Travel Journals By Steve Hulbert

The Long African Day

by Steve and Cathy Hulbert

Every morning in africa, a gazelle wakes up.  It knows that it must run faster than the fastest cheetah or it will be killed.  Every morning a cheetah wakes up.  It knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.  It doesn't matter whether you are a cheetah or a gazelle:

When the sun comes up you had better be running
 

Check out the photos from this trip:

Long African DayMasai Mara | Gorillas

"AFRICA SAFARI"

    It all feels so right, the time is right, it's suppose to happen!

9/15/93    SeaTac to Hot'Lanta - long flight - hurry and wait - board Swiss
        Air for the Transatlantic - no sleep - very European - long flight
        "Time Warp."

9/16/93    Zurich - the Alps - Heidi and farmlands - beautiful entry - green
and neat - George was there at the airport with the Benz for a nice slow ride to the Dolder Grand - what a bed and pillow - catch up on some sleep and love - go hike in the woods (get ready for gorillas and altitude) - room service - found out how nice it was to be together again!

9/17/93    Can't sleep,  waking up at 2 a.m. - roll over again and again - try to find the right time - beautiful day - rode the Dolerbahn to town - walked the streets of Zurich (Bahnoff Strausse) - jewelry - watches - high fashion  - everyone smoking - too many cars - too many people - a city is a city!  Back to the Dolder - hike in the woods - get ready for Africa - read and sleep - what a view from the Grand.

9/18/93    What time is it?  Oh, 3 a.m., that's better - read and sleep - continental on the balcony - what a day - last minute Dolderbahn to town to pick up extra film - got the wrong train to the right place?  Parade - punk bands - Euro-grunge - never seen a place like this - much purple hair (Market Gasse) - where the cobblestones meet new age!  A city is a city - back to the woods for one more walk - clean up and pack - a beer in the Dolder bar - Italian ride to airport and we're going to Africa.

9/19/93    Zurich to Nairobi - this is it - it's for real - all night flight - did you sleep?  Kenya Airport - Maumba met us in the dark 5:05 a.m. - all we could see was the city lights of Nairobi.  People walking, a long way to work.  Today is the day - sunrise over Nairobi, out the window of the Windsor CC!  We made it to Africa!  Nice place, sun-fun-sleep - hooked up with a birdman - great walk-talk-learned a lot - great way to end a day.

9/20/93    Cool nights - clouds burn-off - they say that's how they know it's going to be hot - eight months no rain - got up to take a picture of the sunrise.  John, the butler, - a great guy, his friend, Anthony, was my caddie for golf - beautiful links and birds - hundreds of women whipped the fairways - hit the pin on the first hole - knew it was going to be a great day -  Nancy - A&K - brief on safari - out to find the monkeys - elegant dinner to launch safari.

9/21/93    Sunrise pack - early bird walk with the colonel - leave for drive to Arusha at 1 p.m.  It's real - I'm in Africa with David Keith and Carla Jones - "No one ever comes on this safari and goes home the same person" - the beauty - Giraffe, Grant's Gazelle, Impala, Zebra, Ostrich, Camel - the border crossing - third world reality - words can't explain the people (the Masai), the poverty, we have no idea of how much we have and how little others have - Mt. Meru - night in Africa.

9/22/93    "Wings over the Migration"    (Sunday - Guide)
    Beetle rubbed its wings all night - got up early to the sounds of Africa - in camp - there is a smell to Africa - fire, smoke, the people, the money, the water - I like it  - breakfast and a briefing (the simple things to remember).  Reflections at the Usa River - lunch and our first "game drive" - Arusha National Park - it's for real (see list of animals).  What an impact - to see the world like it once was - open, free, expanding forever and no fences, no man screwing it up.  David did his slide presentation and lecture that showed us the safari before us - now I know why I'm here - why we've come!

    Arusha National Reserve
    Giraffe
    Zebra
    Lions
    Baboon
    Wart Hog
    Bush Buck
    Cape Buffalo
    Dik Dik
    Hippo
    Flamingo
    Water Buck
    Eland
    Colobus Monkey

9/23/93    (Lucas - Guide)
    Good night's sleep - exercise - beautiful morning - leave Mt. Meru Lodge - many friends - met the cooks and staff - downtown Arusha - Arusha Hotel, National Bank, the street people, third world reality - Toyota store, 33K Land Rover, labor rates $5/hour, strong back-end - bad roads - drive to small airport - hurray and wait - board (9) passenger plane - fly to Serengeti - a great perspective to start from - high altitude overview - the Rift Valley - the craters - the Sacred Mountain - and land in the middle of nowhere - is everywhere?  Hot drive to lodge - nice place - the view - the vastness - this is Africa.  As we begin our drive, it starts to rain - good sign, first rain in eight months - it stopped as soon as it started - the light, the clouds, the vastness - this is the dream I have seen! 

    Serengeti
    Giraffe
    Lions
    Wart Hog
    Thompson Gazelle
    Grants Gazelle
    Impala
    Bush Buck
    Ostrich
    Zebra

Lecture on photography - composition and wait!

9/24/93    (Joel - Guide)
    Beautiful morning - SOPA Lodge (what a setting) - early morning game drive - Samson and Delilah lions mating - pride ready to hunt - elephants like never before - families, babies 10-12 unreal!  Then to the Kopjes - truly a step back in time - hike to Masai cave and ancient paintings by its people - on to the "Gong Rock" (as big as a Cadillac) - because of its perfect balance - one could play the rock - scales - unbelievable tone and I know a place to pray to Masai Gods - lions again under the trees (five females) - back for a dip and nap - meeting with the SOPA staff - cooks, waiters, stewards, and more - Cath and I gave a party for all - afternoon game drive (11) lions,    the mating pair, and nine females all around a Zebra carcass approximately 10 minutes after the kill, and within one hour it was gone - words can't explain beauty and truth in this story - spent entire afternoon there.

