Chameleons, cars and chickens

We have had a good week or so with many typical African experiences.  The weather has finally turned sunny and we spent a whole day in our compound garden on Sunday enjoying the sun, birds and a chameleon.  It is still relatively cold in the evenings however.

Mount Kilimanjaro Two-horned Chameleon

On Friday I went with ECHO colleagues to the Arusha Technical College to see some student projects to assist smallholder farmers.  It was a step back in time when we walked into the foundry section where it looked like the foundry my Dad spent much of his career in and where I spent many school holidays working.  It turns out most of the equipment was a gift of second-hand equipment by the German government in the 1970s so would be very similar to the stuff Dad (and I) worked with.  He reckons he could start work there quite comfortably today.  Maybe he should apply for an Australian Volunteer Program position!

I'm still without a work permit but we had a meeting with our in-country managers on Saturday who assured us that our permits would be sorted and we wouldn't have to leave soon when our tourist visas expired - so that was reassuring...

Jenny had a bad day with the car last week when she had to take a student to a hospital in Arusha and the radiator began to boil.  Turned out there was a blockage so the reservoir was full but the radiator was running dry.  She caught it in time and with our friend Stanley Mbogo's help was rescued but it involved several hours of roadside assist, mobile phone torchlight and a night drive home - something we try to avoid at all costs.

Stanley wiping his brow!

On Monday Jenny's and my jobs combined when a group of over 40 of her students came to ECHO for a few hours to learn how to grow healthy, nutritious food in small container gardens (car tires, grain sacks etc.) when they go home to their villages.  Jenny and I were very impressed with the quality of the information provided by the ECHO staff and the students had fun tasting new foods and potting up plants.

Spot the odd ones out?

Jenny headed off today for a couple of days to villages near Lake Natron where some of the past students live to see how they were going.  So I'm batching for a night!  A rare eventuality for us to be apart in East Africa.

We have noticed a rattle in the car on the bumpy roads around our house lately so today I took the car to a mechanic for a look-see.  Again, our great friend Stanley organised this and spent the whole day with me.  From 9 am until 4:30 pm I stood around while the car front steering assembly was stripped and replaced (with new parts), the radiator was drained and refilled with coolant and then we had the wheels balanced and aligned.  I could still hear a rattle along the rough road up to our compound but it was certainly much better.  The mechanic was highly complimentary about the car engine and hopped into the pit during the wheel alignment and declared 'hamna shida' (= no issues) under the car.  The rough roads between us and the highway are certainly not good for cars - the footrest fell off the other day) but the benefit in taking those roads is that there is less stress on the driver from traffic police and other drivers.

My day today. Suggest your car mechanics diversify into chickens.  They certainly distracted me over many hours.

I took the opportunity with Stanley today to start planning our major safari to Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti NP in December-January.  Our friends Rob and Lou Drummond are coming then and we want to maximise the experience. The main issue is where the large migrating herds will be at that time - which depends on the rain and responding grass.  The best option seems to be to go with a safari company that has movable tented camps so we can follow the migration.  I've explained to Stanley what we want and I'm confident he will come up with a great plan for us.

Every week has positives and negatives - we just have to weight our experiences accordingly and make sure we have made a positive contribution...

Eid holidays and a safari

Cape Buffalo, Plains Zebra, Warthog, Western Cattle Egret, Grey Heron and Red-billed Oxpecker - can you see them all?

The Islamic month of Ramadan finished last week with two days of celebration called Eid.  The actual date of Eid varies each year (similar to how Easter varies) and we never know until the day before which days to have off.  The clerics have to study the moon - hard to do when it is so overcast here lately.  Anyway it was decided that Wednesday and Thursday were the holidays so we took the opportunity to go to Arusha National Park for the day.

Harvey's Duiker (a forest skulker).

Waterbuck

Little Bee-eater

We were up and on the way early and it was only 45 mins from home to entry into the park about 8:15.  We stayed until 5pm so got value for our money.  This was primarily a birding trip and we saw nearly 80 species.  The highlight was not a bird though.  There are a few small herds of Elephants in the park but they stick to the forests and are almost never seen.  We came across some dry dung on a road and then more and more - getting fresher as we went along.  Then we came around a bend in time to see the back half of a large Elephant disappearing into the forest.  We stopped and could hear more moving through the trees but couldn't see them.

Blue Monkey

Kirk's Dik-dik

White-browed Coucal

Lesser Flamingo - adults and juveniles (Cape Teal also).

Another highlight was the clearing skies in the afternoon and the views of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance.

Jenny not looking at the view over Momela Lakes towards Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Mount Kilimanjaro showing through the clouds beyond Ngurdoto Crater.

Among the birds were a new tick for me in Tanzania (Pied Avocet) and four lifers (Malagasy Pond Heron, Mountain Greenbul, Kenrick's Starling and Sharpe's Starling.

Although it is a small park there is still much for us to explore.  There are many small tracks that loop off the main roads and these often go deeper into forest (where several good birds lurk).  On this trip they were still wet however so we will try them when they dry out.  There is also a road that heads up the mountain to where the summit walks start.  The extra altitude this reaches also means a few new birds waiting for me.

