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t h e i n f l i g h t m a g a z i n e o f a i r u g a n d a p a r t o f t h e

y o u r c o m p l i m e n t a r y c o p y

i s s u e n u m b e r 0 0 5 f e b r u a r y – a p r i l 2 0 1 1

Welcome Aboard!

On behalf of all my colleagues at Air Uganda, I welcome you aboard

this U7 flight and thank you for choosing to fly with us today.

Please relax and our crew will get you to your destination safely,

comfortably and on time.

Air Uganda is a member of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development

(AKFED) and a member of Group Celestair, with partner airlines Air Burkina

and Air Mali. We aim to align Air Uganda with the Celestair Group Human

Resources Strategy by providing a structure that identifies with the

organisation’s values, promotes the growth of people and talent, encourages teamwork, and values training,

while embracing change.

As the Human Resources Manager, I am tasked with ensuring that the company has employees with the

knowledge, skills and attitude to exceed your expectations in our service delivery. With this in mind, I am to

set up and create a business partnership with all stakeholders through attracting, developing, and retaining

a highly qualified and diverse workforce, creating a culture that promotes quality service and excellence

throughout the company.

The aviation industry is highly regulated and therefore, to meet the standards of the Civil Aviation Authority,

training is a core and valued aspect in our company. We carry out routine proficiency checks for the cockpit

crew, refresher training for the cabin crew, maintenance engineers and airport supervisors. To keep abreast

with the competition in the industry, all employees in the company undergo customer care training and team

building sessions which equip them with skills to serve you better.

At Air Uganda, we value performance management to help us identify talent for the future and develop our

people for growth and implementation of Air Uganda’s Vision.

Air Uganda is a growing company that is constantly expanding its network across East Africa and therefore

job opportunities are often available. Potential candidates for advertised positions can send their resumés to

[email protected] or visit our website on www.air-uganda.com for more details.

Finally, I would like to extend my warm gratitude for the continued support, encouragement, and ideas for

improvement that our customers have suggested and we look forward to seeing you on this U7 flight again.

Thank you for flying with us and we look forward to serving you in 2011.

John Kasangaki

Human Resources Manager

EDITORIAL

CONTENTS

REGULARS

Editorial by Human Resources Manager, Air Uganda

Book World

News Page

Air Uganda Flight Schedule

Healthy Travelling

Route Map

Offices

Tips for the Traveller

Crossword Puzzle & Sudoku

Cover picture: Exhilarating white-water rafting on the White Nile near Jinja.

1

25

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

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6 JINJA If you’re seeking an adrenaline rush amidst some of the most spectacular scenery in Uganda, you’ll be well rewarded for charting a course to Jinja.

12 KENYA’S CAPITAL CITY, NAIROBIExplore Nairobi -- now regarded as the economic capital of much of east and central Africa and an excellent centre to visit for business or leisure.

18 TWO TANZANIAN SAFARIS WITH A TWIST There is nothing quite like being on an African safari.

22 SOUTHERN SUDAN BEYOND JUBA A journey into Southern Sudan offers a unique insight into the life of the Dinka people.

26 OUT OF AFRICAVisit Kenya and recapture a little of its magic by exploring some of the places associated with the renowned author, Karen Blixen.

30 CAT CALLSHere is a brief guide to enhance your encounters with Africa’s majestic felines.

34 SEEING RED Just about every culture celebrates New Year, but none more heartily than the Chinese.

38 EXQUISITENESS OF THE BLUE GEMS Insight into the new blue gemstones that are making headlines …

40 WORK-LIFE BALANCEIn this world of a seemingly increasing pressure, is it really feasible to seek this balance?

42 EXERCISE COULD HELP WOMEN ON BED RESTHere is a message for women and their doctors.

44 WHAT PROBIOTICS CAN DO FOR YOUDiscover why life on earth would be impossible without these tiny chemical wizards.

12

22

Camerapix Magazines Ltd Rukhsana Haq

Roger Barnard

Cecilia W. Gaitho

Sam Kimani Fatima Janmohamed Azra Chaudhry, U.K Rose Judha

Rukhsana HaqJenifer B. MusiimeRegina Busingye

Publishers:

Editorial Director:

Editor:

Editorial Assistant:

Senior Designer:

Design Assistant:

Production Manager:

Production Assistant:

Editorial Board:

ASANTE meaning ‘Thank you’ in Kiswahili

is published quarterly for Air Uganda

by Camerapix Magazines Limited

P.O.Box 45048,00100 GPO Nairobi, Kenya

Telephone: +254 (20) 4448923/4/5

Fax: +254 (20) 4448818 or 4441021

E-mail: [email protected]

Editorial and Advertising Office:

Camerapix Magazines (UK) Limited

32 Friars Walk, Southgate, London, N14 5LP

Tel: +44 (20) 8361 2942

Mobile: +44 79411 21458

E-mail: [email protected]

Correspondance on editorial and advertising

matters may be sent to either of

the above addresses.

©2011

CAMERAPIX MAGAZINES LTD

All rights reserved. No part of this

magazine may be reproduced by any means

without permission in writing from

the publisher.

All photographs by Camerapix unless

otherwise indicated.

WELCOME ABOARD

6 JINJA If you’re seeking an adrenaline rush amidst some of the most spectacular scenery in Uganda, you’ll be well rewarded for charting a course to Jinja.

6

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42 44

40

Round Square is an odd phrase to theuninitiated, but is is the name given to agroup of 80 like-minded schools

worldwide that share a common educationalphilosophy based on developing leadership skillsin young people through service to others. In theleafy suburb of Langata, Nairobi’s BrookhouseSchool is one such Round Square member school,devoted to the development of each child as aresponsible contributor to society.

With outstanding academic results eachyear and a vast range of extra-curricularactivities, Brookhouse prides itself on nurturingthe unique talents and aspirations of each pupil,sending graduates every year to the finestuniversities around the globe, including the UKand Canada’s leading institutions of higherlearning, Ivy League colleges in the USA and theGroup of 8 foremost universities in Australia.

The Brookhouse Boarding House ishome to children from across Africa and beyond,with forty different nationalities representedamongst the student body. This focus oninternationalism is a key element of the RoundSquare philosophy and part of what makes theschool a very special place. The boardingfacilities at Brookhouse are extensive, leadingmany parents to choose this option for theirchildren.

Brookhouse standards are maintainedthrough full accreditation with the Council ofInternational Schools and IAPS, organisationsthat provide the most stringent benchmarksagainst which the school is judged in terms ofacademic delivery and good governance. Indeed,Brookhouse has the distinction of being the onlyinternational school in East Africa to hold bothCIS and IAPS accreditations, providing parentswith the security of knowing they are investing in

quality education provided by a secure and stableinstitution.

At Brookhouse one can see the signs ofconstant reinvestment to meet the academic andextra-curricular demands of a 21st Centuryeducation: flat screen Mac computers, all fullynetworked with e-mail and internet access inseveral computer laboratories; a gymnasium andindoor sports centre that would not be out ofplace in a 5 star hotel; well equipped specialistscience laboratories; Art & Design and Musicstudios; and a theatre that can lay claim to beingthe finest performance venue in the region. Ofcourse, the most well known facility atBrookhouse would have to be the “castle style”primary school, already a landmark alongLangata Road, which has set new standards ininnovative school design for East Africa.

A strict code of conduct to ensure highstandards of manners, behaviour and respect,plus an ongoing focus on serious academicachievement are key features of a Brookhouseeducation, and the students also seem to alwaysbe busy extending themselves: whether it is inthe choir or orchestra, Model United Nations orthe President’s Award Scheme, sporting teams orschool plays, as all such activities are an integralpart of what makes for a full and roundededucation at the school.

So then, for parents choosing theinternational school environment for theeducation of their children there is much toconsider in the standards set by Brookhouse, andalthough there is no denying that it is asignficant financial undertaking for any parent, itis also true that a first-class education is thegreatest investment a parent can make in thefuture for their children. A visit to Brookhouseonly reaffirms this.

In NairobiBrookhouse

School isleading the

way ininternationaleducation forchildren fromforty nations

Choosing the right school in East Africa is a complicated matterfor all parents; setting the standard internationally is one leadingschool in Nairobi...

For further information please contact: www.brookhouse.ac.ke

msafiri article 2010:msafiri article.qxd 10/8/2010 9:45 AM Page 1

february – april 2011 | asante | 5

6 | asante | february – april 2011

The White Nile near Jinja, Uganda’s second largest town

has become known as the adventure sports capital of East

Africa, for the river here has several grade five rapids

which offer exhilarating white-water rafting on a par with the

world-renowned Zambezi Gorge below Victoria Falls.

Less than 17 years ago, tourism activity on the Nile north of

Jinja was limited to a peaceful picnic site at the Bujagali Falls

– a series of impressive rapids about 10 kilometres (6 miles)

downriver of the source of the Nile – visited by a handful of

travellers annually. Today, the eastern bank of the Nile between

Jinja and Bujagali has developed into a world-class

adventure-tourism centre, serviced by four bustling backpacker

facilities, and an upmarket tented camp and hotel. This is

because the 50 kilometres (31 miles) stretch of the Nile north

of Jinja is now a mecca for white-water rafting, river surfing,

kayaking, bungee jumping, jet-boat riding and quad biking.

All the rapids at the Bujagali Falls are named to heighten

the anticipation, for instance: ‘Total Gunga’, ‘Silverback’, ‘Rib

Cage’ and ‘Surf City’. Jinja is at the head of the Napoleon Gulf,

on the northern edge of Lake Victoria, and lies on the east

bank of the Victoria Nile. The town is perhaps best known for

being the source of the Nile. Even as it leaves the lake, the Nile

is a surprisingly large river and it is a bit spooky to think of it

destination: uganda

wandering north for 6,437 kilometres (4,000 miles) until it

reaches the Mediterranean Sea.

In the middle of the 19th century, the river Nile, one of the

greatest remaining challenges for explorers, still had its origins

behind a barrier of fetid swamps, fatal diseases and seemingly

ferocious tribesmen. Its mystery was compounded by reports of

fabulous lakes and mountains.

This challenge fired the imagination of the British Royal

Geographical Society (RGS), who had a particular interest

in determining the source of the Nile. Thus, in a series of

expeditions between 1856 and 1877, several British explorers

were sent to unravel the mystery of the source of the Nile.

This river, the longest in the world, flowed through the desert,

yet brought life in its floodwater every year. Where did all this

water come from? The Sudd (Arabic for obstacle) – a huge,

papyrus-clogged swamp, thwarted earlier attempts to follow the

river upstream.

Until 1856 little was known of the source of the Nile, the

great river that was the cradle of western civilisation, that had

been known to the Greek geographer Ptolemy in AD 150. He

had reported that the Nile originated in two great lakes in central

Africa about 10 degrees south of the Equator, and flanked by the

peaks of the ‘Mountains of the Moon’. This explanation had been

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Above:

The White

Nile near

Jinja, has

several grade

five rapids

which offer

exhilarating

white-water

rafting.

JINJA Attractively Lush, Adrenaline Rush

By Peter Holthusen.


The White Nile near Jinja, has become known as the adventure sports capital of East Africa.

Above:

The latest

activity on

the rapids is

Adrift’s

adrenaline-

soaked

jet-boat

Wild Nile Jet.

Left:

Two

kilometres

upstream

beside the Jinja

Nile Resort is

the Nile High

Camp which

has a 44

metres

bungee jump.

incorporated in a map made by an Arab geographer about

AD 1100.

In the mid-1850s, the mysteries of the Niger and the Blue Nile

solved, scientific curiosity reverted to the next of Africa’s great

rivers, the White Nile. European missionaries and traders had

ascended it as far as the border of Uganda, but beyond here

its course was unknown. Finally, in 1862, John Hanning Speke

correctly identified Ripon Falls as the source of the Nile, a theory

that would be confirmed by Henry Morton Stanley in 1875.

Speke named the falls after the Marquess of Ripon, a former

President of the RGS, while a second set of rapids about one

kilometre downriver subsequently became known as Owen

Falls, after Major Roddy Owen, a member of Sir Gerald Portal’s

1893 expedition to Uganda. But the local name for the site has

survived too, since Jinja is a corruption of ‘Ejjinja’ (The Place of

Flat Rocks), which is not only the original Luganda name for the

Ripon Falls, but also that of a village and associated sacrificial

stone that stood close by.

Jinja lies in southeastern Uganda, approximately 87 kilometres

(54 miles) by road, east of Kampala. The city is considered the >>

destination: uganda

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destination: uganda

capital of the Kingdom of Busoga. It was formerly the industrial

heartland of Uganda, and its present population stands at

138,000, which includes Njeru directly across the river.

An informal settlement was founded at Jinja in 1900, when the

rocky waterfall was selected as the most suitable place for the

telegraph line to Kampala to cross the Nile. Before 1900, Jinja

was a small fishing village that benefited from being located on

the long-distance trade routes

Jinja’s rapid emergence as a pivotal commercial centre and

international transport hub was encouraged by the completion

of the railway line from Mombasa, 1,400 kilometres (900 miles)

away, to the Kenyan lake port of Kisumu, and the introduction of

a connecting ferry service. Cotton packing, nearby sugar estates,

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Above:

Construction

of the Owen

Falls Dam

changed the

face of Jinja

forever.

Inset:

Whitewashed

walls and

neatly

manicured

lawn of the

Jinja Post

Office.

>>

and railway access all enabled Jinja to grow

in size. By 1906, a street pattern had

been laid out, and Indian traders moved in,

establishing a small community in 1910.

The local economy was further boosted

by the successful introduction of cotton as

a cash crop for export, and by the construction of a railway

line north to Namasagali in 1912. Further growth took place

in 1928 when British-American Tobacco Uganda (BATU)

established a tobacco processing factory in Jinja.

In 1954, with the opening of the Owen Falls Dam, (later

renamed Nalubaale Power Station), the Ripon Falls were

submerged. Most of the ‘Flat Rocks’ that gave the area its name

disappeared under the water as well. However, the dam meant

that Jinja enjoyed clean, potable water on tap and an unwavering

electricity supply.

