What can you do in a month? Part 3 (Safari!)

Time flies when you're having fun! And June sure did fly by :)

The last week or so of Peter's visit was super fun with trivia night at the Canadian High Commission (ok, so we're not as smart as we thought!), impromptu dinners with the flatmates, and of course safari! I mean, you cannot come all this way, to KENYA, and not go see the animals, right? So off we went to the Maasai Mara for a few days.

We splurged a bit and flew instead of driving and we stayed in a lovely hotel, the Mara Serena. The hotel had a pool, spa, bar (the works really) but was nestled away on a hill top with a spectacular view - the animals were right outside our window! The rooms were very cute - I felt like I was in the Flintstones. However, I do think staying in a tent (ahem, a luxury tent) is still the way to go.

Up early (this was to be the theme of the next three days) and took a tiny plane from Wilson airport to an even tinier airstrip in the Mara. And thus our adventure began!

The beautiful vista as seen from our itty bitty plane

Ready for our vacation!

 

The lobby with amazing view

Some of the animals we could see from our window - buffalo and giraffes

Day 1 - lunch, rest, afternoon safari, dinner, documentary about cheetahs, bed.

On a side note, I refuse to call going to look at animals a "game drive" as this implies hunting which I in no way condone. A lot of people would say safari also means hunting animals however the word actually means "journey" in Kiswahili.

Cheeky baboon

Croc

Oh look, there's a Hippo too

I will never get tired of acacia trees

Highlight of the day - 3 lionesses and about 8 cubs

Cool birds - egrets maybe?

Elephants in the rain - so many of them!

Lots and lots of buffalo

Day 2 - get up early for morning safari, look for cheetahs (obviously!), have breakfast with HIPPOS, nap, lunch, afternoon/evening safari, dinner, Massai warrior performance, fire pit, bed.

Sunrise

More elephants (and a baby!)

We're going in there?! Our driver, Dedan, was awesome

Black rhinos

Male hippo just walking around

Found the lionesses again...without the cubs

Champers for breakfast? Yes, please!



Well worth the early start

Beside the hippos?! Awesome

I love the lone tree!

Oh! They were a huntin' (munching on zebra carcass)

Day 3 - get up early for morning safari, look for the Lion King (for real, we looked forever for the male), look for more cheetahs (very elusive, apparently crossed over into Tanzania so we could not follow), breakfast, pedicure, chillax by the pool, check out the steam room and spa facilities, hop on a plane home.

Sunrise #2

Tracking big cats...

All the way to Tanzania! (But didn't cross the "border")

Thomson's Gazelles (and baby!)

Impala



Hyena

 

Buffalo! They follow you like cows...creepy



Aaaaand....rest!



Our little gecko friend



Goodbye Maasai Mara! Until next time...



I fortunately had the next three days off work so Peter and I spent every waking (and non waking) moment together and prepared ourselves for a long three months apart. I think the highlight was taking a matatu into town (CBD or central business district) and just walking around like silly tourists. The matatu journey in itself was an adventure I had yet to work up the nerve to do in my months prior - it really cannot be explained for those that have never been here but check out YouTube to see what I'm talking about.

 



A matatu

Being a good tourist, taking pictures of random buildings

Stopped to have a drink - introduced Peter to the shandy!

After walking around the dusty streets of Nairobi trying not to get pick-pocketed (one cannot be too careful!) we treated ourselves to some fancy cocktails at the Sankara hotel in Westlands. Very ironic to rock up to a swanky hotel all sweaty and gross having just gotten off a matatu that cost us 50 KSH each (about $0.75).

Me and my boy :)

Mmmmm drinks and nibbles and the Sankara roof top patio

 And before I knew it Peter was back on a plane to Toronto and I was sitting in the apartment all by myself :(

Of course I'm very sad but also looking forward to what the next 3 months have in store for me!

What can you do in a month? Part 2

Back to work for me while Peter got acclimatized to Nairobi and started to get his bearings around the neighbourhood. Once he found the grocery store he made some excellent dinners!


Delicious chicken cordon bleu

Pablo (my other flatmate) came back from America and it was Guillaume's birthday that Friday so naturally we all went out for dinner and a "few" drinks. I'm glad Peter got to experience a typical night out in Westlands...with all the drama that entails!



When the night starts out with alcohol from little Dutch houses mayhem will definitely follow!



The following week was a long one for me with a couple of early morning meetings but by the time Wednesday night rolled around it was time to go be social. I took Peter to an Internations event at Caramel restaurant in Westlands where we mixed and mingled. I highly recommend this online/offline group if you're new to a city and looking to make friends or business contacts. I actually met a number of people working in the International Development space which was great. Not to mention the food at this restaurant was pretty tasty (although expensive).



Taking a break from mingling


New friends Charles and Fatima

 

Lobster mango tacos & mini chicken shwarma

And then it was time for another weekend away, this time driving! And boy did we drive (or get driven as the case may be). Although Kenya is much smaller than Canada it is actually quite big when you start to trek across it! We left Friday afternoon and it took us 6 1/2 hours to reached the home of my colleague and friend Jonah in Eldoret. No road trip would be complete without a stop en route for "choma" or bbq'd meat at Kikopey. We literally stopped at a butchers and got some very tasty goat leg re-fired and chopped up right in front us. Peter and I exchanged worried glances about the variety of bacteria we were about to ingest but "when in Rome"!

