Life in Africa X

This Maasai house is located at Engorora on the road into the marram pit. The iron roof is made form drums and cans, even old second hand roofing iron. Some form of iron roofing is more permanent than thatching, but ceiling board cannot be used because dust gathering in the roof cavity causes the ceiling board to collapse. The big disadvantage of iron roofing is that it radiates heat during the day and cold at night.

This door has been made out of a beaten 44 gallon drum. I acquired a good number of 'Misitu ni Uhai'  [Forests are Life] stickers and gave them out from time to time. This lad liked the sticker as a door decoration. He kept the throw-away backing of the sticker 'because it was white and clean'.

A toy car made out of a plastic container has been much amusement for this Maasai boy at Engorora.

Even though there are few resources, people are very creative and are able to make all sorts of unexpected things.

One example is the use of a stone for a hammer when there is no hammer available. Efficiently used too!

A fireball lily growing on the slopes of Mt. Meru. I had never seen these flowers in my days as a nurseryman. Growing on the mountain would indicate that they do not particularly need tropical conditions.

I would not be surprise for people tell me that they have them in their garden.

Mount Meru from Joshia's house. I guess this is where 'Footsteps' came in because I have left footsteps around the total base of this mountain. Not only footsteps but trees as well.

It is a volcanic cone and I often wonder about the steam coming from the ground that was taken to see. It all suddenly appeared and I have heard nothing about it since.

This is a red ocre source used by the Maasai for beautification - and mainly of the Moran. While the area has been mined for a number of years, much of the scouring is due to erosion.

On the road into our home at Sanawari there was a small compound with two houses. One house was owned by my friend who repaired and hired bicycles and the other is where Mama Boki and young Boki lived. There was a Baba Boki, but I never met him. He was a safari driver and away working at times when it was likely that I would meet him. Boki would arrive at the tap with a small bucket and ask me to lift it to her head. She visited Nai often as well.

Top right is Nai who can't resist a smile. Very often Tanzanians have a serious look when posing for a photograph, other time they will make a show of posing.

I thought it cool that Nai brought some of her school mates to the Sanawari nursery to see what we were doing.

I have mentioned Roger several times - here he is dressed up for a wedding.

Roger and his mother faced many difficult times and was sent away at a young age to a boarding school - mainly for his protection.

He is a fine looking young lad and was always polite and respectful.

During my last visit there, I took books that had belonged to his late father for him.

Young men carry all sorts of loads on their bicycles and here is a load of plastic bucket being transported, probably to the Kikatiti market. This guy will make just a little cash for his efforts.

Have no doubt this is hard work, these bikes have no gears and he has to brave the other traffic on the road. Buses being by far the most dangerous.

If you happen to be a passenger on a bus, it can be daunting when the street vendors rush up to sell you things - and sometimes they do pressure you.

Again they make no huge profits and often there are more vendors than there are passengers.

It all adds to the vibrancy of Africa, but these people work hard to put food on the table. The analogy is wrong but the meaning is there.

 On a hill on the way to Lushoto, there is an old German monastery and farm that is still owned by an order of German Monks. We visited there and we were really impressed how these people had st themselves up. This pic is of the chapel and beautiful flower gardens. 

They milk a number of cows in a large, clean shed. The cows are the largest I have seen anywhere - at testament to their breeding programme. 

They have a vineyard and make wine - probably the worst I have ever tasted! I bought one case of white and one of red - both were lemons! They also grow macadamia nuts, and sell them in sealed vacuum packed bags. They also employ a lot of local people training them at the same time. 

Emanuel Subvillage

Recalling my early blog about Neema - she later lived (as a house girl) on a corner that is the junction from the main thoroughfare to the subvillage of Emanuel. The village was expanding as a result of the population increase in the Ngarenanyuki area and sprawling into the dry savannah country.

I was first invited there to a meeting of the church congregation to raise up an new church building. The old building was wooden and dilapidated - it had been there for a long time by the look of it.

Of course they were keen to plant trees and care for the environment, but they also wanted funding support from our project funds.

In these cases I had to reply to in an off-the-cuff, unrehearsed speech in Kiswahili. Politely as possible saying that such building projects were outside our project brief but that we would be pleased to help with  tree planting and connect a water pipe at least as far as the church - should the lie of the land permit it.

 The group were very hospitable towards me and some of the church leaders were present. It was clear that the old building was past its use-by date. The new building seen just behind in the pic is impressive and ambitious for the area and is a credit to the congregation.
We had repaired an old water supply and we were able to take a branch line to the new church and to the primary school.

