Africa - Janet's perspective

Mel has given you a lovely overview of Kenya and Tanzania.  I will fill in some details.  (He, of course, will say I've made my blog entry too long.  Well, here goes.)

 

We arrived in Nairobi late at night and stayed in the famous Stanley Hotel.  The walls were adorned with photos of Hemingway who had stayed there.  We did not have much time to enjoy it as early in the morning we left for the Masai Mara.  There, we stayed in tents.  The word "tents" hardly does justice to our accommodations.  Each tent had beds, dressing table, chairs and a full bathroom with shower, sink, toilet, etc.

 

In the morning, when we left our tent, we would often frighten a little gazelle walking around outside the tent.  At night, little velvet monkeys often jumped on the roof of the tents and a Tree Hyrax screeched loudly through the night.

 

In the Masai Mara, we drove around in vehicles with no sides so the viewing was incredible.

 

We saw herds of wildebeasts and zebras, the last of the migration to the Serengetti.  We saw wart hogs, hippos, giraffes, elephants, buffalo, lions... in short, the whole cast of "The Lion King."  One day, we ate a picnic lunch with four giraffes staring at us the whole time. Once, we saw two lions walking down to a stream to drink.  They plopped into the stream and our guide noted that they had just eaten.  I asked how he could tell. He said, "wait until they stand up."  Sure enough, they looked pregnant.

 

One day we saw a cheetah sitting next to a stump.  We watched him and he watched us.   Later, we saw him stalking a Thompsons Gazelle. We drove to near the gazelle who was more frightened of the cheetah than he was of us.  We did not stay to watch the end of the story.

 

On another day, we saw a dead antelope at the bottom of a tree.  Our guide explained that it was killed by a leopard who would drag his kill into the tree so no other animal could get it.  Next time we drove by the location, the antelope was up in the tree, his head neatly wedged between two branches.

 

We saw hyenas who would have gladly shared the leopard's kill.

 

Our meals were generally buffet style with choices of many kinds of salad, meat (although lamb was always served), vegetables and lovely desserts.

 

Many Masai tribes lived in the vicinity.  One young man sat and described their way of life to us.  (Later, we had the chance to visit a village and home.)  And, they performed Masai dances in the evening.

 

After Masai Mara, we returned to Nairobi and picked up the rest of our group.

 

We had one day in which we visited Karen Blixen's home which was exciting.  And, we visited a giraffe rescue center where a giraffe bent over and blew in my face.  I fell in love.

 

Then, we went to Sweetwaters.  It was another tented camp.  On the way, we visited a girl's school that rescued Masai girls from female genital mutilation (Yes, 90% of the tribe we visited practice it.  We were told that men won't marry an uncircumcised girl.) or from very early marriage. It was an experience I will never forget.  The girls took our hands as we alighted from the truck and performed a play that they had written in which a young girl objects to marriage, goes to school instead and grows up to become a doctor.  They held our hands as we went back to our vehicle and one girl clung to us, saying over and over, "I have four sisters still at home."

 

Sweetwaters was an enclosed camp.  We saw chimps in an enclosure and petted a tame rino.  Not my cup of teal.

 

We then went to Amboseli and someone's idea of what American's like.  (Sorry, I have hit something and we now have italics and I don't know what to do about it.  But, since I only have a limited time on the computer, oh well.)  The accommodations in Amboseli were fancy-schmancy, did not fit at all into the environment, and I did not care for them.

 

After Amboselli, we went to Tangarire where we stayed in tents. The tents were lined up in a row stretching away from the reception area. There was a path in front of the tent that dropped off into a valley with a river running through it.

 

The highlight of this portion of the trip was sitting near the river and watching the elephants drinking and squirting themselves.  Then, a huge troop of baboons came down, many with babies clinging to their backs or bellies.  Then, the zebras came down to drink.

 

We also sat and watched elephants peel the bark off baobab trees to suck the bark for certain minerals.  They gouge the tree with their tusks then wrap their trunks around the loose piece and yank it upward until they can grab it and pull it down to the ground.  Then, they use one foot to hold into it while they yank it free from the tree.

 

One day, an elephant baby came up the hill and was walking on the path.  Three of our group were photographing it.  When the elephant moved to between the tents, I asked if they thought it was safe for me to run to our tent and get Mel.  However, as soon as I took a step down the path, the baby elephant turned around and rushed at me.  Luckily, I could run faster than the other three and the elephant just took a step or two.  But, just then, up the hill, came mama elephant.  Whoops. 

 

We then went to Gibbs' Farm on the way to the Ngorengora Crater.  It was a lovely respite in a mountainous farming area that looked much like California or Italy.  A good thing too since 4 our of group were quite ill, Mel included.  Our guide took us to a Tanzanaian Hospital. Quite the experience.  The doctor diagnosed them with Chigilic Dysentary and gave them medication.  Many of us have diahrea, despite being super careful with water, fruits and vegetables, but those 4 were really in bad shape.

 

Today, we arrived at the crater.  We are staying in a gorgeous lodge that has a "piled stone" exterior and fits into the environment.  Each room looks out on the floor of the crater which is home to thousands of animals.

 

The food everywhere has been fabulous.  It was more than fabulous at Gibb's Farm.  And, there is always a great variety of things to choose from.

 

The word that comes to mind, most frequently, in describing Kenya and Tanzania is "vast."  This is a land of the most extensive landscapes I've ever seen.  The climates and zones change dramatically within a few miles of each other, depending on the winds or areas of rainfall.  We have been through dry, red lands, much like the interior of Australia and lush, tropical forests (as it is here, on the rim of the crater).

 

There are not many places to post so please forgive the length of this entry.

Miss you all.

Love, Janet