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Bear cam

Throughout August in the lead up to coming here every day I would log onto the live bear cam feed online before starting work each day and then having a quick look at what was happening between patients. August is said to be unimpressive yet every day I would see at least 3 bears at the Brooks Falls camera. I booked for the month of September as that has better bear viewing and as I logged on to bear cam in September bear numbers seemed to have doubled or tripled and the bright sunshine was obvious. My first afternoon here was bright and sunny and I made the most of it knowing that the forecast for the next 2 days was for rain.

The walk from the lodge to Brooks Falls takes around 20 minutes. Walking alone has me at a disadvantage and I follow the rangers advice that human noise is a deterrent and I talk mindlessly out aloud to noone as I go there. I arrive at Brooks Falls around 1 in the afternoon and there is one massive bear at the far end of the falls. Finding a nice front row spot on the platform I enjoy watching this well fed guy bide his time before wandering to his favourite pool and catching a large deep pink salmon in his mouth and wandering to the shallows to eat up. I watch him repeat this ritual over and over again. Secretly I was a bit disappointed that there was only one there but what the heck, I had never seen one in the wild before so I was not going to be greedy.

Grizzly bears are crepuscular animals, are active around dawn and dusk, but this park with its high food environment changes those rules. The wild salmon run from the sea upstream to spawn before dying. The peak months here are July and September in those months bears are here feeding all day. My log on time for bear cam in Sorrento was 9am which is 3 pm here. Come 3 pm the number of bears here had increased to 7 and the bears were all over the place, mainly fishing but wandering over and under the falls, jostling for position. Wow, what a show, under brilliant sunny skies the camera got a real work out.

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Eventually after over 3 hours of bear watching and sated, I determined to make use of the brilliant sunshine and do the walk up Dumpling Hill to get the panoramic view of the lake and the mountains. Walking solo, through the forest past lots of smelly bear scats and in the late afternoon it is anxious couple of hours of chatter and song up and down the mountain but the views and pictures more than make up for it.

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Categories
Alaska

Pristine wilderness

Hot on the heels of 30 hours of cattle class flying with only 4 hours of sleep in a real bed. I am again gazing out through a plane window. This one is a small twin prop flying from Anchorage to a tiny town called King Salmon in far west Alaska. The countryside below is sparsely wooded with lots of waterways and lakes. Jutting out through the sea are stark rocky outcrop islands with green grassy carpets. Is it just the flying fatigue? Something is odd. Suddenly the penny drops, there is something missing in the landscape, mankind. There are absolutely no roads, tracks or any sign of human habitation. This is pristine wilderness and, by all accounts, Alaska is absolutely covered with it.

The final leg involved a 90 minute seaplane flight landing on Lake Nanuk deep in the heart of Katmai National Park at Brooks Lodge. Back on terra firma my nostrils were assaulted with the smell of decomposing fish emanating from the many bear scats all around. We are ushered from the sea plane straight into the ranger’s office for our bear briefing. We are told that the bears here are used to seeing humans, but, of course they still remain extremely dangerous. We are not to get any closer than 50 yards to bear (100 yards to mother and cubs). What to do if approached by a bear and the essential instructions about having no food or drinks out in the open.

Infused with confidence (or is that trepidation?) its off to check in and lunch before heading off for bear viewing. I wander out of the lunch room to be confronted by a big brown bear who, perhaps 20 yards from me ambles over a grassy hill right in front of me and continues down to the beach. At that moment it suddenly occurred to me that this place with the log cabins in the woods reminds me of Wilson’s Prom but instead of wombats wandering on the grass we have massive grizzlies here

 

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Categories
Alaska

Unfinished business

Nine years ago Suzanne and I enjoyed an amazing wildlife experience getting up close and personal with polar bears at Churchill in Canada on the shores of Hudson Bay. Two yeas later we decided to repeat the dose with grizzly bears and went to the aptly named “Grizzly Bear Lodge” deep in the southern Canadian Rockies. For four days we were up at 5 am and out at dusk waiting for any encounter with a grizzly. On that occasion nature chose to remind us that it is she who calls the shots and we saw nothing. It was on the trip home from there that my further research threw up the name Katmai National Park as an alternative to see these magnificent creatures Finally many years later I booked over 12 months in advance to secure a cabin in this unique place.

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Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Police statement

Five days ago on Independence Day eve we were all coming back to our hotel just after dinner around 11pm. The president had put on a street party with bands and there was a crush of people. Jostling my way through I had my wallet protected with one arm. In the blink of an eye I could feel my mobile phone being lifted out of my trouser pocket and, despite turning around instantly I was none the wiser who took it.

