Angola Field Group

February 6, 2010

February 27 Field Trip: Catoca diamond mine

The Catoca kimberlite pipe in Lunda Sul is the fourth-largest diamond-rich rock formation on Earth in terms of surface area. Kimberlite pipes are vertical tubes of igneous rock which can contain diamonds.
An Angola Field Group member has kindly offered to organize a field trip to visit the Catoca diamond mine in the province of Lunda Sul where diamonds are mined from a large kimberlite pipe. Catoca is considered the world’s 4th biggest diamond mine in terms of size and we will be allowed to visit the giant 250 meter deep pit which measures 1200 meters by 1500 meters.

The plant is where the rock from the pit is processed.

This will be a one-day trip on private charter (company is AEROJET, plane is Embrair) , meeting at the airport at 6:00 AM on Saturday (date to be confirmed) and flying to Saurimo, the capital city of Lunda Sul where we will be transported by bus to Catoca, 30 kilometers from Saurimo. We will be offered lunch at the site and should be back in Luanda by approximately 5:00 PM. The only costs incurred is the cost of the flight which will be approximately $200.00 return per person.

Catoca camp with the pit in the background.

Konstantin Grave, Managing Director of the Luanda branch of ALROSA, is organizing the trip which is scheduled for February 27th but due to his work schedule this date is still provisional and there is a chance it may be set back one or two weeks although every attempt will be made to keep it this date.

Angola is known for its high quality diamonds.

This field trip is a unique opportunity to see a big working diamond mine up close. We have recently had people sign up for field trips and then not show up. We only want people who seriously intend to go to sign up, therefore if you are interested please send an email to: angolafieldgroup@gmail.com with your name, your company’s name and your position in the company plus your cell phone number. In approximately a week’s time we will send a confirmation email with exact details including what airport we will leave from and what time.

Angola's Catoca diamond mine.

All photos in this post courtesy Konstantin Grave.

February 4, 2010

Thursday February 11 Presentation: Land mine awareness & safety

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Land mines found in a field along the Dondo-Quibala road in Kwanza Sul province.

Angola is one of the world’s most heavily land-mined countries after Afghanistan and Iraq. No one really knows how many land mines are buried in Angola; top end estimates are one mine for every man, woman and child in Angola. More Angolans and expatriates are now travelling outside of Luanda to explore the beautiful countryside that Angola has to offer, but land mines are unquestionably present in many parts of the country.

The Angola Field Group invites you a presentation on Mines Awareness & Safety at the Viking Club, Thursday February 11, 8:00 PM. The presentation will discuss how to recognize land mines (anti-personal and anti-tank), what do do if you inadvertently drive into a land mine field and other safety aspects related to this problem which will plague Angola for years. Experts estimate it will take another 14 years to make Angola land mine safe (not land mine free).

Our presenter Danny Kavanagh is Country Programme Manager for MAG Angola, the organization presently de-mining in Moxico province. Danny joined the British Army at age 16 in the Corps of the Royal Military Police and served for 24 years including in Iraq. He has been with MAG for the past 5 years in Iraq, Sudan, DRC, Chad, Sri Lanka and Angola. MAG is a British-based Non Governmental Organization based in Manchester, UK, founded in 1989 and has had de-mining operations in over 35 countries.

Everybody is welcome to attend this presentation. In close cooperation with the Viking Club, this event is offered free of charge. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are sold at the bar, $3.00 each. For sale, books about Angola, in English and hand woven baskets from Moxico plus other crafts produced by non profit organizations. For address and location map of the Viking Club visit this sites’s Join Us page.

Sign warning of the presence of landmines.

January 28, 2010

January 30 – Celebration of the City of Luanda Day

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Luanda is one of the oldest cities on the continent of Africa and is celebrating its 434th birthday on Saturday afternoon, January 30th.
The Angola Field Group has been invited to attend the Celebration of the City of Luanda Day! being held downtown at Largo do Baleizão, the square in front of Hotel Continental, beginning at 2:00 and running to 8:00 PM.

Festivities include live music, a photo exhibition, capoeira demonstration, food stalls, carnival dancing, and a bus tour in English of the historic city for field group participants, 500 kwanzas. The tour will begin at approximately 3:00, (time subject to change). You must register in advance at the registration booth (located in small tent) but space is limited so first come first served. You can also book in advance by emailing neaud.geral@gmail.com. Walking tours and bus tours in Portuguese of the historic city are also available. All tours will be accompanied by knowledgeable guides.