The new Emanuel Primary School is located just beyond the the new church and the Head Teacher was a woman who had taught at Olkung'wado. She seemed an expert in teaching the very young kids that were the first intake of the school. Later she had an assistant but at first she was sole charge of a very large role. It was not obvious where all the kids came from, but some would have walked some distance.
These kids were very responsive a easy to work with.

The teacher with her charges. Generally it can be seen the the uniforms are bright blue, so most student had new uniforms to start school. The material fades quickly and some kids must wear hand-me-downs from older siblings.
The kids are filing into the classroom to hear our environmental seminar - of course made simple for young kids.

All African kids sing, and sing well, but one day I took some of our guests to Emanuel Primary School and they were interested in our work there. The kids sang to them and also sang 'Tunapenda' our environmental song.
I suggested that the sing their National Anthem, and they sprang to their feet, saluting and singing the whole of the anthem with fervor and delight. The emotion of which brought our guest to tears! I'm never far away either!

They made a small pond around the standpipe we erected - that's some of the pipe offcuts in the pic. The pond collected spilt water that could be used for irrigation.
The school had few teaching resources and we were able to supply text books and some chalk. The primary schools project had ended by this time but were were able to use donated money.

The kids were physically too small to dig planting hole, so even though I gave a demonstration, I knew that older people would do the digging. However, the kids will remember because they carried out the actual planting and regular irrigation.




I will always remember the school at Emanuel and I wonder if the now young adult pupils will remember their primary teacher who taught them the value of a sense of order.

Life in Africa IX

One Christmas, we took good friends, their daughter and young Nai for a tour of Ngorongoro Crater and Manyara National Park.In those days, it was a bit of a mission travelling across the plain between Makuyuni and Mto wa Mbuu.

We stayed at the Lutheran Hostel at Karatu, which was only partially completed at the time, but none the less it was a pleasant stay and the food supplied was very good. The night guard even washed the car!

While the others slept a little later to recover from the journey, I was out as usual to explore the surroundings and found this local tree nursery. Nobody was there as it was a siku kuu - important day, ie Boxing Day but there were kids fetching water from the standpipe there. It was a very tidy little nursery with a good range of species.



Our friends were working at Dongabesh and knew Karatu much better than we did and they had made friends with the Gibb family who owned a farm and and worked at other enterprises there.
We spent a night there and and I found that they too had a very large tree nursery. The nurseryman showed me what he was doing and the techniques he used. The trees were for planting on the farm and also for sale.



There is a bush area within the precinct of Gibb's Farm farm where elephants frequent to take on certain minerals from the soil. It was a lengthy walk to get there but most interesting. Not only from the point of view of the mineral area, but also because of the bush and insect life we encountered.
Luckily no elephants came for minerals while we were there - it might have been interesting if they did!


I always felt a sense of excitement when I drove down to the floor of Ngorongoro Crater! It is an awesome thing - it was a huge volcano and its innards sunk, leaving a rimmed crater! Better folk tham me know exactly what happened, but I would expect that the ground shook somewhat. It is a caldera that happened 2 - 3 million years ago where the mountain blew apart [upwards] then sank back down into the space where magma had been. This left a crater 610m deep and circular 260 square kilometers.
All part of the Great Rift.

The environs at the time of our visit were experiencing a severe drought and the lake levels were low. Lake Magadi, called after the high levels of salts, hosts flocks of flamingos - but it is hard to get close to them so I took this opportunity to capture some. Some safari drivers illegally try to give patrons a better view - but they leave tracks.



Most of the safari drivers head for the hippo pools. You don't seem to see much of the hippos because they tend to stay submerged in the heat of the day. Of course you hear them grunting and farting and an occasional yawn. The egrets fly around in the hope of a meal.
I would guess that the water is not all that healthy!



Nai had not seen a large body of water before and was very interested. It was a good opportunity to see some of her country's natural heritage that perhaps she may not have the chance to do again. These days schools take kids to important places like Ngorongoro Crater, but very often their parents have to find the funds. Compared to tourists, the fees are low, but sadly many Tanzanians cannot afford to see the riches within their country.


Buffalo seem to survive very well in the crater because of the rough grass cover. Apparently giraffe find it difficult to move down the steep slopes so they do not enter the crater.
In the very early days, German brothers farmed the crater and tried to drive out all the Gnu/wildebeest and shot a number of black rhino - mind you, rhino running around your back paddock might be a bit daunting!




Neat, tidy Thompson's Gazelles are able to move in and out of the crater and while they are a common sight on wild life safaris, they truly are a beautiful animal. Food for the predators as well.







