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Five flights, ten time zones, and 79 hours after waving goodbye to my family at the departure gate back home, I finally arrived in Kenya. I hardly slept during my ten hour stopover in Doha, so I was very satisfied with my decision to fork out the extra bit of money to be picked up at the airport by the Wildebeest Camp staff.
Like a lot of foreign countries, the drive to the camp didn't provide a distinct sense of safety. Drivers are constantly jockying for position on the road, with children darting around between them all trying to sell roasted peanuts to the passengers. The roundabouts are all out free-for-alls with no real system for entering or exiting the ring. My driver informed me that you just have to cut in front of people and assume they will slam on the breaks for you. I believe his exact words were, "To drive in Kenya, you must be brave. If you are not brave, you will sit in one spot all day." It was a bit unnerving at the time, but it's a feeling I've since gotten used to.
We pulled off the main road down a short dirt
path that was not at all accommodating to the suspension of our little Corolla. At the end was a fortress with seven foot high concrete walls and an iron gate protected by a guard. It looked like prison. That was about the time I started to think perhaps the camp was not as advertised on the website. And then they opened the gate.
Once you're within the walls, it feels like a full on resort. The main building that houses the office, dorms, kitchen, eating area, and staff residence is a large brick structure. Out back is a large patio for eating outside and an enormous garden complete with a gazebo with a TV in it to serve as the hostel's lounge. The rest of the yard is occupied by large permanant tents for those traveling on a larger budget and a small area for those who want to pitch their own. It's been getting increasingly more sizable over the duration of the week as more and more people start pooring into the hostel looking for anywhere to stay. The atmosphere is really laid back, and there's always people aruond to talk to if you don't feel like going
Impala
...I think out to do anything.
When I arrived, I threw my bag down on one of the beds in the dorm and sat down. I was immediately hit by the, "What the hell am I doing here?" train of thought, being in a strange and admittedly intimidating city for a first time traveler. I started to wish I had either gone to Europe where everything is easy, or at least brought someone along with me to figure out exactly what I was going to do for the next few days, let alone the next three months. The feeling passed after the first day when I got to know some of the people, and they were all inviting me along to do different things. Traveling stopped feeling like a chore and I'm back to loving the idea of not knowing where I will be a few days from now.
I knew I wanted to get a safari together pretty quick, and I met a couple in their late 40's from Argentina who were in the midst of planning one. They were going to Lake Nakuru for a day, then three and a half days on the Masia Mara, which was
exactly what I wanted to do. They asked me if I wanted to join in so we could negotiate a better price as a larger group, and naturally since they had already done all the heavy lifting in organizing the thing, I was happy to tag along. We went down to the Best Camping Safari office and hammered out a price and got a feel for the accommodation and food along the way, and the next day we were on our way.
They sent out a driver, Joseph, to pick us up from the camp. Once we got back to their office, he was only just then informed that he would be our driver for the next five days. I'm sure that kind of thing goes over real well with the wife. He said it was no big deal to him because he always has a bag packed in the safari van just in case.
The landscape changes pretty quick as you drive through Kenya. It goes from city, to rainforest, to plains in less than an hour. We had a few pit stops along the way that were conviniently located at souvenier shops. They all had the
same stuff, and they all wanted to charge you an obscene amount of money for it. It's not too hard to bargain down to a fair price, but I still have yet to buy anything. The stuff is all handmade out of wood or stone and is generally either animals or Masai art. The highlight of the drive was the stop at the top of the Great Rift Valley.
Lake Nakuru is famous for it's flamingos. At certain times of the year, the entire lake turns pink. When we were there, there was comparatively few flamingos around, but it was still in the thousands. The park doesn't naturally draw most of the wildlife that it houses because it's closed off. Most of the big game animals that are there had been brought from the Masai Mara and other parks. It's convenient though because it's easy to spot rhinos, which is highly unlikely on the Mara. They don't have many of the other big animals that you would expect, except for leopards, which we couldn't find as they are notoriously shy.
We stayed the night at a hotel, and left early the next morning to make the 8ish hour
Lake Nakuru
From the viewpoint at the top of the hill. drive to the Mara. The drive included more stops at gift shops, and we picked up a couple of Swedes on the way there that would be joining us for the rest of the trip. The road was pretty good all the way until Narok, the largest Masai town in Kenya. From there though, the road is at times pothole filled ashfault, at others a bumpy gravel road, and the rest of it is just jagged rocks packed in by red sand. Just when you think your ass can't take any more of the punishment the road is giving out, you find out that the Mara is a short 80km from where you are. Perfect.
Our time on the Mara was everything you could hope for. We saw every African mammal you can think of, including the elusive leopard, and a couple lions getting it on. The highlight of the three days there for me though was getting to see a pride of lions hunting a herd of wildebeest. Seeing first hand how intelligently the lionesses flank and force the wildebeest towards the rest of the pride is something I won't soon forget. Unfortunately, they didn't manage to catch
one while we were watching, but the hunt was real exciting. Most of the animals had young ones at the time too, so the cuteness factor was pretty high. It's easy to get good pictures, because most of the animals are used to the cars and aren't afraid to get too close.
Back at the camp, we had a few cooks and two guards from one of the local Masai villages there. They were really interesting to talk to to learn about what their nomadic lifestyle is like. The men tend to herds of cattle and goats and can be alone with the herd for weeks while the women stay home with the children and gather water and firewood. They also didn't know their age, as Masai people don't celebrate birthdays. That didn't keep them from getting up early to make Ralph a cake on the last day for his birthday though.
On the way back home we got to experince a Nairobi traffic jam that lasts from 4 to 9PM daily, and makes getting anywhere take about 6 times as long as it should. But I made it back to Wildebeest Camp eventually. Now I just have
to figure out what to do tomorrow.
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Aunty Jayne
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Hi Eric...wow your trip sounds incredible so far! The pictures are like National Geographic. I can't believe you are actually there seeing these animals in their natural environment - it must feel surreal! I think we'll all be adding Africa to our future travel plans. Love your picture with John. That's so cool the cooks and guards speak English and you can talk with them. Glad everything is as exciting as you hoped it would be. Thanks for the great narrative...can't wait to hear what you're up to next. Keep safe and remember "Hapana fisi asiye na rafiki" (that's Swahili for "There is no hyena without a friend".) So keep laughing and have an awesome time! Love A Jayne