitchen after dark, the cane rats are the size of domestic cats.
Though the place is fantastic I look forward to seeing friends and family again, I'm sure the time from now until then will go quickly!
Alex
The camp will also be shrinking from having 12 people to 6. We've had carpenters and grass cutters here working to build/repair and thatch platforms for tents. So it's been busy in camp the last few weeks. We had a party last evening with 16 guests to celebrate the end of construction (just scraping the barrel for excuses to celebrate I think). It involved butchering a goat, which turned out to provide more meat than I thought possible for such a small animal. Then for music to dance to we played cassettes using the car speakers. It was great to have everyone together from different parts of Semliki. Patrick the gate-keeper in the park seemed especially moved to be invited, as it seems he doesn't get much appreciation for doing his lonely job at the gate, so me and Maggie felt slightly vindicated in killing a small mammal for the occasion.
It's been up and down with the chimps over the last week, they seemed to have vanished completely into another part of their 62km square home range. Finally we think we have located some of them, eating from small fig trees on the escarpment, one of the only food sources left to them in the area at the moment. Still, we have only seen small family units of females and juveniles in these trees, no adult males have been sighted for at least a week. We suspect they may be in Wassa, a nearby riverine forest where they have been heard calling by staff at the nearby safari lodge.
I'll be sad to leave this place, the work is really interesting and the atmosphere in the camp is great, so it's hard to decide which is more enjoyable, the days in the forest or the evenings in camp, playing African card games, trying to figure out how to gracefully use your hands to eat millet and bean soup, and then trying to watch half a movie on a laptop until the solar charger runs out of power and we have to use kerosene lamps to illuminate the place. Though sometimes it's better not to bring light into the kitchen after dark, the cane rats are the size of domestic cats.
Though the place is fantastic I look forward to seeing friends and family again, I'm sure the time from now until then will go quickly!
Alex
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)