SAVED BY THE BIRDS AND MA AGAIN!!

Oh gee wizz, I nearly had a heart attack today.
The birds have been going crazy over the past few days, this morning the family dog went crazy to sniffing around and barking, I thought the dog was barking at the birds, silly me what do I no coming from a place that has no creepy crawlies.
So Ma said I think I better check that out, so off she went and got her snake catcher, Ma was poking around in the bushes and sure enough a Puff Adder, right outside my daughters bedroom, where we all walk in and out of all the time.
Ma’s yelling out I’ve got it, brave lady, so she calls up the snake guide in the park to come take it away, he arrives in a matter of seconds and pulls the Puff Adder out, I was trying to get all this on video, but my heart was going ninety miles an hour when I saw it, nice just to see them behind glass. I ran so fast it is very scary coming so close to a wild snake, and to think, how long it had been there for.

This is the second time now the birds have let us no something is up. It’s quite amazing, as soon as the snake had been removed the birds all settled down.
I will definitely be listening more closely to the birds. Hooray for the birds. We have had a Hedge Hog family as well that we have been feeding, where the snake was discovered, is exactly where we have all been putting our hands by to put the hedge hog food down, obviously Puff Adders don’t eat Hedge Hogs.
They are so well camouflaged you wouldn’t even no it was there, so all the lovely gardens are getting an overhaul, so we can see in the gardens better, especially now as the 12 month old twins are running around, we keep a close eye on them, but still best to clear all the garden away.

Last week there where 4 snake bites in one day, they come to the clinic at Meserani Snake Park, hopefully bringing with them the snake that has bitten them so BJ can identify what kind of snake and how to treat it. One victim had beaten the snake to a pulp, sounds crawl but it has to be done. And you can’t win sometimes, that snake was actually harmless just gave the guy a little bite, but then he got a bad reaction to the antibiotics, oh well better to be safe than sorry.

Sometimes before they come to the clinic they go see the witch doctor, not a good idea. By the time BJ gets to look at them the snake bite victim can be in such a mess that there is nothing that can be done. These witch doctors make an absolute mess of things.

There is always something going on here, BJ is just in the process of building a knew clinic, they have about 1000 patients a month, and it is all funded from the park.
There was a lovely doctor just here travelling from Australia who has just donated some medical supplies, it all helps.

Anyway I am certainly a lot more cautious, and remember listen to the birds.
Take Care
Tania Bale
Creative Vision Ebooks.Com

Meserani Snake Park, The Coolest Snakes And The Coolest People

Madie And Kirsty
Lunch Time, Gaboon Viper
Green Mamba

What a fantastic place, all thanks to BJ and Ma as they are known as all over the world. It all started back in 1993.

Ma and BJ arrived from South Africa with very little, with a dream of creating something special.
We'll they certainly have achieved that. When they arrived here at Meserani there was nothing but dust, 10 acres of it, not even one blade of grass. So the first thing that had to be done was to plant some tress, and boy have those trees grown, the park is lush and green, unlike the surrounding area which is like desert. Meserani Snake park has a variety of snakes common in East Africa and Southern Africa, from the Black Mama to the Red and Black Spitting Cobra's and the African Python. Other reptiles include Monitor Lizards, Crocodiles, as big as 5 metres long. Ma and BJ have also taken on a Yellow Baboon, which was mistreated and had no where else to go, she is very cute.

The park works very well with the local Maasai people, they have provided a clinic, where the Maasai walk for miles to arrive to get treatment all free of charge, from snake bites to your common cold. The park provides anti venom for snake bite victims, and there has been a few of them lately, Puff Adder bites and they are very fatal if not treated immediately.

The clinic has so many patients now that BJ is going to build a knew one, to accommodate all the patients, there will be men's and women's quarters, showers, and rooms for doctors and nurses that sometime travel by from the western world. Alot of medication is donated from America and London, some of the medicine might have expiry dates on it so of course this cannot be used in these countries, but is perfectly fine for the Maasai as they are not use to medicine anyway, so it works well.

BJ has built a Cultural Museum, which is fantastic, I must say it is one of the most interesting Museums I have ever been to. A real Maasai will give you a personal tour threw the Museum and tell you all about their culture. Maasai men can have as many wives as they like and circumcision is still going on behind the scenes with Maasai women, even though it is illegal, it is their way and nothing is going to change that.

