A Trip to Mombassa

Mombasa is the sea port of Kenya and the Nairobi - Mombasa road is main artery road with goods coming and going as well as 'normal' traffic. The road in many places is perched above the landscape as a result of erosion, and there is just room for the two lanes - outside this there is a dangerous drop. Naturally enough lorries and buses do not want to go over the edge, so did not move over at all to accommodate oncoming traffic.

We arrived safely in Mombasa.

The original town of Mombasa was on an island in the harbor and as we were heading South we entered the island by way of a very good bridge and left the island by the Likoni Ferry. It is a short crossing and everything went smoothly.

We found a place at Diani Beach, which is a very pleasant place and we found a motel owned by Marion and expat Brit who had lived there most of her life. Hazel from Birmingham was staying with her - they were long time friends.

 Marion accommodated us in a very nice motel - well, house really. Two bedrooms, a toilet/bathroom, a kitchen and dining room-cum sitting room. If there was a fault, it was the toilet wall did not go fully to the ceiling, so anyone in there could be heard and smelt from the dining room. It was a matter of saying, 'I'm going to go!' and everyone else headed outside!
But to us it was outstanding accommodation!

Wema [maybe Mwema] was assigned to us as houseboy, our cook and cleaner. A very good fellow he was too! However we did most of the cooking and each meal, even if he cooked it, he sat at our table and shared. He liked to be given money and go to the boats to buy fresh fish for us, and bring the exact change. He wasn't required to do much cleaning either. I think he had as good a time as we had!

Our bedroom window reached almost to the floor and I was surprised to spot this monitor lizard walking along the path.
They are usually killed on sight because they eat poultry and eggs and as well their bite is said to be poison.
I enjoyed my close encounter with this fellow!
Actually Mo, while lying half asleep on the couch, saw a metre plus snake slither through our bedroom door and out that low window!

There were a number of Sykes monkeys at Diani Beach and they were cheeky. I guess because tourists fed them but even so they were troublesome.
Very good at thieving food - even came inside and stole a pot of margarine and took it up to the tree-top to devour.
I always thought I would like monkeys, but I found them to wasteful and just a pest to have around.

The sand beach was pleasant but devoid of life - over exploited. However to tout sure did exploit it! At no time could I venture out onto the beach without a 'very good offer' for anything from a drink of tea to drugs or a on-the-beach massage [behind sacks].
An expat Brit patrolled the beach, he told me that he was a Tourist Policeman. He told me that one of the problem was that young women from Europe come to Mombasa looking for a sexual experience and end up HIV positive. [He put it more crudely than that!] We certainly witnessed the sexual experience part.
We did go out on an outrigger canoe to see dolphins, but they failed to appear - I would say they lacked prey. Though I did enjoy the day. And on the trip there was a young German who wore a yellow swimsuit showing more skin to our 'boatboys' than they would eve see among their own women.

We paid a tourist visit in to Mombasa and I enjoyed the experience, especially the more traditional shops.
My bent for history was satisfied by visiting Fort Jesus. The fort was built by the Portuguese over about three years, starting 1593. Principally it was built to guard the Mombasa port.

The gunsight of an old cannon - I think it would be easy to hit a passing boat. This for was won and lost nine times and the architecture change by the Omani Arabs and the British. An interesting history.
The British used Fort Jesus as a prison and was in use until 1958.

Fort Jesus now is a museum and a World Heritage Site - and worthy of the title.






A fancy door at Fort Jesus reminiscent of those on Zanzibar.

We built up a friendship with Hazel, who had her own property in the Simba Hills and she was keen to have me look at the success of her plantings. She has been instrumental in the gazetting of an Elephant reserve adjacent to her property.
She came back to Arusha with us and visited a few of our projects. We have visited her at her Birmingham home and we remain in contact.

A part of the Simba Hills where [I'm guessing] the Elephant reserve has been established.
Hazel lived quite high up the mountain amongst the rainforest.

Hazel told me that there was a spring nearby that was the 'original' water source for the town of Mombasa. This interested me and an employee of Hazel took me on a bit of a route march to find the spring.
It was situated quite high and in a rocky gulley and while water is not visible in this picture, the stream was quite strong. The scheme is not operational at all - not even for villages further down the mountain.

My guide sits on the water tank, which I guess was a holding tank for the Mombasa water supply.
For the work that has gone into this project there must be a reasonable. if overgrown track into the area but we never found it.




We wanted to go home via Lake Jipe, but there had been flooding and the road, we guesses would have been troublesome.
We headed South towards Tanga and the remarkable thing was that one of the Tanzania boarder people called himself  'Kia Ora' which a Maori  greeting. It turns out that he had heard the phrase and liked it and just called himself that name.

We enjoyed our tour to Mombasa, and Hazel returned with us for a visit to our area.

Ngarenanyuki Secondary School

The Ngarenanyuki Secondary School is situated on the main road through the area, just before the high bridge that crosses the Ngarenanyuki River.

The school has its own website now, and that probably marks the difference to the school as it was when I first visited there in 1997.

Ngarenanyuki Secondary School is a DME school and in those early days, struggled financially through the results of the Meru Crisis and the relatively recent establishment of the diocese.

Among the spiel provided by the Agency before we went to Tanzania was that only 6% of all primary school students were able to go on to attend secondary school. I have no reason to dispute this figure and happily the percentage is far higher these days.

So even though the facilities at the school were few in those earlier days, it does show that DME were forward thinking in providing the educational opportunity.

From my personal point of view, I really enjoyed seeing pupils from the various primary schools that we worked with, progress with secondary school education. Some of these pupils held responsible roles in the primary schools and I knew that they looked forward to their continued education.

That's positive!

Social demography is way beyond me, but it would be interesting to research the influences of what I noticed, as on outsider, at the school.

Ngarenanyuki is an isolated place and as such, it was a good place to send students, say from Dar es Salaam, who were 'disruptive' or worse. Of course the school would be happy to receive fees from the parents of these students because local parent probably were more tardy in their payment.

It would be interesting to quantify how this effected the school and the whole area of Ngarenanyuki.

The old school was built from timber and the weatherboards were treated with waste engine oil. During the dry season dust clung and settled on everything. The administration block was cooler and built with concrete blocks.

The Headmaster was the elder of the Somi brothers, we knew the younger brother, whose name we didn't know at the time so we called him 'Bwana Tie' as he was always smartly dressed and wore a tie. Actually the name stuck as far as we were concerned.

The elder brother eventually became Headmaster at Leguruki Secondary School and Bwana Tie [James] became Headmaster at Ngarenanyuki Secondary School.

As an introduction to our first seminar at the school, the the Headmaster introduced us using English, but a direct translation from Kiswahili which was very polite. Unexpected but nice to hear.

The students took part in the seminars and were very happy learn what we had to offer. We carried out a planting programme there with some success.

Later, Mwl Mashoya who we knew as Deputy Head of Makumira Secondary School became Headmaster of Ngarenanyuki. We liked this Mashoya and visited his home place on the slopes of Mt.Kilimanjaro - therefore he was of the Chugga tribe.

There was no need for us to become involved in assistance programmes for the school because they were receiving good assistance through the work of a German Pastor who seemed to have access to funding from Germany. This developed the school in a very positive way.  

During Mwl Mashoya's time at the school, we supplied trees for planting throughout the school area and carried out environmental seminars.

There was some cloud or other as Mwl Mashoya was replaced by James Somi which I put down to internal politics and I like to distance myself from politics.

Somi though has been a success at the school and he asked us to assist in the establishment of a tree nursery at the school which we were able to do.

I think the students at Ngarenanyuki are well-grounded.

A seminar in one of the timber classrooms. The gaps between the boards can be an advantage during the warm season but causes a problem with dust when the wind blows.

A demonstration of the planting technique. This was during the dry season and I was planting into dust! However by adding dry cow manure to increase the organic content has the effect of holding moisture and because there is water available at the school, artificial watering is not a problem - as long as time is allocated to the task.

This young fellow planted a Loquat tree in the prepared hole. I used to buy Loquat fruits at Lushoto and then give the fruit to people around Makumira who returned the seed to me. The trees were then grown in the Makumira nursery.

Quite a bit has gone into the production of these seedlings.

The followup to all planting is to make sure moisture levels are adequate. The porous, sandy soil at Ngarenanyuki loses water quite quickly.

At this time each tree was given perhaps 10 litres of water, which is a good start.

Clearing vacant ground to establish the school tree nursery.
It was a good site, under trees which provides adequate shade.
The students removed the rough vegetation and leveled the site.

Once cleared, some measurement was required to create an area that was a rectangle. The shape does not matter two hoots to the trees or to nursery production. It is good though because it is rare that students have a practical opportunity to use geometry.

There is a small skill in cutting the polythene tubing to size - again it is a practical exercise of mathematics. The student wanted to actually understand the principles of what they were doing.

The mixing and sieving of soil is an important part of the process. Oh sure it is ok to just use soil and fill the pot, but making good mix without lumps makes the soil better to work with and always produces a better plant.

And then there is the filling of pots. Remember that the pots are made from polythene tubing, so there is no bottom to the pot. This means that the pot must be packed with soil properly, so that when it is lifted or carried, soil does not fall out. On the other hand, 'plants will not grow in bricks' - in other words, the soil should not be packed too tightly.

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.