Simon’s EXTREME Birthday

by Luke, in Nepal
22nd November, 2009
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Simon’s birthday today so we’re all in great spirits and hopefully he’s had a good day filming cattle and some rescued birds of prey. The sun also came out so we got a great view of the mountains – gave us a taste of what to expect for the next few days because we have a flight up into the Himalayas crack of dawn tomorrow to a remote place in the lower mustang – near the Tibet border. Of course we have the birthday meal to deal with before that… Internet may be a bit hard to come by so will catch up in a few days.
 
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Deep in the Himalayas

by Luke, in Nepal
23rd November, 2009
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A nerve wracking plane ride ascending 4000metres and landing on the edge of a mountain got us in the mood for a hardcore section of the trip. Amazingly there is an old computer with internet in the hostel we’re staying in. I say amazingly because there is also very little hot water – no soap, toilet paper and the room temperature is sub zero, but it does have brilliant food, a great family running it and is soaked in character.

It has also been a great day – I’ve done the first cat spay in a remote mountain village ever which was great – on the roof of a house with the backdrop of snowcapped mountains, the people are super friendly and the scenery spectacular.
 
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Gearing up for the helicopter arriving tomorrow – it can only fly until 11am or the winds get too strong so it promises to be an action packed start to the day.
 
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I saw Nathan run!

by Luke, in Nepal
24th November, 2009
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Big, big, big news – Nathan ran. The rest of us were astounded but I can confirm that witnessing this was up there with being on a remote mountain top in the Himalayas treating yaks. I rate Nathan hugely but he has acquired yet another nickname this trip – ‘sloth’ – due to the fact he has been moving at the speed of a lame snail and has been feeling a little ‘tired’. Poor chap. But he was in the zone and actually ran about twenty metres. It was like watching a baby bird take its first flight – or so I would imagine – but without the feathers – almost miraculous.

The day has been hardcore – the helicopter was with us which always adds a bit of edge to things. Once again the radios didn’t work so we had to wing it and the added extra was that due to high winds, aerial filming after 11am wasn’t going to happen. With a one and a half hour off-road drive up a mountain side to conquer before we were even close to the yaks I was going to treat (the bit the guys wanted to film), it was an early start to say the least.
 
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It was also a bit stressful as the yaks weren’t having any of it to start with and Marc and I exchanged a few choice words as I explained we needed to herd them into a makeshift stone coral and running up a mountain, carrying a 35kg bag at 4,500m was leaving me a little short of breath. Marc had sweated blood and guts into making this happen so wasn’t best pleased that things weren’t going all too smoothly to start with. We did manage to get it nailed though and it turned out to be a brilliant day. Marc and I are still talking – now I have my breath back – and all is sweet. The yaks are also fine and are awesome animals – incredibly well adapted to surviving in such a harsh environment. They actually have an extra pair of ribs than cows which allows for bigger lungs, a massive heart and greater oxygen capacity at such a high altitude (50% less oxygen up here than at sea level apparently).
 
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Joy of joys is that we have to do it all again tomorrow as the helicopter is going to have another crack in Pokhara where it’s a lot lower and things are a bit safer. Rock on.
 
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Back to Pokhara

by Luke, in Nepal
25th November, 2009
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Day two of the helicopter shooting and as predicted it was a bit of stress due to complete lack of communication with the aerial camera. However, despite the glitches, I don’t think the aerial shots can disappoint – the landscape is simply stunning and it was a beautiful day so it’s going to be a winner.

The flight back to Pokhara was fairly good – considering the plane takes off the side of a mountain and it literally flies off the end of the runway. One lady (sitting behind Simon thankfully) was throwing up a fair bit, but it wasn’t as turbulent as the flight out and with such dramatic scenery (we flew back over the mountains to get to Pokhara) there wasn’t a dull moment. Once the helicopter was all done and dusted it was back up to the shelter to check on a few animals and one small drama in that a wheel fell off one of the trucks as the front axel snapped. Quite exciting as neither truck has working handbrakes and we were up the top of a very steep hill. All is fine though (lots of boulders handy to act as brakes) and hopefully the truck will be back in action for the final big day tomorrow.

Probably won’t have a chance to update the blog before I am back in the UK as the next few days are action packed – bits to get done tomorrow in the day then flying to Kathmandu tomorrow night, overnight there then on to Doha and then finally back home.

I think the whole team have really enjoyed the trip but with so much travelling it’s been very full on! Will be brilliant to get back and see our respective families and I’m sure we’ll all remember HART with great fondness. I’ve made some more great friends on this trip and am heading back with lots of plans to set up some follow up teams and get these community outreach programmes working really well. If anyone fancies an action packed adventure in Nepal I have the perfect itinerary!