    Serengeti
    Baboon
    Elephant
    Lions - mating
    Reed Buck
    Hartebeest
    Impala
    Gazelle
    Hyena
    Ostrich
    Wart Hog
    Zebra
    Mongoose
    Topi
    Black-faced Monkey
    Spotted Hyena
    Jackal

Lecture on Predators - Part I - Lions

9/25/93    (Joel - Guide)
    The day started with a game drive that didn't look promising - a beautiful morning - but no game.  We went to look for cheetah and leopard (Duma and Chui) - very slow - with Joel and David - we searched hard - as the sun rose to high noon, we found two leopards in a tree (very unusual), mother and daughter - Hugo Van Lavwick was filming the scene.  David and Carla said let's go back for lunch - but Joel, "Cheetah Man" said no.  Let's go on, we are here in cheetah country and they are here - the rest is a memory.
    We sat watching the lone gazelle resting in the shade of the acacia as a mother cheetah and her four adolescent cubs slowly crossed the dry grass plain.  They had eaten earlier, as their faces were still smeared with blood.  The gazelle's gaze caught the cheetah and it stood up quickly - it began to tremble.  One of the cubs caught the gazelle's movement and sprinted.  The cubs made a feeble attempt.  As the gazelle started to run, the mother cheetah cut in from the left, at incredible speed, gaining on the gazelle as it zigzagged - it made a sharp turn right and the cheetah sprang - knocking it down and grabbing it by the throat in one motion.  In approximately one minute, this episode had taken place - one gazelle out of thousands - five cheetahs who had just eaten - a matter of seconds and this would have turned out differently.  Dave said this was only the fifth time he had seen a live Cheetah kill in his 20 years in Africa.
    The gazelle died quickly - do they feel pain and fear the way we humans do?  One has to hope not, in view of the fact that there are many hungry predators on the plain and many lives taken for them to survive.  This scene was just one of many which occur every day on the Serengeti - cheetahs need to eat fresh meat daily - the opportunity presented itself and the cheetah took it.  The mother demonstrated her remarkable competence by raising her four cubs to this age - she has killed many animals to feed and teach her cubs to hunt.  Only a great hunter could achieve this - usually two or three of the cubs would have died by now.
    On the return trip to camp - Cape Buffalo and more.

    Serengeti
    Leopard
    Impala
    Giraffe
    Zebra
    Wart Hog
    Lion
    Gazelle
    Topi
    Ostrich
    Vervet Monkey
    Baboon
    Lilac Breasted Roller
    Hornbill
    Hartebeest
    Cape Buffalo
    Cheetah
    Fish Eagle
    Batue Eagle

Lecture on predators - Part II - Cheetah and Leopard.

9/26/93    (Joel, Duma Man - Guide)
    A beautiful morning and we say goodbye to the Serengeti - such a great start to a safari is unimaginable - on our drive out, we stop to see the pride of lions and to see if Samson and Delilah were still mating - WOW - find new pair and new male - no tail - lions mate every 28 minutes and do nothing else!  (After three days, another male usually takes over the female - old mate who has not eaten or slept for three days is tired!)  Loses the fight and the one, he loves!  As we watch again, the new pair mated.  Drive to summit to overlook Serengeti for last time - Sunday school - on to Leakey lunch at Oldivai Gorge, "Cradle of Mankind" - over 1.8 million year-old homosapien - (grandpa) - down to the valley for lecture and bones - long drive day - up to crater - stop at Masai village.  Joel speaks the tribal tongue - a touch of the real - it was hard for me - but we know who is happiest!  Chief Clements has been to Oregon.  We drive onto the crater rim.  It's unbelievable to think that one mountain could have given off the energy to create this beautiful unique park - Ngorongoro Crater.
Lecture on Elephants.

9/27/93    Ngorongoro Crater    (Joel - Guide)
    All day game drive - like dropped off the edge -  into another world - the earth's finest eco system - all in a 10-12 mile diameter crater (100 square miles) - look at the game list - finest moment of the day was the rhino and calf - the showdown with male lion as he walked across the plain in waving grass - directly to them - about 30 feet away - stops and lays down - downwind - rhino can't see him - he rests - he finally walks around and no battle is fought - no life is lost today - that's how close it is!  What a day.  Wildebeest, jackal, crowned crane, sparing zebra, hare that froze - the rhinos that squirt, hippos so big - monkeys that steal!  David on the drive with Bwana Joel - words can't define the beauty and diversity of a day in the crater.

Lecture - preview of second half of Safari.

    Ngorongoro Crater
    Verreaux Eagle
    Golden Jackal
    Wildebeest
    Crowned Crane
    Secretary Bird
    Rhino
    Cape buffalo
    Hippo
    Marshall Eagle
    Vervet Monkey
    Lion
    Elephant
    Kongoni
    Hippo
    Hyena
    Black-backed Jackal
    Gazelle
    Zebra

9/28/93    (Joel - Guide)
    Today, we drive from the crater to a small airport in Karfu on the edge of the "Rift Valley" - the world's largest geological formation.  Below in the valley starts the Mara.  We left the rim of the crater and immediately dropped into agricultural area and the tribe of the Mto Wa (Lucas' tribe - very proud people) - here they built their homes of red clay bricks and cow dung.  I was in Africa - the drive was rough - dust and roads so bad that they kept moving over to the next piece of land for another road.  This shows the corruption of government and lack of concern for the people of the country - infrastructure - the money goes to the rich and their swimming pools, not the roads, hospitals, schools, or healthcare, -  it's the poverty - children - churches with good intentions trying to save the savages - touristos in Econo-Pig trucks - the smell - how I feel.  We loved the Serengeti.  We didn't want to lose our driver, Joel (great man - "Duma Man").  From Karfu, we flew to Mt. Kilimanjaro Airport for Tanzania customs and a flight to Nairobi - we stop to eat at the Carnivore (we'll meat you there).  On again to Samburu National Park - long day of travel - but beautiful park - semi-desert countryside - the northern frontier of Kenya - afternoon game drive that include the Grevys zebra, Reticulated giraffe, and Duma with the kill - dinner and Samburu dancers - early call.
   
Lecture - Landscape photography.

9/29/93    (Ben - Guide)
Samburu National Park (Samburu means Butterfly People, because they dress so fine and are so beautiful).  Best tents yet - thatched roofs-camp.  Early start - 6 a.m.  Our day started with a fantastic game drive that included giraffe, zebra, oryx, gerenuk, and more - then got on to Duma again - mother and her three cubs (3-4 months old).  They were leery of the vehicles and we worked hard at getting close for most of the morning - but never got there - returned for breakfast - Cath went on a camel ride to Samburu village and I went on another game drive - was great - giraffe down to river to drink as seven lions watched and slept - crocodile, eland - then on the way home, 17 elephants crossed river - back to camp -
sun-fun!  Another game drive at 4 pm. - reality check - it was a Disney game ride (it had not been this way before - where did they all come from?) - so many vans and people like you never wanted to see (22 vans full of people) at a stuffed pair of cheetahs - you chased the vans rather than animals - the last thing you wanted to see was here - dust clouds of people and vans.  It made us realize how lucky we were to be here and see the beauty now - how long will it last? - or - how long can the animals put up with this - great lecture on "Shepherds of the Desert" - the people and the way - the Masai way!

