Category Archives: Kenya

Jambo Kenya

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Before we entered the Kigali Airport property in Rwanda, the car had to be searched and we walked through a body scanner.  The ticket man at the counter asked for our visa to Kenya. Visa? Say what?  We didn’t need one four years ago!

He was so kind.  He suggested we go to the Kenyan Airlines office across the room (thank goodness for small airports and arriving two hours before our flight).  The manager told us that he would let us fly if I filled out the online visa form, paid and received a email confirmation – whether or not we actually received the visa.  The airport wifi would not work (thank goodness for our international calling plan) and the cell service worked at a snail’s pace (it was most likely at a normal pace but I was freaking out,  sweating buckets).  The manager had to help me get around all the questions asked which didn’t align with the airline’s information, blah, blah, blah.  Bingo. After an hour of data entry, it worked.  The visas were issued within 10 minutes. Yay!

Off we went to Nairobi.  The capital city of Kenya. Its elevation is 5,889 feet.  Founded 1899 as a colonial rail depot for the Uganda-Kenya Railway.  They gained their freedom in 1963.  The population is approximately 5.8 million people  including many refugees who flee here from neighboring countries to work and escape civil war.

We were here four years ago for the Great Walk of Africa – a 100 miles in 10 days trek across Tsavo West to East.  Before the hike we stayed in the dark and depressing Hilton Hotel which is now shuttered.  At that time I had wished we stayed in the historic New Stanley Hotel.  We fulfilled that wish this time.  It’s old, a bit dark but not depressing. HA!  It opened in 1902 and was the first hotel in Nairobi, the stock exchange and hosted dignitaries, authors, and actors in a bygone era – now it needs a bit of lipstick.

This time around I came prepared and got tickets for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s elephant nursery visit.  The Sheldrick Family is famous for their work rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned and sick rhinos and elephants.  You must book way ahead for a one hour time slot to get up close and personal with some of the elephants.  There’s one session a day, 364 days a year.  A railing barrier separates us the elephants. Friendly ones meandered over to be scratched by the excited visitors while some kept their distance.  It was great fun to watch the magic between visitors and these magnificent creatures.  I think the adults enjoyed it more than the children.

*Click on photos to enlarge. Click on blue words to see accompanying videos.

This elephant’s nose is so short it couldn’t survive in the wild

Here’s a blurb from Grok: The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is famous for its pioneering work in rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned elephants and rhinos in Kenya. Founded in 1977 by Daphne Sheldrick in memory of her husband David, a renowned naturalist and warden of Tsavo East National Park, the Trust has gained global recognition for being the first and most successful program of its kind. It’s particularly celebrated for Daphne’s breakthrough in developing a milk formula and care techniques that allow infant, milk-dependent elephants and rhinos to survive and eventually return to the wild.

Following our elephant experience, we visited the Giraffe Centre in Nairobi. Established in 1979, this is all about teaching Kenyan children about their nation’s wildlife and environment while offering us foreigners an opportunity to interact with the giraffes.

Not sure how many of you will go to Karen (named for Karen Blixen) just outside Naribo but we had one of the best lunch experiences ever at a farm to table restaurant called Cultiva.  It was mouthwatering.  Bill said it might be his favorite ever!  Set in an eclectic, open air building with many different seating areas and a staff fit to service the multitudes.  Click here to read an outdated article from 2021 – it tells how it all started which is fabulous!

We flew to Nairobi only to get a better flight time to our next destination.  Our only option from Rwanda was a four hour flight from 2:30 am to 6:30 am.  It sounded dreadful.  I’m old! I want to sleep lying down.

Nairobi is crazy, fast moving, not so clean and not so safe.  The outskirts a whole different experience.  Every block had several young guys with cameras, tripod, and light box taking photos of people fore their social media sites.  How did they afford the equipment?

In the city, Bill was exchanging money at a Forex  (there’s one on every block).  The uniformed guard at the entry door was my size and had a stick for his weapon.  He welcomed us, guided Bill to a line of private doors with key locks.  He instructed Bill to enter and walked away – key still in the door.  A wonderful safety idea but the stick without a gun wouldn’t stop a robber.

As we were leaving all of a sudden hordes of yelling, chanting people marched downed the street towards us.  My first reaction was to raise my camera and get closer then my brain kicked into gear and said “dumb move” what if it was a dangerous protest?  I stepped back into the Forex next to the guard with a stick!

They were football (soccer) fans rooting on their favorite team. The color green obviously their team color.

We continued to stroll through the city and upon returning to our hotel came another mob of loud, chanting people this time in blue.  Bill was wearing a blue t-shirt which caused fans to get his attention so they could raise their fists together in favor of the “blue” team.  The hotel employees had a great time encouraging the ruckus.

Blue and green were on their way to the stadium to see which was the better team.

The same security check outside the airport happened again.  This time we were scanned and the car was not searched.  Really?  

We hopped on a near empty Saudia Airlines Airbus 330 to – guess where?

 

 

 

Ngorongoro Crater and Onward to our Serengeti Camp

When we were on the island of Manda in Kenya I bumped into a group of young women from Barcelona.  They were still on a safari “high” having just left Tanzania.  They were stoked about Lake Manyara and even better yet Ngorongoro Crater. “You have to go there!”