Jinja’s proximity to this reliable source of cheap electricity

proved attractive to industry, and several companies, including

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been mirrored by the emergence of the river corridor as a major

tourism centre in the region, with the emphasis strongly on

adrenalin-orientated activities.

The Bujagali Falls, which lies downstream of the source of

the Nile, an hour’s drive east of Kampala, is the launching point

for a commercial white-water rafting route that ranks as one of

the most thrilling and safest in the world, passing through three

heart-stopping grade five rapids in one day.

There are several companies offering a variety of itineraries

without compromise. A typical itinerary would include a transfer

from your hotel at Jinja. After a full safety demonstration you will

then enjoy a half-day adventure white-water rafting. With lots of

good rapids, including the mighty ‘Itanda’ (The Bad Place) and a

beautiful river with spectacular flora and fauna, there are some

very exciting sections with space between to lie back and float

along taking in the scenery and enjoying the wildlife, particularly

the many species of birds to be found here. >>

destination: uganda

the Manchester-based Calico Printers Association, in association

with the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), constructed a

large textile mill (Nyanza Textile Industries Limited), known locally

as ‘Nytil’. By 1973 the company employed about 3,000 people

and exclusively used Ugandan cotton to spin, weave, and dye or

print, to sell via its own retail chain, Lebel, throughout Uganda

and Kenya. Genuine Nytil fabric was recognised by the ‘Silver

Shilling’ – a foil piece resembling a shilling which was inserted at

approximately one metre intervals along the edge of every length

of cloth produced.

As Jinja grew, new roads were constructed, serving the

many who lived outside the town. Each morning in the 1960s

there would be a line of two-wheel traffic heading for the

sokoni or marketplace with cargoes of bananas or sacks of

charcoal.

Jinja suffered during the 1970s and subsequent periods of

economic turmoil, but a more recent economic upswing has

Above:

The railway

bridge

spanning

the Nile was

opened in

1931.

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nearby Mabira Forest Reserve, which straddles the Kampala-

Jinja road about 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Jinja, is one of

the largest forest areas in Central Uganda. This popular nature

park hosts grasslands, forested valleys and an astonishing

variety of bird and monkey species.

Apart from its natural attractions, Jinja also offers a

variety of fascinating cultural sites such as the Satya Narayan

Hindu Temple with its bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi,

commemorating one of the spots where his ashes were

scattered. For a less religious experience, Jinja also hosts

the famous Nile Brewery in Njeru, which gives you a taste of

a local beer that is very popular in Africa, the Nile Special

Lager.

Possibilities for nightlife in Jinja are quite modest, although

some bars and restaurants such as Black Lantern, Bujagali’s

premier dining destination, and Gately on Nile, a uniquely

renovated grand colonial guest house on the shores of Lake

Victoria, which offers a Bistro-style menu of continental dishes

spiced by an authentic Thai cuisine, are well worth a visit.

A visit to this enchanting city on the shores of Africa’s largest

lake will not disappoint. It is the human psyche that demands we

discover and explore. If you’re seeking an adrenaline rush amidst

some of the most spectacular scenery in Uganda, you’ll be well

rewarded for charting a course to Jinja.

destination: uganda

Above:

Sun deck

at the Wild

Waters Lodge

overlooking the

rapids at the

Bujagali Falls.

Two kilometres upstream beside the Jinja Nile Resort is the

Nile High Camp which has a 44 metres bungee jump. Here,

intrepid jumpers leap from a 12 metres cantilevered steel

structure on top of a towering cliff above the Nile. If you want

an extra adrenaline rush, there is the option of being dipped into

the river on a longer bungee. Often performing at this site is the

‘Ugandan Acrobatic’, Jeremiah Bazale.

Another form of adrenaline rush is supplied by Uganda’s first

jet-boat Wild Nile Jet, a 12-seater beast powered by a 450

horsepower Chevrolet engine and capable of speeds of over

90 kilometres per hour (60 metres per hour). The 30-minute

assault on the river won’t reduce your carbon footprint, but it’s

an amazing white-knuckle ride, racing up and down minor rapids,

throwing 360 spins and playing chicken with riverine rocks

Kayaking, river surfing and quad biking trips are available for those

seeking solitude in a magical setting.

Fishing for Nile perch and tilapia attracts many anglers to the

Bujagali Falls. The fast-flowing waters above and below the falls

are probably the best places from which to cast off. The king

of the freshwater fish is without doubt the massive Nile perch,

while the much smaller tilapia, which makes good eating, can be

found on the menus of many of Kampala’s finest restaurants.

The actual ‘Source of the Nile’ is marked by a plaque, but if

you are seeking to explore the natural wonders of the area, the

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The Bujagali Falls is the launching point for a commercial white-water rafting route that ranks as one of the most thrilling and safest in the world.


destination: kenya

The fact that Nairobi has grown in a little over 100 years

from nothing into a city of more than three million people

in an area of about 700 square kilometres (270 square

miles) is remarkable enough. But it is also a brawling, dynamic

maelstrom of cultures and enterprises that reflects its

melting-pot heritage.

The city sometimes seems a little contradictory and

eccentric. Indeed, Nairobi only arose as a secondary coincidence

of George Whitehouse’s unwavering ambition and steely

determination to build a railway line from the Kenyan coast to

Lake Victoria. As General Manager

of the Uganda railway, Whitehouse

was no visionary in matters

metropolitan and he chose

Nairobi (Maasai for ‘place

of the cool waters’) as his

main upcountry railhead.

Nairobi, then just a bleak and

disease-infested swamp, was,

in engineering terms, the

last piece of totally flat ground

KENYA’S Capital City, Nairobi

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Nairobi extends to all-comers the warmth of a golden welcome. Asante explores this city in the sun.

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Today, Nairobi is not just the capital city of Kenya but the economic capital of much of east and central Africa.

before the hard climb up the eastern shoulders of the Great Rift

Valley escarpment.

It is doubtful if the thought that ‘Nairobi might one day be an

important capital’ ever crossed Whitehouse’s mind: otherwise he

might have chosen a more suitable location. But, like so much of

Kenya in the first 50 years of the 20th century, Nairobi evolved

spontaneously, half-way between the Indian Ocean and the lake.

In less than a year after the railhead was established, on 16 April

1900, Nairobi was given township status by the Zanzibar-based

British consul-general, Sir Arthur Hardinge.

The first town clerk was appointed in 1904, by which time

Nairobi was a municipality covering 104 square kilometres (40

square miles). It was invested as a city on 30 March 1950 when

the visiting Duke of Gloucester presented a Royal charter on

behalf of Great Britain’s King George VI.

Kenya attained independence on 12 December 1963,

an event that took place at Uhuru Gardens, Kenya’s largest

memorial park, located along Lang’ata road in Nairobi. The Uhuru

(meaning freedom) Gardens was given the name in memory of

Kenya’s struggle for independence. In 1988, 25 years later,

the Independence Monument was constructed in Uhuru Park,

a famous recreational Park, along Uhuru Highway. Uhuru Park

surrounds a man-made lake and hosts various political and

religious meetings. Adjacent to Uhuru Park is Central Park which

contains a memorial Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the first president

of Kenya.

At independence, the

population was estimated

at half a million and the city

covered an area of 350 square

kilometres (135 square miles). Presently,

Kenya continues to grow at an astonishing

speed and with great energy if, at times,

seemingly without control. Despite its

shantytown origins, to which many suburban

areas seem to be reverting, Nairobi remains truly

memorable in the contrasts and experiences it affords.

Today, Nairobi is not just the capital city of Kenya but the

economic, if not political, capital of much of east and central

Africa, as well as the headquarters of the United Nations

Environment Programme (UNEP).

Situated approximately 500 kilometres (300 miles) from the

coast and 1,670 metres (5,500 feet) above sea level in the city

centre, the metropolitan area stretches from the Embakasi plains

in the east up the once-wooded slopes of the eastern wall of the

Great Rift Valley in the west, from the Ngong hills in the south to

the foothills of the Aberdare mountains in the north.

Blessed with a pleasant, temperate climate all the year round,

Nairobi is best in September when the jacaranda, bougainvillea

and flame trees bloom. Most rain falls in April/ May and

November and between June and August the skies are often

heavily overcast.

>>

Opposite:

Nairobi’s

buildings

stand in

silhouette

against the

evening sky.

Below:

Uhuru Park

panorama,

Nairobi. International flights serve Nairobi daily from many centres in

Europe, as well as regular scheduled services from America

and Asia. Refurbished in 1991 with many improved passenger

facilities and well equipped duty free shopping mall, Nairobi’s

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is one of the busiest

in Africa.

From there, the tarmacadamed broad dual carriageway,

currently undergoing major improvements. Starts as Mombasa

Highway and connects JKIA, to the city and beyond. It slices

through part of the industrial area which houses, among others,

Nairobi’s inland port with its giant container terminal, the

General Motors vehicle assembly plant and the Firestone tyre

factory. It is hard to imagine that, nearby, wildlife roams free in

the Nairobi National Park which celebrated its 60th anniversary

in 2007.

With its savannah plains, swamps, gallery forests, valleys

and gorges, the park is a rare legacy for any city. More than

80 mammal species have been recorded – including black rhino

and several prides of lions – and some 500 species of bird life.

Hippo and crocodile live in the Athi River and the park’s several

ponds and waterholes. At close proximity and overlooking the

Nairobi National Park is the African Heritage House that offers


spectacular views and has a blend of the mud architecture from

across Africa.

Situated at Nairobi railway station, near the city centre is the

Kenya Railways headquarters. The railway station has changed

little over the years, a reminder of the great days of steam.

Trains travel from there daily, south to Mombasa and north to the

Kenya highlands and beyond to Kampala, Uganda, as well as to

Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria.

The Railway Museum, located near the railway station, is a

‘must’ for steam buffs. Along with several old steam locomotives,

including the massive Garratt articulated juggernauts; one can sit

in the carriage from which railways police inspector Charles Ryall

was dragged to his death by one of the infamous man-eating lions

of Tsavo more than 100 years ago.

Approaching the city centre from the airport, past the Nyayo

stadium (crammed at weekends by football fans watching their

favourite teams in action) the city centre skyline is outlined by

a number of strikingly attractive, modern high-rise buildings,

including the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC),

a premiere events venue in Africa, with its 33-storey tower

block, amphitheatre and plenary hall seating 4,000. Since

its construction in the early 1970s, KICC has hosted many

major conferences and brought countless visitors to Nairobi.

Neighbouring KICC is City Hall (1937) which lies across the road

next to the old law courts designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

The Parliament Buildings, built in the 1950s to the design of

the architects Amyas Connell and Thornley Dyer, are a focal point

of the city’s master plan, drawn up initially in 1948. A tour of the

Parliament Buildings can be arranged through the sergeant-at-

arms. The remains of Kenya’s first president of the republic, Mzee

Jomo Kenyatta, lie in a mausoleum in the buildings’ grounds.

All Saints Cathedral (Anglican), on Kenyatta Avenue, is another

national landmark, as is a small protected building at the Kenyatta

Avenue/ Uhuru Highway roundabout, the now sadly neglected

1913 Nairobi provincial commissioner’s office.

The McMillan Library on Banda Street, guarded by two

handsome stone lions, was donated to the city by Lady McMillan

as a memorial to her husband, Sir William Northrup McMillan,

knighted for his services to East Africa during the First World

War. The Jamia mosque, the city’s main Muslim place of worship,

stands next to the library, beautiful when it is illuminated by night.

The colourful city market and bazaar area are in this same vicinity,

both worth visiting, if only to see how Nairobi lives. This is a good

place to buy Kenyan carvings and other souvenirs.

A quaint reminder of times past can be found in Jeevanjee

Gardens, to the left of Moi Avenue when heading out of the city. It is

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>> Above:

A snapshot

of Nairobi’s

resplendent

thoroughfare

in the central

business

district.

>>

Nairobi is an excellent centre to visit for business or leisure since it is well-served with international standard facilities.


the stone statue of Queen Victoria, unveiled by her son, the Duke of

Connaught, in March 1906. The gardens, the city’s first recreational

area, were donated to Nairobi by A M ‘Haj’ Jeevanjee, who made

his fortune as a railway contractor. A favourite lunchtime spot of

Nairobi’s workers and itinerant preachers who noisily harangue

them, the gardens are transformed toward the last quarter of each

year when their jacaranda trees come into full bloom.

Major hotels in the city centre include: opposite the National

Archives on Moi avenue, the Nairobi Hilton, around which much

of Nairobi’s traffic seems to speed non-stop whatever the time of

day; the New Stanley Hotel, with its famous Thorn Tree pavement

café, at the ever-busy intersection of Kenyatta Avenue and

Kimathi Street; the 680 Hotel on Kenyatta Avenue; the Nairobi

Intercontinental, opposite the Holy Family Basilica Cathedral on City

Hall Way; the park-facing Nairobi Serena, on Nyerere road just

off Kenyatta Avenue; the Panafric at the top of Kenyatta avenue;

the Grand Regency, off the Uhuru highway; the elegant Nairobi

Safari Club on University Way and, on Harry Thuku road past

Nairobi University, the tradition-preserving, legend-creating Norfolk

Hotel which has stood on the same site since 1904. Out-of-town-

centre hotels, several of which provide regular commuter services

to and from the city and lie in their own spacious gardens, include

the Fairview, the Boulevard, the Landmark, the Mayfair Court and

the Safari Park Hotel.

In recent years, much of Nairobi’s action has moved away from

the city centre, with its acute parking problems, to suburbs such

as Westlands, Hurlingham, Lavington, Karen and Muthaiga.

Shopping malls provide adequate parking whilst you visit the

shops, coffee bars and restaurants, although most visitors will

probably use one of the many taxis that are available around

the city. There are some good restaurants, too, at Karen,

a visit to which can be combined with an Out of Africa trip to the

Karen Blixen Museum in the shadow of the five-knuckle Ngong-

Hills.

