Why Africa Is Not a Dark Continent - Essay Example

Individual Write-Up al Affiliation: Individual Write-Up Since I was a child I have always heard people referring to Africa as the Dark Continent, I sought from answers from several people but all they could say that is “Africa is full of conflicts and that it was not civilized” (ODell & Billing, 2005). My friends even told me that there were wild animals everywhere in Africa and that people still lived in grass thatched houses The answers that were given to me made me much eager t visit the pace one day and see for myself what Africa really looked like. A few months ago my dad came and told me that we were going to visit Africa and more particularly Kenya, s as to go and watch the wild beast migration, based on what I have heard regarding Africa I prepared myself for the Stone Age life. Anticipation Two days before our departure I had already parked all the things that I thought was necessary. I carried some of the most essential things, such as toothpaste, soap, spotlights, and camp knifes. My dad informed me of certain things like soap that could be bought when we got to Africa, but I could not dare leave my “Essential package” as I was not sure even if there were shops there. The day finally came, and we left for Africa, the fight took about 12 hours, as we had to make a stopover in Amsterdam. All through the flight, my mind was on the types of houses that I was going not just to see but live in. when the pilot announced the plane’s arrival in an hour, I was very excited because I was going to experience Africa for the very first time. The plane reached the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and t my surprise there were no animals anywhere in sight all I could see were tall, beautiful houses like the ones back in Canada. Sensing my dismay my dad told me “I told you”, the animal park that we were supposed to go and see the wild beast migration was known as the Tsavo National Park, which was quite a long distance from Nairobi. I had found out from the internet about the wild beast migration, and I was looking forward to seeing the animals leap into the river and cross to the other side. I tried to anticipate how many animals would make it safely to the other side. Travel to site To make the experience a unforgettable, my dad had arranged that we travel by train to the park. There are no electric trains in Kenya we had t use the old locomotives, which run on diesel apparently these trains were left by the colonial government decades ago. The trip t the park was full of adventure, the train tracks went through beautiful open country where we were able t see some wild animals grazing by the train trucks oblivious of the many ayes that were staring at them. We reached a pace called Manyani, where we had to disembark and board a vehicle t take us to the point where the wildebeests cross the river for the annual migration. The trip took us through the National Park where for the very first time I saw an African Elephant, cheetah, buffalo, and even a lion. On site activity Once we reached the park, the driver who was also our guide told as to stay in our vehicle at a times this because it was a national park and some other animals such as lions might be around apart from the wild beast. The main activity at the site was the drivers trying to take vantage points where the occupants of their vehicles would have a clear view of the migration. There were hundreds of vehicles on both sides of the river with the tourist taking their cameras out ready to capture the historic moment in the lives of many. In order not to miss any single moment, I took out my camera and a camcorder in readiness. After waiting for hours for the wild beast to cross the first one jumped into the river and what followed was total mayhem. The other animals all jumped into the river at the same time trampling on one another, and this noise caught the attention of the crocodiles that were waiting for the opportunity to feed. I had travelled all the way to watch this spectacular scene, I could not help close my eyes once or twice when a crocodile caught the neck of a wild beast. There is a couple of times that we all urged the wild beast to cross faster to avoid being attacked by the enormous crocodiles. One of the most unforgettable moments was when a baby wild beast managed to free itself from the jaws of a crocodile and eventually crossed to the other end of the river. The whole exercise of crossing the river took about four hours, and by the time it was all over the river was full of hundreds of wild beast that had drowned, the lucky animals that managed to cross to the other side were too exhausted even to graze. A majority laid down on the grass while the young wild beast and their mothers separated in the confusion tried to locate one another. The major “beneficiaries” were the crocodiles there was much food than they could consume. All this events were captured through camcorders, cameras, phones and any other device that could capture and store the migration. Return travel We could not manage to travel to Nairobi the same day; we spent the night in one of the luxurious camps within the national park out in the wild. The night was full of excitement as I could hear the lions roaring close to the campsite where we were. The next morning we left for Nairobi where we had to drive to Mombasa, a trip in Kenya is not over without visiting Mombasa to see the fort Jesus constructed by the Portuguese explorers and more so to enjoy the beautiful beaches. Along the way we passed some magnificent places, I did not know that people planted sisal for sale we passed by hundreds of acres covered in sisal at a place called Voi. The coastal town is a site to behold; the people are friendly and always very happy to receive visitors. There are numerous curio shops along the beach where one can be able to buy some sculptures of any kind of animal especially the “big five” (lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and giraffe). After spending few days in Mombasa visiting other places such as the snake park, we left for home. Recollection Africa is not as bad as most of the people think it is they may have their problems, but they also have a lot to offer (ODell & Billing, 2005). I thought the place was one big dark place, but how wrong I was, there are big shopping malls that one can be able to buy whatever they need. The continent is not as uncivilized as most people think it is; they have some of the most luxurious camps that have amenities such as hot showers, internet, computers, and mobile phones. The wild beast migration was intriguing as well as sad; many animals died in the process of going to find pasture on the other side and for those that managed to cross have to cross over again in a year’s time. Reference ODell, T., & Billing, P. (2005). Experiencescapes: Tourism, culture and economy. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press. Read More