    Samburu
    Dik Dik
    Baboon
    Cheetah
    Giraffe
    Zebra
    Oryx   
    Impala
    Gerenuk
    Crocodile
    Lion
    Eland
    Tawny Eagle
    Elephant

9/30/93    (Ben - Guide)
We hated to leave Samburu tented camp, but we did not like the number of touristos - we started early with a game drive out of the park - beautiful day - good game - going over the bridge on way out, leopard "Chui" - we then drove on the Cairo to Capetown Road for an hour (the road the American aid for poverty travels).  It was a bad road - we then drove through the city of Isiolo (George and Joy Adamson, "Born Free," Elsa) and hit paved road first time in trip since the road to Arusha - on to Mt. Kenya Safari Club - "The Lodge" of Africa.  A real shower!  Relaxed and checked it out - nice dinner with David and Carla.

It was the full moon of our safari.

    Samburu
    Leopard
    Ostrich (Somali)
    Cape Buffalo
    Gazelle
    Zebra
    Giraffe
    Gerenuk
    Elephant
    Dik Dik
    Goshawk
    Oryx
    Baboon

10/1/93    (Joseph - Guide)
Departure from the Mt. Kenya Safari Club - was a beautiful morning and the mountain (Mt. Kenya) was clear and stupendous!  Drove to airport and flew to the Masai Mara - nice tented camp - Kichwa Tembo - we like this - sun and fun - read and sleep.  We went out for an afternoon game drive - always something new - baby topi - "The Migration" - wildebeest by the thousands.  New terrain - new spotting methods - end of the day - baby "cub" lions, four and their mother - and a mating couple and a pair of brothers - all together - unbelievable evening - back at camp - great dinner and camp employees (need to write more about the people and their friendliness, kindness, education, intelligence, etc.).

    Masai Mara
    Reedbuck
    Wildebeest
    Zebra
    Topi
    Gazelle
    Giraffe
    Cape Buffalo
    Eland
    Wart Hog   
    Crested Eagle
    Impala
    Baboon
    Elephants
    Lion

10/2/93    (Simon - Guide)
    Up at 5 a.m. - hot air balloon - great way to start the day - drove as the sun rose to the launch site - Swedish Captains, Jon and Bjorn, awaited with coffee and tea.  Flight instructions, landing position, and light them up - a team of Africans assisted and we were up, up and away - having never been it seemed surreal - like I was detached from my body - so soft and controlled - approximately one and a half hour flight.  Landing smooth as silk - like I never left the ground but saw it all.  We then had champagne, toast and a full-on breakfast in the bush.  Game drive home - Lion/Simba mother with one blue eye, four cubs - ostrich eggs - zebra and wildebeest drinking at river.  Elephants/Tembo crossing river (8) - Crocodile/Mamba - hippo (50)/kapogo - Giraffe/Twiga - etc.  All and more.  Simon, driver, great guy.

    Afternoon game drive - slow for the Mara until late, mother lion and four cubs - an entirely new pride - two young male lions - two large males, one with a bad eye - a thunderstorm and it rained in Masai while we were with them - they licked - we went home.
   
It was the last lecture - overview, conservation, intelligence, family, life, and death, etc.  Hard to contemplate trip going on without David and Carla's input and companionship.  They are fantastic people and the trip would not be the same without them.

        Masai Mara
    Baby Zebra Story
    Wart Hog
    Baboon
    Elephant
    Lion and cubs
Hippo
    Zebra
    Wildebeest
    Mongoose   
Crocodile
    Giraffe
    Topi
    Impala
    Gazelle
    Cape Buffalo
    Ostrich and eggs (36)
    Lions
    Eland
Duma - Cheetah

10/3/93    Last Day, "Wings over Migration"
    (Joseph - Guide)
    Morning game drive - it started with a beautiful Sunday morning sunrise (Sunday school in the outdoors) - as we left camp, we again drove by the same baby zebra that did not have the strength to rise - its mother hovering over and father not far away - it is so hard to explain the deep feelings - the scene reaches deep into my heart.  To start and finish each game drive with this image is the reality of the bush and Africa.  As a human being, it is so hard to keep in perspective the entire circle of life from birth to death (with a million and a half wildebeest alone in the Mara - they live to be 16 years old - just from old age, hundreds of thousands must die each year).  We then drove the great plains of the Masai Mara and came upon five separate carcasses of different animals in different stages - all very graphic with the vultures, the smell of death, stillbirth, and sadness.  "It looks like the killing fields; it must have been a busy night."  But all could be justified with creating life for life and the circle - because that same day we saw baby zebra, lion cubs, baby topi, and a cheetah family.  Then we came upon a zebra, the vultures had eaten his eyes out, the colors, red stark and real!  Cath said, "Look, he's snagged in a web of steel around his neck and legs."  The poachers, man, had tried to killed the zebra for eating his crops - why? - then we saw he was still breathing - the most sickening feeling filled my heart - like the baby zebra we had to pass - you wanted to help - shoot him, relieve his pain, do something - but no, the rules of the bush say that nature shall take its course.  We then tried to joke and move on, somehow, not really comfortable with ourselves - then Simba, our pride from last night - as we arrived, a male with full belly, lie 15 feet away from a female eating the innards of a wildebeest - the cubs lie sleeping with mother - young brothers watch and look on - we wait - eventually the mother rises and approaches the kill - she takes the entire wildebeest and drags it to shade for the cubs (a feat rarely seen) - unbelievable, she stops three times to catch her breath and rest - the wildebeest as large as herself - at times dragging the cubs who have attached themselves to the wildebeest's tail - incredible strength - what a lucky day.  After 45 minutes and all the lions are now hidden in the brush, we move on to look for cheetah - they say a family has been spotted the last two days - Joseph finds - Duma - a beautiful mother and three cubs who are resting under the shade of a tree (looks like they have recently eaten) - as we watch - Mother spots a tommy - makes a minimal attempt at a kill and comes back to cubs and closes her eyes as one cub plays in the tree - we decide to leave and come back later - we move onto the river for a drink and rest.  On the way, Carla points out a gardenia tree that has been bonsai'd by the giraffe - we go to investigate and behold the Simba mother with the bad eye and her cubs, in the "Lions in the Lair" - it was a sight to behold - after awhile, we pushed on again - we had commented earlier in the day that we had not seen any hyena and with all these kills - why?  (Mostly nocturnal but three years ago when their numbers were great, the Masai people started to poison them because they had been killing cattle) - one must remember it has been a very long and dry season - for wildlife, cattle and people - like the snared zebra, a battle for life and resources.