For the sports-crazy nation which excels not least in football

and athletics, the vast Moi International Sports Complex at

Kasarani, with its 60,000-seat arena, lies 15 kilometres (9

miles) beyond the city centre. Other popular leisure facilities on

Nairobi’s perimeter include the City Park; the magnificently treed

Arboretum, social, golf and sailing clubs; a fine race-course off

the Ngong Road where horse racing takes place most Sunday

afternoons of the year, and the Bomas of Kenya, one of the

largest theatres in East Africa, where the rich wonderful diverse

cultures that make up Kenya are showcased. For souvenir

hunters, the vibrant and exciting Maasai Market offers diverse

colourful displays of artisan’s products.

Nairobi is an excellent centre to visit for business or leisure

since it is well-served with international standard facilities. It is

certainly worth spending two or three days there as part of a

longer holiday to Kenya. It’s fresh, temperate climate providing a

refreshing contrast to the sultry heat of the coastal beaches and

the hot and dusty game parks.

Pho

to ©

Cam

erap

ix

Above:

Nairobi

National Park,

in which these

two rhino live

is less

than 10

kilometres

from the

legendary

Kenyatta

International

Conference

Centre.

destination: kenya

>>



Above:

A rare treat –

champagne

breakfast at

the Serengeti

plains.

destination: tanzania

Hot air ballooning over the Serengeti – Tanzania

If I feel too hot, I can ascend; if too cold, I can come down.

Should there be a mountain, I can pass over it; a precipice, I

can sweep across it; a river, I can sail beyond it; a storm, I can

rise away above it; a torrent, I can skim it like a bird!

I can speed onward with the rapidity of a tornado, sometimes

at the loftiest heights, sometimes only a hundred feet above the

soil, while the map of Africa unrolls itself beneath my gaze in the

great atlas of the world.”

Jules Verne – Five Weeks in a Balloon

Whether or not you’re a fan of Jules Verne, there is something

incredibly adventurous and romantic about the idea of hot air

ballooning. Add the vast golden game-rich plains of the Serengeti

to the equation and you have an unforgettable safari.

The stars are still sparkling when we are collected from our

central Serengeti campsite for a hot air balloon safari. Having just

started five weeks in a Balloon, mum is particularly excited about

the rare chance to see Africa from above.

We arrive at a large field and are told to stay in the

four-wheel-drive; lions occasionally venture into the area.

We can make out the shape of the 16-man basket on its side.

A green and gold striped balloon, a mind-boggling 14-storeys

high, lies limp on the grass.

As night’s dark blanket lifts and more Range Rovers pull up we

all pile out for the safety briefing. Aside from a bunch of strangers

needing to lie horizontally on top of each other in the two-person

compartments – take off sounds pretty easy. Jason, our pilot,

pulls heartily on ropes and pumps the gas until he is red-faced.

Before we have a chance to bid terra firma farewell, we are

upright and drifting gently off the ground.

The flight follows the Seronera river, wriggling like a silvery

snake below us.

Hyenas pounce as if playing an invisible game and we are

treated to the rare sight of hippos out of the water. We are

rising with the sun.

When Jason isn’t filling the balloon with loud shots from the

powerful whisper burners, we are absorbed in the silence of the

sleepy Serengeti. The first lion is on its own under a tree, a little

too far away to get excited about. Then we fly right over the top

of a pride that sits and watches us glide by with a look that

seems more filled with hunger than curiousity.

For most of the flight we are in line with the treetops but

still above the birds and their nests. When we reach the open

Two Tanzanian Safaris with a Twist

Pho

tos

© C

hris

tine

O’M

aley

There is nothing quite like being on an African safari. Hanging out the roof of a jeep, the hot savannah air blowing through your

hair like a hairdryer on full bore and the endless anticipation – what will we see next? It is one of my all time favourite things to do,

says Christine O’Maley. However, she found there are other ways to take in this vast wilderness.


Right:

‘We are

treated to the

rare sight of

hippos out of

the water.’

Below:

‘Then we fly

right over the

top of a pride

that sits and

watches us

glide by with

a look that

seems more

filled with

hunger than

curiousity.’>>

plains Jason takes us to 304.8 metres (1,000 feet). We glide

so high that a trio of gazelles looks like ants darting awkwardly

at the sound of the burners. As the sun climbs higher in the sky

the balloon’s shadow appears like a bruise on the arid ground.

Unfortunately we have missed the wildebeest migration but their

tracks are so ingrained in the black and gold soil it’s easy to

imagine what a spectacle the annual event must be from the air.

All too quickly, it’s time to land. Back in sitting position, with

all loose items tucked in, Jason brings the balloon down with the

lightest touch near a road. We are safely back on terra firma

but this isn’t just any old ground – we are walking through the

same plains that lions and leopards frequent. We have just seen

a hyena terrorising some gazelle and a giraffe is striding elegantly

across a distant field.

To celebrate the voyage we share a couple of glasses of

champagne – still standing around in the wild – and Jason regales

us with the story of how champagne became interconnected with

ballooning after the French king made every pilot carry a bottle to

prove his pioneering countrymen weren’t aliens.

We’re whisked to a large acacia tree nearby where two tables

have been set up for our bush breakfast. Men in turbans wash

our hands with warm water from urns and two toilets open to the

Serengeti proudly proclaim ‘Loo with a view’. Robed waiters tend

Add the vast golden game-rich plains of the Serengeti to the equation and you have an unforgettable safari.


It jumps on the bonnet of a nearby car, moves to the window

then brazenly leaps into the drivers seat as if heading off for

a drive. It’s one of several regulars at the farm and has been

named Bahati, which means ‘good luck’ in Kiswahili.

I’m not exactly a ‘monkey person’ so it takes some time

before I’m comfortable with Bahati climbing on me but I only have

to realise how much of a treat it is and in no time I’m loving the

primate’s affection.

As owner Elisabeth and Laslo are vets as well as horse

enthusiasts there is a real menagerie of animals on the farm.

Willy the warthog jumps up on the fence like an excited dog,

Bambi the impala acts bashful and banded mongooses Fix and

Foxi scamper around their cage under the cackling silvery-

cheeked hornbills Snoopy and Kelele. If you’re lucky you might

even get to see some serval cats and kittens, and this is all

before we have even mounted our horses and left the farm.

Over three days we saddle up for rides through the coffee farm

(fresh Makoa coffee is delivered to our room first thing every

morning); around Europe’s vegetable garden where potatoes and

beans are growing; across rivers bubbling with icy water from

Mt. Kilimanjaro’s peak; into villages where children leap back at

the sight of the farasi (‘horses’ in Kiswahili) before waving wildly at

us; and through endless fields of golden maize.

Only from horseback are we able to get this unique perspective

of the real Africa. I want to practise, practise, practise so I can

come back and head out on a safari ride.

Did you know ‘safari’ is actually a Kiswahili word meaning to

travel?

to our every need; refilling champagne glasses, pouring coffee,

serving fruit. The smell of bacon fills the air.

``Isn’t this dangerous?’’ I ask, wondering if lions might get

the smell confused with warthog. During the migration the odd

wildebeest or zebra wanders by but other than that animals tend

to stay away, I’m told.

What a rare treat, to not only glimpse the Serengeti and its

residents waking up with the sun but starting our own day with

a champagne breakfast under the shade of an acacia tree in the

wilds of Africa!

Horse riding on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro – Tanzania

There is a farm on the southern slopes of Africa’s highest

peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro, offering horse riding safaris. If you are

experienced enough – and you need to be a real pro to handle

a horse during encounters with wild animals – you can head out

with Elisabeth and spot game. If you are not, however, there are

still plenty of opportunities to get out and about in the heart and

soul of Africa on horseback.

I fall into the latter category. In fact, I have never really ridden a

horse but I just love the idea of trotting through villages and fields

throbbing with African culture.

From the moment we arrive at Makoa Farm, a short drive from

the town of Moshi in northern Tanzania, it’s clear we don’t need

to head out on a safari to get up close and personal with wild

animals.

As we unload our bags from the boot of the taxi a Sykes

monkey appears.

Left:

The African

wildcat is

fierce when

threatened.

Below:

‘Only from

horseback are

we able to get

this unique

perspective

of the real

Africa.’

destination: tanzania

>>

P.O. BOX 14016, Plot 8 Hannington Rd , Kampala Uganda (Opposite Serena Hotel)

+256-312-261774 +256-792-261774 +256-772-261775

[email protected]

· · · ·


Above:

Dinka cattle

in swamps

of Northern

Bahr-el-Ghazal

state,

Southern

Sudan.

destination: southern sudan

As we approach the bus station in the Customs Market

in Juba, the booming centre of Southern Sudan, we are

greeted with a mix of friendliness and surprise as we

enquire about departures for buses heading north. While we

talk to bus owners, several Landcruisers are being loaded with

baggage. Four-wheel drive vehicles carrying a dozen and more

passengers leave for places where roads are impassable for

ordinary buses. We opt for transport to Aweil in northern

Bahr-el-Ghazal state, some 700 kilometres north of Juba.

Travelling in Southern Sudan is a challenge. Only a few major

towns, such as Rumbek, Wau and Aweil are connected by daily

buses to Juba. Distances are long and during the rainy season

many roads are impassable. Even in the dry season it is advisable

to carry an extra spare wheel and other equipment in case of a

breakdown.

Just north of Juba impressive inselbergs, covered in lush

forest, dot the otherwise rather flat landscape. Traffic is sparse

and, in some small villages, hidden between stands of mango

trees, children sell wild honey in small bottles and fresh peanuts.

Before heading to Aweil, we stock up with provisions and spend

the night in Wau, Southern Sudan’s second biggest town.

Southern Sudan is a destination for explorers, a true

wilderness. Featuring Africa’s second largest swamp, the Sudd is

a vast labyrinth of rivers and swamps, devoid of roads, navigable

by riverboats only in some parts. During the rainy season, vast

areas of Southern Sudan are flooded. Now, at the end of the

rainy season, the landscape is an intense green, and the air is

clear, devoid of the dust storms coming from the north. During

the dry season however, the vegetation turns brownish, small

rivers dry up and dust is everywhere.

Southern Sudan Beyond Juba

Travelling in rural areas of Southern Sudan offers a unique insight into a life that is strongly shaped by traditions.

However, a visit to a Dinka cattle camp is a challenge, as Reto Kuster found out.

Pho

tos

© R

eto

Kus

ter

Opposite:

Dinka elder

ponders over

the day’s

activities. The

cattle camp

is the most

important

cultural asset

of the Dinka.



Southern Sudan features one of Africa’s lowest population

densities. At times, no sign of human life is seen along roads

for hours. However, the first impression is misleading: the land

is not empty. Dinka people, who are the largest ethnic group

in Southern Sudan, traditionally move with their cattle over

huge distances following the seasonal availability of pasture and

water. At the cattle market in Wanyok, cattle keepers from the

region sell their animals under the eyes of many bystanders.

Negotiations over prices of cattle can take a while, but at the end

both seller and buyer are happy. Here, we meet a ‘spear master’

called bany dit, an elderly man carrying several spears. Spear

masters are highly respected among the Dinka. As spiritual

leaders, they perform rituals to protect the cattle from disease

and to call for rain and good harvest.

To experience the Dinka’s symbiosis with cattle, we drive a

sturdy car from Aweil town towards Warawar, first on a murram

road, then following narrow roads which sometimes turn into

Southern Sudan Beyond Juba

>>

Southern Sudan is a destination for explorers, a true wilderness that features Africa’s second largest swamp, the Sudd.

Driver Training for harsh environments

www.OnCourse4wd.com tech @ OnCourse4wd.com

+256 772 22 11 07

A Piece Of Tranquility in Dynamic Kampala


mere paths, often filled with water and mud. After a while, our

car gets stuck in the mud, and we have no other choice than to

continue on foot to a nearby homestead. By the time we arrive it

is already dark. Luol, a cattle keeper and head of a family, greets

us warmly and arranges the slaughtering of a goat. Hospitality

to visitors is held in high regard. We enjoy the delicious speciality

of the area, goat’s meat with a sauce consisting of cow milk and

vegetables. Meanwhile, the full moon illuminates the homestead

and, from afar, we can hear the sound of cows. When we inquire

whether we could see them the next morning, Luol explains that

by then they might have moved far.

“The cattle move quickly, following the grass. And there is no road

where they are heading to.”

The Dinka’s life is closely related to their cattle. The status of

a man is defined by the number of cattle he owns. “Cattle are

our bank accounts”, laughs Luol. Large herds of several hundred

cows are not uncommon. The bigger the herd and the more

beautiful the cows, the larger the pride of the owner. In Dinka

culture, cattle are only slaughtered for special occasions such

as weddings, and a Dinka man can only marry if he owns enough

cows. Cattle are used as bride price and are paid in legal disputes

as compensation. “Cows are not killed for nothing,” explains Luol.

“Nowadays cows are also sold to pay for medical treatment in the

regional hospital and for school fees.” The night is warm enough,

so we sleep under the stars in the Dinka settlement consisting

of half a dozen grass-thatched houses called tukuls. In gardens

nearby, sorghum and millet are grown.

The next morning we set off early at dawn, moving on foot at

a fast pace, but Luol warned us that the distance would be long.

Finally, after several hours’ walk, we arrive at the cattle camp, but

the cows have already moved further to graze. In late afternoon,

several men beat a drum called a loor. The cattle, spread out over

a large, flat area during the day, slowly follow the call of the drum.

Huge oxen and bulls, and numerous cows and calves return to

the cattle camp. As the cattle arrive at the camp, boys and girls

tie them to a stick. Suddenly, to the cheering of the youngsters,

two impressive bulls start to fight. Akuei, an elderly cattle camp

leader, laughs as we seek cover behind a tree. “Don’t worry. They

just challenge each other. We will separate them if they cause

trouble.” Akuei then mentions that the camp would probably move

to another place next week. Following seasonal changes of rain

and drought, cattle keepers move between the lowland swamps

called toc in the dry season (November to April) and the highland

pastures called gok during the rainy season (May to October)

when large parts of the land are flooded.