To be fair, our day before at Lake Manyara was wonderful but not earth shattering.  It’s not Disneyland even though at times it feels like someone in the background says “Cue the lion”.  It’s pure luck.  The wildlife are in their natural habitat and you see things when you do.

Off to Ngorongoro Crater – the world’s largest inactive caldera and another UNESCO site.

Per Wikipedia: A caldera is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is lost. The ground surface then collapses downward into the emptied or partially emptied magma chamber, leaving a massive depression at the surface (from one to dozens of kilometers in diameter).[1] Although sometimes described as a crater, the feature is actually a type of sinkhole, as it is formed through subsidence and collapse rather than an explosion or impact.

This crater collapsed on itself two to three million years ago! Today approximately 25,000 animals roam on its floor.

We drove down into the crater on a windy narrow road with steep drop offs. It was a one lane road handling cars traveling in both directions. Lovely….

Tourism is down 80%.

Imagine safari vehicles roaming every which way over the 100 square miles of the caldera.  This is what 20% looks like in one tiny part of Ngorongoro.  I can’t imagine what it would be like when tourism was at 100%.  We are very lucky to be here now when it is relatively quiet and we can help provide income to those who desperately need it. There is no unemployment from this government.  They’re on their own.

Click to enlarge photos…

The drivers use radios to tell each other if they have spotted something extraordinary. Although we couldn’t understand Swahili we knew something special had been spotted. Amon would put it in gear and dart off.   The safari vehicles grew en masse as everyone vied for a spot.

The wildebeest and zebra numbered in the thousands.  A lioness walked calmly next to the shoreline and upon spotting her the wildebeest lost their minds and ran in every direction.  I had a glimpse into what the “wildebeest migration’ would look like. The zebras stopped and watched closely seeming to be plotting out their escape.  A few gazelles followed closely behind as if they were toying with her.  A full belly must have kept this lioness disinterested.

It was unexpected but I did get to see flamingos.

Here’s the tally for today:
Grants gazelles
Cape buffalos
Hammerkorp bats
Vultures
Water buck
Elephants (Tembos)
Elan antelopes
Guinea fowls
Pumba warthogs
Thompson’s gazelles
Flamingos
Zebras
Caracal – cat family
Gray crowned cranes
Wildebeest
Ostriches
A lioness
Ibis
Marubu stork
Giraffe

We stayed in the crater about three hours then headed to the Serengeti – another three hour drive to get to camp. Some on pavement and the rest of the drive was on dirt roads in the Serengeti Park.

More about the Serengeti in the next posting….

Heads up – the first video loaded is the one I posted.  The one you see after viewing that are ones YouTube wants you to see….

Jambo and Hello Mombasa

After our relaxing time in Shella we decided fly to the city of Mombasa.

I personally wanted to visit Mombasa (as well as Tsavo and Malindi) to see places that had been the setting for books that I’ve read. It also has two UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Mombasa is a bustling large city with a population of 1.3 million. It’s the second largest city (Nairobi the first) in Kenya populated with locals, Arabs, Asians, Portuguese and the British. Normally our goal is to stay away from big cities but there’s always exceptions.

In so many countries around the world tuk tuks are a popular means of travel. If we aren’t walking to our destination we’re in a tuk tuk.  Blurred photos as we whizz through the town.

We spent time at Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in 1593-1596 to protect the port of Mombasa and the surrounding Old Town (both UNESCO sites) with buildings dating from the 18th century. Like Lamu and Shella they too have exquisite old carved doors.  The old town is  crumbling but part of the attraction.

Mombasa rests on the Indian Ocean and we dined each night at the water’s edge feasting on large lobster dinners for only $15.00.

 

 

Next stop Lamu Island, Kenya


We drove out of Tsavo East and headed to the town of Malindi on the Indian Ocean where everyone but us got a Covid test for their return flights home. Afterwards we hopped on a plane and 25 minutes later landed at the Manda Airport on the Island of Manda.There is something magical and primitive about landing at a tiny remote airport. It’s informal – no jetways or sidewalks just earthen paths. Everything is dulled by a layer of red dirt. Our luggage was loaded into a old wooden pull cart and rolled to the nearby boat ramp.

We boarded a boat taxi and headed across the channel to Lamu Island. A UNESCO World Heritage site and Kenya’s oldest and best preserved Swahili settlement on Africa’s East Coast.Our reward for finishing the walk was to stay at the renowned family run Peponi Hotel in the adjoining community of Shella.

Lamu and the Peponi are listed in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and rightfully so.

Carol and her daughter Elke run the hotel. I’m sure they don’t like the reference but I had visions of Mama Mia. Elke is stunningly beautiful, make up free and bare footed. Her mum is clearly a spitting image of the same girl just years later. They are hands on and make sure your every need it met.

Previously warned by Tropical Ice that we should extend our (included in the safari) one night stay and enjoy the pole pole (Swahili for slow, slow) lifestyle. We had booked two nights. A perfect end to a perfect walking safari.

Our original plan grew into five nights. Covid was starting to affect our trip. The flight to Zanzibar had been cancelled and the Islands of Comoros and Madagascar closed their borders to tourism. Coupled by civil unrest in others countries – we needed time to hatch a new plan.

First things first. We girls headed out just behind the hotel to explore the narrow streets and pathways that wind through the village of Shella. There are no cars and donkeys are used to transport goods and people. We set out with a map highlighting the “best of” and no sooner than we made the first turn and we were lost.