    We then drove up a ravine and came upon a family of spotted hyena.  This must be our day - how can it be so good - when we already have seen so much!  We met at the river under a giant fig tree - a parasite tree - where a bird had shit a fig seed onto a living tree - it then grew in the host and over thousands of years took over - now all you see is a fig tree that is a twisted giant (200' tall) - beautiful.  We then drove down along the river and found a few hippo (kapugo) and crocodile (mamba) - moved onto the hippo pool - 50 or more - a baby hippo - something that is going to be so big, so little!  We must move on if we want to see the cheetah again.  We broke ground in a straight line to Duma - there they were under the same tree, now one of the cubs had climbed the tree - slippery and awkward, he eventually fell out and jumped back up again - it was a beautiful picture of youth - they all laid down and rested again - suddenly the mother's ears perked up and her eyes pierced the horizon.  Focus like no other - first time - watched two tommy babies playing hundreds of yards away and then laid back down - but the second time she came alive - out of the corner of her eye a baby tommy - darting at a great distance - she arose and quickly crouched in her hunting position and slinked across the Mara.  In time, the cubs saw mom was gone and proceeded to follow - the tommy never saw her coming - the mother cheetah stopped about halfway and used a termite mound for cover and still was not seen - we knew it was over - the world's fastest animal - it didn't take long, two or three zags, a matter of seconds, and mama had the tommy in her mouth, prancing to the shade of another tree with the cubs following behind.  She dropped the tommy for the cubs - it looked like they weren't hungry as they laid under the tree catching their breath, not eating - actually covering the tommy up with their bodies - it must be that the mother is teaching the cubs - wait, it's still breathing - its making noises - the tommy - it jumped up, wrestled with a cub and "wham," before it got a step, mama had it in her mouth with a vice-like grip and it was dead this time - again, they didn't eat it right away - we decided that we could not ask for more on our final day of safari - "Kabasa Nzuri" -  "the ultimate" - we had seen life and babies, families and relationships, sharing, teaching and caring - death, "the kill," vultures, the smell, the snare, and the baby zebra all brought together in a way that we will never forget.  For me, it helped create an understanding of ecology, life, balance, a meaning for each of us, and a final sameness we all share - as we drove back on a dirt road across the great Masai Mara - there was a peace.  Thank you, God, for this moment of life and sharing it with me!  "Mungu Barrichi."

10/3/93    Late dinner in the bush - farewell campfire - tented affair - nice finish!

10/4/93    BBA - Beat by Africa - Karla
    It was the morning after and time for group photos - wake up coffee and a short ride to the airport (gravel runway).  We took a long loop over the southern Mara border of Tanzania to view from the air the migration (the wildebeest had gone back down to the Serengeti once but returned because it is so dry).  Time for thought and collection of memories.  We arrived at Wilson Airport (Nairobi, Kenya) and waited for documentation - met with Rose from A&K who gave us a brief on Zaire - it was going to happen, it was time to go to the next level - gorilla trekking - on our drive to Windsor CC, David gave us a tour of the city (we don't like cities) - at hotel -what a shower and room service - I went out and played golf with Bill Earle and Anthony came over to caddy again - great time - Cath went into city market to barter and shop for list back home.

    Time now for goodbyes - met everyone down in lobby bar - David and Carla - gave David my Cadillac watch - time is most precious possession to us all and Cad a standard of excellence - they had helped us forget time and their presence was a standard of excellence.  (Words can't explain our friendship).  We said goodbye to the group - thanked all and went back to the room to pack for our next adventure.

10/5/93    A day of transit - another new adventure and it is starting to sink in - we are going to see the Gorillas!  We rose, had coffee, and zipped the pack job!  We met the driver in the lobby (Jamgarbi).  David drove into Nairobi with us and we said goodbye for the last time - we proceeded onto the airport - hurry and wait - Andrew from A&K rushed us through customs and ticketing - wait two hours to board - watched CNN in the airport waiting area (culture shock - no news for three weeks) - Air Kenya - flight to Burundi - nice new plane - we landed in Bujumburu - hot and humid - all speaking French - we met Patrick a frenchy looking guy who collected us and our baggage - onto the Burundi Noveltier Hotel for lunch - here we met and dined with Karl and Gordon (two radiologists) from the Big Apple - good guys - gay?  We would gorilla trek with these two on the trip.  Had a great pizza and beer.  We met our driver, Fundi (Hutu) and he led us through Burundi and Rwanda, final destination Zaire.  We were stopped at over a dozen of the most amazing border checkpoints - soldiers and guns always asking for money.  Up through the Za Ha Ha Mountains following the Wa Ze Ze River with many, many people walking along the road - three to four hours straight - no cars - everyone walks here.

    It was just like the dawn scene in Nairobi.  But far more people - Rwanda, the most densely populated country in the world - Zaire right behind - many, many children (they just keep having them - 60% Catholic, 15 % Protestant, no birth control, "The African National Sport".)  Poverty like I've never seen!  The landscape was countryside and mountains - more tropical and lush.  Fundi told us there were no jobs - each family had a piece of earth and tried to live off it - you should see the houses and lives they live!  We arrived at the border of Zaire in the city of Bukavu on Lake Kivu - what a beautiful place - we arrived in a thunderstorm and proceeded to the Orchids Safari Lodge - (Bill and Melinda Gates were here the week before us) - nice place on the lake.  There we met Lawrence, a Belgian (owner of lodge).  There was another Lawrence with A&K who I was told was to be our guide.  Slight mix-up, but both great guys - one white and one black.  We washed up and went to dinner - great food and early to bed - up early for the gorillas.