Next morning I changed passwords but was informed that I could not make a statement to police as the station was closed for Independence Day! Subsequently we went to Massawa and now that we are back I organised last night for one of our guides to accompany me to the station this morning.

My guide turned up promptly at 9 am which was a surprise. Went to the central police station negotiated our way past the AK47 toting guard and went up the grimy stairs, first one office then the other. Eventually told will need to go to another station.

We walked about 2 km to the other station again past a machine gun armed policeman only to be told that these statements are only done on Tuesdays and Thursdays, today is Monday. Nonetheless we went through the dirty courtyard past the derelict, rusted car with a couple of trailors piled on top of it and past the little veggie patch planted with silverbeet again up dusty stairs. The first guy gave us a sympathetic hearing and we all went down to the cafeteria. I had to buy 2 foolscap sheets and carbon paper for 3 Nafka (20c) and my guide wrote my report in the local language.

From there back past the beets and the car to another less friendly guy who sent us back again. On our return he relented and opened up a massive ledger book and hand wrote in it and countersigned my written form and endorsed it with a number 08/18. Not a computer anywhere and most of these supposed policemen on duty were wearing T shirt and jeans. Truly a “this is Africa” (TIA) experience.

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Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Dahlak Islands

Amazingly we have scored permits to visit the Dahlak Islands! This has been off limit to previous tour groups. Just off the coast of Massawa it consists of 124 islands that still produces pearls. It is also a marine haven for dugongs, sharks, rays and coral reefs. Historically it was variously controlled by the Ottomans, Yemenis and during the Derg Ethiopian administration it housed a Soviet naval base. Today it is a neglected backwater, which, for the environment is probably a good thing. Our little motor boat speeds out over the calm blue sea. ll around is just blue with no sign of any land anywhere. After about 45 minutes a strip of yellow sand emerges on the horizon and it is no time before we are at small 50 metre x 700 metre sandy island. Covered by tussock grass and surrounded by inviting warm turquoise sea it is home only to sea birds that circle noisily overhead angry at being disturbed. There is a rusting high metallic observation tower at one end of the island. We spend a magic few hours swimming and snorkeling. While the snorkeling was unexciting by Pacific standards it was nonetheless a relaxing beach day trip.

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Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Massawa

It’s difficult to imagine that this was the prize that the Ethiopians and Eritreans fought over  all those years ago. There is a substantial port here for sure but it is quiet and the surrounding town is crumbling and devoid of life. In the two days we are there only two ships are unloaded but if one looks at the depths of Eritrea’s world economic rankings it’s probably not too surprising. Technically these two countries are still at war and the closure of the land border between the two is a classic case of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. An open border would give the Ethiopians the optimum sea port and the Eritreans a needed boost to their economy. Massawa is totally unlike Asmara. Muslims predominate here and the architecture, what’s left of it is Arabic. Sadly, as with Berbera in Somaliland all too many buildings are falling apart and there is no effort made to even clear the collapsing mess. Most of the buildings in town were shuttered and there were very few people in the streets. In fact our group of 20 wandering through the interesting back alleys easily matched the number of locals. 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 Our afternoon was at a beach resort just out of town. As it was Saturday afternoon there were a few Eritreans swimming enjoying the hot turquoise coloured Red Sea water and golden sand beach. With the temperature in the high 30s this was a refreshing way to complete our day. 20 21 22 23 24

Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

African “Puffing Billy”

Anyone who knows me well will know I have a fetish for train travel. Before the civil war with the Ethiopians a narrow gauge steam train connected the capitol of Asmara with the port city of Massawa some 100km away. Asmara sits at an altitude of 2300 metres so it is quite a drop down to sea level. This line was constructed in the 1930s once again by Mussolini with the purpose of going from the port city of Massawa through Asmara and beyond into Kassala in Sudan. Most of the line is in disrepair but there is a 40 km stretch that is still intact between Asmara and Nefasit. Sadly any regular services ceased a few years ago but the train can be charted and, in one of the perks of group travel we have done so.

A steaming ancient black engine greets us before we board the whimsical little green wooden seated passenger’s cabin. I quickly find a spot on the back platform sitting on a step to the side outside the carriage legs dangling off the train. Here I savour the chugging of the steam  engine, the roar through the 30 tunnels and the feel of the warm Eritrean breeze at my face. My eyes and my camera rejoice at the panoramic vistas of the highlands stretching away to the horizon.

Here’s to train travel African style!

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For the locals, even an used line is an integral part of their life
For the locals, even an used line is an integral part of their life
One of 30 tunnels
One of 30 tunnels
Wedding photos on the line and we crash the party!
Wedding photos on the line and we crash the party!

