Saturday, December 24, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
15th December 2011
well, after 2 months i worked up the guts to inside the enclosure and get up close and pesonal with Mzere..how cool. as soon as i walk in, he takes me for a run all through his little forest, which is quite difficult at my height trying to run bent over. he picks up a rope and runs, wanting me to catch him and grab the rope, but he's quick and if i do get it, he soon takes it back. he is twice as strong as me and bigger teeth, so he wins every time.
i'm also his chew toy, but he is not as gentle as when i let him chew my fingers through the cage. occassionally he will slow down so we can groom but mostly he is hyper when i go in and wants to run and chew.
Karl did a video of me and mzere but its huge. i need to learn how to edit it so its small enough to upload.
bili is coming into her monthly cycle. she through rocks at my window coz i didn't give her attention and when i did go out, she ambushed me. but later she played and ran and did summersaults while i was with her which is a first after 2 months. i didn't hang around to see if it was a ploy just to ambush me more. i'm learning a lot about women from her hahaha... only joking of course lol.
Ive been looking around and thinking WAY TOO MUCH about here and if its the place to settle. unfortunately i cannot find anything like where i am staying now. very little forest and mountain land so prices are high. flat land i can get for as little as $2,500/acrea.. if only that did it for me lol. i could live out in the bush, flat almost like savanah type land surrounded by wildlife, but my dream has always been sitting in a spa on my balcony with a bottle of JD looking down a huge valley and mountains of rainforest.
if i was happy to not have a home of my own, i could live here quite cheap looking after chimps until either the chimp or their owners die. i can live on $100/week at the most. but my heart is aching for a home. i've roamed so much, i need to stop and settle. surround myself with my stuff and nest lol.
there are too many options of where to live cheap; ecuador, costa ricca, panama all sound great, but logistically too far from family and work opportunities. thailand and malaysia are good bets, so i think thats where i will head next year.
i've made some friends here and involved in other charity work taking health care to the regions of Kenya, so it will be sad to leave, but africa is not for everyone. even with my love for their wildlife.
if anyone would love to donate to help this charity, let me know. they need $250k per year to run mobile health services out in the regional areas, trying to stop the spread of aides/hiv and also stop young young girls getting pregnant and suffering shocking abortions.
thats the lastest folks. stay safe and live life to the fullest
i'm also his chew toy, but he is not as gentle as when i let him chew my fingers through the cage. occassionally he will slow down so we can groom but mostly he is hyper when i go in and wants to run and chew.
Karl did a video of me and mzere but its huge. i need to learn how to edit it so its small enough to upload.
bili is coming into her monthly cycle. she through rocks at my window coz i didn't give her attention and when i did go out, she ambushed me. but later she played and ran and did summersaults while i was with her which is a first after 2 months. i didn't hang around to see if it was a ploy just to ambush me more. i'm learning a lot about women from her hahaha... only joking of course lol.
Ive been looking around and thinking WAY TOO MUCH about here and if its the place to settle. unfortunately i cannot find anything like where i am staying now. very little forest and mountain land so prices are high. flat land i can get for as little as $2,500/acrea.. if only that did it for me lol. i could live out in the bush, flat almost like savanah type land surrounded by wildlife, but my dream has always been sitting in a spa on my balcony with a bottle of JD looking down a huge valley and mountains of rainforest.
if i was happy to not have a home of my own, i could live here quite cheap looking after chimps until either the chimp or their owners die. i can live on $100/week at the most. but my heart is aching for a home. i've roamed so much, i need to stop and settle. surround myself with my stuff and nest lol.
there are too many options of where to live cheap; ecuador, costa ricca, panama all sound great, but logistically too far from family and work opportunities. thailand and malaysia are good bets, so i think thats where i will head next year.
i've made some friends here and involved in other charity work taking health care to the regions of Kenya, so it will be sad to leave, but africa is not for everyone. even with my love for their wildlife.
if anyone would love to donate to help this charity, let me know. they need $250k per year to run mobile health services out in the regional areas, trying to stop the spread of aides/hiv and also stop young young girls getting pregnant and suffering shocking abortions.
thats the lastest folks. stay safe and live life to the fullest
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
21 November 2011
Mzee playing dead lol
21 November 2011
Mzee is definitely strange.
When I let Bili in with him, they don't spend any time together at all. He has no attraction to Bili at all.
BUT he likes to kiss me and gets a hard on when he sees Doris, one of the maids!
When I let Bili in with him, they don't spend any time together at all. He has no attraction to Bili at all.
BUT he likes to kiss me and gets a hard on when he sees Doris, one of the maids!
Friday, November 18, 2011
19 November 2011
wow, its been a while since i Blogged. if i told that to a doctor he would stick something up my bum to make sure i dont have a problem lol.
well,there has not been much to write. the days are routine while the parents are away. mostly all primates have behaved.
the kids (chimps) are pretty cool, well Mzee anyway. i will give him an empty coke bottle full of water. somethimes he will insist on a walk around his enclosure, stopping now and then to pee or to drink, not necessarily in that order AND sometimes at the same times. so proves that male primates can multitask lol.
he dropped the coke bottle on the ground and kept walking, just like other primates :-(. naturally, i took him to task and very politely explained he can't do that and to pick it up and give it me if he doesn't want to carry it, otherwise he gets a lecture on climate change! I'll be blowed.... he did. he was walking away, stopped turned around went back picked it up and gave it to me through the fence!
they say a chimps brain develops at a similar pace to a humans for the first 5 years then stops, but show me a kid who will pick up his mess after himself, after only being told ONCE !
now, we always have a few drinks at his cage, then he takes a full bottle in his mouth while we walk. once he finishes he walks to the same spot and gives me the empty. how cool.
in the evening he meets me at the bottom of his enclosure waiting for me to let him into bed and dinner time. as soon as he sees me he raises his long hairy arms above his head and bares his teeth. looks scary like he wants to attack but its his way of smiling and saying take home pappa!
this morning mzee started screaming, i think because i didn't spend much time with him yesterday and he needed company, just like any kid, except his screams are chillling.