Meserani snake park is on the route to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, so all the overland trucks stop here with their passengers to camp and chill out for a few days or longer.

The bar sure can get pretty busy, and everyone always wants to leave something for the walls or the ceiling, whether it be a t-shirt or money or pictures, you name it its in the bar.

Overlanders can go on camel safaris to the local village. All walks of life visit the snake park, from all over the world.
All the proceeds from the Museum fund the clinic.

BJ has also started an orphanage, he has 4 kids now and I'm sure that will grow as well just like the park has. One of the orphans has just been sponsored to go off to school. It is really nice to see, at least this way you can actually see for your own eyes where the money is going, or you just pay your monthly fee to some organization and hope it makes a difference.

There is about 55 staff here, there is a Jewellery shop, sewing shop the guides for the snake park and the Museum, there are guards to protect the grounds, all the kitchen and garden staff, so it is quite a big operation. So as the park gets bigger more jobs are provided for the local people.

BJ is just in the process of building a police station, there is a road block just outside the park where the local police stop all the traffic to see whats going on.
What a great idea, build a police station, that way it keeps them around and protects the park as they are here 24/7, very clever idea.

And there is no need to get lazy while relaxing at the park as Bj has also built a Gym. And to top it off there is even a work shop here, where all the overland trucks stop to give them an over haul before taking off on there long journeys around Africa, so all the mechanics are on hand to.

I really take my hat off to Ma and BJ, 15 years and they have built a real oasis. The bar certainly has become very well known around the world, and if you happen to visit the bar be sure to try out the variety of cocktails on offer, and if you can survive a Ma's revenge as they call it then you can survive Africa.

I really enjoy living at the snake park visiting all the animals with my daughters, 12 month old twins and Steffi who is 11 she is attending the local school down the road while we are here. Very different to the schools back in New Zealand, but that is a whole new storey to tell.

It is very cool having a Mother and Father-inlaw like Ma and BJ. So I would like to say to them great stuff and well done.

Cheers
Tania Bale
Creative Vision Ebooks.Com

My Trip To Zanzibar

Hi again, we'll we set of to Zanzibar for 3 nights and 4 days. For such a small Island, Zanzibar has some amazing history.

It was originally believed that Zanzibar first settled by Africans, 3000 to 4000 years ago. Many centuries later, inhabitants from Greece, Egypt, Persia, China, India, Arabia, Europe began to settle.

The Arab and the Persians where fleeing their own war torn countries, Through all the intermarriages, the language of Kiswahilli was born. This forms the base of the present day language Swahili, which is the language spoken in Zanzibar. Jumbo, means hello, Asante sana means thankyou very much, karibu means welcome.

In the 1800's is when the slave trade took place, these dungeons held up to 75 women and children which where no bigger than 1 metre by 2 metres wide, and hardly any ventilation. The slaves where held in these two underground rooms before being taken to the market for auctioning. A small hut was on top and there was a big hole used as an entrance way to the slave chambers. Slaves where kept in terrible conditions, so many died of suffocation and starvation the amount was horrific. I stood inside the Cathedral Church exactly on the spot where the whipping post was for the slaves. It is hard to comprehend and very sad.

As a result of appeals by Dr Livingstone the treaty abolishing slave trade was conducted in June 6th 1873. The slave market was closet down.

Dr Livingstone died in Africa, his body was sent back to England, before he died he asked for his heart to be buried in Africa, so that is exactly what happened. They removed his heart and buried it under a tree in Zimbabwe.

The main hub of Zanzibar is called Stone Town, absolutely amazing place, the buildings are made from rock and coral from the sea. Of course they don't build like that any more, back then they had no idea the damage they where doing to the coral reefs.

The population of Zanzibar is about 800,000, 95% Muslim and 5% Christians and they all live in harmony.

I noticed there where alot of cats and no dogs, the reason being is that if a dog sniffs them then they have to wash themselves seven times.

Freddie Mercury (Queen) the famous rock star was born in Stone Town Zanzibar.

His house is now made into alittle restaurant, outside is a board with pictures of him and a brief about him, that was very cool to see.