What a place to be lost. It was a maze with a muted palette of dusty paths and creamy buildings with stunning carved door, offset by bright bougainvillea, drying laundry and women in colorful hijabs and dresses.

It’s a certainty that every country has its one percent. This was evident at the Hemmingways and Peponi. Lots of lethargic people wearing $1,000. sunglasses and designer clothing. Safari clothes – not appropriate.

Shela and Lamu Island are Muslim communities. 50 mosques for 50,000 people. My shorts and skirts from the safari wouldn’t suffice so I was on a mission to purchase a modest dress. Shoulders and knees need to be covered. It was a request but not enforced. Light and airy dresses were what most woman wear. Scarves worn for coverage work as well. There was one boutique shop in town where all of us found a treasure. One dress worn over and over will suffice.

A lot of the homes and fenced walls are built with coral. They’re rough, porous and plentiful. 350 members of the Luo tribe live on a nearby island and spend their days harvesting the dead coral from under trees and transporting them by boat to Lamu Island. Beamed ceilings are made with Mangrove poles and therefore rooms are narrow since the trees do not grow tall. Floors and walls are mostly rough dead coral and the coated with coral limestone for smoothness. Many homes have a “daka” entry porch where men gather to visit.  Inside are are small niches carved into the walls of stone structure.   Inside elaborate “vidaka” walls – small niches carved into the walls of stone structures – are a stunning focal point.  Decorative but also used to reduce echoing in the home.

Iain’s wife, Lou, flew in to join everyone. Our first evening, the last that we were all together, we had a Swahili feast. The setting was stunning. We sat in a lush area near the pool on ground height couches surrounded by vibrant fluffy pillows. The men were not quite sure what to do with their legs which prompted us to become silly children once again. The food was spicy, flavorful and bountiful.

After a luxurious night’s sleep six of us took a dhow (ancient Arab sailing boat) to the old town of Lamu. It’s within walking distance to Shella Village at low tide but the dhow was a more traditional means of entering this famous town. The bustling streets where “pole pole” meets the fast pace of commerce, donkeys are the beast of burden and hawkers try to lure you into their shops.

Lamu is bursting at the seams with cats, cats and more cats.  Unique cats.  The only place in the world to have the same physiques as the cats depicted in Egyptian hieroglyphics. 

The evening commenced with a sunset dhow cruise sipping wine and drifting by patches of mangroves. When the sun began to set we turned course and met up with masses of dhow boats where we all raced towards the sunset. It was stunning.

I’ll have you know it took me three days to shake having to look for predators while traversing the garden lawn from our room to the restaurant!

We said goodbye to everyone on day three and it once again became the Bill and Paige show. Time was spent exploring Shela and Lamu Town, walking the beach, lounging, catching up on emails, posting a few blogs, making plans, eating too much food and having sunset cocktails.

Sand life and art:

 

Animal List for Tsavo West and East

I forgot to include a list of animals we saw on our walk. Thank goodness Henry wrote them down.

If you happen to go on this walking safari be sure to ask Iain, “What time is dinner?”

The Great Walk of Africa Final Walking Day 10

Tioko showed up in fancy sandals way too small for his feet.  He must have borrowed someone’s clubbing shoes!

Today we walked 17 miles.

Click to enlarge photos.

Our campsite. Zoom in.
Show offs
Acacia

A large group of elephants were spotted on the ridge line.  Iain headed in their direction but the wind was blowing our scent towards them so they started to turn in a different direction. We changed course and ran across the plain to meet up with them. This time undetected.  With the Henry Mancini “Baby Elephant Walk” playing in my head, we followed them towards the river. Walking briskly to keep up then running around the saltbushes to watch them at the water. 

It seemed strange in our given environment of not seeing another human or non-wild animal on this journey to walk into a huge herd of cattle and goats shepherded by children appearing to be 6 to 14 years old.  They are from the Orma tribe near the Somalia border.  Supposedly rich Kenyans own the animals. It was fascinating to watch. The kids were bathing and cleaning their clothes in the river.  Their life is dreadfully hard and often short lived.

At lunch time we crossed the Galana to a grove of palms where the crew had set-up a tent and brought lunch while we walked. To relax, cots had been placed under the palm trees. We rested and then headed out again.This time we walked to the finish line!  100 miles in 10 days.

Stephen and Kim
Henry
Barbara and Rick

It was an adventure of a lifetime.  The crew at Tropical Ice has this down to a science.  We were so lucky that the three additional walkers were fantastic, lovely people.  A couple from Colorado and a 84 year old retired doctor from San Francisco.  We giggled so much.

We’re two very grateful people.

The crew

The Great Walk of Africa Day 9

What you don’t know won’t kill ya. Apparently that’s not the way in the bush. 

This morning I felt like Emily Blunt in the The Quiet Place movie.  The predators are out there….  There’s no Jaws movie music Da dant da dant da dant.  Not only have we taken the oath of silence so have the predators.  It’s a quiet killing grounds in Tsavo. The only things making noise are the harmless birds.  HA!!! The stuff I think about…..

Lots of game sightings today – zebras – elephants – gazelles…

Click to enlarge photos…

It was a peaceful day with no heart pumping events.

Until we were about to cross the Galana River back to camp. Toiko and Washii started into the water when a crocodile’s tail took a swing at their ankles. Both jumped back to the shore quicker than a Kenyan runner. Toiko minus a sandal. He returned to camp shoeless. Poor guy.  It will be a long time before the guys stop teasing him about this one.

