Kenya Safari, July 25 (Jen)

I have no idea actually how to begin this blog. Our safari experience was completely, absolutely amazing. I’ll give you the low down, but you really have to look at the (sorry, many) pictures, which I’m doing my best to upload when I can find a reasonable internet connection here in Kenya (which is rare).

Perry has already told you about our introduction to IntoAfrica at the Rock House and how they took such great care of us in the days leading up to our safari. I have to say, I was feeling uncertain over my choice prior to arriving in Kenya, as they were more expensive than the other companies we’d investigated. However, after the trip I have no doubt that the extra cost was totally worth it. This company was professional, considerate, and kind, and the trip was near perfect.

Day One

Before setting off, we met our group. We had two drivers, Duncan and Samuel; one cook, Patrick; and one guide, Elijah. Enjoying the trip with us we had Jaime, an intelligent Chinese American from Washington DC; Pablo and Fremon, a hilarious gay couple from Santa Cruz, California; and Adam and Christina, honeymooners from the UK. We couldn’t have asked for a better group, or a better number of people since at 7 instead of 6 persons, we required two 4WD instead of just one. We had tons of space for comfy travel, and of course for the game drives which I’ll tell you all about later on.

We left from the Rock House around 9:30 am or so, and headed out past the Great Rift Valley towards the Masai Mara. Along the way, we stopped at a Masai Market, which was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. To give you a little background, the Masai are a tribe which has kept fairly close to their traditional ways over the years. Their livelihood is focused on their cattle, and their diet consists mainly of milk, meat, and blood. Yikes! The men also carry massive spears. I think this is at least partly to look cool, but officially it is to protect their herds from unwanted predators, like lions.

Needless to say, the market was complete mayhem! Absolute craziness of a place, which we really were only there to observe, and not to partake in. (None of us were currently in need of a goat, a cow, or any second hand apparel . . .) At first we weren’t going to take photos, as the Masai are in the habit of demanding 500KSH (about $7) per picture, but once there, I just could not resist. I had to show you all just how overwhelming it was. I somehow managed to snap some shots without incident, but Adam, an English guy on our trip, did not get off so easy. Not sure if he was the tallest or the whitest or what exactly made him the target, but one old man decided to grab on to him and just refused to let go. Locals were gathered around, some were laughing, and we all became a little unnerved. Even Elijah seemed shocked and I wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do about it, as he is not a large man. In the end, Elijah paid the old man his ransom of 100KSH to set Adam free. Not the sort of behavior you want to reward with cash, but it appeared that we had no choice if we didn’t want to leave poor Adam behind. At this point Perry and I were feeling fairly justified in opting for an organized safari as our first “African experience” outside of Nairobi.

The rest of our encounters at the market were much more amicable however; kids following us wanting to get their pictures taken (and of course take a look on the display screen - seems to be a fad the world over), and one gyrating woman, who we thought might be having a seizure until some bystanders explained that she was dancing. She seemed happy when Christina joined her, but I think she might have been a little disappointed that her dance wasn’t followed by a few shillings . . . nothing is for free in Kenya.

We continued on to our campsite, which was near to a Masai village with which IntoAfrica has a partnership. We set up our tents and headed over to the village to say hello. The experience was a bit different from the “village” visits that we had had in Asia. These guys are literally living in huts made of mud. I found it disturbing that the children’s faces were mostly covered in flies, but I suppose that is what happens when you keep your cattle and your kids in the same area. The kids seemed unphased though and were super cute. We had a tour of the village and the inside of one of the Masai’s houses (built entirely by his wife of course). Then, the ladies sang some songs for us. I can’t get over how everyone we meet here in Kenya seems to be musically talented. Of course, the ladies also brought out some bead work and we just couldn’t resist purchasing a couple of bracelets which I’m sure I’ll never wear again. It was all a very cool experience. I also felt good to see that the relationship between our guides, and the Masai people, seemed strong and positive. We were then escorted back to our camp, in the dark, by two Masai “warriors” who guarded our camp through the night, sleeping outside by the fire. The camping experience itself was pretty posh, by camping standards. We were served a delicious 3 course dinner by candlelight, and the guys even set up a little outhouse for us so that we didn’t have to venture too far into the scary African bush.

