Safari 2024 - Tanzania (Again)

Well, the last few months have been a bit of a roller-coaster from a possible travel point of view. We went from being determined to not go again to possibly doing an epic Spine of Africa road-trip to finally settling on something a little more modest. This will be my tenth safari to Africa and, as always and despite the hard work that the last trip involved, I am really looking forward to it.

Preliminary Route and Location Map

Our usual group of four is down to three for this trip, Elizabeth deciding to stay behind for this one, leaving myself, Fred and Chris to travel out and join Emmy, our driver and guide, who is coming over from Uganda to look after us. Fred is doing a sterling job of organisation as usual, co-ordinating with local assistance to get us the best deals at the best locations.

We're going to start with a couple of firsts. It will be my first time flying out of Heathrow. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad one, but the times of all the flights mean that we won't have an overnight in either direction, having night flights for the long-hauls instead.

Secondly, as the map shows, we are flying direct to Kigali in Rwanda. Another country to tick off on my list. We're not just using it as a drop-in point, we are going to spend a few days in Akagera National Park on the way home.

Anyway, here's the provisional itinerary (and it may be subject to minor changes.

• February 14th - Fly from The Isle of Man to London then overnight to Rwanda.
  
  A long flight, but we can sleep through it and be fairly fresh for a moderate drive to our first destination.
  
  
• February 15th - Drive from Kigali to Burigi-Chato National Park in Tanzania.
  
  It's a fairly newly gazetted national park, but it will be well worth the visit. Sitatunga antelopes and Shoebill are high on my list of things to see here.
  
  We'll move on to have a couple of nights out on Rubondo Island. The whole island is a nature reserve famed for its primates and birds.
  
  
• February 21st - Sandmark Hotel on Speke Gulf
  
  Plenty to see and do on the shore of Lake Victoria for a couple of nights to break up the drive.
  
  
• February 23rd - Serengeti to Ikoma
  
  We drive east into the vastness of the Serengeti. I've been to Seronera briefly before, but it will be nice to go back, even if we are just passing through on the way a little further north to Ikoma. Lots of big game to be seen, but plenty of birds as well.
  
  
• February 26th - Mwitongo Lodge, Butiama
  
  We drive north to Butiama through the Grumeti Game Reserve. From Butiama we can explore the mouth of the Mara river and the hopefully bird-filled papyrus beds to be found there.
  
  
• February 29th - Speke Bay Lodge
  
  Hopefully time to get out on the water and explore the birdlife of the vastness of Lake Victoria. Plenty of game-viewing excursions to be had as well.
  
  
• March 3rd - The Drive Back
  
  We haven't settled on an overnight location on the long drive back just yet, but we'll find something.
  
  
• March 4th - Akagera
  
  Five days in the National Park at two different location should give us plenty of opportunity to see the big five and lots of other game. There are lakes to be explored as well.
  
  
• March 9th - Kigali and Home
  
  Return to Kigali for our overnight flight back to Heathrow.
  
  
• March 10th - Home
  
  Chris leaves us at Heathrow and we fly back to the Island.

So, three and a half weeks to explore the southern shores of Lake Victoria. No doubt hundreds of bird species, but I'm looking forward to seeing my fair share of big game and there are always some surprises to be had.

Red White and Royal Blue

I know what you're thinking. He's been watching more gay romance, hasn't he?

Well, yes, yes I have.

Following on from my enduring enjoyment of both series one and two of Heartstopper, I finally got round to watching Red White & Royal Blue. These light-hearted gay romance movies and shows are now becoming a more accepted and common feature in the schedules of major streaming companies and this is Amazon at it's very best. That such a movie can go right to the top of their streaming viewership is no longer a surprise.

I haven't read the best-selling book that the movie is based on yet, but I do intend to and it has been on my radar for a little while. No doubt there are changes from one medium to another, but this is true with all adaptations and one needs to learn to roll with it.

I get that the whole enemies to lovers trope has probably been played a little too much over the years, but it is a tried and true method to introduce just enough drama into a movie and here, although it is managed with maybe just a little too much lightness, it does work well. From the outright antagonism of their first on-screen encounter at the wedding it does seem to move towards grudging acceptance of each other just a little too quickly for me. I can accept that the movie needs to move the story along, but I would like to see them struggle a little harder to find common ground.

The big take-away from the film, though, is that movies can now show gay couples being intimate without it appearing to be anything other than loving and enjoyable for all concerned. The fact that they can do this while maintaining a 12 rating (though possibly only just and rated by Amazon) is even more of a positive. When so much of the world is moving in the wrong direction on LGBTQ+ rights, it is wonderful to see modern media in the west just getting on with it.

What is also made clear as the plot progresses is that for many people, that fear of leaving the closet is a very real and deeply affecting one. I have to admit to being able to relate to this in a very personal way and perhaps this is what makes this sort of movie a delight for me in my latter years. That continuing feeling that I would have lived a better life if the portrayal of gay relationships in the media were like they are now when I was much younger never leaves me. It is tempered by a hope that, for young people who now do have the opportunity to see such endearing and uplifting work, they can gain strength and comfort from seeing excellent representation in the media.