Uganda

by Luke, in Uganda
6th December, 2009
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Noah attended Daniel’s 3 year old birthday party yesterday. I was giving Mum a well deserved rest, so Noah tightly clutching Daniel’s birthday present, dutifully trotted down to Daniel’s party at the local village hall, with me in tow. I’d also just spent half an hour washing the car with Noah so needless to say, we were a little moist, but I’d slipped on a clean pair of shorts and Noah always looks sharp so we were in the zone. I thought with all these trips, having worked in townships, slums and refugee camps I would be used to an environment of chaos – not even close. To the uninitiated, a three year old birthday party is a league unto itself. If I was trying to simulate a full scale riot in the sleepy village of Martin, I could do no better than recruit a very sweet and polite Daniel and his pals and dish out loads of sweets. I’m surprised the police weren’t called – and if the had been they would have needed a riot squad.

I’m hoping this next trip will be a much a calmer affair. Uganda has come around quick – just a week back at home and we’re now back on a packed plane racing towards the next destination… Bit of a tough turn around this one but Adam is back on the crew and with the old hands of Marc and Nathan. The grand plan is to pull it out the bag and hopefully make a brilliant programme. Big focus on primates this one so I’ve been told I should feel right at home… whatever that is supposed to mean.

Airline Food

by Luke, in Uganda
7th December, 2009
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Not one to make a fuss I would like to briefly mention that a staple diet of at least three meals a day has been a mainstay of the human civilization for thousands of years. BA have decided to reverse the trend, so checking in at 8am for a 10am flight, arriving at a local time of 10:45pm – qualifies each passenger to one meal, a pathetic egg and spring onion sandwich on limp brown bread – and a kit kat. Maintaining a fighting weight of 100kg is going to be a challenge on this trip with a start like that.

I did see the BA stewardesses once or maybe twice during the entire flight (there might have been two of them – I’m not sure), but if I had seen them a third time, I would definitely have asked for a glass of water or something to try to fill the aching chasm of hunger within. Needless to say, when we pitched up at the airport guesthouse about midnight (customs was an epic) – they had stopped serving food. We managed to plead a bowl of pumpkin soup so all was not lost but be warned if you ever fly BA to Uganda – you are going to pitch up wanting and thin. Start booking your tickets now.

Ngamba Island

by Luke, in Uganda
7th December, 2009
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When you do arrive – Ngamba island is amazing. A chimp sanctuary of note, amazing animals, wonderful work and a brilliant start to the mission. Anyone can come here as they run a strong eco-tourism project alongside the charitable work.

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We spent the afternoon with Baron and Africa – two orphaned infant chimps that the team here had rescued, integrating themselves to the 41 strong community of chimps that live on the island. Africa’s mother had been caught and killed, her parts harvested for witchcraft – baby Africa was rescued by local authorities and Ngamba stepped in to do the rest. Baron is missing a finger on his right hand after being caught up in a snare when he was very young. Captured and used for the illegal pet trade, he was subsequently confiscated and is now living it up with the staff here. Their integration to the community here is a long process as the chimp social heirachy is complex and delicate so they need to first bond with the juveniles (5yrs-8yrs) then when they have made some friends, bond with the sub adults (8yrs-12yrs), finally they will bond with the adults (12yrs+) whereby hopefully one of the adult females will adopt each of them respectively before they meet the alpha male of the community. Scary business meeting a big troop of chimpanzees – 98.7% DNA same as us, adult males have the strength of five men – definitely a question of talking when spoken too. Wonderful interaction with the chimps today and more planned for tomorrow – I wouldn’t say I feel right at home as I miss it too much, but these animals are easy company and brilliant fun. Great start to the trip.

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Full on chimp experience

by Luke, in Uganda
8th December, 2009
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A stormy start to the morning would be an understatement – you could hardly see for rain it was that bad. Within a matter of minutes we were completely soaked to the skin as we walked with a group of chimps, into the forest to get the full on ‘chimp experience’. For me, this meant carrying a 50kg chimp for about twenty minutes that hopped on my back (what else can you do when a 50kg chimp with 3 inch canines hops on your back?). For Adam this meant getting mugged by a chimp and losing a £250 pocket camera. Whichever way you look at it – the chimps had a good morning and totally made the most of our intrusion into their world.
 
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After a couple of operations on two chimps with Lawrence – the head vet there who was totally professional and very competent – we headed back to Kampala and have got things set for the USPCA tomorrow – dogs and cats, helping the only charity in the whole city. I can’t wait.
 
