GORILLA TREK IN UGANDA: Guest Post by Karen Minkowski

With many thanks to my friend Karen Minkowski, a most intrepid traveler, for sharing her gorilla trek in Bwindi National Park in Uganda with The Intrepid Tourist. 

In 1971 I hiked down the steep slopes of the Impenetrable Forest with a guide and a couple friends in search of gorillas. We reached the bottom of the mountain, where just across a small stream we could hear a group of gorillas hidden behind a large stand of bamboo, quietly moving and vocalizing. At that time the gorillas were not habituated, and we decided not to cross the water and likely scare them away. 

A couple days ago (a short 52 years later!), I returned to this forest, now called Bwindi National Park, to see these amazing creatures on a scheduled trek to a well-habituated gorilla family. It was a difficult hike, though not compared with what other (younger) groups did. I was happy to have hired a porter who carried my heavy pack and frequently offered a helping hand.

Vegetation often obscured the gorillas, and I rarely saw their entire bodies, but I managed to capture a few of their beautiful faces and expressions.

With me on the trek was Arinawe Scodious one of Uganda’s few women tourist guides (but their numbers are increasing). She is caring, fun and super competent – great to travel with and I highly recommend her. You'll find her on FB. I also recommend doing the Gorilla Trek before you have experienced too much of the stiffness and loss of agility that comes with ageing - just makes it easier.

I'd kind of hoped one would approach and touch me as I sat very still, according to the guide's orders, not responding in any way. No such luck!! 

STORY WALK: Reading is Fun Along the Trail, Marin County, California

 

Story Walk, Tennessee Valley, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, CA

Reading a book about taking a hike is one way for children to learn about nature.

Taking a hike on an outdoor trail is another.

At Tennessee Valley near Mill Valley. California, families with children can do both at the same time. (Even if you are not accompanied by children, you can still enjoy reading the story.)

Tennessee Valley is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. An offshoot of the Golden Gate Headlands, Tennessee Valley is a large undeveloped area of coastal hills and a variety of hiking trails, formerly used for ranching. The main trail leads from the parking lot to the beach, a distance of about 1.75 miles. I have taken this hike numerous times through the years, often spotting deer, soaring hawks, and once even a bobcat!

"We are going on a hike."

On a recent visit to the Bay Area, I went again to Tennessee Valley. I was intrigued to see something new-- a series of signs at the side of the trail (reminiscent of the old Burma Shave signs on the side of the road but closer together.) On closer look I discovered that these signs were the pages of a picture book mounted on boards, just the right height for a child to read. The book was The Hike by Alison Farrell (Chronicle Books, 2019.) Each panel showed a page spread as well as a guide to what to look for in the surrounding area.

"It's our favorite thing to do."

Altogether there are 19 panels stretched over a half mile near the beginning of the trail. It is a perfect activity for families as they start out on their hike. Here are a few sample panels:

"Wren's sketchbook."

"In no time, we get back on track."

"A deer walks past. Bean sneezes."

"A light rain comes and goes. The birds are happy. We listen to them cheep and chatter in the trees."

Story Walk is a cooperative project of the National Parks, Marin County Library, Mill Valley Public Library, Sausalito Library.

After reading the story we continued down the trail to the beach. It was a beautiful day to be out in nature!

End of the story. Continuing on the trail to the beach.

End of the trail. My brothers at the beach.

ICELAND IN WINTER: Ice, Snow, and Spectacular Aurora Borealis, Guest Post by Owen Floody

Iceland

With many thanks to our friend Owen Floody for another exceptional contribution to The Intrepid Tourist.

Iceland has become a popular tourist destination, reflecting its accessibility, manageable size, and dramatic landscapes. Even in winter, Iceland has much to offer. Landscapes that are dramatic in other seasons can become even more so when mountains are dusted by snow, waterfalls are embellished by icicles, and low clouds add mystery and mood. Throw glacial ice caves and possible sightings of the aurora borealis into the mix and Iceland may be irresistible.

Aurora

However, Iceland doesn’t give up its treasures easily. Sightings of the aurora require a coincidence of elevated solar activity and clear skies. But Iceland’s frequent high winds and famously changeable weather can make the second, and thus the coincidence, hard to achieve.

At the same time, nothing ventured, nothing gained. With this in mind, I recently completed an 11-day Winter in Iceland photo tour led by Haukur Snorasson of Look North Travel (https://www.phototours.is). Given the weather-related and other challenges that Iceland can pose, one can benefit greatly from an expert’s efforts to match the best available scenes with route, time of day, and current conditions.

Rock striations.

Including Haukur, we were a group of six, packed comfortably in a carry-everything, go-anywhere van.  Most in the group were avid photographers.  How do you recognize an avid photographer?   In the past, a tripod and high-end camera would suffice.  Now, however, most in this sample of avid photographers were packing iPhones as well as cameras, and more discussion revolved around the images taken with the former.

Frozen waterfall.

