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Published: March 31st 2015
The day before we arrived in Mombasa we heard the news of the Bardo Museum massacre in Tunisia. It was very unsettling for many of the passengers especially since Kenya doesn't have the best track record in that regard. A number of cruisers decided not to go ashore at all for the two days we were in Mombasa.
We were given a lively welcome as the Silver Whisper docked complete with music, dancers, television cameras and newspaper reporters. The welcoming group presented each of us with roses and maps and nice gift bags and big smiles. Our friend Polly was interviewed by one of the reporters. The Kenyans were so happy to see us because we were the first ship to call in two years. Even Regent cancelled their scheduled ships’ stops earlier this year because of security risks.
We took the Silver Whisper shuttle to town on the first day. Unfortunately the normal route was blocked by construction and on the detour we got caught in a monumental traffic jam. I think every truck in Kenya was on that road and the drivers were all jockeying for position to try to get through. After about an
hour of not moving we took a vote on the bus and decided to go back to the port. Along the way we saw some of the worst poverty and living conditions imaginable. Since tourism is the lifeblood of Kenya, the country has really been suffering in the last few years from the dwindling numbers of travelers.
But we couldn't come to Kenya and not see any animals. So we took an all-day safari game drive to Shimba Hills National Park. We set off in a mini-van with Joe and Polly and Saba, our guide. While waiting in the ferry line that goes to the mainland we bought the Kenya Standard Newspaper and there on the front page was a picture of the Silver Whisper and inside was the dockside interview with Polly.
We did a game drive in the morning. There was a stunning array of wildlife and rare and unique flora. In the tropical rain forest we saw giraffe, velvet monkeys, wart hogs, impala, baboons, wild buffalo, antelope, lizards, white eagles and hartebeests. We saw elephant tracks and dung but no elephants. Poachers are a terrible blight in Africa and there are predictions that elephants
could be extinct within the next 50 years.
Right before lunch in the middle of nowhere our vehicle's transmission and brakes broke down and created enough smoke that we all exited the van post-haste. We eventually got towed out of the park to the Shimba Game Lodge by another van. Saba was great at working the emergency brake to avoid hitting our tow car.
Lunch was superb at the tree-top lodge overlooking a large watering hole. We met the new owner Gabriella and she told us a lovely story about a pair of mating eagles. The male eagle was injured by poachers and Gabriella rescued him and he is now recovering at a vet hospital. But every day the female comes to the watering hole and circles around looking for her mate. The vet thinks the eagles will be reunited soon. In the meantime, the white eagle gave put on a great show during our lunch.
The tour company sent a replacement van to the lodge so we were able to take the afternoon game drive. When we got back to the Mombasa ferry the line of cars and trucks waiting to cross stretched for
BIG NEWS
Silver Whisper makes the Mombasa papers front pageseveral miles. If it hadn't been for the ingenuity of Saba we would probably still be sitting in that line. He drove on some back streets and wove in an out of the line until we reach the ferry. An irate policeman saw this queue jumping maneuver and came over to grill Saba. Saba told him that we were off the big ship and it was departing soon so we had to get back before it left us. The cop summoned his boss and we all held our collective breaths as Saba reasoned with him until he finally waved us on to the ferry. Whew! Saba succeeded, even without paying a bribe!
It was an exciting couple of days in Mombasa…almost too exciting! Perhaps Zanzibar will be a tad calmer.
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Jim
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Demise of African Elephants
-A National Geographic survey of 600 middle- and upper-income Chinese people in 2013 found that 84 percent planned to buy ivory goods and 87 percent associated it with a feeling of “prestige.” Eliminate this attitude of Chinese and wealthy mideasterners and the poaching goes away!