Catch up with the Trekking the Planet team as Darren and Sandy review their time in Africa and the Middle East. In this video, you will witness the Great Migration in Maasai Mara National Reserve, see the Gelada Baboons in Simien Mountains National Park, learn more about the rock-hewn churches of Tigray region of Ethiopia and gaze on the Treasury in Petra. Darren and Sandy also discuss their impressions from the two months they spent in this fascinating region of the world.
Having trouble? Try one of our alternative sites. Vimeo or DailyMotion.
Transcript
0:10
0:13 It’s been a little over ten and a half months since we left San Diego, California.
0:18 And, since we have had a few weeks to reflect on our time in Africa and the Middle East,
0:23 we wanted to provide a wrap up of our time in these two places.
0:26
0:30 in Ethiopia followed by ten days in Jordan.
0:33
0:37
0:41
0:45 And, we saw a lot of animals, especially in Kenya.
0:49
0:53
0:56 And we got to even see him out hunting Thompson Gazelles, which was really a thrill.
1:01
1:04
1:09 up to one million wildebeest, zebras and other animals migrate between Tanzania and the Maasai
1:14 Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
1:19 to photograph! I enjoyed the three-day walking safari that
1:23 we did up on our way to the reserve.
1:26 It was a little out there – there no fences. And, we did see a few animals.
1:30 And at night, they employed villagers to maintain a fire to keep the animals away.
1:34
1:38
1:43
1:50 and then another very crowded vehicle to Archer’s Post.
1:53 From there we were picked up by Lucas from an NGO called The Samburu Project — an organization
1:59 that has dug 40 plus wells for the people who live in this hot and dry part of the world.
2:05
2:08
2:10 But, it was sobering too. And so great to see the work that The Samburu
2:14 Project is doing there.
2:18 where we trekked in the Simien Mountains. What was your take away from this experience?
2:22
2:27
2:31
2:33 names. And there are less than one hundred of those
2:36 animals left in the park. So, we were pretty lucky to see two of them.
2:40
2:43
2:47 the most about Ethiopia was the history. I mean, they have a writing system going back
2:51 three thousand years! And, we even saw the Ethiopian version of
2:55 the “Rosetta Stone” which contained inscriptions in three different languages just as the Rosetta
3:00 Stone that’s in the British Museum. So, what about you?
3:03 What are your take aways?
3:07 is most prominent in my mind in Ethiopia. It was the most remote school we have visited.
3:13 And, we have done 18 of them so far. It was pretty clear that they don’t get
3:17 too many visitors there.
3:21 school was actually built by a German NGO. And, in fact, our guide, Birhan was helping
3:26 to supervise the construction of a third building there.
3:30
3:35
3:39 rocks.
3:42 It guess that 600 foot drop off bothered me a little.
3:44
3:47 And, totally worth it because, I got to interview a monk that lived there on top of this mountain!
3:55 So, honest truth they bring newborns up the same path to be baptized.
4:01 The art we found inside this monastery was simply amazing.
4:05 And the monastery as I mentioned was carved right into the rock!
4:08
4:14 to do some R and R in Dubai and then onto Jordan.
4:16 Your thoughts on Jordan?
4:20 house in a noisy neighborhood and that was just about right.
4:23 We took a trip south from Amman to the Dead Sea and then began our third trek in six weeks
4:29 along old Bedouin trails to Petra.
4:35 for 20 years. Every since we saw photographs of the Treasury,
4:39 we both said “We have to go there sometime”. We made sure that Jordan was on our Trekking
4:42 the Planet itinerary early on in the planning.
4:48 so we worked with a local outfit called Adventure Jordan to build an itinerary that ended in
4:54 Petra.
4:56 us away. I mean there was broken pottery from the Edomite
4:59 and Roman times nearly everywhere we looked. You were stepping on it literally.
5:04
5:08 Petra was so big. There are still 500 facades in existence.
5:12 And, experts believed that most of them served as tombs.
5:15
5:20 of Arabia in the 1960s.
5:23 more research before we arrived. But, I was super impressed with the landscape.
5:27 It was a blast to drive around.
5:29 got to ride a camels.
5:31
5:35 desert landscape.
5:37
5:41 And, we will arrive in Manaus, Brazil on January 3rd.
5:45 And, Manaus is actually 600 miles up the Amazon River which will be interesting.
5:49 And, if you want to know more about our South American itinerary, we have just published
5:53 an article, search on the keyword: South America on our website.
5:56
6:00 newsletters and are interested in doing so, search on Subscribe on our website for more
6:05 information.
6:08 your comments and questions whether you be an educator in a classroom or one of friends
6:13 that’s following our journey us as well. You can contact us on our Facebook page – TrekkingPlanet
6:17 – or you can email us at info@trekkingtheplanet.com. Until next time, safe trekking and Merry Christmas
6:23 everyone.
6:24
did the gost adventures go there
Not sure if they did…