Ethiopia also presents one of the most stunning natural environments in Africa. Because of the size of the country, and the great variety of its landscapes and climate, Ethiopia represents all that Africa has to offer.

Northern Ethiopia

Ethiopia has so much to offer visitors: the Historic Route, covering the ancient town of Axum, with its amazing carved obelisks, Christian festivals and relics, including the Ark of the Covenant; Gondar, with its castles and palaces; Lalibela, with its remarkable rock hewn churches; and the walled Muslim city of Harar.

Lake Tana, source of the Blue Nile and others magnificent Great Rift Valley Lakes, many with national parks, home to a wealth of bird and animal life. The high, rugged, Simien Mountains in the north and the Bale Mountains in the south are also home to some unique wild life, and are ideal for trekking.

North Eastern  Ethiopia

In the north-east, Dallol, this part of the African continent also offers an opportunity to see the first signs of a new ocean basin forming. It looks like another planet because there are lots of colorful rocks in each meter. It’s quite like a science fiction. Not far from Dallol in the Danakil Depression north of the Great Rift Valley, the only volcanic crater below sea level has remained silent since 1926 as the seabed it will one day occupy gradually widens.

South and south western Ethiopia

In the Southern and South-Western of Ethiopia, beautiful scenery and colorful cultures all combine to make this part of the country unique. The mix of cultures vastness and solitude of the lower Omo basin, combined with Mago and Omo National Parks, makes this area a natural wonder that offers unmatched experience.

Thanks to maps-africa.blogspot.com for this map. Check out their page for all sorts of Africa maps!

This year’s trip has the first team of travelers landing in Nairobi at 9:00 pm on September 21. Since we will have started in Boston at 8:00 pm the previous day, we are imagining a slightly bedraggled team on arrival. But with so many schools to visit and just a few of us to make the rounds, we won’t rest long.

With help from our local van driver, Richard, Harriet and Amy will head north from Nairobi for Kenya’s Central Region. This first few days sees us visiting no fewer than eight secondary schools all over the region and visiting with Senior Chief Koinange and other local leaders in this vibrant part of the country. Beatrice has planned carefully, and we are no less honored to be meeting with a few of our fantastic graduates. They will have traveled in to share with us their experiences since secondary school and their ideas for supporting other students as they make their way out into the world.

We are fortunate enough to have two more members of our team, Kathleen and Louis, joining us in Nairobi on September 26. So with no time to spare, we finish up our last meetings in Central that day and drive back into Nairobi for the night.

An early start has us heading by van again back out of Nairobi. This time, our journey takes us to the Rift Valley, Marigat District. In this beautiful and fabled part of Kenya, we are deep in Masai country. Our coordinator has already hinted at a welcome feast with a freshly slaughtered goat.

In Rift Valley, we split up to visit schools-with difficult (sometimes impassable) roads and lots of country in between, we need to go in two directions to make sure we see all of our Rift Valley students. If we are lucky, we will stay with Caroline in tents near her home, but the rains these past few months have been threatening our plans, and we may end up in a hotel near Lake Boringo for our two-day stay. Rift Valley also affords us some of the few hours of recreation time we’ve scheduled for this two and half week trip-with some help from Caroline and her husband, we will steal a few hours on our way out of town to see the wonders of Lake Boringo and its famous flamingos.

The drive from the Rift Valley to Nyanza and Western Provinces is a long and slow one, but we will be rewarded by the chance to visit some of our favorite schools. In this area where Kenya sidles up to Uganda (or perhaps the Kenyans would say it is the other way around), we meet up with Lake Victoria, the largest tropical lake in the world. We arrive late in the afternoon for our four-day stay in Western, and thanks to some energetic planning by Godfrey, we have plenty of visiting to keep us busy: students, parents, teachers, church leaders, community leaders and anyone else who can share with us their ideas and thoughts on life and education in this part of Kenya.

We spend our last night in Kenya in the city of Kisumu, where we will be looking out for Brite, Kisumu’s only female taxi driver and an old family friend. But first thing in the morning, we say goodbye to our Kenyan van driver and board a 7:40 am flight to Kilimanjaro Airport, Tanzania.