The surface beneath our feet is a bit of a conundrum – harsh, dry, and barren like the surface of the moon and closer to the shore there’s beautiful fine white sand. There are a few springs of greenery sprouting.  Otherwise, food seems either non-existent or inedible.  How any animal forages and lives in this area is baffling

Look who tried to wander into camp. Yes. That’s Bill at our tent.

Hello Bill – do you see the elephant?

On our evening game drive we drove up to a male and female pair lounging in the sun.  Jokes about the manly lion ensued… To prove his virility the male jumped on the female. Big her in the shoulder and did his thing. Who’s king of the jungle now?

Tomorrow is our last day of walking and it will be a full day. We leave at our usual 7 am departure time and will not be returning until 6 pm…..

The Great Walk of Africa Day 8

Once again we woke up thinking it was raining and it was a baboon in the palm.

Eight graceful giraffes passed by early in the morning. They generally can be seen with zebras grazing about.  If you look closely in the photos you can see that the top of a zebra is as tall as the under belly of a giraffe.

Our day started with a river crossing.  After the last hippo “stare down” this one went off without a hitch. We cross and on the shoreline stop to change our shoes. Usually the bank is an incline, and after a scramble, we are up on the plain. Upon cresting there was a hippo off to our right side several yards away. Immediately Iain and the men lined up and were at the ready with guns drawn. We were told to run.  ‘Stay together and RUN”.  The hippo had turned and looked like it might charge.

By the grace of God he changed his mind. Hippos are mean and fast. Iain said “They tend to get discombobulated and either run away or charge.”

Another thrilling event. I think I have said “Holy shit” about 10,000 times on this walk!

In all the years that Iain has led these safaris they have only had one serious incident where a hippo charged and knocked over a ranger and then picked up a woman client and flung her.  They weren’t unable to shoot it with the woman in its jaws.  It was in 1987, In the middle of nowhere and no way to communicate. It took them five hours from the time of the incident to the moment she got to a hospital.  She survived with a long recovery period.

With this crisis averted we began to walk again….

Approximately half an hour later Stephen spotted a female elephant in the saltbrush several yards away. A few days in the bush and he’s a tracker!  Lajori did his soft whistle to let Iain know. Normally we can pass undetected.  This elephant stepped out of the brush and made her presence known. She knew we were there.

Once again Iain shouted “RUN and keep running.”  Lajori directed us with a rapid wave.

Iain fired a warning shot into the air. The elephant hesitated and then started to charge.  Toiko then fired another warning shot.  All the while Washii is making a repetitive rhythmic sound from the bottom of his throat – as if he was trying to calm the elephant. 

She finally decided to turn.

Heart racing…. What now? Lions???

It was quite a morning – 10 mammal sightings and two heart racers in 1.5 hours.

The rest of the walk was uneventful.

Following the animal trail
Lion and elephant tracks
Thorns
The Galana – crocodile love these flat rocks

The game drive was a lion experience. We first came upon two laying on their sides, out like a light, without a care in the world. Our Rovers drove right up to them and one barely opened his lazy eyes and closing them promptly as if he couldn’t be bothered. The lion beside him didn’t even budge. Moments later a maneless male came out of the saltbush – moseyed along and then fell to his sleepy side. Then another large maned lion came out of the bush.  He majestically sat for a brief moment, looked around and then curled up next to his brothers side.

Kim and I decided to check out the kitchen at the campsite. Kikuyu, camp chef for 40+ years makes meals that one would think came out of a gourmet kitchen. It’s hard to believe that they are made with such basic necessities.  The Dutch oven reminds me of an old metal ammunition box and bakes the bread and rolls to perfection.  Kikuyu uses a shovel to raise the box’s lid.  Here are some camp life photos.

Elephant tracks right in-front of our tent!

The Great Walk of Africa Days 6 and 7


Sunrise happens quickly in these parts. Beyond our jambo wake up call the sun ushers in a yellow and orange medley of colors setting the tent aglow. To our surprise, on the way to the bathroom, the full brilliant moon was setting between the doum palms. Last night the palms were alive with baboons scurrying about shaking the branches and making the sound of a monsoon rain. This morning all is calm and peaceful.

I failed to mention yesterday that we walked down the Tsavo river toward its confluence with the Yati River which together form the emerald green Galana River.  You can see below where the color changes.  We had been using the Tsavo River water for showers but the water from the Galana is not used in camp.

This brings up the big question “Why are we wading through it?”  Yes, this too I failed to mention (on purpose) because I didn’t’ have photos.  We’ve been crossing the river. The body of water full of savage crocodiles. Crocodiles make alligators look like baby lambs.  They are bigger, stronger and look for trouble.  We paid for this!

So here are the rules:  We only cross at elephant crossings – never where there are smooth rocks where you can hopscotch across the river (because the crocs lurk there). We are to look BIG.  To do this we grab our partner’s hand standing shoulder to shoulder and then we hang onto the person in front of us – bellies to butts. No talking and walk briskly!

Lajori and Tioko test the water before we start.  They throw rocks in and then grab poles and stir the water.  The water depth is unknown but perceived to be okay.  The short women get an occasional douche and the guys mostly get the bottoms of their shorts wet.  I walk on tippy toes.  If we can’t bathe with this water I certainly did want it going where it doesn’t belong.  I have enough things to worry about.