Bili, well Bili is being Bili. she accepts me coz i sleep in the room next to her and feed her and put her to bed at night and let her out in the morning, so she stopped throwing things at me, but she doesn't want to interact except to tell me to give her food. in teh afternoon she sits outside the cabin window and waits for me to look then stretches out her long hairy arm with her palm up telling me to give her food. at first i tried to feed her some food through her cage and she ripped it out of my hands like Mohammed Ali. so fast and strong. she has become more gentle now. she loves popcorn lol. but i wont sit on the lounge cuddling up to a movie and popcorn with her just yet! if i ignore her pleas, she throws stones at the window lol.
i love the fact that all these kids eat is fruit, and popcorn lol, and yet their muscle definition is awesome. no high protien diets and gym sessions. again, pretty cool. mzee does not eat the skin of fruit. he will eat the tomatoe, bananas, mango and melons and pineapple adn leave the skins. he opens the bush tomatoes and passionate fruit with his teeth, suck out the inside and eat the inside of the skin, but not the outside. when finished he goes back 2-3 times to eat as much fruit off the inside of the skin as possible.
i do have some dried protien bits he likes. i leave them till the end and he only gets it if he gives me all his left over skins so he doesn't sleep in it. i use to keep asking for the left overs and he got sick of it and started trying to pinch me, so now i play swaps and it works great.
funny thing is, i'm now eating the same fruit as them and started eating like them. monkey see, monkey do lol.
Bili is different, she eats skin and all. god bless her. its that time of the month now too, so she's being controlling and difficult, unlike other female primates i'm sure :-)
the weather has warmed up a little at night. still have 4 blankets but thats coz i'm a wooze. a few mornings the sun has come up and the sky clear. i'm sitting here now on the timber decking writing this in beautiful sun and maybe 21-22 degrees in shorts and t-shit. if the sun stays out it could get to 25. i think its the best to be expected at this altitude (2,200mtrs i think) and at the base of Mt Kenya which has permanent snow on top. when i go into town, its probably 5 degrees warmer. the dry season is coming, so it wont be as green and no rain for a few months i believe but i can't wait to look at the skys at night with no clouds to see teh stars. there is absolutely no polution here. the air is crystal clear. love it.
thinking of u all. hope oz summer is better than last year.
Pete
well,there has not been much to write. the days are routine while the parents are away. mostly all primates have behaved.
the kids (chimps) are pretty cool, well Mzee anyway. i will give him an empty coke bottle full of water. somethimes he will insist on a walk around his enclosure, stopping now and then to pee or to drink, not necessarily in that order AND sometimes at the same times. so proves that male primates can multitask lol.
he dropped the coke bottle on the ground and kept walking, just like other primates :-(. naturally, i took him to task and very politely explained he can't do that and to pick it up and give it me if he doesn't want to carry it, otherwise he gets a lecture on climate change! I'll be blowed.... he did. he was walking away, stopped turned around went back picked it up and gave it to me through the fence!
they say a chimps brain develops at a similar pace to a humans for the first 5 years then stops, but show me a kid who will pick up his mess after himself, after only being told ONCE !
now, we always have a few drinks at his cage, then he takes a full bottle in his mouth while we walk. once he finishes he walks to the same spot and gives me the empty. how cool.
in the evening he meets me at the bottom of his enclosure waiting for me to let him into bed and dinner time. as soon as he sees me he raises his long hairy arms above his head and bares his teeth. looks scary like he wants to attack but its his way of smiling and saying take home pappa!
this morning mzee started screaming, i think because i didn't spend much time with him yesterday and he needed company, just like any kid, except his screams are chillling.
Bili, well Bili is being Bili. she accepts me coz i sleep in the room next to her and feed her and put her to bed at night and let her out in the morning, so she stopped throwing things at me, but she doesn't want to interact except to tell me to give her food. in teh afternoon she sits outside the cabin window and waits for me to look then stretches out her long hairy arm with her palm up telling me to give her food. at first i tried to feed her some food through her cage and she ripped it out of my hands like Mohammed Ali. so fast and strong. she has become more gentle now. she loves popcorn lol. but i wont sit on the lounge cuddling up to a movie and popcorn with her just yet! if i ignore her pleas, she throws stones at the window lol.
i love the fact that all these kids eat is fruit, and popcorn lol, and yet their muscle definition is awesome. no high protien diets and gym sessions. again, pretty cool. mzee does not eat the skin of fruit. he will eat the tomatoe, bananas, mango and melons and pineapple adn leave the skins. he opens the bush tomatoes and passionate fruit with his teeth, suck out the inside and eat the inside of the skin, but not the outside. when finished he goes back 2-3 times to eat as much fruit off the inside of the skin as possible.
i do have some dried protien bits he likes. i leave them till the end and he only gets it if he gives me all his left over skins so he doesn't sleep in it. i use to keep asking for the left overs and he got sick of it and started trying to pinch me, so now i play swaps and it works great.
funny thing is, i'm now eating the same fruit as them and started eating like them. monkey see, monkey do lol.