Day Two

After being spoilt again with a massive breakfast; complete with sausages, eggs, and french toast, we walked our Maasai “guards” back to their village and said our good-byes (i.e. gave them their tips). Then we hopped into our Landcruisers and continued the drive towards the world-renowned Masai Mara Reserve. Before we even reached our tented camp, located near to the reserve gate, we managed to spot giraffe, zebra, and gazelle. Duncan, our driver, laughed at us taking photos of tiny gazelles that were quite far off in the distance. Once you see the pictures from the reserve game drives, you’ll understand why. It was pretty exciting for us anyhow, to see our first wildlife. We arrived at camp in time for lunch, a short rest, and a late afternoon game drive in the park.

Our camp accommodation was a step up from the previous night. While still in tents, we were now in permanent tents, complete with beds, toilets, and showers. Luxury! There was even a wood burning hot water system.

The highlight of our game drive that evening were the elephants. I could not believe how close we were able to be to them! It was so amazing to see a huge family of elephants, just living their lives, totally uninterested in us and our vehicles. After the drive, we had dinner and a fairly early night, as day three was to be a full day inside the reserve.

Day Three

“Game drive” is just a fancy term for driving around the park, looking out the window, and searching for animals. I was a little concerned that I might get tired of being in a vehicle for the entire day . . . but quickly realized that that was totally impossible. First of all, the Landcruisers were pretty comfy (we had only Perry, Jaime, and I in our 7 seat car so had tons of space), and we were able to stand up and look out the pop-up roof at any time. Secondly, the experience was just so so so amazing. I could not believe the amount and variety of wildlife we saw. I expected to see animals in the park, but not that many! And not all at the same time! It was truly an extraordinary experience. In the morning alone we saw baboons mating, warthogs feeding, zebras, giraffe, vultures feeding on a zebra carcass, buffalo terrorizing a lion who was bleeding and stuck in a tree, wildebeest, ostrich, cheetahs playing, elephants roaming, lions resting after feeding on a wildebeest, other random bird-life that I cannot name, as well as various gazelle, impala and other deer like creatures which I can only tell apart when I have an African wildlife book or website open in front of me. It was so incredible.

We stopped for a picnic lunch near to the Tanzanian border (i.e. the Serengeti). Here we were able to go for a small walk along the “Sun River” where we saw hippos and crocodiles. I never realized that hippos make so much noise. We actually saw crocodiles mating, which Elijah told us even he had never seen before. I felt a little sorry for whichever croc was underneath, I assume the female, as she didn’t seem able to come up for air much. ;-)

In the afternoon Duncan managed to track down a spot where we could observe part of the annual wildebeest migration, which happens around this time each year. I think seeing this was Perry’s prime motivation for coming to Africa at all. It was a little bit different than we had expected, as I think normally, at least from the pictures and research we had done, the excitement comes from watching the throngs of animals crossing the Mara River. But, this year Kenya is abnormally dry and, while we did see them crossing a river bed, there was no water to speak of. At least not where we were. Regardless, the sight and sounds of thousands of these animals, mostly we saw wildebeest and zebra, all moving together, was absolutely magnificent. It is funny to see a few of them every now and then just go a bit crazy and start jumping around, disturbing the sort of random organization of movement.

We topped off the day with a few more giraffe, elephant, and of course more bird sightings. Then, another fabulous dinner courtesy of Patrick, our talented cook. Patrick made sure we were well fed and served us loads and loads of delicious food, and of course lots of English tea. I don’t know how I was able to sit around at night chatting and drinking cups and cups of tea, yet still fall fast asleep in my tent. Anyways, thanks to Patrick, I swear I gained at least 5 pounds on this trip. Luckily, my pants all have a little extra room in them to fit my money belt. (Thank goodness Mount Kenya is next or I’ll have nowhere to keep my money . . . he he)

Day Four

We started out the day very early, 5:30 am or so, to catch the sunrise on our last game drive in the Masi Mara Reserve. I think I’m starting to get used to these early mornings . . . well, maybe just a little. I’m still surly at that time of the day. But, the sunrise was very pretty and the animals were out so it was certainly worth it.