Life still follows the traditions that are passed down from

generation to generation. Dinka boys and girls live in the cattle

camps and acquire skills of cattle keeping. They help the cattle

owners in milking the cows and they collect the dried cow dung

which is lit in the evening to protect cattle and people against

mosquitoes and flies. As the sun goes down, a flock of beautiful

crowned cranes flies in. Bird life is particularily profilic along

swampy areas where various species of kingfisher, herons and

various migratory birds abound. To the sound of old Dinka songs,

we settle for another night.

>>

Above:

Cattle are

the pride and

wealth of the

Dinka people.



feature

I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills . . .’

To write a book that has become a much-loved classic is one

way to be remembered, but when it is made into an

Oscar-winning film with Hollywood stars and wonderfully

evocative music, you are well on your way to immortality.

Something like 60 million people have seen Out of Africa, and the

book has sold over 1.5 million copies. Of the many thousands of

people who visit Kenya each year, many are hoping to recapture

a little of its magic by visiting some of the places associated with

its author, Karen Blixen. But how much is there left to see, and

what would she herself now recognise of the Africa she wrote so

movingly about?

In January 1914, Karen, or Tania to her friends, arrived

in Mombasa’s Kilindini harbour after a 19-days voyage from

Europe, as did all would-be settlers at that time. There was no

dock, and the steamer anchored among the trading dhows to

be immediately besieged by a mini-armada of canoes offering

everything from shells, trinkets and fruit to trips ashore. To get

the flavour of that experience these days, it has to be from a

small cruise ship visiting the tiny ports of lesser-known places in

OUT OF AFRICA Madagascar, the Comoros or Mozambique. The Dhow Harbour

is still very atmospheric, and can be easily reached on a walking

tour of Mombasa Old Town or by taxi from the city centre. There

might even be a few dhows at anchor (where once there would

have been hundreds), but Kilindini Creek hasn’t changed that

much, because most of the new port development is not visible

from here.

The passengers were then rowed ashore, often risking a

soaking, to the Leven Steps, and escorted to Leven House to

complete the formalities. Looking at it now, it’s hard to believe

that in those days this venerable building was both the Customs

House and Government House. To send word home of their

arrival, the newcomers would have visited the Post Office, which

has survived largely because it was built very solidly to reassure

the Indian railway workers that their savings would get home

safely. Meanwhile the luggage, which in Karen’s case included

her fine china and glass, would be dispatched up the hill to the

Mombasa Club beside the Fort by an ingenious rail-and-trolley

system, and some wonderful pictures of it in use can be seen in

the Fort Museum.

‘

Pho

to ©

Wik

imed

ia

Above:

Karen Blixen

Museum,

Karen, Kenya.

The house is

surrounded

by a tranquil

garden and

indigenous

forest.

Opposite top:

Front view

of the Karen

Blixen

Museum.

Kate Nivison follows in the footsteps of Karen Blixen.


Of the many thousands of people who visit Kenya each year, many are hoping to recapture a little of its magic by visiting some of the places associated with its author, Karen Blixen.

feature

The Mombasa Club, where Karen Dinesen was married to

Baron Bror Blixen the morning after her arrival, has been much

enlarged since, yet retains its air of exclusivity. Opposite the Club,

the original Coffee House where the Swahili traders would do

business continues to serve refreshments, but is now more of a

gift shop. Many of the Old Town streets have

been partially restored, especially the finer

merchants’ houses with their brass-studded,

heavy wooden doors, balconies and fretwork

screens for the women’s quarters. Some of

these are now small hotels or antique shops

selling Out-of-Africa-type souvenirs, but there’s

still enough original ambience to deflect

charges of theme-parkery.

After their wedding luncheon, the Blixens’

party took the famous Uganda Railway to

Nairobi and apparently drank champagne

in their pyjamas before settling in for one

of Africa’s most interesting train rides.

Unofficially called the Lunatic Express, the

train still somehow manages to chug its

way from sea level up a series of scenic

escarpments through the Tsavo National Park

to the main plateau height of around 2,000

metres (6,000 feet). Most visitors now make

the journey by air, but on a fine day when

there’s a view of snow-capped Kilimanjaro and

the high plains, it’s possible to capture some

of what Karen Blixen herself said of flying in

Africa with no intended pun – that it was the

most transporting pleasure of her life.

In smaller planes going directly to the

game parks from Nairobi or Mombasa, the

experience can be even more Out of Africa,

as her words come back: “You may at times

fly low enough to see the animals on the

plains and feel towards them as God did when

he had just created them . . .”

Before leaving the Mombasa connections

behind, however, and especially if travelling

north to one of the coastal resorts, it’s worth

mentioning that Denys Finch Hatton, Karen

Blixen’s lover after her marriage foundered,

had a small estate at Takaunga near Kilifi

Creek. He would sometimes fly her down there, landing on the

beach, for a weekend by the Indian Ocean. One night, she wrote

of how ‘a row of Arab dhows came along, close to the coast,

running noiselessly before the monsoon, a file of brown

shadow-sails under the moon.’ You could be as lucky. >>

Pho

to ©

Kat

e N

ivis

onPho

to ©

Kat

e N

ivis

on

Above:

Old farm

machinery in

the grounds

of the house.


traffic, little is left that Karen Blixen would recognise. Imagine

her amazement, and perhaps dismay, at the way the town has

grown, from a population of tens of thousands when she first

arrived, to the bustling, jostling one and a half million people

today. Many of the roads and tree-lined avenues have been

renamed, but there is of course, the once infamous Muthaiga

Country Club, which opened for business (and pleasure) on New

Year’s Eve 1913 and is still going strong. Its modern amenities

include acres of fine tropical gardens with an excellent golf

course.Only 15 minutes’ drive north-east of the city centre

through the wealthy suburb of Parklands, it is unfortunately for

members only. In the Blixens’ day, things were more relaxed,

with settlers coming in by ox-wagon for a hot bath or taking the

odd pot-shot at the fixtures and fittings, and occasionally each

other. So exclusive is it that some maps and guide books omit

it completely.

Instead, try the Ngong Races, held every second Sunday for

most of the year. The course is easily accessible by bus, matatu

(minibus) or taxi (shared or otherwise). And for pure nostalgia,

close to the summit of the Ngong Hills at Point Lamwia, there is

the grave of Denys Finch Hatton, marked by an obelisk.

In Out of Africa, the woman who loved him, and Kenya, so

dearly, memorably asks: “If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe

and the African new moon lying on her back . . . does Africa

know a song of me? Will the air over the plains quiver with a

colour that I have had on . . . or the full moon throw a shadow

on the gravel of the drive that is like me?” Her drive may be

rough tarmac now, and her dream gone, but Africa certainly

does know of Karen Blixen’s song. A suburb of Nairobi is named

after her, and the emotive music from the film wafts from hotel

lobbies all over the continent. Maybe she would have approved

of that.

feature

Even today Takaunga is slightly off the beaten track (the new coast

road to Malindi) but the beach is beautiful and was used for both

Out of Africa and White Mischief which features the goings-on of

Kenya’s ‘Happy Valley’ set, some of whom were their friends.

But it is of course the scenes of her life on that coffee farm at

the foot of the Ngong Hills, only 19 kilometres (12 miles) from

the centre of Nairobi, that stay longest in the mind. In fact the

couple did not move to the stone-built house seen in the film for

nearly five years. Their original more modest bungalow is now

incorporated into a hotel in the suburb of Karen, named after

her when she eventually had to sell the estate. But the house,

now the Karen Blixen Museum, is a must for all her fans. It is

much as it was when she left it so regretfully in 1931. Many

fascinating photographs with some of her belongings are there,

and the film company has donated the copies of original furniture

made specially for the film, including the white mosquito-netted

bed and famous gramophone. The elegant panelled dining room is

set as if for one of her sophisticated, candle-lit evenings, and the

stone fireplace by whose light Karen and Denys would dazzle their

friends, or each other, with their tales of the place. Outside, along

a covered way, is Kumante’s kitchen, re-kitted out with period

utensils – all of which makes it rather disappointing that no inside

photography is allowed.

Perhaps the most evocative spots to pause for a quiet

moment, are the side veranda with a view of her beloved

Ngong Hills, and the back, as seen in the film, where her

belongings were laid out for sale when she left. Other photo

opportunities include the drive where she would light a lantern

to let friends know she was at home, and a collection of old

coffee farm machinery.

As for Nairobi itself, once a morning’s horse ride away, but

now around 30 minutes by car from the house, depending on the

>>

Pho

to ©

Kat

e N

ivis

on

Above:

Quieter now

than in Karen

Blixen’s day,

Mombasa

harbour.

Visit us at www.jubileeinsurance.com


feature

The sun was just beginning to win through the early

morning chill in Amboseli National Park. We were

creeping silently through the bush when a troop of

baboons started crashing through the treetops overhead.

“Freeze!” commanded Benson, the local ranger, in an

urgent whisper. We shuddered to a halt beside him: silent,

trembling statues. Suddenly, a 150-kilogrammes lioness came

charging through the bush and skidded to a stop not three

metres from us. She was the matriarch of her pride, the

huntress, and she was angry.

As we stood motionless before her, she let out a heaving,

ground-shaking roar – Whooooooaaaaarr! – leaving us in no

doubt as to exactly who was in charge. Every muscle was

tensed in her lean, powerful body. She showed us her teeth

and shook her head, then shattered the dawn with another

mighty roar.

It’s an exhilarating and thrilling experience to be charged by a

lion while you are on foot. But what impressed me the most –

what I will never forget – was the power of that almighty roar.

It wrapped our bodies with its sheer, vibrating force. Even the

air shook.

When we got back to our camp, I read up on a lion’s roar.

Another lion can hear it up to five kilometres away, so powerful

is the call. This strange little fact drove me to search for

other unusual facts about the three big cats: lion, leopard and

cheetah. Although they all belong to the same genetic family,

they have very distinct approaches to life.

Calling the ShotsThe lion’s roar serves two main purposes. It can be a far-flung

warning to wandering nomad lions who may be contemplating

entering another male’s territory. A five-kilometre range gives

the interloper plenty of time to change his mind. It can also

serve as a beacon, guiding a dispersed pride back home.

The cheetah has a call one would not really associate with a

large predator. It’s almost a chirping whimper. I once watched a

Pho

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© C

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CATCALLSCristina Kessler offers a brief guide to give you more than a cat in hell’s chance of surviving a close encounter with Africa’s majestic felines.

Above:

Lion cubs are

dependent

upon their

mothers until

they can walk

to the kill.

Opposite:

The African

leopard

resting on a

tree.


feature

forlorn mother, perched on a termite hill, emit short little

whines to her clubs that were lost in the tall grass. Meck meck,

she called out, and the babies returned her cries. Eventually

they met again, but I shall never forget the delicateness of that

call. The cheetah’s call is a whisper alongside the lion’s shout.

The leopard, the shiest and most silent member of the cat

family, has a very distinctive call. Once you’ve heard it, you’ll

always recognise it. Some compare it to a raspy human cough,

while others insist it sounds like a coarse saw cutting wood.

These solitary animals have little use for a call, but when they

use it, it’s to send one of two messages. Both males and

females send out a signal that says, ‘This is my territory,

stay away.’ The other message is strictly female: ‘I’m ready

to mate, where are you?’

Dream CoatsWith its coat of tawny red to light brown fur, a lion is easy to

distinguish from a leopard or cheetah. The females and males

are also easily discernible, for only the male wears a mane.

It provides him with protection against neck bites and scratches

when fighting, as well as being an attraction for females. It also

provides males with an excellent excuse not to hunt with the

pride, for the bulk of his mane can give him away to potential

victims. The lion has all the attributes of the perfect predator.

Its head is massive, with powerful jaw muscles and extraordinary

teeth. And its tongue has back-curving bumps, designed to give

extra traction on fresh, slippery meat.

The cheetah, often called ‘the greyhound of the cats’, has a

sleek, streamlined appearance. Its coat is covered with near

uniform dots that run all the way to the tip of the tail. Two dark

black lines, the ‘tear lines’, extend from the corners of its eyes

to the corner of its mouth. The head is very small in comparison

to the rest of the lanky body. Cheetahs are unique in the cat

world because they have non-retractable claws, which provide

traction for the high-speed chases they’re so famous for.

At first glimpse, it’s easy to confuse the cheetah and leopard,

if one is just looking at their colours. The leopard is an elegant,

powerfully built cat with a coat that has always been coveted

by hunters. Black spots like the cheetah’s adorn the legs,

hindquarters, flanks and head, but the animals’ sides are

covered with rosettes formed by circular patterns of broken

dots. A leopard’s pelt is like a human fingerprint – no two are

ever the same. The jaw muscles and front body muscles are

massive, and the sharp teeth are even stronger than a lion’s.

Flying FelinesLions are the most sociable of the cats, living in prides of

between eight and 20 animals. The dominant male lords its

over three or four females, their young, and two or three

juvenile males. The pride generally spends up to 20 hours a

day sleeping, resting or playing in the shade. As the sun sets,

they rise to look for dinner.

There are several advantages to living in a pride. Mothers

share the responsibility of cub rearing and, when it comes to >>

A little knowledge about these wonderful animals can not only enhance your encounters with them – it can also save your life!


Above:

Cheetah

family on the

alert. No

moving object,

nor many

a still one,

escapes their

keen eye.

Rules of the WildI survived my charging, roaring, heart-stopping lion encounter

because I knew three very important rules about cats:

1. Never run from a lion. If you meet a lion, remain

absolutely still. Even if it goes into a serious charge, do

not flee. Running will guarantee that you will not survive

what could be the thrill

of a lifetime.

2. If you meet a cheetah, freeze. Cheetah are not usually

dangerous to humans. If you stay still they will take

a good long look at you, then take off in the opposite

direction.

3. Leopards are so cunning and solitary that they are rarely

encountered by walkers. If you have the good fortune to

meet one, make no sudden moves or efforts to flee. In

nearly all cases, the leopard will flee first.

A little knowledge about these wonderful animals can not only

enhance your encounters with them – it can also save your life!

hunting, three heads are better than one. Lions hunting alone

are estimated to succeed only 17 per cent of the time, while

lions hunting in groups of two or three double that average.

The females are the hunters, while the male awaits his meal.