The final five days of our trip all take place in the shadow of Africa’s highest mountain. In Tanzania, we visit schools from our base at AMEG Lodge in Moshi, at the foot of the mountain. While most of the team finishes a second day of school visits outside of Moshi, Amy will have a chance to meet with Sister Salome and catch up on events at our Uganda locations. And at the end of the stay, Sister Lucy and Sister Costa host us and all of our other coordinators for a one-day conference. This is our chance to see how many girls we can help, how many young women we can send to university or vocational programs, what other organizations we can connect with and how, in general, we can work harder for the sake of East Africa’s girls.

When the conference is over, we fly home through Nairobi, stopping for a few hours to meet with an international human rights attorney during our layover and blinking a tired but reluctant goodbye to Africa for the year.

We will be posting here as we go-use the “follow this blog” feature to the right of your screen to follow us as we undertake our East Africa trip 2012.

Read my travel story about this walking safari in Tanzania.

Photographs by Alison Westwood © Getaway Magazine.

I’ve passed the images through the X-pro II filter in instagram giving them this gorgeous old contrast finish. I think they look amazing.

All images copyright (c) Georgina Goodwin

Never waste an opportunity….

All images copyright (c)Georgina Goodwin

Just 2 hours from Nairobi are these ridges. Set behind Mt. Longonot and stretching all the way to Akira at the foot of Mt. Suswa.

Superb day long hikes that stretch both your endurance and outdoor skills.

Word of caution though:
1. ‘I mentioned buffalo Circuit’
2. There are breath taking scenaries that may be VERY tempting to stop and enjoy! This doesn’t sound bad? Time is a key factor on this trail! ALL groups I’ve taken down this trail and failed to heed advice always had an “eventful” evening not getting to camp zone in light. Some getting to camp next morning!
CAUTION: Always get the best experienced guide your money can pay for when in this trail. It will be worth your last penny. If they cannot ‘back map‘ move on.

Text & Images
©Muoki Kioko 2009-2012

Subscribe at the bottom of this page to receive email notifications of new articles

.
Skyscape reflected in an alkaline lagoon at Lake Magadi, in the rift valley in southern Kenya; November 1977.

This is a favourite picture.  So far its only been published in colour – here - but here is a slightly toned, mono version.  How I miss such places!

OM-1 with 28mm Zuiko; Agfa CT18 colour slide, rated at 64 ISO; converted to mono, and toned, in Silver Efex Pro 2.
.
.
.

Lunch

I have just returned from leading an Expedition to Kenya Rift Valley, leading Greenfaulds High School, from Cumbernauld, Scotland, for World Challenge. Blogging on this trip may take some time, particularly as the expedition paperwork takes around a week to complete!

So, early sight of some photo’s from the Trekking phase of the trip, up Mount Longonot, a fantastic volcano crater in the rift valley, and across the Loita Hills, which took us up the side of the Rift Valley across to the Maasai Mara.

Loita Hills with the Masai

Mount Longonot

Hells Gate Canyon

Massive! If you were to place it next to Lake Nakuru, lake Nakuru would qualify as a POND! It’ss width is like Lake Naivasha but stretches Kilometers!!

You approach it via an escarpment with sunrise views of Aberdare Ranges – man, I can imagine having a hotel room with this view. Humongous Cat fish are also found here, birding is sooo much superior to Naivasha! Easiest access is through Nyahururu (via Gilgil). Be prepared to spend a night

Text & Images
©Muoki Kioko 2009-2012

Subscribe at the bottom of this page to receive email notifications of new articles

Click on the image to view a gallery of photographs from this adventure.

My delight turned to dread as dawn broke and we could see where we were. A full moon had clothed the volcano’s slopes in glamour, but sunrise slid across an immense landscape to expose us as specks clinging to a monster’s furrowed hide.

Gullies yawned on either side. Stones dislodged by our boots tumbled and bounced, gaining momentum as they disappeared. A twisted branch stuck out of the ash like a dead hand waving for help. Swollen pinnacles of lava loomed above. My footsteps faltered; my smile shrivelled. I sat down, suddenly.

We’d started climbing Oldoinyo Lengai, the Masai’s Mountain of God, at midnight. Eight of us with three guides picked out a path with headlamps and trekking poles. We plodded along, pacing ourselves for a 1,600 metre gain in altitude, our march slowed further by slippery ash and a 40 degree incline.

The plan was to summit at dawn, but our guides were no longer familiar with the route since massive eruptions – the last only days previously – had obliterated paths, landmarks and vegetation. As the sun peeped over the horizon, we were well behind schedule. Three of the group of 8 turned back exhausted.

