Articles tagged ‘africa’
Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Home to Africa’s Mountain Gorillas
By Linda | January 2nd, 2008 |
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In a desperate attempt to save Africa’s dwindling wildlife from poachers, ranger John Kahekwa of the Congo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park set up a community-based conservation programme in the hope of encouraging ecotourism.
Originally a tracker at the park, Kahekwa was responsible for taming lowland gorillas, in a way. He would ‘habituate’ them to the presence of [...]
Get Involved — Heifer Intl. Study Tours
By Mary | December 9th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
This time of year, Heifer International is one of the groups I often recommend to folks looking for alternative gift ideas. They’ll use your donation to help poor families become more self-sufficient, a strategy that’s been shown to be incredibly effective at reducing poverty. But for you, the traveller, HI also offers alternative travel experiences, [...]
Africa, Where It All Began
By Mary | November 18th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
The final topic for Geography Awareness Week is human origins. The oldest human fossils found on Earth are in the valleys of Ethiopia. Genetic evidence also shows that the human species likely had its start in that part of the world.
PBS recently ran an excellent series called The Journey of Man, about the work of [...]
Your archaeological vacation
By Mary | November 18th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
If you find the science of human origins fascinating and you’re not afraid of hard, dirty, tedious work, signing on to work as an archaeological volunteer in the field could be a great travel experience.
The Archeological Institute of America is the premier source of info about volunteer field work around the world. In Africa, [...]
All Those Diamonds in Africa
By Mary | November 17th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
Africa’s troubles sometimes just don’t seem to make sense. It’s a huge, beautiful continent, with mountains and rivers, wide open plains, jungles and deserts. People have lived there long before they lived anywhere else on Earth; the place is rich in culture and history, art and music. And it’s rich in natural resources, too.
“Africa is [...]
Africa’s History
By Mary | November 16th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
Like a lot of people I know, I managed to get through 12 years of schooling, and even through college, without learning hardly any history at all. I had a few vague ideas about Columbus and the atomic bomb, but that was about it. It wasn’t until I went to flight school, and met a [...]
Africa’s Animals
By Mary | November 13th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
It’s Day 2 in Geography Awareness Week, and today’s topic is the wildlife of Africa.
When we think of Africa, we think of elephants, zebras, lions, huge roaming herds of wildebeest and elephants. But we also know many of Africa’s people live in poverty, and wildlife are endangered by loss of habitat, logging, and poaching. [...]
How Well Do You Know Your World?
By Mary | November 12th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
Today is the start of Geography Awareness Week, an annual event that was started by the National Geographic Society back in 1987. It’s aimed at school kids, but I find most adults need a bit of refreshing too.
Here’s a good test of where your geo-knowledge stands… sit down with a blank piece of paper [...]
Destination — Ghana
By Mary | September 28th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
Sometimes you don’t really need to worry if the shampoo in your room comes in nasty little plastic containers, or if the maids have washed too many pillowcases — in plenty of places, simply going there as a traveler can make a huge difference, by helping to create an economically viable alternative to mowing down [...]
Two massive new parks in the Congo
By Mary | September 24th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
Last week, the government of Congo, in the heart of Africa, announced that two more big areas will be added to their National Park system. More than 3,800 square miles of sand dunes, wooded savannas and forests will provide habitat for giant apes, elephants, antelopes, and birds.
“These two new protected areas are a tremendous addition [...]