After breakfast, we packed up our bags and began the journey to our next stop, Lake Elmenteita. Apart from our picnic lunch, the journey was fairly uneventful. Well, apart from when we stopped to purchase carrots and potatoes, and our vehicles were swarmed by kids and people selling stuff or merely asking for a few spare shillings. We were pretty glad, once again, that we were safely with our group and our IntoAfrica guides. I think it may have been our posh IntoAfrica vehicles that likely attracted all the attention though . . .

Again, I tried to snap some photos along the way. The only time I got into trouble was actually an innocent incident when I was truly trying to shoot the scenery, but there was a fellow with a bunch of his donkeys in the distance. I got a finger wagging from him! Duncan thought it was funny, and giggled with his massive smile that we’ve come to love. Our accommodation on Lake Elmenteita was again a step up, or so it seemed, as this time we were in bungalows with a view to the lake. Pretty nice. Unfortunately, the toilet was still unflushed from the previous guests and the shower was more that a little scuzzy. Let’s just say that I didn’t take off my shoes the entire stay, which lasted for the remainder of the trip.

Not much else went on that evening, as it had been a fairly long journey. We had dinner and Fremon had the fabulous idea to order a bottle of brandy from the “bar” (which consisted of some very old couches and chairs, like you might find abandoned in a back alley in Calgary). The brandy became a enjoyable routine for the next few nights. After a few glasses, we all began to open up a little more, and of course ask more questions of our Kenyan guide. Elijah admitted to us that no self respecting Kenyan man would stoop to cooking in his own household, as this, in addition to all cleaning, childcare and other sort of household chores, were solely the responsibility of the wife. I told Perry not to get his hopes up . . . It is amazing how differently some things are viewed here, even among the highly educated city dwellers. (Elijah’s wife also has a successful career in Nairobi.)

Day Five

This day was packed full. The morning consisted of a walk along the lake to a hot springs and back. The highlight of this was the what seemed like hundreds of thousands of pink flamingo we saw. We could see the smears of pink on the water from our bungalow balcony, but the walk allowed us to get up close. Lake Elmenteita (Along with Lake Nakuru - see day six) is actually a “soda lake”, which (I didn’t learn until this day) means that the water is not fresh, but is salt water. The lake was low, due to lack of rain. It is definitely a tough year for the Kenyan farmer, and we have noticed all kinds of discussion of this in the local papers since our trip.

We stopped at a hot springs and some of the group dipped their feet in. I mostly enjoyed watching the locals doing their washing, and listening to the school girls, who arrived on a big bus, nattering with each other in a mixture of Swahili and English.

After our “hike”, and another sizable lunch, we had a visit to a nearby primary school, Kekopey Primary. The tour of the school was eye-opening and inspiring at the same time. Teachers back home will be interested to see the picture of the staff room, the classrooms with rudimentary homemade visual aids, and to hear that the school’s grade one class has 80 pupils to one teacher. Can you imagine!? We do see it in the papers often here, stories about teacher shortage in Kenya. The Head Teacher (i.e. the Principal) seemed passionate about his job, and gave us a very informative tour. The most emotional part of the visit though, was the welcome we received by the kids themselves. The school completes in a national music competition, and I have to tell you that these kids are AMAZING. They sang a song about Kenya, and they also sang a welcome song to us into which they incorporated our names. I took a short video which I’ll try to upload. I wish I had taken more. Their voices were so strong and they were so talented that I actually teared up. It was a little embarrassing. That didn’t last long though because they also dragged all of us up to dance with them, which was so much fun. I wished that we could have stayed and hung out with them for longer. I have to say that this was also the best fundraising strategy ever, as after that performance we all made sizable donations to the school.

