Off to Africa

Well, it's time to head off to Heathrow soon after spending a few days in London. The flight over from Canada was pretty straightforward so I am hoping for the same here. Hopefully my next post will be somewhere in Tanzania. But I'm sure I'll be able to post a few pics when I get back to Rob's flat in 2.5 weeks. Kwa Herini (goodbye in Swahili), Owen

Black Rock

We took two 4X4s past Waiporous area to reach Black Rock for the seven of us (6 humans and one dog).


Cool shot of the cliffs off Black Rock. Not too steep as it comes in stages, but lots of scree, especially past the tree line.


Me just as I'm about to reach the summit (yay finally!)




The group enjoying the view from the top. There's also an old abandoned lookout cabin where summitters can sign a log.

Another great shot in the plateau section of Black Rock. Took about 4.5 hours up, but only took about two hours down.

Two-Way Radios

I confirmed with TSA that we can use two-ways in Tanzania. So I've picked up a pair from Best-Buy (thanks to the company BBQ) and will be packing them with me. Could be handy in Zanzibar too.

Used them on the Black Rock hike (pictures up soon) and the charge lasted all day, but we'll be using AAs for the trip so I'm not sure how they would compare to the NiMH packs.

Hiking Socks

Ok, with all my issues that I've been getting breakin' in my hiking boots, I've started to take more precautions. After getting all the proper first aid equipment (band-aids, anti-blister, polysporin, sport tape, moleskin, etc ), I ventured down to MEC for some hiking socks. I'm told they can make a big difference, so I tried a variety and tested them beforehand.


Ok, these are the most expensive ones and had me at "anti-blister". Found them to be a bit slippery and not enough padding.


These two were a bargain @ $11 compared to the first pair. The ingenius were thinner compared to the Ultimax, but very well padded in the toes and heel.


In the end, I went 50/50 with the last two kinds. Plan to use the thicker ones at the top and on the way down.

Hiking Log

WSB has started up a blog as well, so go check out the east coast action at the Hiking Log.