Until the sun set it was a very scenic drive through the Rift Valley and up the other side. We arrived around 9:30pm slightly exhausted but Jonah's family had dinner ready for us so we sat down and had a lovely meal with Dorothy and the kids. It's refreshing to see that 3 year olds around the world are all the same and so easy to entertain, even when you don't speak the same language!

Rift Valley

Map with altitude

Sunset on the way to Eldoret

Saturday was a relatively "late" start at 9am so Peter and I could catch up on some sleep. After breakfast (cereal and samosas for breakfast? Yes please!) Jonah, his daughter Nehema, Peter, and I piled into the car off to Eldoret town, Elgeyo escarpment, and Kerio Valley. The drive down the mountain (and back up again) was so breathtakingly beautiful, the pictures just cannot do it justice. And the trip was made all the better for hearing Jonah's stories about growing up in the region. His wealth of historical knowledge and personal anecdotes made the day go by quite quickly.

Farming on the Elgeyo Escarpment

Jonah and I enjoying the view

Once we arrived at the bottom of the mountain we were excited to find the "Kerio Divers" - a group of young boys who specialize in diving into the crocodile-infested Kerio river at the bottom of Chebloch Gorge (although they say the crocodiles are much further down stream in the shallow water). For only a few shillings (usually going to pay their school fees) the boys entertained us by jumping off the rocks and the old bridge, of which only steel beams remain, in all sorts of daring ways. Possibly equally exciting, to me, was the sale of fresh mangoes that we were able to cut and eat right there. Mango time is all the time! (I don't think there is any doubt of my Kenyan/Mauritian heritage!).

Much higher than it looks in this picture

Getting ready to jump from the "old bridge"

Mango time!

We stopped for a late lunch at Kerio View Hotel and Restaurant, owned by a former head teacher of one of the schools where Jonah worked. A bit off the beaten path but well worth it. While the food was being prepared we walked around the well manicured grounds, ate wild berries that Jonah swears have medicinal properties, and took pictures of the beautiful view from "danger point". By that time Nehema and I had become good friends - a welcome antidote to my Seraphina withdrawal symptoms.

Nehema - see no evil

Peter and I at Kerio View Hotel

Kerio View Hotel Restaurant

Crocodile sculpture

View from danger point

Leaving the marathon training camp area

Sunday was an early start for a jam packed day! Left Eldoret at 7:45am after breakfast and drove straight through to Nakuru stopping only at the equator to take a few pictures (as good tourists do!). Unfortunately, at $30 USD each for Peter and I to enter the Lake Nakuru National Park we didn't think it worth it for just a few minutes. I'm still determined to make it back and see the flamingos! Fun fact of the day, I just learned that they migrate ....like our Canadian geese!

The line actually crosses diagonally...we're probably standing in two different hemispheres!



One of the reasons I chose Kenya is because of the connection I feel with my ancestors. Since I've started exploring my heritage my Mom has been filling me in on growing up in Kenya and places where my Grandfather, Uncles, and Aunts used to live and work. One of those places is a town called Gilgil where my Grandfather was postmaster in the 1950's! It's interesting to picture Kenya back in the day when people posted letters, worked at telephone exchanges, and walked miles just to get to a town that had a train station so they could travel to Nairobi or Mombasa. I actually got goosebumps when I learned that we would be passing by Gilgil and I could go see the place my Mom's family lived for a time. It was a very special moment for me and one of the highlights of the trip. It is only too bad the post office is closed on Sundays.

Me outside the post office in Gilgil

Gilgil

From Gilgil we made a beeline to Naivasha and had lunch at the brand new Buffalo mall. A little surreal to see this "American style" shopping mall in Kenya! Then it was Peter's turn to drive...yikes! Lol. But he did an excellent job navigating the transport trucks, potholes, and speed bumps and soon we arrived at Hell's Gate National Park for a little hot spring action and game drive.

There is nothing like floating on your back in a natural hot spring watching a storm roll in! Between the clouds and the steam you really feel like you're in another world. And I was assured that even though there was thunder there would be no lightening (is this possible??). It was really relaxing and the only downside was all my silver jewelry being tarnished - damn sulphur!

Peter and I enjoying the hot spring

Here comes the rain again...

Once finished at the hot springs we drove the rest of the park looking for animals. Although the rain had cleared up we were afraid they would all be seeking shelter under the trees. But low and behold we started seeing zebra and gazelles and suddenly came across a giraffe in the middle of the road! I admit, it was a little frightening to see one so close up in the wild. Even though I love them and think they're one of the most majestic animals, their legs are really strong and it wouldn't take much of a kick to cause some real damage. Fortunately, it didn't seem too bothered with us and once the car started moving it ran away which made for a great video! We continued on and saw more zebras, "brown things", warthogs, guineafowls, and some buffalo off in the distance. No baboons today. We're going on safari soon so this was a lovely warm up for us!

Giraffe in the road

Zebra

Guineafowl

Wildlife at Hell's Gate National Park

And finally around 5:30pm we decided to call it a day and make the short drive back to Nairobi. All I can say is "Wow, what a weekend!". I feel so blessed to be in Kenya and experiencing so many amazing adventures with wonderful people.