After our time and Kekopey Primary, we visited a Kikuyu farm. The Kikuyu are the largest tribal group in Kenya. We were received in the “living room”, which had more doilies than I’ve ever seen in my life, accented by some Christian posters, which seemed like they were from the 50’s. George, our host, was a retired teacher, and was very interested in finding out about each of us, particularly our professions and education. (Most Kenyans we’ve met, regardless of their profession, seem to also have a farm. Elijah did as well.) Most of our group though, was much more interested in George’s grandson, George Jr, who kept us entertained the whole time we were there. He took a shine to Perry, and I think likewise Perry to him, and of course enjoyed getting his photo taken by everybody.

It was interesting that while in the home, only George Sr and George Jr sat with us. We saw the women only when they were serving us tea, and displaying for us their beadwork which we of course again felt obligated to purchase. (The pieces were pretty nice though. Mom & Dad, you can see your gifts in the photo of George’s mom.). It was even more interesting to see that George’s mom had to serve him as well! Apparently the superiority of the male begins early, even at the tender age of 3.

Day 6

Our second to last day was spent in Lake Nakuru National Park. The most memorable part of the visit took place early in the day, when we drove up to the lake to see an astounding number of flamingo and pelican. You just have to look at the pictures because I cannot describe how unbelievable it was. There were just soooo many and they were so beautiful. We spent quite a bit of time just watching them, and taking way too many photos. (We actually filled up an 8GB memory card on this trip. Don’t worry though, I did whittle it down prior to posting.)

The other “big deal” in Lake Nakuru Park were the rhinos. We managed to spot both black and white rhinos, which are in fact all grey in color. My understanding is that it is actually the shape of their backs and the way they hold their heads which allows you to tell the apart. We didn’t find them until the end of the day, so were getting slightly discouraged after lunch. But, we all had faith in Duncan, our guide and driver, and in the end saw so many of them. And very close to our vehicles! This completed the “big five” for us. The big five of Africa are lion, rhino, elephant, buffalo, and leopard. (Must admit I didn’t know this prior to arriving here . . .) I managed to get photos of all, expect for the leopard, which I’m not even sure it is fair to say that I saw. In fact I saw him so far away that I only just caught him running with his tail in the air through the binoculars. If it weren’t for Duncan, we would certainly not have realized what we had seen.

Of course, these are just the highlights, and like in the Masi Mara, it was surprising the variety and amount of wildlife that we were able to see in one day. (Although the landscape was entirely different from Masi Mara.) Overall, another truly, truly incredible day.

Day 7

Our last day, we were all a little bit sad to see the trip end. But, it was also time. This was the longest “organized” trip that Perry and I have done, and we have agreed that it will remain so. 7 days is enough.

We had time in the morning, before heading back to Nairobi, for a short boat trip on yet another lake, Lake Naivasha. This one is a fresh water lake. The draw of Lake Naivasha were the hippos, and the fish eagles. The boat drivers threw out fish for the eagles and it was pretty cool to see how very fast they were able to swoop down and scoop them up. I’m actually shocked that Perry got a photo of one. There were even more hippos than we had seen at Masi Mara, and I think they might have been noisier too. And, I just love being on the water, whether in a boat or in my swimsuit, so it was a perfect way to end the trip.

We were taken back to the Rock House, where I began the, what seemed like insurmountable, task of going through our thousands of photos and we spent the afternoon chatting with Jaime, Christina and Adam while they waited to catch their flights home. (Fremon and Pablo had headed by bus to Tanzania that afternoon)

Perry and I had been prepared to leave the luxury of the IntoAfrica and the Rock House and get back on budget. However Patrick, the Kenyan Director for IntoAfrica and the owner of the Rock House, was kind enough to let us stay on there at our budget price. We took full advantage and spent two nights there, resting and preparing for our next adventure. It was a great place to ready ourselves, what with Lydia’s tasty dinners, a cozy fire built each night, and Lydia even taking Perry on his first “Matatu” (absolutely crazy public transport consisting of minivan, very loud pumping music, and insane drivers) to the supermarket to shop for our supplies.

After such a fabulous safari, and then all of this comfy rest and being spoilt, mostly by Lydia and Duncan, we were ready get some exercise . . . Mount Kenya here we come.

For our many, many photos, go to http://gallery.me.com/adamschen