Vulture have a bad reputation and are not generally liked. We spotted these but they were not at a kill, but never the less they seemed to be busy interacting with each other. Looking into the sky for circling vulture is a good sign to look for when trying to locate recent kills and perhaps see big cats.
As a child I saw a movie 'Where no Vultures Fly' and it must have left an impression as I still recall it.


When it is dry, Zebras tend so show the dust n their coats. But normally they appear very clean and smooth coated.The contrast of their stripes probably contributes to their clean appearance. Though common and even seen outside conservation areas, they are a remarkable sight.




We had to rush to reach Olduvai Gorge and then be back before they closed the gate into the conservation area, but the trip was well worth it! This is the area on the Great Rift where some 3 million years ago hominid life developed. Bet they had a fright when the Ngorongoro crater was formed!
The Leakeys found a lot of fossil and archeological material - and they still work there, well the family. They found evidence of Homo habilis as well.
A fascinating place and maybe we should have found a way to stay longer. The small museum there is very well presented.

Life in Africa VIII

We were fortunate to visit the Matopos National Park in Zimbabwe. The first thing that I noticed was there appeared to be a lot of smoke. Our Safari Driver told me that this was because the traditional inhabitants of the area had been dispossessed of the homelands by the government and with no land in recompense. There only response to the situation was to scorch the landscape as they left.

Matopos is most famous for its rock formations.

This outcrop has a name that I cannot remember, but I'm sure most people will associate the form as a group of people, maybe a family. I remember similar outcrops in the way to Mwanza.
I have some fascination on the geology and how these outcrops were formed.

Rocks sitting on another huge outcrop. Some process of erosion has caused this and obviously rainfall has played a great part. Perhaps wind as well. Also time - these are ancient lands.

Yet another outcrop of rock. This is all granite kopjes eroded again eroded over time by the various forces of nature.
It is in this area that Sir Cecil Rhodes was buried [along with a number of others]. I remember from secondary school history that he was the driver behind the proposed Cape to Cairo railway.

On the way to a small village [set up for tourists] there are good examples of ancient rock art. I found this very interesting and could have spent more time but our driver was more intent on showing us a black rhino. I would have thought that Africa had the oldest rock art and that art is about what I would expect.
This is ancient stoneage -just how old is difficult to assess.



This is some of the oldest known rock art in Europe - enhanced because the rock background has been removed. It is from the Chauvet cave in France and drawn some 35 000 years ago. Still stoneage and Neanderthal peoples were in the same area at the time.




We visited a village set up for tourist and to provide an opportunity to purchase crafts. There is some difference to what we had experienced in Tanzania






There was considerable skill in the crafts made but it is a difficult life trying to make a living like this. All these crafts are available in the main centers and in other craft stalls. And tourists tend to be picky. There is also a tendency to barter unrealistically because it is thought the thing to do.




I made friends with the village kids and challenged them, and taught them the trick of placing a stone on your elbow and quickly bring your arm down so that you catch the stone in your hand. Kids remember this sort of thing and challenge each other.






There is no comparison to the wildlife in Tanzania, but our guide tried his best to locate animals. He tried to tell us that a distant warthog was in fact a rhino, but we let him believe in what he said. He did take take us to a place where we certainly could hear rhino puffing and snorting but they were not visible. In the end we did locate one but the picture I took was too distant for my camera. But for the record here is a Matopos warthog.

Heavy Rain

We had very heavy rain the other night and the drumming on the roof reminded me of the rains in Africa. That's not to say the rains were all that remarkable, in fact here in New Zealand on the Southwest corner of the South Island (Fiordland) the annual rainfall ranks one of the highest in the world!

One evening we spent with Mo & Jo in Ilboru and we were aware that the rain was very heavy and looking outside we could see that water was rising around the house. Mo & Jo had not seen this in the five years they had lived there and I made the decision to head of the Makumira before the flooding became worse.

The water was above our ankles as we waded to the wee Maruti. The windscreen wipers had difficulty coping with the rain. We waved goodbye and headed down the Ilboru road towards the main road. Water was flowing down the road like a river, lapping the bottom of the car - flowing quite quickly because the road had a gradient [maybe 1:30].
I recalled a time when I crossed a swollen Waianakarua River in the Suzuki LJ50. A light vehicle which was picked up by the flood-waters and floated some way - all ending safely enough. The Maruti was in fact a long wheel base version of the Suzuki.