Fellow walkers Marc Reading and John Berry chivvied me up and we clambered on, ducking rocks sent flying by another climber and hauling each other over near-vertical sections. Denise and Jean-Paul Lechanteur, our group’s grey-haired comedians and veteran adventurers, were some distance behind as we picked our way along a vertiginous ridge and crawled to the crater’s rim.

I lay on my stomach and peered in. Precisely the colour and texture of an elephant’s skin, the crater appeared to have no floor. It was a perfect cone, sucking what should have been the summit down to invisible depths. I thought of gravity wells, wormholes and an Old Testament Hell. ‘I want to get out of here,’ I thought. Without looking back, I started slithering down the Mountain of God on my backside.

The Bulati Lapdancing Association

Six days earlier, I’d gazed into another crater with a very different view. Ngorongoro’s golden floor was encircled with forested walls turned blue by distance. Lake Magadi gave off clouds of white salt and pink flamingos. Flecks of black leapt into focus through binoculars to become wildebeest.

This huge caldera is sometimes described as a zoo because it’s so easy to see the animals, most of which don’t (or can’t) ever leave. Sure enough, we watched lions spooking zebra, cheetahs lounging under trees, big tuskers striding solemnly through Lerai forest, hippos rolling in mud like rotisserie chickens, a thousand crowned cranes on the plains and black kites dive-bombing tourists for their sandwiches at Ngoitokitok picnic site.

Our camp was right on the crater’s edge, so we could stare at the magical moonlit cauldron while we sat around a fire sipping hot chocolate. Despite this, I was happy to move on. Nainokanoka, just outside another smaller crater called Olmoti, heralded the start of our walking safari: a four-day journey through the Ngorongoro Highlands to Lake Natron, which would (eruptions permitting) culminate in a climb up Oldoinyo Lengai, the volcano the Masai call the Mountain of God.

Smoke still drifted from the ashes of our campfire as we set off, leaving tents pitched and piles of luggage on the grass. The crew would whisk away the camp to have it ready and waiting when we arrived at our next destination 18 kilometres away. Our only duty was to walk. And walk. And walk.

Leading us up a long hill was a Masai guide, clad in traditional shukas (blankets), army boots and, regardless of the heat, a thick woollen blazer.  At the crest, he paused dramatically to allow us to take in the view. Even after Ngorongoro, Olmoti Crater drew several appreciative gasps – and one or two wheezes. The altitude at the rim is more than 3#000 metres.

As we climbed out again, a tinkling stream of Masai cattle flowed in from the other side, coming to drink from the water that collects inside the crater and cascades through its broken lip as a 100-metre waterfall. After the Serengeti National Park was created, 1,000 Masai were relocated to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) with all their cattle, sheep and goats. Today, more than 40,000 Maasai live inside the NCA, their herds mingling amicably with wildlife, their huts tracing fairy rings on the hillsides.

We passed several villages as we started across the Embulbul Depression. In the rainy season, this is a vast expanse of muddy emerald grass, but now the savannah was brown and dusty, sewn with hundreds of tiny mole skulls. It stretched before us like a giant treadmill and no matter how long we walked, nothing seemed to come any closer.

At last we reached Bulati, where our tents glowed purple in the setting sun and donkey trains kicked up luminous dust. Worn out by the day’s walk, we collapsed onto camping stools, complaining of aching legs. Then someone  proposed a remedy.

Children gathered, keeping a cautious distance from the crazy foreigners. Sheep looked askance. Our crew pretended not to notice. All eight of us lay supine on the grass, knees propped high on stools, ankles in the air, staring at the sky. The Bulati Lapdancing Association was born.

The Flamingo Photographic Club          

The association’s members were relieved to discover that the first day’s walk was the longest, especially Natalie Tonking and Susan Mynhardt, who had been dubbed the blister sisters because of the trouble their new boots were giving them. The second stage was an easy 10 kilometres, with an unforgettable surprise at its end.

Our path led to a thick forest growing down a steep slope, where we stopped to peek through a gap in the trees.  Far below was an iridescent aquamarine lake, bordered with snowy soda and candyfloss flamingos. It sparkled with sunlight and pink dots of flying and floating birds. Clouds sent snaggled emerald shadows scudding over Lake Empakaai, which appeared to cover the entire crater floor.