    Lawrence, our guide, (Tutsi) met us the next morning - he was "the best" and became a good friend - he taught me much about Zaire and its people - we joked and laughed on our drives.  He lost his wife to malaria four years ago and his son is now in the hospital with malaria (very treatable - but not here).  No dollars; no doctor; no medicine.  He was articulate and spoke six languages.

    The other Lawrence was also a good person - father, worked with UN, protection of small animals but real money from wife's father.  Zaire big money - Lawrence manages three hotels in a country that's on the edge.  It was like he was a cocaine dealer counting money every night - one US dollar equaled 9 million Zaire.  It fluctuated daily and big black market!  The lodge had TV CD's and video.  French music and Elton John.  We were in a country of instability and unrest, total corruption.

    (Average income:  $30 U.S. a year in Zaire!)

    Imagine this:  A national bank no person will put money in because you can't get it out - no money in the bank.

Explanation:  Lawrence told us country leaders would use the black market, each night they scrape the banks, then fly plane loads of money - tons, to interior cities where they made 30% margin because the rest of the country had only Zaire dollars.  (Could not get other currencies because not next to border) - so you are regular guy - you get paid in Zaire money - you hide it at home and lose big on inflation.

    The only jobs that existed were government positions.  These state workers have not been paid for 10 months.  They continue to work for assumed medical benefits - but little do they know - no medicine.

    Lawrence told us average person in the city eats one meal every two days.  The rich (see pictures of homes on lake) get rich through natural resources - gold, tea, coffee, minerals - and corruption - you pay everyone off - all the time - even for crime - feeds on itself!

    No cars or pubic transportation, no cars on road - looks like bombed out war zone -everyone walks.  Can't buy parts or cars other than in Burundi (six hours and two countries away).

    Communications - Lawrence had to go to Rwanda to phone or fax a message - mail a letter - three-four months.  How do you run a business?

    Lastly, water to drink must be collected and boiled to drink, cook or use - and sanitary system is hole in ground.

    John, the lodge steward, took us on a boat ride and told us of his daily life. "Now, think, you wake in morning (4:30) a.m. with wife and two babies, leave at 6 a.m. and run two hours to work over two mountains - work until 8 p.m., run home in dark and call this life.

10/6/93    Today, we began our gorilla trek!  Up at 6 a.m. - breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and then Lawrence picks us up at 7 a.m. for the 40 minute drive to the Kahuzi-Biega National Park.  There we met our tracker, Elwa, and three Pygmy trackers - we have been assigned the Mushamuku family - consisting of 10 gorillas - the silverback being named Mushamuku.  There are four gorilla families in the park, which have been habituated to human visitors.  The guide visits the same family every day so that they can pick up their trail where they were last visited.  Elwa and the others speak French and a bit of Swahili - no English - Lawrence translates the briefing.  "Expect the male silverback to charge the group to show his dominancy.  Do not run!  Lower your head and act submissive."  We start out through the forest on fairly level terrain - (yesterday, they came upon them in one hour so we are hopeful).  There are signs - bamboo peelings, spoor, here and there.  There are also elephant signs - we do not talk as this bothers the elephants and they may charge - hard to believe elephants use this foot path in this dense forest!  After an hour, the climbing gets steeper and we seem to be going in a big circle.  We stop to wait while the trackers go ahead.  They returned after 30 minutes, and they have found Mushamuku and his family.  Actually, we smell them before we see them - not a bad smell - a beautiful earthy animal smell.  There he is - the silverback - lying in the sun with three females in a bamboo patch.  His hands are as big as this page.  He is absolutely beautiful.  We slowly get positioned and sit in silence.  Every once in a while, he gives a grunt, which one of the guides imitates.  There are two or three youngsters climbing trees and playing - we are lucky that there is some sun coming through - the expressions are wonderful - they seem so peaceful.  I have absolutely no fear - we remain 12 feet away.  We stay one hour which is the limit.  As we are leaving, we come to a female with her infant about 8 feet beside us - we watch for a moment and she heads back to the group.  It takes us about 15 minutes to return to the road.

    Cathy, "To have been as close to them in their own environment, is unexplainable in words.  To see the glint in their eyes and their beautiful leathery faces sitting on the forest floor with them is one of the greatest experiences of our lives.  Thank you, Steve, for bringing me here!"

    Orchids had a barbecue for us on the beach and then took us out for a two hour boat ride to show us the rich - houses, country club, governor's and president's house - etc.  - John gave us a good inside picture of the people, the troubles, the poverty, etc.

10/7/93    (I have waited a day to write the events of the second day of gorilla trekking because so much happened.)

    I woke very early to barking dogs.  It was still very dark and I have missed my dog, Beau.  I thought a lot about home, our animals, and family.

    As I lay there collecting my thoughts and thinking about yesterday, sheets of rain slowly and then with great force wave across the tin roof of our lodge.  I then realize God had blessed us on this journey "Safari," especially the last two days with blue skies and beautiful weather.  Could you imagine the last two days in the jungle with this type of rain.  Lawrence advised us that it rains over 200 days a year at Lake Kivu.

    My thoughts turn to all the millions of people who are up at this time of day walking.  It's pounding rain.  I know my friend, John, from the lodge is out there on his two-hour run to work.

    One of my favorite images of the entire trip in Zaire is the roadblock washout.  Each morning on our drive to the park after we passed through town - we came upon one of our many roadblocks - these were not official authorities, police, or just someone asking for a typical bribe - it was a mud slide from the famous erosion farming happening in Zaire - rocks piled across the road, we came to a stop - at first two or three young men came running up and shouted "you must pay toll" - Lawrence spoke Swahili to the lead boy who had a great personality and smile.  He gave him a few Zaire and we passed.  As we came around the corner, there were many young men who had dug the roadway out and made clear a path to pass on down the road.  We may never have seen the gorillas without this effort.  Could a slide happen again?  Could we be stuck in Bukavu for the next week?  Until the boys dug it out (no D.O.T. here), just another checkpoint!

    The time has come - our second day with the Gorillas.