The main road had not long been upgraded and there were deep water channels built as part of the upgrade - these were full and water charged across the road.
The climb up the Sanawari road was interesting as it is much steeper [1:15] and there were rough channels each side but it was a bit like a waterfall! A dirt road but it was not muddy under the water as there was good grip. From time to time water swept over the bonnet!

We reached our home safely and we were perhaps lucky to do so.

The next day I was supposed to take Joshia and his choir to Likamba and when I drove to his house, I noticed the old house that stood at the bottom of the road to the District offices, had been swept away! I found out later that a woman and her five children died when a wall of water hit their house.
This sort of thing is mentioned in the local paper but people soon forget. It is a tragedy.

Olkung'wado Primary School

We had quite an involvement with the Olkung'wado area because the church complex was the Jimbo Office for the Ngarenanyuki area. As well the local government office was located there and both the village chairman and the mtendaje supported an environmental programme. These two fellows were removed later, and probably for good reason, but that had nothing to do with me and from my point of view, they helped 'the cause'.

The church and its associated office were perched on a small hillock and the school was nearby. The track that led to them was directly off the main road/track that led from the Olkung'wado village to Ngarenanyuki village.

In those early days, within the church offices, there was the local clinic and the guy in charge of it was a relative of Loti's and I found him to be a good man and dedicated to his work. The new clinic was under construction and he moved there during the time we were there.

The village of Olkung'wado is growing quickly and building are springing up built from concrete block, which gives the village a grey appearance - especially with new corrugated iron! The village was much smaller back in 1997 and the main street, lined with small wooden dukas had the appearance of 'old west'. And I suspect some of what went on there might have been much the same! The sandy soil whipped up in the wind made everything dusty and that dust was grey. Plastic bags littered and clung to the whistling thorn trees. Goats browsed on vegetable waste including spilled rice during the market times.

The primary school must have been built much the same time as Ngarenanyuki Primary School because the buildings were in much the same condition. As usual under resourced. The teaching staff were to us, motivated and some of them became friends. The Head Teachers moved around, or were swapped, the reason was unclear to me.

Olkung'wado recieved assistance through the Primary Schools Assistance Project and were very pleased to receive the text books, teaching aids and some desks. Plus the cupboards to store the text books.

Unusually, sitting on a shelf in the Head Teacher's office was a real human skull. I asked where it had come from and was told that one of the pupils had picked it up years ago. There seemed to me there was no sense of mystery or thought of identifying the person. There was however fascination for me.

It was very good that the hand over of materials for the school were handed over in front of the whole school. The Head Teacher [who later became head teacher at Mwakeny] receives the maps and the Head Girl a box of books.

As part of the assistance package was the new toilets for the school. The school committee dug the pit - a huge pit - and the Leguruki Fundi School carried out the building. Actually they subcontracted most of the work which was to a high standard, but the doors were made at the school and never fitted despite many words to the then principal. So in the end, one of the teachers [actually from Shishtoni] borrowed a screw driver from me and fitted them himself.

When the teacher asked to borrow a screwdriver, I wanted it returned to me so told him about boomerangs. Most will know that a boomerang is an Australian throwing weapon that is supposed to return to its owner. I was actually having fun with him because if he did not return it, the cost was small. It is the conservationist/hoarder in me to hang on to stuff - I have a container of stuff. He did return the screwdriver and without my asking - and he made a good job of fitting the doors.

I have a red-handled screwdriver that I value. I acquired it in my NZFS days and used it through my nursery days for a dribbler when pricking out seedlings and as a weeding tool. I have lost it and left it where it could have been stolen/acquired - even in Tanzania - but I have always found it and it was never stolen. Mbise tried to acquire it once after I loaned it to him but it remains with me and I still use it in my small nursery here at home :)

As with all schools in Tanzania [and probably all of Africa] the kids are always ready and willing to sing. Each time we visited the teachers had prepared a small performance for us, and of course this encouraged us as well.

All this showed they were prepared to participate and were appreciative of assistance provided.

Although the Head Teacher changed from time to time, the stalwart deputy Mwl Mbise remained in his position for the whole time were were working with the school. He was great to work with and led the kids well - he had an affinity with them.

He was happy to formally accept some of the educational material that we were able to supply to the school.

The risala is a song/chant of thanks that details whatever the thanks are for. The kids generally write it but helped by the teacher involved. It is usually performed by senior girls and a neat copy is given to the person being thanked. I found the copy useful because the risala is often sung quickly and I could not pick it all up.

The girls are always shy, but they enjoy performing.

We carried out several tree planting programmes at Olkung'wado and this time the very best tree was grown by the smallest boy at the school. He was pleased to have his picture taken with the head Teacher looking on.

