Dutchie + trip to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

The latest jolly with the Dutch bunch saw us wading through swamps and ripping limbs in the tall grass, all in pursuit of the elusive rhino. The sanctuary - which occupies 70km of land - also plays host to vervet monkeys, orphaned bushbucks, hippos and crocodiles. We managed to spot an amorous couple, but sadly, not the latest addition to the rhino herd: baby Obama (his father was donated by Disneyland & his mother from Kenya...)

The main aims of the sanctuary are to promote the re-introduction of rhinos into Uganda, run breeding programmes, educate communities on poaching and rhino conservation.

Spooky

Another year in Uganda, another chance to celebrate my favourite festival...

Little Face

This photo - of one of the kids on my street - was my entry into a recent VSO photography competition. The children follow me home every day, shouting 'Muzungu, bye'! as I pass. Often, they'll peer through the compound gate, eagerly waiting for a biscuit or a piece of pineapple.

Rhino Raft Race, Jinja

November 2009: With high spirits & a mighty effort, the VSO rafting team paddled into 6th place (/20) in the annual Rhino Fund Raft Race, in aid of Rhino Fund Uganda (http://www.rhinofund.org/). The route took us along 4km of the Nile River, finishing up at the spectacular Bujagali Falls. The winning team were the 'Rhino Rangers' - none of whom could swim!

Cheerio VSO - Lonely Planet here I come

October 2009: I bid farewell to my do-gooding & started a new job with The Far Horizon (http://www.thefarhorizons.com/), where I will be working in the not-too-shabby role as a Tour Manager. The job involves visiting and photographing hotels & lodges around the country & 'researching' the various activities & safaris available for some new websites. White water rafting & quad-biking here I come - whoop! The office is in a pretty compound which has a resident cat called Simba; it's across town, so in order to minimise my time spent in the 'jam', I am now also the proud new owner of a little Suzuki jeep, Suki.

Chopper Chimps

It’s the ‘Year of the Gorilla’ in Uganda & Rwanda. There have been a host of events (a most notable one being 50 people in gorilla suits distributing conservation leaflets in the centre of town; this resulted in an outcry from some Kampala residents, who were convinced that the chimp population had escaped from the national parks). This weekend, saw the launch of the ‘Friend-a-Gorilla’ campaign (http://www.friendagorilla.org/) & a ‘Gorilla Gala’.

On Thursday night, my friend Dave (a pilot) & I hatched an idea for a little publicity stunt - to fly over the gala venue dressed as gorillas, waving from the chopper. All we needed were the gorilla suits… I really didn’t think we’d pull it off… but we did!

If seeing the mountain gorillas of Uganda wasn’t enough, actually being one in a helicopter was chopper'tastic!

Zanzibar

Beautiful Zanzibar - the land of coconuts & cloves, mazes & mosques, beaches & sunshine divine. My friend Al joined me for a fortnight of sun dhow'ners & a veritable marine safari, which included some scuba diving, dolphin spotting & a get together with a band of giant tortoises. Stone Town is a maze of alleyways & mosques, with rich Swahili & Arabic architecture; hawkers selling dates on street corners & children scampering though the streets on their way to school. The beaches are beautiful & often populated with locals, swishing their kangas, harvesting sea-weed, or preparing their dhows for the afternoon's fishing. I recommend!