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Published: November 29th 2007
Family photo
We were just 15 feet away from this amazing scene Gives new meaning to the phrase...one picture's worth 1000 words.Out of Africa (what else would we call it?)
Nov 22 to Nov 25
‘Jambo’ (Hello in Swahili) from Darkest Africa. No internet service for the last 3 days, hence the silence.
We leave Dubai on a pleasant flight with the our crew dressed in mid-east headwear. (By the way, did we say how much we love our plane?)
We enjoyed an exciting in-flight event. At exactly 4:38 p.m., our pilot announced our crossing of the Equator, just prior to our landing in Nairobi. We celebrate with another champagne countdown, accompanied by a humorous and deliberate little “bump” in mid-air.
That was the last good time for a while, faithful reader. We headed to the small terminal in Nairobi airport to transfer to the light aircraft for our short flight to the Samburu Game Reserve. Most of the group left in the first small plane, but 25 of us just waited and waited and waited in a stuffy, fetid (no air conditioning in Kenya) waiting room while the Kenyan pilot decided how he would manoever the small plane to pick us up. At one point, we could actually see the plane across the runway.
It was
now 4:00 pm, and we had left our hotel in Dubai at 7:30 a.m. We guess the pilot did not feel like flying because at 7 pm, we were told it was too late and we would have to spend the night in Nairobi. Our leader Brenda, along with tour directors Carl and Ben, were fabulous in trying to make sure everyone was comfortable, but they had their work cut out for them. Things went from bad to worse. Of course we plan to turn the experience into a K.M. (if you’ve followed our blog, you know what a Kimono Moment is).
Briefly, here’s the scene of our unscheduled stop --highlights and low lights: The vans leave for downtown Nairobi and the hotel. After driving for 5 minutes along the highway our van sputters to an abrupt halt as the driver announces “no gas”. He takes out all the hand luggage from the back, grabs a gas container (this must happen fairly often , since we were informed that they usually have just enough gas to make it to the next gas station) and sprints across the 6 lane highway. We wait, and in Africa, this ability to “just
wait” will prove useful.
Think “Little Miss Sunshine” and the next image will be familiar. After the gas tank is filled, the driver floors the pedal and floods the engine. Again it sputters dead. One guy starts pushing and the other guy tries the choke, all to no avail. Then they switch roles---apparently the bus “pusher” is better as the “choker” and vice versa. Meanwhile we’re still stuck on a Nairobi highway at 8:00 pm in a city with a very high crime rate as a bonus. Eventually another van in our caravan rescues us, and thanks to the calm quick thinking of our leader Brenda, (who fortunately happened to be in our van), we move to the other van. Now 14 people plus 14 pieces of luggage are squeezed into a 7 seater mini bus. (Are you laughing yet?…see photos). Finally, we arrive at the decently British era Stanley Hotel. It looks fine --- lots of security and we are fed good food until our rooms are readied.
So we wait again until 9:45 pm and there is a little snag----the hotel is short about 7 rooms. Very tired, and in a downpour of rain, Lindsay and M.E.
Waiting for our flight --6 am
We're still smiling after our unscheduled Nairobi
Night(mare) at the Holiday Inn. (with 5 other lucky fellow travellers) must now travel another 25 minutes to the only rooms left in the city----- at the Holiday Inn. So we trek even further into this Heart of Darkness. Enough said---it was awful, but we two African Queens survived the ordeal (slept in our clothes) and did not have to avail ourselves of the can of "Roach and Other Insect Spray" that the Holiday Inn kindly provides in their amenity basket.
Another real plus was the very early 5:00 am wake up call in order to catch the light aircraft that will (hopefully) take us to our destination at the Samburo Game Reserve. Most game lodges tend to be in the Masai Mara area of Kenya. However, ours was in an area 340 km. northwest of Nairobi. Each of the Kenyan areas are named for the Kenyan tribe inhabiting the location, this one being the Samburo people. (but we digress)
So back to the adventure. It becomes Fri. Nov 22. It is fortunate that the trip is 28 days, since yesterday was one lost day. We have by now chalked up the experience to the sometimes unpredictable perils, adventures and consequences of travel. Our landing
Our first elephant sighting
Off the light aircraft and 10 minutes into the game ride---- oh what a beautiful feeling, almost"as high as an elephant's eye " in Samburo was on a brown patch of grass.( no actual runway). The “duty free” shop was a clever homemade stand of local trinkets offered by hawkers.
But the real fun was about to begin on our first Game Drive. We travel in open roofed vans, called combos, that are engineered for passenger to stand up, providing the perfect perch to see and photograph an amazing array of wildlife. Lindsay was immediately enchanted and beyond excited while MaryEllen was thrilled to see the animals but delighted to be inside the van, not too close to the roaming wildlife.
We quickly spot herds of gentle elephants, elegant giraffe, graceful gazelles and impala, nimble gerenuks, sturdy oryx and water bucks, romping baboons, large buffalo, hundreds of bird species and much more, all in their natural habitat. The animals are graceful and free as they roam their own land in the vast acreage of the protected Game Reserve.
We finally arrive at our lodge to a “karibu” (welcome in Swahili), with the usual fanfare of native drummers. The main Lodge has an Arowhon Pines feel to it—all open air, no walls, al fresco dining. Instead of moose sightings on Canoe Lake,
Cleaning up
This big guy didn't mind showering as we watched..quite the exhibitionist we overlook the crocodile viewing area. Lots of nature here! And fresh, fragrant air.
Playful monkeys and baboons are everywhere. They especially like to clamber up to your room and peek into the windows. Quite startling the first time! Iguanas (big ones) also live between the crocodiles and our rooms.
Dear readers (and particularly Michael and M.E.’s sisters), you can only imagine how differently the two of us handled/enjoyed all of this nature!
Each day is framed by early morning and late afternoon game drives. There is a somewhat competitive edge to this “hunting” as groups return with their photographic conquests, digital cameras in hand.
As they say here, “Acuna Matata” (remember the song from the Lion King?)—“no worries,”…. tomorrow will bring you what you want.
We now say “Kwaheri (good bye) to the Samburu area of Kenya, a beautiful country, varied in its’ landscape, with magnificent animals, a perfect climate, fresh clean air, and sincere, obliging people.
We’re now Out of Africa, headed to our next adventure to see the ancient civilizations of Luxor, Egypt.
Miss you all.
Love xxxooo
Lindsay and MaryEllen
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lani
non-member comment
thx for all the memories
hey guys... have thoroughly enjoyed the last few blogs. it's fun to hear about new places, and nostalgic to re-live through your eyes those locations we have visited in our past. your african experience was really what travelling is all about. appreciating when you DO arrive on time and all goes accord'g to schedule. but you two were real troopers. enjoy it all. thinking of you all the time. xxoolani