It took almost an hour to descend the steep shady steps, pausing to marvel at (and swing from) giant Ficus natalensis trees with streaming aerial roots. Then we stepped out into the dazzling spectacle, tumultuous racket – and almost overpowering reek – of thousands of lesser flamingos. Empakaai, we were told, is the local word for ‘stinky’.

Eight adults immediately forgot blisters, thirst, sunburn and sweat and became children again, lost in wonder. While some drifted around in dazed enchantment, the photographers launched a series of flamingo-shooting forays involving equal measures of clumsy leopard crawling, frantic sign language and muttered swearing when our memory cards ran out. By the time we returned to the top, a thick mantle of mist had rolled over the crater, hiding its fabulous treasure from view.

The mist started to lift next morning, but we turned our faces away from the lake, towards a conical mountain visible on the skyline. Almost immediately, it too was obscured. The road from Empakaai to Nayobi contains a lifetime’s supply of powdery red dust. Each step sunk our boots in over the ankle and sent great puffs over our heads.

To make matters worse, all the Masai men from the villages in the area were working on the road. This seemed to involve marching up and down in large groups, kicking up as much dust as possible. All we would see of an approaching work party was a red cloud filled with flashing teeth and spears sticking out of the top. Then it would engulf us.

When we emerged, an interesting shade of orange, Oldoinyo Lengai dominated the landscape. Near Nayobi village, the volcano’s effects became frighteningly apparent. Eruptions starting in June 2007 had choked the land in grey ash, killing 1,000 cattle, countless wildlife and destroying crops. More than 10,000 people, mostly from Nayobi, were forced to flee their homes.

At Acacia Camp, only the fever trees had survived Lengai’s suffocating embrace. Our tents were pitched on a dessicated ridge with a view that resembled the end of the world. Water was scarce so, for the third day in a row, we each bathed in a small basin of water. No matter: Debbie Addison who, as one of Wild Frontiers’ directors, knew about such matters, assured us that the campsite at Lake Natron had running water, flush toilets, hot showers and – incredibly – a swimming pool.

The Lake Natron Pool Party

The trail to Lake Natron was jaw-dropping. The last vestige of road petered out and died at Acacia Camp, so all our gear was loaded onto donkeys. We walked down the ashen slopes of the Great Rift Valley Ridge towards the wide soda lake, which lay 1#000 meters below, shimmering like heat haze on the horizon. Trudging up the other way were donkey trains loaded with salt blocks cut from the lakeshore. On the lower slopes of Oldoinyo Lengai, three 4x4s were waiting to take us to camp.

The water wasn’t running when we arrived (although the camp manager soon was), but after four days heavy on exertion and light on ablutions, I wasn’t prepared to wait. I found the swimming pool and, after a moment’s careful consideration, stepped into it fully clothed. Encouraged by the heat and the fact that the pool was next to the bar – which served cold beer in quarts – the others soon joined me.

The barman told us that the ascent of Lengai was open, so we could climb it that night if we chose. On the bar counter was a papier mache model of the volcano with a strongly worded notice warning prospective climbers of its difficulty. Obviously, this didn’t apply to veteran hikers like us. Celebrations in the swimming pool continued all afternoon until the beer ran out.

It was perhaps not the best preparation, but I was happy I’d carbo-loaded when John Berry and I paused a little way from the summit next morning and shakily took stock of our supplies. Gulping down vertigo, we shared a semi-liquid banana, one small ginger biscuit and a stale carrot sandwich I found squashed at the bottom of my pack.

From our vantage point, more than 2,000 metres above the camp, we gaped at a world that seemed somehow tilted over. The mountain slid away under us in a preposterous slant and the valley floor keeled over at a rakish angle. We could see right over the wall of the Rift Valley ridge and all the way to the Serengeti. From this height, we could even see the earth’s curvature. John and I both decided we liked it better when it was flat.

Rift Valley.

After some sightseeing in Nairobi, we drove off to St. Mary’s hospital in Elementeita. The roads were quite good all the way, but people were driving like crazy, so we got a lot of near death experiences and plenty of opportunity to catch a glimpse of real rural life in Kenya. The route to Elementeita also offered lots of astonishing views of the beautiful Rift Valley.

Father Bahati and me.