Bili is different, she eats skin and all. god bless her. its that time of the month now too, so she's being controlling and difficult, unlike other female primates i'm sure :-)
the weather has warmed up a little at night. still have 4 blankets but thats coz i'm a wooze. a few mornings the sun has come up and the sky clear. i'm sitting here now on the timber decking writing this in beautiful sun and maybe 21-22 degrees in shorts and t-shit. if the sun stays out it could get to 25. i think its the best to be expected at this altitude (2,200mtrs i think) and at the base of Mt Kenya which has permanent snow on top. when i go into town, its probably 5 degrees warmer. the dry season is coming, so it wont be as green and no rain for a few months i believe but i can't wait to look at the skys at night with no clouds to see teh stars. there is absolutely no polution here. the air is crystal clear. love it.
thinking of u all. hope oz summer is better than last year.
Pete
Friday, November 4, 2011
4 November 2011
this is a horrid story and it will be shown on BBC tomorrow night, 17:00 Abu Dhabi time.
Karl had tried to warn authorities some time ago that Egyptian bedouins and doctors were using chimps for organ harvesting and selling them on the open market. apparently organ trading is the second highest trading world wide, second to military arms.
the authorities would not listen, but now it is worse. BBC report will show that egyptian bedoiuns are involved in kidnapping african regugees, cutting them open with only local anethsetic, cutting out their organs while they are conscious, then leaving them to die without sewing them up. if they do this to humans, then obviously the do it to chimps.
mankind suck!
Karl had tried to warn authorities some time ago that Egyptian bedouins and doctors were using chimps for organ harvesting and selling them on the open market. apparently organ trading is the second highest trading world wide, second to military arms.
the authorities would not listen, but now it is worse. BBC report will show that egyptian bedoiuns are involved in kidnapping african regugees, cutting them open with only local anethsetic, cutting out their organs while they are conscious, then leaving them to die without sewing them up. if they do this to humans, then obviously the do it to chimps.
mankind suck!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
3 November 2011
Billi and Mzee both have different enclosures and different bedrooms. each enclosure is about 1/4 acre.
There is a short tunnel with a steel gate, which i open each morning to let Bili through to Mzee, then i bring him back at 11am.
this morning when i called Bili to come back, he looked in the tunnel, as always, was hessitant as always, but then came back out, picked up a stick leaned into the tunnel and got rid of a frog with the stick, then went through.
She is a milliion times bigger and stronger than a frog, but was to scared to go thru....lol
There is a short tunnel with a steel gate, which i open each morning to let Bili through to Mzee, then i bring him back at 11am.
this morning when i called Bili to come back, he looked in the tunnel, as always, was hessitant as always, but then came back out, picked up a stick leaned into the tunnel and got rid of a frog with the stick, then went through.
She is a milliion times bigger and stronger than a frog, but was to scared to go thru....lol
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
25 October, 2011
another lunch with Karl and Kathy's friends. they are inviting people over so i can build a network of friends. guess they are really keen to make this work for me so i stay.
the lady i met today, Shanni, runs two trusts here in Kenya where she is educating people on family planning (FP) and HIV. her main focus and passion is FP. these mazungus (white people) here are so into helping and making a difference its awesome. today was another light bulb experience. Karl puts in so much work with hidden cameras filming illegal wildlife trade and bushmeat, in many areas where it is know to about by the very goverment that makes it illegal. he puts so much energy and effor in trying to educate everyone about this and get it in front of the higher powered decision makers to try and stop it. but what i learnt today was the root cause of it all is over-population.
Poverty and hunger (and greed) is driving the destruction of our forests and pushing our wildlife to extinction. everyone tells me how 20 years ago you could not drive between Mt Kenya and Nairobi without running into the wildife you see on the documentaries. now, there is absolutely nothing. the only wildlife left are in reserves and they are all dwindling. poachers are not stopping since the gap between the poor and middle class is widening.
one very significant solution is in Family Planning (FP). the world is about to hit 7billion, a hell of a lot quicker than the experts predicted. Kenya has 44 million and at the current growth rate will exceed over 100 billion by 2050. there is not enough food to feed the current 44 billion.
the lady i met today sends out 1 goup on camels every month to regions of Kenya to educated them on family planning and provide 5 year birth control for those who want it. she has seen the acceptance, both by the women and men and demand for the birth control grow immensly. they all know they can't feed the kids they have and need to stop having kids and they are focussing on the 5 year birth control for girls still in school. the stories are horrendous and depressing, but these people are truely amazing.
you all know i've been on this type of bandwagon for decades, and probably sick of me pushing it. its taken 53 years to work up the guts to get here, but i could never go back. once u see what is going on first hand and that there is never enough people, volunteers, money, resources, you cant pack ur bags and go back to the high paid city contracts.
all the skills i've collected over the past 30 years, all the anxiety, stress, depression, highs and lows have brought me to a place where i can develop strategies, plans and procedures to save a life, rather than better corporates bottom line
the lady i met today, Shanni, runs two trusts here in Kenya where she is educating people on family planning (FP) and HIV. her main focus and passion is FP. these mazungus (white people) here are so into helping and making a difference its awesome. today was another light bulb experience. Karl puts in so much work with hidden cameras filming illegal wildlife trade and bushmeat, in many areas where it is know to about by the very goverment that makes it illegal. he puts so much energy and effor in trying to educate everyone about this and get it in front of the higher powered decision makers to try and stop it. but what i learnt today was the root cause of it all is over-population.