Ochre Bush Squirrel

Striped Skink

White-fronted Bee-eater

An albino Baboon.

Hopefully in the near future we will get our residence visas and that will halve the cost of admission.

In other news we still don't have our work permits or residence visas...

I gave a talk at the Arusha Conservation Agriculture Forum on Friday at the Tanzania Pesticide Research Institute.  This is held several times a year and is organised by ECHO to bring together farmers, advisers and researchers to discuss topical issues.  I was supposed to be first speaker at 9:00 but didn't get to my feet until about 10:30 by which time most people had arrived.  It turned out to be quite a long day but very informative with several interesting topics presented (e.g. Pastoralists v Farmers, control of some serious crop pests, community seed banks and a fertiliser decision tool).  All in Swahili (except mine) with translations for the non-swahili speakers in the audience.  About 60 people attended.

Some fine weather

Not a lot to report this week.  I spent three days working on my assignment plan (an AVI requirement) and on a major project funding application.  I heard that my work permit has been signed but I don't have it in my hands yet.  No word on Jenny's - she is going through a different process to the rest of us.  Next is the residence visas that allow us to stay for two years.  These are a few weeks away yet apparently and as that is sure to be an optimistic timeframe I expect we will have to leave the country for a while in early July - we are thinking of spending a week in Uganda.

Mount Meru seen from near Arusha airport

The rain stopped on Wednesday and we have had welcome short bursts of sun since.  Although more rain will be needed for crops soon the sunshine is making everyone feel better about life.  Today we had a great view of Mount Meru as we came home from the supermarket.  The photo above was taken at 1440 m above sea level.  Mount Meru reaches 4566 m a.s.l. so it is over 3 km above us and 17 km to our north-east.  Jenny says she has seen snow on it.

My sourdough starter is a roaring success and I baked four lovely bâtards today.

There were four.  We ate one!

This coming week has a public holiday for Eid - the end of the month of Ramadan for our Muslim neighbours.  We don't know yet if it will be Wednesday or Thursday (or possibly Friday) but whichever day it is we will be heading to Arusha NP for a safari.

Lake Manyara National Park

On Sunday we plus Stephanie were up early and off to Lake Manyara National Park for the day.  It is about 2 hours south-west from home.  Contrary to some advice we were allowed in as tourists with a private car - so that is now clear.

On the way we stopped for fuel and it came to 79,000 shillings (Aust$50) for about 34 l.  Unfortunately the pump attendant insisted the amount was 179,000 and we had quite a heated discussion - particularly after the pump reset and the receipt mysteriously disappeared.  We decided that a RAV4 only holds 55 l and drove off.  We won't be going back to that supplier.

Giraffes on the shore of Lake Manyara.

Once in the park we wandered the road network and saw many birds and mammals.  The lake holds many flamingos, pelicans, storks and herons.  The marshland has ducks, waders, jacanas, crakes and assorted weavers.  Raptors were largely absent apart from a single Fish Eagle, a couple of Bateleurs and some distant, unidentified vultures.  The bush had many birds and activity was busy all day.

Dwarf Mongoose

Hildebrandt's Francolin

Yellow-billed Stork nesting

Great White Pelican

Hottentot Teal

We nearly came to grief on one particularly boggy road but managed to think our way carefully out of it.  Soon after we met a couple in a RAV4 who were bogged for two hours on the same road and the people in a second 4WD that got bogged trying to pull the first car out.  The rest of the roads were fine however.

Elephant deep in the undergrowth.

Emerald-spotted Wood Dove

Red-and-yellow Barbet - very tame in picnic area.

Yellow-bellied Greenbul

A lovely small park but we only saw a small fraction of it. We will go back regularly and hopefully find somewhere nice and inexpensive nearby to stay overnight.

Helmeted Guineafowl

Dikdik

Black Bishop

Mammal highlights: Elephants, Giraffe, Hippos (distant), Dikdiks, Mongoose.
Bird highlights: Hildebrandt's Francolin (lifer), Hottentot Teal, Glossy Ibis, African Spoonbill, Great White Pelican, Grey-crowned Crane, Whiskered Tern, Olive Bee-eater, Southern Ground Hornbill, Red-and-yellow Barbet, Slate-coloured Boubou, African Golden Oriole, Yellow-bellied Greenbul and Hildebrandt's Starling.

Plains Zebra

Vervet Monkey

Work, a new car, birds and that election

Since the last post I have been to work a couple of days and done some work at home.  We are still waiting for work permits and inspectors have been visiting workplaces (not ours yet) so we can't be too careful.  We have no idea how this will resolve itself and no indication that our permits are likely any time soon.  Jenny goes every day as she is assured the catholic church have a special arrangement and she is legal.  I'm not convinced.

I've been working on reviewing failed funding applications with an eye to improving ECHO's success rate.  I also have been preparing a talk for a workshop on conservation agriculture coming up next month.  It will present a project I led on conserving biodiverse native grasslands on farms on the Victorian Volcanic Plains over 15 years ago.  I hope I can make it interesting and relevant.

