Tanzania

On the way to the airfield, Sean is telling me about the place we will be staying at (he spent two months building the 'camp' for a family friend). Apparently the friend is going to be leaving the country for a few weeks and was hoping that someone would keep an eye on it for him... after clearing customs and immigration we walk out to the waiting helicopter! It turns out that Mr. Smith has decided to squeeze in a last few days at the camp before he has to go. So he has offered to fly us down in his helicopter.

The flight down was amazing! Crossing over the Great Rift Valley and stopping for coffee, and cake on the top of the Ngureman Mountain Range was stunning. The feeling of near weightlessness on banking turns and dives as we followed the countours of the area lent a sense of giddiness to it all (nearly the whole cockpit is covered in windows, so one can imagine the amount of exposure there is compared with a plane). As we came in over the Serengeti we saw tons of animals: elephants, zebra, cape buffalo, lions, cheetah, and many types of game. I also saw the numerous kopjes that Sean had mentioned...

Since we were watching Mr. Smith's camp we were also granted the status of his crew. Thus being entitled to the various privileges that this encompased. Acting under these pretenses we were able to scout out 'possible future filming sites.' Sometimes this entailed the gaining of various summits (the kopjes are essentially granite outcrops and heaps of stacked boulders), yet the gaining of these summits were not always accessed in the 'easiest' way. We did several "game" drives as well and I saw more animals than I could have imagined. We counted over a hundred elephant one day, and hundreds of zebra too! We would drive around a kopjes to determine if it was a quality 'site' and then see lions laying around the backside of rocks we had just contemplated investigating... definetly not a place were one can just go on a late night stroll.

Here at 'camp' things are pretty plush. In terms of camping it would be on par with the Ritz or the Waldorf- Astoria. Comfortable beds, hot showers, and a friendly staff. How else could I be in the middle of the Serengeti and still be able to post this?. Unfortunetly we will be leaving this phenomenal place soon, but I must say I am eagerly awaiting whatever is to come next.

Dining after the kill.

Kenya

My old friend/roomate from University (Sean Dundas) was waiting for me as I cleared customs. I was excited to see him as it had been several years since we last saw each other. He quickly filled me in on what we would be doing over the next few days... he was mainly interested in how much sailing I had done, and if I got sea sick or not! We were going to head down to Mombasa on the coast of East Africa where we would be sailing down to Pemba (a world class dive site). So once we got aboard the 56' 'Aristos' and had all the gear stowed we got underway... it turns out that I do get sea sick, but only in rough seas. Fortunetly I wasn't as bad off as Sean! We took some medication though and it was all good. This was the maiden voyage for the new owners of the 'Aristos' and they wanted to get their ship dialed in. The catering was excellent and the water was clear/warm. Unfortunetly the compressor died and diving was not possible, although we did do some snorkeling. It was a great trip and I would definetly go back to do it again! Tony and Ali (www.divingsailing.com) are wonderful people and go all out to make it an excellent voyage!.
Sean and I got back to Nairobi where I had to get a visa for Tanzania... next destination: the Serengeti National Park. More on this later.

ps- I realize that some of the photos are not oriented in the 'traditional' way. I am working on this, but in the mean time one should either: A. turn their head B. put their monitor on it's side or C. wait until I figure out what the problem is. Enjoy!

Looking back along the 'Aristos' on the Indian Ocean.

Leaving ZA

For those of you who are actually reading this regularly... I apologize for the long span w/out updating!
My last few weeks in ZA were both excellent and frustrating! At the very least we certainly ate well, but the constant rains were not conducive to climbing. Fortunetly we moved into the Weaver Cottage at Alpha Excelsior (www.alphaexcelsior.co.za) where the friendly and hospitable hosts (Connie and Liz) made it an excellent place to stay. We attempted to go 'climbing' whenever possible, yet this meant stripping down to our underwear and crossing the waist deep 'stream' (usually only ankle deep) with pads and gear on our heads. As I mentioned above, it rained a lot! After camping for months, being dry and having all the conveniences of home were a welcome change. Hence all the cooking we did. Our friends Paul and Julie moved into the 'Lavender House' during the same time period, so there were many gatherings and many braii's.
There were many highlights to the final portion of our stay in the Western Cape as well. Stevie and Nicole both sent "Maniac" which is one of the best lines in the whole area. We went out for a spectacular evening session that was illuminated by a full moon! Meg sent her project "Orange Heart" at Road Crew. Nick sent his first 8 pointer and Andy his first '7C'. Leaving only my project left... after finally linking through the crux moves on "Gliding Through the Waves Like Dolphins" (long winded maybe, but that is how it feels!) to then fall on the topout was crushing! I returned several times between the downpours, but only to have negative gains... despite coming up with a better finishing sequence I kept falling lower down were I hadn't ever fallen before?!. One has to accept the inevitable so we packed up and went to Cape Town to prepair for our departures. We sold the car back without any problems (www.driveafrica.co.za). I confirmed my new flight times, and we met up with some of our local friends and proceeded to party late into the night; where I was then deposited at the airport... haggard but ready for the next leg of my journey.

PS-if you want to see more images from ZA than check out the Zaration link. There should be a bunch more pics on Coops sight.

From left: Meg, Steve, Andy, Nicole, and Nick... my ZA travelling companions.

Stevie on 'Maniac', an incredible four star climb!

Julie Gutstadt topping out a great line in the moonlight.

Weaver Cottage at Alpha Excelsior.