Sweetwaters, Dec 20th and Return to Joeberg, Dec 21st

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Sweetwaters is a conservatory near Mt Kenya, at 1,800 mts. In the 80s, it used to be owned by Adnan Khasogi (for the uninitiated, he was the biggest arms dealer in the 80s), was later sold off to the current owners.

The place is stunning, especially given that its a tented camp environment, my tent was right at the edge of the wild area, so was easy to see animals from there. It was effectively sleeping under the sky in a jungle environment, its a place which can get the most cluttered head some clear thinking. I needed a place like this

Did one game drive, saw elephants real up close. Elephant babies are so dependent on their mothers, very similar to human behavior.

Also went to a chimpanzee conservation area, out of the 4 great apes, chimps are the closest to human beings. They have a highly developed intelligence and also a sense of home. A chimp family/group can be as large as 120 chimps, they all get back to their "home" every evening. They also can see all the colors humans can see (most animals see maximum 2 colors). Heard about one chimp who is so intelligent that she has figured out how to use wooden sticks to separate electrified fences and cross over.

Sadly, chimps (like Gorrillas) are facing extinction, they can only survive in tropical areas near equator (only found in Africa) and their habitat is under serious threat.

Also saw black rhinos, they are also a species under the threat of extinction. In Kenya alone, in 1970, the number of rhinos was 20,000, it came down to 400 in 1990 and after nearly 20 years of conservation effort, the number has gone up to 650 only. Saw a pet black rhino, named Baraka, who is completely blind (rhinos have poor eyesight to start with). He was brought in to protect him from poachers, but poor guy tried to get out of the confined area and in the process, lost part of his horn. But he is healthy now, the horn is growing back.

Saw the reticulated giraffe (different than the Masai Giraffe)

The evening was spent under the stars and with music, helped a lot answering a few questions on my mind. Probably its the gift of being surrounded by nature that allows the mind to see things clearly.

In the morning, took a few shots of the sunrise and then drove back to Nairobi.

At the end of nearly 1,500 km of road trip over 8 days, as I waited at Nairobi airport for my flight back to Joeberg, the biggest thought was that this wildlife may not survive for long. I wish I could say, as the most famous Swahili phrase goes,"Hakuna Matata". I cant say that for this wildlife, but Kenya has helped me understand myself better.

Once I reach Joeberg, its a day's rest and then we drive to Wild Coast on 23rd for 5 days. I may not get a chance to update the blog before I reach India on 30th.

In case I dont, wish you all a merry christmas and a very happy new year.

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