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Immediately after the war against Ethiopia the stop gap to keep the rail running was putting a Russian truck on a carriage to use as an engine
Immediately after the war against Ethiopia the stop gap to keep the rail running was putting a Russian truck on a carriage to use as an engine

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Coffee ceremony on the train
Coffee ceremony on the train
Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Asmara

Asmara is pretty little town very unlike any in Africa. It has a more Caribbean feel to it. Recently designated as UNESCO world heritage are it is the sleepy little capitol of Eritrea. This is an early 20th century city, there is no high rise here, no modern buildings. Mussolini injected huge amounts of funds into the building of Asmara to make it the centre of a second Roman empire spanning Africa. The buildings here are pre WW2 and as this place was an Italian colony then it borrows heavily from Italian Art Deco style. This is a city frozen in time and that’s what gives it its charm.

It’s flat and compact and is a perfect walking town which is what we did. Enjoy the images.

The church of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Cathedral of Asmara was completed in 1922. Built in a Romanesque style it is across the road from our hotel.
The church of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Cathedral of Asmara was completed in 1922. Built in a Romanesque style it is across the road from our hotel.

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Mural on the main street
Mural on the main street
Cinema Impero built in 1938 still functions as an operating movie theatre. The inside as depicted in the image below has not changed since the day it opened
Cinema Impero built in 1938 still functions as an operating movie theatre. The inside as depicted in the image below has not changed since the day it opened

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Ancient projector
Ancient projector
Camel crossing
Camel crossing
Municipal office built 1937
Municipal office built 1937
High court built 1937
High court built 1937
Mosque
Mosque
This and next two Market building
This and next two Market building

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Dome of the market
Dome of the market
Orthodox cathedral
Orthodox cathedral
Devotion at Orthodox cathedral
Devotion at Orthodox cathedral
THis and next two Medabar market a large complex where rubbish is recycled and recreated into useful utensils
THis and next two Medabar market a large complex where rubbish is recycled and recreated into useful utensils

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Overview of Asmara
Overview of Asmara

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Fiat Tagliarino petrol station built in 1938 with the verandahs built as a replica of aicreaft wings. Notice that these survive despite a complete lack of pillars peripherally
Fiat Tagliarino petrol station built in 1938 with the verandahs built as a replica of aicreaft wings. Notice that these survive despite a complete lack of pillars peripherally

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Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Tank graveyard

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Yes, that’s me on an old Soviet made Ethiopian tank. It is only fitting that any narrative about Eritrea begins here at junkyard for military hardware on the outskirts of Asmara. This is a country forged in the crucible of war. It is a short 27 ears since the country final achieved independence after a long and bloody civil war with Ethiopia that stretches back to the late 1970s when Ethiopia’s last emperor Haille Sailassie was still in power. Most of the conflict was conducted on the Ethiopian side by the repressive Communist regime known as the Derg that ousted Sailassie and ruled with an iron fist, with Soviet support throughout the 1980s.

It was a bloody war with the larger, numerically stronger Russian backed Ethiopians conducting waves of assaults within Eritrea. Over more than a decade of war the Eritrean rebels were on the back foot, constantly yielding territory until the Ethiopians controlled the capitol Asmara and most of the inland territory of Eritrea. In the early 1990s the rebels pushed back at a time when domestic pressures and the collapse of their main backer the USSR resulted in the Ethiopian dictator Mengistu fleeing to the safe haven of that “paragon” of human rights and democracy, Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. The Eritreans won their land back and, for the first time independence. Sadly that has not resulted in a democratic state and as, so often happens in Africa, another dictator steps in and this place has been ruled by the one man in a one party state without election to this day.

This place has been described as the North Korea of Africa. It is neither socialist nor communist. The prevailing politics is more there to keep the dictator in power. Part of this process is isolation from the outside world and not much information leaks into or out of this place. Visas are difficult to obtain. Flights in and out are sparse and travel anywhere outside the capitol Asmara is restricted and permits are required and travel must be with a guide. I am looking forward to seeing as much as I can of this “closed” country.

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Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Pirates

Speeding along the glassy turquoise seas past a massive container ship I look forward and muse over the fact that we have 2 uniformed soldiers carrying Kalashnikovs sitting at the bow. A sailor looks down from high up on the deck of the Tanzanian ship. Did he even for a split second think that we may have been Somali pirates?

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The sun is beating down on us as the inclement weather of the last couple of days is just a distant memory. Our little speed boat skims over the Gulf of Aden across Berbera’s harbour and after an hour our destination comes into view. We jump overboard onto a tiny patch of sand that barely qualifies as an island. Perched on it is a red and white “candy cane” lighthouse that is rusting and sadly out of action.In typically African fashion that does not mean that this outpost is deserted as a couple of locals live at the base of it ostensibly to keep a watch out against invasion.

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