Poverty and hunger (and greed) is driving the destruction of our forests and pushing our wildlife to extinction. everyone tells me how 20 years ago you could not drive between Mt Kenya and Nairobi without running into the wildife you see on the documentaries. now, there is absolutely nothing. the only wildlife left are in reserves and they are all dwindling. poachers are not stopping since the gap between the poor and middle class is widening.
one very significant solution is in Family Planning (FP). the world is about to hit 7billion, a hell of a lot quicker than the experts predicted. Kenya has 44 million and at the current growth rate will exceed over 100 billion by 2050. there is not enough food to feed the current 44 billion.
the lady i met today sends out 1 goup on camels every month to regions of Kenya to educated them on family planning and provide 5 year birth control for those who want it. she has seen the acceptance, both by the women and men and demand for the birth control grow immensly. they all know they can't feed the kids they have and need to stop having kids and they are focussing on the 5 year birth control for girls still in school. the stories are horrendous and depressing, but these people are truely amazing.
you all know i've been on this type of bandwagon for decades, and probably sick of me pushing it. its taken 53 years to work up the guts to get here, but i could never go back. once u see what is going on first hand and that there is never enough people, volunteers, money, resources, you cant pack ur bags and go back to the high paid city contracts.
all the skills i've collected over the past 30 years, all the anxiety, stress, depression, highs and lows have brought me to a place where i can develop strategies, plans and procedures to save a life, rather than better corporates bottom line
25 October, 2011
latte and morning glory muffin lol! $3 :-)
local guiness $1.10 for a 500ml bottle :-)
this weeks shopping $50
Mzere is now playing more with me. he is into chewing my fingers and playing tug-of-war. funny, i use to do it my dog Bear and now a Chimp does the same. i'm not sure about his sexuality though. him and Bili don't seem to do any monkey business, but if i'm wearing shorts Mzere will want to look up my shorts leg to see whats there lol!
cant wait to get in the enclosure with him. he wants me to come in but Karl wants me to wait until he gets back from his trip. doesn't want me in there while he is away incase a plane goes over and spooks Mzere and i don't know what to do. he can get agressive when spooked.
off to lunch with more of Karl and Kathy's friends. its great having a gourmet chef in the house and i get the left-overs lol
local guiness $1.10 for a 500ml bottle :-)
this weeks shopping $50
Mzere is now playing more with me. he is into chewing my fingers and playing tug-of-war. funny, i use to do it my dog Bear and now a Chimp does the same. i'm not sure about his sexuality though. him and Bili don't seem to do any monkey business, but if i'm wearing shorts Mzere will want to look up my shorts leg to see whats there lol!
cant wait to get in the enclosure with him. he wants me to come in but Karl wants me to wait until he gets back from his trip. doesn't want me in there while he is away incase a plane goes over and spooks Mzere and i don't know what to do. he can get agressive when spooked.
off to lunch with more of Karl and Kathy's friends. its great having a gourmet chef in the house and i get the left-overs lol
Saturday, October 22, 2011
22 October, 2011
how come i cannot respond to comments on my blogg and how come comments show the persons userid and not their name. i have not idea who is who lol.
anyway, coffee and crossant (yes i know i can't spell) for morning tea. when i parked the car in Nanyuki a kid wanted me to pay him to watch my car and naturally i said no. when i cam back to my car and hour and a half later he came to me and said he watched my car and want money. guess what, i said no. i checked the car tyres and all seemed ok, not that i didn't trust him, but an hour after i got home i walked passed the car and guess what, a flat tyre. coincidence?
the owners had friends over for lunch today so i can meet some new people. it seems Nanyuki has very high class rich western expats. lovely people and great stories. and gourmet food from the cook, of which i get to take home the leftovers lol.
2 days of beautiful sunny weather. loving the days but still not sleeping at night from the cold. i need an electric blanket desparately. will have to talk to Karl about this otherwise i'm not going to survive.
anyway, coffee and crossant (yes i know i can't spell) for morning tea. when i parked the car in Nanyuki a kid wanted me to pay him to watch my car and naturally i said no. when i cam back to my car and hour and a half later he came to me and said he watched my car and want money. guess what, i said no. i checked the car tyres and all seemed ok, not that i didn't trust him, but an hour after i got home i walked passed the car and guess what, a flat tyre. coincidence?
the owners had friends over for lunch today so i can meet some new people. it seems Nanyuki has very high class rich western expats. lovely people and great stories. and gourmet food from the cook, of which i get to take home the leftovers lol.
2 days of beautiful sunny weather. loving the days but still not sleeping at night from the cold. i need an electric blanket desparately. will have to talk to Karl about this otherwise i'm not going to survive.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
21 October, 2011
9 days ago I arrived in Kenya. I can't believe how quickly the days have passed. I, like my chimps, am now set to my daily routine. i wake up at 6am, lean over and turn the heater on and stay in bed for another 15 mins until enough chill is taken off the air to venture out of bed.
two mornings in a row the sun has come up, for a few hours only. its a blessing but doesn't last long.
I make a cupa, and fire up the technology. at 6:30 one of the mades comes down to let Bili out and clean her room. Bili doesn't interact with me at all. She is a very definite stubborn femalw who does what she wants, when she want. She apparantly missed the last volunteers but doesn't miss them enough to play with me yet. Bili took at least 6 months before she connected with the male volunteer previously, so i've got plenty of time. And its no skin off my nose if she wants to be alone. I can understand that.
at 7:30 Karl and I try and get Bili to come through the gate to Mzere's encolsure but she has only been across once this week. she sits in her tree house and ignores us. this morning she preferred to clean her tree house. Karl gave her a bucket of soapy water and she immediately started washing towels and cloths she had in her tree house then scrub the house with a scrubbing brush. we think she has seen humans do this before and quickly immitates.
