If getting there is half the journey, we're in trouble !
We flew from Livingstone to Nairobi at about 6:00 at night. With some delays, some misery in customs and losing an hour, we got to our hotel in Nairobi after midnight, with a 6:00 am departure to another airport, Wilson Airport. Wilson Airport is "Puddle Jumper Central". You've never seen so many small prop planes in your life. And they're all going somewhere different I think.
Our flight was about 45 minutes south to Amboseli, in the shadow of Kilimanjaro. When we landed, there it was in all its glory.
That's not actually the view from the airport, its a little further along, but its my favorite so I'm using it out of sequence. Please don't bother filing a complaint with the management. You'll be wasting your time.
You've probably all seen pictures of Kilimanjaro in all its glory, with a brilliant blue sky and snow covered. That picture is actually pretty hard to get. First off, they think it will not have snow year round in another 10 years or so. Secondly, the mountain makes weather, which means clouds. So, we were really lucky to get this picture on our arrival. It basically wouldn't happen again during our visit.
We were met by our driver for the 2 days, Joseph. He took us immediately on a GAME DRIVE. None of us knew what to expect. It was just astonishing how DRY it was. We drove through about an hour of amazingly dry conditions, with animal carcasses scattered pretty regularly. Joseph said it hadn't rained since December and the animals were pretty stressed in this, year 3, of a big drought. Consequently, carcasses to the left, carcasses to the right, vultures having a field day. There were dust devils being formed all around us all day long. Seriously, even for Diane and I, who now come from the desert, it felt extreme.
Then, after about an hour during which we thought we might see every animal in Amboseli die during our visit, we turned a corner and there was a huge lake in front of us! WHAAT? Where did that come from? And if there is this much water, why isn't every animal at the water? It seems that there are a bunch of reasons and we got some or maybe all of them. If they are all there all the time, there is no grass left anywhere near the lake. So they are forced to roam to get grass. But wait a second, the grass grows in the swamp and some of the animals eat that. Why don't they all? Insufficient nutrition for some species. And I think there were a few more reasons.
But regardless, the swampy areas are the place to be. We saw elephants, hippos, zebras, cape buffalo, wildebeest in large numbers, gazelle and antelope. Oh yes, the birds ! There was were amazing numbers of birds.
So let the photo album begin
These elephants were headed somewhere. Not sure where. What I really wanted to show you is just how close you can be to some of these animals. That isn't our truck, but they serve as a good reference point.
Here is the rest of the herd? troop? and you can see the back of the same truck.
Not sure if this is the momma hyena or not, but we think it is the momma, because not long after we saw her, we saw her pups. But she might just be the babysitter. We were told that the pack of hyenas go out in the morning to hunt and they leave a babysitter. Why that wouldn't be the mother . . . or if it would indeed be the mother, I don't know.
This little guy is returning from a very brief jaunt outside the den.
The two hyena pups that we saw. Joseph thought they were 3 days old. But at a later stop, that guide said that at 3 days their eyes aren't open. But they aren't very old, that is clear enough.
A little later we came across a pair of lions. They were at a pretty fair distance and mostly resting. Apparently, lions have a fairly cush life, only hunting for a few hours a day.
We thought this was going to turn into a sex ed film for a moment, but this was about all the action there was.
There were loads of ostrich in spots. Not universally, but in zones. These 3 are females.
And this is a male.
Another interesting bird is the spoonbill. This guy is sleeping (supposedly at least) and so you can't really tell why he is called a spoonbill.
But now you can
Wildebeest are very common in the Amboseli Park
Hippos can be found there, too. This was a pretty big surprise after that initial hour of driving through the dust bowl.
Lots of monkeys and baboons are in the park, mostly around the wetter areas, but we did see a troop of baboons travelling from somewhere to somewhere. Who can tell with baboons, you know? If I find a picture of them later, I'll add it as an outtake. Right now I'm so far behind on posting that I can't search my photos any longer.
Midday we headed toward the Elerai Camp. Along the way, we learned that Elerai is a local word meaning Yellow Bark Acacia. These are pretty cool looking trees, with a big flat top.
The drive continued and it is a fairly long, rough, bumpy, dusty road and it took an hour to get to the camp. Hmmm, getting there is half the journey? Ah well, things are generally excellent.
When we got to camp, we unpacked in some pretty sweet tents. Lots of room, electricity, bathroom with shower, veranda facing Mt. Kilimanjaro (which by now is hiding in the clouds) . . . yup, pretty sweet tents. We unpacked, zipped up the tent to keep the mosquitos out and headed up to the main building. Where we were told that we also zipped up to keep the baboons out. Oh yes, baboons. Not something that we think about often, but they are fast, mischievous and can trash a room like a rock star. So, we will always be zipped up.
When we got to restaurant / bar patio, this scene greeted us. It was like a complete animal convention.
Incredible !
To me, it looked like there should be an ark and Noah down there, selecting a pair of each animal. What a sight.
It turns out that this watering hole is a bit of cheating by the management. They turn the water on every so often and all of the animals come running to get a drink of fresh, clean water. A luxury for them, eye-candy for us. Makes you want to pull up a chair, grab a beverage and just enjoy the show, doesn't it? And that is how it hit us every day.
One of the coolest things about the Eleria Camp is that it is owned by the locals. So, any money that they make goes back to the villages and the conservancy itself.
That afternoon we went to a local village and got a sense of traditional Maasai life. The village that we visited has consciously decided NOT to go modern, but to stay with their historical lifestyle.
None of you will be interested in marrying into a Maasai family, let me tell you.
They build their homes from straw, wood and animal dung.
The house that we went into had no lights whatsoever, so even in the middle of the day, it was pretty dim.
I would estimate the house to be 300 sq. feet. 15 feet by 12 feet sounds about right.
This was a 2 bedroom house, with sleeping for 7!
The adults had one room, the 5 children slept in the second room.
In addition they cooked all of their meals in the house (small set aside for fire)
And they store firewood inside, for the rainy season.
Very efficient. Very third world.
And yet, one of the guys that we talked to who went to school outside the village had a Facebook page!
That was odd.
Next they showed us how they start a fire. First, crumble some elephant dung. Are you still with me or did you have to go wash your hands? Because, yes, they do crumble the dung manually. They did not ask us to help. Whew! Have dry grass in reserve. Twist an elerai stick in a block of wood really fast until the friction builds enough heat to light the dung.
Add grass and blow. In 5 minutes . . . FIRE !
They did also give us an opportunity to support the village and take home a souvenir of Maasai arts/crafts. Honestly, there was nothing there that any of us needed, but it was well done and very personal and we each identified one or more items that best suited us. We bought animal carvings, bowls, woven beaded bracelets and necklaces and a talking stick.
What is a talking stick you ask? When in a meeting, you hold the stick if you wish to talk. No one else can talk while you hold the stick. Can you imagine how useful this will be in my everyday life? Priceless!
I think that put a wrap on day one. A long day, starting with early wakeup, a flight, a long GAME DRIVE and then the village. As I recall, we all went to bed a bit early that night.
Comments
Post a Comment