Can't it be prevented? -Introduction to canyoning and its hazards-

Photo by: Jennifer Eaton Gokmen 

Canyoning is the mother of all recreational sports, because in many cases you will end up using a variety of other recreational sports, hiking, trekking, scrambling, climbing, technical swimming and even diving, and the most important part is the technical rope use.

A lot of technicality needed to provide a special, but safe experience.

The rush of adrenaline, a mix of thrill and pushing ourselves to the limit, even reaching to new limits we never knew that we were able to reach is what makes the canyoning experience a great Adventure, and with the addiction to the adrenaline rush, the need will be always for a bigger dose, though every time a canyoneer will look for a bigger challenge in which -same as all other recreational sports- he will challenge himself before challenging anything else.

Oryx Relies in Shomari

Today and Yesterday we had the privilege of having a part in the relies process for Arabic Oryxs in Shomari Reserve, and prepare for the Oryx Safari to be set in the reserve, it is going to be a great chance to be able to view these animals in their natural habitat, not to forget that Oryxs have a great connection to the desert and the freedom as well as the beauty in the Arabic poetry.

The Art of Tracking - Make The Nature an Open Book-

fresh Spotted Hyena Spoor -South Africa, Wet Land

I always was interested in the art of tracking, lately I was reading an interesting book called " The Art of Tracking, The Origin of Science" by Louis Liebenberg, a free book that you can download from the library section in the Resources & Forum section in the website - www.explorejordan.c.la - . The book discus the evolution of the hunting methods and the use of Tracking and who it was the way we could develop our thinking toward the modern since.

But I want to share with you here some citation from the introduction of this interesting book.

What is next?

Well here is my schedule for the next couple of weeks, it is going to be buzy, wish us luck!

8th Feb: Leave Mvuu Camp, Liwonde National Park to Blantyer, from where we will fly to Johannesburg.

10th Feb: Fly from Malawi to Johannesburg.

13th Feb: Travel from Johannesburg to northern Kruger National Park!

19th Feb: Travel to Botswana, Machato Camp.

24th Feb: Graduation day in Botswana.

25th end of Eco-Training Course.

After that still an open time to travel, I am planing to visit Cape Town for Few days! Any one in? ;)

Last Day in Mvuu Camp- Liwonde National Park

It is a mixed feelings indeed, a part of me is happy because the time to go back home is getting closer and closer.

But with all the memories through the five months I stayed here in the camp I feel sad, the camp become my African house, my small cottage have the coziness of a home! The family I have in here, the smiley faces in the morning, my little army and dedicated soldiers - who think I am Osama Bin Laden :D-, the naughty Elephants, the laughing of the hippos, the monkeys who alway set there waiting to steal your food, the ghosts of the Rhinos, the lion, and the night drive searching for it in every time we hear it close by, the lovely and the crazy nights of Dancing, listening to music, or just talking pulshit :), my cool neighbors and the story telling in the afternoon, my baboon tree where I used to sneak out from the camp into the bush to watch the baboon and chill out when ever I need time out!, and more and more, each of which a separate story.

The only hope is that I will be back one day!

Will miss all of my big family here, all the friends, all the times we had!
Thank you all for every thing!

Life is Either a Great Adventure or Nothing

I am not sure if it was normal for a little child of a four years or even less to answer the classical question of what do you want to be when you grow up, by “Emperor”, but this was my answer, I even couldn't pronounce it right but since then I learned to dream big.

At the age of five I was fascinated by science, if I may call it science, but I stared to collect pieces of metal, wood and any electrical devices I would find on the street because I was planning to build a spaceship that can take me to space, but in every time I will collect some, my mom will come and throw them away, because it was rubbish J

When I grew up my dreams started to take a more realistic shape, but it is still big. I still remember that TV show about a group who was discovering parts of Africa where no other people has been before, the show was in French but I remember I have watched all the episodes , the images of their four wheel drive cars stuck in the mud still in my mind. It was always nice to see it in the documentaries, about the different cultures and the wildlife. Back then I never knew that my life is going to be the next real documentary.

Mulanje Mountain (1)

Abdulla, Nadia, Osama S, and me –Cori- were still waiting to know where each of us will be spending the five months of our lodge placement which is a part of our year course we were doing in South Africa when the news came that me and Abdulla will be travelling to Malawi to do our placement in one of the lodges for wilderness company in there.

With the very little I knew about Malawi –indeed in my mind it was a group of islands in somewhere that I wasn’t sure where exactly- I started searching the internet for more information about this country and the surprise came when I found it was a landlocked country with no access to any sea or oceans which was the complete opposite of what was in my mind.

Republic of Malawi:

Or Nyasland as it was formerly known sets on the south east part of Africa and bordered by Zambia on the North west, Tanzania to the north east and Mozambique on the east, south and west.

Even though it is a landlocked country but one fifth of the total area of the country which is 118,484 Km² is covered with water.

Lake Malawi

Malawi is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by one of the largest lakes on earth, Lake Malawi or Lake Nyassa –the old name-.

Lake Malawi is considered the southernmost lake in the Grdeat Rift Valley system, the 3^rd largest lake in Africa, the eighth largest lake in the world, the 2^nd deepest lake in Africa and above all it has more fish species than any other lake on earth.

The Warm Hart of Africa

Maybe it is not only the wild life, nor the lake, neither the mountains of Malawi that made it to be the worm hart of Africa but the worm hearted people above all, their great hospitality and the warm smiles on their faces all the time.

Even with it’s being one of the world’s least developed and most-densely  populated countries (almost 15 million with 128 person/Km²) with more than 80% living in the rural areas with a low level of education and health care but people are still the greatest treasure of Malawi.

These was the information I found about the country but for me the most interesting piece of information I found was about Mount Mulanje, with its Peak Sapitwa the second highest peak in the African continent with an elevation of 3000 m with the mountain itself is globally considered as an Ecologically important area, not only that but with the many streams that descends from the mountain with the pools and the waterfalls all makes it sounds a great next adventure to be done.

I will Start my trip to there today and i will be adding more blogs telling you about the Mountain and the spiritual believes on the mountain which i found so interesting.