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Published: February 13th 2008
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Views of Kenya
Looking out my window at Africa as it passes underneath my flight to Nanyuki. Because of the discontinuity between night and day during the 48 hours it took me to get from my house in the US to a bed in Kenya, it's not too surprising that my mind perceived the journey as one day - one really, really long day with a 4-hour nap. Upon waking up at 05h45 this morning, however, I was pleasantly surprised that my body had apparently thought of the ordeal as one long day, as well. I didn't feel nearly as exhausted as I probably should have, especially considering all the hiking around central London and running around downtown Nairobi. Instead, after rolling out of bed this morning, I was ready and raring to enjoy the last couple legs of my long trip to Mpala: first a short flight to Nanyuki, then an hour-long taxi ride to the research center.
It was a fairly quiet morning at Wilson Airport, the site of our embarkation from Nairobi. Again, more readily-observable adverse effects on the tourism industry as a result of the post-election turmoil: Wilson Airport is the main departure point for almost all small-aircraft flights around the country, primarily those to game reserves such as Samburu or to touristy
Kibera Slum
Kibera Slum, where much of the initial post-election violence took place, sprawling across Nairobi. towns like Mombasa, and should have been bustling. Alas, only a few others joined Dustin and I in the waiting area.
Because the planes leaving this airport are small, there is a very restrictive weight limit for checked baggage - only 15 kgs. This is certainly doable for the budget traveler, but not for the likes of me, a researcher moving to central Kenya for 6 months! I was able to convince the baggage handler to turn a blind eye to 7 of my extra 32 kilos, so I only had to pay for an excess baggage of 25 kgs - this amounted to, at approximately $3 a kilo, $75. Worth it, in my opinion, for the boxes of Clif and Nature Valley bars, 3-liter bag of M&Ms, books, and other odds and ends with which I would otherwise never travel, if I weren't going to be in the bush for nearly half a year.
We left Nairobi at about 09h30 on a Twin Otter with only 7 other passengers on board, some of whom were going on to Samburu. The 40-minute flight was extremely pleasant with sweeping views of Nairobi, the African countryside, and Mt. Kenya. As
First Class
A view up the fuselage from the back of the plane. we left Nairobi, a congested tumble of cheek-to-jowl tin shacks passed below us - Kibera Slum, looking like an enormous log jam spilling across the city. Once the view of Nairobi's skyline disappeared, we began see sub-rural Kenya - plots of farmland for grazing and various crops. This eventually gave way to the truly rural Kenya of larger ranches and the African bush. Once Mt. Kenya came into view, I knew we were nearing Nanyuki, located near the base of Africa's second tallest peak.
Our time spent in Nanyuki was kept to a minimum - we wanted to get to Mpala as soon as possible. Save for a couple quick stops to find some pawpaw (papaya) for trapping birds, we were soon on our way along the potholed roads to Mpala. Shortly outside of town I saw my first 4-legged wild critters of the trip: a herd of Burchell's Zebra grazing in a fairly desolate plain of scattered shrubs and short grasses. After turning off the main road and onto a dirt track, dik-diks quickly joined the zebra on my currently very short list of mammals. Driving past the various ranches on our way to Mpala, dozens of pairs
Old Man Walking
An older gentleman walking through the Nanyuki market or trios of these rabbit-sized antelopes fed in the shade of acacia trees. I need to make note now that, at some point, I plan on devoting an entire entry to the ridiculousness of these creatures.
We arrived at Mpala just in time for lunch - salad, flatbread, and some sort of bean/split-pea mush to put on the flatbread. Quite tasty, actually.
At 14h00, we left for the field so that Dustin could introduce me to 4 of the 9 territories where he has kept track of different groups of Superb Starling for several years. We spent the afternoon walking these sites, Dustin pointing out the boundaries as I tried to figure out how the hell I was going to train enough brain cells to remember individual acacia trees delineating said boundaries. Very overwhelming - so far, it all just looks like a bunch of thorny trees and shrubs to me. Regardless, it was excellent to spend time in the bush, and my short mammal list has quickly grown to include eland, giraffe, impala, Grevy's Zebra, Olive Baboons, Vervet Monkeys, and Grant's Gazelle. No predators . . . yet!
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