Mzere on the other hand has bonded well. i feed him, walk around the outside of the cage, let him groom my eyes. sometimes, in the mornings, she charges and makes it clear who is boss, but usually that happens when i don't announce myself before seeing him.
most of the day i'm going through Karls films and creating a log, so that if he needs to put a film together he can quickly find clips and links to make the film. boring, but at the same time interesting to learn how bad the bush meat and wildlife trade business is. every hour or so i can and talk to the animals or go into town. i went into town with Karl yesterday and submitted my application for temp membership at the sports club. should be interesting. it is right next to the POMS military camp. i was also invited up for lunch in the big house with Karl and kathy and they invited an English/Aussie neighbour over for me to meet.
4:30 is bed time for the chimps and my time until i go to bed which is normally around 8pm now, since there is nothing to do and no one to talk to.
Friends have asked if i'm happy now. actually no. does that suprise you lol. i have 2 journeys, an external jouney, which i am now living and an internal or spiritual journey, which i started back in melbourne and lost the plot and am now kick starting again. the spiritual journey is more about my lack of connection with myself and addiction to finding happines and fullfillment externally rather than internally. this is a biggy lol, and is going to take time. its an addiction and i'm feeling the withdrawals, which means i must be on the right track :-). i have had many challenges in my life and this will be my greatest.
Hope all are well across the world. I only hear bad news on TV since all i get is Al Jazeera News. 2012 is shapping up to live up to the prophecies from what i am seeing.
take care all
Pete
two mornings in a row the sun has come up, for a few hours only. its a blessing but doesn't last long.
I make a cupa, and fire up the technology. at 6:30 one of the mades comes down to let Bili out and clean her room. Bili doesn't interact with me at all. She is a very definite stubborn femalw who does what she wants, when she want. She apparantly missed the last volunteers but doesn't miss them enough to play with me yet. Bili took at least 6 months before she connected with the male volunteer previously, so i've got plenty of time. And its no skin off my nose if she wants to be alone. I can understand that.
at 7:30 Karl and I try and get Bili to come through the gate to Mzere's encolsure but she has only been across once this week. she sits in her tree house and ignores us. this morning she preferred to clean her tree house. Karl gave her a bucket of soapy water and she immediately started washing towels and cloths she had in her tree house then scrub the house with a scrubbing brush. we think she has seen humans do this before and quickly immitates.
Mzere on the other hand has bonded well. i feed him, walk around the outside of the cage, let him groom my eyes. sometimes, in the mornings, she charges and makes it clear who is boss, but usually that happens when i don't announce myself before seeing him.
most of the day i'm going through Karls films and creating a log, so that if he needs to put a film together he can quickly find clips and links to make the film. boring, but at the same time interesting to learn how bad the bush meat and wildlife trade business is. every hour or so i can and talk to the animals or go into town. i went into town with Karl yesterday and submitted my application for temp membership at the sports club. should be interesting. it is right next to the POMS military camp. i was also invited up for lunch in the big house with Karl and kathy and they invited an English/Aussie neighbour over for me to meet.
4:30 is bed time for the chimps and my time until i go to bed which is normally around 8pm now, since there is nothing to do and no one to talk to.
Friends have asked if i'm happy now. actually no. does that suprise you lol. i have 2 journeys, an external jouney, which i am now living and an internal or spiritual journey, which i started back in melbourne and lost the plot and am now kick starting again. the spiritual journey is more about my lack of connection with myself and addiction to finding happines and fullfillment externally rather than internally. this is a biggy lol, and is going to take time. its an addiction and i'm feeling the withdrawals, which means i must be on the right track :-). i have had many challenges in my life and this will be my greatest.
Hope all are well across the world. I only hear bad news on TV since all i get is Al Jazeera News. 2012 is shapping up to live up to the prophecies from what i am seeing.
take care all
Pete
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
20 October, 2011
Breakfast - fresh bananas, mango, pineapple and mandarine
morning tea - massive latte and crossant ($2.50)
lunch - fresh bread (delivered 3.5 hrs away from Nairobi hahah) and jam.. simple food is always the best
Dinner - concoction of stir fry chicken and spices i could find in the cupboard with veges and rice and a large JD haha!
morning tea - massive latte and crossant ($2.50)
lunch - fresh bread (delivered 3.5 hrs away from Nairobi hahah) and jam.. simple food is always the best
Dinner - concoction of stir fry chicken and spices i could find in the cupboard with veges and rice and a large JD haha!
19 October, 2011
for those of you who are interested in seeing what is going on in the world with the treatment of wildlife, here are links to Karls movies. Warning, there are no happy endings.
attached the the link list of all 6 movies. The medan connection is only available via direct link. I would appreciate if you could send me a description for all six movies as well as the appropriate tags.
karlammannch channel
http://www.youtube.com/karlammannch
Cairo Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh95JUgTS-4
Bangui Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raerEMKlkWc
Gombe Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH5vs3PHZ5U
MongLa Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieeeB6Wllbw
The Medan Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIK03mKL0fY
Kinshasa Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OrEDsYB3Nw
attached the the link list of all 6 movies. The medan connection is only available via direct link. I would appreciate if you could send me a description for all six movies as well as the appropriate tags.
karlammannch channel
http://www.youtube.com/karlammannch
Cairo Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh95JUgTS-4
Bangui Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raerEMKlkWc
Gombe Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH5vs3PHZ5U
MongLa Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieeeB6Wllbw
The Medan Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIK03mKL0fY
Kinshasa Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OrEDsYB3Nw
Monday, October 17, 2011
18 October, 2011
Somalia Al Quaeda (Al Shabab) have been making a fortune as pirates taking tankers going through the gulf. Now they are trying to make the same money kidnapping western tourists visiting or living in Kenya, up near the Somalia boarder. Pretty stupid living anywhere near Somalia if you asked me, but one britsh man was killed and his wife kidnapped and 2 female aide workes kidnapped working near the boarder.
Kenya are now sending forces in to round up Al Shabab and find the kidnapped women, however Al Shabab are threatening suicide attacks in Kenya if they do. i expect if they do, they will attack major areas of Nairobi and won't be too interested in the country.
Stay posted.
Kenya are now sending forces in to round up Al Shabab and find the kidnapped women, however Al Shabab are threatening suicide attacks in Kenya if they do. i expect if they do, they will attack major areas of Nairobi and won't be too interested in the country.
Stay posted.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
16 October, 2011
well didn't sleep well last night. felt like i didn't sleep at all. seemed to be awak all night listening the local wildlife noises wondering if the buggers are going to break in. thinking, should i let the big girl out of her room to protect me lol! she would probably join them hitting me with a stick or stones. nah, shes getting better.
i practiced walking silently passed her cage, my back squashed up against the opposite wall, just like Clareese in Silence of the Lambs when she visited Hanible Lecter in his cell hahaha.
just came back from a grooming session with Mzee. i've been feeding him yesterday and today, but today he wanted to groom me. pretty freaky the first time you let a huge chimp hand grab ur head and look for stuff in ur eyes. he's probably the most attentive Dr i've been too. really intense but he is so gentle as he works around ur eyes. he wanted me to go in his enclosure with him, but i wasn't that game. he hasn't charged me once or thrown branches, stones or corn cobs at me yet, so he can't truely love me surely lol!
Bili was good this afternoon. came down and played with me but when i him i had to leave to see Mzee, he charged me and threw rocks at me. hmmmm, female jealousy maybe?
a Kenyan thunderstorm is rolling in so its nice to hear the thunder and rain on the roof.
i visted the Mt Kenya Fairmont Game club / resort next door. awesome place and if you're into golf you would love it. might have to go there occassinoally to top up my white tan by the pool. if your not staying it costs $8 to get in to use the facilities. anything you buy has 3 taxes on it totallying 27%. meals seemed surprisingly cheap avg of $8-$10, unless my exchange conversion maths was wrong. wine started at $30 i think for a bottle, but it didn't say. so for a 5 star resort it was pretty good prices, apart from the taxes.
watched the rugby... need i say more :-(
healt wise ive been pretty good considering some dear girlfriends from work gave me a cold 3 days before i flew out :-). i was over it within 2-3 days. but in Dubai i pulled muscles in my arm carrying my backpack, day pack, shoulder bag, camera bag and tripod. Can't figure it. would never have bothered me 10 years ago.
i'm cooking for myself now and i can feel the kilo's dropping off me due to my healthy (too lazy to cook) diet.
i practiced walking silently passed her cage, my back squashed up against the opposite wall, just like Clareese in Silence of the Lambs when she visited Hanible Lecter in his cell hahaha.
just came back from a grooming session with Mzee. i've been feeding him yesterday and today, but today he wanted to groom me. pretty freaky the first time you let a huge chimp hand grab ur head and look for stuff in ur eyes. he's probably the most attentive Dr i've been too. really intense but he is so gentle as he works around ur eyes. he wanted me to go in his enclosure with him, but i wasn't that game. he hasn't charged me once or thrown branches, stones or corn cobs at me yet, so he can't truely love me surely lol!
Bili was good this afternoon. came down and played with me but when i him i had to leave to see Mzee, he charged me and threw rocks at me. hmmmm, female jealousy maybe?
a Kenyan thunderstorm is rolling in so its nice to hear the thunder and rain on the roof.
i visted the Mt Kenya Fairmont Game club / resort next door. awesome place and if you're into golf you would love it. might have to go there occassinoally to top up my white tan by the pool. if your not staying it costs $8 to get in to use the facilities. anything you buy has 3 taxes on it totallying 27%. meals seemed surprisingly cheap avg of $8-$10, unless my exchange conversion maths was wrong. wine started at $30 i think for a bottle, but it didn't say. so for a 5 star resort it was pretty good prices, apart from the taxes.
watched the rugby... need i say more :-(
healt wise ive been pretty good considering some dear girlfriends from work gave me a cold 3 days before i flew out :-). i was over it within 2-3 days. but in Dubai i pulled muscles in my arm carrying my backpack, day pack, shoulder bag, camera bag and tripod. Can't figure it. would never have bothered me 10 years ago.
i'm cooking for myself now and i can feel the kilo's dropping off me due to my healthy (too lazy to cook) diet.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
16 October, 2011
hey all, if you joing my blog as a member and leave a comment, it adds the comment as ur login or user name so i don't know who ur are hahahah. maybe thats a good thing!