Then we set of on a tour to the ruins of a sultans palace, which was built in 1882 for his hundred halem women. The place was accidentally burned down in 1889.

We then headed off to the Spice Island, where you can experience a mouth watering array of fresh spices and fruits.

One of the bushes they grow has a berry that grows and the women use it for lipstick.

We got to taste fresh peppercorns, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, you name it it was there. Then a local climbed up a coconut tree and cut us a fresh coconut, beautiful, and the coconut milk is yummy. At the end of the spice tour you get to taste all the fresh fruits and try out a few different teas. I must say the fresh lemon grass tea was top on the list.

We then headed up the North of the Island to a beach resort. There are so many to choose from.

The beach is just magnificent, crystal blue water. This is a place where you can truly relax. There are restaurants are all over the place and you can eat seafood till your hearts content. You can go diving and snorkelling, you can have you hair done, have a massage, get a henna tattoo, which is what the entire local woman do. This is an ink, much like a pen and you can pick all sorts of designs and have them draw it for you any where you like, it washes off in about 3 weeks, it looks very cool.

We meet a lovely Australian couple Tom and Jane who had been travelling around Africa for a couple of months.

One evening we had been invited to go on a sunset cruise on the local Dow so we invited our new friends to join us. We had a blast.
They supplied nibbles, and all you could drink for 2 hours for about $25.00, which is a pretty cheap night and a spectacular view. After a few Conyagi’s which is the local Gin, the girls of course needed a toilet stop, so we pulled up to the shore, as I was heading down the three rung ladder at the back of the Dow, the boat sort of went side ways and I fell into the water, it was very funny and really refreshing. Luckily that wasn’t caught on camera.
After our cruise we meet some more people and had a great time in one of the local bars, very interesting people.

The next day we relaxed on the beach. Tom and Jane went on their merely way for a bit more travelling and said they would come and visit us at the Snake Park. We headed back to Stone Town to catch our flight back to Meserani Snake Park in Arusha.

I would thoroughly recommend a holiday to Zanzibar, there is something for everyone to do, the people are very friendly and helpful.. And the hotels and restaurants are not expensive.

Cheers until next time
Tania Bale
Creative Vision Ebooks.Com

An African Christmas and New Year

News Years Eve At Meserani Snake Park

Happy New Year To You All,

We had a fabulous time here in Africa at Meserani Snake Park.
Things where a little bit different than how we would normally celebrate Christmas back in New Zealand. Not so much hype as you would normally see with the shops etc. This year we all decided no Christmas presents, but there were a couple of us that broke the rule.

We had a spit roast with Wilder Beast and Buffalo, certainly different than your traditional Turkey or Ham. Very tasty though.

I was interested to see how the Maasai were going to celebrate this occasion.
They are very much a religious tribe.
The Maasai go to church every Sunday.

Christmas day to them is just like any other average day of the year.

Maasai are unaware of a typical Christmas day that we as westerner’s know it as. And I’m sure a lot of westerner’s have no idea what they are celebrating either. A lot of us are more concerned who has the biggest present under the tree.

It isn’t until the Maasai are baptised that they become aware of the celebration side of Christmas day. There is still no decorations or tress and certainly no presents. The Maasai people are saying they are becoming more influenced by us about how Christmas is celebrated and that as the years pass by they will start to celebrate the way we do.
I think this is a real shame, they should just carry on the way they are. Keep it simple I say. For one thing they certainly can not afford to be shopping for presents, they can hardly feed them selves most of the time.

New Years Eve was a big party in the bar here, there were about 4 overland trucks in with people from all over the world.
There were some very sore heads in the morning. It was all good fun and I meet some very funny people.
So that was Christmas and New Year for us, very quite but the most important thing for me was spending it with my family and I think we should all be thankful for what we have.

Until next time
Tania Bale
Creative Vision Ebooks.Com

My Experience With A Snake

BABY PUFF ADDERS

Hi again, What an exciting week here in Africa at Meserani Snake Park.

There are 20 different species of snakes at the park, some are harmless like the common Brown House Snake.Then there are the highly venomous species like the Black Mamba and the Egyptian Cobra.