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Before I sign off, I should mention that chimps are wonderful creatures, deserve a lot more protection than they get and are close to being wiped out by the illegal bushmeat trade, illegal pet trade and deforestation. Support the cause and sponsor a chimp.

USPCA

by Luke, in Uganda
9th December, 2009
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The USPCA is a great organization. Run on a total voluntary basis by three founders, each of whom help out when they can; it is staffed by five individuals lead by Dr Alex – a Ugandan vet – who manages it on a day to day basis. The USPCA can’t afford its own clinic but shares its facilities with those of Alex who runs his own private practice alongside the work of the USPCA. Being clearly a bit short of bucks doesn’t stop the USPCA from paying huge attention to detail in ensuring the comfort and good welfare of the dogs and cats under its care. I was really impressed with the shelter – they have about 80 dogs looking for homes that they have rescued from the street and all of them seemed happy, healthy animals, living in harmony in runs of about 6-10 dogs based on size and age. I loved the fact each run had raised platforms for environmental stimulation, that they manage being on the edge of capacity so well and it was so clean and the staff so friendly. The cat run was tucked as far away from the main dog runs as possible and it seemed more like a giant playpen for the animals rather than a mesh box exuding a cold sterile rehoming functionality that sometimes (albeit rarely) these places can become.

I had a good day – tried to catch one dog in a bad way – failed miserably and we’ll need to track her down and see her right at some point over the next ten days, but managed to catch another one (super friendly so not the biggest challenge) and spayed her with Alex as we discussed the goals and ideals of the USPCA. She had a TVT and was riddled with ticks so wasn’t in the best health – she had ehlrichia and her spleen was massive, she also couldn’t clot, but the surgery went well and I gave her the necessary meds. It’ll be good to check on her next week.
 
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Ideally, I would love to spend a bit more time with the USPCA. It’s a charity I didn’t know and it is doing sterling work. It has no real administration and is a true champion with what it is trying to do – stoically going about its business without any fanfare. It is the sort of unassuming charity that really motivates me so I hope WVS can support them in the future and I look forward to hopefully sending them some teams to help out.

Rhinos

by Luke, in Uganda
10th December, 2009
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Fairly non interesting fact is that about 15years ago I went to Matusadona National Park in Zimbabwe and volunteered on a rhino sanctuary. It was a great adventure, four of us who had shaved our heads for black rhinos and were high on the adventures of our first year at University, backpacked around South Africa and Zimbabwe one summer and worked on the national park as part of our overseas extramural study experience. It was my first exposure to African game and I remember quivering in my boots when we stumbled upon a lion who had a fresh kill at its feet, and basically being fairly awed by the big game experience.

Sadly, the head ranger left and his deputy got arrested for stealing, the rhinos all got poached and Zimbabwe went downhill as Mugabe began to choke it relentlessly. Things didn’t quite pan out for that project or that country, but this one in Uganda – where we are today – oozes a lot more potential and has the driving force of Angie behind it who has a steely determination to see it through and succeed.

The Rhino Fund Uganda is on a mission to turn things around. Rhinos were wiped out in Uganda in 1983, the plan of the Rhino Fund is to establish a safe sanctuary for white rhinos (southern ones as the northern population is now in numbers such that genetic viability is impossible) and reintroduce them to the National Parks. To that end they have a 70km square sanctuary that is fiercely patrolled by over 50 rangers and have a breeding population of resident white rhinos. It is proving to be a winner – the second baby was born a couple of weeks ago and is in fact the second baby ever bred in Uganda in a sanctuary. It isn’t only the rhino story that is inspiring though – the bush meat trade where we are is immense. Totally illegal but if I wanted an antelope steak it would take me less than ten minutes drive down the road to buy one. Angie is on a mission to try to conserve the wildlife so has put word out that she will take any babies that are found orphaned as a result of the bush meat trade or indiscriminate snares.

Compensating villagers for handing over baby antelopes has it’s downsides but at least she is doing something and it gives the babies a chance of life – safe sanctuary in her reserve for starters. We rescued two such animals today – totally adorable little creatures which they named Luke and Adam. Goes without saying that Luke is obviously much better looking…
 
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Angies family are great – Chris, Nico and Nico’s girlfriend Tammy are all from South Africa and have made their lives up here in the bush.Very hospitable and good company. Looking forward to tomorrow when we get tracking the rhinos and see what it’s all about.

On other news – Marc is tearing out chunks of his wispy beard due to the fact internet is proving to be such a total nightmare. I think it’s a good individualistic look – his wife may disagree.