Go the Aussies!!! i'll be watching
Go the Aussies!!! i'll be watching
15 October, 2011
well interesting day. have moved into my cabin, sleeping in the jungle surrounded by elephants, lepards baboons and nothing by a massive chimp to keep me company. a chimp that loves to throw anything she can get her hands on, at me. there is a caged window into her room in the corridor and i have to walk past it to go to bed. can't wait to see what she does when i walk by. and i was worried about kidnapping!
up till now i have had the luxury of a chef to cook all meals. now i have to cook my own and we all know what a great cook i am lol! but i still get my bed made and rooms cleaned daily, so not too bad :-).
i had a troop of other monkeys trying to break in to the cabin today. apparantly the previous volunteers cut a hole in the fence to let them in and provided food on the balcony. pretty stupid! now they will try and raid the houses to get food. later in the day a couple of baboons went screaming by. didn't see much though as i think they were fighting.
there is a british army base in town, where they train for Afganistan and also a Kenya army base, so the area is pretty protected. the place is full of Malays (prostitutes), so i'm not keen on venturing out to the pubs in town on saturday night. i think i have enough on my hands with Bili hahaha.
i bought a new camera in dubai. Canon 7d! its pretty cool but pics still not as sharp as i like, nor as good as Karls. I have been looking through Karl's photography. so awesome. the guy has been photographing wildlife for 20 years and his collection humbles me. his videos of slaughtering of rhinos and elephants for the tusks and chimps and gorillas for bush food is devistating. as he pointed out, Kenya has a population of 44million and they don't have enough food which is why they kill wildlife to eat. no different to us eating kangaroos i guess, but the result is devastating. they expect the population to rise to over 100 million. what then? so its not about educating the locals, its about waking up the government about what they will do in the future. other countries are the same and there is no way of stopping the killing of wildlife or destruction of forests for farming. what is happening cannot be stopped.
i feel so sorry for future generations. our generation have a hell of a lot to answer for.
i was planning on my own gallery to use as a education centre to bring awareness to what is happening, but it will have absolutely no effect. its up to the global govts to recognize the problem and find a solution and in some african and arab countries its the govt who are controlling the illegal trade. Karl has videos of such things and puts his life on the line for the cause. unfortunately no one wants to show these films becuase they don't have a happy ending!!!! I recon Green Peace should have their own broadcasting business for an outlet for real stories like this.
well, time to start on my books and start relaxing a bit... if Bili lets me.
good nite
up till now i have had the luxury of a chef to cook all meals. now i have to cook my own and we all know what a great cook i am lol! but i still get my bed made and rooms cleaned daily, so not too bad :-).
i had a troop of other monkeys trying to break in to the cabin today. apparantly the previous volunteers cut a hole in the fence to let them in and provided food on the balcony. pretty stupid! now they will try and raid the houses to get food. later in the day a couple of baboons went screaming by. didn't see much though as i think they were fighting.
there is a british army base in town, where they train for Afganistan and also a Kenya army base, so the area is pretty protected. the place is full of Malays (prostitutes), so i'm not keen on venturing out to the pubs in town on saturday night. i think i have enough on my hands with Bili hahaha.
i bought a new camera in dubai. Canon 7d! its pretty cool but pics still not as sharp as i like, nor as good as Karls. I have been looking through Karl's photography. so awesome. the guy has been photographing wildlife for 20 years and his collection humbles me. his videos of slaughtering of rhinos and elephants for the tusks and chimps and gorillas for bush food is devistating. as he pointed out, Kenya has a population of 44million and they don't have enough food which is why they kill wildlife to eat. no different to us eating kangaroos i guess, but the result is devastating. they expect the population to rise to over 100 million. what then? so its not about educating the locals, its about waking up the government about what they will do in the future. other countries are the same and there is no way of stopping the killing of wildlife or destruction of forests for farming. what is happening cannot be stopped.
i feel so sorry for future generations. our generation have a hell of a lot to answer for.
i was planning on my own gallery to use as a education centre to bring awareness to what is happening, but it will have absolutely no effect. its up to the global govts to recognize the problem and find a solution and in some african and arab countries its the govt who are controlling the illegal trade. Karl has videos of such things and puts his life on the line for the cause. unfortunately no one wants to show these films becuase they don't have a happy ending!!!! I recon Green Peace should have their own broadcasting business for an outlet for real stories like this.
well, time to start on my books and start relaxing a bit... if Bili lets me.
good nite
Friday, October 14, 2011
14 October, 2011
My hosts like to go to bed after dinner, which is about 6:30pm, so i was in bed at around 7:30pm. people use to think i slept early @ 9:30pm lol! problem is i wake up around 3am.
2 nights in a row i've woken up with headaches around 3am. Karl says its the altitude and will take a while to adjust, being at around 2,200mtrs above sea level. i do notice i'm puffing just walking between my cabin and the house. i thought i was unfit and fat from muffins and cappuccinos. ha, probably am.
went into Nanyuki town today. just another African town but is suppose to be pretty modern by african standards. they have supermarkets, banks, coffee shops, hardware shops etc, but not the bunnings, coles, ikea or gloria jeans i'm use to lol. so far all the people smile and are nice. quite a few beggars around and people trying to sell to the mazungu (white man). not much different to Collins St and George St back in Australia i guess.
weather has been overcast and drizzling most of the time. its suppose to be the dry season with showers in the morning and evening, but i guess i brought the melbourne weather with me. its jeans and jumper when its raining and shorts and t-shirt when its not.
i will probably move into my cabin with Bili tomorrow. should be interesting sleeping in a room next to a huge chimp.
hmm, we do tend to take electricity and water for granted dont we? not here. blackouts and no water happen too often. makes u very humble to not take basic things for granted.
i am watching Karls documentaries. they are blunt and to the point and don't pull punches. he has made many documentaries on the decline of primates in africa due to locals eating chimps and gorillas or trading them rich fat westerners and arabs. he struggles to get them published because the national geographics and lonely planet only want to show documentaries with happy endings, and his documentaries don't have happy endings. they are the truth that people dont want to know about. i wish i could share it with you all.