Day six we walked a new trail for this safari.  Not only are we chum but now guinea pigs.  As we prepared to cross the river a crocodile slipped off the shore into the water. Red alert. My heart starts racing.  Iain walks 75  feet down the shore and says this will work!

Day seven our river crossing area was full of luxuriating hippos.  Iain had us walk down the shore and away from the herd but fairly close to a single hippo submerged in the cooling water.  I’m sure he saw the concern in our eyes and promptly exclaimed, ‘If we all huddle together and move quickly we might all make it!”  Some of our crossings are more than 100 yards wide so I’m sure even a hippo could catch us.

I think every one of us stared down that hippo and never even thought about the crocodiles.

From the Yatta escarpment to the Galana River elephants have forged a path for over a thousand years.  For Bill and me, this may be the first thousand year old trail we’ve hiked which was not built by the Romans.

The volume of game grows daily.  Especially the elephants.  Their nature is so human like. Witnessing up close the way they nurture and discipline their babies could keep me spellbound for hours.  A memorable moment was watching a female dig a hole in the sand to find filtered water.  She’d scoop it up and throw it over her shoulder.  In the meantime, her baby, thrilled to drink from the same hole, tried to get on the action only to be continuously pushed aside so mama could finish the task at hand.

Each evening while eating dessert Iain likes to tell us about what to expect the next day. Tonight’s briefing ended with a story about what happened on his previous safari two weeks prior on the same path we will walk tomorrow.

Of late the vehicles wait for us to conclude our walk and we drive back to camp.  Simon, the other driver, had gone to the pick-up site early.  As he waited for Iain and his group to crest a hill before crossing the river he witnessed a lion stalk and kill a zebra. Right in the pathway where Iain would emerge.  He had no way of warning them.  They were off the grid – no cellular service and the emergency radio only worked one way.

Iain said as he and the group were about to crest the hill he came face to face with a bloody mouthed lion.  Both stood there shocked.  Seconds later the lion turned and ran away.  Iain said one of the walkers fell over right there in his tracks.  I’m sure that’s the least of what I would have done.

We were left with this story.  Go to bed, sweet dreams and tomorrow might be real fun……

Photos from the day. Click to enlarge.

Driving to the starting point:

Walking.

Iain showing off his rock climbing skills.

Game drive.

 

Walking the Great Walk of Africa Day Five

During the building of the Kenya-Uganda railway in 1898, in nine short months, two man-eating lions killed over 135 workers. Colonel John Henry Patterson, an English military engineer with Indian experience was in charge of the project and building a bridge over the Tsavo River. He killed both lions.  They are known as the Man-Eaters of Tsavo and are now on display, in of all places, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. We hiked to the cave where Patterson said the lions would drag their victims.

click to enlarge photos…

Patterson’s book about killing the Man-Eaters and a photo of the same spot

Patterson’s Bridge:

Walking across Tsavo West ✅

Leaving the wetter more mountainous portion of Tsavo West will change the game encounters.  In Tsavo East there will be more lions and heavier concentrations of elephants.

Registering at the new park triggered a memory – the ranger approached the vehicle wearing a freaking face mask. Covid. Something that hadn’t crossed our minds for days. Living in the bush is an option folks!  Fiction is better than reality.  

We had to a short drive down the Nairobi Mombasa Highway, named the most dangerous road in Africa, to start the new portion of the walk. Iain said walking amongst predators was safer than crossing the road.

We walked through an old rail station. Closed in 2012 because the new fast Chinese rail would no longer stop here and 40 other stops along the way. Everything was left behind.  Ticket books still sat on the counter. It was as if time had stopped.

With breezy and often times overcast days and temperatures around the low 80’s walking has been lighter and easier than if the sun blared all day.

Some of us scaled the top of a huge rock embankment at one of he breaks. Check out the view.

A two hour drive got us to our camp.  Our new home for the next three nights.  

Bull elephants are known to hang out and walk through this site. Iain refers to them as the “retirement group”.  Today, at tea time, one such male decided tho walk up to the mess tent.  Thank God Iain had popped his head in only moments before the encounter. He ushered the few of us there into a group and we moved around like frogger trying to avoid a visual face to face with the big guy.  It was quite exciting and not to mention scary.  My heart was racing. 

 


While driving today Lajori whispers “simba” Swahili for lion.  Only a Samburu bushman with an innate sense of what, I have no idea, could have spotted lions resting in the distance under a bush.  The same bushes we walk by 100,000 times a day! It took me several minutes with Lajori pointing in their direction and binoculars to find them. Iain drove closer for a better look. This man has no fear!  This is only a few hundred meters from our campsite.

Nighttime pees take on a whole new meaning!

 

 

Hard to blog when the internet is sketchy….

Days 2, 3 and 4.

It’s remarkable to see how efficient the camp crew is.  Right after our evening showers the crew promptly dismantles them.  At breakfast time the tents are broken down. Last to go are the toilets and while we walk, the the rest of camp.

click on photos to enlarge…

It’s great fun arriving at a new location each day.

Now early evening game drives have been added to the agenda so showers end in the dark and headlamps guide our course.

One night we stopped to climb a humongous rock with unparalleled views only to find wine and beer waiting for us at the top.

Cocktails by the river are the perfect way to wind down the day.Acacia, baobab and doum palm trees dot the landscape.