Ultimately, everyone enjoys a happy ending and Red White & Royal blue delivers where it counts.

It is available to stream on Amazon Prime HERE.

Heartstopper Season Two

I don't generally wait with much enthusiasm for a new television show's new season to be released, but I'm definitely prepared to make an exception for Heartstopper. I'm not going to go so far as to suggest that season one was life-changing, but it really was life-affirming. I've already documented here just how much it made me reflect on my past and how things could have been so different if the world was a more tolerant place when I was the age of the target audience for this wonderful show.

It's taken me a couple of watches to get my thoughts in order about season two and overall I'm very happy with the series. It truly carries on where it left off and follows the original material close enough to give a number of nods to the scenes in the original graphic novels. As many commentators and reviewers have pointed out, one of the key successes of Heartstopper as a whole is the family-friendly nature of the show. It may be unrealistic to portray a couple of teenage guys limiting themselves to kissing, but it makes the show suitable for the target teenage audience.

As is to be expected, the acting is of a very high standard and the whole cast seem to slip seamlessly back into their roles from season one. There is a little more drama this season and the underlying issues with Charlie's mental health are strongly hinted at as the season progresses. The storyline is shaping up to potentially be one of the best depictions of teenage mental health and eating disorders ever. Even Isaac's turmoil and uncertainty about his potential asexuality are well handled. I'm sure everyone feels the need to tell their friends to mind their own business once in a while. 

The overarching theme of this season is that coming out is hard and it shouldn't be. I can only agree wholeheartedly. Straight people will never understand because they never have to explain. I've been lucky enough to have had no negative experiences in my personal journey of self-acceptance, but I'm certain that the story would have been very different if I'd been honest enough with myself to be open about my sexuality forty years ago.

Sadly, as I've made clear here, there are still many places in the world that are not as accepting, tolerant or understanding and perhaps shows like Heartstopper that emphasise that love is love can slowly make these places understand the reality of life.

So, if you have Netflix, I'd recommend giving Heartstopper a try. Do watch the first season though, or the story will make little sense. Personally, I'm going to struggle to wait a year or more for season three.

I Will Not Go Back

I might have mentioned, when writing up my trip report on my recent safari to Tanzania, just how saddened I was by the fact that Tanzania is one of those African nations with a poor LGBTQIA+ tolerance record. Fundamentally, the more comfortable I become with myself, the less comfortable I feel being in the intolerant places.

Uganda, perhaps more than the other places I have visited, has consistently had the most toxic atmosphere when it comes to being gay. This week, they have once more voted to make the laws surrounding homosexuality even harsher than they already are. There's been a lot of hype surrounding the use of capital punishment, but this is meant to be only for "aggravated homosexual acts". Yes, maybe, but the wording is so vague that anything could happen to anyone.

What is much more egregious, however, is the fact that it will be illegal to even identify as gay. Just saying "I'm gay," could leave you in prison. When I travel to Africa with my friends, I'm the gay one. I'm the one with the pride badge on my sun hat and the jacket with rainbow-flag coloured, almost kissing, male lions embroidered on the back to travel in. I travel to Africa because I love the scenery and the wildlife. I don't travel to Africa looking for sex - frankly, with the HIV rates across the continent you'd be insane to do so -  but then I don't travel anywhere else looking for sex either!

Lake Mulehe and the Virunga Volcanoes, Uganda

Uganda is a wonderful country. It has stunning scenery, magnificent wildlife, welcoming people and a vibrancy that is hard to compare. I have travelled with these people, work even now with some of them and would love to go back to those places that I like so much again in the future. Like much of Africa, however, the country is dragged down time and again by corruption and self-interest.

With great sadness, I will not be going back for the foreseeable future. It's bad enough when a place has laws that makes it illegal to love, but when they step over the line and make it illegal to even say who you are, then they've gone too far.

We, the collective West - although these days that really just means Europe and the predominantly white Commonwealth nations, you are getting to the point where the USA isn't a tolerant country anymore either - will not change the minds of the people in power in Uganda. They are driven by hatred, greed and a constant desire to find someone else to blame for their own failings, politically, socially and economically.

They may change their minds, if other nations threaten to review their aid programs. They may say tourists are welcome, whatever their orientations or identities. They will, one day, come to realize that inclusive society is a better option than an exclusive one. There will be pain and there will be suffering before they realize this though.

More likely, they will simply happily stew in their religion-fuelled self-righteousness, praying to God that their wives don't find out about their mistresses and thanking Him fervently for giving them the wealth to pay for one more night with their favourite prostitute.

The world is short-sighted enough without bigotry and the only choice I can make is to leave them to it.

Farewell, Uganda, I'll miss you.