    It started the same as the day before, early breakfast, blue sky, a drive through Bukava, the same images, the thousands of people walking, no cars, the poverty, the beauty of the lake and countryside, etc.  But this morning, we stopped in town and picked up a lady, Mrs. Leakey, a friend of Lawrence's.  She was the bookkeeper for the National Park, and she rode up with us.  A quiet ride, a beautiful morning.  At the time, we didn't know but we got the Park's #1 guide and with only one other person in our group (usually eight per group).  Stephen was from Germany and his brother had worked with the park and other gorilla projects for years.  John, our guide, spoke English and communicated much better than Elwa from the previous day.  (Elwa had 20 years of experience, but only spoke French.)  John's briefing was a wealth of knowledge.  He first explained that he had literally grown up at the park.  Since six years-old, he started working and habituating himself to the gorillas.  His uncle was the founder of the park, Adrian Deschryver.  At age two, John's father died and he was raised by his aunt and moved in with Adrian's family.  He then went to college and returned in 1983 to the park to guide.  He was assigned to rehabituate Mushamuka, who we visited the day before.  Mushamuka had not been visited for three years and turned wild again when John's uncle left to start a new gorilla project in another park.
    John then explained that there are four families habituated in the park and are visited every day - they are:
a) Maheshe
b) Mushamuku
c) Mubalala
d) Naninja - who we will visit today
(There are approximately 200 wild gorillas in the park.)

A short history of the park's gorillas.  Maheshe's father Casimere was the original silverback male and family habituated.  He died in 1974 and Maheshe, his son, took over the family.  Mushamuku, a brother to Maheshe, was habituated in 1972, and he is the father of both Mubalala and Naninja.  Naninja is 18 years-old and matured in 1985 and got his silverback in 1987.  He is a superb example of a gorilla and in 1989; he left the family of Mushamuku.  He had no territory and fought twice with his father.  Eventually winning, he took eight females, two babes, and part of his territory.  He then fought with the other two silverbacks as well as a wild silverback and won.  Taking seven more females and five more babies along with portions of their territory to start his kingdom.  Naninja's family consisted of eight females, seven babies, and several juveniles totaling 22.  (He was named after a tribal chief whose tribe lived in the park and didn't like the gorillas.  They did this to pay respect to him and, hopefully, help change his mind.)

As we started our trek (John, four pygmy trackers, Gordon, Karl, Stephen, Cath and I) were told it is often hard to find Naninja because of the family's size, usually they spread out over a large area and make it more difficult to track.  (Imagine a wave of 22 gorillas cruising through the jungle.)  Immediately, this trek was different.  We entered the jungle where there was no trail, hacking through incredibly dense bush that was very difficult.  I'm glad we had gloves and boots.  Yesterday, it didn't matter; it was a cake-walk. Today, it was the real thing (see pictures).  Up steep slopes, through bamboo thickets, thorn thistle, vines so thick the trackers had to cut holes through (they were so short, their holes very low).  About two and a half hours into the difficult hike, it happened.  We were in the swamp.  Two guides were out front; John was following, Cath behind him, Gordon, myself and then the others.  Out of nowhere a swarm of black African wasps came out of the bushes to our right.  They appeared so suddenly that no one realized what was happening until Gordon started screaming.  I started wiping wasps off of his back with my gloves - they were in our faces, in our hair, and panic broke out.  John recognized the problem and told Cath to run; behind us, Karl and group had retreated.  At this point, Gordon freaked out and launched screaming into the jungle - pulling wasps off myself - I stopped half-way between the attack zone and Gordon's screams in the jungle and remembered my wife and called for Cath - a voice came back, "I'm all right, just a few bites."  Eventually, the group found each other and reorganized to assess the situation - Gordon had been stung several times on the face and head, myself a few (eight or nine bites on face, neck, and head) the rest of the group a few bites.  At this point, a somber mood of reality fell over the group that this is for real and the jungle can kill - oh yeah, and it's stinging like hell right now!  If anyone would have been allergic or the attack more serious, you would die, before they ever got you out of the jungle and down the forty-five minute drive to town and to a hospital with no medicine.  Suddenly, we realized any kind of accident could be serious - we then started right back into heavy tracking - stunned - stung!

One symbolic sign of the jungle's beauty manifested itself right after we started to hike again.  The most beautiful wild red flowers you've ever seen - were right next to the trail.

Immediately, we were able to pick up the tracks again.  Following very fresh spoor, seeing a nest, and bamboo peelings - cutting our way through the jungle approximately another hour.  We then lost them in a wall of thicket vines and thistle.  John advised we sit down on a very steep slope and rest while trackers search out the trail of the gorillas.

We sat down and John began to answer questions for everyone - someone then asked about the movie, "Gorillas in the Mist" - that's where most of you Americans learn about these friends of mine - actually much of this movie was made here with Mushamuku as the silverback "Digit" - John was the trainer for the movie.  He then went on to tell us about all the politics and bad memories he had of the experience - because they made it appear that they were studying only the Rwanda Highlands Gorillas and never mentioned his friends from Zaire.  (That's Hollywood.)  Also the director and cameraman wanted John to provoke Mushamuku into a charge scene - John told them he could do it maybe three times in a day.  No, they wanted ten times and demanded it!  Then on the second day, Mushamuku charged and didn't stop and bit the cameraman (Alan Root) and took most of his thigh - he was flown to the hospital and spent three months.

The trackers returned and said the gorillas had gone down the slope and through the swamp - not the swamp again.  On we moved, down through the swamp and as we came out of the other side, fresh spoor and shoots - you could start to smell them - you could feel the tension mount and then - Hu, Hu!  You could hear one - we were in thick vines and all of a sudden, a black shadow drifts in front of John and he halts - we're here!  That's mama and a 19-day old baby at her breast, you could barely see her as she moved - then two juveniles and they moved on - then John got up and motioned, let's move on and find Naninja - we followed through the vines and dense jungle to a clearing and there he was - the most beautiful silverback you've ever see - you could see how he won all the fights, females, and territory - magnificent!  His was sculpted like a bodybuilder, his coat shined like a fine race horse - he didn't have the wrinkles and the age of Mushamuku!  It was all worth it for that moment - John motioned to come up 2-3 yards away - we sat with him - Naninja peeled shoots and looked at us - John pointed up, there was one of the babies at the top of a tree about twenty feet in the air looking down on us.  John opened his shirt and clapped his chest - talking to him - Naninja responded with two beats on his chest - goodbye.  Naninja then got up gracefully, cruised through jungle so thick you would never have believed any animal could penetrate - and he did it quietly - sat down and started to eat shoots again - as we watched sitting in the grass - John knew every one of them - names, ages, relationships - amazing - Naninja moved and we followed - the group was all around us and we could hear them - every time you looked around - there was another - the third time we followed Naninja, he moved to very thick brush at the end of a trail.  Feeling we had pinned him, I asked should we move back.  No, John responded, and called to me, come up here - we sat within a few feet of him - you could truly see John's love for Naninja and his family - in his eyes shined a magic - he talked to Naninja - he nestled into the brush like he was one of them!  Without warning, Naninja rose, slowly started to move away, he walked between us, patted John on the shoulder - you could hear it - you could see and feel it - they were friends - they had grown up together - every day they saw each other, and we got to share it!  Our hour with the family evaporated.  John said we should go - what a day - what a moment of life - words can't express the emotions and feelings!