The festival hopes to raise awareness of the need to preserve Luanda’s cultural heritage and is part of the movement Campanha Reviver, por uma Cidade com Alma, (Revitalize Luanda, keep the Soul in our City), organized by KALU, the Association of Native Luandans, Residents and Friends as well as NEAAUD, the Centre for the Study of Art, Architecture, Urbanism and Design at Lusídas University. This will be a fun festival lasting till 8:00 in the evening so drop by at any time! Festival T-shirts for sale. Click on the two posters to view them in full size version.

January 18, 2010

Sunday, January 24 Field Trip: Barra do Dande geology

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Stirring a 'pot' of crude oil that occurs naturally at the Libongos Oil Seeps.

*Please note that this field trip is now full.
The Angola Field Group will have a geological field trip north of Luanda on Sunday, January 24. The trip will be led by Geologist Tako Koning, returning back to Luanda at approximately 5:00 PM. We will leave Luanda at 7:00 am (sharp) and travel to Barra do Dande and visit outcrops consisting of Cretaceous-age fossiliferous, marine sedimentary rocks. From there we will travel northeastwards to the Lifune River to the historically well known Libongos oil seeps and asphalt quarry. We will then travel southwards to Caxito to the water falls at Sassa where Precambrian granite outcrops and where we will have lunch. The field trip will conclude with a visit to the hydroelectric dam on the Dande River at Mabubas.

Sedimentary outcrop at Barra do Dande.

This field trip will also stop at Pangila Bridge to review some of the historical events which occurred in this area including the Quifangondo battle on November 10, 1975 between FNLA and MPLA just prior to Angola achieving independence on November 11, 1975.

There is a provincial border crossing on this trip so you must bring your original documents and proof of a valid visa. All field trips with the Angola Field Group are at your own risk.

Crude oil sample. Records indicate that as early as 1820, the Portuguese shipped out barrels of asphalt probably from the Libongos seeps.

Our meeting point and further details will be provided once you sign up for the trip. To sign up email: angolafieldgroup@gmail.com as soon as possible since space is limited.

If you have room in your vehicle for passenger/s, please indicate. There are many vehicle-less people who would appreciate the opportunity to explore some of the countryside.

Evidence of oil. The first drilling for oil was carried out in 1915 by the Portuguese company “Companhia de Pesquisas Mineras de Angola” along the banks of the Dande River.

Visit this website’s Geology page for more photos of previous geology field trips.

Mabubas, a hydroelectric dam sabotaged by UNITA that once watered vast fields of sugar cane that used to grow in this area.

Picnicking beside Dande River below the dam during a previous Field Trip to the area.

January 16, 2010

CAN 2010 and upcoming field trips …

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Luanda's stadium, 11 da Novembre, named after Angola's day of independence, seats 50,000.

A fan in front of the stadium which has a curved roof representing the horns of the palanca negra, Angola's national symbol.

Angola Field Group presentations are canceled for the month of January due to CAN 2010 (Campeonato Das Nacoes Africanas), that is the Africa Cup of Nations, Africa’s most important football tournament, which is being held this year in Angola from January 10 to January 31. Preliminaries are January 10 – 21. Quarterfinals are January 24- 25. Semifinals are scheduled for January 28 and the FINAL is January 31. Angola’s national football team, the Palancas Negras, qualified for their first World Cup in 2006 in Germany.

There will be a field trip on Sunday, January 24 (new date!). Check this website soon for details.

The stadium is in Camama, a neighborhood 17 kilometers from downtown Luanda.

CAN takes place 6 months before the World Cup. The first CAN competition was won by Egypt in 1957.

All CAN 2010 photos courtesy Silvia Legeane.

December 16, 2009

Turtle Field Trip update

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Standing in front of one of the signs she helped make and erect to keep vehicles from driving on the beach, university biology student Sofia has been part of the turtle conservation project for two years and gave a presentation to field trip participants on the weekend.

Participants in the Angola Field Group’s overnight turtle trip on the weekend were not lucky enough to see any turtles come onshore to lay their eggs but we did raise US$500 for the Marine Conservation Turtle Research Project run by Dr. Michel Morais of the University of Agostinho Neto. Numbers of nesting turtles are down drastically this year probably due to the fact that fishermen’s nets run the length of the beach and are placed very close to shore.

Check out: www.seaturtle.org/tracking for information on how you can adopt one of the Angolan turtles being tracked by the UAN Marine Turtle Conservation Project.