Rift Valley view.

At the viewpoints, there were also plenty of souvenir stalls, so I decided to buy some of the nice crafted goods. Though, looking like a tourist, it took me a lot of haggling to get the price down to a reasonable level an even when I thought, I had done quite well, Father Bahati were offered the goods to half the price that I was supposed to pay.

Souvenir shopping.

More Rift Valley.

Everyone was keen to get going on this African adventure.  We were only 15 minutes late leaving Nairobi and that was partly due to the fact that we were travelling in a brand new truck.  The major problem was that the lockers on board were not as big as we had expected from reading the tour brochure.  The crew were somewhat dismayed. Things were different from what they expected, as well. Many things had to be rearranged and repacked.  Eventually everything was in and off we went. Our first stop was at a local supermarket where last minute personal items could be bought and the crew could complete the outfit of the truck to meet their impending requirements.

The Rift Valley    (P1080891  ©   DY of jtdytravels)

We climbed up and out of Nairobi making a stop at a viewpoint overlooking the Rift Valley.  This was at an elevation of around 8000 feet.

The small plots are intensively cultivated    (P1080892  ©  DY of jtdytravels)

Down in the valley there were many small farms most of which were growing vegetables or corn. It was all very green.

Curio shops and our truck/bus       (P1080898   ©  DY of jtdytravels)

At this viewpoint stop, there were a host of curio shops all selling ethnic things and the stop was also the first introduction for some of the group to the hassles of being pestered by people trying to earn a meagre living out of encouraging people to buy things they never intended, nor wanted, to buy.  Just what do you do with all these things that just do not fit into our homes when we get home?  Of course they get put in the bottom draw, or worse still, get given to family and friends who have even less interest in them!  A great learning experience for future, similar encounters, of which there will be many if my previous experiences are anything to go by.We climbed a little further up into some low mist and fog which obscured the view of Lake Naivasha, an area which grows many cut flowers, including roses, for the European market.

The Saidia Orphanage in Gilgil, Kenya   (P1080938   ©  DY of jtdytravels)

Our lunch stop was in Gilgil and, while Juma prepared our lunch, we visited the Saidia Orphanage. This institution was established by three grandmothers Jill Simpson MBE, Teresa Wahito and Jane Kinuthia. They saw the need to help the many abandoned babies in the area.  Jill sadly passed away in October 2009, but Jane and Teresa continue the work today.

They have 57 kids at the moment in this programme, some of them having come to the orphanage only hours old.   As well, now there are three other programmes that are run in association with the original orphanage: first, badly behaved kids; secondly, mistreated kids; and lastly, kids born to HIV infected mums who neither want nor are capable of looking after their babies. You can find out more about the work these women are doing to give these kids a better life on their web site:

www.saidia-gilgil.org.uk

Jane Kinuthia, one of the remarkable women who run Saidia Orphanage.  (P1080915  © DY  of  jtdytravels)

 .

Some of the children sang for us.   (P1080900  ©  DY of jtdytravels)

.

Kids will be kids when it comes to playing to a camera  (P1080914   ©  DY for jtdytravels)

.

One of the little ones.  (P1080913   ©  DY for jtdytravels)

.

Older kids enjoy soccer  (P1080931  ©  DY for jydytravels)

Soccer is the sport of choice of these boys and a new ball is a great gift.

And in a place like this, there’s always a lot of washing!

My new friend, John    (P1080935   ©   DY of jtdytravels)

The orphanage is very well set up.  Each child selected one of us to take on a tour of the buildings. I was selected by 9 year old John, a young lad with bright eyes and a delightful grin.

One of the all important water tanks.   (P1080917  ©  DY of jtdytravels)

John proudly showed me the children’s paintings that decorate parts of the buildings. This colourful elephant adorns one of the water tanks. The name NDOVU is the local word for elephant. Other paintings were of a lion, a giraffe and a bat.

One of the children, happy to have the chance to live at Saidia.   (P1080936   DY ©  of jtdytravels)

This visit to Saidia Orphanage left us all with plenty to think about. We had great admiration for these visionary, hardworking ‘grandmothers’ who are giving at least some children the chance of a better life. As they had explained to us: “There is no social security net in Kenya.  The extended family is still very strong and orphaned children would normally be taken in by an aunt or grannie. But kids with no family are on their own, and today many families have lost the entire parent generation to AIDS.” And that, in itself, is food for thought.

