Safari Part one

It seems illogical to try to sum up the most amazing things I've seen in my entire life in one blog posting. Furthermore, choosing a practical sample of the 900 pictures I took to put in one blog posting would short enough to allow me to do something other than blog makes it seem like the best Idea to break up the Safari Blog into 3 parts. I'll Post the first one today. To sum it up, when the Safari was going, It was easily the most amazing experience of my life. When we had problems, the wheels were really falling off the wagon. I'll get to that.

The first day of the safari was spent driving from Mombasa to Nairobi, a city which we had heard few good things about. I don't mind long car rides and the drive passed quickly. During this leg of the drive we pass through the Tsavo East and Tsavo West National parks. Just near the gates for the respective parks this very oddly shaped building stands dormant all by itself. It looks like it was an observation point or rest stop at some time in the past.



I feel good about the picture considering it was taken going full speed down the highway. We never really figured out what it was.

When we arrived in Nairobi it was really cold. I can never remember feeling the sensation of cold since arriving in Kenya 2 months ago. Nairobi is much drier also. The prospect of having to put on a jacket seemed picture worthy. Grace especially was overjoyed, as you can see.



We walked to a South African Burger joint called Steer's for dinner. It was by far the best burger and fries I've had in Kenya. It seemed ironic to be eating a South African rendition of an American food in Kenya. They did a pretty good reproduction in my opinion.

The next morning we woke up early and met the driver who would drive us for the remainder of our Safari. It had only been twenty minutes when we passed signs for the Rift Valley View Point. For some reason, I had expected that the Rift Valley would be more than a short drive from the largest city in Kenya. It was a hazy morning but the view was amazing.



If you look you can see one spot of sun that had crept through the clouds.



Despite the fog you can see how green it was. The morning was cold but not as cold as what was yet to come.



After taking a few minutes to take pictures, we took off for the valley floor. There was a small town just at the bottom of the hill but then nothing except cattle and goats for as far as your eyes could see. All of the sudden, we came around a corner in the road and saw these enormous satellite dishes. Its interesting to me that much of the infrastructure here seems to have been built in the 70's. These satellite dishes are a great example. There is something that looked very Soviet about them, much as the random structure in the first image above had. I would guess that they were 3 or 4 stories tall and looked like they had fallen into disrepair.



As we got into the car in the morning, we noticed a box in the back seats. When we asked the driver what was in the back. "The radiator" he replied in a very nonchalant manner. We weren't as relaxed. When we inquired further, he said that the radiator in the car was too small and that it overheated some times. As we made the first climb out of the Rift Valley he pulled off to the side and you could hear the radiator (in the engine bay [which is under the front seats {I know right???}]) boiling quiet loudly. We took the opportunity to get out and snap some photos of the other side of the valley.



The next few hours of the drive fits into the category of "what in the heck does the Kenyan government do with its tax dollars?" Pretty much every drive we have ever taken that extends more than 15 miles out of town fits this bill. As we drove to Narok the road was kidney pulverizing. I don't get how commerce can happen in a country where goods are transported either by trains that derail (no seriously) or on roads where the trucks have to go 20-25 MPH because the roads are so bad. Just when it seemed that we were passed the bad sections of road, we pulled of onto a dirt road as rough as any of the backwoods 4x4 roads I've seen in Mexico. The driver hopped out and paid the toll to use the road to members of the Masai tribe. For some reason I had expected a little more formal toll booth than this. I've learned to abandon expectations in Kenya as I've realized they often lead to disappointment.

Huts similar to those below dotted the land around the Masaai Mara. Most of the people that live around the area are farmers or ranchers. The huts are very old fashioned with thatched roofs and mud walls. This was the biggest village we saw. The fence surrounding the corn in the foreground was an electric fence. These were surprisingly ubiquitous. Go figure, mud walls... electric fences; who knew?



As we continued our TORTUROUS scenic drive into the park we started to see more and more game along the way. We wondered why the driver wouldn't stop to put up the tops so we could take pictures of the animals like this male Impala. I eventually just concluded that it was because there was no shortage of game to see.



When we arrived at Olare Lodge we were all smiles. Partly because we were tired of the bumpy drive and also because the "Luxury Tented Camp" was more luxury than I had expected. I know, luxury tented camp seems drastically paradoxic, but it was far nicer than anywhere we've stayed in Kenya. There was hot running water in the tents and all of the other amenities one would expect from a luxury tent. The beds were covered with Masai blankets and were very comfortable. This is obviously me sitting in the tent.



The tents were as sturdy as they were spacious. It was nice to sit out on the porch and just relax looking across the nearby creak to endless hills. I had forgotten what nature really smelled like.



The luxury feeling of the camp was really solidified when we went to lunch and were fed a lunch that would have cost no less than 20 dollars a plate at home. The presentation was as amazing as the taste. It was stake on a cake of mashed potatoes both served on a bed of spinach. It was SO AMAZING.



We finished lunch and went on our first scheduled game drive. Animals were everywhere. Within five minutes we arrived at a pool with two hippos swimming in it passing five or ten other types of animals on the way. They seemed a big agitated with our presence which didn't deter us from snapping pictures of the one hippo who decided to stick around for a picture or ten.



Soon it was time to take off and we drove off in search of more animals. The road was bumpy but no one wanted to go back to sitting in the seats we had just spent six hours in so we all stood.



After five minutes we came upon a group of elephants. At this point everything was new and interesting. We just sat and tried to process the concept of being so close to animals we had only seen in zoos or on TV. They seemed unconcerned with us and just carried on eating. Our driver said they eat 100 kilos of food a day - about 220 pounds.



We left the animals and drove further. We started seeing animals grazing everywhere. We saw more animals than you can list. The Zebras were the most common. From a distance, Zebras are harder to see than their brightly patterned skins would imply. They never ran when we approached. They just continued to eat. They are incredible animals.



As we drove we saw some people in the distance. I hadn't seen a village in two hours and I felt very surprised to see people in an area that seemed so raw and wild. They aren't supposed to let tourist get out and walk around. As the legend goes, a Masai man must kill a lion before he is allowed to marry and our driver said that lions will run away form Masai men in their traditional clothing like the man on the left is wearing. Its really an amazing culture, which has changed little in centuries.



These Hyenas were the first carnivores we saw. They look like really ugly bears with dogs legs. Although Hyenas tend to hunt in packs, this mother and cub were all alone. The two were kind enough to pose nicely for a few pictures and we drove off.



As the first day came to a close it started to get cold and the beauty of the area really started to set in. "I can't believe I'm here, I can't believe I'm here" I kept telling myself.

The day ended with a dinner as incredible in taste and presentation as our lunch. It was a stuffed chicken breast served with a medley of vegetables and rice if my memory serves me correctly. After dinner one of the staff gave us an astronomy lesson. He showed us the southern cross (amazing) and most of the constellations used in astrology. During the lesson I had to put on another jacket on top of the four layers I was already wearing. It wasn't just cold for Kenya... it was COLD!!!