At night the baboons like to jump around in the palms making it sound like a big rain storm.

Most likely it’s the acacia tree you think of in the quintessential Kenyan sunset photo with a tree and giraffes. They are often referred as an umbrella tree. However the long thorny bushes that we have been battling are another variety.  Weaver nests decorate many like ornaments.  We were told that female weaver birds chose the male bird who makes the best nest.  The males are known to build many nests to perfect their technique.

The baobab tree is called the upside down tree because their branches look like roots and the tree of life because 80% of their trunks are made of water. Bushmen use it as a source of water during droughts. They are huge and can live up to 1,500 years.

Also dotting the horizon are the might termite hills. This one is approximately 80 years. Part of the process in making a termite hill is to slowly devour a tree.

One could sit forever and watch elephant herds.  There is one matriarch who rules the family.  She is protective and mean when provoked.  Her responsibilities are huge.  She is responsible for the herd even down to whom is the best male suitor for the females. The bulls kowtow to her as well knowing she has the authority to kick bulls out of the herd.

Elephants can only see up to 40 feet away and use their trunks to smell danger.

Often times we’d see a lone female with a baby.  A sign that the baby can’t keep up with the herd and the protective mama breaks away. The odds of their survival greatly diminishes.

Herds of animals run past us – gazelles, zebras, dik diks and many more that remain nameless in my poor tiny brain.

 

 

First day walking the Great Walk of Africa

Our day starts with Jambo Jambo – the 6:00 am wake up call spoken by the man who fills our bowls with hot water every morning.

Hot coffee, tea and breakfast are waiting in the mess camp.Departure time is 7:00 am.

While we walk our campsite is completely broken down and set-up at a new location. Our laundry is washed as well.

Walking rules: Single file with no large gaps between us and don’t make a sound. The person who is at the front of the line is to rotate to the back every half hour or so. Don’t be kind to the people behind you by holding a branch to allow others to pass. Just move through it.

* click on photos to enlarge

Guarding us is Iain and five skilled Samburu bush men (wearing sandals made of tires), with weapons, as follows:

Iain – Rigby Ruger 416
Washii (he and Lajori switch places every other day) – spear and machete
Tioko – Rigby Ruger 416
We’re in between
Ekutan – Bruno 458
Lajori – spear machete
Lokori – Bruno 458

The red laterite-rich soil is uneven beneath our feet. The ground is stamped with hippos, elephants, lions and giraffes (many more) tracks.  Dung is everywhere.

I know it’s called “the bush” but better terminology might be “the thicket”,  “the brush” or “the bramble”.   It’s thick and unforgiving.After a half hour of moving branches and thick brambles out of my way I channeled Mohammad Ali and started dodging, weaving and ducking to avoid being pierced by long thorns.  It became quite fun and just when I started getting cocky I’d get slapped square in the face by a catapulted branch. Oh, to be humbled…

We had a challenging river gorge portion of the walk. Lots of rocks and sand with a steep drop to the river. A crocodiles refuge. It was challenging and rewarding and none of us fell in.

Iain had warned us about charging hippos and how dangerous they are. Our first big sighting of hippos were ahead in the river. I figured we saw them in the distance and that was good given their danger level. That’s not Iain’s attitude. We needed to see them up close and personal.  As long as we remained silent they wouldn’t know we were there. It was spectacular and scary.  Hippos forage at night. During the day they submerge themselves in the river to avoid the sun which burns their sensitive skin.  Often times you can’t see them in the water and then suddenly they pop up like a bobber after a fish has eaten your bait. Weighing about 3,000 pounds they can run remarkably fast. Certainly faster than humans.

Every hour or so there is a rest stop and potty break.  Out of caution we only go to the bathroom in the direction we came from and only a few feet away.

We stumbled upon a zebra carcass that Iain suspects was killed in the last week.  Notice how they left the legs untouched.

It was an invigorating day and animal sightings were plentiful. The mandatory vow of silence was not only for our safety but good for the soul.  Time passed quickly.

Elephant rubbing post – smooth
Fever Tree stands out

We finished walking around 12:30 pm. Just in time for a fabulous lunch.  Tea time at 4:00, hot showers at 5:30 followed by campfire cocktails and dinner.

Off to bed.  Rinse and repeat.

Mzima Camp

Good Lord. Oh dark thirty. We had just fallen asleep.

Breakfast at 5:15 am so that we could be ready for our 5:45 start to Tsavo.

Our flight didn’t leave until 7:30 and the airport was only 15 minutes away. Leaving before gridlock would leave down time but ensure we made the flight.We boarded a 12 seater prop plane. Some of the guys had to crawl to their seats. It was a quick one hour flight to Tsavo West. The welcoming crew was two grazing giraffes just on the side of the dirt runway. The real deal. Not a zoo. Just two giraffes hanging out.

We hopped into a modified Land Rover Defender. Bill and Stephen sat behind the driver. Kim and I loaded up in the next row with Washii, our spotter, sitting on the back roof. Within no time we were standing on the seats with our heads and shoulders peaking out of the roof spotting game.

The rest of the crew loaded up in second Rover and we headed to breakfast at the Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge 45 minutes away.

Cape buffalo, warthogs and zebras (the Brits say zeb-bra) grazed while we stuffed our bellies.

Two more hours to the first camp – our jaws wide open as more wildlife started to appear.