The teacher behind was one of the good characters we encountered in our travels.

The prize-giving ceremony was always an excuse for the whole school to be outside. I took it upon myself to look at each tree and talk to each tree planter - trying to motivate. Some kids replaced their dead tree with a fresh sprig to either trick me or hide the fact their tree had died. A hard lesson really because the kids had just the one tree and if it died, their chance for a prize was gone. Some found trees from elsewhere though.

A group of prizewinners and their prizes. The kids had asked for their prizes to be trees from our nursery, so the could plant them at home. So we had extra prize-winners.

The woman on the right was the wife of the village chairman.

The staff and I guess the school committee requested a tree nursery at the school to raise funds for the school. I was certainly not against the idea but suggested that before I put project funds into the project, they need to establish an animal-proof fence to protect the seedlings.
The complied so I was right behind them with materials and advice.

For the school to obtain maximum profits, they needed no expense and they had ready and willing labour. The kids were enthusiastic to use the new screen for the soil and cow manure each kid brought to the school. Actually this dust is not too good to breathe in - I developed a cough and Dr. Joyce suggested that I had a fungal growth on my lungs! He gave me two sets of medication and I read on the label that taking these tow together risks cardiac arrest! That was resolved by finishing one lot of the pills before taking the other.

A girl practices using the method I taught to measure the length of polythene tube to cut to make pots. They were all very careful not to waste the tubing.

I give a demonstration on filling pots. It is all basic stuff, mixing the soil and filling the pot so the soil mix does not fall out the bottom. The kids were pleased with their effort - as was I. The kids retain these basic skills and I have found that they are used in later life.

It is well known that African kids love to sing and every time we visited the school 'Tunapenda' was sung. And the kids liked to make up verses and add them, sometime making fun of me and how they saw me. Very clever really. Very often the teachers would lead in the singing.

On an inspection tour of 'big noises' [bosses if you like] Loti led the singing and was enthusiastic to show the work we were carrying out. It is always good to have critique on your work, and the value of it - in this case they seemed pleased enough with what we were doing.

Note that we supplied plastic watering cans. I liked the galvanized ones because they had a good 'rose' on them, but if not looked after, they always leaked and needed soldering. The plastic one stood up to a lot of wear and tear so were ideal for a school.

Incidentally - at this time there was no water at the school, so the kids brought some each day.

I supposed it was because of a Russian influence [Nyerere experimented with socialism and aligned with Russia for a time] that ndugu - comrade became used as a soft term of endearment among people. And the way people identified with each other.

We had the slogan [if that's the word for it] 'Mazingira juu!' Up [with the] environment! And the reply is raising an arm, sort of salute, and calling out, 'Mazingira juu, juu zaidi!' more/extra!

Despite the lack of water, the nursery was successful, but if we arrived unannounced, invariably the nursery would be dry. However that's not so bad - all the village nurseries, including mine were often on the edge of being in drought stress.

The trees were either sold or taken home by the students. It is only Grevillea robusta and Dovyalis caffra that are popular to buy. I cheated a bit here because I provided some trees from the Makumira nursery. Fruit trees and worthwhile species that I knew people would not buy, but the kids would take them home.

Loti and I inspect a young Grevillea planted out - even regularly watered, the soil packs down and water does not percolate to the roots. Mulching or trickle irrigation with a pottle/bottle is the best answer.

Not everything we did actually worked out and a prime example is the planting of the shopping and market area of Olkung'wado. It was my initiative to carry out the planting programme and was not community driven - probably the reason for the failure.

We called the village 'the grey town' because of all the concrete buildings - like the old village office here. We also noticed the market stall-holders sat exposed to the wind and sun for the whole day. My solution was to plant trees to 'green the place up!'

We asked the school to participate and we were 'given' the kids for the day - again that was a mistake - not so much as a lot of kids are difficult to control, but it would have been better for kids to take ownership of the trees they planted. Here we are getting organized for the days work.

The kids did a very good job of planting the trees and erecting the barriers. I supplied sisal sticks which were cut to length and and split into three or four depending on the diameter of each stick.

From this pic it is plain why I wanted to do this.

Mwl Mbise and I set up the sisal sticks as an example to follow - the kids had no trouble doing this.

Few of the trees survived. The local stall-holders were not prepared to water the trees nor was there a willingness to chase browsing animals away from the trees. It was usual to allow animals into the area to clean up spillage and debris from market day and the sisal barriers did not do the job!

I would have been pleased to see this part of the project work, but the people just did not accept ownership of it. Still, I would like another go at it.