The idylic camp site at Lake Nakuru    (P1080939  ©  DY of jtdytravels)

In the afternoon, we drove on to Lake Nakuru National Park, arriving mid afternoon. The first task was to put up our tents for the very first time, a bit of a trial for some. Thankfully, I had one of these small tents to myself.

After this exciting activity we went on our first game drive.  Lake Nakuru has considerably more water in it than when Jennie and I were there last in 2004.  This meant we could not get as close to the shore as we did the last time but it also meant that there were many more birds to see.

An Ibis wades in the shallows   (P1080980   ©  DY of jtdytravels)

.

These pelicans kept their feet dry on an island    (P1080990  ©  DY of jtdytravels)

.

These pelicans didn’t seem to mind having wet feet    (P1080993   ©  DY of jtdytravels)

.

Baboons grooming   (P1080949  ©  DY of jtdytravels)

We also saw lots of baboons, a couple of white rhinos, a hippo in the distance, gazelle, eland, antelopes, zebra, buffalo, water buck, and a venerable old tortoise  - and an obscured lion sleeping on a rock. We went back to camp very happy, but tired, after a long day.  I was looking forward to a sleep – if sleep could be had sleeping on a thin mattress on the ground. And I was looking forward to finding even more animals on our next drive.   I was really glad I’d the opportunity to come back to Lake Nakuru.

The best camping – under African acacias. (P1090039 © DY of jtdytravels)

We drove through a heavy thunderstorm on our way back to camp.  It missed our tents, thankfully. Our camping location within the park was unfenced so it was no real surprise when a buffalo strolled through between our tents during our after dinner briefing.  This caused some consternation amongst the group.  Signs of strain were evident on many faces as nocturnal meanderings to the loo were erased from the mind. We’ll see what the night brings!  D

Fixins- The word is used instead of condiment, for hamburgers/hot dogs.  This word kinda just rolls off the tongue!  It makes me what to speak like a cigar smoking hill billy from the deep south!  I am gonna use some fixins to patch that hole in the wall, pass me some water to make a paste!

Some words give me energy.  To use them in writing and in speaking is like allowing me all the rope to hang myself.  But, knowing I will never go that far.

Creative- I love this word.  It lets me write and say the things I want too, in any way I want.

My passion for words include the different words to express my other passion, history.

The kinds of words to jump off the page for me are:

prehistory—pre man—historic—pre dawn—ancient mysteries—ancient—the dawn of man—cave paintings—thousands of years ago—music—first music—human culture—fossils—archaeology—national geographic magazine—nature—first animals—oldest—rift valley in africa—ethiopia—cradle of humanity—ancestors—east africa—evolution—hominid fossil—extinct

These are some of the words that pump my heart.  When I hear these words my ears perk up like a little toy poodle.

I wonder how it was back then for the first humans?  I try to bring that feeling of being into my mind.  To capture it.   To be one person in a small group like that.  Compare that to today, when we have people all over and it seems there isn’t anyone place to be alone and to be still.

Scientists say that all humans come from one female and everyone has the part of her in their DNA.  One of the reasons for this study is to see if that statement was true or not.  Blood was drawn from people all over this world, from the southern tip to the northern frozen land of Alert Bay.  The professionals say that we came from one female.  So in other words, you are really not my friend but my brother?

I still try to picture a group of people who are trying to eat things for the first time.  I try to see them drinking and communicating.  No matter how hard I try, the essence of the picture is not there.  That intense feeling is beyond me or maybe I need to click my heels three times and chant ‘I want to go home?’

I believe we all have our own favorite words or a phase we cherish.  When we hear them our ears go up like a greyhound ready to race.  Do I believe they give off certain powers?  No- that is why I use a strong morning anti-perspirant stick!

Instead of feeling that oneness of the past maybe I was given a gift of writing instead?  Maybe my job is to write about it, to draw out that emotion I cannot express in any other way?  If that is correct how cool is that? 

I wish now for a big neon sign in the sky, that has a flashy arrow pointing in the direction I need to go.  An arrow would be better than a loud voice and a burning bush!

We had visited the areas of Nakuru, Rift Valley Provence. It had just rained. I was heavily rained on!! But I could not miss this catchy shot.