Click on photos to enlarge.

According to Iain we were very lucky to see a leopard lying next to the road. A rare occurrence since they are nocturnal. Looks like he got in a scruff only hours before.

 

Meet our fearless leader Iain. Iain started Tropical Ice and the Great Walk of Africa 43 years ago. Born in Scotland and raised in Kenya since the age of six. A lover of the outdoors, modern day Indiana Jones, avid reader, movie buff, John Wayne impersonator, comedian and head man in charge. This will be his 93rd walk.

Yes, we fools paid lots of money to walk 100 miles across Tsavo West and Tsavo East. We’re the chum to the predator’s delight. No pussies allowed.

The safari of my dreams has been altered.

Yes, we have tents, twin beds and even woven rugs. It’s a throw back to safari’s from the golden years. Everything we need and then some. Bathtub and chandeliers are foolish childhood dreams. This is a big girl’s camp.  It’s like drinking black coffee.

There is a mess tent where we are served three outrageous meals a day with tea and crumpets each afternoon. It’s perfect. The only downside is we are in Tsavo which means “Place of Slaughter”. Predator’s stomping grounds…. Going to the bathroom in the middle of the night is scary!!!

This camp is named Mzima (alive in Swahili). That’s because it’s the start of the journey and at this point we’re all still alive.

Time to relax and settle in. The walk starts tomorrow.

Karen, Kenya

Adiós Hilton we’re heading to Karen.

The drive out of the bustling city of Nairobi pumped new blood into our systems. The Hilton was so depressing that the excitement of the actual movement of the car felt like we were experiencing our first flight on the Concorde.

The outskirts of the city reminded me of La Paz, Mexico where tall buildings turned in to short ones and outdoor markets sprung up like weeds in the desert selling everything from nursery plants/pots to bedroom furniture and homemade BBQ’s. The difference here was the speed at which the cars moved and no place to park and shop.

Markets became stone houses behind tall fences and concrete sidewalks became lush country lanes. Grass and flowering bougainvillea abutted the roads – clean air once again.

I couldn’t help humming – country roads take me home to a place I belong – the West Virginia part part didn’t quite fit but you get my drift.

First stop. The Karen Blixen Museum which is actually her second Kenyan home. If you haven’t seen Out of Africa I highly recommend it. Produced in 1985 it starred Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.

Ms. Blixen’s namesake and 6,000 acre farm, wood lands and coffee plantation occupied the land where the suburb of Nairobi now stands.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Next stop the Giraffe Center in Langata. It started in 1979 as a place to preserve the Rothschild Giraffe. Now it educates thousands of Kenyan school children every year and tickles the fancy of giraffe loving tourists.

It’s like feeding ducks in the park on steroids. Most entertaining was watching giggling adults act like unabashed children. Reaching skywards towards these towering gentle giants with their fingered food pellet saying to themselves “Pick me, pick me, pick me.” Giddy when a bristly, long, pointy tongue lowers to greet their fingers. Slurping. Leaving a trail of spit like a spider’s web. A sign of treat well received.

Our final stop before our 5 pm meet and greet with our safari tour was the Kazuri (small and beautiful in Swahili) Bead Center. Founded in 1975 by two single moms. They grew a work-force (pre-Covid) to 340 mostly single women chosen out of the slums. These ladies were taught how to make clay by scratch, fabricating pottery and beads for jewelry. Sadly, now only 60 women are employed and shops were closed due to lack of funds to pay the rent. Normally the tour is closed on Sundays and only the store is open. Luckily Kim and I were given a private tour where we learned about each step in the process from earth to end product.

The four of us checked into our stunning suites at the Hemingways Hotel and promptly met our guide Iain along with three other brave Americans (coincidentally) that we would be joining on our safari.

I had dreamed about an Africa safari for years. A luxurious tent with chandeliers, rugs, fluffy bed and a bathtub where giraffes would stroll up to the side and drink from the bath water while I lounged in bubbles sipping champagne……

After an hour of introductions and getting the low down on our journey out of Karen the following day – we departed with a reminder to be in the lobby at 5:45am.

A leisurely (Kenyan way) al-fresco dinner gave us barely enough time for a quick bath before bed.

Not much time to enjoy our Suite.

Such is life…

Jambo Nairobi

Lucky for us we flew international business class. Sipping champagne and eating paté on the Air France – Paris to Nairobi portion had us feeling pretty smug.

Jambo (hello in Swahili) Nairobi.

The plane landed at 9:30 pm. The tour company graciously greeted us as we stepped off the plane even though we arrived four days early. Like a finely tuned violin they moved us through immigration where we met our driver for 30 minute uncongested ride to the city center. Had it been a couple hours earlier gridlock traffic would have caused us to arrive several hours later.

Bill picked the Hilton because it was a Hilton. Everything was closed when we arrived but they graciously delivered a bottle of wine to our room.

Sleep eluded me. I finally dozed off at 6:15 am only to be awaken at 9am. The alarm had been set 10 hours earlier. UGH. Had to get that free breakfast which reminds me of my new favorite quote by Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer – “Nothing is ever so expensive as what is offered for free.”

Built in the late 60’s – this Hilton was the first big chain luxury type hotel to grace Nairobi. Unfortunately, that train left the station and it hasn’t been upgraded since. Our curtains were thread bare, I can’t imagine the matching dust ruffle had been changed since inception and the couch cushions were crushed. Fortunately, the duvet was new as were the matching sheets.