December 9, 2009

Update from Marine Turtles Research Team

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Good News! Last week the University of Agostinho Neto’s Biology Faculty’s Marine Turtles Research Team, collared their first giant leatherback turtle. The number of leatherbacks coming onshore to nest has been steadily decreasing and last year zero were recorded. Now the team will be able to track the activity of this leatherback.

December 9, 2009

Luandos Christmas Weekend: December 11-13

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The village of Luandos invites you to attend a weekend of Christmas sharing. A group of Catholic youth from Luanda will be heading for this village leaving Luanda early on Friday, December 11, and will return on December 13. You are welcome to join them and camp out and experience the culture and hospitality of the Quicama people who live not far from the southeast corner of Quicama National Park’s reserve. For more information please contact Serafim at 917-823464. This is not an Angola Field Group field trip.

December 3, 2009

Thurs December 10 Presentation: Voz doz Anjos Choir

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Come celebrate the true spirit of Christmas on Thursday, December 10th at 8:00 PM at the Viking Club, with ‘Voz dos Anjos’, (The Voice of Angels). Singing a capella and accompanied only by the African drum, this choir of 50 young men and women will move you with their joyful sound. Directed by Mestre Jose Mendes, the choir will perform a combo of traditional Christmas songs in Portuguese, French, Kikongo, Kimbundu and Umbundu. Their second CD, Situaluaka II (When We Get There) will be for sale.

The Voz doz Anjos choir at the Viking Club last Christmas.

As with all our presentations, there is no charge, however in the spirit of Christmas, the Angola Field Group will hold a collection with proceeds going to help Angolan refugees fleeing from the Congo. We will hand the funds to the choir who are all members of Second Baptist Church which is working with sister churches in areas bordering the Congo, helping the thousands of refugees there. Also, last chance for some Christmas shopping: Tchokwe baskets from Moxico exclusive at the Viking Club * Irma Domingas’s hand crocheted bags made with re-cycled beer tabs * Angola color photo book in English/Portuguese * Huambo Dolls * hand embroidered linen gift items * Christmas decorations * grown-in-Angola soja * all for sale on Thursday at the Viking Club.

Lead soprano for the choir.

Come celebrate! Everyone is free to join. In close cooperation with the Viking Club, this presentation is offered free of charge. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are sold at the bar. Drink coupons are available for $10.00 AND $20.00 or the equivalent in kwanzas. For a location map of the Viking Club visit the Join Us. The club is on the main floor of the ‘Predio Maianga’ formerly known as the Swedish Building, at Rua Marien N”Guabi, No 118 in Maianga, across the street from the new Panela de Barra restaurant. See you there!C

PLEASE NOTE: DETAILS OF OUR NEXT FIELD TRIP POSTED ON THIS WEB SITE. STILL A FEW SPACES LEFT FOR OVERNIGHT TRIP TO WATCH THE TURTLES COME UP AND LAY THEIR EGGS. CONFIRMATIONS WILL BE SENT OUT ON MONDAY.

December 1, 2009

December 11-12: Annual Overnight Turtle Field Trip

Posted by angolamosquitonetproject under Field Trips | Tags: Angola, Angola Field Group, Olive Ridley Turtle |
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On Friday, December 11, the Angola Field Group will camp on the beach for its annual Turtle Trip. We will join biologist Michel Morais and his research team from Agostinho Neto University who for the past eight years have been tracking turtles nesting on Praia dos Onças, the beach below the Miradouro da Lua, south of Luanda.

Olive Ridley Turtle.

We will spend the night walking up and down the beach in teams hoping to find turtles laying eggs or we may be lucky enough to witness the release of newly hatched baby turtles rescued from unsafe nests and incubated by the research team.

Baby turtles head for the water.

We plan to leave the city at 1500 on Friday, to avoid heavy traffic so we can reach the beach in daylight to pitch our tents. Participants must supply their own food and camping gear. A four wheel drive vehicle is necessary. We must keep numbers to a strict limit so please only sign up if you’re serious about going. Final trip details including our meeting location will be given once you’ve signed up.

Setting up for a night on the beach.

When you are registering for this trip please indicate:

* if you have room in your vehicle for more passengers and how many can you take
* if you do not have transport and need a lift
* if you will be leaving from the city or from Luanda Sul

We are collecting $20.00 from each participant to donate to the Turtle Research Project. To register, email Henriette Koning at angolafieldgroup@gmail.com. All Angola Field Group trips are at your own risk.