In a daze of passion, we started our hike out - overcome by emotions - can you believe we were two minutes from the road and our truck.  We had hiked for six hours in a circle - reality - photos with friends - exchanged gifts, gloves, and bamboo whistle, and we left the jungle with many fond memories.

We drove to the tea plantation for lunch and a tour - stopped by the market - back to the Orchids - dinner and deep thoughts of a special day and moment in life.

 

THE LONG ROAD HOME

10/8/93    It was difficult to pick up a pen again after the final day with the gorillas - what a great way to end a journey on the other end of the world.  We woke early at the Orchids and had been asked to depart at 8 a.m. by Lawrence (A&K) even though our plane didn't leave until 4:45 p.m.  (The reality of a third-world trip - Lawrence had to get work done in Bujumburu - favors taken care of - new clients picked up.  As throughout the Zaire trip, you said OK, let's go.)

    We have breakfast with Lawrence the lodge owner on the veranda and later took care of our bill.  Several billion Zaire but Lawrence would only take U.S. dollars so he could play the black market - again, we made several friends and couldn't believe how educated, how many languages they spoke, how friendly they were, and how poor their life was today.  We loaded in the van and had a similar drive on return, with constant roadblocks and border checks.  It felt good that we were out of Zaire with only the "wasp story" as our worst incident.  Once in Bujumburu, we returned to the hotel for a pizza and beer, and a goodbye lunch with Karl and Gordon! 

Lawrence and Fundi then said they would give us a tour of Bujumbura - it lasted two hours - it was very hot - we ran errands and not a word of description given by either, but that was okay!  Onto the airport - hurry and wait two hours - incredible customs and airport!  It was a very long, hot day - start of our journey home from Zaire to Olympia.  Bujumburu to Nairobi - back to home base and a night at the Windsor CC.

10/9/93 -

10/10/93    Awoke, packed and picked up at 8 a.m.  Fly from Nairobi to Nanyuki - beautiful flight on a clear day.  Two days at Mt. Kenya Safari Club - rest, read, sun, fun, and sleep!  It was a very good time to reflect, collect, and re-enter the world.

10/11/93    As we left the Mt. Kenya Safari Club, the driver needed to pick up a couple who had been sick and were at the hospital - they were going back to Nairobi on the same flight.  Well, they happened to be a local Nairobi couple.  He was a wealthy banker who could not believe we had risked a trip to Zaire - with the civil unrest, Hutu and Tusti problems, economic conditions, and instability of the government.  In his heart, he was jealous.  We sat next to Naninja - were we naïve, stupid or lucky? - it didn't matter.  We were back and it was worth all the risk!  We returned to Nairobi on "Moi Day (President's Day) - to pack and be ready for the long flight from Nairobi to Zurich - a shower, a meal, and one last walk to say goodbye to Africa.

10/12/93    Rise and shine - we're on our way to see Beau - it's for real - check out of the Windsor CC (been a great home base), Jomo Kenyatta Airport - take off - leave Africa - seven hour flight Swiss Air - land Zurich 6 p.m. and onto the Dolder Grand - culture shock - it's so clean - beautiful - orderly.  This is where I'd live if I lived in Europe - fashion - money - jewelry - Mercedes Benz - no unemployment - I reflect on the cities in Tanzania, Zaire, even Kenya - filth, corruption, no jobs, poor, hungry - what's the difference?
        The people
        The morals
        The ethics
        The discipline
       
A fairness and quality
        All intangibles, a fine line, but real!

10/13/93    There's no bed like the Dolder Grand - room service with a view - a panorama drive and off to Zurich International and the long leg, nine and a half hour flight to Atlanta - "It's the Real Thing! U.S.A.  - God Bless America - we're glad to be coming home to the ones we love and our farm - we're safe - in good health - customs in Atlanta - and a quick turn-around onto the last leg - Atlanta to SeaTac 9:55 p.m. - flown all day and chased the sun - 26 hours since we got up in Zurich.  Wild Bill to Cedarlake Farm.       

Beau, Molly, Ela, Kersey, and the farm.

REFLECTIONS - FINAL CHAPTER
(Written on the flight home)

    This entire journey started as my wife's dream - if there was one place she wanted to go before she died, it was Africa - well, after the last year and a half and losing two pregnancies late in the game, I thought, why not!  You can't take it with you!  She desired a gift and it sounded like a great adventure to me!

I needed one - I had been bored with work's repetitiveness and have created tremendous commitments with the environmental projects, local project "Green," U of M Board, Northwest Watershed Education Alliance, Association of Washington Business Broad of Directors, Saturn, and the GM environmental effort - I needed time to sort things out and find the path!

    Now, before I go any further, I must let you know that this experience has been the most educational, thought-provoking and introspective time I have spent in my life.  So, before I hear of any news from the last month at home, work, our family, or friends, let me express these feelings.  I thank the Lord for letting us share these moments in nature with His creations at this early time in our lives.  Let me never forget what I have learned and felt on this journey throughout my life.

    Many thoughts and emotions have run deeply through me over the last 30 days and I would like to share some of them with you.

    As I mentioned in my first days of writing - everything about this journey felt right - the rhythm of the time - each moment of truth said "yes," - it's not that there were no doubts or problems along the way, but each a lesson to learn from - the mojo was working!

    Even before the trip many good things manifested themselves - friends that could help and give advice, Michelle, Laura, Janet, family, friends, Bill Stapp, etc. - also that early on, we made the decision to spend and stretch to go first cabin - with both time and money (those are often the hardest decisions).  Taking the extra days in Zurich at the front-end gave us time to properly adjust to the time change.  Also, it got our heads and thoughts out of the race of the business back home.  Hiking in the mountains of Zurich got us in shape, adjusted to altitude, and in-tune with the woods and nature.

