So it begins

Fossils and food

Published Date : December 26, 2004

Today is the end of another leg of our journey from Istanbul to Cape Town.  We’ll be saying goodbye to two people and saying hello to four new people tomorrow. 

We had a lazy start to the day, packing up our tents and enjoying another truck breakfast.  As much as I like peanut butter, I have a feeling I’m going to be sick of it by the end of this trip.  I tried to call home before leaving Nakuru, but I couldn’t get through.  International phone calls in Africa are like playing the lottery – whether or not you can establish a connection all comes down to luck!

Making our way back to Nairobi, we stopped briefly at a viewpoint overlooking the East African Rift.  The huge valley stretches from Djibouti in the north all the way to Mozambique in the south.  Two continental plates are slowly pulling apart, leaving the massive valley and volcanoes like Mount Kilimanjaro behind.  The Rift Valley has also been a treasure trove of fossils, yielding some important anthropological discoveries.   It was in this valley that “Lucy” – a 3 million year old australopithecine skeleton – was discovered. 

We only had a couple of minutes to stretch our legs and snap some photos.  After spending two years studying geology and anthropology at university, it was incredible to finally see the valley with my own eyes, even if it was only briefly.

After settling in at camp, our destination for the night was the Simba Saloon and Carnivore Restaurant.  An enormously popular restaurant just a few minutes away from our campground, we enjoyed a fabulous meal over drinks with live entertainment.  The serving staff kept us supplied with a never ending smorgasbord of meat.  Some of the novelties that I tried included ostrich, camel, kudu and crocodile.  Surprisingly, the crocodile was my favourite – it was a really nice (if slightly fishy) light meat.

At the end of the night, Marika decided that she wanted to walk back to the campground.  While it was only a couple of kilometres away, Dave and Anton absolutely refused to allow it, saying it was far too dangerous an area.  At one point, Dave actually had to chase after Marika and he was visibly afraid to follow her.  Never a good sign!!  Eventually, Dave managed to convince Marika to return to the truck and travel back with the rest of us.  An interesting end to the night.

Choices

Published Date : December 27, 2004

I finally managed to call home today.  With an 11-hour time difference between Nairobi and Vancouver, I caught my family just as they were finishing their Boxing Day dinner.  Perfect timing!  At US$5 per minute, I tried to keep the conversation short, but ended up being passed around to everyone to say hello.  They were all relieved to hear from me and I think I finally managed to convey to them how difficult (and expensive!) it is to stay in touch from this part of the world.  Hopefully, they’ll be a bit more understanding from here on out.

After talking to everyone, including Greg, I’m feeling much more settled about this trip.  I may never have another opportunity like this, and it would be a shame to cut it short if I don’t have to.  Time to break out the credit cards!

Heading into Nairobi, we had some time to wander while Anton picked up our newest tripmates.  With the addition of Erik and Olav from Norway, and Janine and Sarah from the USA, we’re back up to 21 people on board.

Leaving Kenya for the last time, we continued our journey south.  US$50 later and a short wait at the border and we found ourselves in Tanzania.  I watched Mount Kilimanjaro with longing as it peeked out from behind the clouds in the distance. 

It had been a couple of years since I had done any rock climbing or mountaineering of any kind, and I was itching to climb it.  As the highest mountain in Africa, Kili is one of the “Seven Summits” and a goal for almost anyone involved in mountain climbing.  The Seven Summits are the highest peaks on each of the seven continents.  Kilimanjaro isn’t a technical climb like some of the others; it’s basically a high altitude hike that any reasonably fit individual could summit.  As the highest peak in Africa, it is an immensely popular destination.  Being so close is enormously frustrating to me. 

Driving through Arusha on our way to the campground, passing all of the touts and expedition guides for Kilimanjaro, I seriously contemplated leaving the group for a week to climb it.  Unfortunately, that would have meant missing out on the Serengeti and that wasn’t a compromise I was willing to make.  Next time, Kili.  Next time…

Besides the mountain, the other thing that really caught my attention on our drive was the fabulous Maasai colours.  The Maasai are a semi-nomadic people who live in Kenya and northern Tanzania.  The vivid reds, blues, and purples of their dress stand in stark contrast to the dusty greens of the plains.  I’m looking forward to visiting a Maasai village in the next couple of days.

Our accommodation in Arusha is the Meserani Snake Park Campsite.  I would actually like to take some time and check out the snakes here, but we won’t have a chance this visit.  After a gorgeous spit roast dinner prepared in the bar, it was an early night for everyone.  Tomorrow, we explore the Serengeti!!!

Animals everywhere

Published Date : December 28, 2004

For US$255 we get to spend the next three days in the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater.  We were split up into small groups and assigned to a driver/guide.  Our transport is a convertible Landcruiser.  The hard top has hatches that can be folded back, allowing us to stand on the seats and look around.  Nice!

It took most of the morning to make the drive to the Serengeti.  We passed by the Ngorongoro Crater along the way, but we won’t be exploring there until the drive back.  For today and tomorrow it’s all about the Serengeti.

Coming out of the mountains into the wide open plains of the Serengeti was absolutely an, “I can’t believe I’m actually here” moment.  Immediately on entering the plains we were surrounded by thousands of wildebeest, zebra and antelopes.  Livingstone explained to us that zebra and wildebeest often congregate together.  Wildebeests have excellent smell and average sight, while zebras have excellent sight and average smell. By staying together, they have a better chance of detecting predators and increasing their odds of survival.

Opening up the roof of the Landcruiser, we stood up to enjoy the views.  For as far as the eye could see, the flat plains stretched out on either side of us, dotted with thousands of animals.  In the heat of the afternoon, the herbivores grazed, while the predators sunned themselves.  We sighted a pride of lions off in the distance, some hyenas picking at a carcass, a cheetah panting in the sun, a jackal trotting across the road.  Coming to a small water hole, we watched a hippo soaking while a troop of baboons huddled in the shade of the nearby trees.  The abundance of wildlife was almost overwhelming.  Everywhere we looked there something new to see.

Leaving the plains behind, the road continued on through a dry riverbed.  Almost immediately we were waylaid with a flat tire.  While Livingstone set about swapping it out, we took the opportunity to get out and stretch our legs with instructions not to stray too far from the truck.  Most of the predators would be enjoying an afternoon siesta, but we couldn’t be too careful.  In the wet season, where we were stopped would be a crocodile infested river.  Today, however, it was a muddy gravel path.

Tire replaced, we continued on our way, stopping at a rocky outcrop.  The short climb was well worth the views from the top, with the seemingly endless expanse of the Serengeti plains stretching out before us.  We didn’t stay long though.  The beautiful sunny day was quickly turning cold as a rainstorm swept across the plains towards us.

As the clouds rolled in, the day grew rapidly darker.  Delayed by our earlier flat tire and our side trip at the outcrop, we were a half hour or more behind the rest of the trucks.  Bringing up the rear in the growing dusk, we were rewarded in spades.  Not far from camp, we came across a lioness walking along the side of the road.  Slowing to a crawl, we kept pace with her for several minutes.  The enormous cat was moving steadily just a few short feet away from us, indifferent to our presence.

By now the light was fading fast and we had to leave the lion behind.  Turning off the main road towards the campground, we headed into a wooded thicket.  Hearing some low rumbles, we initially thought it was thunder in the distance.  But when enormous shadows began to shift all around us, we knew it was something far better.  Elephants! 

The herd was crossing the road in front of us and behind us.  Lumbering hulks in the darkness, there were massive adults, juveniles, even a couple of tiny infants.  All of us stood in awe as some of the animals walked so near that we could almost reach out and touch them.

Just moments earlier we had all been eagerly looking forward to dinner and a good night’s sleep.  Now, we wanted nothing more than to stay out here all night with the elephants.  Alas, the elephants had different ideas and soon they were gone.

Continuing on to the campground, we enjoyed an excellent meal prepared for us by our guides.  The rest of the evening was spent around the campfire, waving away the clouds of bugs and sharing stories with the other groups.  I can’t wait for tomorrow!