The bad roads of Karamoja

A regular sight in Karamoja during the rainy season. Luckily there was a patch of mud where we could pass.

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Rains in Karamoja, Uganda

I went on a weeks trip out to Karamoja and the weather was very changeable all the time. Sunshine and rain all over the place.

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Rainy season is back in Jonglei

The heavy clouds closing in just after sun had set on the horizon with some nice reflections over our compound.

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Coffee-shop in Pajut

I was on a road assessment last week and the final place to reach was Pajut. After 4 days on the road getting stuck here and there in the mud we found the passable roads we needed. So we stopped for a nice cup of coffee before heading back to Bor.

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In between the clouds in the PAC750 heading to Bor from Juba. This during the rainy season. the Pilots trying to dodge the turbulent areas flying around the clouds that covered the area ahead.

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Beach on Mana Isand, Fiji

Photo on the north beach on Mana Island. Gone through the pseudo HDR process to get the full dynamic of the clouds.

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Jonlei - Cattle - Roads and Floods

While Jonglei is now in the dry-season since almost 2 months half the state has not been accessible even up to now. The above picture shows the reality in many places. The soil is dry with cracks all over but then flooded areas are seen.  In this particular spot a river was passing. However a road was built in the previous dryseason without any culverts to lead the water away. Effectively causing major flooding for villages along a 50 km stretch. Most have now dried up but pools like these with the soild present means no vehicles can pass. We managed to cross twice but after that the road was again too soft in the mud. The picture shows a typical day in jonglei with cattle being moved to the wetlands 150 km away. People, cattle, goats and cars trying to pass in the mud.

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Sunrise over pacific

Picture taken 10,000 Meters up after the sun has risen and is partially hiding in the clouds.

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Canal Boat in Bor

It is "pushers" like the above that is used for moving the barges from Kosti to among other places Bor. They are the ones maintaining the supply line of material from the north as well as used for the current repatriation of South sudanese from the north.

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Cute!

My son on the beach in Entebbe.

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Tin sheds and Tarpaulin shelters

Bor is a town expanding rapidly at present. There are brick houses being built, even two to three story buildings. The roads are being overhauled completely and we expect to see tarmac for the first time in history of the Jonglei State. Just behind the road expansion I pass this area every day. The returnee wave has started for the referendum, some will settle in Bor, some will move to the rural areas. Meanwhile I keep seeing people living in their mix of Tin sheds, Tarpaulin shelters mixed in with their traditional Tokuls. A small vegetable garden next to the dike that has been built. The dike filled with water hyacints.

Looking at the buildings its quite interesting. The tokul is round have thatched roof and is quite coll due to the construction. Then because of Tin roofs the next mud house is square. The tin house is square as it suits the tin better overall. Finally there is a shelter with tarpaulins. The Tarpaulin shelter will later become mudded also.
Out of all of them it is still though the Tokul that is the most comfortable simply because it is cooler.

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Tokuls burned, Kaikuny October 2010

One of the Tokuls burned in Kaikuny village October 2010. A people with very few possessions ending up with even fewer.

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Kids in Africa, Uganda

I just love this picture. I cant describe exactly why. Ofcourse my son is in the picture so that is one reason but I keep coming back to the picture because of the colors, the raw brick with the mortar, the old wooden door and the curtain in the door. This picture was also taken with the Canon 350D and the Tamron 18 - 200 mm lens and in JPG.

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Dragonfly up close

Was out testing macro photography today. I was lucky as this dragonfly was actually sitting still and both the pictures are taken without a tripod.  The lens used is my 24 - 104 mm Canon EF L. I used manual focus.
The dragonfly was sitting on my chili plant just outside my door. I see them all the time but never really paid attention but seems I need to look even closer around here.

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Kids negotiating with the women for the sale of fish from the White Nile just outside Bor town, Jonglei State. The kids using a traditional tree-trunk canoe for the trips out on the river.

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Brick walls and Razorwire

The view from my guesthouse in Bor at night. South Sudan is preparing for a Referendum and there might be instability and clashes. The fence is though also good to keep the lions and jeopards out. We found paw prints a few weeks back...

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Some people take the bus to work, we take the plane

The PAC-750XL is the plane that most Humanitarian agencies fly in to get to the remote locations in Jonglei State. It is the rainy season in South Sudan at the moment and this becomes the lifeline for most humanitarian workers as the state has no roads except during the dry season. Well there is 50km of roads which theoretically is supposed to be all season roads... The dry season most of the time is only 4 months long. As most runways are grass clearings we rarely see any other planes than the above PAC 750 or the Cessna Caravan. Rainy season in Jonglei does not mean it rains every day nor full days however even a rain of 2 hours can make some of the airstrips unusable for a week. Thus these planes are a welcome sight when they do arrive and can land. Jonglei State is about the size of Denmark

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Murle Woman with traditional beads

Young Murle woman in Lekuongole, dressed with the traditional bead decorations they use.

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White Nile flowing in Jonglei State

Flying along the White Nile on the way to Bor from Juba is quite interesting. While the passable part of the Nile can be quite narrow, the river actually span quite some area. Bor is just about at the start of the Sudd thus there are islands, some permanent others that dissapear with the yearly rain. In addition there is many "lakes" forming in the inaccessible areas while the river expands and contracts. Its quite interesting to note that of all the water coming from Lake Victoria 90% will dissapear into the Sudd in North Jonglei.

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White Nile flowing through Juba

For once the landing in Juba was coming in over the White Nile. Normally the landings are in the other direction making it difficult to get good pictures of the river.

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