Arrive in Dubai around midnight – the busiest time apparently for the airport. The Emirates flight is parked on the tarmac miles from the terminal and 15 min bus ride to the terminal! long queues at customs! a shouting match between some Arabs when some people made a mistake and were perceived to have jumped the queue. Hotel is comfortable but not 5 star on the beach – couldn’t afford that – sigh! Welcome sleepin in the morning. Visit to the gold souk – well out of my depth there!!
cbm Manzese project evaluation
An interesting, encouraging and productive week working alongside CCBRT to monitor and evaluate a programme funded by NZAid and cbm. CCBRT (Comprehensive Commuity Base Rehabilitation Tanzania) is a Tanzanian based organisation established originally by cbm and now an independent entity. Services are centered around a disability hospital – about 200 beds in Dar es Salaam and an outreach clinic in Kilimanjaro. The hospital has a very busy eye department providing treatment and surgery and an orthopaedic department. From these bases also significant programmes seek to identify and assist and support people with disabilities in surrounding communities. CCBRT also have an ambitious project they are fundraising for now to build a maternity hospital at the Dar es Salaam site – on the basis of seeking to prevent disabilites many of which are a direct result of poor birthing practices and care.
Art and History with modern technology
Interesting day yesterday with 2 quite different stops. First, The Cathedrale D’ Images – a multi media slide show with classical music in a huge disused underground quarry, at les Baux en Provence, where bauxite was first discovered in 1822. A different theme is chosen each year and images are projected simultaneously onto various walls, floor and ceiling spaces giving an incredible 3D effect. This years’ theme is Van Gogh. Mark counted about 40 different projectors but quite hard to count in the dark! The space is cavernous and you wander at leisure not sure where to look to see it all at the same time. Show lasts 30 minutes and runs continuously.
All good things come to an end!
Home again – 9am Sunday 8th July to brilliant sunshine – what has everyone in NZ been complaining about?
We’ve now had 3 days to recover from jetlag – we are both back at work. And the weather has deteriorated – it is wet and cold but it is winter after all.
It’s nice to be home, to see everyone again and to be in the same bed for more than a couple of nights. It was a great trip – lots of sights, fun, family days and new experiences and….lots more to see next time!
We’re leaving on a jet plane
And we do know where we are going and when we will be back. It is getting very exciting now – I am all packed and a wondrous thing has occurred – my bag is much smaller than everyone imagined it would be (and even smaller than the nice new red one I bought especially for this trip!). The housesitters are worried that I do not have enough clothes – that is because I’m travelling light as instructed, it is spring over there and the last stop on the way home is Hong Kong!
Hamilton, New Zealand is our home
Hamilton is New Zealand’s 4th largest city in the centre of the main island! We live on a smallish piece of land on the southern border of the city and enjoy expansive views of the Waikato river.