Our tour covered a lot of ground.  Iceland’s “ring road” covers about 821 miles and we went a bit beyond it, especially to the north.   I was very happy to have Haukur driving.  The wind howled almost constantly, buffeting the vehicle and threatening to blow us off the road.  The fact that this threat was not just imagined was provided by the need to get over several passes before the winds closed them.  Lunch generally was fast food, but the hotels were great as were the dinners.  Not surprisingly, we had some of the best Arctic char ever, especially at the Mödrudalur Country Hotel (find that if you can!).

Waterfall and river.

The scenery more than met my expectations.  Almost everything that I saw on this trip I had previously seen under more benign conditions.  The winter conditions unquestionably made everything more dramatic.  Mountains emerged from or receded into the mist (first of images that accompany this column), rock striations and other formations jumped out at you, and ice arrested some waterfalls while embellishing others.

The rugged Iceland coast.

These were wonderful additions to Iceland’s usual fare of rugged coasts and glacier lagoons dotted with icebergs.  But what about our primary goals of seeing the aurora and getting into one or more ice cave? 

Stranded icebergs.

Here, I am happy to report that we were extremely fortunate.  We enjoyed good aurora sightings on three of our ten nights.  Our visit to a relatively isolated ice cave, one that we had all to ourselves, fell on the first day in a week on which the helicopter ferry was able to fly.  And our proximity to a second cave made it possible for us to plug ourselves into a gap created by weather-related cancellations of visits from farther afield (last image).  Some of this success reflected preparation and effort.  For example, we scoured multiple sources for tips on the nights and times at which the aurora might be visible and then we mounted expeditions or watches at all of the best times.  Nevertheless, it is clear that we were very lucky.   

Ice cave.

However, do not be fooled into thinking that this luck made the tour an entirely easy one.  The winds howled almost constantly, sometimes making it difficult to stand, let alone explore.  The temperature was only moderately low (about freezing) most of the time.  But there were some genuinely cold mornings and nights, and even the prevailing moderately low temperatures became frigid when combined with the typically high winds.  We dressed well and met most of these challenges.  Fingers, however, remained vulnerable: On more than one occasion, I had to cut short an aurora viewing because I could no longer operate my fingers or camera.  Footing was the other area of personal concern.  Wherever we were, the substrate typically was snow and ice.  Crampons that could be pulled on over our boots were a necessity.  On roads or sidewalks, the type featuring coiled wires were sufficient.  But many of our explorations (e.g., into ice caves, around waterfalls, or in search of sites from which to view the aurora) required more serious crampons, with real teeth. In Iceland and elsewhere, winter landscapes can be magical.  But they do require some season-specific preparations.

Click HERE for an earlier post (October 4, 2021) by Owen Floody about Iceland.

RAINY SEASON IN SONGO, ZIMBABWE: Spectacular Birds and More, Guest Post by Karen Minkowski

Elephants at Songo Conservancy site, Zimbabwe

My friend Karen Minkowski, a frequent contributor to The Intrepid Tourist and definitely an intrepid traveler, is currently in Africa, a place that she has visited often. She spent the month of February at the Songo Conservancy site, which is several hundred miles from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. She writes:

I had a great rainy season month in Songo, lots of new birds (among many I'd seen in November). Elephants were present; it's always astonishing to see these great creatures. Poaching levels have dropped in Songo since the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, which manages this conservancy, trained and is now deploying rangers (all young women - strong, motivated and committed) to patrol the huge area. A place worth protecting, for sure.

Here's the Songo landscape. (photo above) The water body is Lake Kariba. Look at those baby elephants!!

Rain falling on the distant floodplains. Songo is especially beautiful when it's green.

African grey hornbill.

Arrow-marked babbler parent feeding its young.

Black-winged kite.

One of my favorite birds, the collared palm thrush - I love the bedroom eyes!

This bull elephant came within 40 meters of the electric fence. Elephants look bigger when you see them on foot rather than from a vehicle.

Green wood-hoopoe, frequently seen poking around in the dead ends of tree limbs.

Jacobin's cuckoo.

Levaillant's cuckoo. Most if not all African cuckoos lay their eggs (very surreptitiously) in the nests of other species, who do the hard work of foraging for food for these cuckoo chicks.

The red and black birds are male southern red bishops. They're gathering with potential mates. Each male will form a harem with several females and build their nests in the reeds and grasses.

Tawny-flanked prinia, a feisty little bird.

This is a male Village Weaver constructing a nest that hopefully his potential mate will find suitable for raising their young. If she rejects it - by not lining the nest's interior -  and other females do the same, he'll build a new nest in hopes of pleasing someone!

The most common, and the noisiest of birds around our camp, the white-browed sparrow weaver. Like the weaver in the previous photo they build nests from grasses, but rather messy ones!

I'm leaving Songo very soon, but hope to return, for the birds and the elephants and for the lovely community of people here.

Click here to read about Karen’s visit to Songo in November 2022:  https://theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com/2023/01/songo-nature-conservancy-victoria-falls.html .