    It was a God-send that we decided to go with the "Wings over the Migration" with David and Karla Jones for several reasons.  First, Africa is such a large country with so many terrains that without a proper guide and flying to destinations, one could be overwhelmed with trying to see it all.  Also, you could be driving on the worse roads in the world, the rest of your life and never see what you were there to experience.  Secondly, the relationship with David and Karla, and the nightly lectures on the safari.  The people, the animals, photography, and the landscape made this trip a truly educational experience - what an opportunity!  Thirdly, because they were there on the daily game drives with their 23 years of experience.  They could tell you what to look for, the facts, the information, what you're looking at, as well as how to appreciate what was happening and taking the time to do so.

    Another event that was more personal was that I finally picked up a camera again - an important part of my past.  I must thank my sister, Kathy, for the push.  I shot over 2,500 pictures (she loaned me her camera and telephoto lens) - loved the creativity again - overcame an old mental block about trying to capture the moment of nature rather than enjoying the event.  I was able to do both again - thanks K.P.

    All the planning, calls, and meetings were worth the front-end preparation, and by the time it was actually "lift off," we were ready to go.  We had watched the movies, read the books, studied the animals, experimented with the cameras and mentally prepared ourselves to actually leave for a month.  I felt confident with leaving work - Thanks, Dave, Shag, and Gary.  It felt good - it was suppose to happen - it was in the stars and meant to be!

    In final preparation we completed our first "Will" - which for the first time in my life made me answer several questions about myself, my wife, and family.  Who got what, what happened if I died, do they pull the plug?  (Yes).  This all touched me very close to the heart.
        How much I loved my wife
        How much I loved my family
        How much I loved my dog, cat and horses
        How much I loved life

    It felt good to have to deal with these questions before I left for such a journey - for this much time.  Forced to answer and decide.

    The first part of the journey, I felt like a sponge just absorbing all I saw and felt, not thinking too much about it - but I very vividly remember one moment on our first day with David on way to Arusha, that he stated, "Anyone that has come on this safari, has never gone home the same person."

    Well, in the Serengeti, it started to happen - realization of the balance of nature that has been here for millenniums.  That I as a human being was a part of this and observing, not someone trying to control it, develop it, market it, or in some way change it.  You could drive for hundreds of miles, day upon day, and never see a fence, a piece of trash, or a man - only nature.  Each moment was special but also common for the event.  Like the eleven lions eating the zebra, with death, or the lion and the mother rhino with her baby that ended without a fatal conclusion - all of the moments, all the events, were an essence of the balance.  It was real; it was all around me - with no one to trying to alter the scene.  I think of home and the spotted owl, our salmon, our forest, and water - these problems are all just indicators, "the canary in the cave" - man's effort to control, shape, and balance our resources.  This trip has recharged my commitment to the education of our children, to help them learn how to work together, building partnerships to find our balance for this time and moment.  To preserve these types of experiences and resources so future generations can learn from similar natural events, wildlife, native people, landscapes - a balance.

    An extension of this path - was to deal with death - the circle - the journey - my life - the way I feel - "It's a good day to die" (Sioux Indian way), living it as if it was the last - notes in the journal on our last day of the game drives - the baby zebra too weak to stand and its mother's pain - the carcasses, vultures, death, the smell.  It all created life and it was all part of the circle - the cycle of life.  These scenes, these memories all pulled me closer to the true priorities of life - my personal being - health, the ability to do, grow, share, and help others.  Family - the ones you love - your mate - your mother and father - brothers and sisters - the animals - the children - the relationships - the genes - the cooperation and commitment - the lions (Simba) - the elephants (Tembo) - the cheetah (Duma) - all of life - the Family.  "It's a good day to die," in the bush of Serengeti, the jungle of Zaire, or my own backyard in Olympia, all hold that potential and reality.  We must live it NOW - we must show the ones we love - we must share the moments and feelings, enjoy it - live it - be positive.  It's only a swarm of wasps away!

                        STEVE HULBERT
                        (AKA:  FUNMEISTER)

AFRICAN FACTS AT A GLANCE

Area:   11,635,000 square miles (30,420,000 sq. km.).

Approximate Size:    More than three times the size of the United States; Larger than Europe, the United States, and China combined; the second largest continent covering 20% of the world's land surface.

Population:    600,000,000.  (1992)

Largest Waterfall:    Victoria Falls (world's largest), twice the height of Niagara Falls and twice as wide.

Longest River:    Nile River (world's longest), 4160 miles (6710 km.).

Largest Crater:    Ngorongoro Crater (largest intact crater in the world), 12 miles (19 km.) wide with its rim rising 1200-1600 feet (36-488 m.) off its expansive 102 square miles (264 sq. km) floor.

Highest Mountain:    Mt. Kilimanjaro (highest mountain in the world not part of a range), 19,340 feet (5895 m.).

Highest Mountain Range:    Ruwenzoris (Mountains of the Moon), 16,794 feet (5109 m.).

Largest Lake:    Lake Victoria (world's third largest), 26,828 square miles (69,485 sq. km.).

Largest Drainage Basin:    Congo River Basin (world's second largest), 1,476,000 square miles (3,822,840 sq. km.).

Most Densely Populated (in Africa):    Rwanda has 363 people per square mile (140 per sq. km.).

Largest Fresh Water Oasis:    Okavango Delta (Botswana), over 4000 square miles (10,300 sq. km.).

Largest Desert:    Sahara (world's largest), larger than continental United States.

Largest Land Mammal:    Elephant (world's largest), over 15, 000 pounds (6800 kg.).

Largest Bird:    Ostrich (world's largest), over 8 feet (2.5 m.) tall.

Deepest Lake:    Lake Tanganyika (world's second deepest), over 4700 feet (1433 m.).

Longest Lake:    Lake Tanganyika (world's longest), 446 miles (714 km.)

Longest Rift Valley:    The Great Rift Valley, a 5900 mile (9500 km.) gash from the Red Sea to Lake Malawi, with 30 active volcanoes.

Most Species of Fish:    Lake Malawi (500 species).

Tallest People:    The Dinka of Southern Sudan (world's tallest), generally reach on average 71 inches (180 cm.).

Shortest People:    The pygmies of Zaire (world's shortest), reach only 49 inches (125 cm.).