Tree nursery at ECHO.

ECHO - Main office

ECHO - My office (door on far right)

In the meantime we have bought a car!  Another RAV4 wagon - a few years younger than the the one we had in Uganda.  It appears mechanically sound and went well on its first decent run - to the airport and back yesterday - although it is not possible to get much above 80 km/h on the roads here.

Our new car.  So far we are very happy with it.

Last weekend we visited a new friend - Per Holmen - an expat Norwegian birder who now lives in semi-retirement on a golfing estate south of Usa River.  We went on a lovely walk through the acacia woodland which surrounds the golf course and saw some great birds: Knob-billed Duck, Black-winged Kite, Gabar Goshawk, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Jacobin Cuckoo, Grey-headed Kingfisher, African Hoopoe, Greater Honeyguide, Yellow-collared Lovebird, Magpie Shrike, Superb Starling, Vitelline Masked Weaver, Chestnut Weaver, Purple Grenadier and Reichenow's Seedeater (lifer).

Vitelline Masked Weaver, Chestnut Weaver and a House Sparrow

Grey-headed Kingfisher

Per knows the birding scene here well and is keen to take us to some of the best spots he knows in the district.

The rain has continued and while welcome, makes it difficult to get things done for everyone.  It was about six weeks late this year so we hope it will continue well into June but normally June is the beginning of a four month rain-free period.  We are just missing the sunshine and a bit more warmth.

Stephanie and Jenny playing Cribbage.

Yesterday I drove to Kilimanjaro Airport to collect Stephanie - one of our friends from our 2010-11 Bukoba time.  Stephanie is having a holiday and will stay with us for a few days before and after a visit back to Bukoba to the school she taught in.  Today we went into Arusha for shopping and a nice lunch.  Tomorrow we are hoping to go to Lake Manyara National Park but we have conflicting advice on whether we can enter with tourist visas and our private car.  We will see.

While having a long lunch at a nice outdoor restaurant in Arusha today we followed the election count on the ABC.  We are so disappointed in the result and cannot comprehend how this result came about.  Can we now expect the Adani mine to go ahead, the asylum seekers to continue to languish on Nauru and Manus Island, the banks to get their promised tax cuts, no action on climate change or encouragement of electric cars, more dodgy deals for mates, support for the next US war (looming in Iran it seems), continuing degredation of the Murray-Darling basin ... ?  The thought of another three years of this is soul-destroying.

Thank the gods that Essendon had a win to keep our slim season hopes alive.

First week at work

Jenny and I started work this week.  We are still waiting for our work visas so strictly speaking we are just visiting our prospective workplaces.  I spent Monday , Thursday and Friday at ECHO and had a tour and met most of the dozen or so staff.  We have an American boss and a couple of young American women here for 6 month internships from ECHO head office in Florida.  The rest of the staff are locals with many years of experience between them.  Everybody has been most welcoming.  I've been looking at failed funding applications to see how we can improve our success rate.  Some obvious issues have stood out.  I've also been getting up to speed with the range of legumes species we work with and working on my Swahili.

On Friday I went to the Tanzanian Tropical Pesticides Research Institute.  We are planning a Conservation Agriculture workshop there in June and I have been asked to be a speaker.  The Institute holds the national herbarium and we got to look at their Canavalia (Jackbean) accessions.  Roland Bunch, a third world expert on conservation agriculture with legumes has collected some Canavalia species in Mali that he currently can't identify.  Roland is sharing an office with me and I can learn much from him.

Some of the diversity in Canavalia (Jackbean) beans. (Photo: Roland Bunch)

Yesterday (Saturday) Jenny and I went to Lake Duluti to our east for a walk.  It is a crater lake with rainforest surrounds and a great bird list.  We walked the circuit twice and saw 30 bird species (e.g. Purple Heron, Fish Eagle, Black Crake, Hartlaub's Turaco, Giant Kingfisher, Little Greenbul, Northern Brownbul, Thick-billed Weaver, Taveta Weaver and Red-throated Twinspot).  We also saw several large Monitor lizards, Blue Monkeys and Ochre Bush Squirrels.

Taveta Weaver - restricted to a small area either side of the Tz-Kenya border
- essentially around the lower slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

The first Grey Heron we've seen .

This morning we will listen to Essendon beat Geelong then do some shopping.  Later today we are looking at a Toyota RAV4 that sounds promising.  We also need to find a new bed for the spare room as we are expecting Stephanie, one of our friends from our Bukoba days, to arrive in two weeks from New York.  She will stay with us a couple of times during her visit to Tz.

Nile Monitor.

Hartlaub's Turaco.

I've had a go at getting a sourdough starter culture underway but after a promising start it turned too sour and has been discarded.

Our landlord Paul has arrived back from his other home in Tropical Queensland and has granted me custodianship of his extensive library of bird, tree, reptile etc. African books.  What a treat!

A small selection of Paul Oliver's books that I will be looking after.

Bird list: 139