Sadly, the skyline matched the curtains – dirty, dingy and dreary.Times are tough. Kenya had experienced a solid year of shut downs. Masks, hand washing/sanitizing and temperature taking were required to enter most buildings.

People were excited to be back to work and everyone couldn’t have been kinder.

We managed to walk around a bit. Warned not walk in the area across the street from our hotel as it was really unsafe. We stuck to the government buildings area near to the hotel.

It might have been the armed military in cammo outside our front door that tempered our enthusiasm.

We’ve noticed in our years of travel that if we stay in a fancier hotel – warnings of danger and the need for a taxi are common place. However, backpacker hotels may have bedbugs but they also have more adventurous information about navigating a city.

Day after day we struggled with acclimating to the time finding ourselves awake at night and snoozing a bit during the day. Thank goodness there was time to veg and readjust.

I’m embarrassed to say we didn’t venture out much and really only have a couple things to note.

With a bird’s eye view of the streets near the government buildings rush hour traffic rendered the city in a complete gridlock. Masses of buses with smoke filled exhausts interspersed with masses of cars moved slower than a snails pace. Construction of the new road, thanks to the Chinese (cough, cough), will help alleviate traffic. Stop lights and signs are decorative and cross walks meaningless.

Flying dinosaurs still exist! Meet the Marabou Stork. Prolific. These birds are huge and perch like finches on the daintiest of trees.

Day three and Bill’s nephew Stephen and his wife Kim, who invited us to join them on safari, arrived. Let the party begin.Next stop – Karen, Kenya.

 

T minus 48 hours – Nairobi here we come.

Some of you know that flying is a white knuckle event for me. Much improved over the years I still feel some strange force like fog on a misty morning in the days building up to departure.

*stock photo- not mine

Yes, 130 countries and I’m afraid of flying. Actually – crashing.

Anxiety be damned. Power through it – have a martini or worse case pop a Xanax.

This time I am so excited to leave that I’ve even been talking about it. We have to – there are sooo many balls being juggled precariously in the air. Flights being cancelled – countries closing – Delta Variant – civil wars and protests…..

For now we’re:

Packed ✅ There is a strict 33 pound weight limit because of small planes. If I carry my 6 pound camera around my neck this is doable. Normally, a mixture of black, gray and splash of color are my go to items. Simple and quite effectively doesn’t show red wine drool.

This time. Beiges, light pinks, khaki green and creamy whites are what’s called for. The tsetse fly is a thing in Africa! I remember growing up hearing my mother say she thought she was bitten by a tsetse fly whenever she felt tired.

A couple of Google searches later and we’ve learned that this fly is attracted to dark colors. Apparently blue is its favorite color and black is its second. They bite – hard – through clothing and can carry a sickness. Sleeping sickness – as well as a bunch of ugly side effects including death when not treated. You didn’t have to convince me.

Covid test ✅ (waiting for our results – no time for delays). Like traveling to Hawaii – Kenya requires a negative Covid test within 96 hours of landing.

Countries for which we have non-refundable flights have recently restricted travel for tourism. No entry. Vaccinated or not. Covid test or not.

Covid, malaria, sleeping sickness and imaginary plane crashes… what’s a girl to do?

This will certainly be an adventure. Last time we left the country – altitude sickness, protests and a government overthrow kept us on our toes. This time we’ll get to experience new countries in the life and times of Covid and once again we’re going to be flexible like silly putty.

Talk about Zigzagging

We left off in Maui, February of this year.  It was six weeks of chill.  Two weeks in Maui and a month in Oahu.  It was just what the doctor ordered.  It had been 11 years since we had been there and it will probably be that long before we go back.
From the time we arrived to the time we left tourists were coming out of the woodwork. Occupancy had gone from 70% to 98%.

It felt good to see people trying to resume some sense of normal. We were so emboldened by this that we became outright anarchists (well, the kind that doesn’t burn things down and loot) and disobeyed the elevator placards that said only one person (family) can ride at a time.  We let strangers in the elevator! Let freedom ring.

It’s been a Zigzagging year so far:  Charleston to Northern Nevada (January) to Hawaii (February) back to Nevada (March) and then back to Charleston (April). Return to Nevada (May) back to Charleston (June) and soon return to Nevada (July).  Phew!  We have one more back to Charleston (August) and then we keep going to Nairobi.

YES, Nairobi.  Can’t wait.  Total time stranded in this country – 21 months. A record for us.

Bill has been feverishly scanning the globe and asking me where else should we go.  My reply “Wherever I can’t get Covid”.  He stopped asking!

The only part that I know for sure is that after a couple days in Nairobi we’ll be 50 miles from nowhere and walking….  for miles and miles….  with men carrying big guns – for 11 days with no electricity, a shared toilet and hopefully our own set of sheets each night.  Yeah, yeah I’m super thankful that there will be dudes with guns but I’m really worried that each night when our camp is broken down, moved and re-setup we won’t get the same sheets that we slept in. Welcome to my world!

Our time is spent visiting family/friends, babysitting granddaughters, walking, getting our yoga on and snapping photos. We even celebrated Bill’s 75th birthday.

Grateful and blessed are two words that describe our state of existence.

I know some of our friends have adventures on the books. What do you have planned?

Snaps from Nevada:

Charleston Snaps: