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Mu Kenya
Our destination Hiking en masse
Janet had the brilliant idea of actually taking a hike on the weekend. The only “mountain” is Mu Kenya, a rocky ridgeback that juts out suddenly from the flat savannah. The original plan was me and Janet, maybe a couple of other researchers and the requisite askari. Sunday morning rolls around and the whole mass of researchers, one prof, multiple grads, and a scattering of undergrads, assemble at the dining hall. The entourage consisted of a matatu-like van full of people, a land rover, plus five askaris, including the head of security, Julius, crammed into the cab of a pick-up truck. After a twenty minute drive, we tumbled out clown-car style and headed up the mountains. The askaris had the dual job of both making sure we weren’t going to scare up buffalo and make sure that at least one askari was with each pocket of people. Taking care of us was probably akin to herding cats.
We mainly followed the ridge-back, clambering up to whatever boulder look-outs we could spot, posing for pictures and admiring the view and simply enjoying being on foot outdoors. Many of the herbivore researchers spend all day in a vehicle
the crew
Most but not quite all of the hiking crew. The man off to the right in the patterned white and green shirt is Julius, head of security. This was the only day that I have seen him not wearing army fatigues, his typical work attire. and the plant or invertebrate people tend to just congregate around the KLEE plots, never hiking very far from cars. So this really was a treat for all of us.
Round hyraxes skittered to their hiding places as we trooped along. They continued to squeak and chirp at us everywhere we went. We caught sight of a dainty klipspringer bouncing away (they really do bounce!). We spied on the watering hole from the high vantage points and made out elephants, eland, zebra, impala all congregating around the shallow body of water.
The hike ended at the highest rock outcropping and we took family photos. Most of the country really is table-top flat and so you could see miles and miles (kilometers upon kilometers) of reddish-brown savannah, with a few ribbons of mostly dry riverbeds lined with dusky green threading through the landscape. Occasionally, another rocky hill jutted upward to break the horizon.
On our way back, the car I was in took the road less traveled by (mainly to avoid the massive clouds of dust created by the van in front of us). We scattered a herd of giraffes and eland almost right away. Those happen to
Janet and Joseph
I forget what those palm-like plants are called but I've only seen them on Mu Kenya. On Mpala property, klipspringers are also only seen on Mu Kenya. be two of my favorite animals out here. Giraffes because they’re simply awesome and eland because I can’t get over how huge and fat they are, despite the drought. They look like nothing more than a weird cow but they are actually the largest antelope species in the world. We also passed a new species of hornbill (new for me, that is.) And then, and then, we encountered a pack of wild dogs, lolling in the shade! First time I’ve seen wild dogs here. There were about fifteen of them, lying in heaps on top of each other and keeping cool. We stopped the car and though they pricked their ears, they didn’t move. They shifted around and stretched, a mass of black shot through with gold and tan and white, mottled and yet still sleek looking. Two of them sported collars put on them by Rosie Woodruffe, one of the world’s leading wild dog researchers who is based at Mpala (during her field season).
So glad we took the road less traveled by!
Football
Stefan, Janet, Renee and I were invited by various field assistants to watch the showdown between Brazil and the US on Sunday
watering hole
One of the few bright spots of water in the entire landscape night. We brought beer and wine and crowded into Joseph’s (research center manager) tiny front room. There were about fifteen people in total and before the game started, Calistus demanded that everyone declare their loyalties. I had declared that I was going to support whichever team was better looking but Calistus wouldn’t accept that so I threw in my lot with the Americans. The room was divided almost half and half pro Brazil and pro USA. If you didn’t watch the game, let me assure you it was quite something! I can’t believe we managed to score even two points against one of the world’s football powerhouses. Despite the eventual loss, I’m still happy that the US managed to give such a good showing.
Football is a huge sport here (especially Central and Southern Provinces). Every village, no matter how tiny, has a team. The teams rarely travel very far of course, but there is a faithfully observed schedule. The lineup always varies and whoever wants to join in can. I’ve only seen one match here at Mpala, two years ago. Uniforms are out of the question for these villages (most people can barely afford school uniforms, after all)
Requisite conquer-the-world pose
There were others where Renee got me to pose like a model, then like a cat, followed by a model cat. But you'll have to ask me sweetly to see those. and some guys don’t even have shoes to play in. But the ones that do have shoes sport brightly colored knee-high socks. And by bright, I mean neon. It’s a bonus for me to be in a country where the main sport is the one sport I will always willingly watch!
Animal sightings
wild dogs
yellow-billed hornbill
eland
klipspringer
taita fiscal
lilac-breasted roller
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