The hunt has three clear stages. It begins with a stalking walk,

crouching low but moving at a trot once the prey has been

spotted. The lions fan out to reduce the number of escape

routes, then move into step two, the crouching walk. Slinking

low to the ground, they inch forward when the prey is inattentive.

This start-and-stop approach allows the lion to get within 50

metres of its prey before it drops to a crouch. Tensing all its

muscles, it awaits the perfect moment to pounce. Flying through

the air, it swipes at the animal with great sweeping paws,

knocking it down and getting it in a stranglehold. Groups of lions

have been known to bring down giraffes and even elephants.

The cheetah, in contrast, usually lives alone or in small family

groups of mother and cubs. This means they almost always

hunt alone. Known for being the fastest land animal over a short

distance, a cheetah on the hunt is the ultimate speed machine.

They begin by stalking their prey to within 100 metres in a

low-slung crouch. This is an easy position to attain because

they have another unique distinction in the cat family – flexible

spines, which allow them to cut from side to side while

running at top speed.

Full speed is achieved very quickly. A cheetah can go from zero

to 110 kilometres an hour in just three seconds. Its stride is six

times its body length, and it can take three strides a second.

The average chase lasts 20 seconds, and covers 250 to 300

metres. A cheetah at full speed has all four feet off the ground

for more than half of the time. They knock down their prey by the

back legs, then strangle it.

They do not eat right away, for first they must recover from

the chase. The massive expenditure of energy raises their body

temperature to a potentially deadly 40ºC. Their respiration rate

rises to 150/160 per minute – 10 times their normal rate. It

can take up to 20 minutes to cool down, before they can begin

their meal.

The leopard’s approach to hunting is the complete opposite.

Leopards have two hunting domains – land and water. As the

most solitary cats, they only form pairs during the mating

season, which means they spend the majority of their lives alone.

Leopards rely heavily on their keen hearing and sight. They

climb trees or tall termite hills to scan the horizon for game,

then begin a long and arduous stalk to get within pouncing

distance. Approaching grazing warthogs, duikers or impalas can

take hours. This patience serves them well in water, too. They

are the best swimmers and fishers of the cat genus.

Once a leopard gets within pouncing distance, it grabs its

prey with deadly extended claws, then goes for the throat to

suffocate the animal. One of the leopard’s best-known traits is

that it prefers to dine up a tree. This is to protect its kill from

passing lions, hyenas, wild dogs and vultures. Leopards are so

powerful that they have been seen jumping three metres high

with a carcass equal to their own 60-80 kilogrammes weight. A

fork in a tree provides the perfect place to prepare their meal by

stripping off the prey’s fur and skin. The mighty cats can survive

on very little water, drinking down their prey’s blood to meet

their moisture and salt needs.

Leopards are unusual in that they often develop specific

eating tastes, hunting only warthogs, gazelle or evenfish – a cat

with a particular palette.

>>

feature


Remaining long after the holiday has faded from memory, the ‘Beauty of’ series is an ideal souvenir.

Bringing to glorious life the Kenyan communities and their wealth of cultures and customs is The Beautiful People of Kenya.

Testimony to the grandeur of nature’s design is The Beauty of Amboseli which pays tribute to the snow-capped

dome of Africa’s highest mountain – Kilimanjaro.

Brilliantly explored in The Beauty of Ngorongoro is the timeless wonder of Ngorongoro, formed aeons ago and its attendant

wildlife and culture.

Everything you need to know about the beautiful animals of Kenya – their feeding habits and where to find them – is captured in

The Beautiful Animals of Kenya.

Both The Beauty of Historic Ethiopia and The Beauty of Addis Ababa celebrate Ethiopia as truly a land of discovery

– brilliant, beautiful, secretive, mysterious, diverse and extraordinary.

Rich with outstanding full-colour photographs and accompanying informative text the ‘Beauty of’ series captures

the unique and diverse beauty of countries; proving an invaluable companion on your travels.

For more information contact: Books ’R’ Us LTD. | P.O. Box 45048, 00100 G.P.O. Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 (20) 4448923/4/5 | Fax: +254 (20) 4448818 or 4441021 Email: [email protected] • www.camerapixpublishers.com

Books‘R’UsTrim, travel-sized edition, the ‘Beauty Series’ focuses on some unique

aspect of a country’s beauty – its animals, birds, landscapes, culture,

history .... An easy-to-read guide rich in colour photography and

informative text.

Beauty SeriesSize: 95 mm length 109 mm width Illustrations: full colour Cost: USD 14.00

book world


Forget a mere evening of fun: how about 15 days? Forget the little poppers of

December 31 that people call fireworks: the Chinese light up the entire night sky

with a dazzling display, and throw in laser beams, illuminated skyscrapers and

thousands of firecrackers as well. And don’t even blink at the idle superstitions of other

New Years; the Chinese have knives, noodles, plum blossoms, red envelopes, dragons,

gods, goddesses, ghosts and evil spirits to worry about.

If you’re going to celebrate New Year, do it loud and long. Celebrations continue over

15 days between late January and mid-February. Far from having run out of steam, the

final day is the Lantern Festival and a good excuse for another round of partying. The

whole affair is referred to as Spring Festival: a time of symbolic

goodbyes and greetings, odd omens and legend, celebration and

good fun. It’s all about making a fresh start, ushering out the old

and welcoming in the new, accompanied by as much good luck

as you can accumulate.

Imbued with superstition and old beliefs, many of the

observances of Chinese New Year have actually fallen out of

favour in Mainland China. Although they’re now undergoing

something of a renaissance, most mainland Chinese celebrate

a very secularised New Year, with the emphasis mainly on family

get-togethers, eating and holidays, since most Chinese get a

two-week break for the occasion. You have to head elsewhere to

enjoy Chinese New Year to the fullest.

Hong Kong goes all-out and has undoubtedly the best

fireworks display, with the harbour and laser-lit skyscrapers

as backdrop. Taiwanese families also still observe many

traditional practices. In Taipei, four huge New Year’s markets

are particularly renowned, combining street market with cultural

activities in a wonderfully festive atmosphere. The holiday ends

with a Lantern Festival marked by a giant parade of floats

decorated with lanterns and displaying mechanised heroes from

Just about every culture in the world celebrates New Year, but none more heartily than the Chinese. As Brian Johnston explains, their New Year arrives with a bang!

SEEING RED

Pho

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Above:

A street

parade in

Hong Kong

for New Year.

Above right:

Participants

in the New

Year’s parade

in Paris,

wearing

traditional

dress.

Opposite:

Lucky red

dragons,

another

symbol of the

New Year.

Red is the colour of choice for decorations, since it’s associated with good luck and happiness.

Increasingly, Chinese New Year is also becoming a major

event in Western cities with large immigrant populations, even if

many of these are shortened occasions; few overseas Chinese

get two weeks off for Spring Festival. Numerous American cities

such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago have parades and

observances of the Lantern Festival, beauty pageants, dragon

dances and fireworks. No firecracker ban here, so Chinese New

Year is a very noisy affair. The parade in San Francisco takes place

at night and is illuminated; the city hosts the largest Chinese New

Year’s celebration outside Asia and includes the crowning of Miss

Chinatown United States of America.

In London, there’s a parade of children and Chinese lions,

as well as stage performances, market stalls and fireworks in

Leicester Square. Sydney has a full three-week programme of

events centred on its Chinatown and involving food markets,

dragon boat races on the harbour and a parade that shuts down

the main thoroughfare in the city centre.

Chinese legend. Dragon and lion dances are performed, and the

God of Happiness eventually makes an appearance and prays for

prosperity and happiness for all in the coming year.

In Singapore, the God of Prosperity presides; the gigantic and

much-loved figure sprinkles gold dust over the crowds, bringing

fortune for the year ahead. Fireworks and a showcase of Chinese

food and culture follow. Singapore’s Chinatown is full of bustle as

local shops gear up for the festive season, which culminates in the

Chingay Parade: 3,000 participants on floats or performing in the

street. With a typically modern Singaporean twist, rock bands also

participate, and laser beams pierce the sky. As firecrackers are

banned in Singapore, people relay the sounds of exploding

firecrackers through their stereo sets. Lots of noise frightens away

the evil spirits and ghosts which often become restless at the

turning of the year: this is why Chinese New Year everywhere is so

loud with vigorous lion and dragon dances, clashing cymbals,

booming drums and staccato bursts of firecrackers and fireworks.

feature

>>


feature

>>

Above:

The Hong

Kong skyline

erupts in

laser displays

for Chinese

New Year.

A major feature of Chinese New Year everywhere is

theemphasis on fine and abundant food. Plenty of everything

now,the idea goes, will mean plenty of everything to come, and

whatever comes to you on New Year’s Day will set the style for

the rest of the year. The Chinese make merry over the dining

table throughout the 15 days, the most important moment being

a gargantuan family feast on New Year’s Eve. (Only on the 13th

day of New Year does austerity creep in: simple rice congee and

greens are supposed to cleanse the system after the excesses of

the preceding two weeks.) Much of the food served has various

symbolic associations: oysters for success in business, black

seaweed and dried beancurd for wealth, abalone for abundance.

Long noodles for a long life are also widely eaten.

Chinese homes are decorated with tangerines – symbolic

of enduring friendship, so an ideal gift from visitors – and with

‘trays of togetherness’ containing peanuts (longevity), candied

melon (good health) and other snacks for good fortune. Flowers

and plants such as water lilies, narcissus and sprigs of pine

andbamboo are also traditionally associated with Chinese New

Year, making flower markets in Chinese cities at this time a sight

to behold.

Red is the colour of choice for decorations, since it’s

associated with good luck and happiness. Buildings and doorsare

pasted with strips of red paper inked with prayers for the

coming year or elegant couplets celebrating spring, and giantred

Chinese characters for ‘spring’ and ‘luck’ profilerate. Money in

red envelopes is handed out to children and unmarried friends,

with the token amounts of money being less important than the

red envelope itself. There’s another very good reason for all this

red: it’s said that the legendary monster known as Nian (or ‘year’)

which comes out of the mountains and preys on people is not only

afraid of loud noises, but the colour red as well.

Embrace red, avoid white – that would be the traditional colour

of mourning. A whole host of other superstitions and beliefs

permeate Spring Festival and is still observed, to a greater or

lesser degree, by many Chinese. Avoid bad language, unlucky

words such as ‘death’, and don’t speak of the past year. Don’t

use knives and scissors on the first day of New Year, since that

will ‘cut’ your good luck. Try not to fall or stumble for the same

reason. And don’t cry, since it’s foretold that you’ll keep crying

all year. (Worrisome enough to get many children off their

punishments for the day!) The second day of New Year is said to

be the birthday of all dogs: be especially nice to your furry friends.

Chinese New Year is shared by the Vietnamese (where it’s

called Tet) and by the Koreans (Je-Sok). Deeply influenced by

Chinese culture, both Tet and Je-Sok are similar to the Chinese

tradition, with local variations. In Vietnam, for example, the

yellow blossom of the hoa mai flower is favoured for decoration.

Families also ‘plant’ a tree or branch in front of their homes from

whichall the leaves have been removed; the tree is then wrapped

ordecorated with red paper. It remains there until the last day

of New Year. At midnight on New Year’s Eve people head to the

temples to pray, then to the parks to watch fireworks and dragon

dances. In Hanoi, boys and girls gather outside the cultural

centre dressed as kings and queens and perform as live pieces in

a giant chess game, bringing a touch of intellectual effort to the

festivities.

In Korea, families sit up all night on New Year’s Eve with lit

torches, and in their bare feet, in order to defend the coming

year against evil spirits. Footwear is hidden away, since ghosts

are supposed to enter the house and take away the best pair of

shoes – should they be able to find them. It’s also said that, if you

fall asleep on the night, your eyebrows will turn grey. Chestnuts

and pine nuts are the traditional snack, and rice wine is drunk

chilled, whereas it’s generally enjoyed warmed at other times.

In Seoul, the striking of the giant Chonggak bell, the biggest and

best-known bell in all Korea, is a significant moment. Vast crowds

gather at midnight to hear it toll, an event that is also broadcast

on television. On New Year’s Day, Koreans wear traditional

costume and formally greet their parents and grandparents.

Farmers perform dances in the fields, accompanied by gongs and

drums. Happy New Year indeed!

>>


Exquisiteness of the

BlueGems

feature

Rock hounds are a

dedicated and

secretive bunch.

Some are highly trained

geologists, while others

have simply acquired an

experienced eye for something

new, interesting or potentially

valuable. Sometimes what they

find turns out to be far more

interesting than what they were

actually looking for, and maybe

it’s this element of surprise that

keeps them tapping away with

their hammers in some of the

most remote regions of the world.

What happened to Manuel D’Souza,

a tailor from Arusha, Tanzania, is a

case in point.

Tanzanite Originally from Goa, D’Souza was

also a keen rock hound. One day in

July 1967 he was out prospecting

for rubies on the plains around Mount

Kilimanjaro when a Maasai herdsman

showed him some gleaming blue/

violet stones. At first glance, D’Souza

thought they could be sapphires, but his

initial disappointment that the samples

proved too soft to be in the valuable

sapphire family was short-lived. These

stones revealed a rare quality known

in the gem trade as polychroism – the

ability to show several colours, depending

on the angle from which they are viewed,

and they were clearly very attractive.

Maasai stories indicated that their

finding of such stones often coincided with

violent lightening strikes or intense bush

fires. Following this useful lead, geologists

realised that what D’Souza had brought in

for testing was a previously unknown form

The new blue gemstones are making headlines, reports Kate Nivison. Photos courtesy of The Onyx Jewellers.

of the mineral zoisite with decidedly ‘chameleon’ tendencies.

When subjected to heat of around 600ºC it was capable of

undergoing a dramatic and permanent change from its usual

dull brown to a beautiful translucent shade of blue/violet. Its

crystal orientation was such that some specimens might show

variations from sky blue, through to deep-sea sapphire and even

burgundy within their basic ‘blueness’. Others could manage

hints of pale lavender, violet, deep purple and emerald. D’Souza

realised he was on to something rather special and potentially

valuable, and he was right. In January 1969, the legendary

Tiffany & Company of New York declared his find “the most

exciting gemmological event of the century”, and named the new

gemstone tanzanite.

Apparently all you needed to become very rich indeed was

lots of the right kind of zoisite and a very hot oven. But nothing

in the gem world is that simple. The raw material proved to be

extremely elusive. Intensive rock hounding round the world since

the discovery has revealed only tiny amounts elsewhere, mainly

in Scandinavia, South Africa and Kenya. The only site worth

exploiting commercially turned out to be the original one – a few

square kilometres of the Merelani Hills, to the south of Kilimanjaro

International Airport, and within sight of the snow-capped Mother

Mountain herself.

The good news was that this made tanzanite rarer than

diamonds. The bad was that poor Manuel D’Souza soon found his

original claims swamped by an army of freelance diggers. It did

not make his fortune – in fact he estimated that over 80 per cent

of the gems from his own claims left the country before he had

even set eyes on them. A story in The Wall Street Journal that

cash from smuggled tanzanite was funding terrorist groups proved

exaggerated, but the gem-cutting and jewellery industry of India’s

Golden Triangle, headed by the city of Jaipur, has certainly been

a beneficiary. Here they say that anyone driving a new Mercedes

must have just received a big order involving tanzanite.

One big boost for tanzanite came with the hugely

successful Hollywood film Titanic, where actress Kate

Winslet’s character wears a beautiful blue heart-

shaped gem in a pendant set with diamonds – a love

token from her fiancé. Modelled on the notorious

blue Hope Diamond (rumoured to have brought

misfortune to all its owners), the pendant, named

‘Heart of the Ocean’, was actually a semi-precious

sapphire, and the whole concept was a neat touch


feature

of pure fiction, put in for dramatic effect. It certainly worked. A

clever merchandising tie-in with the film created a market for

look-alike (smaller) pendants that is still going strong, but often

using tanzanite rather than sapphire.

The State Mining Corporation of Tanzania has now been able

to get back enough control to ensure that more of the profits

from this sparkling windfall stay within the country, and India has

offered training for local people in cutting and setting the stones.

Tanzanite One, the main company involved, raised production

to over one million carats in the first six months of 2008, and

intends to increase this.

If you feel tempted to buy, it’s worth remembering that, as with

other precious stones, size increases the chance of flaws, so it’s

best to choose the most reliable dealer you can find. Large, clear

specimens tend to show more depth of colour variation than

smaller pieces and are very expensive.

Tanzanite is also softer and more brittle than sapphire and

diamond. It needs special care, and don’t believe anyone who

tells you otherwise. Sudden changes of temperature could

cause it to shatter, as could the sonic cleaning process used by

jewellers on harder gems. It should be stored in the dark since

permanent exposure to light will eventually weaken its colours.

Some say it looks best set in silver, platinum or white gold, and

with the right outfit the effect can be quite stunning. Moreover,

there is now a real prospect of the supply running out, which

should only increase its value.

Lorimar or Larimar? Meanwhile on the other side of the world, in the Dominican

Republic, another rare blue stone was waiting in the wings. In

1916, Miguel Loren, a Catholic priest who was also a keen

naturalist and rock hound, requested permission from his bishop

to mine an attractive, opaque sea-blue (as in shallow waters of the

Caribbean) stone that he’d found in the mountains. His request

was ignored. It wasn’t until 1974 when a glint of blue on a beach

below the mountains attracted the attention of Miguel Mendez,

a local craftsman, that the Dominican Republic realised it had a

gemmological hit on its hands.

Many precious and semi-precious stones are the

results of freak local conditions associated with

volcanic activity, and this one was

no exception. In this case,

the area affected was

basically limestone

and it was found

that blue cobalt

had seeped in to

replace the calcium

in some of the tiny

natural cavities typical

of this very common rock. For

geologists, the interesting part was that

this seems to have happened only in one place in

the world – beneath the forest-covered ridges of the Bahoruco

Range along the south-eastern coast of the Dominican Republic.

Miguel Mendez called his ‘rediscovery’ Larimar, using a

combination of his daughter Larissa’s name and ‘mar’, the

Spanish for sea, not only because of its colour, but because local

people believed it had come from the sea. Others pointed out

that Father Loren had noted it first, so both larimar and lorima

are accepted.

Larimar is classed as semi-precious rather than precious.

The most prized specimens are a ‘volcanic’ deep blue, and

will sometimes warrant a gold setting. Paler ‘sea’ blues are

also popular, but are more often set in silver. Like tanzanite, it

registers as fairly soft on the mineralogist’s scale of hardness,

and will fade when exposed to light for long periods. Unlike

tanzanite it is opaque, so highly skilled facetted cutting is not

required, and a piece is finished by polishing. It is also subject

to occasional price fluctuation according to which colours are

fashionable, but as with tanzanite, its rarity value gives it a solid

profile in the gem industry.

Mendez got little else for his powers of observation except the

privilege of naming it, but hundreds of his compatriots are now

engaged in mining, working and selling larimar, and it has been

declared the national stone of the Dominican Republic. Some

of the larger chunks, when cut across and polished, are valued

as souvenirs because they show a strong resemblance to the

dappling of sunlight and fluffy white clouds across a beautiful

tropical sea.

All of which goes to show that you don’t have to be a trained

geologist to make exciting finds of previously unknown minerals

that could be valuable, or indeed to discover new sources of

some old favourites. A small hammer and a keen eye could be

all that is required, while simply beach combing, talking to local

people or the constructive kicking of boots through river sands

and gravel beds has founded a surprising number of multi-million

dollars industries, especially in Africa. Existing sources of many

gemstones are running out fast, and the next ‘new blue’ – or red,

or green, or pink – could be just under your feet.

Note – You can sometimes see the tanzanite mines from the air,

about 16 kilometres south of Kilimanjaro International Airport.


Life

Work

feature

We hear and read a lot about the need

for people to achieve a work-life balance.

In this world of seemingly increasing pressure and

workplace demands, is it really feasible to seek this balance?

Does it matter? The short answer is yes, to both.

When you don’t have this balance it leads to even more

pressure building. You may be getting it from home and your

life outside because you are not devoting time to that, or

possibly from work as you struggle to cope with the demands

there whilst keeping ‘life’ going. As these pressures mount and

the imbalance becomes worse, there is a probability of stress

occurring. Organisations are more aware of the costs of stress

related issues these days – local government included. Not

achieving balance can begin to affect you as an individual, your

team or colleagues, your family and friends, so it matters!

For most people, the lack of desired work-life balance is a

result of things creeping up on them rather than a specific

event causing it. The trouble is they do not take action on these

small issues and changes as they happen, and before long

these are the habit. This is often combined with events around

them at work and the culture which has evolved around use of

time and expectations from staff.

Having said this, the reality is that the problem

of a lack of work-life balance is self-inflicted. You

have allowed it to happen! The other challenging factor is that

the solution lies within you. You need to start by accepting

more responsibility for how you use, or abuse, your own time.

You need to acknowledge that the underlying problems arise

because you are allowing others to take more control of your

time!

To change your life and begin moving towards getting the

right work-life balance for you, begin by thinking about what

it should be. One of the problems many people face is that

they do not know what their ideal work-life balance would be

like! (They often know they don’t want what they have.) To get

an idea of what you want, spend some time doodling your

thoughts. Write them down, mindmap them or even draw an

image of what you want. As with many other activities, it can

help you mobilise yourself into action if you have a really clear

and compelling idea of what the end result will be. Be specific

about what you want for you, personally, and for time with family

and friends – and for work.

Now you know what you want, think about what needs to

be different to achieve this. Identify what is happening with

WORK-LIFE BALANCE how to get yours back!

by Graham Yemm.

them alone. Go back and look at them, decide what else you

might want to add and then prioritise them. This can be a

great exercise to do with a partner or significant other! When

prioritised, evaluate how well you think these are being met

with your current work-life balance. Where there is a gap,

there will be a greater probability of pressure and stress being

generated. If these really matter to you, you will take steps to

start to make sure that your life is being lived to achieve them.

This is why I said earlier, the solutions to getting your work-life

balance lie with you!

The next stage is to do an action plan to tackle the areas

in your gap analysis. Check back on your time logs and notice

what is stealing your time from what would be your priorities

in your balanced life. Be open to change – remember, ‘if you

continue to do what you have always done, you will always get

what you have always got.’ Some basic things to do:

• Decide what you need to reduce or cut back at work.

• Learn to say ‘no’ more often, be OK about being unavailable

to others in order to get on with your own work. This

includes the telephone!

• Accept that you need to take breaks and have a life in order

to be more productive.

• Organise your time with basic time management techniques,

‘to do lists’, time planners etc.

• Plan to do things for yourself and with your family and

friends – and stick to those plans.

• Schedule to leave work at a certain time – and stick to it.

• Avoid taking work home and doing it in evenings or

weekends, only allowing yourself very rare exceptions.

If your work-life balance is not what you want it to be,

recognise that one of the reasons for this is you have allowed

others to take control of your time (and life!). To achieve the

balance you want, which leads to a happier life, less pressure

and greater contentment, you need to put yourself back in

control. To do this, be willing to change, take responsibility

for your own actions and reactions and use the appropriate

behaviours to get the work-life balance you want.

feature

your time, and your life, currently. You can start with some

generalised thinking, but this may lead to your overlooking some

vital events or people. It can be useful to back-up your thinking

by completing a time-log to make a note of exactly what you are

doing, who and what interrupts you and how long these things

are taking. Assess the activities against the key tasks of your

job – and ask yourself which of these could or should be done by

someone else.

The next step is to do a form of ‘gap analysis’. You can

be specific about what needs to change in order to begin to

achieve the desired balance which you created earlier. Before

setting plans in place to address these areas, you can help

yourself with a bit more self-assessment.

Over a number of years of working with groups and individuals

in all aspects of time management and stress management, I

have come to a conclusion that we make choices about what

we do with our time. We do not think of it in those terms

because those choices operate at such a deep-rooted level that

we make them unconsciously. When we work late, even if asked

by the boss, we are choosing to do that rather than go home to

our family. These choices are based on our values and beliefs.

Our values are the things which are important to us and they

have evolved over the years. Beliefs, in this context, are things

we ‘hold to be true’. They take two forms, empowering and

limiting. Put simply, the empowering ones are our ‘can do…’

or ‘it’s OK to…’ thoughts, whereas the limiting ones are the

‘must…’, ‘mustn’t…’, ‘can’t do…’ or ‘it’s not OK to…’ thoughts

we have. This combination of values and beliefs dictate what

we choose to do with our time. Taking the example above, you

probably have values around security, career and ambition,

which rate higher than values about family, relationships or self.

You might have some limiting beliefs which say, ‘I must do what

my manager (or other authority figures) asks.’

If you decide that achieving a better work-life balance is

important, you need to start by examining your values and

beliefs. Firstly, identify what are your values (not something

many people do or have done!). List them and then leave

WORK-LIFE BALANCE how to get yours back!

by Graham Yemm.

if you continue to do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got.

Nairobi - Kenya


Above:

Exercise at

sunrise – a

positive step

towards

health.

health

Short but intense sessions of exercise may help women on

bed rest stay strong and recuperate more quickly,

according to a NASA-funded study by researchers at Ball

State University, Muncie, Indiana, United States Of America.

The findings of the first comprehensive bed rest study focusing

exclusively on women will help NASA (National Aeronautics and

Space Administration) develop more effective countermeasures

to mitigate strength and muscle loss in female astronauts on

long-duration missions to the International Space Station and,

perhaps, someday to Mars.

It also may have implications for women on Earth confined to

bed rest because of illness, injury or pregnancy.

“With NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson commanding the

International Space Station now and astronaut Pam Melroy

commanding the last space shuttle mission, we’re reminded daily

that women make up an important segment of our astronaut

corps and are taking on more and more leadership roles,” said

Carl Walz, a former long-duration astronaut and head of NASA’s

advanced capabilities division in the agency’s Exploration Systems

Mission Directorate, Washington. “It’s important that we look at

how space travel – microgravity, radiation, and other factors –

affects women and men differently.”

Ball State’s Human Performance Lab has been working with

NASA for more than a decade to examine the impact spaceflight

has on humans, according to Scott Trappe, the lab’s director. He

co-authored the study with fellow lab researcher Todd Trappe, his

brother.

“Until we completed this study, we had no solid research on

how women would adapt to long durations in space,” Trappe said.

“This information should have a dramatic impact for NASA in the

coming years.”

Conducted in Toulouse, France, the study was sponsored jointly

by the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the

French space agency CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales),

and NASA. Results were published recently in the Journal of

Applied Physiology and Acta Physiologica.

The study examined 24 female participants to determine

whether specific exercise regimens or nutritional supplements

could prevent the loss of lower body muscle mass and strength.

The women spent 60 days on bed rest. They lay with their heads

pointing downward at a 6-degree angle, which researchers

believe most accurately simulates the weightless conditions of

space. One group was put on an exercise regimen. A second

group was put on a high-protein diet rich with leucine, an

EXERCISE Could Help Women on Bed RestEXERCISE Could Help Women on Bed Rest


Using a magnetic resonance imaging device, or MRI,

researchers measured muscle mass in all of the study subjects

after the 60-day period. They found that women in the control

group lost 21 per cent of the muscle mass in their quadriceps,

and the nutrition group lost more than 24 per cent, but the

exercise group lost none. Results were similar for MRI scans of

the calf muscle.

The loss of muscle strength was even more significant.

Researchers tested strength using the flywheel device. Women

who did not exercise during the study lost as much as 33 per

cent of their strength in squat exercises and 46 per cent in calf

press exercises. But the women who exercised maintained their

strength.

NASA’s Human Research Programme is working to

understand the health effects of spaceflight on astronauts

in preparation for long-duration missions. “It could take six

months to reach the surface of Mars, and we have to make

sure our astronauts are healthy when they get there,

” Walz said.

health

amino acid. The control group did not take part in any exercise

or dietary protocols.

“When we looked at these women after two months, the

difference in the physical condition among the three groups was

undeniable, ” Trappe said. “The women who did not exercise lost

nearly half their strength in some cases. What’s more, the group

who ate a high-protein diet but did not exercise lost even more

muscle mass than the control group.”

The exercise regimen included a 40 to 50 minute aerobic

workout two or three times a week and 20-minute strength

training sessions two or three days a week. While lying on their

backs, the women did multiple sets of thigh and calf exercises

using a flywheel device similar to a typical leg press machine at a

gym. They also worked out on a vertical treadmill.

“The message for women and their doctors is that it really took

very little exercise to make an impact,” said Trappe. “The total

time spent exercising was less than two per cent of the time they

spent in bed during the entire 60-day period. In the end, a little bit

of intense exercise goes a long way.”

The message for women and their doctors is that it really took very little exercise to make an impact.

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health

One of the world’s earliest processed

foods – the yoghurt – has long been

popular in the alternative health

community. It is only in the recent past

that compelling scientific evidence

has persuaded doctors to

give these ‘living drugs’ a

second look.

Isn’t it fun

to find 25

billion good

bacteria

thriving in

a single

capsule or

250,000

million

probiotic

bacteria being

consumed per

serving of yoghurt?

Yes, it is all about

the teeming bacteria. Life

on earth would be impossible

without these tiny chemical

wizards. Nothing would biodegrade,

there would be no nitrogen and in

fact countless chemical reactions

would come to a grinding halt.

There would be no butter, cheese,

yoghurt or even wine !

Probiotics are defined as ‘a

live microbial food ingredient

that is beneficial to health.’ The word

‘biotic’ refers to life and alludes to the

components of complex living systems. But it’s

not just any life to which this term specifically refers – it’s

gastro-intestinal life.

How it works: Trillions of bacteria (referred to as microflora),

weighing no less than around one kilogramme (three pounds),

dwell in our intestine. Some of them are trouble makers, some

are neutral, while most are friendly and they help to keep the bad

ones at bay (meaning less bloating and gas).

The body maintains a balance between beneficial and harmful

bacteria in the intestine. It is a symbiotic relationship that relies

on balance and when this is disrupted by factors like illness,

aging, medication, it can give bad bugs the edge.

Probiotics in the shape of supplements (capsules, tablets,

powders and drinks) or food (like yoghurt, acidophilus milk, etc)

tend to restore the balance by replenishing beneficial bacteria.

These ‘good’ bugs use up some of the food and other resources

that symptom causing bacteria need in order to thrive.

Besides rectifying the imbalances, yoghurt (particularly cow’s

milk yoghurt) is packed with calcium, protein, and vitamin D and

also assists in the production of vitamins K and the B group

of vitamins. The neutral and friendly bacteria further help in

food digestion, stimulating the immune system and preventing

carcinogens from forming.

Probiotics are believed to reduce diarrhoea, particularly when

antibiotics have swept away the bad as well as good bacteria.

Probiotics have also been claimed to lower the blood pressure

and cholesterol.

According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences, a newly characterised strain of probiotic bacteria

may have potential to kill Listeria monocytogenes, an often

lethal pathogen in pregnant women.

According to the journal BMC Microbiology, supplements of

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG probiotic bacteria may provide

added protection against gastro-intestinal infection and

diarrhoea in infants.

If you are lactose (natural milk sugar) intolerant, consider

yoghurt, because the live bacteria will have consumed some

of the lactose. Another option is to consider non-milk

soy-based yoghurt.

At the same time, probiotics create healthful pH levels in the

gut and produce germ fighting compounds.

Availability: Probiotics can be found either in food sources or

supplements sold in health food stores as well as most

pharmacies. Only a few bacterial strains have been

thoroughly studied and the optimal doses haven’t been

determined. Studies on diarrhoea and other conditions

suggest that most people need a daily dose of at least

10 billion organisms.

Good quality yoghurts contain more varieties of

bacteria. More is better because different bacteria

do different jobs.

WHAT PROBIOTICS CAN DO FOR YOUby Shaheen Perveen.


health

Caution:

1. Yoghurts that are heat treated after fermentation do

not contain live bacteria.

2. Premature infants should not be given probiotics.

3. Calcium in dairy foods can interfere with the

absorption of certain antibiotics. Seek medical

clarification before proceeding with probiotics.

4. Some of the yoghurts are full of sugar. Keep away

from them and prefer plain yoghurt where you can

add fruits and natural sweeteners (maple syrup).

5. There are no regulations to ascertain the number of

organisms mentioned on the label. Some commercial

probiotics have been tested to contain bacteria not

mentioned on the label while some contained no living

bacteria at all.

6. Effectiveness and safety of probiotics for different

medical conditions have not yet been clearly

established.

Add yoghurt to your meals: Everyone may not like the

simple, plain yoghurt. Consider the following options to

make it more appealing:

1. Prepare a smoothie by blending yoghurt with fresh

fruits and soy milk.

2. Consider adding garlic or other herbs to make a dip.

3. Replace the use of cream by yoghurt wherever

posible.

Ingredients• 1 cut up frying chicken (2.5 to 3 pounds).

• Salt and pepper.

• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine.

• 2 tablespoons flour.

• 1 tablespoon paprika.

• 2 cups plain yoghurt.

• 1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced.

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or parsley.

Method

1. Wash chicken pieces and wipe dry. Add salt and pepper. In a large pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Fry chicken until golden brown. Remove to buttered shallow baking dish.

2. Sprinkle flour and paprika into pan juices and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

3. Stir in yoghurt and mix well.Spoon over chicken.

4. Sautée mushrooms in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and lemon juice for 1 minute and spoon over pan.

5. Sprinkle with the dill. Bake, covered, in preheated 1640C oven for about 75 minutes, or until chicken is tender.

BAKED YOGHURT CHICKEN RECIPE


ASANTE NEWS

Dear Sir,

On August 15th I was travelling from Rwanda

to Uganda via Air Uganda with a group of 10

people. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed.

We were very anxious because we were planning

on transferring to Kajjansi Airfield in order to

travel to Murchison Falls for a few days of rest

and relaxation.

We had been working in Rwanda for eight days

volunteering – we were helping to construct a

building for a poor women’s cooperative. Our plan

was to take a few days off and then travel back

to Kampala to volunteer at a Baby Orphanage

and a home for rescued street boys.

Our flight departing Kigali was extremely late

and our charter carrier said that they could not

take us to Murchison Falls. When we arrived

at Entebbe our plan was to rent a van and drive

the group up that evening. As we came through

Customs we were met by Johan du Toit. He first

apologised that our flight was late and asked us

about our plan. I was not expecting to be met by

the Station Manager. When he heard that our

plan was to drive at night he immediately

implored us not to do so – he said it was not

safe. He offered to put us up in a hotel and do

his best to contact a charter air company that

would fly us to Murchison Falls. I can’t tell you

how much this impressed our whole group.

Within an hour we were checked in at the local

hotel and Mr. du Toit had found a charter air

company that would take our group first thing the

following morning.

I travel to Uganda, Rwanda or Kenya at least

once a year and I can tell you that I am now a big

fan of Air Uganda as a result of the kindness and

great customer service offered by Johan du Toit.

You are lucky to have this man on your

management team. He understands what it

takes to stand out from the crowd. I look forward

to my next flight on Air Uganda!

Sincerely,

Nick Foster

Toronto, Canada

_______________________________________________

YOUR FEEDBACK

SEASONAL FLIGHTS FROM ENTEBBE TO ZANZIBAR AND MOMBASAAir Uganda now has seasonal flights from Entebbe to Mombasa and Zanzibar.

We also offer great holiday packages to both Mombasa and Zanzibar. Please visit our

website www.air-uganda.com/holidays to book these packages or email us at

[email protected]. Whichever holiday package you choose, you will

experience the bliss of a pre-planned luxury getaway. Give yourself the blessing of luxury.

FLIGHT SCHEDULE FROM ENTEBBE TO MOMBASA AND ZANZIBAR01 Jan-30 April 2011 – Flights twice weekly on Thursday and Sunday.

01 May-30 June 2011 – No flights during this season.

01 July-30 Aug 2011 – Flights twice weekly on Thursday and Sunday.

01 Sept-30 Nov 2011 – No flights during this season.

01 Dec-11 Jan 2012 – Flights twice weekly on Thursday and Sunday.

SPECIAL CHILDREN’S OFFERAir Uganda has introduced a special ‘Children’s Offer’ for only USD 60 return (taxes exclusive).

One adult can fly with up to three children from the ages of 2-15. This offer is applicable on

our routes to Nairobi, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and the offer is valid for travel until

17 April 2011.

For more information on this offer, please contact Air Uganda at any of our sales and ticketing

offices in Uganda, Kenya or Tanzania, or your travel agency. Better still, visit our website at

www.air-uganda.com.

OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE NEW CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS IN KAMPALA

On 18 January 2011, Air Uganda officially opened its new corporate headquarters

located at Investment House, Kololo. The Opening was presided over by the Chairman of

the Uganda Investment Authority, Mr. Patrick Bitature; the Chairman of the Board, Air

Uganda, Mr. Mahmood Manji and the Head of AKDN Uganda, Mr. Jan Mohammed. The

new headquarters incorporates a sales office to enable customers to have greater access

to both airline tickets and holiday packages as well as the convenience of another sales

outlet. It provides easy car parking reserved for Air Uganda clients.

Left to right: Mr. Patrick Bitature, Chairman of the Uganda Investment Authority

cuts the ribbon to officially open the new corporate headquaters, Mr. Mahmood Manji,

the Chairman of the Board, Air Uganda and Mr. Jan Mohammed, the Head of AKDN

(Aga Khan Development Network) Uganda with Air Uganda staff.


ASANTE NEWS AIR UGANDA FLIGHT SCHEDULE

Seasonal Flights to both Mombasa and Zanzibar:01 Jan-30 April 2011 – Flights 2 times weekly Thursday and Sunday. | 01 May-30 June 2011 – No flights during this season.

01 July-30 Aug 2011 – Flights 2 times weekly on Thursday and Sunday. | 01 Sept-30 Nov 2011 – No flights during this season.01 Dec-11 Jan 2012 – Flights 2 times weekly on Thursday and Sunday.

ENTEBBE – NAIROBIFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 202 06:30 Hrs 07:40 Hrs Mon-Fri U7 206 14:30 Hrs 15:35 Hrs Mon-Fri U7 202 08:30 Hrs 09:40 Hrs SatU7 206 12:20 Hrs 13:25 Hrs SunU7 204 16:45 Hrs 17:50 Hrs SatU7 204 18:45 Hrs 19:50 Hrs Mon-Fri & Sun

NAIROBI – ENTEBBEFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 203 08:15 Hrs 09:25 Hrs Mon-Fri U7 207 16:15 Hrs 17:20 Hrs Mon-Fri U7 203 10:15 Hrs 11:25 Hrs SatU7 207 13:55 Hrs 15:00 Hrs SunU7 205 18:20 Hrs 19:25 Hrs SatU7 205 20:30 Hrs 21:30 Hrs Mon-Fri & Sun

ENTEBBE – JUBAFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 120 10:15 Hrs 11:15 Hrs Mon-ThurU7 120 10:15 Hrs 11:15 Hrs Tue & Wed U7 120 14:45 Hrs 15:45 Hrs FriU7 120 12:15 Hrs 13:15 Hrs SatU7 120 15:15 Hrs 16:15 Hrs Sun

JUBA – ENTEBBEFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 119 12:00 Hrs 13:00 Hrs MonU7 119 12:15 Hrs 13:15 Hrs Tue-ThurU7 119 16:45 Hrs 17:45 Hrs FriU7 119 13:55 Hrs 14:55 Hrs SatU7 119 17:00 Hrs 18:00 Hrs Sun

ENTEBBE – ZANZIBARFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 340 09:00 Hrs 11:40 Hrs ThurU7 340 09:00 Hrs 11:35 Hrs Sun

ZANZIBAR – ENTEBBEFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 341 12:10 Hrs 13:50 Hrs ThurU7 341 12:05 Hrs 14:50 Hrs Sun

ENTEBBE – DAR ES SALAAMFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 320 13:00 Hrs 14:45 Hrs MonU7 320 14:45 Hrs 16:30 Hrs Tue-ThurU7 320 11:30 Hrs 13:15 Hrs FriU7 320 15:30 Hrs 17:15 Hrs Sun

DAR ES SALAAM – ENTEBBEFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 321 15:20 Hrs 17:05 Hrs MonU7 321 17:05 Hrs 18:50 Hrs Tue-ThurU7 321 13:55 Hrs 15:40 Hrs FriU7 321 17:50 Hrs 19:35 Hrs Sun

ENTEBBE – MOMBASAFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 340 09:00 Hrs 10:40 Hrs Thur & SunMOMBASA – ENTEBBE

FLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCYU7 341 11:10 Hrs 13:50 Hrs ThurU7 341 13:10 Hrs 14:50 Hrs Sun

ENTEBBE – KIGALIFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 350 09:30 Hrs 09:15 Hrs Mon U7 350 12:00 Hrs 11:45 Hrs Tue-Wed U7 350 09:55 Hrs 09:40 Hrs ThurU7 352 16:15 Hrs 16:00 Hrs FriU7 352 16:00 Hrs 15:45 Hrs Sun

KIGALI – ENTEBBEFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY

U7 351 10:00 Hrs 11:45 Hrs Mon U7 351 12:15 Hrs 14:00 Hrs Tue-Wed U7 351 10:15 Hrs 12:00 Hrs ThurU7 353 16:30 Hrs 18:15 Hrs FriU7 353 16:15 Hrs 18:00 Hrs Sun

For any information contact your preferred Travel Agent or our Sales & Reservation Office on 041 2 165555 in KAMPALA .


For your own comfort try • and travel light.

Wear loose clothing and • elasticated stockings made of natural fibre.

Increase your normal • intake of water and only if need be, drink alcohol but in moderation.

Use moisturising cream to • keep your skin from drying out.

Take off shoes in the • plane to prevent your feet from swelling up or wear shoes that will cope with expanding ankles.