2 nights in a row i've woken up with headaches around 3am. Karl says its the altitude and will take a while to adjust, being at around 2,200mtrs above sea level. i do notice i'm puffing just walking between my cabin and the house. i thought i was unfit and fat from muffins and cappuccinos. ha, probably am.
went into Nanyuki town today. just another African town but is suppose to be pretty modern by african standards. they have supermarkets, banks, coffee shops, hardware shops etc, but not the bunnings, coles, ikea or gloria jeans i'm use to lol. so far all the people smile and are nice. quite a few beggars around and people trying to sell to the mazungu (white man). not much different to Collins St and George St back in Australia i guess.
weather has been overcast and drizzling most of the time. its suppose to be the dry season with showers in the morning and evening, but i guess i brought the melbourne weather with me. its jeans and jumper when its raining and shorts and t-shirt when its not.
i will probably move into my cabin with Bili tomorrow. should be interesting sleeping in a room next to a huge chimp.
hmm, we do tend to take electricity and water for granted dont we? not here. blackouts and no water happen too often. makes u very humble to not take basic things for granted.
i am watching Karls documentaries. they are blunt and to the point and don't pull punches. he has made many documentaries on the decline of primates in africa due to locals eating chimps and gorillas or trading them rich fat westerners and arabs. he struggles to get them published because the national geographics and lonely planet only want to show documentaries with happy endings, and his documentaries don't have happy endings. they are the truth that people dont want to know about. i wish i could share it with you all.
14 October, 2011
Bili, the female chimp, was not as excited to see me today. i visited her twice and both times she stalked me and then charged and through a stick the first time and corn cob the second time lol. Karl says she might just be playing games. Obviously my charm is not working hahahah.
I met Mzee, the male chimp today. he looks like a normal big black chimp, unlike Bili is is larger and grey. I expected more territorial displays from Mzee but he was cool with me, probably coz i was giving him is favourite treat. need to buy the friendship somehow.
I will be putting them both to bed in a few hours. they both have their own rooms in separate buildings and have their own beds with blankets and pillows. we feed them heaps of fruit and when they have had enough they pull the blankets over their heads and sleep till 6:30am.
I met Mzee, the male chimp today. he looks like a normal big black chimp, unlike Bili is is larger and grey. I expected more territorial displays from Mzee but he was cool with me, probably coz i was giving him is favourite treat. need to buy the friendship somehow.
I will be putting them both to bed in a few hours. they both have their own rooms in separate buildings and have their own beds with blankets and pillows. we feed them heaps of fruit and when they have had enough they pull the blankets over their heads and sleep till 6:30am.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Day 1 October 13 2011
Personal Re-inventionToday is the first day of my new life.
3 weeks ago I virtually retired, resigning from my contract, I spent 2 weeks travelling 4,000klms from Melbourne to Wagga Wagga to Wollongong to Sydney to Coffs Harbour to Tweed Valley to Sunshine Coast and back to Melbourne to say hi and bye to my friends and family.
Last Sunday I flew out of Melbourne to spend 2 days seeing friends in Dubai before flying to Nairobi, Kenya and a 3 1/2 hr drive to my new home.
I was lucky enough to watch an awesome sunset across the Kenyan landscape and almost at the same time watch a full moon rise in the opposite direction. Pretty cool for my first night and even before I arrived at my cabin.
My hosts are from Switzerland and the US and have a beautiful large home next to the Fairmont Resort in the Mt Kenya Game Reserve, at the base of Mt Kenya. The property overlooks the lush forested hills of Mt Kenya with a salt lick only meters from the house where elephants, leopards, bush buck, water buffalow, baboons and hyenas occassionally frequent for the minerals. they also have two chimps, one I saw today for the first time and she is huge, almost a cross between a chimp and gorilla.
The past few weeks of travelling have drained me and haven't slept well, so I took a sleeping pill at 8:30 last night.
I spent some time standing near Bili's cage (the female chimp) just so she got us to me. she behaved while Karl was with me. Once he left she came down from the tree, checked to see if he had left, picked up a handful of dirt and stones and ran at me throwing it at me lol. after that she settled down extended her arm with her palm up. She was wanting me to follow her so we ended up walking around the enclosure, her on the inside, me on the outside. so i think she will get use to me.
I also met the male chimp today. so far so good
3 weeks ago I virtually retired, resigning from my contract, I spent 2 weeks travelling 4,000klms from Melbourne to Wagga Wagga to Wollongong to Sydney to Coffs Harbour to Tweed Valley to Sunshine Coast and back to Melbourne to say hi and bye to my friends and family.
Last Sunday I flew out of Melbourne to spend 2 days seeing friends in Dubai before flying to Nairobi, Kenya and a 3 1/2 hr drive to my new home.
I was lucky enough to watch an awesome sunset across the Kenyan landscape and almost at the same time watch a full moon rise in the opposite direction. Pretty cool for my first night and even before I arrived at my cabin.
My hosts are from Switzerland and the US and have a beautiful large home next to the Fairmont Resort in the Mt Kenya Game Reserve, at the base of Mt Kenya. The property overlooks the lush forested hills of Mt Kenya with a salt lick only meters from the house where elephants, leopards, bush buck, water buffalow, baboons and hyenas occassionally frequent for the minerals. they also have two chimps, one I saw today for the first time and she is huge, almost a cross between a chimp and gorilla.
The past few weeks of travelling have drained me and haven't slept well, so I took a sleeping pill at 8:30 last night.
I spent some time standing near Bili's cage (the female chimp) just so she got us to me. she behaved while Karl was with me. Once he left she came down from the tree, checked to see if he had left, picked up a handful of dirt and stones and ran at me throwing it at me lol. after that she settled down extended her arm with her palm up. She was wanting me to follow her so we ended up walking around the enclosure, her on the inside, me on the outside. so i think she will get use to me.
I also met the male chimp today. so far so good
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