But what we got to experience was a Puff Adder giving birth to 31 babies.

This was very exciting as the Puff Adder is one of very few snakes that give a live birth compared to other species that lay eggs.
The pregnancy can last up to 3 years, she decides when the time is right to give birth to her babies.

The most babies ever recorded born at one time is 156. They measure in length between 10-15cm. Even though they are so small, they are more dangerous than the adult Puff Adder itself because they have to protect themselves. Once she has given birth to her babies she no longer has anything to do with them they venture off into the wild to fend for themselves.

These snakes are cytotoxic, which means if the victim gets biten they will suffer from distruction of tissue. This is a slow acting poison which means the victim has time to get to the anti-venmon, there for fatalities in humans is rare. So this was a very priviledged experience for me as we don't have snakes in New Zealand where I come from. These babies will be released into the wild.

Then we went to a Maasai comformation celebration, which is after a Maasai has completed all of their bible studies. They gather for food and music and have a good old fashioned time.

We took a cake along and I had to present it to them. They loved it as the Maasai don't often have cake.

My uncle Bryan arrives today from New Zealand, he has never been out of the country, so he will be very excited.

So not long now until Christmas, I will be intereted to see how the Maasai celebrate this day.

Ok until next time.

Keep safe

Cheers

Tania Bale

Creative Vision Ebooks

Safely Arrived In Tanzania

Well here we are in Tanzania, after travelling 41 hours from New Zealand with the twins, what along haul.
We had to sit with the babies on our knees all the way, and try and sleep like that to, so as you can imagine we are exhausted.
Madie one of my twins vomitted all over me on the last 2 hours of the plane trip, lucky I had back up clothes, the passenger beside me didn't seem to mind to much, luckily.
Madie and Ruby the twins are settling in fine, still alittle jet lagged, but babies adapt well.
It is very hot here, so I can see I shouldn't have brought as many clothes for them as I did, as they are running around in nappies.

I have already experienced my first snake in my room, I got abit of a fright as we don't have any snakes in New Zealand.
It just turned out to be a brown house snake though, harmless. Enough to give you a fright when it is stearing at you.

The Maasai people are fascinated with the babies as twins are not common in their culture.
I think the girls are fascinated with them to.
With all the bright coloured clothes and jewellery they wear. What amazing people, so polite.
I sure am going to enjoy my time here at Meserani Snake Park.

My father-in-law has built us a lounge for the kids to play in. I even have the internet here in the middle of no where, how about that, actually the internet is working better here for me than it was for me back home, and I had broadband.

Well that is about it for now as we haven't ventured far, still recovering from our travels.
I will keep you all informed.
Bye For Now

P.S. Above is my house I will live in for the next year.

Tania Bale
Creative Vision Ebooks.Com

Leaving For Africa (Tanzania)

Hi all thanks for stopping bye.

This is such an exciting time for my family and myself. We where planning a holiday to Africa at Christmas time for 2 months, now we have decided to live there for one year with my Mother and Father-inlaw.

We are taking 9 month old twins, and 2 other daughters, they are 11 and 21.

Kirsty the eldest daughter will be staying for 6 weeks, then she will return back to New Zealand Queenstown.

We have been to Africa before only for 6 weeks. This is the first time for the twins.

Madie and Ruby will get to meet their Grandparents for the first time, how exciting for them all.

I hope they travel well on the plane, especially for the other passengers, as one of our flights from Christchurch to Dubi is 19 hours, then 5 hours to Nairobi and a 6 hour road trip to Arusha to our final destination Meserani Snake Park

Steffi my 11 year old will attend school in Arusha, which is about 15 minutes away from where we will be living at the snake park. I have heard it is a very good school.

I think she had visions of sitting out in the wilderness with the Maasi children, I don't think that would be so bad anyway, imagine what she would learn about there culture.

So we have been packing up our house, and we leave on the 26th of November 2007, which is 6 days away, I am so excited. I love Africa, many people say once you have been you will want to go back. Living there of course will be different than a holiday.

Well I will leave it there and when we arrive in Tanzania I will let you all know how the travelling went with the babies.

Take care all.

P.S. The picture above is one I took at a Maasi village last time I was in Africa.

Tania Bale

Creative Vision Ebooks. Com