These are from traveling to the split between the Arabian plate and the two African plates. It’s super exciting and very cool that I’ve been at the top of this plate split (way up in the Arava Valley and Dead Sea/Red Sea) and now down near the bottom of the split. Pics of me getting ready for some yoga on the edge of the rift (Iten), and two shots from the Kerio river where the magma formations are always expanding (in the center of the rift valley).

Learn more:
East African Rift Valley Background
Rift Lesson Essay
MORE LINKS

P.S. to my rock collecting friend, you will receive several samples from this site

We have to give credit where its due though. The TOTAL MOTOR SHOW is an impressive show, by any means- Its careful organization shows world-class organization skills BUT lets be honest guys, I think it lost its luster a few years ago. Why? Maybe because they of lack of credible competitors? You be the judge. We found a review from one disgruntled fan….

“I switched off the Total Motor show about two years ago when I realized that I would not see anything more than what I would see on the traffic jam in the city. What is the point of paying the money to go see a car exterior just like I would in the jam? The guys showing the cars have no idea what a motor show is about! It should be about feeling the car, sitting in it and then you could later organise for a test drive if it suits your fancy. There should be a drive- by of the cars on display so that guys see it in action. If it has a particular distinctive feature, then that should be displayed in action. No wonder they hardly get serious fellows going for the shows anymore. I once went for a Show where Landrover event where they were allowing guys to drive a short distance. Guess what, they sold two cars pap!”

Scary remarks but I guess everyone’s entitled to their own opinion….Problem solving time- How do we make sure we don’t have such issues on this particular show? TIME….the most experienced teacher and we’re yet to find out how it’s going to judge us….What do you think?

The idea of having a motor show in RIFT VALLEY seemed like a dream to start with. Mostly because its something that had never been done before and with new things come great challenges that would be encountered in organizing such a big event.We didn’t know what kind of reception we would get from would be exhibitors and thought it would only appeal to people in this region but later on, we found out that not only did it appeal to people in this region but to EVERYONE we mentioned our plans to. Speaking to a GM of a leading GERMAN brand sold in Kenya cleared our fears when they confirmed attendance with a broad smile on his face. ” Its a brilliant idea and WE MUST BE THERE”, is what the he said. Set for DECEMBER 8th and 9th of this year and organized by GRANDE EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS, we are set to be leave a mark in events in Kenya. We need to get ideas on what you as a visitor would like to see. Speak to us!

So here’s a rough synopsis of my previous/next project… I’m still unsure if I’m going to write about it and I don’t know if I want it to be a short story or a couple of paragraphs  long. But yeah, let me see what comes along the way.

Preparing kites before they take off.

Brooklyn, New York based artist Miguel Luciano packed his bags ready for Nairobi sometime back for the kite flying project with the generous support of Bronx Museum of the Arts initiative.

As part of the project, smART power sent out collaborative teams to 15 countries for up to 45 days to engage in people-to-people diplomacy through the visual arts. The Latin American-born Luciano, who migrated to New York and later became a U.S. citizen, is currently living in Kenya teaching children to create art by understanding the art behind kite making.

The basic idea is to send an art ambassador to  work and connect with the local communities for the benefit of communal engagement. This international exchange initiative harnesses the power of the visual arts .smART power engages people, especially youth, through visual art to address key issues of the day important to all communities.

While documenting and working on flying kites at the Ngong hills, together we did establish a contemporary art theory as well as practice workshop to provide participants with skills to create collaborative and interactive installation and performance works of art based on the concept of ‘bearing witness’

Gor Soudan flying his kite

Inspired by the youth of the Middle East who turned cell phones and social media into community building tools, the project was meant to document extraordinary experiences in the lives of ordinary people.

Over time it is important to state that this is a very special project. Of all the workshops that took place in Korogocho slums and Viwandani slums in Lunga Lunga, the concept was basically to impact the slum dwellers. “We were working in small informal communities building kites with youth and adults. So far the workshops produced over 50 kites.”

Dede and the viwandani community.

That is just about half way through. Each kite had a life-size portrait of the kite maker on its surface, so when you fly your kite, you see yourself flying in the sky above.

Shabu’s mum looking way up in the sky.

The Kenyan partner organization for this project was  Kuona Trust Art Centre, which has over time worked and supports young emerging artists in Nairobi and also encourages cross-cultural dialogue.

Photography:: Joe Lukhovi