Avoid heavy meals during • the flight.

Short walks once every • two hours are excellent for circulation.

Try to touch your toes • when waiting in the aisle to stretch your hamstrings.

On arrival at your • destination, have a hot shower or a relaxing bath.

On arrival a quick jog, • brisk walk, or a vigorous scrub will help stimulate your circulation.

Knee to chest: Bend forward slightly. Clasp hands around the left knee and hug it to your chest. Hold stretch for 15 seconds. Keeping hands around knee, slowly let it down. Alternate legs. Repeat 10 times.

Shoulder roll: Hunch shoulders forward, then upward, then backward, then downward, using a gentle, circular motion.

Shoulder stretch: Reach right hand over left shoulder. Place left hand behind right elbow and gently press elbow toward shoulder. Hold stretch for 15 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Arm curl: Start with arms held at a 90-degree angle: elbows down, hands out in front. Raise hands up to chest and back down, alternating hands. Do this exercise in 30-second intervals.

Forward flex: With both feet on the floor and stomach held in, slowly bend forward and walk your hands down the front of your legs towards your ankles. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds and slowly sit back up.

Overhead stretch: Raise both hands straight up over your head. With one hand, grasp the wrist of the opposite hand and gently pull to one side. Hold stretch for 15 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Ankle circles: Lift feet off the floor, draw a circle with the toes, simultaneously moving one foot clockwise and the other foot counterclockwise. Reverse circles. Do each direction for 15 seconds. Repeat if desired.

Neck roll: With shoulders relaxed, drop ear to shoulder and gently roll neck forward and to the other side, holding each position about five seconds. Repeat five times.

Other Tips for a Comfortable Flight

These gentle exercises, which you can carry out easily during your flight, will help blood circulation and reduce any tiredness or stiffness that may result from sitting in one place for several hours. Check with your doctor first if you have any health conditions which might be adversely affected by exercise.

Foot pumps:

Start with both heels on the

floor and point feet upward

as high as you can. Then

put both feet flat on the

floor. Then lift heels high,

keeping the balls of your feet

on the floor. Continue cycle

in 30-second intervals.

Knee lifts:

Lift leg with knees bent while

contracting your thigh muscles.

Alternate legs. Repeat 20 to 30

times for each leg.

HEALTHY TRAVELLING


ROUTE MAPHEALTHY TRAVELLING

Entebbe

Seasonal flights to both Mombasa

and Zanzibar:See flight schedule

on page 47.


AIR UGANDA CONTACTS AND OFFICES

Kampala Sales Office: Tel: +256 (0) 412 165 555 +256 (0) 312 165 555 Email: [email protected] Fax: +256 (0) 414 258 267 Jubilee Insurance Centre,1st Floor, Podium Level, Plot 14 Parliment Avenue, Kampala, Uganda. P. O. Box 36591, Kampala, Uganda.

Dar es Salaam Sales Office: Tel: +255 (0) 783 111 992 +255 (0) 222 133 322 Email: [email protected] Haidery Plaza, 1st Floor, Mkwepu Street, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. P.O. Box 22636, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Nairobi Sales Office: Tel: +254 (0) 20 313 933 Email: [email protected] 5th Floor, Jubilee Insurance Building, Wabera Street, Nairobi, Kenya.

Mombasa Sales Office:Tel: +254 (0) 20 313 933 +254 (0) 734 605 203Email: [email protected] Floor, TSS Towers, Nkrumah Road, Mombasa Kenya.

Zanzibar Sales Office: Tel: +255 (0) 242 233 506/7 +255 (0) 713 666 602 Email: [email protected] Office no. 23, Mlandege Street, Muzammil Center BuildingP.O. Box 22636, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Juba Sales Office: Tel: +256 (0) 477 153 912 Email: [email protected] Hai Suk Street, (Opp. the Mosque) Juba, Sudan.

Kigali Sales Office: Tel: +250 (0) 252 577 926 +250 (0) 252 577 928 +250 (0) 788 380 926 +250 (0) 722 926 926 Email: [email protected] Office No. 26 UTC (Union Trade Centre) Building, Town Centre. Kigali, Rwanda.

Head Office: Tel: +256 (0) 414 258 262/4 +256 (0) 417 717 401 Fax: +256 414 500 932 Email: [email protected] Investment House, Plot 4, Wampewo Avenue, Kololo.P.O.Box 36591, Kampala, Uganda.

Entebbe International Airport (Ticketing Office): Tel: +256 (0) 414 321 485 +256 (0) 41771722 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] 2nd Floor, Passenger Terminal Building, Entebbe, Uganda.

PLEASE NOTE : After working hours on Weekdays (17:45 hrs - 21:00 hrs), Saturday (14:00 hrs - 21:00 hrs) and Sunday (07:30 hrs - 21:00 hrs) Please call our Entebbe ticketing office on Tel: +256 (0) 414 321 485 +256 (0) 417 717 222 for assistance.


LandUganda is a compact country, with an area of 236,580 square kilometres – roughly the size of Great Britain.

ClimateAlthough situated on the equator, Uganda’s relatively high altitude tempers the heat, and humidity is generally low. Throughout the year sunshine averages about 6 to 10 hours a day. There are two rainy seasons: the main long rains, which start late in February and end in April, and the short rains, which start in October and run until about the middle of December. The region around Lake Victoria, however, receives rain at almost any time of the year.

TopographyIt is located on the equator, within the eastern plateau region of the African continent and between the eastern and western ridges of the Great Rift Valley. Near the borders several mountain masses stand out strikingly from the plateaux.

EconomyUganda is blessed with fertile soils that support a wide variety of food and export crops, both annual and perennial. Agriculture is the dominant sector of Uganda’s economy. The major traditional export crops are coffee, cotton, tea, horticulture, tobacco and sugar cane, while groundnuts, maize, beans, sorghum and millet have emerged in recent years as cash crops for the peasant farmers.

LanguageEnglish is the official language and is also the medium of instruction in Uganda’s education system, from primary school up to university level. Swahili is also spoken. There are some 30 indigenous languages spoken in the rural areas. The most common of these are Luganda and Luo.

Electric supplyAll installations are of British standard and appliances should be fitted with the square, three-pin plugs of British specifications. The voltage is 240 volts, 50 Hz for domestic use. The voltage fluctuates continually, however, and proper surge protectors are advisable for any expensive equipment.

TimeUganda is three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Timeremains constant throughout the year.

PeopleThe people are warm, friendly, and full of humour. They are anxious to make friends with visitors and are continually asking guests whether they are comfortable and enjoying themselves. A large number of people speak English.

ExcursionsUganda is beginning to develop an excellent tourist infrastructure, with first-rate roads and communication facilities. Uganda’s national game, forest and recreational parks are indeed some of the spectacular showpieces Africa has to offer. They do have regulations regarding off-the-road driving, game watching, and so on, which are clearly stated at the entrance gates of parks or on leaflets supplied by the tourist offices. Mountaineering safaris to the Ruwenzori Mountains in the western Rift Valley are now becoming a favourite Ugandan expedition. Similar safaris can also be organised to climb Mount Elgon in the east, sharing the border with Kenya.

HotelsThere are international-standard hotels in Entebbe, Kampala and Jinja, as well as in many of the smaller towns. Camping, rustic bush camps and guest houses are also available. The Kampala Sheraton, the Serena Kampala, the Grand Imperial, and the Nile Hotel, all in the national’s capital are by the best. There are many other less expensive, but quite nice hotels in the city. Outside Kampala, most towns also have a variety of moderately priced and budget hotels.

Banking hoursThere is a wide range of banks in Uganda, particularly in Kampala. Their hours are generally from 0830 to 1400 hours on weekdays, and Saturdays from 0830 to 1200 hours. Forex bureaux keep longer hours – 0900 to 1700 hours on weekdays and 0900 to 1300 hours on Saturdays. ATMs are available in the larger cities.

CommunicationsTelephone, telex, fax and airmail services connect Kampala to all parts of the world. Services are available at the General Post Office and its many branches, as well as in the main hotels. International direct dialling is available and now there are a number of Internet cafes.

Medical servicesUganda has good health services, with some good government and private hospitals and clinics in the major cities. Air rescue services are available.

CurrencyUganda Shilling (UGX). Notes are in denominations of UGX 50,000, 20,000, 10,000, 5,000 and 1,000. Coins are in denominations of UGX 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. You can change money at banks and hotels. Although the forex bureaux usually have better exchange rates.

Credit cardsInternational credit cards are accepted in major hotels and shops.

Working hoursShops and businesses are generally open from 0830 to 1730 hours on weekdays, with a lunch break between 1300 and 1400 hours. Some busi-nesses are open on Saturday, at least until midday. Small, local shops or kiosks on the side of many roads are generally open much later, until about 2130 hours and on weekends and holidays as well; they stock basic food and household items.

Public Holidays

20111 January New Year’s Day26 January Liberation Day8 March International Women’s Day22 April Good Friday25 April Easter Monday1 May Labour Day3 June Martyrs’ Day9 June National Heroes’ Day30 August Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)9 October Independence Day6 November Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)25 December Christmas Day26 December Boxing Day

Note:The two Muslim holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximate.

CustomsBesides personal effects, a visitor may import duty-free spirits (including liquors) or wine up to one litre, perfume and toilet water up to half a litre and 270 grammes of tobacco or 200 cigarettes. Other imported items, not exceeding US$100 may be brought in duty free and without an import licence, provided they are not prohibited or restricted goods, are for personal use, and are not for resale.

Note: A special permit is required to export game trophies.

Health requirementsVisitors from areas infected with yellow fever and cholera required certificates on inoculation. All visitors are advised to take an antimalarial prophylactic beginning two weeks before their arrival and continuing for six weeks after their departure. A gamma globulin injection provides some protection against possible infection by hepatitis and is well worth taking.

Visa and immigration requirementsVisa applications may be obtained at Uganda diplomatic missions. Two photographs are required for visas, which are usually issued within 24 hours. Visas are also available at the country’s entry points. Check with the Uganda diplomatic mission in your country if visa is required as some countries are exempted.

Taxi servicesTaxis are immediately available at Entebbe International Airport. They can also be found outside most hotels in Kampala and at most of the country’s major centres. All don’t have meters, so make sure the fare is negotiated in advance.

Car rentalSeveral firms operate car hire services in Kampala. Vehicles may be hired with or without driver. For trips outside the city it is possible to hire insured cars appropriate for the trip (a four-wheel-drive vehicle with a driver-translator is recommended).

Entebbe International AirportThe main point of entry is Entebbe International Airport, about a 30-minute drive south of the capital, Kampala. Although modest, the modern airport does provide automated passenger facilities, currency exchange, postal services, banking facilities, telephoned, duty-free shops, gift shops and a restaurant and bar.

SecurityThe same rules apply for Kampala as for almost any city anywhere.Becareful and take the usual precautions to safeguard yourself and your belongings. Do not leave valuables in your car. Walking at night in all major centres is reasonably safe.

TIPS FOR THE TRAVELLER IN UGANDA


CROSSWORD PUZZLE & SUDOKU

Clues Across1. Lost part of chain of interest to anthropologists. (7,4)

8. Two-sided and hypocritical. (6-5)

11. Rant about small mountain lake. (4)

12. Ruminant sounds expensive! (4)

13. French wine is part dance and endless bliss. (7)

15. No pines twisted for retirement benefit. (7)

16. 51 + 1,000 it is the end! (5)

17. Female 12. (4)

18. Turn new one over for a fresh start. (4)

19. It’s said to be lined with silver! (5)

21. Two French articles end up dry in cleaning establishment. (7)

22. Lesser vantage point has paid helper. (7)

23. Reverberation sounds like a headless gecko. (4)

26. Cane activity causes spots. (4)

27. Enable roast to turn and describe action against the state. (11)

28. To change country means constant resubstitution. (11)

Clues Down2. Relic only contains religious image. (4)

3. Bus silo moves beneath the surface. (7)

4. Confederation of tribes in Sudan and western Ethiopia. (4)

5. Does this reading matter grow on a small tree? (7)

6. Want comes from disturbed Eden. (4)

7. Cattle rancher in the financial market? (5-6)

8. Old battleship has no fear. (11)

9. Reel IV turned in dance provides salvation. (11)

10. Relatively speaking, everybody has two of them. (11)

14. Willy changes direction in front – it’s daft! (5)

15. Peter is only initially before us to be devout. (5)

19. Emu is curtailed inside the box to consume by fire. (7)

20. Fainted in confusion, but remaining disobedient. (7)

24. Spoken from hero rally driver. (4)

25. It will not be long for male off spring to hold ring. (4)

26. And Alfred joins forces with half 25. (4)

Place a number from

1 to 9 in every empty

cell so that each row,

each column and each

3x3 box contains all

the numbers from 1

to 9. No number can

appear twice in a row,

column or 3x3 box.

Do not guess – you

can work it out by a

process of elimination.

Crossword

Sudoku

Answers across1 Missing link | 8 Double-faced | 11 Tarn | 12 Deer | 13 Chablis | 15 Pension |16 Limit 17 Hind | 18 Leaf | 19 Cloud | 21 Laundry | 22 Servant | 23 Echo | 26 Acne27 Treasonable | 28 Alternation

Answers down2 Icon | 3 Subsoil | 4 Nuer |5 Leaflet | 6 Need | 7 Stockholder | 8 Dreadnought9 Deliverance | 10 Grandfather | 14 Silly | 15 Pious | 19 Cremate | 20 Defiant | 24 Oral25 Soon | 26 Also

16

17 18

19 20

2221

23 24 25 26

27

13 1514

1211

97 8

1 2 3 4 5 6

10

28

6

32

5

8

84 3

9

8

1

4

324

8

99

168

7

243

55

643

2

9

as

an

te

iss

ue

nu

mb

er

00

5 fe

br

ua

ry

–a

pr

il 20

11

t h e i n f l i g h t m a g a z i n e o f a i r u g a n d a p a r t o f t h e

y o u r c o m p l i m e n t a r y c o p y

i s s u e n u m b e r 0 0 5 f e b r u a r y – a p r i l 2 0 1 1

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