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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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A
safari to remember We had struggled along the lane, with wheels spinning on the ice and heavy snow threatening to cut off our return, in order to reach the farmhouse deep in the Herefordshire countryside. A Christmas party, whatever the weather, was not to be missed and it was here that we met John. Thawing out with a glass of something spiced and steaming the conversation turned to warmer weather and exotic places. Had we been to Africa, John asked. ’Just ring Winnie.’ And so our adventure began. Winnie was
John’s contact in Nairobi when his work took him to Africa. She worked
in a small upstairs office, which was the travel agent equivalent of The
Ladies’ Detective Agency, called Safe Ride Safaris. We had transferred
50% of the cost of the trip to Winnie’s bank in US dollars and the
rest we were to pay in cash of GB sterling at her office which made us
slightly nervous as we had heard that Nairobi is sometimes known as Nairobbery. Financial
transactions completed, we had time for sightseeing and enjoyed wandering
the streets of Nairobi which is a bright, clean, cosmopolitan city full
of well dressed business people and traffic jams before spending the night
at the Fairview Hotel which we found and booked on the internet. Richard
was to be our driver and, at 6.30 the following morning, he picked us
up in a special safari jeep. This had a roof that could be raised allowing
360 degree viewing when standing and shade from the sun. We reached our first destination, Keekorok Lodge, in time for lunch. After a short rest and time to unpack we set off on our first game drive when the heat of the day had subsided. More than the animals, I wanted to see the waving grasses and experience the quiet and solitude of the vast, dusty plain, but we soon came across herds of gazelle, impalas and buffalo, peacefully grazing and only a little nervous of our vehicle. The lodge was arranged in a rough semi-circle of buildings. After dinner we were escorted back to our room by an armed ranger who was to protect us from the hippos which came up from the nearby waterhole to graze on the hotel lawns. We could see their eyes in the darkness, though I suspect the guard was more for their protection than ours. Hippos, we were told, can graze for up to two miles from their base. The afternoon game drive the next day showed us the diversity of animals in the area. The herds of buffalo were hundreds large or more and we came across mating lions, elephants with young and two cheetah. Old male elephants are solitary, wandering alone until they die. We watched one such wrinkled ancient beast which, despite his age, seemed to want to entertain us. He plucked tufts of grass and placed them carefully on top of his head, watching for our reaction. After a while he tired of our company and wandered off. I was strangely moved by this encounter and cried. Next morning we had a long drive to the Mara River. Within two hours we had seen ostrich, warthogs, ground hornbills, bustards and hartebeest. Then, to our astonishment, we saw a leopard in a tree with its kill. Our driver told us he had not seen a leopard in that area for five months. The Mara
River was a stop point for a picnic lunch. As we unwrapped the clingfilm
from the sandwiches, a monkey leapt from a tree and snatched them from
our hands - obviously expert at robbing tourists in this way. We could only imagine the life and death struggle that annually took place at this peaceful spot and talked to Alphonse about his life. On his days off he went home to his parents, played darts with the boys on nights out and thought the greatest thing was parental love. Saying farewell to Alphonse we headed back to the lodge. Vultures flew low over our truck probably sensing our tiredness and thinking we might be easy pickings. Leaving Keekorok
the following day we drove to the Sarova Lion Hill Hotel in Lake Nakuru
National Park located in the hills above Lake Nakuru. Driving round the
lake after lunch, which took about three hours, we watched flocks of flamingo
grazing at the shallow water’s edge. At one time they had numbered
millions, but lately their numbers have diminished. The Nakuru Wildlife
Trust has been studying the ecology of Rift Valley Lakes since 1971 in
an attempt to find out why this has happened. Conversion of forest to
farmland, the growth of Nakuru and associated industrialisation, soil
erosion leading to silting, sand-harvesting and the introduction of Tilapia
fish to control mosquitoes have all been suggested as causes. Meanwhile,
white rhino lazed on the mud. Next on Winnie’s
itinerary was Treetops. Passing through Nakuru, the fourth largest town
and the Province capital we were amused by posters which encouraged all
to ‘Rise and Shine’ and ‘Hard work for Excellence’.
After stopping for lunch at the Outspan Hotel a bus took the party of
travellers to Treetops in the Aberdare National Park. The original wooden
building had burned down but had been replaced. Rooms are small, washrooms
with showers communal. We had a picture of the Queen Mother over our bed.
We were sad
to leave such a convivial group as we went our separate ways. For us,
next stop was Ol Tukia Lodge in Amboseli National Park via Nairobi. The
journey took eleven hours which included a stop to get money from an ATM
in Nairobi. After the card was swallowed by the machine, my husband had
a confrontation with the bank staff and our driver was arrested, taken
to the police station and fined by the police for illegally parking while
he waited for us. We eventually left the city to head for Amboseli. The
roads were so bad and potholed that we often had to leave the main road
and drive alongside in the bush. The journey was hot, dusty and uncomfortable
but the small towns with colourful markets that we passed through were
fascinating and on the plains the Maasai, dressed in traditional dress
and carrying long spears, tended their cattle. On our arrival, after a
heavy rainstorm, the clouds over Mount Kilimanjaro cleared, giving a magnificent
view of the snowy peak from the verandah of our lodge in the hotel grounds. Leaving the
next day, we were supposed to drive in convoy with a guard because of
the fear of attack by robbers, but there was only us, which was a bit
worrying. I did not think we would have been able to put up much of a
fight with only one gun between us. In the event it was not robbers who
surrounded our vehicle, but crowds of Maasai women selling traditional
jewellery as we left the park en route for Tsavo West National Park. Tsavo
is Kenya’s largest national park and home to a huge variety of animals
and birds especially around watering holes in this otherwise dry area.
These watering holes are also a stopover for birds on their annual migration
south. Contact
details: First published in VISA 97 (June 2011) |