African Safari and itchy bites

Hello all! I apologise for the length of time between posts and unfortunately this will be a short one.

Today is our last day in Tanzania. We began in Nairobi (Nairobbery but lucky for us it didn't live up to it's name.) You know when the hotel staff make a point of showing you where not to go and where to go on the street there could be some safety issues. We were greeted by vibrant colours and happy faces with a simple 'Jambo!'. After our last week in Egypt(which will go down as my all time worst experience in Egypt - the felucca ride and security guard from hell) this was profoundly welcomed.

Our safari began with a wonderfully tense ride in a very small aircraft from kenya to Kilimanjaro the very next day (I kept thinking of 'out of Africa' to distract as I looked down upon the African landscape not far below, but then i remembered that that story ends with a plane crash.)

The unofficial Safari began from the moment we touched down. One hour in a hot van to the hotel where we were meeting our driver for the next 10 days, Mr Amir....the best Safari driver in all of Africa!! I didn't really expect the extreme 4wd driving that we had to endure for the next 7hrs. We were thrown around the truck like we were ragdolls as we took on some rather scary angles and deep deep muddy tracks. At first I panicked everytime i saw a pot hole, but after a while it was obvious that Amir knew what he was doing and I decided to go up the back of the vechile and enjoy the ride...i don't think i've had so much fun for quite a while!! Yipeeeee!! It was short lived when we attempted to get to the Serengetti some days later.... it was extreme! I'm hoping my photos will show you some of the angles and roads we took on that day... i can not do it through words. You would not believe me.

Now to the animals.... the beautiful animals of Africa. They are just extrodinary to watch in the wild. Often they don't even acknowledge your presence... especially the Lions. One day in the Nogorongoro Crater, we came upon a lioness and her cub. A few moments later we noticed the most magnificent male lion that i have ever seen... just a few yards behind us. Nervously we watched as they crossed the road in front of us...the male coming right up to the vehicle (we all panicked and shut the windows...teh roof was still open however). He then leapt over the water on the road... it was so frightening but the way he moved when he leaped was incredibly graceful. I'm quite certain all of us sighed at this point. Andrew was beside himself.

Anyway...i really must end this now...we are about to catch a flight from Zanzibar back to Nairobi...then onto Ethiopia!!!! By the way i have also discovered that i am allergic to not only blue bottles, but also stinging plankton. I am a sight to behold. Covered in the most ugly itchy blotches...i look like i have the chicken poks again. I had a fever last night and then the most itchy skin. Oh well... at least i got to go snorkling once!!!

love, Georgie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooo
ps will attempt to email individually when i am in ethiopia..too expensive here.

A needle for Christmas?!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my friends and family! It seems I haven't been a good girl because for Christmas I could barely eat and I spent it in bed suffering from stomache cramps and nausea. The only present I received that day was a needle, given to me by a strange Dr who laughed as he indicated in sign language that I was to be given an inection in my bottom. Am still perplexed by this.Actually no I am not, some things you experience here it is best not to think to deeply...and I no longer try to decipher the logic... there is none! Anyway, am better now..according to my team members it seems it was my Egypt initiation. Everyone must go through...just a shame it coincided with Christmas and meant that I missed out on a good party.

I have only one day left on site which is distressing me. Such an incredible experience, hard slogging work, but now after iniitally being overwhelmed a part of me wants to stay and keep working. Craziness!!!! I will miss the challenges, the beautiful Gufties and the adrenaline rush of going down into a tomb. I will also miss some of my work colleagues....you know who you are! We have been through a lot together, there is nothing like gastro or a personal crisis overseas to bring people together!! At least now I will be able to see more of Egypt and travel to Aswan and Luxor.Ah..the anticipation!

My brother arrives tomorrow night. I will definatley hug him when I see him despite it being a cultural tabu. You see he was in Bangkok when the bombing occured. When I saw the SMH website I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack. Then I recieved a text message from him telling me he was in the middle of a thai massage. It was a beautiful moment in the internet centre here I can tell you!

I spent an amazing day yesterday visiting three sites around Cairo which are not open to the public and therefore unkown to the common tourist. I climbed/slid down into the burial chamber of a partially intact pyramid overlooking Cairo. When I noted the rocks falling from the roof... I quickly scampered out. The french are about to start work there so who knows what they will find!!!

Must be off now. Love to all!!

love, Georgie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx