So it begins

Matatu mayhem

Published Date : December 5, 2004

Four of us decided to brave public transportation today and made our way into central Nairobi.  Matatus are privately owned minibuses that travel set routes throughout the country.  They are heavily regulated by the Kenyan government making them a safe and reliable means of transportation.

We caught Matatu #125 from in front of the campground.  After some arguments with the conductor, who initially refused to give us our change, in the end it cost us 20Ksh (about $0.25) each for the twenty minute drive to the central bus depot.

Parting ways with the others, I set off on my own to see the Snake Park & Nairobi National Museum.  It took about half an hour to walk the 3km and gave me a great feel for the city.  Apart from the occasional curious look, I wasn’t paid much attention at all along the way.

Neither of the two places was large or overly impressive, but they were worth the visit for only 200ksh each ($2.50).  The Snake Park is a breeding and rescue centre for reptiles and amphibians and has an interesting collection of scaled critters.  In addition to showcasing some of the history and culture of Kenya, the museum also boasts a botanical garden.  There are also several restaurants and shops nearby.  It’s a great place to wile away an afternoon.

Leaving the museum I was approached by a man with a clipboard collecting donations for some charity or another.  I didn’t feel comfortable giving out money to random strangers on the street, so I declined.  However, he was more than happy to sit and chat with me at a nearby coffee shop for a while.

The walk back into the bus station was uneventful.  Despite its reputation (the city is called Nairobbery for a reason) I feel quite comfortable here.  Grabbing another matatu back to the campground I was quite happy with my explorations for the day.

After another dinner in the bar, we met with Anton and Dave, our tour leader and driver for this leg of the journey.  Anton hails from South Africa and Dave is from Uganda.  Tomorrow we hit the road again!

Elephants, rhinos and warthogs. Oh my!

Published Date : December 6, 2004

We had a late start today.  One of the newcomers to our group was delayed at the airport, so while Anton waited for him to arrive at the capsite, Dave took those of us who were interested to the nearby David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.  It cost us each a 300Ksh ($3.75) “donation” to go in, but it was well worth it.

The trust is home to dozens of orphaned elephants and one rhino.  It is the aim of the trust to eventually return all of the animals to the wild and is quite an impressive operation.  While we were there we had the chance to see the elephants enjoying their daily mud wallow.  We also saw the rhinoceros off in the distance.  There is something very endearing about elephants.  They have always been one of my favourite animals and it was such a thrill to finally see them outside a zoo.  I can’t wait to see a truly wild herd!!

Back in the parking lot, we rounded out our wildlife viewing experience with a family of curious warthogs.  Returning to the campground to pick up Anton and the rest of the group, we said goodbye to Nairobi.

The drive north to Lake Naivasha National Park took about two hours.  Soon after leaving the campsite, the city gave way to open farmland and nature reserves.  I was happy to spend the entire drive staring out the window, watching giraffe and antelopes grazing in the nearby fields.  I even saw a hippo in a roadside pond!

We arrived at Fisherman’s Camp on the shores of Lake Naivasha just after dark and quickly set up our tents. I was thrilled to discover that there are an odd number of people in the group.  I have a tent to myself for the next 2-3 months.  YES!!!

Since this is the first night of the tour Anton cooked dinner for us.  Once again, I’ve opted out of meal service and volunteered for truck cleaning duties.  Sweeping floors tops cooking for 20 people any day of the week!

Game walk

Published Date : December 7, 2004

When I climbed out of my tent at daybreak, I was greeted by a pair of Colobus monkeys sitting in an acacia tree, just metres away.  The black and white monkeys with their long fringed tails and serious faces were quite indifferent to my presence.  As I passed directly beneath them on my way to the bathrooms, they continued to nibble on their fruit and call to each other with strange grumbles, paying me no mind at all.

With an hour or so until breakfast, I took the opportunity to explore the campground.  It really was a lovely place, with our tents sheltered beneath a canopy of acacia trees near the shore of the lake.  Making my way to the water’s edge, I spied a couple of hippos in the distance.  Despite being herbivores, hippos are fiercely territorial and kill more humans each year than any other animal in Africa.  Though they were quite far away, I was happy to have an electric fence between us. 

Returning to the truck in time for breakfast, I enjoyed a bowl of cereal and some bread with peanut butter.  The day was already hazy, hot and humid with the promise of more heat to come.  We were all just glad that it wasn’t raining.

After cleaning up, we loaded ourselves into the truck to make the short drive out to Crater Lake Game Sanctuary.  It cost us 1600 shillings ($20) for access to the park with a guide.  The two-hour walk to Crater Lake was easy and well-marked, but for neophytes to Africa the guide was essential for pointing out different plant and animal species.  This particular sanctuary is one of the few in Africa that has no predators, making it safe to walk and explore on foot.

Crossing open grasslands, we immediately encountered zebra, eland and Thompson’s gazelles.  As we approached the woods we even caught glimpses of dik-diks darting about in the bushes.  They’re a very small and incredibly cute type of antelope standing only about 1ft (30cm) tall at the shoulder. 

By this time our group had stretched out and split off into smaller groups.  I found myself alone on the trail when I heard a loud crashing in the bushes to my left.  Even though there are no predators in this park, we had been warned to be aware of buffalo that can occasionally become aggressive and my heart was pounding in my chest.  Peering into the foliage, I was stunned to see a family of giraffe only 50ft away from me.  I had always wondered about the speckled coats that giraffe’s sport, thinking they were such big animals that they wouldn’t really blend in anywhere.  Oh how wrong I was.  In the dappled light filtering through the tall trees, the long-necked creatures were perfectly camouflaged with their tan and brown colouring.

Continuing on to Crater Lake, we saw a few flamingoes along the shore and heard more Colobus monkey’s calling to each other in the trees.  I love the sounds here, a symphony of animals, birds and insects calling to each other.  I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it.

The walk back to the truck was hot and devoid of wildlife.  All of the animals were wisely taking shelter from the heat of the day.