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an urban primate with a conscience
Missing a flight
In all my 38 years I’ve never once missed a flight. In my 20s I had a few close shaves, but I always made it to the gate. The hairy moments were usually after a large night out where I had drunk too much, slept too long and left home too late. My best mate […]
Posted in: My African Adventure
Sign on the dotted line….
February 6, 2014
Next week marks ten years of waiting by conservationists for an area of forest in Congo to be granted protective status. The verbal agreement made by the Congolese government on February 11th 2004 was to turn Ogooue-Leketi – a dense evergreen tropical rainforest- into a national park. The so-called promise was made after an iron […]
Posted in: My African Adventure
The American Embassy
February 5, 2014
What are the chances of going to Congo and meeting a diplomatic in a dodgy bar? Well that’s exactly what happened to me on Monday night. The ex pat community is very small in Brazzaville and most people socialise over dinner and then go out for a few beers. Tarzan, the Brit and I headed […]
Posted in: My African Adventure
Gorillas and Witch Doctors
February 4, 2014
Saying the climb down Mount Ngakah was difficult is an understatement. By the time we schlepped back to camp it was almost 3pm. I was absolutely starving and ready to collapse. Lord knows how my legs didn’t buckle in the shower as the ice cold water fell over me. The boys headed for the river […]
Posted in: My African Adventure
Lesio-Louna and Mount Ngakah
February 3, 2014
This weekend Tarzan, the Brit and I went to Lesio-Louna. It’s in the province of Pool about 170km from Brazzaville. Famed for it’s striking landscape it is also home to a gorilla orphanage in the heart of a forest. We left the apartment on Friday at 6.30pm and loaded up the pick-up truck taking with […]
Posted in: A new beginning.....
The Congolese Bearded Lady
January 31, 2014
The thought of a bearded lady i’m sure you’ll agree conjures up images of freak shows at circuses but here in Congo apparently this is neither something to baulk at nor is it uncommon!! Last night Tarzan and I hooked up for a curry with two scientists who work for the Wildlife Conservation Society – […]
Posted in: My African Adventure
Congo – Day 1
January 30, 2014
The flight from Johannesburg to Congo is three and a half hours. Other than the air stewardesses I was the only woman on the flight which was practically empty. There were probably only a handful of us dotted about the cabin, all of the white passengers looked like they worked in the extractive industries and […]
Posted in: My African Adventure
Trophy Hunting
January 27, 2014
At the beginning of the month I was approached by the news team at the cable channel Arise News to rejoin as a presenter. I did a small stint at the end of the summer but left after August to pursue other projects. It’s a news channel with a particular focus on African stories and […]
Posted in: My African Adventure
Safari – last day
November 10, 2013
Post conference day I awoke feeling relief and satisfaction in equal measure. The sun was out and I was determined to make it my mission to see some animals before my red-eye flight home. In the house I was staying at were three other conservationists also making good use of the UN rep and his […]
Posted in: My African Adventure
Diplomacy
November 7, 2013
Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m not someone who minces their words. I like to think I’m not flat-out inappropriate but I do tell it as it is. Something I think the staff at the United Nations were not fully prepared for. As I headed into the compound yesterday morning I was greeted […]
Posted in: My African Adventure
britaine.co.uk
whogivesamonkeys 
February 9, 2014
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